Nate Bloom blogs on this week's Jews in the News.

Comedy Movie, Thriller Movie, TV Series, and Something Really Important
 

“You’re Cordially Invited” is an original comedy film that will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Jan. 30. Here’s the basic plot: Jenni, and her father, Jim (played by Will Ferrell), discover their dream wedding venue has been double booked by Neve, another bride, and Neve’s wedding planner sister (Reese Witherspoon).

This film was written by, and directed by, and produced by NICHOLAS STOLLER, 48. For the last 20 years, he has had a hand in many films and TV shows. Sometimes, as with “Cordially Invited”, he does “everything.” More often, he “just” writes or directs. His biggest hits include “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, and “Neighbors”.

He also co-created, and co-produces “Goosebumps”, a hit Disney series inspired by the “Goosebumps” books by R.L. STINE, 81. The books, and the TV episodes, tell scary tales for older children. The Disney series second season (8 episodes) is entitled  “Goosebumps: The Vanishing”. It was released on January 10, 2025.  DAVID SCHWIMMER, 58, plays Anthony, a major character, in “Vanishing”.

Frankly, I hadn’t heard about an actor named MIKE MARKOFF until I saw that he is starring in “Lake George”, a film that opens in theaters on Jan. 30. Here’s the plot, which is based on true events:  A released convict (Markoff) and his rich ‘father-in law-to-be’ must come up with $100k in one night or else a family member will be executed in prison.

I guessed Markoff, 38, is Jewish and I lucked-out. He was just profiled by “North Shore”, a magazine that caters to residents of the North Shore suburbs above Chicago.

Markoff, a very handsome and muscular guy, grew up in the. North Shore. He told the magazine that he began acting, as a child, at his synagogue (“Temple Chai”). He did some musicals at the synagogue, including “Fiddler on the Roof”. He said he wanted to play Tevye, but he was an overweight kid and they cast him as the butcher. He laughed at the interview as he said, “Nobody likes the butcher”.

Markoff was classically trained, but he just couldn’t get good roles, and he gave up acting for about ten years. He did well, he said, working as an international chef. But he got the urge to get back into acting about eight years ago.  He’s landed some good roles in the last few years, including a juicy supporting role in Hitman (2023), a very popular Netflix black comedy film.

At the start of his “re-launch”, he met his wife, actress KATHERINE COZUMEL SCHLOSSBERG, 30.

The Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, Feb. 2  (8PM, EST, CBS and Paramount+). It would take more than a column to explain why the number of Jewish nominees is very small compared to 15 years ago, and before. In recent years, only JACK ANTONOFF, 40, stands out. He’s won 11 Grammys for his music producing and songwriting. He has five 2025 nominations, including song, record, and album of the year.  

But I must note AARON LAZAR, 48. His album, “Impossible Dream”, is nominated for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album”. Lazar is a top Broadway musical actor with “forays” into other fields (musical concerts and numerous “smallish” acting roles on TV and in films)

In recent years, he’s given talks to local JCC’s in cities he visits to do a musical concert. He talks about music and about his ties to Judaism and being Jewish. In 2019 article, he said that he sometimes takes his two sons to these JCC talks. Lazar is divorced and he’s the custodial parent of his two sons, age 12, and 14.

Here’s the drama:  early in 2024, he disclosed that he had been diagnosed with ALS (the fatal muscle disease) two years before.

The whole Broadway community rallied behind him and the cover song of his “Impossible Dream” album was sung in studio by scores of Broadway singers in “We Are the World” style. A very professional video of the recording is on Youtube (entitled “Broadway for ALS - Aaron Lazar: The Impossible Dream’). A lot of “biggies” sing on the video/recording.

His album has been selling very well. The receipts go to the ALS network and to Aaron Lazar. There are eight songs on the album, including “Impossible”. Lazar sings the other songs solo (except for one duet).

Footnote: I was sure MITCH LEIGH (born Irwin Misnick), the music composer of “Impossible Dream”, was Jewish. I wasn’t sure if Joe Darion, the song’s lyricist, was Jewish. I dug out, in census records, that his original last name was “Schmul” and he was Jewish. I’m pretty sure “Schmul” would interest Lazar. He’s told JCCs that he made a point of not changing his “very Jewish” last name.