I Arts & Entertainment Idol Chatter "My dream is to visit Israel, go to the Dead Sea, tour the Western Wall and other holy sites;' American Idol judge Paula Abdul recently told Israel Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog as he toured the West Coast pro- moting tourism to Israel. As reported on Ynet, the meeting between Abdul and Herzog, which took place on the American Idol stage, was an emotional one. "Not many people know, but both my parents are Jewish," she told Herzog. "I am very excited about telling you this;' she said. "My father is a Syrian Jew whose family immigrated to Brazil. My mother is Canadian with Jewish roots. My dream is to come to Israel for a real holiday." Abdul will do just that — when she travels to Israel during Chanukah as Herzog's guest. The tourist minister sug- gested finding a "nice Jewish match" for Abdul. "He has to be a nice boy; I don't mind if he doesn't have much money, as long as my parents are happy:' she replied. Sans Paula, the top 10 finalists from the seventh season of American Idol — including winner David Cook and runner- up David Archuleta — perform live 7 p.m. About vaila Thursday. July 24, at Joe Louis Arena. Tickets are $39.50, $54.50 and $68.50. (248) 645-6666 or ticketmaster. com . home; a tribute to Jewish film director Stanley Donen, 84, who will participate in question-and-answer sessions after the Gail Zimmerman screenings of his films, Arts Editor including Singin' in the T.C. Film Rain; free movies at the Festival outdoor cinema in the Open Space Park on Grand Traverse Bay; and a scheduled This year's Traverse City Film Festival runs appearance by Madonna presenting her July 29-Aug. 3 in six venues around the Up new film, I Am Because We Are, a docu- North resort town — including the newly mentary about the African country of renovated and reopened historic State Malawi that also features Bishop Theatre. Desmond Tutu, President Bill "The festival has become a beacon of Clinton and Jewish author/ hope for the Grand Traverse region;' said activist and Detroit native festival founder and president Michael Jeffrey Sachs. Moore, the Academy Award-winning Those who join the Friends of documentary filmmaker. "It's nothing the Traverse City Film Festival short of thrilling to see the response from get first crack at tickets. For tens of thousands of people eager to see a more information, go to www. great movie, and this year we have dozens traversecityfilmfest.com . of them." Highlights of the fourth annual festival On Their Toes include an appearance by Phil Donahue with his first feature documentary film, Body of War, about the journey of a One hundred and seventy-two wounded American soldier returning young dancers from around the world (including 26 from Michigan) descended upon Detroit this summer for the four-week American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, a partnership between the Detroit Opera House, Wayne State University and American Ballet Theatre. Detroit is one of only five cities nationwide to host the program. Following weeks of intense training, the students will present two performances to the public on the stage of the Detroit Opera House at 1 and 4 p.m. Friday, July 18. Dance enthusiasts will get a glimpse at up-and-coming, high-level dancers, many of whom will go on to perform profes- sionally in years to come. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children under the age of 15 and are available at the door prior to the performance. Members of the ABT Summer Intensive rehearse. FYI: For Arts related events that you wish to have considered for Out & About, please send the item, with a detailed description of the event, times, dates, place, ticket prices and publishable phone number, to: Gail Zimmerman, JN Out & About, The Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax us at (248) 304-8885; or e-mail to gzimmerman@thejewishnews.com . Notice must be received at least three weeks before the scheduled event. Photos are appreciated but cannot be returned. All events and dates listed in the Out & About column are subject to change. WS Nate Bloom Ors I Special to the Jewish News Gong Away Comedy Central is reviving The Gong Show, an icon of '70s television. The original program, an amateur talent contest with a satirical bent, was created and hosted by Chuck Barris, now 79. A new version of the show, The Gong Show with Dave Attell, debuting 10 p.m. Thursday, July 17, is produced by Adam Sandler and hosted by comedian Dave Attell Dave Attell, 43. Attell and Sandier became friends when they lived in the same college dorm back in the mid-'80s. The new version, like the old, will have good and bad acts (who might be gonged). Attell says, "Stars will be made, and feelings will be hurt." Appearing as judges on the pre- miere episode are Triumph, the Comic dio July 17 • 2008 Insult Dog (a hand-puppet voiced by comedian Robert Smigel) and Steve Schrippa, who played Bobby Bacala on The Sopranos. Schrippa's mother is Jewish, but he was raised in his father's Catholic faith. Movie Premieres Opening Friday, July 18, are Space Chimps and The Dark Knight. Chimps is an animated comedy about the antics of astronaut chimps. Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live), 29, is the voice of Ham III, the lead character. In the film, Ham III and two other chimp astronauts land on a planet ruled by a tyrant and have to Andy Samberg figure out how to overthrow the bad guy and get back to Earth. The Dark Knight is another Batman adventure, starring Christian Bale as the comic-book hero created by the late Bob Kane. The Batman movie franchise was revived in 2005 when Batman Returns, starring Bale, was released to good reviews and great box office. The new film co-stars the late Heath Ledger, in his last screen appearance, as the Joker, Batman's nemesis. Maggie Gyllenhaal, 30, appears as Rebecca Dawes, an assistant district attorney who is romanti- cally involved Maggie with Batman. The Gyllenhaal movie's original story was co-written by former Michigander David S. Goyer. I Mistaken Identity? In the new book Girls Like Us, a triple bio of Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King, author Sheila Weller writes that Carly's father, Richard Simon, the co- founder of Simon and Schuster, was the son of wealthy German Jewish parents "so assimilated that they were almost anti-Semitic." (Richard, like Carly, was raised without reli- gion.) As for Carly's mother, she was the daughter of a non-Jewish German father and a Spanish-born Catholic mother. Carly Simon Weller writes that Carly's grandmother, Chibie, believed that "African" fea- tures (darker skin with curly hair) in the family dated back to the Islamic Moors who ruled parts of Spain until 1492. Weller adds, "Carly enthusiastically believes Chibie's assertion about her lineage." It's almost ludicrous that Carly Simon calls herself "part-black" based on a family tale of five-cen- tury-old Moorish ancestry (the Moors, by the way, were mostly of Arab blood). Yet, she is now described as "part-black" all over the Internet, and Wikipedia, the Web encyclopedia, lists Simon as an "African-American singer."