December 2006 Archives

I'm off for a few days but Out In Hollywood will return with new postings on January 2, 2007. It's been a really fast and fun six months since the lauch and the best part is hearing from you! Thanks for the comments, keep them coming, and don't drink and drive!!!

So when my friend Eddie was in town, I gave him a stack of DVD screeners of movies I wanted him to see with the condition that he return them to me before he left (he lives out of the country right now). He got through all of them over three weeks except for "East Side Story" so he decides to watch it, on a portable DVD player, in the car, as I'm driving us to Palm Springs for the weekend. Every time we pass by a big truck or drive by a mountian he'd say, "Go slower, the shade makes the picture sharper!" Fortunately, once we got to our resort, he did watch it again.
So why am I telling you all of this? Because it got me thinking about "East Side Story" and when it might be coming out in theaters or DVD. It's such a good movie, directed by Carlos Portugal, who I interviewed when the movie screened at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in LA a few months back when the movie was introduced by Edward James Olmos.
I sent Carlos a note the other day and he tells me that the movie should have a distributor by early this month! Hooray! AND, it is going to be playing at the Palm Springs International Film Festival next week. The dates are January 8th at 8pm and January 10th at 1pm. Both screenings are at the Camelot Theater. Last month, the movie won " Audience Favorite Award" at the International Latino FIlm Festival (San Francisco) and at the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
"I am very proud that it's getting this type of reaction in both Latino and GLBT festivals," Carlos tells me.
Here's the synopsis of what is a very good, sweet and funny film that I hope keeps getting the attention it deserves:
Young Diego Campos (Rene Alvarado) has long felt trapped in East LA and plans to move away and open an upscale restaurant with his ultra closeted boyfriend, Pablo Morales (David Beron). But Pablo views their "down low" relationship differently - a point driven home when he starts dating Bianca Campos (Gladise Jimenez), Diego's spirited young Aunt. Meanwhile, openly gay white men like Welsey Henderson (Steve Callahan) and Jonathan Webber (Cory Schneider) are moving in, gentrifying the Latino neighborhood. The attraction between Diego and Wesley is immediate and electric, forcing both men to re-examine their state of affairs.

The film's website is: http://www.myspace.com/eastsidestorymovie

It seems that Donald Trump has gone off his meds because he surely needs some. His latest public comment relating to his feud with Rosie O'Donnell, who dared to criticize him and make fun of his ridiculous hair: "Rosie got mentally beaten up by me, because she's a mental midget, a low-life. I think she's got a death wish. It's too bad a degenerate is able to get away with things like that."

Trump said that in response to the following, which O'Donnell posted this week on her blog. Rosie has struck a nerve and Trump is flipping his wig, or combover (or is that a dead squirrel on his head?) over some comments that make a lot of sense:

so what happens
when u say the emperor has no clothes
the comb over goes ballistic
via phone to mr king

choices
every minute
every day
everyone

i imagine it is interesting
as celeb feuds tend 2 b
so here r my thoughts

didnt watch
didnt u tube
restrict

i have no time 2 make art now
i am only off friday
which is never enuf
to detox

the pipes get full
bits of sludge
clog the flow

so tiny books
now
express in torn images
my inside

i was raised reading ms magazine
i remember the burning of bras
as women demanded equality
in unison

beauty pageants
where women were paraded around
judged valuable or not
by old white men

it is always old white men

they added a talent portion
and gave away college degrees
they evolved - beauty pageants
and eventually - nearly faded away
for good

remember the seventies

a young girl in nyc
meets a pimp
he cons her into a life of illusion
she works for him

no fun - no fucking - no future
she is owned
when she sneaks out -
to party the night away
he freaks

he roughs her up a bit
shames her in front of the others
teaches her to behave
for his own benefit

and just when we lost all hope
cagney and lacey showed up
they cuff the pimp
they free the girl

marybeth and christine
would never
be friends with a pimp

this is reality tv
like it or not
same same same
as vivi says

I'm noticing that a lot of news organizations are refering to John Barrowman and Scott Gill as entering into a civil partnership and refer to it as a "marriage" with annoying quote marks around the word. That's insulting! If a straight couple gets married in any kind of civil ceremony or anywhere not in a church, you would write they were married in a civil ceremony, not "married" in a civil ceremony. I'm registering my immense irritation and just chalk it up to unchartered waters.
Anyway, my rant aside, I wanted to post a picture of this handsome couple but can't find any of them together! Maybe they are gonna sell them for big bucks to Britain's OK Magazine or Hello! magazine or whatever. If so, good for them!
Barrowman, 39, plays Captain Jack Harkness in "Dr Who" spin-off "Torchwood" and he and Gill have been together for 16 years. For the ceremony at Cardiff's St David's Hotel, Glasgow-born Barrowman sported a kilt.
Afterwards, Barrowman said it was important gay relationships were accepted. "It feels great and I think more gay men and gay women should go ahead and do it as long as they're serious about it," he said. "It's not really recognition but it's important for people to see the normality of the entire situation and it forces people who don't agree with gay men and women...to have to accept us.
"We deserve the rights like everybody else," he added. "It's been a long wait but we legitimised our relationship to each other a long time ago when we signed our mortgages together and this is just something that forces people who don't want to recognise it that they have to."
Well said John!

