44 | JUNE 1 • 2023
A WOMAN FRIEND, WHAT
AN IDEA! EVEN MORE
SPIDER-MAN
Platonic is a 10-episode
Apple TV+ series that began
on May 24. Before last week,
the plot description in media
outlets was minimal. This one
line was repeated, every-
where: “Seth Rogen and
Rose Byrne co-star as pla-
tonic friends who re-connect
after a long rift.”
On May 20, the NY Times
ran a long, detailed piece
about Platonic. The upside
of all this detail was that I
learned that Platonic tries to
do something very different
and fresh in the genre of
female/male friendships. If
the series works, it will be
something quite special.
Platonic is not about a
man and a woman who
are friends and eventually
become lovers (as in When
Harry Met Sally). Here’s the
Times description of the set-
up: “Sylvia (Byrne), a happily
married but slightly bored
woman, tries to rekindle a
friendship with Will (Rogen), a
middle-aged man-child going
through a painful divorce.
Sylvia and Will used to hang
out, partying and laughing
but never sleeping togeth-
er. They eventually went
their separate ways, largely
because Sylvia didn’t care for
Will’s wife. Now Will is back,
lonely and a bit needy.”
The Times article then
outlined the pluses and
minuses in their renewed
friendship — and how, like
many men and women, they
manage to have a satisfac-
tory “pals” relationship. The
Times pointed out that older
couples (40+) are more like-
ly than younger couples to
have such a relationship.
Platonic was created by
and written by Seth Rogen,
40, Nicholas Stoller, 47, and
Francesca Delbanco, 46.
Stoller also directs.
I have previously noted
that Delbanco is Stoller’s
wife, and that she is the
daughter of Nicholas
Delbanco, 80, a prominent
author who taught for a few
years at the University of
Michigan. Francesca got her
MFA degree from U-M.
Stoller directed the big hits
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
and Neighbors. He also
directed and co-wrote The
Five-Year Engagement,
which was set in Ann Arbor.
Spider-Man — Across the
Spider-Verse is an animat-
ed superhero film about, of
course, Spider-Man. But it is
set in a multiverse of alter-
nate universes. It has a very
complicated plot. Here are
the Jewish (voice) actors in
“big” roles: Hailee Steinfeld,
26, voices Spider-Woman;
Jake Johnson, 44, voices an
old “version” of Spider-Man,
and Jason Schwartzman,
42, voices Spot, a villain
(these three actors are secu-
lar and have a Jewish father).
Appearing in smaller voice
roles are Rachel Dratch,
57, and Andy Samberg, 44.
(Opens on June 2).
Two interviews with Bille
Boulett, who played Anne
Frank in the Hulu/Disney
mini-series A Small Light,
appeared just as the series
concluded last month. In
both interviews, she said she
is Jewish — and she gave
informed “Jewish answers”
about everything she was
asked about — Jewish food,
Jewish songs, holidays, the
Holocaust.
I previously wrote that I
was pretty sure Boulett was
not Jewish. She was hard to
run down: she’s 18 years old,
has few credits and grew
up in two countries (U.K.
and France). I’m glad she is
Jewish — it’s nice to see a
dramatization of the Frank
family that has an almost
all-Jewish cast.
I’m sure you remember
Jonah Hauer-King, the “hot”
27-year-old guy who is play-
ing Prince Eric in the new
live-action version of The
Little Mermaid. In my last col-
umn, I wrote that his mother
is Jewish, and that Jonah
was raised Jewish.
I wrote that it was unclear
whether his father, Jeremy
King, is Jewish. A friend told
me that he discussed his
background in a 2019 online
video. In the video, you see
King being interviewed (with
others) at a UK Jewish Book
Week festival “foodie” event.
Until recently, King was the
co-owner of several top U.K.
restaurants.
Early in the interview,
I learned that Jeremy is
divorced from Jonah’s
mother, Debra Hauer.
Jeremy went on to say that
he isn’t Jewish but may
have some Jewish ancestry.
A bit after this, he said
that Jews were his most
loyal customers, and he
appreciated that they vocally
complained if something was
wrong. Most customers, he
said, just “moaned.”
This is the first time
that I am telling a personal
anecdote in this column.
Over the years, I’ve told this
story to many friends and
even a few editors and they
all laughed.
The original animated film
The Little Mermaid (1989)
was a huge hit. Young chil-
dren especially loved it.
My niece, Allie, began
kindergarten about a year
after the film opened. Rachel,
a Korean-American girl, was
Allie’s classmate and friend.
One day, Allie proudly told
Rachel that her Hebrew
name was Ariel, which is
also the name of the Little
Mermaid. Rachel, a very
clever girl, replied: “Well, my
Hebrew name is Sleeping
Beauty.” Allie said, “Wow,”
and ran home and told her
mother, Elaine, that Rachel’s
Hebrew name is Sleeping
Beauty. Elaine was amused,
of course, and relayed this
story to our family.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
IMDB
Bille Boulett
BY STEPHEN MCCARTHY/COLLISION VIA SPORTSFILE
Seth Rogen
BY SACHYN
Jason Schwartzman