Israel Showbiz Latest News and Updates

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said Steven Spielberg today. “I am increasingly alarmed that we may be condemned to repeat history–to once again have to fight for the very right to be Jewish,” the Schindler’s List director added at an event Monday celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Spielberg founded Shoah Foundation.

The Chosen is moving forward with a fifth season!

The Berlin Film Festival’s parent org the KBB, which oversees state-backed cultural events in the German capital, has posted job ads for four key executive roles ahead of the arrival of the event’s new director Tricia Tuttle in April.

With creator Sam Levinson still working on scripts for the upcoming third season of HBO’s Euphoria, filming plans have been temporarily put on hold, with the cast given permission to take other acting jobs in the interim.

NewDad have shared a stripped-down cover version of The Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘1979’ – check out the video below. The Irish band posted the footage on their Instagram account, with the caption: “1979 cover live from Texas”. The four-piece travelled to the state to play South By Southwest Festival in Austin earlier this month, but they were one of the bands that withdrew from the festival – in the end, every Irish artist on the bill refused to play.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Gala in Los Angeles hit a snafu on Saturday when protestors of the Israel-Hamas war interrupted Jill Biden’s keynote address at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. Just as the first lady started speaking, about five people rose from their seats and began shouting, “Free Palestine.” One held a sign that said, “Queer Jews Say Ceasefire Now.” The evening serves as a major fundraiser for HRC, one of the country’s leading LGBTQ advocacy organizations. They protestors continued yelling as security ushered them out of the room.

Candace Owens has been fired by the Daily Wire.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent AMC’s streaming service Acorn TV has bought “The Truth,” a crime thriller series co-written by Daphna Levin (“Euphoria”) and Aurit Zamir (“Babysitter”). Sold by About Premium Content, the series was picked up by Acorn TV for the U.S., the U.K. and Australia/New Zealand.

abandoning Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and meddling in Israeli politics amid the Jewish State’s war with Hamas.Arad, a dual citizen who was born in Israel and moved to the US in 1969, sent in a scorching personal letter to Schumer Tuesday saying he was stunned by the high-ranking Jewish official’s betrayal of Israel’s leader in its time of need.“I am writing about your recent statement last Thursday when you called on Israel to hold new elections, saying you believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has `lost his way’ and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I believe your statement is not only incorrect, but inappropriate,” Arad, 75, said.“It’s not your war.

William Earl administrator Screenwriter and playwright Tony Kushner has defended Jonathan Glazer‘s Oscar speech against critics. While accepting the Academy Award for best international feature for his Holocaust movie “The Zone of Interest,” Glazer spoke about the ongoing violence in the Middle East, saying the Auschwitz-set film “shows where dehumanization leads at its worst.

One of America’s most celebrated writers and one of Steven Spielberg’s go-to collaborators spoke out today on the Haaretz Podcast about the controversy over Jonathan Glazer‘s speech after Zone of Interest won Best International Feature Film at the Oscars.

“The Zone of Interest” — and I was furious.Glazer stood up and in front of hundreds of celebrities said, “Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It’s shaped all of our past and present.

Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald has won the €50,000 ($54,000) Series Mania Seriesmakers award.

Jonathan Glazer‘s Oscar acceptance speech after Zone of Interest won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film has drawn condemnation from more than a thousand Hollywood actors, creatives and executives over the past few days, but there are also a few in the entertainment industry who have spoken in support of Glazer and his speech. (For full details about Glazer’s speech and the backlash, click here.)

With the industry names signing on to a letter growing to reportedly a near 1,000 (and counting) condemning The Zone ff Interest director Jonathan Glazer‘s very controversial Oscar acceptance speech, it looks to be taking on a life of its own since the March 10 Academy Awards, where his universally praised movie won the Best International Film Oscar and was nominated for four others including Best Picture.

A small pro-Palestine protest formed outside Series Mania in France on Tuesday.

450 Jewish creatives and professionals in Hollywood are denouncing “Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer’s speech from the 2024 Oscars.In his speech, Glazer, 58, drew parallels between Nazi Germany and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.“We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination,” the open letter, which was obtained by The Post, read. “Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic.

UPDATED with more signatories: Reaction continues to The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer‘s acceptance speech after his film won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film this month.

Tatiana Siegel More than 450 Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter denouncing Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” Oscar speech. The co-signees cover a broad swath of the industry including actors (Debra Messing, Tovah Feldshuh), executives (Gary Barber, Gail Berman, Amy Pascal), creators (Amy Sherman-Palladino), directors (Eli Roth, Rod Lurie), producers (Lawrence Bender, Hawk Koch, Sherry Lansing) and representatives (UTA’s Jake Fenton, Gersh’s Jeffrey Greenberg, attorney Craig Emmanuel).

EXCLUSIVE: LA talent agency 3Point0 Labs had acquired digital content agency Thirty Three Media.