I don't usually write about studies but this is a new feature of the blog: a public service entry each day. KIDDING! I'll be just the same in 2007 - only better! So, my former Daily News co-worker Lisa Sodders, now with the Rand Corp., forwarded me this yesterday and I couldn't help but wonder if the results would be different if all doctors looked like Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy), or Eric Dane (McSteamy), or John Stamos (McPERFECT!):
Anyway, I digress. A survey of lesbian, gay and bisexual teenagers found that 70 percent said most people they knew were aware of their sexual orientation, but only 35 percent reported that their doctor knew, according to a new study by the RAND Corporation and UCLA.
“We knew that the sample that we chose was going to be a very ‘out’ sample,� says Dr. Garth D. Meckler, lead author of the study. “We figured they would have a higher disclosure rate than most youth, and yet, despite being out to almost everyone in their lives, only 35 percent had told their doctor about their sexual orientation.�
Various medical associations, societies etc. recommend that physicians discuss sexuality with all adolescents and provide nonjudgmental communication about sexual orientation. This is important because if a physician is aware of an adolescent patient’s sexual orientation, the doctor can offer appropriate health education and counseling, identify individual risk, and perform targeted screening tests and treatment.
Ninety percent of the teens had been to see a doctor in the past two years, and nearly two-thirds had gone within the past 12 months. But despite the fact that 66 percent thought it was very or somewhat important that their doctor know their sexual orientation in order to provide the best health care possible, only 35 percent said their physician knew their sexual orientation. Of those teens whose physician knew their sexual orientation, only 21 percent said their doctor had raised the topic.
One of the authors suggests that doctors can create a safe environment by not assuming the teen is heterosexual. Rather than ask a boy if he’s dating any girls, they should be open to all possibilities.  That will send a message to a gay teen that this is a doctor who understands sexual orientation. It will also send a message to all teens that this is a doctor who will likely be comfortable talking about whatever the teen wants to discuss.
This reminds me of when i was a teen (you had to know I was gonna make it about me at some point, right?) and my doctor, who, unfortunately looked more like Dr. Marcus Welby than Dr. McDreamy, had to give me a physical so I could get cleared to play for the high school tennis team. Somehow during the exam, I don't know when or how, the doctor concluded that I was gay! I dunno, maybe I was a little overly-sensitive that day or my clothes were suspiciously too color coordinated. He didn't ask me anything about it, he musta just had great gaydar. He mentioned nothing to me but he did tell my poor mother. Can you IMAGINE? She didn't say anything to me but later, as she was crying in her room, it all came out (well, I didn't). What came out was what Dr. Welby had said. I had already been hot-and-heavy with a few boys but I thought it was a phase. So, I assured her I was not gay.
But of course I was, and am! Unlike T.R. Knight, I really do think it's the most interesting part of me!

 

So John Edwards announced yesterday that he is seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. I wish the man luck. I think he's damned smart, his heart is in the right place, he gives a helluva stump speech and has more charisma in his sleep than John Kerry would even after a few martinis (or whatever he drinks). Of course, being president isn't just about charisma or good looks (Edwards is movie star handsome) and I like that this candidate is calling for an increase in community service and cuts in poverty, global warming, and troops in Iraq.
But here's the rub: Edwards didn't mention gay rights on Thursday. And further, during the 2004 campaign both he and Kerry said they opposed same-sex marriage. Edwards also said he opposed amending the U.S. constitution to ban it, arguing the issue should be left up to the states.
That is just chicken s***! You gotta take a stand on this AND on the ban on gays in the military. These things are WRONG and are a non-issue on countries like Great Britain. He's playing it safe on the hot-button gay issues. Typical. His likely rivals for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, have yet to announce. I will be waiting to see if they take any pro-gay stands.
I'm not holding my breath.

After spending too much money on Christmas presents (What can i say? I'm a giver), I'm on a bit of a budget for a few weeks. I've actually had breakfast at home the last three days instead of buying a smoothie at Jamba Juice, last night my buddy Evan and I went out for margaritas during "2 for 1" hour, and a few days a go I went to the $3 movie theater at Beverly and Fairfax to see "Shortbus." What a trippy movie! It explores the lives of several emotionally-challenged New Yorkers as they navigate sex and love in and around a modern-day underground salon called Shortbus where there is a blend of art, music, politics and most of all, SEX. The place is described by its cross-dressing proprietor (played perfectly by Justin Bond) as "like the 60s only with less hope." It's man-woman, man-man, woman-man, man-man-man, woman-man-woman and on and on. It's everything and here's the part I had heard about but couldn't quite believe until I saw if for myself: the sex is REAL! People are really having sex on screen and it's not a porno! It took me awhile to get used to it then it was cool. I read one review which described the film as something of a car wreck and yet, you can't look away.
And I was into the characters (REALLY!) like the sex therapist (Sook Yin Lee) whose never had an orgasm, the gay couple (Paul Dawson and PJ BeBoy) deciding whether to open up their relationship, and the dominatrix (Lindsay Beamish) who is looking to connect and remind herself that she is alive. Lee is wonderful, absolutely wonderful in the film. Very funny, heartbreaking and brave. As the credits roll, it says that a lot of the situations were improvised by the actors. I'm sure they didn't teach a lot of what ends up on the screen in acting school.
"Shortbus," directed by John Cameron Mitchell, is obviously not for the uptight. Hmmmm, or maybe it is? At any rate, it's just about finished its run theatrically so you'll probably have to see it on DVD. I'm glad I saw it. To think, if I hadn't been on a budget, i would have shelled out $12 to see "The Good Shepherd" at The Grove and not had near as much to talk about. I gotta go now, there's a special on 99 cent cheeseburgers at Burger King!

And now for the final awards of the week...

