Israellycool

From Al-Arabiya:

Algerian TV will launch an Islamic-inspired adaptation with a twist of the infamous Arab talent show Star Academy following a ban on the Lebanese version. Instead of showcasing contestants’ singing talents, the new show, a collaboration between Algerian TV and the Ministry of Religious Affairs, will be a Quran recitation competition.

The decision comes as part of a plan to implement more balance in the messages Algerian T.V. delivers to its audience. Star Academy, one of the most successful programs in Arab television history, enjoyed a large number of viewers in Algeria because of its prime time slot but was banned because of excessive “nudity.”

Sixteen contestants were chosen for the new show from 15,000 applicants. The show will host the most prominent reciters from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, and Indonesia.

The best Quran reciter will be named “Knight of Quran” and will be announced on the last day of Ramadan. Throughout the show, the competitors will recite verses from the Quran and the audience will vote for who they think is best.

I wonder if they will have three celebrity critics as well.

“I don’t think you chose the best verse, calba. You didn’t convince me that you really wanted to kill the infidels. I think you would have been better off doing something from The Cow.”

“Great job! I could feel Allah’s words in their pristine form. It was almost as if I only heard that verse six hundred times before. I mean this from my heart, from one Abdul to another. Allah akbar!”

“That performance was simply dreadful. Your meter was off and your accent makes you sound more Canadian than Arab. You may have a good future career as a torturer in a Syrian prison.”

“We’re not all about eating hummus, killing Arabs and fornicating. We do other things as well.”

-Amir Kaminer, movie critic for the Yediot Ahronot daily, on the new Adam Sandler movie You Don’t Mess With The Zohan

Did he just concede that Israelis eat hummus, kill Arabs and fornicate?!

Hollywood director/producer/writer/all round moneymaking machine George Lucas believes Obama is A New Hope.

George Lucas has created legendary film heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, but the US director says that in real life, his hero is Barack Obama.

Lucas was in Japan on Wednesday to promote his latest film, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” as Obama clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

“We have a hero in the making back in the United States today because we have a new candidate for president of the United States, Barack Obama,” Lucas said when asked who his childhood heroes were.

Obama, “for all of us that have dreams and hope, is a hero,” Lucas said.

Lucas is the creator of the blockbuster “Star Wars” series, as well as the adventures of the swashbuckling archaeologist Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford.

Obama on Tuesday sealed the Democratic contest after a marathon battle with Hillary Clinton, becoming the first black White House candidate nominated by a major party.

Which is ironic, considering Obama’s reluctance to use the force.

Update: Still on the subject of anti-white sermons and Star Wars (language warning).

Just ask Sharon Stone.

Leia? Looks like he did.

What would Chewbacca say? Hollywood legend Carrie Fisher reveals she got up close with Harrison Ford while filming the iconic Star Wars movies.

The 51-year-old actress is still best known for impressing millions of teenage boys with her buns as Princess Leia.

Now, after decades of rumours, she finally spills the beans on her relationship with ever-hunky Harrison, 63, who played Han Solo.

She tells Justin Lee Collins in new C4 show Bring Back . . . Star Wars: “I went on the film saying ‘I’m going to have an affair’, like it was a kiwi, an exotic fruit — because I’d never had one!”

She adds: “I had a crush on Harrison for sure. Harrison is great fun when he’s had a few drinks.”

Shaking her head and saying: “I’m going to get in so much trouble,” she adds: “Once I left the room and came back and he was in the closet not wearing a lot of clothes.”

At least there was no wookie involved. As far as we know.

Meanwhile, I’m never going to be able to watch those movies in the same light again.

Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer has landed a starring role in Angels & Demons, opposite Tom Hanks.

Ayelet Zurer has landed the coveted role of Vittoria Vetra in Sony Pictures’ upcoming Da Vinci Code prequel Angels & Demons. While the studio won’t confirm, sources close to the production tell EW.com that the Israeli actress (who played Eric Bana’s wife in Munich and was last seen in Sony’s Vantage Point) has been cast opposite Tom Hanks in the Ron Howard-directed film. The actress was chosen over more well-known stars, including Naomi Watts, who had been in talks for the role, according to previous reports.

Zurer’s character is the daughter of CERN physicist Leonardo Vetra. Following her father’s death, Vittoria pairs with Robert Langdon (Hanks) on a journey to uncover the mystery behind her father’s murder and stop a terrorist plot. Sony has yet to cast the roles of Maximilian Kohler (director of CERN) and Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (aide to the Pope). The production was delayed late last year due to the writers strike. It is now set to begin filming in Europe in June, eyeing a May 15, 2009, release date.

No word yet on whether she got the role because she is a good actress, or because the casting agents thought they were hiring that chick from The Princess Diaries.

New Israeli commercial for Satellite television provider YES.

