It was announced last week that DAVID CORENSWET, 29, will portray Superman in the next Superman film. Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) will play Lois Lane.
David’s late father, JOHN CORENSWET, was Jewish and grew up in New Orleans. John’s father, a prominent New Orleans businessman, was born there, as was John’s Jewish mother.
John moved to Philadelphia, where he was a stage actor for many years, before becoming a Philadelphia attorney. David’s mother, who is a Quaker, also became an attorney. David’s sister, AMY, is an attorney.
Sadly, John, who was 64, died in 2019. His funeral was held at a New Orleans Reform synagogue, which was also the same synagogue to which his father belonged.
“The Bear,” an FX series that streams on Hulu, premiered a year ago. It got great critical reviews and soon, the reviews and word-of-mouth made it one of the most popular “scripted” streaming programs– on any channel.
The first season was just eight episodes and most of the episodes were only about 30 minutes. The entire, 10-episode second season dropped late last month. Most episodes were about 30 minutes, but one was over an hour.
Basic show set-up: Carmine “Carmy” Berzatto (nickname “The Bear”) is a star chef in New York. Then his brother, Michael, who runs a “meat and potatoes” family restaurant in Chicago, commits suicide. Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White) moves back to Chicago. He tries to make Michael’s restaurant profitable. The restaurant’s very diverse staff is depending on him.
No more spoilers, except to say that at the end of the first season something happens that makes it feasible for Carmey to re-invent the restaurant as a four-star, gourmet place. The second season follows Carmy as he tries to make this happen.
Jewish angle: EBON MOSS-BACHRACH, 46, plays Richie, Carmey’s best friend. He’s long worked in the restaurant. He is a difficult, unhappy man; JON BERENTHAL, 46, plays Michael. He appeared in brief, flash-back scenes in the first season. Berenthal has a big role in the sixth episode of the second season. This one-hour “flashback” episode takes place five years before Michael’s death. It shows the Berzatto family during Christmas; JAMIE LEE CURTIS, 64, who says she was a big fan of the first season, got her wish and was cast as Donna, Carmey and Michael’s mother. Donna is big in the sixth episode and returns for a brief scene in the second season finale; MOLLY GORDON, 27, first appears in the second season. She has a recurring role as Claire, a doctor. Claire was a childhood friend of Carmey’s, who morphs into his adult girlfriend.
“Theater Camp” opens in theaters on July 14 and it really a “tribe fest.” Here’s the capsule plot: the director and founder (Amy Sedaris) of a scrappy arts-camp in upstate New York falls into a coma. Her out to lunch son takes over as camp director. He joins forces with a band of eccentric camp teachers to put on their big summer show.
The most prominent teachers are played by MOLLY GORDON, BEN PLATT, 29, and NOAH GALVIN, 29. Gordon, Platt and Galvin wrote “Theater Camp” and Gordon co-directed the film. Galvin’s mother is Jewish, and he identifies as Jewish.
Platt and Gordon have known each other since they were children in Los Angeles. Gordon’s parents are successful directors (mostly TV) and Platt’s father is a leading producer. Both had a strong Jewish background growing up.
You might know that Galvin plays a gay Jewish doctor on the hit ABC TV series “The Good Doctor.” He and Platt are real-life romantic partners and are engaged to marry.
The “Out-Laws” is an original crime comedy film that began streaming on Netflix on July 7. Basic plot: Owen (Adam DeVine) is a young bank manager who is engaged to Parker (Nina Dobrev). His bank is robbed just before his wedding and he has reason to believe that his future in-laws, Billy (Pierce Brosnan) and Lily (ELLEN BARKIN, 69), robbed the bank. Then Parker is kidnapped by another criminal and held for ransom. Owen has to work with Billy and Lily and break into another bank to get the ransom money. (RICHARD KIND, 66, plays Owen’s father.)
