6 degrees (no Bacon): Jewish celebrity roundup

Spielberg to lead Cannes jury

NEW YORK—Snubbed at the Oscars for best director, perhaps Steven Spielberg will see this as some sort of consolation prize: The Cannes Film Festival named the “Lincoln” director to lead its jury in May.

Spielberg called his selection an “honor and a privilege,” according to a statement.

“My admiration for the steadfast mission of the Festival to champion the international language of movies is second to none,” he said. ”For over six decades, Cannes has served as a platform for extraordinary films to be discovered and introduced to the world for the first.”

Spielberg will be making his debut heading the Cannes jury, but he’s quite familiar with the event. His film “Sugarland Express” screened there in 1974 and won for best screenplay. In 1982, “E.T.” was the selection on closing night, and four years later the festival featured “The Color Purple,” which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards.

Tim Burton, Sean Penn and Robert DeNiro have been the festival’s previous jury presidents.

Paul Rudd resurrects ‘Anchorman’ mustache

Welcome back, Brian Fantana!

“Anchorman” actor Paul Rudd appeared on the “Today” show Monday morning sporting his mustache best associated with his character from the film. Rudd was promoting his new movie, “Admission,” which he stars in alongside Tina Fey.

He acknowledged the facial hair, which presumably is helping him to get in character for the debut of “Anchorman 2,” which hits theaters in December.

“I’m really just getting a look at it now,” Rudd said. ”I look like Yanni.”

Rudd did not comment on whether he was wearing his cologne Sex Panther, but we’re sure he was because 60 percent of the time, it works every time.

Drake’s strip club generosity

In what might be the definition of excessive, Drake visited a strip club in Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend and made it rain with cash. The Jewish Canadian hip hopper came with a cardboard box filled with bricks of cash and tossed some $50,000 worth of singles at the dancers, according to TMZ. Pal rapper Bleu Davinci allegedly chipped in with $25,000. The floors were covered in cash. 

We’re not sure where the spontaneous generosity is coming from. Maybe it was Drake’s way of mourning Rihanna’s recent PDA with Chris Brown. We’ll never know.

‘Schindler’s List’ actress says ‘red coat’ role was traumatic

Oliwia Dabrowska played a pivotal role, the “girl in the red coat,” in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning Holocaust film “Schindler’s List.” Her red coat may have been the most symbolic part of the movie about factory owner Oskar Schindler and his decision to save some 1,000 Jews from the Nazis, as it is one of the few usages of color in the black-and-white film and portrays Schindler’s change of heart.

But for Dabrowska, now 24, the role brought trauma. In an interview with the Times of London, the Polish actress says she was scarred for life.

“I was ashamed of being in the movie, and angry with my mother and father when they told anyone about the part,” she said. “People said, ‘It must be so important to you, you must know so much about the Holocaust.’ I was frustrated by it all.”

Dabrowska was only 3 when she appeared in the film, and although she promised the Jewish director that she’d only watch the film when she was 18, she watched it at 11 and was “horrified” by the brutal scenes, including one in which an SS officer shoots random women and children from his window.

She said it took her years to overcome her emotions, but admits she eventually came around to feeling honored.

“I realized I had been part of something I could be proud of,” Dabrowska said. “Spielberg was right; I had to grow up to watch the film.”

Estranged brother of Daniel Day-Lewis reveals family feud

In case you were wondering about a gigantic fight that split the family of Oscar-winning Jewish actor Daniel Day-Lewis, the British papers are all over it.

Sean Day-Lewis, the half-brother of Daniel, reportedly is desperate to end a 19-year fight and took to the Telegraph to share his story of their fight (because publicizing the fight will probably earn him brownie points?) and win his brother back—an attempt that probably is futile.

Sean, 81, says he has not spoken to Daniel in nearly two decades, since he helped a Daniel Day-Lewis biographer. Sean said he lent the author a copy of a book he wrote about their father, the former poet laureate Cecil Day-Lewis, and insists the loan was a way to ensure the facts of their father were portrayed correctly. But Daniel, who is known in Hollywood to be incredibly private, was ticked and severed ties with Sean.

‘He [Daniel] phoned me up and told me to get a f***ng life and to f*** off. I couldn’t get a word in. That was our last conversation,” Sean said. “I have no means of getting hold of Dan now except through his agent.”

As it turned out, Sean says, the author botched some birth dates even with the book.

Sean says the relationship between the two brothers first began to sour when he wrote dad’s biography.

“He didn’t like me writing anything about him, naturally,” he said. “Dan hates publicity and doesn’t like journalists, and I was in a tribe of hacks.”

Daniel Radcliffe in new ‘Frankenstein’ film

Daniel Radcliffe has graduated from Hogwarts and is moving on to other fictional roles.

Radcliffe, star of the “Harry Potter” series of films, has signed on to play the hunchback assistant Igor to Victor Frankenstein in 20th Century Fox’s new adaptation of the 1818 novel, according to Deadline.

The new film is written by Max Landis and will be directed by Paul McGuigan, although no other castings or release dates have been confirmed.

Unlike other adaptations, the story will be told from the viewpoint of Igor. Radcliffe is said to start filming this fall, according to IMDb.

Barbara Walters returns to ‘The View’

Welcome back, Barbara!

After taking time off since January to get over the chicken pox and a head injury, Barbara Walters finally returned to her ABC talk show “The View.”

“Today after a lot of scratching and rest, I am fine and I am healthy,” Walters said Tuesday morning, showing her scars to the audience. “People have said I should have my head examined. I did and I’m fine.”

Walters was in London watching President Obama’s inauguration in January when she fainted and hit her head. She told the audience that she cut her temple on the marble floor and was rushed to the hospital for stitches, where she was told that she had caught the chicken pox.

