74 | NOVEMBER 30 • 2023
J
N
NATALIE PORTMAN,
HARRISON FORD AND
MORE ALBERT BROOKS
May December, a com-
edy-drama, opened in a
handful of theaters on Nov.
17 (so it will be eligible for
Oscar nominations) and
begins streaming on Netflix
on Dec. 1. This film is loosely
based on the late Mary Kay
Letourneau, a schoolteacher
who was 34 (1996) when
she began an affair with Vili
Fualaau, a 12-year-old stu-
dent. She had two children
with him before she went to
jail (1998). She was released
in 2004 and married the
21-year-old Fualaau in 2005.
Natalie Portman, 42,
plays an actress/journalist
who travels to Georgia to
interview Gracie Yoo (the
“Letourneau” character) and
Joe Yoo (Gracie molested
him as a child and now he’s
her husband of 20 years).
Gracie (Julianne Moore) and
Joe have adult twin sons.
Advance reviews are very
good. The film was directed
by Todd Haynes, 62 (I’m Not
There; Far from Heaven).
His mother is Jewish and he
identifies as Jewish.
On Dec. 1, Disney+ pre-
mieres a new documentary
entitled Timeless Heroes:
Indiana Jones & Harrison
Ford. In the words of a pub-
licity release, “it showcases
the legendary adventurer,
and you discover the untold
story of how Harrison Ford
became Indiana Jones.”
The documentary
calls Ford, now 81, “a
once-in-a-generation actor.”
It covers his entire life: his
early years, Star Wars and
the five “Indy” films he’s
made. There are a lot of
new interviews about Ford
and his work.
Ford’s father was Irish and
his mother was Jewish. He
was raised secular and has
remained so.
Also on Dec. 1, Disney+
begins streaming the (Ford)
film Indiana Jones and the
Dial of Destiny, which was
released last July. It made
a lot of money, but not
enough to cover its very big
budget.
Bookie is described as
a “dark” comedy. The first
eight-episode season pre-
mieres on HBO Nov. 30.
Bookie focuses on Danny,
a Hispanic-American book-
ie who is worried that the
legalization of sports betting
will destroy his livelihood.
The series was co-created
by Chuck Lorre, 71, and he
co-wrote all the first sea-
son episodes. Lorre (born
Charles Levine) has created
an amazing number of hit
sitcoms. Here are just some:
Grace Under Fire, Dharma
and Greg, Two and a Half
Men, The Big Bang Theory,
Mom and The Kominsky
Method.
Charlie Sheen has a
recurring Bookie role, but
his character hasn’t been
described in the show’s
publicity. Sheen’s hiring is
interesting. Sheen was in his
eighth season (2011) as the
co-star of Two and a Half
Men when Lorre fired him.
Sheen, then a heavy drug
user, was fired for his erratic
behavior — behavior that
included publicly insulting
Lorre.
Sheen has long been
sober and, in 2021, he pub-
licly regretted his past Two
Men behavior. I guess he
and Lorre have made up.
Geddy Lee, 70, is famous
as the talented bassist for
Rush, a Canadian progres-
sive rock band that sold mil-
lions of records and is in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(dissolved in 2018). On
Dec. 5, Paramount+ begins
streaming a four-part inter-
view program called Geddy
Lee Asks: Are Bass Players
Human, Too?
Lee interviews four top
bassists: Krist Novoselic
(Nirvana), Les Claypool
(Primus), Melissa Auf der
Maur (Hole, Smashing
Pumpkins) and Rob Trujillo
(Metallica).
Geddy’s parents were
teens when they met in
a Polish ghetto during
WWII. They were sent to
Auschwitz and then his
father was sent to Dachau
and his mother was sent
to Bergen-Belsen. They
miraculously survived, mar-
ried and moved to Toronto.
His mother pronounced his
given first name, “Gary,” as
“Geddy” — and Geddy stuck
as his name (See story on
page 70).
My Nov. 9 column had
a long item about a new
HBO documentary about
Albert Brooks. I mentioned
Kimberly Shlain Brooks,
Albert’s wife. I didn’t men-
tion her late father, Leonard
Shlain, even though I knew
he was a distinguished phy-
sician and author (see Wiki
bio online). A JN reader was
kind enough to tell me he
grew up in Detroit. He was a
University of Michigan grad
and a Wayne State Medical
School grad.
By the way, the Brooks
documentary is very good.
Watch it and learn how
Brooks’ humor has had
a profound influence on
comedy since the 1970s.
Saturday Night Live is often
touted as the origin of “the
new comedy,” but SNL
creator Lorne Michaels, I
learned, was so taken with
Brooks’ comedy style that
he wanted his new show
(1974) to be called The
Albert Brooks Show (Brooks
would host every week).
Brooks declined, and he
told Michaels to hire rotating
hosts. Michaels re-named
the show SNL, which every-
one knows has rotating
hosts.
And I learned that Brooks’
two children, now young
adults, as well as his wife,
call him a real mensch.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
WIKIPEDIA/MELISSAA CYBERMELLI@AOL.COM
Albert Brooks
BRIAN TO/WIKIPEDIA
Chuck
Lorre
WIKIPEDIA/GAGE SKIDMORE
Harrison
Ford