96 | JULY 14 • 2022 E very month, the NY Times describes a handful of series that are about to premiere as “notable.” The Rehearsal, which begins on HBO on July 15, made the July premiere list. Nathan Fielder, 39, writes, directs and stars in this “sort of” reality series. Here’s the Times description of Rehearsal: “Fielder helps ordinary people with their ordinary problems by going to absurd lengths. In this case, he prepares his clients for poten- tially stressful or uncomfortable interac- tions with their friends and families by hiring actors and constructing detailed sets so that these men and women can practice what they want to say.” You might know Fielder as the co-cre- ator, writer and host of Nathan for You, a Comedy Central series (2013-18) that had a similar premise. He provided outrageous marketing schemes for real small business- es. The owners did know that the market- ing plan’s progress was being filmed for TV , but they didn’t realize they were part of a comedy series. Nathan For You got great reviews and attracted a quite large audience. Fielder grew- up in Vancouver, Canada. Seth Rogen, now 40, was a high school classmate, and they were in their high school’s comedy improv group. Rogen’s frequent film writing partner, Evan Goldberg, now 39, was another high school classmate. Fielder made “Jewish news” when he discovered (in 2017) that Taiga, a Vancouver-based maker of outdoor jack- ets, lauded a notorious Holocaust denier when he died in 2001. Fielder responded by launching his own line of outdoor jack- ets, and he opened a pop-up store to sell the jackets. The proceeds (about $150K) went to Holocaust awareness and educa- tion. Fielder did a lot of unusual things to get publicity — customers could turn in a Taiga jacket and get a free Fielder jacket, and if a customer said he believed the Holocaust happened, he got a “Deny Nothing” button. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has recently become the sponsor of one-night theater showings of classic movies. On July 17, the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township will screen Cabaret, the great 1972 film based on the 1969 Broadway musical of the same name. Liza Minnelli won the best actress Oscar for playing an American who performed in a Berlin cabaret just before the Nazi takeover. Joel Grey, now 90, won the best sup- porting actor Oscar, playing the cabaret’s master-of-cere- monies. The songs were writ- ten by John Kander, now 95, and the late Fred Ebb (They also wrote Chicago and New York, New York). Each year, TCM holds a film festival in Los Angeles, and a number of older celeb- rities are interviewed. This year, TCM posted those interviews on YouTube. The most notable Jewish interviewees were Steven Spielberg, 75, and Piper Laurie, 90. The title of both interviews are misleading — they make you think they talk about just one thing. Both interviews are wide-ranging, if not exhaustive. (Search for TCM and Spielberg or Laurie). I particularly liked how Spielberg explained how making E.T. helped con- vince him he could find the time to be a father (he went on to have seven children). Laurie, a three-time Oscar nominee, covers most of her long career, and she explains why she took a long hiatus from acting (1964-1976). Laurie (original name Rosetta Jacobs) was born in Detroit but grew up in Los Angeles. The film clips shown during the interview reveal how attractive Laurie was well into her 70s. She’s now quite portly and walks with a cane. But her mind and memory, the most important things, are still totally there. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris opens in theaters on July 15. It’s about a cleaning lady in 1950s London who decides she must have an expensive Dior dress. British Jewish actor Jason Isaacs, 58, co-stars. Black Bird is a true-crime series that recently began streaming on Apple TV+. It’s about a young prisoner who can get out early if he gets another prisoner to talk about his crimes. Ray Liotta, who died in May, co-stars as an old prisoner. While researching this series, I stumbled on something “uber-weird. ” Liotta often played criminals, but he had a totally “clean” record. However, Liotta’s fian- cée, Jacy Woodman Nittollo, 47, has a crime connection. Her father, Stewart Woodman, died in prison in 2014. Stewart and his brother, Neil (now serving a life sen- tence), were convicted of hir- ing two men to kill the Woodman broth- ers’ parents in 1985. The murders were all about money. The Los Angeles media labeled the killings the “Yom Kippur mur- ders.” The brothers had their parents mur- dered on Yom Kippur because the brothers knew exactly where their parents would be on Yom Kippur (Oy!). Liotta’s odd con- nection to these notorious murders hasn’t been noted in any other media source. CELEBRITY NEWS NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST ARTS&LIFE Genuinely Funny Reality Shows; TCM — In Theaters and on YouTube Nathan Fielder NORTHWEST - OWN WORK Piper Laurie, circa 1990 ALAN LIGHT, CC Jason Isaacs DOD NEWS FEATURES