“I got an email from Chelsea Clinton saying she was going to buy her mother and me matching helmets,” said Walters, 83. “The only cure for concussion was rest. The pox came and went weeks ago. The head injury took longer.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on the show to bring Walters flowers—and to apply for a spot on the show when his term as mayor ends at the finish of this year. Other celebs like Ali Wentworth and Joan and Melissa Rivers also taped cute messages for Walters.

Marc Anthony scores a Jewish JLo

She’s no Jenny from the Block, but she kinda looks like Jennifer Lopez. And she’s Jewish.

Two years after filing for divorce from JLo, Marc Anthony has himself a new girl. The 44-year-old salsa artist is dating Chloe Green, the 21-year-old daughter of British-Jewish fashion tycoon Philip Green (the guy who brought us TopShop). He was spotted last week with Green in Disneyland with his two kids and is a good friend of Green’s father, according to the Daily Mail.

Anthony’s been known to date women who are much younger. Two months ago he was hooking up with Venezuelan model Shannon de Lima, 25. 

Mila Kunis says no to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ film

Someone had to kill the gossip, and it was none other than Mila Kunis herself.

Endless rumors have been circulating that the Ukrainian Jewish actress will play protagonist Anastacia Steele in the upcoming film “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which is based on the mommy-porn book.

At a news conference for her soon-to-be-released film “Oz, the Great and Terrible,” Kunis finally addressed the rumors head-on.

“Gosh, this ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ thing is just not gonna leave, is it?” she said, according to NME. “No, you will not see me in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’ I’m so sorry.”

The book, written by British author E L James, is being adapted by screenwriter Kelly Marcel, who wrote the TV series “Terra Nova.” Marcel recently admitted the film was “still a long way from casting,” though rumors continue to circulate that anyone from “Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson and “Gilmore Girls” Alexis Blendel will play Anastacia, while actors like Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum will play Christian Grey.

So there you have it. No fascinating dirty scenes starring Kunis expected anytime soon—you’ll just have to watch that scene from “Black Swan” on repeat until the next one.

James Franco getting star on Walk of Fame

Add a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to the resume of James Franco. He’ll be joining the sidewalk greats on Thursday in a ceremony led by Seth Rogan.

“Fans from all over the world have been waiting for James to be honored with this great accolade,” said Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame inauguration ceremonies, according to Glamour. “You could say that the Walk of Fame is his ‘yellow brick road.’ ”

Sheryl Sandberg book not sitting well with feminists

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s first book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” hits shelves on March 11, but reviewers already are scoffing at its message.

The Jewish tech exec urges women to break the glass ceiling, listing reasons why women are falling behind in holding many leadership positions in government and industry. She tells her female readers to embrace the obvious reasons why they are judged more harshly in the workplace and are paid less than men. She tells them to slow down in anticipating having children, tell their husbands to split the housework, create short- and long-term career plans, and join her “Lean in Circle.”

But that’s easy for Sandberg to say, critics are arguing. Listed as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business by Fortune magazine and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, the say Sandberg is using her social capital to her advantage and does not portray a fair representation of real women in America.

Perhaps her toughest critic is Anne-Marie Slaughter, the Princeton professional responsible for The Atlantic article “Why Women Can’t Have It All.” Slaughter argued that feminists, Sandberg included, were holding women to unreachable standards, The New York Times reports.

“Sheryl Sandberg is both superhuman and rich,” Slaughter told Fortune magazine. “She’s made a real contribution with the book, but it’s only half the story.”

Sandberg has since spurred somewhat of a “mommy war” on the Internet.

Joan Rivers in trouble over Holocaust joke

Someone call the “Fashion Police!” Oh wait.

Television personality Joan Rivers is in a bit of trouble after she made a Holocaust joke on her show “Fashion Police,” commenting on Heidi Klum’s Oscars outfit.

Referring to Klum’s gold dress that featured a plunging neckline, Rivers said, “The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing Jews into the ovens.”

The Anti-Defamation League weighed in on Rivers’ remark.

“Of all people, Joan Rivers should know better,” the ADL said in a statement. “This remark is so vulgar and offensive to Jews and Holocaust survivors, and indeed to all Americans, that we cannot believe it made it to the airwaves.

“Making it worse, not one of her co-hosts made any effort to respond or to condemn this hideous statement, leaving it hanging out there and giving it added legitimacy through their silence. Almost as bad as her original comment is the fact that she sat there doubled over with laughter after saying it.”

The ADL is demanding an apology from Rivers, but the host is refusing.

“My husband lost the majority of his family at Auschwitz, and I can assure you that I have always made it a point to remind people of the Holocaust through humor,” she told ABC.

Jason Segel back on the market

Ladies, time to perk up after the news of Andy Samberg’s engagement: Jason Segel and Michelle Williams have called things off after a year of dating.

The long-distance relationship between the two actors put a damper on things, People reports.

Just last month in a profile by In Style, Williams said she was happy about the public support of their relationship.

“If people are happy about it, that makes me feel good,” she said. Williams added, “Any kind sentiment that the world can feed back, well, I won’t turn it down.”

Is Natalie Portman pregnant?

Is it time for Bet Portman?

“Black Swan” star Natalie Portman was spotted wearing a rather baggy Dior gown at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party, which has raised the suspicion that she might be hiding a baby bump.

The 31-year-old wife of ballet mogul Benjamin Millepied and mother of baby Aleph was seen in a similarly roomy dress two summers ago on the red carpet while she was pregnant with Aleph, so our curiosity is officially spiked.

No word of whether Portman was drinking at the party, but we’re on to you, Natalie.

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