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Worlds apart

Will the real screen legend please stand up? Lauren Bacall (yes, she’s Jewish — her real name is Betty Perske and she’s actually related to Shimon Peres) caused quite a firestorm recently when she told reporters not to refer to her “Birth” co-star Nicole Kidman as a “screen legend.” She also railed against today’s celebrities for the company they keep. “They have their entourages of managers and press relations people. It’s today’s world, but it’s not my world.

“I was in a better situation. I was married to Humphrey Bogart and I was a very happy female. But we had no PR, no entourage,” she told reporters. “Bogey, Henry Fonda, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy and James Stewart never had it. The great stars of motion pictures never had all the garbage they have now.”

Shylock onscreen

Following in line with our good segues this week, this next bit is about Al Pacino. Yes, we know the legendary (sorry, Ms. Bacall) actor isn’t Jewish, but he’s playing one on the big screen. He’s reprising the role made famous by William Shakespeare (who some believe was Jewish) as Shylock, the infamous Jewish moneylender, in the new film “The Merchant of Venice.” The period pic which, appropriately enough, screened at the recent Venice Film Festival, is set to open in North America before the end of the year to qualify for Oscar contention. Speaking of the Venice Film Festival, three Israeli films — including one by director Amos Gitai about the Israeli sex-slave industry — won prizes at the festival.

Picking up trailer trash

Canadian director Ivan Reitman (“Meatballs,” “Ghostbusters,” “Kindergarden Cop”) will produce the film version of Canadian cult-TV hit “Trailer Park Boys,” which, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “features three dope-smoking ex-convicts living among friends and family.” Is he directing from experience?

Mazel tov!

It’s a bouncing baby … Congrats to ’80s icon Corey Feldman (“The Goonies,” “License to Drive,” “The Lost Boys”), 33, and wife Susie, 22, who welcomed their first child, Zen Scott, last month. For those of you keeping tabs at home (guilty pleasure alert!), you’ll recall Feldman got married on the finale of the first season of “The Surreal Life.” No word yet on whether little Zen’s bar mitzvah will be televised.

Divorce at the mouse house

Someone who’s not among friends or family anymore is embattled Disney head Michael Eisner. After duking it out with Disney board members, Eisner has agreed to step down from his post as CEO … soon. His current contract expires in September 2006 and Eisner says he will stick out the remainder of his term. Meanwhile, for those seeking an inside look at Eisner’s reign (and his religion), there’s a new book out that will satiate those Magic Kingdom needs. “The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust” (Westminster John Knox Press) by Mark I. Pinsky gives an unprecedented look at how Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Judaism affected their running of the Disney empire.

Stand up and be counted

Fans of indie actor Jason Schwartzman, unite. OK, you in the corner, get over here. The 24-year-old actor is returning to movie theaters next week with his lead role in the eccentric comedy, “I Love Huckabees.” The film’s plot? Existential detectives (played by Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman) attempt to help a troubled environmentalist (Schwartzman) with his philosophical angst in this metaphysical farce. Okaaayyyy.

Columnist Benyamin Cohen is the editor of Jewsweek magazine (www.jewsweek.com).