60 | MARCH 21 • 2024 
J
N

ROOTS UPDATE; THREE 
NEW FILMS, STAND-UP & 
SKATING

This week’s Jewish-related 
films, etc., are more varied 
than usual. But before I 
describe them, I want to 
give you a long heads-
up: Michael Douglas and 
Lena Dunham will be the 
guests on the Finding Your 
Roots on Tuesday, April 2 
(PBS). Their paring isn’t an 
accident: Roots episodes 
often pair celebs with sim-
ilar backgrounds (Jewish, 
African American, etc.).
Next week, I will say a bit 
about Dunham and Douglas’ 
ancestry. But I’ll say more 
about a nice coincidence: 
Both have interesting films/
series that will be released 
soon or are in the works. 
Ghostbusters: Frozen 
Empire will open in theaters 
on March 22. It is the fifth 
film in the Ghostbusters film 
franchise.
The fourth film, 
Ghostbusters: Afterlife 
(2021), got mixed reviews, 
and I thought it was just OK 
(I loved the first two films). 
But Afterlife made a lot of 
money and that paved the 
way for Frozen. 
Afterlife was co-written 
by and directed by Jason 
Reitman, 46 (Juno, Up in the 
Air). Reitman’s co-writer was 
Gil Kenan, 47 (Poltergeist). 
They switched jobs for 
Frozen: Kenan directed, and 
he co-wrote Frozen with 
Reitman. 
Paul Rudd, 54, starred in 
Afterlife and he has a lead 
role in Frozen. The new 
Ghostbuster cast that made 
its debut in Afterlife returns 
for Frozen, as does the orig-
inal Ghostbusters, who also 
appeared in Afterlife (Bill 

Murray, Dan Akroyd, Annie 
Potts, others).
Here’s the plot: The new 
and old Ghostbusters join 
forces to save New York City 
from a death-chilling foe. 
On March 21, Amazon 
Prime will premiere Road 
House, a remake of a hit 
1989 film of the same name. 
Jake Gyllenhaal, 43, plays 
Dalton, a former pro mixed 
martial arts fighter who is 
hired to bring order to a 
Florida bar with very rowdy 
drinkers. He also has to bat-
tle an evil, rich businessman 
who wants to put the bar 
out of business. 
Gyllenhaal, as usual, is 
very fit and often reveals 
his incredible array of chest 
and stomach muscles. His 
stomach “six-pack” certainly 
attracts the attention of a 
pretty physician who patch-
es up Dalton.
The film’s director, Doug 
Liman, 58, has helmed 
many hits, including The 
Bourne Identity. He has 
almost disowned Road 
House. He says that 
Amazon was supposed to 
release the film, first, to the-
aters. (Advance reviews say 
Gyllenhaal is quite good, 
but the script is kind of dis-
jointed and there’s too much 
obvious CGI use in the fight 
sequences). 
Comedian Dave Attell, 59, 
has a solo Netflix stand-up 

special on March 26. Titled 
Hot Cross Buns, the official 
description says: “Attell 
unloads in this blistering 
stand-up special on hard 
seltzers, strip clubs, unsatis-
fying snacks and his wild trip 
to a petting zoo.”
Attell has been a come-
dy stalwart since the mid-
’90s, with many comedy 
specials and appearances 
on Letterman, HBO and 
Comedy Central. 
Rest in Peace is an 
Argentine film that begins 
streaming on Netflix on 
March 27. The film focus-
es on Sergio. He’s facing 
mounting bills, and his 
health is deteriorating. Then 
an unlikely way out appears 
to him. He might be able to 
get out of his problems and 
also safeguard his family’s 
well-being. But he has to 
leave his home and disap-
pear forever. 
The film was co-written 
and directed by Sebastian 
Borensztein, 60, an 
Argentine landsman. To 
“understand” Sebastian, you 
have to know something 
about his father, Mauricio 
Borensztein (1927-96), a 
very famous comedian in 
Argentina who performed 
under the stage name Tato 
Bores. He entertained in 
theaters and on TV. His 
forte was political humor. 
One bio says: “His ironic TV 

monologues, delivered at a 
fast pace, became a refer-
ence point for generations 
of Argentines.”
After college, Sebastian 
wrote copy for ads, but 
quickly switched to screen-
writing under his father’s 
guidance. He also produced 
and directed his father’s 
shows. 
He went on to write 
and direct acclaimed TV 
series. His biggest film hit is 
Chinese Take-Away (2011), 
which he wrote and direct-
ed. This comedy-drama was 
a big box-office winner all 
over Latin America. 
The World Figure Skating 
Championships are held 
this year in Montreal (March 
20-24). Peacock and NBC 
pretty much cover all the 
events. 
Two Israelis are in 
the competition. But an 
American, Jason Brown, 
29, is the only Jewish skat-
er likely to make it into the 
finals. On March 23 (8-10 
p.m.), NBC will do a special 
that will cover highlights. 
Brown, who had a bar 
mitzvah ceremony, won an 
Olympic bronze medal in 
the 2014 team event and 
was the U.S. national cham-
pion in 2015. In the 2024 
U.S. Championships, he was 
third in the short program 
and second in the free 
skate. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

WIKIPEDIA

Dave Attell

 TOGLENN

Jake Gyllenhaal

BY GABBOT

Lena Dunham