MAN OF THE YEAR: Chad Allen, actor, producer and activist. You won't find a more articulate and thoughtful gay man in public life. This year alone, Chad starred in the movie "Shock to the System," the second of at least three films with him as gay detective Donald Strachey. It was a real star vehicle for the 32-year-old actor who also co-stars and co-produced "Save Me," a film about a gay "rehabilitation" center co-starring Robert Gant and Judith Light. The film will premiere next month at the Sundance Film Festival. Most intriguingly, Chad made headlines with the release this year of the feature film "End of the Spear" in which he starred in the role of real-life martyred missionary Nate Saint. The casting of the openly-gay Allen raised more than a few eyebrows but Chad believes the role allowed him to reach out to Christians. "There were a lot of people on both sides that weren't particularly interested in me doing this movie.," he told InLA magazine. "This movie is about the power of love. I knew it was an opportunity to bridge these two disparate communities that are believed to be enemies- the gay and the Christian communities."

WOMAN OF THE YEAR: The oh-so-talented Jane Lynch made the cover of The Advocate last month and this made a lot of people, including me, very happy. She has been on scores of prime-time network TV shows as a guest star, had a recurring role on Showtime's "The L Word," and has had various movie roles, but it is only in the last few years that she is really breaking out in a big way. From her role as Steve Carell's overly-friendly boss in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" to playing Will Ferrell's mother in "Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby" to her part in the current release "For Your Consideration" - where she nails her role as an infotainment anchor - Jane is an out actress who for years now has been showing the someone's sexuality should not limit them when it comes to roles. At 46, she is also just about the hardest working woman in showbiz. This fall, she made several apearances on ABC's "Boston Public" and the sitcom "Help Me, Help You," was a regular on the Lifetime show "Lovespring International." She currently has three movies in post-production and is currently filming "Suffering Man's Charity" directed by Allan Cumming.

BEST GAY CHARACTER ON NETWORK TV: Kevin Walker on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters." I'm a huge fan of the show, as any regular reader knows, and the biggest reason why is because of Kevin, played wonderfully by Matthew Rhys. It's not just because he's hot and kisses hot guys, it's because Kevin is like a lot of guys I know; smart and successful but a bit of a screw-up when it comes to romantic relationships. I was disappointed that he and Scotty (Luke MacFarlane) broke up earlier in the season but it is true to his character. Kevin is smart and funny and a great gay man for people to see on screen. He's flawed, as we all are, but he's trying and one thing he is not, is a victim: thank God! I'm confident that Kevin will remain interesting and relevant on this terrific show and not become part of the furniture as Andrew Van De Kamp has on "Desperate Housewives" this season. Note to Marc Cherry: it's good to be focusing on the five women again but we like Andrew too - a lot! And you're losing us a bit because of your neglect of this once fascinating character.

BEST NEW STAR: Jennifer Hudson, welcome to bigtime showbiz! The best part of "Dreamgirls," the heart and soul of the movie, is Hudson's Effie. To be able to make a role so closely identified with Jennifer Holliday and make it completely her own takes one helluva talent. When she is singing "And I'm Tellin You, I'm Not Going," it's the birth of a superstar similar to Streisand singing "People" in "Funny Girl." It's magic. Hudson, who seems to be as gay-friendly as they come, learned about the double-edged sword of fame recently when she reportedly refered to homosexuality as a sin. But that controversy appears to have died down and seems to have been more of a misunderstanding than anything else. Now she can focus on what to wear at the Golden Globes and the plethora of other kudofests she will be a part of. I know I'm not alone but remember, ever since Thanksgiving weekend, when I first saw the movie, I have predicted Oscar.

FRIEND OF THE YEAR: Actress and activist Judith Light. A two-time Emmy winner for "One Live to Live," we know Judith best for her eight seasons on "Who's the Boss." She's kept busy since her sitcom days on stage ("Wit") and television ("Law & Order: SVU") but has always had time to be a friend to the gay community, to support LGBT films, and to speak out and raise public awareness about AIDS. At last month's 10th annual Ribbon of Hope Celebration, the love so many people feel for Judith was evident as she received a sustained, heartfelt standing ovation. Before the show, Judith told me: "You can't live in a country where you tell everybody you're compassionate and you love everybody and then treat the gay community like they don't exist and let them die. You cannot do it. I mean, you're doing it but I'm going to tell you that it's absolutely unconscionable. So I began to see how much homophobia was really layered underneath this AIDS crisis and why people weren't talking about it. You know that if this was a good ol' white boys disease, they would've been on it in a heartbeat. I'm not saying that we shouldn't take care of everybody but the point is, it was purposeful. People may say, 'Oh no, people would never really do that.' But whether it's conscious or unconscious, that was what was happening and I just didn't want to see that happening to people who I knew and loved."

Someone like Judith Light, so compassionate with her priorities in the right place, is a stark contrast to those in our final category that is filled with men who, quite simply, kind of turn my stomach. They are the LOSERS OF THE YEAR: (no pictures, puleeeze): Mitt Romney, Ted Haggard, Mark Foley, Jim McGreevey, Donald Trump and, of course, the man many already regard as the worst U.S. president in history.

First of all, I don't know how I can call myself a gay man and not ever have seen a stage production of "Naked Boys Singing." So I think it's a good thing that this current off-Broadway musical hit that has also played all over the world, is being made into the full-length movie by Funny Boy Films, according to an article I just read in The Hollywood Reporter. The movie has been shooting this week at L.A.'s Hayworth Theater. A behind-the-scenes documentary of the nudity-ffilled-feature has also been filmed. The movie version of the 16-song revue is being directed by Robert Schrock, who directed the original stage production and is being produced by Kirkland Tibbles. Since opening at L.A.'s Celebration Theater in 1998 then moving to its current New York run a year later, "Naked Boys Singing" has played in more than 20 countries and tourned theaters around the U.S. But there has been controversy at times such as being shut down by the local vice squad in Milwaukee as well as in Atlanta and in Puerto Rico.
Well, now I GOTTA see it! Will keep ya posted on release dates etc.

