May 21, 2013 | 11:06 am

Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes

Posted by Jana Banin, JTA

Justin Timberlake. left, and director Ethan Coen, attending the “Inside Llewyn Davis” Press Conference during The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival, May 19, 2013. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty)

Using his preternatural smoothness, Justin Timberlake saved the Coen brothers from some serious awkwardness at a Cannes press conference for their folk singer film “Inside Llewyn Davis” on Sunday.

“Jewish humor, does it exist? If so what does it consist of?” the reporter asked after suggesting that the Second World War and the Holocaust were possibly responsible for the German people’s lack of humor.

Timberlake, who plays a folk singer in the film, shot right back with, “I smell a trap.”
Then Joel Coen chimed in, squashing the conversation for good. “There’s nothing like the Holocaust to put the stake in a certain kind of humor,” he said.

After that everyone spent the rest of the conference talking about the movie, which is what they were there to do in the first place.

May 20, 2013 | 11:40 am

James Franco paints ad for ‘This is The End’

Posted by Jana Banin, JTA

Proving once again that there isn’t anything he doesn’t do, James Franco has created marketing material for his upcoming film “This is The End.”

The actor/artist/Ph.D. candidate was spotted in Williamsburg, Brooklyn over the weekend painting a mural of the movie’s cast on the side of a building.

This work of art not only reminded us of Franco’s many talents, but also of the fact that this movie has a very Jewish cast. There’s Franco himself, of course, and also Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen and (not depicted in the mural) Paul Rudd and Jason Segal.

Not sure how we feel about the painting, but we are indeed looking forward to the film, in which the actors, who all play themselves, are at a party when the apocalypse hits.

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May 14, 2013 | 9:59 am

Alison Brie on her very Jewish mother

Posted by Jana Banin, JTA

Actress Alison Brie

This week on his podcast, Jewish comedian Marc Maron chats with Alison Brie, who opens up about lots of stuff, including what it was like splitting her time between her divorced interfaith parents as a kid.

On weekends with her dad she’d go to Sunday school at his Christian-Hindu hybrid church, where the future “Mad Men” and “Community” actress did a lot of meditating and chanting about a “cloud-colored Christ.” (Her reenactment is worth the download).

Then she’d go back to her mom who, while completely secular, has a strong Jewish identity.

“My mother, God love her, is a very proud Jew and would always make sure we knew we were Jewish. I remember being 6 years old and her saying, you know you guys are Jewish. If Hitler came today he would take you,” she said in a way that sounded funny and not at all terrifying.

These days Brie and her sister, no longer up for double visits, make their parents come to one of their places for the holidays, where the girls eliminate tension by serving alcohol and pot brownies. Which, when you think about it, is a pretty amazing idea for any kind of Jewish family gathering.

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April 30, 2013 | 10:58 am

Beastie Boys writing memoir

Posted JTA Staff

The Beastie Boys in 2006. Photo by Masao Nakagami

Michael Diamond (Mike D.) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock), the two surviving Beastie Boys, have signed a deal with Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, to write a book about their careers.

According to The New York Times, the Jewish rappers plan on being as out of the box in their writing as they were with their music.

“The first words out of Mike’s mouth were, ‘I don’t want to do a straight memoir,’ ” said Luke Janklow, the group’s agent.

Instead the book will be “a multidimensional experience,” said Julie Grau of Spiegel & Grau. ”There is a kaleidoscopic frame of reference, and it asks a reader to keep up.”

The book, which will be edited by hip-hop journalist Sacha Jenkins and is slated for the fall of 2015, will include images as well as passages by other writers. Per Grau and Janklow, fans can expect something similar in style to Grand Royal, the irreverent magazine put out by the Beasties in the '90s.

Adam Yauch (MCA), the third member of the group, died last year at age 47 of cancer of the salivary gland.

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April 25, 2013 | 4:47 pm

Norway’s Last 819 Jews Are NOT Leaving the Country

Posted by JewishJournal.com

A Norwegian Jew, really

There's an email going around with the headline, "Norway's last 819 jews are now leaving the country."

Bottom line: it's false.

The Jewish Journal has received multiple copies in the past month, with urgent requests to act.  In fact, the rumor has been circulating for over a year. Meanwhile, here's what the Anti-Defamation League has to say about it:

Alarmist E-Mail Claims Norway is 'Judenrein'

November 6, 2012

An e-mail rumor, with a subject line "Europe again becoming 'Judenfrei' and soon 'Judenrein,'" claims that "the last 819 Jews still living in Norway are now leaving the country due to the rise of anti-Semitism."

 

The e-mail goes on to cite a litany of attacks by Muslims against Jewish communities in Norway and elsewhere in Europe, and warns that "history is repeating itself."

