44 March 28 • 2019
jn

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