This is such wonderful news: the multi-talented and very handsome John Barrowman, the star of the British TV series "Torchwood," married architect Scott Gill in a civil ceremony at the luxury five-star St David's Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay in front of 40 guests.
"It was a lovely ceremony, it went very well," .the hotel's marketing manager told The Daily Mail. "It was private event and attended by family and friends only - the couple seemed very happy."
Barrowman is a TV and stage star who has never had the success in the U.S. that he deserves. But he always finds work because he is so talented as an actor and as a singer. He's like a better-looking Tom Cruise, and far more authentic.
The couple did not issue a statement after the ceremony but Barrowman had previously told the BBC: "Our relationship was legitimate for us a long time ago. We have been spending most of our time together. The ceremony is because we have the right to be recognised as a couple. It forces people who don't want to recognise same-sex relationships as legitimate, it forces them to do so."
Since December 2005, gay couples have had the right to form a civil partnership; a public and legal recognition of their commitment to each other, in the UK.
CONGRATULATIONS to the happy couple!!!

Here are five more winners of Out in Hollywood's first-annual Outie Awards. Tomorrow comes the announcement of this blog's man and woman of the year. i know, I know, the anticipation killing you. But I gotta stretch these things out during a relatively slow news week!

MALE MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR: Daniel Craig! Does this surprise a single reader of this blog? Where has he been all my life? I love this man. (Settle down, I KNOW he's straight, I KNOW I've never met him etc.) Anyway, there are several reasons why I am so enamored with Mr. Craig aside from his very obvious hunkiness. It's not just the body (which is amazing), it's the eyes, the face, how he has a way about him. I'll get to James Bond in a minute because I think Craig's performance as a gay killer in "Infamous" has been criminally overlooked by most critics' groups. He is heartbreaking in the role as one of the killers Truman Capote wrote about in "In Cold Blood" and he shared a jailhouse kiss with the actor playing Capote in the film.
Then, there is Bond, James Bond. All the skeptics who said he was too blond, not good looking enough blah, blah, blah. He is, in my opinion, the best Bond yet and that includes Connery, Sean Connery. He was mesmerizing at times, so athletic, charming, sexy, tough, funny and best of all, real. He wasn't a cartoon and he made me a fan of the franchise all over again.

FEMALE MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR: Meryl Streep! She didn't play gay this year but she has given gay men everywhere another indelible character to cherish - and some delicious dialogue to re-enact with our friends. That character is magazine editor from hell Miranda Priestly and the movie is "The Devil Wears Prada." As if seeing the movie three times in theaters wasn't enough, I've already seen in on DVD more times than I care to admit. Let's just say I know a lot of the lines, "that's all." As for Meryl, this national treasure, this woman who is the greatest actress of all-time (sorry Katherine Hepburn fans, but she is), she just keeps going and going. And this year as well, she was the best part of "A Prairie Home Companion" which was Robert Altman's final film. She got to sing in that and her scenes with Lily Tomlin were magic. I have this on DVD too.

BEST GAY-THEMED TV EPISODE: The "Forever Blue" episode of the CBS drama "Cold Case." This was an episode that got no real promotion but plenty of reaction - much of it positive. In this "Brokeback Mountain" like same-sex love story, the show's team of present day detectives who work to solve unsolved murder cases, focused on the 1968 murder of a cop named Sean Cooper (Shane Johnson). It first appears that he had been a “dirty� cop on the take from a local drug dealer but it soon become clear that he had been secretly gay and involved in a romantic relationship with his married beat partner Jimmy Bruno (Brian Hallisay, pictured). While "Cold Case" has occasionally had gay-themed episodes - and very good ones - this was notable because it contained a passionate, extended kiss between the two men. Jimmy, in a heartbreaking speech, tells Sean that they are “the lucky ones� because they know true love when most people, gay or straight, never do. The kissing scene was up on YouTube and other sites quickly but ordered down by CBS. Maybe they realize what a nerve they touched and are preparing for a heavily-promoted repeat. We'll see.

BEST GAY-THEMED MOVIE OF THE YEAR: "A Love to Hide." Set in 1942, this moving and heartbreaking drama is a movie that I recommend every gay person see so you can gain some perspecitve on what incredible lives we have now. Now on DVD, this French-made wartime epic about gay life and love in Nazi-occupied Europe was easily the best movie I saw at last summer's Outfest. In "A Love to Hide," two gay lovers, Philippe (Jeremie Renier) and Jean (Bruno Todeschini), living in Paris hide their love from their families and from the occupying Nazi army. Philippe works with the Resistance while Jean runs his family business, a dry cleaner. When Jean’s childhood sweetheart Sara shows up their door, her family murdered by the Gestapo, they take her in and nurse her back to health, it's still a struggle keeping this ragtag family safe from the Nazis. Jean’s brother is a collaborator and his dad a sympathizer. Tragedy closes in as Jean is accused of being a member of the “third sex� and having an affair with a Nazi officer. It is an important and beautifully-acted film. I cannot recommend it enough or give enough praise to the filmmakers. "A Love to Hide" is released by Picture This! Home Video.

