Forward.com

Comics Take Sides in Rift Over Anne Frank JokesLOS ANGELES — For the past two years, the Comedy Central-sponsored “Sit ’n’ Spin” nights have provided a supportive setting for local comedy writers to try out new material on an audience of their peers. The humor is usually profane and often sexually explicit, and the writers who gather twice a month at Hollywood’s…Read more

Mel Gibson Movie Fuels Excitement Among Hollywood’s Christian FilmmakersLOS ANGELES — With Jewish groups warning that Mel Gibson’s graphic film about the death of Jesus could resurrect charges of Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion, some in Hollywood appear to be spooked. Despite the movie’s rave reviews from prominent Christian conservatives, 20th Century Fox, which has the option of first refusal…Read more

Soul-Searching Follows Farmers’ Market TragedySANTA MONICA, Calif. — Mayor Richard Bloom calls his city “a working paradise” — a beachside Los Angeles suburb and governable mix of capitalist and anti-capitalist values where followers of both Irving Thalberg and Irving Howe live in some proximity to each other and all receive a fair hearing.With its millionaire homeowners, senior…Read more

Hollywood Celebrities Slow To Mobilize in Support of IsraelLOS ANGELES — Judging from his work on several gruesome Quentin Tarantino films, Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender seems like an obvious candidate to brave the intifada and visit Israel. But Bender’s trip there last month marked the first time that the “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” producer had ever been to the…Read more