44 March 28 • 2019
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DUMBO SOARS AGAIN
Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, is a
live-action version of the classic Disney
cartoon about an elephant
whose large ears make him,
at fi
rst, something of a laugh-
ingstock. As the fi
lm begins,
the owner of a struggling
circus (Danny DeVito) enlists
a former star of the circus
(Colin Farrell) and his children
to care for the big-eared baby
elephant. Financially, things
take-off for the circus when
they discover Dumbo’
s ears
allow him to fl
y. Huge crowds
come out to see Dumbo
perform with a spectacular
aerial artist played by French
actress Eva Green, 38.
Green’
s mother is a Sephardic
Jew, originally from Algeria.
Green is secular but identifi
es
as Jewish. (Opens March 29.)
A STREAMING GEM
The Act, a true-crime series,
premiered on Hulu March 20.
The fi
rst, fi
ve-episode season
of The Act is based on the real
story of Dee Dee Blanchard
and her daughter, Gypsy Rose
Blanchard. Dee Dee is played
by Patricia Arquette, 50, and
Gypsy is played by Joey King,
19. Most reviewers are calling
King’
s performance out-
standing and many say this
is a breakthrough dramatic
performance for her.
Gypsy was born in 1991.
From the time she was 8
years old, her mother falsely
insisted she had a variety of
serious chronic conditions.
Gypsy was confi
ned to a
wheelchair and she was
home schooled because
of her “illnesses.” Doctors
suspected Gypsy’
s illnesses/
conditions were not real but
never called in the authorities.
Dee Dee loved the attention
her “sick” child brought her
and enjoyed benefi
ts, like the house Hab-
itat for Humanity built for her and Gypsy.
When Gypsy became a teen, Dee Dee kept
her “in line” via physical abuse. In 2015,
Gypsy enlisted the help of a young man
she met online and, as they planned, he
killed her mother. (The fi
rst two episodes
started streaming on March 20. The last
three episodes stream on March 27, April
3 and 10.)
MALERMAN NEWS
The Bird Box, a Netfl
ix
original fi
lm starring Sandra
Bullock, was released on
Dec. 21, 2018, and quickly
became a huge hit. The fi
lm
was based on the 2014
novel of the same name
written by Josh Malerman,
43, a rock musician born
in Detroit and now living in
Ferndale.
Last week was a
mini-Malerman fest. He did
a major online interview
with Esquire.com, mostly
about Bird Box and a sequel
novel titled Malorie. It is set
eight years after the events
in Bird Box and is due out
Oct. 1. Also last week, a new
Malerman novel, Inspection,
was released in hardcover.
The publisher’
s synopsis
says, “Boys are being
trained at one school for
geniuses, girls at another.
Neither knows the other
exists — until now.”
SANDERS FACE-OFF
My family-history-expert
friend has dug up something
not reported in the Jewish or
general media. Beto
O’
Rourke’
s father-in-law,
William Sanders, 77, is
Jewish. William is a very
wealthy real estate develop-
er who grew-up in El Paso,
which is also O’
Rourke’
s
hometown. He has been a
big supporter of Beto. My
friend has documented that
three of William’
s grandpar-
ents were Jewish by birth.
His maternal grandmother
was not born Jewish — but
we think — based on “clues”
— that she may have con-
verted. William is three months younger
than Beto’
s rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders.
They aren’
t related. ■
NATE BLOOM
COLUMNIST
Eva Green
Patricia Arquette
Joey King
Josh Malerman
celebrity jews
arts&life
PHOTO VIA GREEN’
S FACEBOOK
PHOTO VIA ARQUETTE’
S FACEBOOK
PHOTO VIA KING’
S FACEBOOK
PHOTO VIA MALERMAN’
S FACEBOOK