An L.A. Times survey on the demographics of voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences found that a majority of its 5,765 members are “overwhelmingly” white males. Read More »

Media coverage surrounding the death of the pop star and singing sensation Whitney Houston could be described, at best, as schizophrenic. One moment a nation weeps for a lost and beloved singing legend; the next they decry her drug abuse, poor choice of marital partner and public misbehavior. Read More »

Everyone likes an ego boost. In Hollywood, merely a few months ago, critics and commentators were lamenting the lost luster of movie magic. In a blunt commentary last November titled “Film Is Dead? What Else Is New?” New York Times film critic A.O. Read More »

Producer Letty Aronson poses for a portrait during the 84th Academy Awards Nominations Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton hotel on Feb. 6 in Beverly Hills. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Woody Allen couldn’t care less about the Academy Awards. Read More »

“The Artist” Elie Wiesel was once famously asked whether Judaism has a tradition of silence. “Yes,” the author and Holocaust survivor answered. “But we don’t like to talk about it.” Silence, of course, is paramount in the Jewish tradition. Read More »

Connie Sawyer then. Photos courtesy of Connie Sawyer Matzah ball soup and brisket are on the menu the afternoon I meet Connie Sawyer, likely the world’s oldest working actress, at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills. Sawyer, who was born in November 1912, is soaring into her 100th year with youthful enthusiasm. Read More »

The beginnings of a memorial for Whitney Houston outside The Beverly Hilton Hotel the Saturday night following her death. The news of 48-year-old superstar Whitney Houston’s death has rocked and saddened the music world as well as the singer’s legions of fans. Read More »

In 2008, “BeTipul” became the first ever Israeli format to become an American television series as HBO’s “In Treatment”. Four years later, Showtime’s “Homeland,” based on the Israeli format “Hatufim” won the best television series Golden Globe. Read More »

The two most important Jewish creations of the 20th century were Hollywood and Israel. They are both the products of a primal Jewish impulse: the need to escape. To paraphrase my editor Rob Eshman, Jews created Israel to escape the world, they created Hollywood so the world could escape reality. Read More »

Don’t be fooled by the ardent Americana on display in the Oscar-nominated homage to silent film, because the only thing not utterly Jewish about “The Artist” is its abstention from dialogue. The film is in fact the product of a Jewish troika that includes director Michel Hazanavicius, producer Thomas Langmann and movie kingpin Harvey Weinstein. Read More »

photo by Jonah Lowenfeld My colleague Jonah Lowenfeld was quick to the draw that is the heated congressional race between Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman, both veteran Jewish Democrats that are staunchly pro-Israel, but because of California redistricting , are now competing for the same seat in the House of Representatives. Read More »

The 84th Annual Academy Award Nominations were announced this morning at 5: 30am PST (and that’s just ungodly) so here’s a recap of the noms that matter to Hollywood Jew: -Woody Allen leads the pack with three major nominations – Best Director, Best Read More »

Gloria Allred, arguably the most high-powered, high-profile female attorney in the country, famous for representing wronged (and sometimes wrongful) women, is the subject of an L.A. Magazine profile this month. Hers is a complex portrait. Read More »

The first high profile Hollywood mission to Israel took place in 1984, according to my research, and was hosted by renowned William Morris agent Stan Kamen and a young Sherry Lansing, then an up and coming executive at 20th Century Fox. Read More »

I literally cracked up when I read the actor Josh Malina’s mock-Mel Gibson-Maccabee script for the first time (penned exclusively for The Jewish Journal). Then, I read it again and decided it’s clever enough and funny enough to be its own movie. “Scary Maccabee” or something like that. Read More »

Adam Perlman, a Harvard grad-turned-Hollywood writer has co-created a pretty clever web video with Kiran Deol entitled, “White People Problems.” It’s Woody Allen meets Larry David meets the entitlement generation. Read More »

John Miller, the onetime LAPD officer-turned-Assistant Director of Public Affairs for the FBI-turned-CBS news correspondent recently appeared on Charlie Rose to discuss covert intelligence operations in Iran. Read More »

A loose collection of memorable moments for Hollywood Jews and their tribal sensibilities at the Golden Globe Awards: Howard Gordon takes home an award for best television series – drama, for “Homeland,” based on the Israeli format “Hatufim Read More »

Nobody ever accused Israelis of subtlety. During Angelina Jolie’s and Brad Pitt’s visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D. Read More »

Pop star Katy Perry’s evangelical preacher father, Keith Hudson , reportedly gave a bizarre sermon in Westlake, Ohio on Sunday in which he played up the age-old stereotype about Jews and money (seriously, get some new material). Read More »