ARTS&LIFE
Helicon Records, a licensee of Universal and EMI Records. While she was a presenter on a daily TV show, her second single, “Time to Say Goodbye,” was chosen to represent Israel in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. Her namesake first album launched her first concert tour. Credits since then include roles in a musical version of the movie HaLehaka (The Band) and in the Habima National Theatre production of Evita. Martin Laker remains enthusiastic about the concerts, especially because they celebrate his late father’s love for music, both spiritual and secular. He watched Maimon for the first time on the web after Cantor Smolash recommended shining the spotlight on her. “She was magnificent with a wonderful voice, and we’re lucky she was available,” said Laker, whose one criterion for choosing performers is imagining his father tapping his toes to the beat and softly singing along. “There’s no doubt in my mind that people will love seeing her, particularly during this time, when joy and entertainment are so needed.” While the Lakers look forward to a return of in-person performers for future concerts, they welcome viewers outside of Michigan tuning in digitally. One viewer will be Aviv Ezra, Israel’s consul general to the Midwest. “Let me congratulate Temple Israel on presenting one of the Jewish state’s brightest stars,” he said. “I am very proud of any chance to share the sublime arts and culture scene in Israel and so excited for Michiganders and Israelis to connect through Shiri’s uplifting music and captivating presence. Enjoy this musical treasure.”
Kaley Cuoco with Zosia Mamet
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST BAD WAKE-UP, AND KANE’S CREDIT
SHAY FRANKO
DETAILS
To preview Shiri Maimon’s talents and learn how to watch her show at 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, go to temple-israel.org.
HBO MAX
CELEBRITY JEWS
The Flight Attendant, an 8-episode HBO Max series, began streaming on Nov. 26 (2 episodes). Kaley Cuoco (Big Bang Theory) stars as Cassie, a flight attendant who wakes up in the “wrong” hotel with the body of a dead man next to her — she has no idea how this all happened. Zosia Mamet, 32 (Girls), has a big role as Annie, an attorney who is Cassie’s best friend. Bebe Neuwirth, 61 (Lilith on Cheers), has a large recurring role as Diana, a highly respected senior partner in the law firm where Annie works. She is a mentor to Annie. A bio-pic, Mank, about famous screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz (1897-1953), begins streaming on Netflix on Dec. 5. It focuses on the period during which “Herman M.” co-wrote the script for the great film Citizen Kane with Orson Welles. They were the co-winners of the 1941 Oscar for best screenplay for Kane. Mank, which opened in limited theatrical release, has got some great reviews and many mixed ones. Many critics say that the script (by the late Jack Fincher, the father of Mank director David Fincher) slavishly followed the opinion of the late film critic Pauline Kael. In a 1971 book, she said that Herman M. wrote almost
all of Kane. Since then, film scholars have shown that Welles wrote a lot of Kane before and after Herman M.’s contribution. What seems clear is both men always had major problems with finishing a project and, by some miracle, on Kane they compensated for each other and made a great movie. I should note that a biopic about Herman M. can’t be dull. He was extremely funny; he improved hundreds of films, usually without screen credit — including a big part of The Wizard of Oz; and he just couldn’t stop drinking until it killed him. All the well-known people named Mankiewicz (including movie writers/directors Joseph and Tom; TV hosts Josh and Ben; and former National Public Radio president Frank), were/are closely related to Herman. By the way, the next time you see a lot of Jews playing nonJews, think of this film: 13 important characters — no Jewish actors play any of them — although six were “all” Jewish in real life and two more had Jewish fathers. (The former group includes Herman M., his wife, Sara; director Joseph Mankiewicz, Herman’s brother; film execs Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer, and producer David O. Selznick. Producer/ actor John Houseman had a Jewish father, as did writer Charles Lederer.) DECEMBER 3 • 2020
|
35
