JCast Network

Join Aaron “The Schmoz” Herman this week at the Red Carpet Premier of 50/50 the new film staring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. In this episode, Aaron gets a chance to talk to star Gordon-Levitt as well as director Jonathan Levine.

What’s so funny about cancer? Well if you are Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt you will be laughing for hours. We attended the NYC premiere 50/50 and got an first hand account about what it so funny about 50/50.

A young man turns a devastating illness into a unique opportunity to experience life in 50/50, a funny, touching and original story about friendship, love and survival starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen.

Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has a pretty great life—with a talented, sexy artist girlfriend and a cool job with NPR, the 27-year old seems to have it all. But when Adam discovers he has a rare and possibly fatal form of cancer, his entire life turns to chaos. Writer Will Reiser experienced his own personal battle with cancer, and was inspired to write an original story which reflects the humor and heartbreak which collide in a poignant and often hilarious journey the main character is completely unprepared for.

As his world starts to unravel in every way, Adam finds himself dealing with the wellmeaning but totally outrageous attempts by his friends and family to make it all better. His best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen), uses Adam’s condition to lure girls into sympathy sex, his overbearing mother (Anjelica Huston) loses sight of him in her own fears, his otherwise-occupied girlfriend, Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) tries to distract herself an increasingly frantic social life, and Katherine (Anna Kendrick), the inexperienced therapist assigned to his case, struggles to keep up with the needs of her third client ever in this unexpectedly funny movie that reminds us that sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.

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In this weeks episode, Aaron “The Schmoz” Herman sat down with actor Paul Giamatti to discuss Barney’s Version.

The film is based on Jewish author, Mordecai Richler’s prize-winning comic novel, Barney’s Version. It is the warm, wise, and witty story of Barney Panofsky (played by Paul Giamatti), a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life.

The Groggers are a Jewish pop-punk band with a comic twist. Based out of NYC, the band formed in early 2010 when singer/songwriter L.E. Staiman recruited musicians Ari Friedman and Chemy Soibelman for a spontaneous music video shoot of his original punk anthem called “GET”. The video, which covered the issue of withholding a Jewish divorce, became an instant success on YouTube and garnered the attention of several prominent bloggers and websites, specifically ones that dealt with this sensitive issue. It didn’t take long for the realization to set in that a hit song and music video was circulating the Internet for what was at the time a totally fictitious band. The only logical thing to do was immediately begin intense rehearsals and writing sessions-which is exactly what The Groggers did. With songs like “Mitzvah Night” and “Malka Jihad” (a tune about the downside of falling for a ‘Neturei Carta’ girl) the band is quickly establishing itself as a wholly original band with the musical chops and high energy live shows to back it up. In only a few short months, the band has already played with some of the biggest names in the modern Jewish music scene, such as Yosi Piamenta, Rav Shmuel, Soulfarm and Moshav, and played some of New York’s most renowned underground venues such as Sullivan Hall, Canal Room and of course Highline Ballroom. Following the Success of their first video, The Groggers released their second video “EIshes Chayil” in November of 2010. The video featured Jewish music legend Rav Shmuel and was well received by critics and fans alike. We had the opportunity to speak to the Groggers about their new alubum There’s No “I” in Cherem”

The Groggers new album “There’s No I in Cherem” is available for purchase.

The Groggers will be performing with The  Moshav Band on September 22nd at the Canal Room.

At the The Future of Jewish Nonprofit Summit (FOJNP) we got to learn how social media could enhance nonprofit organizations. Through social media platforms nonprofits can connect to donors and constituents like never before. We met with William Daroff, Jewish Federations of North America,Farra Trompeter,Big Duck and others to discuss how social media if influencing nonprofit organizations.

FOJNP is a project of Causil. Causil’s mission is to engage organizations in the best practices of communications, marketing and technology. Dave Weinberg, CEO of Causil created a unique envirment where people were able to learn from each other and network.

Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. We sat dow with Director Jesse Peretz and Writer Evgenia Peretz to get an inside look at Our Idiot Brother.