60 | MAY 2 • 2024 
J
N

A NEW SERIES BASED ON 
A BESTSELLER, THREE 
NEW STREAMING FILMS, 
AND MORE

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is 
a six-episode, original series 
that premieres on Peacock 
on May 2. It is based on 
the real-life story of Lale 
Sokolov (1916-2006) and 
Gita Furman (1925-2003), 
who met in Auschwitz and, 
after the war, married and 
settled in Australia. Both 
were natives of Slovakia.
Sokolov sat down with 
writer Heather Morris after 
Gita’s death. He finally was 
ready to tell his “Auschwitz 
story.” 
Morris used Sokolov’s 
story to write a historical 
novel that changed some 
details but was essentially 
true to what Sokolov told 
her. The (Morris) book ver-
sion of The Tattooist was a 
huge seller, and the series is 
based on the novel.
Morris is a character in 
the series. We see Morris 
(Melanie Lynskey) talking to 
the elderly Sokolov (Harvey 
Keitel, 84). The young 
Sokolov is played by Brit 
actor Jonah Hauer-King, 
28. His most seen role is the 
Prince in The Little Mermaid 
(2023 version). Gita is played 

by Anna Prochinak, a Polish 
actress.
Sokolov’s survival was due 
to many dramatic events. 
However, there is no doubt 
he would have died if he 
had not become a tattooist 
who tattooed numbers of the 
arms of incoming prisoners. 
He arrived in Auschwitz in 
April 1942, and a few months 
later he was near death 
from typhus. Then “fortune” 
intervened: a veteran Jewish 
tattooist took an interest in 
Sokolov and trained him as 
his apprentice. 
By the way, the TCM 
movie channel just spon-
sored a 30th anniversary 
celebration of the huge 
hit film Pulp Fiction (1994). 
Keitel joined three other 
cast members on an inter-
view stage (Uma Thurman, 
Samuel Jackson and John 
Travolta). They were asked 
about their relationship with 
Quentin Tarantino (the Pulp 
writer/director) and about 
the film, itself (interview is on 
YouTube). 
Keitel said he met and 
befriended Tarantino before 
Tarantino made Reservoir 
Dogs, his first movie (Keitel 
was also in Reservoir). Keitel 
didn’t say he was a Tarantino 
mentor (which he kind of 
was) — but he did relate 
that the “pre-Reservoir” pov-
erty-stricken Tarantino ate 
everything in Harvey’s fridge. 

It occurred to me that 
Keitel and Tarantino prob-
ably have talked a lot 
about Israel. Keitel married 
Daphna Kastner, now 62, in 
Jerusalem (2001). Kastner, a 
Canadian, grew up visiting 
family in Haifa every sum-
mer. The couple has one 
child. 
Tarantino, who isn’t reli-
gious, wed Israeli singer and 
model Daniella Pick, 40, in 
a Reform Jewish ceremony 
(2018) and they have two 
children. The couple spends 
half the year in Israel. 
Unfrosted is a comedy film 
that premieres on May 3 on 
Netflix. The film chronicles 
the competition between 
Kellogg and Post Cereal to 
produce a revolutionary pas-
try in 1963. 
Both companies put a 
pastry on the market in 1964. 
Post’s was called “Country 
Squares” and Kellogg’s entry 
was (and is) called “Pop-
Tarts.” Consumers loved 
Pop-Tarts, and most didn’t 
like Country Squares. 
The screenplay was 
co-written by Jerry Seinfeld, 
who turned 70 on April 29. 
Seinfeld also stars in the film, 
and he directed the film (it’s 
the first film he directed). 
The large supporting cast 
includes Melissa McCarthy, 
Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, 
42, and Dan Levy, 40.
Prom Dates is a come-
dy film that premieres on 
Hulu on May 3. Basic plot: 
Everything goes haywire for 
two teen girls when they 
break up with their boy-
friends just before prom. 
Chelsea Handler, 49, has a 
juicy supporting role as the 
mother of one of the boy-
friends.
The Idea of You is a 
romantic comedy film that 
premieres on May 2 on 
Amazon Prime. It chronicles 
the love affair between 

Solene, a single moth-
er (Anne Hathaway) and 
Nicholas, the lead singer of 
a popular boy band. He’s 
about 16 years younger than 
Solene. They met when 
Solene attended a music 
festival with her teen daugh-
ter.
The teen daughter is 
played by Ella Rubin, 22. 
The film was directed by 
Michael Showalter, 54, 
and it was co-written by 
Showalter and Jennifer 
Westfeldt, 53 (Kissing 
Jessica Stein). Showalter 
and Westfeldt both have 
a Jewish mother and a 
non-Jewish father. Both iden-
tify as Jewish.
Franz a film about the life 
of Franz Kafka (1883-1924), 
the famous Jewish writer, 
began filming in Prague 
(Kafka’s hometown) last 
month. It should finish filming 
this month. The film is direct-
ed by Agnieszka Holland, 
75, a Pole who has direct-
ed two well-received films 
about the Holocaust: Europa 
Europa and In Darkness. 
(Holland’s father was Jewish. 
She was raised “nothing”).
Through Kafka’s writings, 
Holland says, she will pro-
vide a mosaic of his whole 
life. I hope Kafka’s bar mitz-
vah will appear (yes, he had 
one). I always wanted to see 
a literally Kafkaesque bar 
mitzvah. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

BY GEORGES BIARD

Harvey 
Keitel

BY SLGCKGC

Jerry 
Seinfeld

IMDB

Ella Rubin

