Chad Allen is all grown up and SHOCKED!
For anyone not familiar with openly gay actor Chad Allen's work beyond playing Jane Seymour's son on the "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman" series, get a ticket to Sunday afternoon's screening of "Shocked to the System: A Donald Strachey Mystery." Chad gives what I consider to be his best performance yet and good for him! Chad is such an articulate spokesperson for LGBT issues and has clearly overcome being outed by a cruel tabloid more than a decade ago and is enjoying a thriving acting career on stage and screen in gay and non-gay roles.
In "Shocked," Chad reprises his role as hard-boiled gay detective character who embarks on an investigation that leads him on a dark and dangerous trail into the world of "gay conversion therapy" - a mix of psychology and religion designed to turn homosexuals "straight." The film also features Morgan Fairchild in one of her icy bitch roles and, of course, she nails it.
I talked to Chad about the film and which he described as being "like a 'Columbo' movie. I love this one so much. This is what I was wanting the series to become. It's a great mystery with a great characters and relationships
He also shared his thoughts on the state of gay and lesbian cinema:
"What I've wanted more than anything else, especially in the last couple of years, is bringing gay and lesbian stories to love and get to the point where we can tell great stories with great characters. We are actually in the process of turning a page in gay and lesbian storytelling with different genres and telling stories we never could tell before. The films mostly just used to be issue-oriented. I think 'Brokeback Mountain' broke down barriers that had existed for a long time."
"So far in America, we have been unable to tell some stories because of our fear of sexuality and the fear in the business that you couldn't tell a story with a gay hero and have it make money. But we now know, because of 'Brokeback,' this is not the case. A good movie and a well-made story trumps everything. That's not just a victory for gay rights, it's a victory for everybody."
I told ya he is articulate!
"Shocked to the System" will screen on Sunday, July 16 at 2:30 p.m. at the Showcase Theater.
1 Comments
Leave a comment
About Out
in Hollywood
Greg Hernandez has covered the entertainment industry for the Daily News since 2001. He's considered a bit odd by some for his obsession with box office numbers, has been known to camp out near the kitchen at premieres for first crack at the hors d'oeurves, and Greg's never seen a red carpet he didn't want to stroll down.
E-mail Greg
What a great entry! Greg, you're fun and insightful. Way to get behind the scenes to get some fresh insights. (Okay, so I am your co-worker and friend, I still like it).