Jews in the News: Wyatt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Woody Allen

You might have a hard time finding the well-reviewed indie horror film, “We Are What We Are,” in a theater near you. But if you search on-line, you can find many sites that stream it into your home.  “We Are” is a re-make of a hit 2010 Mexican horror flick. The American version features the Parkers, a seemingly nice family who keep to themselves. Patriarch Frank Parker rules his family with an iron hand, determined to keep his GRUESOME ancestral customs intact at any cost. As a torrential rainstorm hits, tragedy strikes and his daughters Iris (JULIA GARNER, 19) and Rose are forced to assume responsibilities that extend beyond those of a typical family.  The ensuing floods force the police to begin to uncover clues about the “real Parkers.” WYATT RUSSELL, 27, the son of GOLDIE HAWN, 67, plays a deputy sheriff.

 

Garner, a pretty actress with blonde ringlets and very pale skin, has made 10 films since making her debut in the 2011 indie hit, “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” She’s so hot that she was the subject of a long NY Times profile last March. Her credits include a scene in the 2012 film “Not Fade Away” that Sopranos’ creator David Chase wrote for her; a starring role in the critically acclaimed indie “Electrick Children” (2012); and upcoming roles in bigger budget films, including one in which she plays the love interest of JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, 32. Garner’s mother, therapist TAMI GINGOLD, was a popular comedian in Israel decades ago. Julia told the Times that it was ironic that she played a fundamentalist Utah Mormon in “Electrick”: “[I come] from New York. I’m Jewish too. It’s very funny.”

 

The new NBC series, “Dracula,” starts on Friday, Oct. 25, at 10PM. The show is set in 19th century England and features an almost all-Brit cast.  Jonathan Rhys Meyers has the title role. Hunky Brit actor OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN, 26, is a series regular, playing Jonathan Hawker, who is described as “a tenacious and slightly gauche journalist desperate to climb the ranks of aristocracy — and stay there.”  Jackson-Cohen is the son of Betty Jackson, a fairly famous Brit dress designer, and DAVID COHEN, a French-Israeli who is Betty’s business partner.

 

More Allen News

 

 Last week, WOODY ALLEN, 77, surprised many when he eloquently spoke in defense of Israel with an Israeli TV station. He said, in part: “I do feel there are many people that disguise their negative feelings toward Jews, disguise it as anti-Israel criticism, political criticism, when in fact what they really mean is that they don’t like Jews.”  Regarding anti-Semitism in America, he said: “By the low standards of tolerance for Jews all over the world, America’s been a very tolerant country.” Allen also said he would like to visit Israel soon, a country he has never visited: “My wife [is] also very curious about Israel and wants to go there with the girls, so they can see and understand their father’s Jewish culture.”

(His whole interview can be found on the Times of Israel website. Here's the link:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/allen-on-israel-critics-who-just-dont-like-jews/

 

Elsewhere: MSNBC has confirmed that Woody’s son, RONAN FARROW, 26, has signed to host an afternoon political talk show. The show will probably start in mid-January, 2014.

 

Inside the Movie Biz

 

HBO will premiere the documentary “Seduced and Abandoned,” on Monday, Oct. 28, at 9PM.  Directed by JAMES TOBACK, 68, the documentary shows Toback and Alec Baldwin going to the Cannes film festival and meeting with “money men” and name actors as they try to get financing for a Toback-directed feature film about Iraq. (The feature may never have been “real”—but served as an excuse for the documentary interviews). 

 

The documentary features interviews with big-time Hollywood executives RON MEYER, 69, and MIKE MEDAVOY, 72. There are also interviews with top directors (including ROMAN POLANSKI, 80, and Martin Scorsese)--and talks with hot actors, including Jessica Chastain and Ryan Gosling. Gosling, advance reviews say, is particularly frank and funny regarding the realities of film financing.

 

Inside the Movie Biz

 

HBO will premiere the documentary “Seduced and Abandoned,” on Monday, Oct. 28, at 9PM.  Directed by JAMES TOBACK, 68, the documentary shows Toback and Alec Baldwin going to the Cannes film festival and meeting with “money men” and name actors as they try to get financing for a Toback-directed feature film about Iraq. (The feature may never have been “real”—but served as an excuse for the documentary interviews). 

 

The documentary features interviews with big-time Hollywood executives RON MEYER, 69, and MIKE MEDAVOY, 72. There are also interviews with top directors (including ROMAN POLANSKI, 80, and Martin Scorsese)--and talks with hot actors, including Jennifer Chastain and Ryan Gosling. Gosling, advance reviews say, is particularly frank and funny regarding the realities of film financing.

 

 

 

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