58 | OCTOBER 27 • 2022 

A “PRETTY” JEWISH 
MOVIE; MORE 
HALLOWEEN MOVIES AND 
A SWEET TREAT
Armageddon Time was 
originally set to open in 
theaters on Oct. 22. This 
explains why the film’s 
stars, Anne Hathaway and 
Jeremy Strong, appeared 
last week on talk shows to 
promote the film. Well, it was 
“yanked” at the last minute 
and will open in “limited 
theaters” on the 28th and 
open wide on Nov. 4.
The film was directed and 
written by James Gray, 53. 
Gray grew up in a middle-
class home in Queens, N.Y. 
He was the grandson (both 
sides) of Ukrainian Jewish 
immigrants. His films include 
Ad Astra, Little Odessa 
and Two Lovers. The latter 
two have major Jewish 
characters. These three 
films, like most of Gray’s 
films, got good reviews.
Gray’s new film is “pretty 
Jewish.” The movie is set 
in Queens in 1980. The 
central character is Paul 
Graff, a 9-year-old member 
of a middle-class Jewish 
family. Paul’s dignified, 
Ukrainian Jewish immigrant 
grandparents are played by 
Anthony Hopkins and Tovah 

Feldshuh, 73. His parents 
are played by Hathaway 
and Strong, 43 (Strong 
is best known for playing 
Kendall Roy on the hit HBO 
series Succession. The 
actor’s father is Jewish).
Much of the plot is about 
the dire problems of Paul’s 
Black friend and family 
tensions. But there are quite 
a few Jewish moments — 
like Paul’s grandfather telling 
him that Paul’s grandmother 
saw Cossacks kill her family 
in front of her — and Fred 
Trump (yes, Donald’s father 
and a real 1980 Queens 
resident) — asking Paul what 
is the “origin” of the name 
Graff. Clearly, Trump is trying 
to ascertain if Paul is “really” 
German or “just” a Jew with 
a Germanic name.
As promised last week, 
here are more, recently 
released Halloween-related 
films.
Halloween Ends opened 
in theaters in Oct. 14 and 
is still playing. Also, if you 
subscribe to the “paid part” 
of the streaming channel, 
Peacock, you can view it 
until Dec. 14. The film is 
the last part of a three-film 
trilogy. As you might have 
guessed, Laurie Strode 
(Jamie Lee Curtis, 63) once 
again “battles” serial killer 
Michael Myers. Curtis/Strode 
has been fighting him since 
the original Halloween 
movie (1978!).
Also in this film is Kyle 
Richards, 53, who was a 
child actor in the original 
Halloween movie. Richards 
converted to Modern 
Orthodox Judaism when 
she married an observant 
Jewish man. Her sister 
married into “that” Hilton 
family and her niece is Paris 
Hilton. 
Hellraiser, the 11th in a 
series of films dating back 
to 1987, began streaming 

on Hulu on Oct. 7. This 
film reportedly will “set 
the table” for a Hellraiser 
series on HBO that is in 
development. The plot is so 
detailed that I will not try to 
summarize it. Trust me, it’s a 
scary movie.
Two Jews have big 
parts: Odessa A’zion, 22, 
and Brandon Flynn, 29. 
A’zion plays Rily McKendry, 
a recovering drug addict. 
Flynn plays Matt McKendry, 
Rily’s estranged brother.
A’zion is the daughter of 
well-known comedy actor/
writer Pamela Adlon, 56 
(Better Things). A few years 
back, Odessa decided 
to use her middle name 
(“Zion”) as her last name. 
She’s co-starred in two 
short-lived series.
A friend “dug-out” Flynn’s 
ancestry. It’s almost all 
Jewish, but he couldn’t 
determine if the ancestor 
(1930s) who gave him the 
name “Flynn” was Jewish 
or not. Brandon has said his 
family is Jewish, and he’s 
tweeted nice Chanukah 
greetings. Fynn is best 
known for playing Justin 
Foley in 13 Reasons Why, 
which streamed on Netflix 
(2018-20)

HALLOWEEN 
TREAT STORY 
Years ago, I wrote an item 
about the Tootsie Roll 

Company, then and now one 
of a few large independent 
candy companies. I have 
to repeat what I previously 
wrote to set-up the “big 
surprise.” Here goes: The 
Tootsie Roll was invented by 
Leo Hirshfield (the date of 
the invention is disputed — 
1896 or 1907). 
 The Tootsie company ran 
into financial problems in 
the 1930s, and the company 
that made its cardboard 
boxes took over Tootsie 
(1935). Bernard Rubin, “the 
box guy,” was the head of 
Tootsie until 1947, when he 
died, age 55. His brother, 
William, followed Bernard, 
and after William’s death 
in 1962, his daughter, Ellen 
Rubin Gordon, a very sharp 
woman and a Brandeis grad, 
took control. She and her 
husband, Melvin Gordon, 
co-ran the company until 
2015, when Melvin died. 
I checked up on Tootsie 
last week, and I was 
astonished to learn that 
Ellen, now 90, is still very 
much the head of Tootsie. 
The company’s stock value 
is very stable, and Ellen 
Gordon Rubin, who owns 
55% of the Tootsie stock, 
is worth at least $2 billion. 
That’s sweet! (Tootsie makes 
several kosher-certified 
candies, including the 
Tootsie.) 

ARTS&LIFE

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

BY TOGLENN/WIKIPEDIA 

Kyle Richards

IMDB

Odessa A’zion

ESHAMASHELI VIA WIKIPEDIA

Tovah Feldshuh

