A Grand Lunch for "A Serious Man"'s Michael Stuhlbarg

At lunch in Manhattan Thursday: actors Tim Blake Nelson, Billy Crudup, Michael Stuhlbarg and Philip Seymour Hoffman. "It's a great thing doing this for Michael - he's such a mensch," said Focus Features James Schamus Thursday afternoon during a lunch for "A Serious Man" star Michael Stuhlbarg (and 2010 Golden Globe nominee) at Monkey Bar in Midtown Manhattan. (For all you non-Jews, "mensch" is the Yiddish word meaning, a person of integrity and honor according to Wikipedia). "When we got the script for [the Coens] "A Serious Man," [the cast] that I wanted was what we got. It was one of the best casts ever assembled. It really worked out," added Schamus who added that the film was needed. "I'm Jewish - and we never make movies about ourselves..." "I've been enjoying every minute of it," Stuhlbarg told indieWIRE as lunch was winding down and Hoffman and others came by to give him good bye hugs. "I originally auditioned [for another part] then five months later, they called me in. It was down to [characters] 'Larry' or 'Uncle Arthur' (eventually played by Richard Kind). Then Joel [Coen] called and said, "We'll put you out of your misery now, you're Larry..." [Photo by Amanda Schwab @ StarPix]