Minneapolis attorney,  Laurie Savran was an extra in two scenes in A Serious Man and has written a nice account of her time during the production of the movie. Beware though the final part contains quite a SPOILER.

Interestingly Focus Features has reposted its A Serious Man glossary this time adding in quotes direct from the movie itself to better illustrate the use of the words. I think this movie may be tough to follow first time around…

Agunah (pronounced “ahgoonah”) – a divorced person who has not been religiously sanctioned to remarry.
As in when Judy says, “Without a Gett I’m an Agunah.”

Bar mitzvah – Jewish religion’s important ceremony, held in a synagogue for a young man who has come of age (at 13) and will now be responsible for practicing and upholding Jewish values, morals, and traditions; female equivalent (at 12 or 13) is a bat mitzvah.
As in when Larry says, “But I’m so strapped for cash right now—carrying the mortgage and paying for the Jolly Roger, and I wrecked the car and Danny’s bar mitzvah coming up…”

Bupkes (also spelled bupkis) – nothing; applied with great emphasis.
As in when Arthur says, “You’ve got a family. You’ve got a job. Hashem hasn’t given mebupkes.”

Chacham (also spelled chakham, hakham or haham) – a wise or learned man, usually a great Torahscholar.
As in when the Man says, “You know, Reb Groshkover! Pesel Bunim’s uncle! The chachamfrom Lodz, who studied under the Zohar reb in Krakow!”

Dybbuk (pronounced “dibbuck”) – The soul of a dead person, often looking to possess a live person and as such inspiring fear among the living.
As in when Reb Groshkover says, “I shaved hastily this morning and missed a bit—by you this makes me a dybbuk?”

Gett – ref., agunah (above); a religiously sanctioned divorce, tandemed with the sanction to remarry.
As in when Judy says, “Esther is dead three years. And it was a loveless marriage. Sy wants a Gett.”

Goy – colloquial term for a person not of the Jewish faith (i.e., a Gentile)
As in when Rabbi Nachtner says, “Do you know a goy named Kraus? Russel Kraus?”

Haftorah – Portions of the Hebrew Bible read aloud in synagogue services, including by a bar mitzvahboy.
As in when Larry says, “How’s the haftorah coming? Can you maybe use the hi-fi?”

Hashem – means The Name, and is basic Hebrew term/name used for God.
As in when Rabbi Scott says, “I too have had the feeling of losing track of Hashem, which is the problem here. I too have forgotten how to see Him in the world.”

Kabballah (also spelled caballah or cabala) – an interpretation of the Scriptures based on an oral tradition that supposedly began with Abraham.
As in when Rabbi Nachtner says, “But Sussman is an educated man. Not the world’s greatest sage, maybe, no Rabbi Marshak, but he knows a thing or two from the Zohar and the Caballah.”

Macher (pronounced “mohhcc-er”) – an achiever, a person of importance/influence.

Mazel tov! (pronounced “mozzle-tov!”) – Congratulations!
As in when the Doctor says, “Well, mazel tov. They grow up fast, don’t they?”

Mensch (pronounced “mensh”) – someone with strength of character/an applied sense of purpose.

Mitzvah – good deedor blessing, though mostly used in an everyday and non-religious context.
As in when Reb Groshkover says, “One does a mitzvah and this is the thanks one gets?”

Nu?– What’s up? What’s the story here?
As in when the Principal says, “Hmm… eh… nu?”

Rabbi (pronounced “rab-eye”) – Ordained Jewish religious scholar/teacher, often relied upon as community leader.
As in when Judy says, “I have begged you to see the Rabbi.”

Reb – Formal-address equivalent of Mister.
As in when the Man says, “I assure you, Reb Groshkover, it’s nothing personal; she heard a story you had died, three years ago, at Pesel Bunim’s house.”

Shabbas (or, shabbos, from Shabbat) – Judaism’s Sabbath, from Friday evening through Saturday evening
As in when Rabbi Nachtner says, “Danny Gopnik, the Sisterhood makes a gift to you of this kiddush cup so that you will remember this blessed day on the next shabbas and the next, and on every shabbas of a long and fruitful life…”

Shtetl (pronounced “shtet-el”) – a small Jewish village, in bygone times, in Eastern Europe.

Shiva – means seven, and also refers to the participatory seven-day mourning period for the recently deceased.
As in when the Wife says, “Traitle Groshkover died of typhus in Pesel Bunim’s house. Pesel told me—she sat shiva for him.”

Shul – a synagogue and its congregation.
As in when Rabbi Scott says, “Because with the right perspective you can see the Hashem, you know, reaching into the world. He is in the world, not just in shul.”

Synagogue (pronounced “sinagog”) – a Jewish house of worship.

Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, transcribed onto a scroll for use in synagogueservices including a bar mitzvah.
As in when Rabbi Nachtner says, “Is the answer in Caballah? In Torah? Or is there even a question?”

Zohar – the main text of Kabbalah, the Zohar is a mystical interpretation of the Torah.
As in when Rabbi Nachtner says, “He knows a thing or two from the Zohar and the Caballah.”

Hi all, MTV.com has laid it’s mitts on some exclusive images from the “Fall” movie releases one of which is a pic from A Serious Man, of Richard Kind emerging from the sea in a nice pair of trunks!

