Real-life buddies make a buddy film

Who knew? Billy Crystal, 73, and Tiffany Haddish, 41, are real-life friends; Crystal even read a Torah portion at Haddish’s 2019 bat mitzvah. But in their new movie, “Here Today,” they play reluctant strangers who end up bonding across the generations in this buddy comedy with a twist. Crystal’s character takes care of Haddish when she’s at the hospital, while the roles are swapped when Haddish’s character finds out Crystal has dementia. And … there’s a hora scene.

It’s a girl again, says Gadot

It’s a third baby girl on the way for Gal Gadot. “Yes, we’re sticking to what we know,” she said in a TV interview. She and her husband, Yaron Varsano, are already parents of a 9-year-old and a 3-year-old. Gadot actually was pregnant with her second daughter during some of the shooting for her 2017 hit “Wonder Woman.”

Demystifying mental health issues

Rachel Bloom and a host of other celebrities are marking Mental Health Awareness Month with MTV. The channel is holding a three-day virtual “summit” with celebs May 3-5 to demystify some of the stigma around mental health, as well as to talk about the power of stories in defining oneself in the world. Bloom is known for her frank portrayal of mental illness on her hit show, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” and in her memoir, “I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are.”

Well, the Oscars happened

In terms of winners, it wasn’t a very Jewish Oscars night on April 25. Sacha Baron Cohen lost his bids for adapted screenplay (the “Borat” sequel) and actor (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), as did Aaron Sorkin for his original screenplay for the latter. But at least Peter Spears was part of the winning producer team for best picture winner “Nomadland.” The Oscars also offered viewers a sneak peak of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming “West Side Story.” The trailer was released during the ceremony.

Noted designer dies

Fashion designer Alber Elbaz has died of Covid. He was 59. The Moroccan-born Israeli designer was the creative director of the French high-fashion house Lanvin for almost 15 years and also worked at Yves Saint Laurent. Tributes have been pouring in from the celebrities he dressed, from Kim Kardashian to Meryl Streep to Natalie Portman, who, according to the New York Times obituary, once called him the “ultimate fashion philosopher-mentor.”