BEST MOVIE WITH GAY CHARACTERS: "Quinceanera." Winner of both the audience award and the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, this gem of a movie is set in Echo Park and has been scheduled for DVD release on Jan. 9, 2007. Star Jesse Garcia (pictured above) gives a very natural and believable performance as a gay Latino teen shunned by his family - except for his wonderful octenegarian ucle who takles him in as well as a pregnant 15 year old cousin whose father has disowned her. The gay couple who the uncle rents from in the Echo Park neighborhood seduce Garcia's cxharacter after a party they have at their house on the same property. All is well until one of the men, played by David W. Ross, continues his own affair with the teen. When his partner finds out, he evicts the entire family - including the uncle who has left there for 50 years. This drama, fueled by the racial, class, and sexual tensions of a Latino neighborhood in transition, is damned good. It also stars Emily Rios as the pregnant cousin and Chalo Gonzalez as the wonderful uncle.

We all have gay films that have impacted our lives, right? "Making Love" might seem a little cheesy today but when I saw it as a high school student, it was major for me to see a man (Michael Ontkean) decide to not live a lie. He leaves his wife (Kate Jackson) and ends up happily ever after with a guy. I hadn't even thought this possible. I honestly believed that you just had to marry a woman and just live that lie.
Thankfully, I learned otherwise! It's tragic that Heath Ledger's character in "Brokeback Mountain" couldn't believe that. I think that magnificant film had such a strong message about love and succeeded in showing audiences of any orientation that love, is love.
Anyway, I take this trip down memory lane as a way of letting you know about the Outfest survey that began Dec. 15 and runs through Feb. 15. Visitors fo Outfest.com are invited to nameup to five LGBT films that have changed their lives and why. Outfest will announce the top 25 films and showcase selections at Outfest 2007 and year-round at the Outfest Wednesdays Screening Series.

They have compiled a list of 120 feature films. If you’d like to name films that are not on this list there is space at the bottom of the survey. The top 25 films will be selected based on ratings and on the stories that people tell.
Among the titles on the list: Adventures of Felix, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the desert, Another Country, Beautiful Thing, Before Night Falls, Better Than Chocolate , The Birdcage, Boys Don’t Cry, The Boys in the Band, Brokeback Mountain, But I'm a Cheerleader, Capote, Chasing Amy , Chuck & Buck, Come Undone, D.E.B.S.

Desert Hearts, Edge of Seventeen, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Far From Heaven, Get Real (pictured above), Go Fish, Gods and Monsters, Happy Together, Hedwig and the angry inch, High Art,. The Hours, In & Out, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, Jeffrey, Kissing Jessica Stein, La Cage aux Folles, Latter Days, The Living End, Longtime Companion, Love and Death on Long Island, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Making Love, Maurice, My Beautiful Laundrette, My Own Private Idaho, Nico and Dani, The Opposite of Sex, Parting Glances, Personal Best, Philadelphia, Prick Up Your Ears, Querelle, Threesome, The Times of Harvey Milk, Torch Song Trilogy, Totally F***ed Up, Urbania, Velvet Goldmine, The Wedding Banquet, Yossi and Jagger.

To vote, click onto Outfest.com

I was heartened to read on Advocate.com: that President Gerald Ford, who died Tuesday night in Rancho Mirage at the age of 93, was the only former Republican president to reach out to gays and lesbians and call for their inclusion in the GOP.
In 2002, Ford joined the Republican Unity Coalition as a member of the organization's Advisory Board. The RUC is a fundraising organization dedicated to making homosexuality a "non-issue" for the Republican Party.
"I have always believed in an inclusive policy, in welcoming gays and others into the party," Ford told The Detroit News in 2001. "I think the party has to have an umbrella philosophy if it expects to win elections."
This is consistent with the unifying spirit that Ford, the 38th president of the United States, embodied. He is most remembered for restoring the nation's political stability following the resignation of President Nixon amid the Watergate scandal in 1974. At that time he was criticized for pardoning the disgraced president, a move some say cost him the White House in 1976. But the former congressman from Michigan was praised by some for ignoring his own political viability in favor of helping the nation heal and come together after Watergate.
Ford's life was saved by a gay man in 1975. Openly gay Marine Vietnam veteran Oliver "Bill'' Sipple deflected a second gunshot aimed at Ford (the first had missed) as he emerged from the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. He grabbed at the arm of the shooter, an FBI informant named Sara Jane Moore.
But according to The San Francisco Chronicle, Sipple's act of heroism also was his undoing. The paper ran a story on September 24, 1975, saying that one reason the White House had yet to thank Sipple for his potentially lifesaving gesture was that he was a gay man. It turned out that Sipple's family had not known he was gay, and the disclosure resulted in him being alienated from his relatives.
Sipple sued The Chronicle for damages, but his case was eventually dismissed. He slid into alcoholism and died in 1989 at age 47. Among his prized possessions was the letter of thanks he eventually got from the White House.

For the next three days, Out In Hollywood will be handing out the Outies: year-end awards to the best and worst of 2006 as voted on by a jury of three: me, myself and I! OK, so it's not as exciting as next month's Oscar nominations but for the week between Christmas and New Year's, it's SOMETHING!

CLASSIEST COMING OUT EVER: Neil Patrick Harris. The talented television and Broadway star was being pressured by bloggers - mainly the aggressive Perez Hilton - to come out after a publicist mistakenly said that Harris, who had never diuscussed his private life - was NOT gay. To clear matters up, the star of the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" released the following statement to People.com: “I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love..." Then Harris simply got back to work on his show and also kept his obligations to host a local drama awards gala in L.A. the next week then announced the People's Choice Award nominees after that. He is in a relationship with actor David Burka but they remain low-profile with occassional pictures of them walking their dogs surfacing. This is quite a contrast to the...