And in case you don’t know who Dana International is, “she” is an Israeli transsexual pop singer, who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Diva”.

Update: Still on the subject of Israeli commercials, I thought it time to dust off the cobwebs and bring this classic out again.

Forget Freddy vs Jason and Alien vs Predator.

It’s Terminator vs Dirty Harry.

After Clint Eastwood learned last week that his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger no longer wanted him on the state parks commission, he spoke with Bobby Shriver, the governor’s brother-in-law, who had also been dropped. Somewhat incredulous, they joked about it, each saying the other should be more offended.

“I talked to him the day we were not reappointed, or as Donald Trump would say, ‘You’re fired,’ ” Eastwood said in an interview, his gravelly impression of Schwarzenegger’s Austrian accent producing a kind of Dirty Harry-meets-the Terminator effect.

“So we laughed about it,” Eastwood said, “and I said, ‘Me? But you’re his brother-in-law!’ and he said, ‘But you’re his friend and longtime mentor!’ ”

The governor has said that he decided not to reappoint the men, who were first named to the Park and Recreation Commission in 2001 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and reappointed by Schwarzenegger in 2004. He said their terms had expired and he wanted to give others a chance to serve.

But Eastwood and Shriver have attributed the governor’s move to their opposition to a plan to build the Foothill South toll road through San Onofre State Beach, a park in Orange County that is popular for its surfing and scenery. The project was defeated by the California Coastal Commission in February.

“I think it was just somebody got a bee under their bonnet at the right moment, so there we are,” Eastwood said. Of the governor, he added: “I guess he felt we were going to be guys who were going to be obstructionists for anything through state parks.”

Schwarzenegger declined to be interviewed Tuesday. He and other supporters say the six-lane toll road, which would have run past the Trestles marine estuary, would have relieved traffic in Orange County. The governor also asserted that it would have reduced global warming.

Eastwood seemed at peace with last week’s events. He said there are no hard feelings between him and Schwarzenegger, 60, a fellow Republican and “a friend of mine for a very long time.”

But he seemed perplexed because his opposition to the road predated by more than two years the governor’s endorsement of it in January. He said that he told Schwarzenegger long ago of his reservations and that the governor urged him to follow his conscience.

“You’re not going to get people who are interested in state parks who want to build freeways through state parks,” Eastwood said. “So I don’t know what the big surprise was there.”

Several environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Surfrider Foundation and the California State Parks Foundation, said they submitted a letter to state Senate leaders Tuesday requesting a hearing into the oversight of state parks. They based their request on Schwarzenegger’s treatment of the two commissioners, his proposal to close 48 parks because of the state’s fiscal crisis and his support for development in parks.

“It is difficult to recall any time in California’s history when our world-class system of parks has been more at risk from a range of threats,” says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Times. The governor’s office said he has backed billions of dollars in spending to protect and preserve parkland.

Eastwood, 77, the former mayor of Carmel, has advocated for parks under four governors in both political parties, starting with George Deukmejian. He has made public service announcements and appearances, including one created by environmental groups opposing the toll road. In that clip, he spoke of surfing at San Onofre with James Arness of “Gunsmoke” fame and guys with nicknames like “Hammerhead,” after he arrived in Los Angeles as a young man in the 1950s, before surfing was a craze.

Eastwood, who refers to himself as a conservationist, said he is by no means obstructionist. Though he agreed with the Coastal Commission on the toll road, he clashed with that board as recently as 2006, when it rejected a golf course and housing development that he and business partners had proposed at Pebble Beach, near his home in Monterey County. Adversaries in that fight praise his work for parks.

“From everything I saw, he was a terrific parks commissioner,” said Peter Douglas, the Coastal Commission’s executive director. “It just happened that when he was calling the shots on that project at Pebble Beach, he wasn’t listening to what we were saying about what the law allows and doesn’t allow. But that’s behind us now.”

Mark Massara, director of the Sierra Club’s coastal programs, fought Eastwood on the Pebble Beach project and worked with him against the toll road. “He has a reverence for open space and public property,” Massara said. “It’s deep and abiding and sincere.”

Although Eastwood said he first learned that he would not be reappointed from one of the governor’s aides, Schwarzenegger called later and apologized that the situation had played out as it did. Eastwood said he told Schwarzenegger not to worry about it.

“I’m a grown person,” Eastwood said. “I’m not a kid.”

“The parks is a voluntary job, and it’s just a job you do, when they need you. It was fun. . . . They make changes, and that’s their prerogative. It’s not like I need a day job.”

Hollywood actress Halle Berry has bucked the Hollywood trend of using a Hebrew name for your progeny (perhaps she wants to stay away from anything Jewish).

Instead, she’s gone Arabic.

Halle Berry has revealed the name of her newborn daughter: Nahla Ariela Aubry.

