Israeli teen actress Odeya Rush joins Jack Black\u2019s \u2018Goosebumps\u2019 (Chelsea Lauren\/Getty Images Entertainment)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Per The Wrap: \u201cBlack will play Mr. Shivers, a Stine-like author whose scary characters literally leap off the page, forcing him to hide from his own creepy creations.\u201d As for Rush, she\u2019ll play \u201cBlack\u2019s quirky and mysterious niece, who teams up with her young male neighbor to battle the monsters unleashed from Mr. Shivers\u2019 works.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Haifa-born Rush moved to the United States with her family at age 9. She has appeared on \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm\u201d as well as in Disney\u2019s \u201cThe Odd Life of Timothy Green.\u201d Another upcoming role: Jesus\u2019 mother, Mary, in a biblical film also starring Ben Kingsley and Julia Ormond. Israeli roots, good looks, gigs with highly respected actors: Are we the only ones who can\u2019t help but be reminded of Natalie Portman from her \u201cProfessional\u201d days?<\/p>\n
Zach Braff’s PR for Y.U.<\/strong><\/p>\nIf Zach Braff\u2019s new film \u201cWish I Was Here\u201d ends up making money, the regular folks who funded the thing via Kickstarter probably won\u2019t see any of the profits. That said, certain donors will get to see a little more of Braff himself — like the mysterious donor who apparently requested that Braff record a Purim video promoting Yeshiva University.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll say or do pretty much whatever you want for twenty seconds,\u201d Braff promised on his Kickstarter page to those who pledged upward of $500. \u201cI will send you the mpeg file so you can upload to YouTube, play at parties, or send to friends. I will be your dancing monkey.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the video, he claims to be a doctor, a rabbi and a lawyer, and that when it comes to combining world-class academics and Judaic studies, Yeshiva University is the place to be. To be clear Braff, who has said he had a \u201cConservative\/Orthodox\u201d upbringing, attended Northwestern University, not Y.U. And while the clip bears the hash tag #Nowherebuthere, the name of Y.U.\u2019s ad campaign, it does not appear to be linked to the university. Also, he\u2019s not a Maccabeat. So anyway, Happy Purim.<\/p>\n
New couple alert: Sarah Silverman and Michael Sheen<\/strong><\/p>\nMove over Jesus, Sarah Silverman has a new man in her life. According to a report from Us Weekly, Silverman was caught last week \u201cgetting hot and heavy\u201d with British actor Michael Sheen at his 45th birthday party in West Hollywood. Silverman\u2019s five-year relationship with Jimmy Kimmel ended in 2009, while the \u201cMasters of Sex\u201d star Sheen was married to Kate Beckinsale (who, by the way, was at the party, too) for eight years.<\/p>\n
They divorced in 2003 and have a 14-year-old daughter, Lily. Anyway, back to the canoodling. \u201cThey were making out at Soho House,\u201d an eyewitness told Us Weekly. \u201cThey were all over each other for a lot of the night.\u201d Then this, from an \u201cinsider\u201d: \u201cSarah and Michael came and left together. She drove. When they left, Sarah opened her trunk so Michael could put all of his gifts in and then they drove away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silverman\u2019s people did not respond to requests for comment, but we will closely monitor her prolific Twitter feed for deets. Keep you posted.<\/p>\n
Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry King remember Sid Caesar<\/strong><\/p>\nSid Caesar, the Jewish comedian who helped pave the way for American comedy as we know it today, died Feb. 12 at his Beverly Hills home after a brief illness, Variety reports. Caesar, born in Yonkers, N.Y., to immigrant parents from Poland and Russia, began his career playing the saxophone and doing some comedy work in the Catskills.<\/p>\n
His breakout gig was the weekly live comedy program \u201cYour Show of Shows.\u201d Writers for the 1950s sketch show included Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Neil Simon and Carl Reiner. \u201cInarguably he was the greatest single monologist and skit comedian we ever had,\u201d Reiner told The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cTelevision owes him a debt of gratitude for his pioneering work and the great shows he gave us all. Render onto Caesar what is his due. He deserves real applause from the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Brooks: \u201cSid Caesar was a giant — maybe the best comedian who ever practiced the trade. And I was privileged to be one of his writers and one of his friends.\u201d Allen said, “He was one of the truly great comedians of my time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the first to pay respects via Twitter was Larry King. \u201cSorry to learn about the passing of Sid Caesar — a dear friend, a comic genius & an American classic — there will never be another one like him,\u201d King wrote. To hear King speak about Caesar in person, check out this video from the 2010 Chabad telethon.<\/p>\n
In the clip, King introduces a highlight reel of Caesar\u2019s famous double talk act in which he babbles in foreign accents so convincingly, it sounds as if he\u2019s actually speaking French, Italian and of course, Yiddish.<\/p>\n
Schmidt and Nick crash a bar mitzvah on \u2018New Girl\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\nMazel tov to \u201cNew Girl\u201d on its bar mitzvah \u2026 scene. On the latest episode of the Fox comedy, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) Jews it up yet again, this time crashing a bar mitzvah with Nick (Jake Johnson), who he\u2019s enlisted as his wingman.<\/p>\n
Nick\u2019s job: To distract Schmidt\u2019s rabbi (Jon Lovitz) so Schmidt can hit on his daughter Rachel. It\u2019s all typical \u201cNew Girl\u201d stuff, but with yarmulkes. What could be bad?<\/p>\n
Here are five highlights from the party: 1. When introduced to an elderly guest, Nick suavely tips his yarmulke. You know, like it\u2019s a regular hat. 2. The sports-themed centerpieces. 3. This joke from the rabbi: \u201cDid you hear the one about the waiter? He walks up to a table of Jewish women and says \u2018is anything alright?\u2019 \u201d 4. The spat between Nick and the rabbi, which includes scathing putdowns such as \u201cYou sir are no Sammy Davis Jr.!\u201d 5. Schmidt\u2019s prayer-pickup line hybrid: \u201cBaruch atah adonice dress!\u201d Amen.<\/p>\n
\u2018Shoshi Games 2014\u2032: A \u2018Girls\u2019 Olympics meme<\/strong><\/p>\nHow would Shoshanna Shapiro, Zosia Mamet\u2019s Jewish American Princess on crack (literally, sometimes) from \u201cGirls,\u201d fare at the Olympics? \u201cShoshi Games 2014\u201d helps get your imagination going. The anonymously created Tumblr superimposes Mamet\u2019s face onto shots of various athletes, complete with Shosh-esque quotes as captions. Think lines like \u201cCurling? I\u2019ve been doing that since my bat mitzvah,\u201d and \u201cAre we going to a Drybar? #helmethair.\u201d Good stuff, mysterious Tumblr genius.<\/p>\n
For the latest Jewish celebrity news, visit JTA’s 6 Degrees (No Bacon) blog.<\/em><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/151315987.jpg\" "\\"Erin")