NEW YORK (6NoBacon) —
Matisyahu’s newest look: No kippah
The Jewish reggae star is changing his appearance at a pace that could put Lady Gaga to shame. In a video released to promote his recent single “Sunshine,” Matisyahu revealed blond hair and a T-shirt, looking almost unrecognizable from his days as a Chasid. And in a photo Matisyahu posted Sunday on Instagram, he appears to be sans kippah.
Mazel tov to Drew Barrymore
The popular Hollywood actress married Will Kopelman, a Jewish art dealer and son of the CEO of Chanel, in a ceremony reportedly performed by a rabbi under a “custom-made” chuppah. Barrymore reportedly wore a Chanel gown.
Aaron Sorkin working on Steve Jobs movie
The man behind “The Social Network” is moving from one tech guru to another. After telling the story of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (or, at least, Hollywood’s version of Zuckerberg), the popular writer Aaron Sorkin is moving on to the late Steve Jobs. Jobs may get better treatment, however. “I can’t judge this character,” Sorkin said during a web conference in California, explaining how it will be difficult to create the character of Steve Jobs. “He has to be, for me, a hero.”
The celebrity shiva
A new movie is in the works that will feature Jason Bateman, Zac Efron, Goldie Hawn and Leslie Mann as four Jewish siblings.
The movie is about a Jewish family with a lot of baggage (surprise, surprise) that comes home to sit shiva for the deceased father. The family is trapped in the house for seven days, and all the skeletons are bared. Production is slated to start early September.
Madonna as Hitler
Did Madonna take Tel Aviv by storm last Thursday or did she create a storm? In her MDNA tour debut concert in the city featuring a dynamic stage, flying performers, gigantic video screens and countless costume changes, Madonna also offered this memorable moment: a scene of her in a video wearing a Hitler mustache and with a swastika on her forehead that then morphed into a photo of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front party, with the swastika on her forehead. Now Le Pen is threatening to sue. The Queen of Pop also took a moment during the concert to offer this pearl of wisdom: “If there is peace here in the Middle East, then there can be peace in the world.”
Twitter chronicles
Our favorite Canadian Jewish rapper, Drake (yes that one), received a surprise response from Texas tycoon T. Boone Pickens after tweeting “The first million is the hardest.” Boone wrote back, “The first billion is helluva lot harder.” Drake’s answer: “Just stunted on me heavy.”
On the flip side, Gwyneth Paltrow got the short end of the tweet when she tweeted the title of a Jay-Z and Kanye song, “N***as in Paris.” She got a lot of heat for tweeting the N-word.
Family Guy Jewish moments
Here’s how “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane decided to try to convince Emmy judges to vote his show the best comedy of the year: He took out an ad calling them “bloated, overprivileged Brentwood Jews.” MacFarlane’s language should come as no surprise to regular viewers of “Family Guy,” which makes fun of, well, everyone.
Seinfeld turned down NBC offer
The popular show “Seinfeld” ended in 1998 after nine seasons that changed sitcom life forever.
Apparently, NBC execs had hoped for a 10th season of the “show about nothing,” Former NBC executive Warren Littlefield said recently that Jerry Seinfeld was offered $100 million to keep the show going but turned it down because he wanted to have a family.
Oren Peli’s ‘Chernobyl Diaries’ shot inside Nazi bunkers
The Israeli creator of the successful horror trilogy “Paranormal Activity” has a new film out, “Chernobyl Diaries,” that takes place in the deserted nuclear-disaster town in Ukraine.
Of course, it was impossible (or, at least, highly ill-advised) to film in Chernobyl itself. Peli revealed that the movie was filmed in Serbian bunkers with a very dark history, “There were bunkers where they had the Nazi headquarters,” Peli said. “That place was very, very creepy.”
Israeli teen to star in Passion of the Christ prequel
Fifteen-year-old Israeli actress Odeya Rush has been cast to play the role of Virgin Mary in the prequel to Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ.” The upcoming movie, which doesn’t involve Gibson, chronicles Mary’s early years. Of course Jesus had a Jewish mother! Rush, a Haifa native, moved to New York several years ago to pursue her acting career.
(For more Jewish celebrity news, visit 6nobacon.com, the illegitimate child of JTA.)
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