96 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019
AT THE MOVIES
The big budget sci-fi flick Ad
Astra opened last Friday and will
be in theaters for several weeks.
Capsule plot: Astronaut Roy
McBride (Brad Pitt) travels
to the outer edges of the
solar system to find his
missing father (Tommy
Lee Jones) and unravel
a mystery that threatens
the survival of humans
on Earth. The film was
directed by and co-written
by James Gray, 50. He’
s
directed and written a
number of well-received
films, including three with
a lot of Jewish content
(Little Odessa, Two Lovers
and The Immigrant).
Opening Friday, Sept.
27, is The Laundromat, a
comedy-drama inspir-ed
by the “Panama Papers”
scandal in 2015. Millions
of documents created by
a Panama City, Panama,
law firm were leaked.
The documents showed
how the firm helped rich
people worldwide to
illegally hide their wealth
from the taxman. The film begins
with Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep)
taking a vacation in Panama. She
gets drawn into questionable
financial dealings that involve
two Panama lawyers. The large
ensemble cast includes David
Schwimmer, 52, and Melissa
Rauch, 39.
The screenplay is by Scott Z.
Burns, 56, who frequently works
with Laundromat director Steven
Soderbergh. Burns grew up in a
Minneapolis suburb and went to
a Jewish summer camp. When
he was young, he was inspired
by the Coen brothers, who grew
up in the suburb next to his
hometown. Much later, Burns
met the Coens and they talked,
he said, about (local) “rabbis and
schools.”
NICE EMMY NOTE
A song written for the now-
concluded series My Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend won a Creative
Arts Emmy on Sept. 15. The
Emmy was shared by its
three composers: Crazy star
Rachel Bloom, 32, Adam
Schlesinger, 51, and Jack
Dolgen, 40ish. It was the
first Emmy for Bloom. After
she won, she announced
she was pregnant with her
first child. Her husband of
four years is comedy writer
Dan Gregor, 37.
NEW SERIES
Carol’
s Second Act begins
on CBS on Thursday, Sept.
26, at 9:30 p.m. It stars
Patricia Heaton as Carol
Kenney, a retired teacher
with two grown children
who decides to pursue her
dream of becoming a doctor.
As the series starts, she is
a hospital intern. Ashley
Tisdale, 34 (High School
Musical), co-stars as
Carol’
s daughter, Jenny, a
pharmaceutical rep with an
upbeat attitude that keeps
her mother’
s spirits up.
Tisdale’
s mother is Jewish.
The NBC series The Unicorn
also begins on Sept. 26 at 8:30
p.m. Wade (Walton Goggins) is
a 45-year-old widower and the
devoted father of two adolescent
daughters. As the series begins,
a year has passed since his
wife’
s death and he thinks about
dating again. To his amazement
— women flock to him because
he is a “unicorn” — single,
employed, attractive, with a
proven record of commitment.
His friends and family root
for him — hoping he’
ll find
happiness again. Michela
Watkins, (Casual), 47, co-stars
as Delia, a friend of Wade and the
wife of Wade’
s best friend.
Arts&Life
celebrity jews
NATE BLOOM
COLUMNIST
James Gray
FACEBOOK
David
Schwimmer
IMDB
Ashley Tisdale
IMDB
Scott Z.
Burns
IMDB
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