The baby girl, who was born Sunday is the first for the Oscar winning actress and her model boyfriend, Gabriel Aubry.

A day after Nahla’s birth, Aubry’s sister, Eugenie, told PEOPLE, “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a new baby in the family. It’s very exciting.”

Nahla means honeybee in Arabic, says Michael D. Cooperson, associate professor of Arabic at UCLA.

Of course, I already suspected that Nahla was Arabic for bee.

Who’s next? Farfur Alba? Or perhaps Assud Kidman?

Update: I’m guessing the name was Halle’s choice (as opposed to that of her boyfriend).

Update: As commenter abunafha correctly points out, the baby’s middle name - Ariela - is Hebrew. I can’t believe I missed that.

Which means the baby has an Arabic name and a Hebrew name. I wonder if this means she will hate herself.

Amazing: A Hasidic man was cast in a Hollywood movie.

More amazing: As Natalie Portman’s husband.

Sublime: He gave it all up.

First he couldn’t hold Natalie Portman’s hand - and now a Williamsburg Hasidic Jew-turned-actor has to give up his chance to hit it big in a Hollywood movie.

Abe Karpen, 25, a married father of three, was cast as Portman’s husband in “New York I Love You,” a film composed of 12 short stories about love in the five boroughs.

“I am backing out of the movie,” said Karpen, a kitchen cabinet salesman. “It’s not acceptable in my community. It’s a lot of pressure I am getting. They [the rabbis] didn’t like the idea of a Hasidic guy playing in Hollywood.

“I have my kids in religious schools and the rabbi called me over yesterday and said in order for me to keep my kids in the school I have to do what they tell me and back out,” Karpen said.

While news of Karpen’s withdrawal sent waves of disappointment through the movie set, the Hasidic community was up in arms over Karpen’s acting gig - forcing him to flee for the weekend, a friend said.

“We are very sorry that this has created a problem for him personally and for the community,” said the film’s executive producer, Jan Korbelin.

“He’s a great ambassador of his faith and it came out of the left field. … This is the last thing this picture should be doing,” Korbelin said. “This film is about love and understanding between different people and communities.”

Just Wednesday, Karpen was strolling along the Fulton Ferry State Park under the Brooklyn Bridge alongside Portman, 26, who sported a dark head-covering and a coat.

“They wanted me to hold her hand, but I said ‘no way,’” said Karpen, who proudly stood his ground. “It’s against our religion. You can’t even hold your wife’s hand on the street.”

Then came the howls of protest about his unorthodox job.

“This is when I woke up and saw that I made a big mistake. My kids mean everything to me and my community where I live means everything to me,” said Karpen, who comes from a prominent Williamsburg, Brooklyn, family.

His longtime friend Levi Okunov said the Karpens had to flee the city for the weekend. “The community wants to kill him,” he said.

Hasidic community activist Isaac Weinberger said Karpen should have known better.

“We don’t watch television. We don’t go to the movies, so to be in a movie is the worst thing. It’s a shame for any Hasid,” he said.

They also don’t roll on Shabbos (lanuage warning).

While many of you reading this will no doubt think he’s a huge jerk for passing up such an opportunity, I think he’s to be commended. He actually has principles.

Still, despite his troubles, Karpen had nothing but kind words for the film and Portman.

“She’s the only one I was willing to work with,” Karpen said. “I was shocked that she’s a Hollywood big shot. We talked in Hebrew. … She wants to become more religious.”

I said principles, not perceptiveness.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meets the visiting star of Prison Break, Wentworth Miller.

“I don’t suppose you learned how to actually break out of a prison?

Just wondering.”

Week’s after learning that Kramer and Newman’s bottle scheme might be coming to Australia comes word that Newman himself might also be.

Australia’s postal service has increased the maximum weight for mailmen and women by 15 kg (33 pounds) in an attempt to attract more “posties,” local media reported on Tuesday.

Australia Post had a weight limit of 90 kgs (198 pounds) for “posties” because its 110cc motorcycles had a safe working limit of 130kg (286 pounds) — that’s 40kg (88 pounds) for letters and up to 90 kgs for mailmen and women fully clothed.

But after talks with motorcycle manufacturer Honda it was agreed the bikes could safely carry a “postie” weighing 105 kgs (231 pounds), said Sydney’s the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

But the “posties” will only carry 25 kgs of mail.

The union representing mailmen and women said the 90 kg limit had caused recruitment headaches for Australia Post, but the company denied it had staffing problems.

“Testing found a rise in rider weight up to a maximum of 105 kgs would not have any significant effect on the stability, handling or safety of their 110 cc motorcycle,” an Australia Post spokesman told the newspaper.

“By raising it from 90 to 105 kilograms means there will be other people that can now apply,” he said.