By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
“28 Years Later” opens in theaters on June 19. This film will probably be a blockbuster. Well over 10 million people viewed the recently released trailer on YouTube. It is the sequel to “28 Days Later” (2002) and “28 Weeks Later” (2027). All the bad things in the three films trace back to an event in the first film. Animal activists broke into a British lab and accidentally released the “Rage Virus.” It is a highly infectious disease that turns victims into raving people who seek to bite others and infects them.
“28 Days” was a big critical and box-office hit. As the first film ended, a few people have escaped infection, but almost all the people in the U.K. are infected. The second film showed tiny groups of survivors trying to find refuge and the help they got from others uninfected.
The 2025 film first focuses on a small number of the uninfected who live on an island just off shore from England. Its heavily defended causeway keeps out the infected. Things change when Jamie, a scavenger, manages to walk over to the mainland. He is accompanied by Spike, his 12-year-old-son. They discover many secrets and horrors from the outside world.
All three films were made in the U.K., and virtually all the actors in the films were British or Irish — and the same thing is true of the writers, directors, etc. There wasn’t a Jewish actor, director, or writer, working in the first two films.
Here’s a kvell-worthy biggie: British Jewish actor AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON, 35, is the third film’s star! He plays Jamie. Taylor-Johnson will also star in a fourth “28” film. Its completed and it will open next January.
In 2015, Aaron told “The Guardian” that he was pleased when someone told him he resembled a fashionable Hasidic Jew. “That was nice because I have really curly hair and also I’m Jewish,” he told The Guardian.
In my previous column, I noted that a documentary, “Marlee Matlin is Not Alone,” will open in theaters on June 20. Here’s more info: the film explores the life of (deaf) actress MARLEE MATLIN, 59. It played the prestigious Sundance Festival and received good reviews. Reviews say that the film covers much more than her deafness and her movie career (which includes the best actress Oscar in 1987 for “Children of a Lesser God”).
PBS has bought the film for TV broadcast on the “American Masters” program.
The film was directed by first-time director SHOSHANNAH STERN, 44. She has acted in many TV shows (including “Jericho,” “Weeds” and “Supernatural”) and in a few movies. Her parents are observant Jews and they are deaf, as is Shoshannah and her two siblings (LOUISE STERN, 47, a fairly well-known novelist and short story writer, and BRENDAN STERN, 46, a political scientist).
Stern’s parents met during high school, at a leadership meeting for deaf students. They both had mothers who were Holocaust survivors. Shoshannah has a young daughter who can hear. Her husband (I don’t know if he’s Jewish) is not deaf, but his parents are deaf. He first introduced himself to Stern in sign language.
The third season of “The Gilded Age,” a hit HBO series, begins on June 22. It’s been about 18 months since the second season ended. As I recently noted, MORGAN SPECTOR, 44, plays George Russell, a star character. We will see if Jewish thespians or Jewish characters will show up this season.
“Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything” is a documentary that will premiere on Hulu on June 23. It features archival footage and moments from her most famous interviews. It will look, also, at her intimate life and her career. She was a pioneer — she landed TV reporting jobs and anchoring jobs that no other woman got before her (“Today Show,” reporter/anchor; ABC Evening News, anchor; 20/20, anchor; and host of “The View”).
The film has WALTERS (1929-2022), in her own words, recounting her groundbreaking moments and the stories behind her most iconic interviews. She also reflects on the high price of fame — and the legacy she hoped to inspire.
Back in November, I wrote a gushing review of “The Levys of Monticello.” It’s a documentary how the (Jewish) LEVY family bought Thomas Jefferson’s remarkable home (1836) and saved it, for almost a century, from rack and ruin. This film is as good as any PBS program. It’s now free to watch on YouTube. It’s really Jewish and it’s really good. Trust me, you will be happy you watched.
