T
he Disney+ origi-
nal film Better Nate
Than Ever premieres
on April 1. Nate, 13, is an
unpopular Pittsburgh teen
who fantasies that he will
become a big Broadway
star. His best friend, Libby,
convinces him to go to
New York and audition for
a big Broadway musical.
He lucks out when he runs
into his Aunt Heidi (Lisa
Kudrow, 58), a “showbiz
smart” person who has
long been estranged from
Nate’s parents.
April 4-5 most PBS sta-
tions will air a two-part
biography of Benjamin
Franklin (8-10 p.m.).
Documentary maker Ken
Burns directed the epi-
sodes. It is narrated by
actor Peter Coyote, 80.
I doubt that Burns (whose
wife is Jewish) will even
mention this — but I will —
in case you come across
the many antisemitic sites
that say Franklin wrote a
lengthy attack on Jews.
Usually called the “Franklin
Prophecy,” this “big lie”
junk was actually written by
a notorious antisemite in
the 1930s. Check the very
good Wikipedia entry (enti-
tled “Franklin’s Prophecy”)
for more details.
As many scholars have
noted, Franklin (really) gave
a small cash donation to a
struggling Philadelphia syn-
agogue. Not something an
antisemite would do.
Moon Knight, a Marvel
Comics character, is the
title character of a five-ep-
isode Disney+ mini-series
that will begin streaming on
March 30. The Moon Knight
character was introduced
in 1975 and was a hit with
readers. Moon Knight was
co-created by Don Perlin,
now 92, the son of Jews
who fled Russia in 1905.
Here’s Moon Knight’s
comic book “origin story.”
He was born Marc Spector,
the son of a rabbi who
fled Europe in the 1930s.
Spector experienced
antisemitism as a child and
as a young man. He served
briefly in the Marines,
became a mercenary and
was killed. But he was
brought back to life by the
Egyptian moon god. This
“god” turned Spector into
“Moon Knight,” a superhero
who “redeems his life of
violence by protecting and
avenging the innocent.”
(It’s important to know
that Spector suffers from
dissociative identity order.
He has other personalities
“in his brain” and isn’t sure
who he really is.)
There has been a big
controversy in comic book
fan land, and elsewhere,
preceding the premiere of
the Moon Knight TV series.
Fans, Jewish or not, have
been outraged by the way
Disney has eliminated the
Jewish origins of Marvel
Comic characters when
they appear in films or on
TV. The site InsideMagic
recently said [fans are
anxious because] “Marvel
Studios has erased the
Jewish heritage of similar
characters such as Wanda
Maximoff/Scarlett Witch.”
This site, and others,
also noted that Wanda, and
other Jewish characters,
were played by non-Jew-
ish actors, and that cast-
ing practice continued in
Moon Knight. Oscar Isaac,
a Hispanic actor who was
raised an Evangelical
Christian, plays Moon
Knight in the Disney series.
Isaac has had a good
run playing Jewish charac-
ters. He played the main
Israeli agent in Operation
Eichmann (2017), and he
played the Jewish hus-
band in the HBO series
Scenes from a Marriage
(2021). This is fine — except
when you remember the
flack Steven Spielberg got
for casting an actress of
Colombian background
to star as Maria, a Puerto
Rican character, in West
Side Story.
For months, nobody
connected to the Disney
series would say wheth-
er the Moon Knight
character would remain
Jewish. Finally, on March
20, there was an answer
from Mohammed Diab,
the Egyptian director of
three of the Moon Knight
episodes. InsideMagic
reports that in response a
fan question whether Oscar
Isaac’s character would
share the Jewish heritage
of the comics version, Diab
tweeted, “Wait until the
end of the show. You’ll be
pleased.”
When We Were Bullies,
an Oscar-nominated doc-
umentary, will premiere on
HBO on March 30. Director
Jay Rosenblatt interviews
his fifth-grade teacher
about a brutal bullying inci-
dent. Also on HBO is the
original series Julia, about
the life of Julia Child, the
famous chef and cook-
book writer. The first three
episodes will premiere on
March 31. Bebe Neuwirth,
64, plays Avis Devoto, a
good cook and a top book
editor who was a great
friend of Ms. Child.
Judith Light, 73, has a
supporting role as Blanche
Knopf (1894-1966), the
wife of Julia’s publisher,
Alfred Knopf (1892-1984).
The Knopfs were born into
affluent New York Jewish
families. They bonded over
their love of books. They
were a professional team,
a rare thing in their day.
Three years after Knopf
books was founded (1915),
Blanche was named a vice
president. She became
president in 1957 (Alfred
was made chairman).
She was a top editor who
launched the careers of
many famous writers.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
96 | MARCH 31 • 2022
A Disney Movie and,
Finally, a Disney Jewish
Superhero, Ben Franklin
Oscar Isaac as
Steven Grant in
Marvel Studios’
Moon Knight.
MARVEL STUDIOS. ©MARVEL STUDIOS 2022.