CLUMSIEST COMING OUT OF 06: Sorry Lance Bass, but you struck me as a fading star who had nothing to lose and everything to gain by coming out in the cover of People magazine. I cringed when I read that first interview as Bass described himself and his circle of friends as "Straight Acting Gays" or SAGS. Since then, Bass has not really had anything very profound to say but has certainly been basking in the limelight with boyfriend Reichen Lehmkul at various events around the country. It's the most attention he's received since his days with NSYNC. Lehmkuhl, in discussing how blogger Hilton pushed Bass of the closet by posting photos of the pair wearing each other's clothes on different days, said Bass and Harris had been "lanced." It hasn't caught on. But it is nice to see Bass become more comfortable with being out and about as a gay man and I hope he will eventually have something to say or do some work of note.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Tennis star Amelie Mauresmo, who has been an openly-gay player on the women's tour for nearly a decade. She may have lost her number one ranking last month to Justine Henin-Hardine, but she beat Justine in the finals of the Australian Open then came from behind to defeat her in the Wimbledon final as well. It was glorious and her speech after the Wimbledon win showed the world just how articulate, charming and thoughtful this beautiful woman is. Winning two of her sports' biggest prizes came after years of talk that Amelie would never live up to her grand potential. But she has done so now and has always remained true to herself along the way. She had a great role model in Martina Navratilova who retired from tennis one month shy of her 50th birthday. And Martina went out a winner as she won the mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open with Bob Bryan.

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: Former "Queen of nice" Rosie O'Donnell quit her popular daytime show before she publicly came out and seemed content to do things like raise her four kids with wife Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell, speak out for adoption rights for gay parents and for marriage equality, launch a gay family cruise line, and make the occasional appearance here and there on television or stage. But then came Meredith Viera's departure from "The View" and Barbara Walters' brilliant decision to replace her with the outspoken Rosie (pictured, left, doing her imitation of Donald Trump's combover and face). The show's ratings are up, the hot topics segment often makes news (and gets Rosie in hot water) and Rosie again has a platform to be Rosie - the real Rosie this time, not the Tom Cruise crush Rosie. As a very out lesbian, her presence on this show each day is really helping to change the world and to give a lot of viewers the gay friend they never thought they'd have and really like.

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: Bill Condon. "Dreamgirls" is a dream come true and the openly-gay Condon is largely the reason why. He brought this stage show to the screen and made it dazzle. He deserves all credit for directing a newcomer like Jennifer Hudson to such a landmark performance and for allowing Eddie Murphy the opportunity to give the performance of his career. Musicals are always tricky but Condon masterfully pulled this off with his talented cast and crew. What a gift he has given us, a classic musical just like they used to make - one that we'll want to see again and again and again...

Stay tuned for more Outies Thursday and Friday!

This is terrific! With a new episode of "Brothers & Sisters" not airing until Jan.7, anyone who has missed any episodes of my favorite show can now catch up on ABC.com where episodes debuted online just this week. I was talking to my good friend Karen the other day and although she has been reading about the show on my blog, she hasn't seen it yet! OK Karen, time to add ABC.com to your favorites!

Now you can relive, or in Karen's case watch for the first time, the unfolding of the romance between Scotty (Luke MacFarlane) and Kevin (Matthew Rhys) from the flirtation to first kiss to second kiss to..break-up. I miss Scotty! Those two crazy kids are meant for each other! Oh well, maybe next season there will be a reconciliation.
I have a few thoughts about this Sunday night family drama which also has plenty of humor too. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I worship Sally Field. As family matriarch Nora Walker, I think this show has given her one of her best roles in a career that now spans 40-plus years and includes two Oscars ("Norma Rae" and "Places in the Heart") and two Emmys ("Sybil" and "ER").
Rachel Griffiths is also operating on all cylinders as Field's daughter Sarah who is juggling motherhood with running the family business. Griffiths is such an interesting actress and her character here is so much more appealing than Brenda on "Six Feet Under." I think Calista Flockhart is still settling into her role as Kitty Walker. At first I thought she was miscast but now I can't imagine anyone else in the part and her chemistry with Field and with Rhys is excellent and very real. I'm also crazy about Dave Annable as Justin, the troubled son who is fighting his demons and making his mom cry just about every episode.
So, I love the show, absolutely. And the addition of Rob Lowe? Fantastic! But, I think maybe the cast is too big and maybe brother Thomas (Balthazar Getty) should maybe do what older brother Chuck did on "Happy Days" all those years ago: just say he's going out to play basketball and never return. No explanations needed. And his pretty wife Julia (Sarah Jane Morris) might as well go with him since she is given so little to do (Morris had far more to do as Zoey during the final season of "Felicity").
And finally, I don't like Uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin). He needs to be redeemed for deceiving his own sister (Nora) on so many levels. I don't get his character at all. Is he a good guy? A bad guy? And mostly, I don't much care.

