![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")
LOS ANGELES (JTA) —\u00a0 The Academy Award nominations proved to be a bonanza for Jewish con men.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d and \u201cThe Wolf of Wall Street\u201d on Thursday won multiple nominations, including for best picture, for spotlighting the shenanigans of two members of the tribe unlikely to be feted at any Jewish Man of the Year banquet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Hustle,\u201d which tied “Gravity” for the most nominations with 10, is based on the misdeeds of Irving Rosenfeld, the principal figure in the FBI\u2019s Abscam sting in the late 1970s and early \u201880s. Christian Bale plays Rosenfeld in the film and earned a nomination as best actor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wolf of Wall Street\u201d is based on the memoirs of high-living stockbroker Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who will be vying with Bale for top actor. From the same film, director and co-writer David O. Russell — the son of a Russian-Jewish father and Italian-Catholic mother — and Jonah Hill earned nominations. Hill was tapped for best supporting actor for his portrayal as second-string con man Donnie Azoff.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Woody Allen is up for best writer for his screenplay for \u201cBlue Jasmine,\u201d although he missed out in the best picture and director categories.<\/p>\n
Spike Jonze, who was born Adam Spiegel and has a Jewish father, hit paydirt with three nominations as producer, writer (original screenplay) and composer of \u201cThe Moon Song\u201d for his film \u201cHer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmanuel Lubezki was nominated as cinematographer for \u201cGravity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the foreign language films, the Palestine-credited \u201cOmar\u201d made it to the final five. \u201cOmar\u201d director Hany Abu-Assad, whose “Paradise Now” was nominated previously, is a native and resident of Nazareth. Israel’s entry, \u201cBethlehem,\u201d was eliminated last month. The two films present different takes on the bloodier aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhilomena,\u201d produced by the Jewish mogul Harvey Weinstein, placed among the nine best picture nominations. But three other highly touted films produced by Weinstein’s company — \u201cAugust: Osage County,\u201d \u201cMandela: Long Walk to Freedom\u201d and Lee Daniels\u2019 “The Butler\u201d — failed to land a nomination. Also coming up short was the critically acclaimed musical drama \u201cInside Llewyn Davis\u201d by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.<\/p>\n
The Academy Awards will be presented on March 2 in Hollywood.<\/p>\n