Much of the information in this e-mail message is alarmist and outright false.

 

ADL is in close contact with the leadership of the Norwegian Jewish community. The community has assured us there is absolutely no truth to the claim that all 819 Norwegian Jews have left. The Jewish population of Norway is approximately 1,700 and there has not been any significant emigration.

So: There has been no significant emigration of Jews from Norway, and the population is twice what the email claims is it.  Meanwhile this email has been posted on numerous Jewish web sites, and pased around as fact.

There are anti-semitic undercurrents and actions in Norwegian society, and a study in 2010 found anti-semitism among the country's Muslim community.   But the Jewish community there does not see these as representative of Norway as a whole, or as portending greater danger.

For more information click here.

And yes, the photo is of a Norwegian Jew, from the web site of the "Jewish Journal" of Norway.

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April 25, 2013 | 11:57 am

Murder-suicide by despondent senior reported in Sherman Oaks

Posted by Tom Tugend

Burton Levin, an 88-year old Sherman Oaks resident, apparently shot himself Tuesday morning, shortly after phoning relatives to tell them that he had just given a lethal dose of medication to his 85-year old wife Lenore.

The report from www.shermanoaks.patch.com cited an assessment by Los Angeles police detectives that the couple’s deaths were motivated by despondency over their declining health.

Police examining the Levin home in the 3500 block of Weslin Ave. found a firearm and medication. No other details are available at this time.

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April 24, 2013 | 3:15 pm

It’s official: Kate Upton isn’t going to Jake Davidson’s prom

Posted by Ryan Torok

From left: Jake Davidson (Photo courtesy of Jake Davidson) and Kate Upton (photo by Richie Buxo/Splash News/Newscom).

So, 17-year-old Milken Community High School senior Jake Davidson won’t be putting a corsage on Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton’s wrist, after all.

On April 24, Davidson told the Journal that the American model and actress has turned down the invitation to his high school prom – this despite the viral success of Davidson’s March 17 YouTube video where he asked Upton to go out with him (the video has racked up more than 2.5 million views to date), Upton’s tweet on March 19, "you can call me Katie if you want! How could I turn down that video! I'll check my schedule ” and a March 20 “The Today Show” episode where Upton phoned in unannounced to tell Davidson, “I absolutely loved the video” and led Davidson--and everyone watching--to believe that she might actually go with him.

Davidson is taking the rejection like a good sport.

“While I would have loved for Kate to come to my prom, I understand she is a very busy and in demand professional and I am so grateful for Kate responding at all," he said in an email.

Upton’s camp could not be reached immediately on Wednesday afternoon for comment.

The Los Angeles Times reported on March 26 that Upton turned down Davidson’s request due to her schedule being booked, but, speaking to the Journal three days later, Davidson said her official reply remained a maybe. Well, now we know for sure it’s not happening.

In related news, Los Angeles actress Jessica Rachel’s parody of Davidson’s video is getting some buzz.

“I know I may not be a famous swimsuit model, but I do look pretty terrific in a bikini,” Rachel says in “Kate Upton Says No - Bikini Babe says ‘Yes Jake Davidson.'" (Warning: Rachel's video contains some sexual images.)

Even if he didnt get the prom date he'd hoped for, Davidson still adores Upton.

"I appreciate everything she did as it made my senior year really surreal," he said. "She really is awesome!”

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April 23, 2013 | 2:18 pm

Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet’ gesture to Boston [VIDEO]

Posted JTA Staff

Neil Diamond performing 'Sweet Caroline' during the 7th inning of the Boston Red Sox game on April 20.

After a horrible week in their city, one Bostonians surely want to forget, singer Neil Diamond brought them a memorable moment.

Diamond came to Fenway Park on Saturday, when the Red Sox played their first home game following the Boston Marathon bombing five days earlier. It was also less than a day after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the bombing, was captured following a manhunt that included a shootout with police and a lockdown on Boston and other area towns. Tsarnaev's brother, considered the leader in the bombing plot, was killed in the gunfire.

In the eighth inning, Diamond came on the field to perform his "Sweet Caroline," which since the early 2000s has been sung at least once a game by the Fenway faithful to a Diamond recording.

According to MLB.com’s Jason Mastrodonato, Diamond decided to fly to Boston from Los Angeles on Friday night and arrived an hour before the afternoon game. Then he called the people at Fenway and said, “Hey, I’m here. Can I come sing?”

Of course, he put on a great show, and everyone sang along with the “pa pa pa!” part.

A night after the marathon bombing, the rival New York Yankees had played "Sweet Caroline," without Diamond, when they squared off against the Sox at Yankee Stadium.

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