I'm glad to see that Sports Illustrated does more than just release a swimsuit issue with a bunch of hot women in it. We gay guys want some eye candy too! So the mag has released a list of the top 20 best looking athletes. I have no complaints about any of them. I'd put tennis champ Rafael Nadal (10th place) in first place though over Kelly Slater because he is not only beautiful facially, but he has a killer body with these bulging biceps. What really makes Nadal (above) most sexy though is his passion. When he's on the court, he is all fist-pumps and acrobatics and in interviews, he is thoughtful and sweet. He won the French Open and beat number one player Roger Federer four times this year!
Since tennis is my main sport, I will remark on the other three tennis pros that made the list: James Blake (13th), Andy Roddick (17th) and Marat Safin (18th). Blake (pictured at right w/Roddick) is a real fighter who overcame a broken neck and serious illness to charge into the top five this year. He's very good looking but I prefer when he had these really cool dreadlock to the shaved head he currently has.
Roddick has those boyish looks that could land him on a show liike "Dawson's Creek" or "One Tree Hill." But instead of acting, Roddick has chosen to be a tennis star who made it to the finals of the U.S. Open this year (he won the tournament in 2003). As for Safin (pictured, left), the 2000 U.S. Open champ and 2004 Australian Open champion, he is some tall drink of water. I watched this Russian hiunk practicing, shirtless, a few years at a tournament near Palm Springs. People - mostly a lot of women of all ages - were standing there with their mouths hanging open at the site of this man. I think that next to Nadal, he is the sexiest man in the game.

Here is the SI's list in its entirety: 1. Kelly Slater (surfing), 2. David Beckham (soccer), 3. Fredrik Ljungberg (soccer), 4. Zinedine Zidane (soccer), 5. Tom Brady (football), 6. Reggie Bush (football), 7. Jesse Palmer (football), 8. Thierry Henry (soccer), 9. A.J. Feeley (football), 10. Nadal, 11. David Carr (football), 12. Jose Theodore (hockey), 13. Blake, 14. Jeremy Bloom (skiing, pictured right), 15. Matt Leinart (football), 16. Emeka Okafor (basketball), 17. Roddick, 18, Safin, 19. Justin Taylor (football), and Dwayen Wade (basketball).

I was already quite aware of the good looks of Slater, Beckham, Brady, and Bush, but I am now quite fond of Frederick Ljungberg (pictured below) and Jeremy Bloom. Where I have been ? These guys are HOT! I've suddenly become very interested in both soccer AND skiing.

I'm a real late-comer when it comes to becoming a fan of Kate Clinton. But once I met her at a Martina Navratilova tribute in October then heard her on stage, I became a HUGE fan. She is so damned funny but what makes her even funnier and really worth watching is how smart she is. So how terrific it is that Genius Product and Here! comedy are releasing on DVD on Jan. 16 this lesbian comedienne's hilarious live performance of her one-woman show "Talking A Blue Streak.� Kate offers her uproarious point of view on feminism, lesbianism, and life as she takes on the burning issues of the day: politics, marriage, sex, and pop culture. The show originally airing on here!. It's 85 minurtes long with a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Kate has been performing nationally since 1981, including several off-Broadway runs, countless live solo dates all over the country and at comedy festivals, gala fundraising events, and the most popular lesbian and gay cruise ships and resorts. Her second book, "What the L?," is currently in its 4th printing. She writes monthly columns for The Progressive and The Advocate.
Find out more about this very funny and very smart woman at www.kateclinton.com.

After months of build-up and sneak previews, "Dreamgirls" finally made its debut in theaters across the country on Christmas Day. What a gift to mankind! Paramount Pictures, which released this splendid musical starring Beyonce Knowles. Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and the astonishing Jennifer Hudson. "Dreamgirls" had a splendid first-day take of $8.7 million playing in just 852 locations - the third-highest Christmas Day debut in history. That is an even more impressive number when you compare it to Paramount's other new release, "Charlotte's Web" which grossed a total of $8 million Friday through Sunday and is playing in 3,728 theaters.
"That is a really good number," box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers,. told me this morning. "I think this movie will be an absolute crowd pleaser and it has Oscar written all over it."
Obviously, I think Paul is absolutely right. I predict this movie - which I consider to be the best Hollywood musical in ages - will make giobs of money over the next few months fueled by Golden Globe wins and Oscar nominations. I've seen it twice and figure I'll go at least a few more times. Love, love LOVE it!

It's hard not to go into a bit of a tirade over this because I have a close family member who was once a part of the Jehovah's Witness organization and I do not think highly of it - not one bit. But, I'll try and restrain myself and just report the following item.

Jacob and Joshua Miller are gay identical twins who practice the faith and who rose to a measure of fame this year on a LOGO reality show which followed their efforts to make it big with their band, Nemesis. By appearing on the show, they not only came out to the pujblic, but to their family - devout Jehovah's Witnesses. A meeting took place at a Kingdom Hall (that what the buildings where they meet are called) in their hometown of Kalispell, Montana and it was announced to all members of the Jehovah's Witness organization that they have been, as Jehovah's Witnesses would say, "disfellowshipped" (excommunicated) because of their homosexuality and their participation in "Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising," on LOGO.

According to Jehovah's Witness doctrine, being "disfellowshipped" means that the twins have been found guilty of "unrepentant gross misconduct" and their immediate family is to have limited or no contact with them and all other practicing Jehovah's Witnesses around the world are not to speak with them ever again.

Boy, can't you just feel the love? Ugh.

Here is what the twns had to say in a statement: "Although we are no longer Jehovah's Witnesses, we have nothing but love for those individuals who have been asked to shun us. We will continue to be in contact with our family and those who truly love us unconditionally as long as they're willing. We find it ironic that a religion whose members are asked to knock on the doors of strangers with a message of acceptance into paradise on Earth will not accept two of its own children for who they really are. Our wish for them is one of tolerance and understanding and we send to all of them a message of peace and love."

Well said boys. Keep on singing!

BTW: The reality show wrapped up its run of original episodes early this month but, according to the twin's homepage, the entire season can be viewed on iTunes.They have a new CD coming out soon called "Rise Up" but not sure if the series will hit DVD.

