In the works … and not
Now that Nicole Kidman has dropped out of the film version of Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” the New York Post is reporting that she’ll be replaced by none other than “Kill Bill’s” Uma Thurman. Somewhere, we assume, Tom Cruise is consoling Ethan Hawke.
Dreamworks Studios has renewed its talent contract with Ben Stiller, currently starring with fellow members of the Tribe Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman in “Meet the Fockers.”
Marissa Jaret Winokur, most famous for her role in the Broadway production of “Hairspray,” and writer/producer Dana Klein have teamed up to work on a sitcom for ABC. The show will be about a blue-collar woman who strikes it rich and moves into a wealthy neighborhood. Could this be a modern-day retelling of “The Fresh Prince of Bell Air”?
We mourn the passing of Mandy Patinkin’s “Dead Like Me” which (a) aired on Showtime and (b) apparently not that many people watched. We’re not sure why Patinkin keeps trying. Doesn’t he know that he’ll only be remembered for playing the unforgettable role of Inigo “You Killed My Father, Prepare to Die” Montoya?
Borat blockbuster
Fans of British comedian Ali G (aka Sacha Baron Cohen), we have good news. The master of disguise is currently in Los Angeles filming a feature-length movie based on his beloved Borat character. Borat made headlines last year when he went into an Arizona bar and sang a song called “Throw the Jews Down the Well” to much applause by the mostly non-Jewish audience.
Garden variety
For those of you who missed it when it was in theaters, Zach Braff’s Sundance gem “Garden State” has arrived on DVD. The coming-of-age story, which co-stars Natalie Portman, is actually a biblical metaphor. “I always loved the story of Noah’s ark,” Braff says. “I never thought a lot of Judaism was presented to me in a good way. But as a storyteller, I love the Bible stories, particularly Noah’s ark. For me, the idea was that Large [the main character] himself is trying to begin anew. He’s trying to rescue all the parts of himself that he likes and start a whole new chapter of his life, the way Noah put the animals and people on the ark and saved them from the apocalypse and started again. And also what happens in that ark is he sees two people who are really content and in love with each other and we hope that he’ll find his own ark, his own source of contentment, his own home. That’s why it was originally called ‘Large’s Ark.'”
Remember Pam?
Steven Levitan, the man behind NBC’s “Just Shoot Me,” is returning to television by writing and producing a new sitcom for the Fox network starring none other than Pamela Anderson. The series will follow the story of a woman who’s trying to change her life and break her bad habit of always falling for bad men. Sounds like it’s more like a reality show than a sitcom.
Columnist Benyamin Cohen is the editor of Jewsweek magazine (www.jewsweek.com).