42 | JULY 22 • 2021
FEAR 3X; BIG HIT
BACKSTORIES
Perhaps because I’m not
a huge horror fan, I didn’t
flag in advance the Netflix
release, this past month, of
a trilogy of original horror
films based on some of
the Fear Street novels of
R.L. Stine, 77. Stine is most
famous as the author of the
very popular Goosebumps
scary novels for children.
The first Netflix film, Fear
Street Part One: 1994, takes
place in a small Ohio town.
After some brutal slayings,
a group of teens take on
an evil force that’s plagued
their town for centuries.
The cast includes Fred
Hechinger, 21 (Simon),
Jordana Spiro, 44
(Mrs. Lane) and Ashley
Zukerman, 37, (Nick).
Hechinger had his break-
out role last year in News
of the World; Spiro has
worked steadily since
2000. You may remember
her as the star of the TBS
series My Boys (2006-
2010); Zukerman, a hand-
some “Aussie” landsman,
has recently had a recur-
ring role on Succession
(HBO) and a big role in
the Hulu mini-series A
Teacher. These three actors
also appear in the other two
Fear Street films, which are
now streaming (Fear Street
Part Two: 1978 and Fear
Street Part Three: 1666).
Stine grew up quite
poor in a small town near
Columbus, Ohio. But he
began writing very young
and, by the early 1970s, he
was a bestselling writer.
His editor is his wife of 52
years, Jane Waldron (who I
am virtually sure is Jewish).
Based on quite recent Stine
interviews, I can report that
the couple survived the
pandemic in good spirits
— aided by their son and
grandkids, who live near
them.
The six-part original Hulu
documentary McCartney
3, 2, 1, began streaming on
July 13. It is a series of con-
versations with nine-time
Grammy winning producer
Rick Rubin, 58. McCartney
describes the “origin” of
many of his most famous
songs (Beatles’ tunes most-
ly). NPR says that many of
the stories McCartney tells
have been told before, but
the documentary is enter-
taining and informative. By
the way, McCartney has
more “Jewish ties” than any
other Beatle. Two of Paul’s
three marriages “went well,”
and the spouses in those
marriages were/are Jewish:
Linda Eastman, who died
in 1998, and Nancy Shevell,
now 61, Paul’s wife since
2011.
BLOCKBUSTER
BACKSTORIES
On July 21, Netflix began
streaming The Movies
That Made Us (Season
2). It is the latest entry in
a series of smart, nostal-
gic Netflix documentaries
made by Brian Volk-Weiss,
45. Season 2, like Movies,
Season 1, provides the
“backstory” on four block-
buster hit movies. This time
it’s Pretty Woman, Forrest
Gump, Jurassic Park and
Back to the Future.
Here are the Jewish con-
nections: Pretty Woman
had Jason Alexander, now
61, in a supporting role as
Richard Gere’s snooty attor-
ney; Forrest Gump was writ-
ten by Eric Roth, now 76;
Jurassic Park was directed
by Steven Spielberg, now
74, and costarred Jeff
Goldblum, now 68; and the
script for Back to the Future
was co-written by Bob
Gale, now 70.
I recently saw Back to
the Future again, and I
noticed how the movie was
artfully filmed to hide how
short (5’4”) star Michael J.
Fox is. I then noticed that
his co-star, Lea Thompson,
was part of a pattern. She’s
a short, but well-propor-
tioned pretty woman. A
perfect romantic match for
Fox. The actor, I realized,
had “like” partners in many
other roles and at least
three are Jewish (Tracy
Pollan in Family Ties; Julie
Warner in Doc Hollywood
and Helen Slater in Secret
of My Success). Fox married
Pollan in 1989 and their
four children were raised
Jewish. Thompson has a
similar story. She wed direc-
tor Howard Deutch in 1989
and their two daughters
— actresses Madelyn and
Zoey Deutch — were raised
Jewish.
CELEBRITY NEWS
ARTS&LIFE
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
GAGE SKIDMORE, WIKIPEDIA
R.L.
Stine
FLIPCHIP / LASVEGASVEGAS.COM
Jason
Alexander