42 | JUNE 11 • 2020 

Arts&Life

celebrity jews

NEW OR NEWISH 
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The High Note is a big-budget 
film about the music industry 
that was supposed to open 
in theaters but was diverted 
to rental streaming due to 
COVID-19. High Note centers 
on an aging superstar diva 
(Tracee Ellis Ross, 47) and her 
ambitious assistant (Dakota 
Johnson). The NY Times review 
said that the plot was implau-
sible, and Johnson was bland. 
The Times did praise Ross, the 
music and many supporting 
actors. 
Trailers have revealed how 
well Ross (Black-Ish), the 
daughter of Motown leg-
end Diana Ross, can sing. 
Tracee’
s Jewish father is retired 
music manager Robert Ellis 
Silberstein, 73. In a 2015 inter-
view, Tracee said that she grew-
up celebrating some Jewish and 
Christian holidays, but wasn’
t 
raised in any faith. However, a 
highlight of her childhood, she 
said, was a trip to Israel with 
her parents. By the way, Tracee 
has never married and has no 
children. 
The King of Staten Island
also was diverted from theaters 
to video-on-demand (pre-
mieres June 12). Directed and 
co-written by Judd Apatow, 
52, it stars Pete Davidson (SNL) 
in a semi-autobiographical 
role. He plays Scott, a mid-20s 
weed-smoking slacker who 
was traumatized by the death 
of his firefighter father on 9/11. 
(In real life, Davidson was 
traumatized by the death of his 
firefighter father on 9/11. Pete’
s 

real father was of mostly Jewish 
ancestry. But he, and Pete, were 
raised Catholic.) 
Scott is jolted out of his 
“slackdom” when his mom 
(Marisa Tomei) begins dating 
Ray, a firefighter whom Pete 
doesn’
t like. The supporting 
cast includes Maude Apatow, 
22, Judd’
s daughter, as Claire, 
Scott’
s sister; British actress 
Bel Powley, 28, as Kelsey, 
a childhood friend of Scott 
who secretly hooks up with 
him (Powley starred in the 
film Diary of a Teenage Girl); 
Pamela Adlon, 53, as Gina, 
Ray’
s ex-wife; and Pauline 
Chalamet, 28, as Joanne (a 
small role). She is the sister of 
actor Timothée Chalamet, 24. 
Pauline has starred in several 
American and French short 
films. Like her brother, she’
s the 
daughter of a French Protestant 
father and American Jewish 
mother. 
Both High Note and King cost 
$20 to stream for 48 hours. This 
seems to be the standard price 
for “biggie” brand-new films 
diverted to video-on-demand. 
Also on June 12, the Hulu 
original anthology horror series 
Into the Dark premieres a new 
episode starring Judy Greer as a 
woman who gets an emotional 
support dog. Unknown to her, 
it kills anyone who causes her 
stress. Co-stars include Steven 
Guttenberg, 61. He had a great 
run of hits in the ’
80s, including 
Police Academy and Cocoon. 
Then he took five years off, and 
never got his “hit mojo” back 
again. But you can catch him in 
guest TV roles, including five 
episodes of The Goldbergs this 
past season. 

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

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