“The Zone of Interest,” revealed Friday that he does not support the acceptance speech made by director Jonathan Glazer at the 2024 Oscars. In the speech, Glazer, 58 drew parallels between Nazi Germany and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Christopher Vourlias Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi‘s “My Stolen Planet,” an intimate family portrait of life during Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival on Sunday, bringing a close to an emotional and politically charged week in Greece’s second city. Using both the director’s personal archives and 8mm recordings of strangers’ lives, the film — which world premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand — uses an essayistic style to present the joy and vitality of life in Tehran in the 1970s, in contrast with the oppression imposed on the Iranian people by the country’s hardline regime.

In a sign that the Eurovision Song Contest is becoming ever more political as we head towards the competition in May, a London cinema has announced that it will not be screening the Grand Final unless Israel is banned from taking part.

Naman Ramachandran London’s biggest screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals has been canceled, the venue Rio Cinema and organizer Eurovision Party London have said. “Following discussion with the organizers of Eurovision Party London, we have collectively decided not to screen the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest this year while Israel remains in the competition,” the Rio Cinema said in a statement on X.

An aid worker has revealed the horror being suffered by children and families on the frontline of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Brian Eno, Nadine Shah and Maxine Peake will be among the performers at a special benefit event in support of Palestine at London’s Union Chapel on April 18. The show, which is titled Sumud and promises “a fundraising evening of music, spoken word and film for Palestine”, will be hosted by Amos Trust and Palestine Music Expo, and tickets are available here. All proceeds will go to Amos Trust’s emergency appeal for Gaza.

Mayim Bialik took to social media today to express her disappointment that more support for the Hamas hostages taken in the Oct. 7 raid was not expressed at the Oscars.

László Nemes, the director of acclaimed Holocaust film Son of Saul, has spoken out against the speech made by the The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer, when he accepted his Oscar last weekend.

Danny Cohen, executive producer of Jonathan Glazer‘s Holocaust drama The Zone Of Interest, has said he “fundamentally disagrees” with the director’s politically-orientated Oscars acceptance speech. 

Renée Rapp has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the GLAAD Media Awards.The singer, songwriter and Mean Girls star made the comments during last night’s ceremony (March 14), at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.When on stage receiving the award for Outstanding Music Artist, Rapp used her acceptance speech to share her thoughts on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and speak out in support of those in Gaza.“We’re in a room of very influential people, very privileged people, which is exciting and also a huge privilege to be a part of that,” she began. “Having said that, I’d like to take the opportunity to show support and call for an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”Her comments were met with applause, and towards the end of the speech she urged the attendees to stand up in support of all sectors of society that face oppression.

Cardinals, Chalk, Enola Gay, Gurriers and NewDad, gathered at downtown Austin’s Velveeta Room to show solidarity with Palestine amid the ongoing war in Gaza. This came after it was revealed last week that the US Army was a “super sponsor” of the music, film, culture and tech festival as well as defence contractor RTX (Raytheon), which has supplied weapons to Israel.The venue was previously set to host the Music For Ireland showcase, while as per a report from Nialler9, Belfast’s Enola Gay were booked to play a separate, UK-led event via PRS funding.

K.J. Yossman “The Zone of Interest” executive producer Danny Cohen has become the first member of the film’s production team to publicly address director Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech, saying “I just fundamentally disagree with Jonathan.” While accepting the Academy Award on Sunday evening for best international film, Glazer delivered a set of pre-written remarks in which he compared his Holocaust film to the current conflict in Gaza.

The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer for his “morally indefensible” Oscars speech.On Sunday (March 10) Glazer won two Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best International Feature. The film focuses on the Nazi commandant Rufolf Höss and his family who live next to Auschwitz concentration camp.During his acceptance speech for Best International feature, Glazer directly addressed the current conflict in the Middle East, following the October 7 attack by Hamas on the Supernova music festival.

R3 Soundsystem’s House Against Hate, which will be a mobile unit located outside Number 10 this Saturday (March 16).

Christopher Vourlias Palestinian director Hana Elias’ “If These Stones Could Talk,” which follows a Palestinian man’s return to his homeland to restore his family’s ancestral garden, and Argentine filmmaker María Silvia Esteve’s “Mailin,” about a woman’s painful struggle to overcome her childhood trauma, took the top prizes at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s industry award ceremony Wednesday night. During an emotionally charged conclusion to the festival’s Agora strand, in which several filmmakers voiced their strident support for Palestine and called for a ceasefire to the more than five-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a tearful Elias took the stage alongside producer Asmahan Bkerat to receive the top prize in the Agora’s pitching forum, a €10,000 ($10,900) cash prize from the International Emerging Film Talents Assn. (IEFTA).

SXSW showcase have now pulled out of the festival in solidarity with Palestine.Kneecap, Sprints, Soda Blonde, Gavin James, Robert Grace, Mick Flannery, Chalk, Gurriers, Cardinals and NewDad all pulled out from the annual music, culture and arts showcase which takes place in Austin, Texas. This came after it was revealed that the US Army was a “super sponsor” of the event as well as defence contractor RTX Corporation, which has supplied weapons to Israel.Northern Irish-funded artists Enola Gay and Conchur also pulled out, joining the likes of their fellow Irish peers.UK funding channels (PRS Funded) booked the Northern Irish artists and were set to play various UK-led events that were different from the Music From Ireland showcases.