By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
The “biggie” movie this month is “The Devil Wears Prada 2”. It is a sequel to the “Prada 1” (2006), which got great reviews and made a ton of money. “Prada 2” opens on May 1.
“Prada 1” (2006) was based on a 2003 novel of the same name written by LAUREN WEISBERGER, now 49. The novel (and the film) was very much based on Weisberger’s time as an assistant to Anna Wintour, the now legendary head editor of Vogue magazine.
ALINE BROSH McKENNA, 58, wrote the screenplays for the 2006 “Prada” and the 2026 film (Yes, Brosh is Jewish. McKenna is her husband’s name). She’s written many other hit films.
DAVID FRANKEL, 66, who directed the 2006 “Prada”, returned as the director of “Prada 2”. He’s directed 11 other ‘intelligent’ films and most have made “some” money. But nothing like “Prada”.
Meryl Streep returns in “Prada 2” as Miranda, the steely head editor of “Runway” fashion magazine. Anne Hathaway played Andi, a “lowly” assistant to Miranda in “Prada 1”. She returns in Prada 2 as the features editor of Runway.
In “Prada 2,” Runway, like many print magazines, is in financial trouble. Miranda has to go to Emily Charlton, a former Miranda assistant, to invest in Runway. Emily Charlton (played by Emily Blunt) is now the head of a major fashion company.
RACHEL BLOOM, 38, plays Tessa, Andi’s friend. PAULINE CHALAMENT, 34 (TIMOTHEE’s sister) and B. J. NOVAK, 46, have other supporting roles. But their characters’ names aren’t “out now”.
Here’s a special program with a special Jewish connection. On May 6, PBS will premiere “Life on Earth’s Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure.” This program tells you everything might want to know about David Attenborough’s nature program and his life. This year is the 50th anniversary of the program and it is Attenborough’s 100th Birthday(!).
David and his older brother, Richard, were teens in England when their (Christian) parents told them that they wanted to house two German Jewish sisters (12 and 13) who needed to be housed (1938). England had a special program allowing 10,000 Jewish children to leave Nazi Germany and settle in the U.K. (Only children. Most Jewish adults didn’t get a visa to settle in the U.K.).
David and Richard treated them (HELENA and IRENE BEJACH) like their sisters. Shortly after WWII ended, the Bejach sisters found out their parents died in Auschwitz. The Attenborough parents then legally adopted the sisters (as their daughters). Not long after, the sisters left for America, they had an uncle there. They married Jewish men and lived good lives in America. They had children and grandchildren.
Richard, an Oscar-winning actor and director, died in 2014, age 90. Helena died in 1994 and Irene in 2004. David came to America in 2020 and he organized a reunion for all the Bejach descendants.
What a mensch!! Sir David is so good that he’s been knighted twice (!).
The Fox series, “Doc” follows the lives of hospital doctors, nurses, and patients. It has been an audience and critical hit. (Also, on Hulu.) This season’s two last episodes (April 14, 21) were dramatic: a patient died from a “new” deadly disease he picked-up in Africa. Fifteen patients and hospital staff were infected and were quarantined in one big room.
JUDD HIRSCH, 90, played Herman Zweig, a 90-year-old patient. In his first scene, you can see that he has a concentration camp tattoo. I thought: Zweig was 10 when the war ended. Wondering, I checked: Yes, the Nazi monsters tattooed children, too.
Something another quarantine patient said lead Zweig to say something profound: “On my 10th birthday we won the war. But the world promises us nothing. I lost my parents and my sisters in the camps. I lost my wife and my son to cancer. But all we can be grateful for is what we have and treat all with dignity and generosity when they make mistakes.” (Hirsch said this just right.)
Zweig was cured. As he left the hospital, he said good-bye to a Jewish doctor who wore a “chai” necklace. He told the doctor: “You keep on wearing that bracelet and be proud.” The doctor said: “I will.”
Before Hitler’s death, some Jewish “funny guys” would say that they could predict that Hitler would die on a Jewish holiday. Their listeners said, “How could you know that?” Their answer: “Any day Hitler dies is a Jewish holiday”. Today, April 30, is a Jewish holiday. It’s the 81st anniversary of Hitler’s suicide. It’s also this writer’s birthday.