Focus Features have stepped up and entered the 21st century with their promotion for the Coen brothers’ forthcoming movie, A Serious Man. Going all Web 2.0 they have the obligatory Twitter page, a Facebook account and a YouTube channel fot you to subscribe to.

Little, old You Know, For Kids! will do its best to keep up.

Also on the Focus Features website is a revealing interview with Myles Bender, Senior Vice President of Creative Advertising at Focus Features, who oversaw the creative direction of the trailer for A Serious Man which was cut by Mark Woollen of Mark Woollen and Associates. He talks about the initial meeting with Joel and Ethan where they told him, “They wanted something ‘different, ‘Can you find one scene from the movie for our trailer and not do the traditional trailer structure?’ And then one of them said, ‘Maybe just show the guy getting his head bashed in for 30 seconds.’ I took that suggestion a little more seriously than they expected me to!” adding also“that this is a movie for people who love Coen Brothers films. It was more important for us to convey the vibe, ‘the essence of Coen-ness,’ than the premise.”

Read the whole article, it’s a good read. I was initially a little cool towards the trailer when I first posted it but now that I’ve seen it a bunch of times I really like it.

Since the Coen brothers’ forthcoming movie, A Serious Man, contains a serious amount of Yiddish, Focus Features have very kindly provided us with a glossary of terms we will come across when watching the movie. It’s time to revise…

Agunah (pronounced “ahgoonah”) – a divorced person who has not been religiously sanctioned to remarry

Bar mitzvah – Jewish religion’s important ceremony, held in a synagogue for a young man who has come of age (at 13) and will now be responsible for practicing and upholding Jewish values, morals, and traditions; female equivalent (at 12 or 13) is a bas mitzvah

Bupkes (also spelled bupkis) – nothing; applied with great emphasis, e.g., “And what do I have?Bupkes!”

Dybbuk (pronounced “dibbuck”) – The soul of a dead person, often looking to possess a live person and as such inspiring fear among the living

Gett – ref., agunah (above); a religiously sanctioned divorce, tandemed with the sanction to remarry

Goy – colloquial term for a person not of the Jewish faith (i.e., a Gentile)

Haftorah – Portions of the Hebrew Bible read aloud in synagogue services, including by a bar mitzvahboy

Hashem – means The Name, and is basic Hebrew term/name used for God

Macher (pronounced “mohhcc-er”) – an achiever, a person of importance/influence

Mazel tov! (pronounced “mozzle-tov!”) – Congratulations!

Mensch (pronounced “mensh”) – someone with strength of character/an applied sense of purpose

Mitzvah – good deedor blessing, though mostly used in an everyday and non-religious context, e.g. “Picking up your groceries while you were stuck in bed with a broken leg – that was a mitzvah your neighbor did.”

Nu? – What’s up? What’s the story here?

Rabbi(pronounced “rab-eye”) – Ordained Jewish religious scholar/teacher, often relied upon as community leader

Reb – Formal-address equivalent of Mister, as in “Reb Nudell is coming to visit our family;” or, more colloquially, abbreviation of a prominent rabbi, as in “Which Reb is conducting the service today?”

Shabbas(or, shabbos, from Shabbat) – Judaism’s Sabbath, from Friday evening through Saturday evening

Shtetl(pronounced “shtet-el”) – a small Jewish village, in bygone times, in Eastern Europe

Shiva– means seven, and also refers to the participatory seven-day mourning period for the recently deceased; e.g., “We are sitting shiva for my wife’s uncle, who passed away earlier this week”

Shul – a synagogue and its congregation

Synagogue (pronounced “sinagog”) – a Jewish house of worship

Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, transcribed onto a scroll for use in synagogueservices including a bar mitzvah

Thanks to Bunnie for pointing this out.

That’s right folks- finally the marketing for A Serious Man is hotting up. First the trailer, then the first official image and now the first one-sheet poster! It uses the same image I posted up on Wednesday- Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) on his roof. Click it for a truly giant, hi-res version and make it your new desktop wallpaper.

Also the website address at the bottom of the poster doesn’t do much at the moment (just the trailer but it will very soon I expect. I’ll be keeping my eye on it daily and will alert you all when there’s some action.

The first official image from the Coen brothers forthcoming movie, A Serious Man has been released. It features main character, Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) on his roof partaking in his favourite passtime…

Click the image below to see it’s MUCH bigger brother…

Empire online are carrying a wee story about the release of the A Serious Man trailer yesterday (as is just about every other site on the internet) and within it they claim that the release date here in the UK is November 20th. A full SEVEN WEEKS behind you lucky Americans!

That’s right everybody- the first trailer for the Coen brothers’ forthcoming movie, A Serious Man is up online. Check it out over at Apple movie trailers in wonderful Quicktime HD or watch below…

I’ll be honest, I don’t know what to make of it. It’s a strange trailer which, I think, is unlikely to draw in anyone who isn’t already interested. There’s just one fleeting shot of Richard Kind, otherwise it completely concentrates on the character of Larry Gopnick played by Michael Stuhlbarg. What do you think?

Thanks to Lachlan for mailing the news in!