After a pretty lackluster run in theaters last fall, here's hoping that "Running With Scissors" will be discovered on DVD. The film, based on the memoir of Augusten Burroughs, is most notable for the Oscar-caliber performance of Annette Benning who has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role as Burrough's narrcistic and bipolar mother who eventually gives her son to her unorthodox psychiatrist to raise.

Benning dominates the film because you are thinking about her even when she isn't on screen. She is so good and "Scissors" rates right up there with her work in "Being Julia" and "American Beauty." But there is other solid work here including that of Joseph Cross, who plays the teenaged Burroughs, and Joesph Fiennes who portrays his first lover. Brian Cox plays the manipulative doctor who takes Augusten into his eccentric and very unkept home where Valium is consumed like candy and the Christmas tree stays up all year-round. His wife (played wonderfully by Jill Clayburgh) literally snacks on dig kibble and his daughters (Gwyneth Paltrow and Evan Rachel Wood) have developed into troubled and eccentric souls. Alec Baldwin is terrific as Augusten's neglectful and alcoholic father.

"Scissors" marks the feature film directorial debut for Ryan Murphy, creator of TV's "Nip/Tuck." It will be released on DVD (and Blu-0ray disc if you are one of those early adopter types) and comes with some bonus features that sound pretty cool: "Inside Outsiders" The cast discusses how they created their extreme characters; "A Story by Augusten Burroughs" has the author talking about how he wrote the book, why he selected Ryan Murphy to adapt it, and how he worked with the cast to help them step into this very specific world; and "Creating the Cuckoo's Nest" gives the film's production designer and director the chance to discuss how they created the crazy Finch home.

I'm looking forward to adding "Scissors" to my DVD collection. Benning gives that kind of performance that you want to watch again and again and them spout the lines with your friends. (You KNOW you do that!)

 

Well, I'm heading down to The OC for a few days for family festivities which are always highlighted by a tamale dinner on Christmas Eve before tearing into a mountain of presents. I count my blessings at a time like this for having a giant family to love (and to drive me crazy!), first-rate friends, work that sometimes seems more like a really fun hobby, and an ever-growing number of loyal readers of this blog!
"Out In Hollywood" will return with new postings on Dec. 26. Get ready for the announcements throughout the week of the 1st Annual "Outies" which will honor the best and worst of 2006!
Happy Holidays!!!

Driving home from a dinner party in Echo Park tonight, I took Melrose and drove by Paramount Studios which was beautifully decorated and lit with holiday cheer (and 'Dreamgirls' posters) and it just made me think about the Academy Awards and who might be nominated next month. I can already picture Jennifer Hudson walking up to the stage to accept the best supporting actress prize...
But, you never know about the Oscars. I'm still not over Lauren Bacall's loss to Juliet Binoche in 1997 and I have no idea why Helen Hunt has as many best actress trophies as Meryl Streep. Anyway, the characters in the terrific gem of a movie, "For Your Consideration," all believe they are shoo-ins for the Oscar and watching them go through the entire award season process is very funny at times. I was going to see "Shortbus" at the $3 theater on Fairfax this afternoon but walking over there, I ran into a friend at The Grove and ended up gabbing too long. So, had to settle for "Consideration" which started 30 minutes later. It's just as well. I enjoyed the movie even though it received mostly mixed reviews.
"Consideration" is written and directed by Christopher Guest who has delighted us with "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind," "Waiting fior Guffman" and "This is Spinal Tap" in the past and brings back some of his most reliable stars for his latest effort: Catherine O'Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy, Harry Shearer, Jim Piddock, Fred Willard, Jane Lynch and Michael McKeon, among others.
The movie within the movie, "Home for Purim" includes an estranged daughter (Parker Posey) who returns home with her girlfriend (Rachael Harris) but that's about it for queer content except for Ed Begley Jr.'s hair and make-up character who had to be gay. As far as male eye-candy, Christopher Moynihan is pretty dishy, I gotta say, and there are also plenty of diva moments to relish from the always good O'Hara.

O'Hara is the best part of a very funny movie as she goes from insecure has-been actress to superficial, collegan-lipped Oscar hopeful totally out of touch with reality. Coolidge is priceless as an idiot producer who says the most inane things but Coolidge says them with such conviction that you sorta believe this woman has no idea just how stupid she really is!
Willard and Lynch play "Entertainment Tonight" type-anchors who help perpetuate the hype around the movie. Willard asks questions even sillier than Larry King's who I think he is parodying. Lynch, the lesbian actress who has been on quite a roll this year, absolutely nails her part as a Mary Hart-Nancy O'Dell-Jann Carl-like hostess from her posture to her smile to her delivery. This woman can literally do anything on-screen.
As far as real Oscars go, I gotta think O'Hara has a shot at a nomination for her performance. It's probably the best of her career. She makes the most of a terrific script. But if she does make the final cut, she won't win. That statuette already has Jennifer Hudson's name on it.

Someone sent me a new DVD that has highlights from the first three years of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and got through it in one sitting yesterday. It's called "The Ellen DeGeneres Show: DVD-licious!" Laughed a lot. I hardly ever catch Ellen's afternoon talk show but I got a good sense of what I've been missing with this two-disc DVD set. She is a riot and clearly is enjoying what she does. During one of her monologues (disc 2 is all monologues) she says that she feels she's "right where I should be" and explains that if her ABC sitcom "Ellen" hadn't been canceled after four seasons in 1997 and its follow-up "The Ellen Show" yanked after less than a season on CBS, she wouldn't be doing her current show which, I think, fits her like a glove.
Anyway, the first disc of the DVD has all kinds of goofy things that Ellen gets herself into like visiting the See's Chocolates factory in L.A. and just getting into all kinds of mayhem; or acting as a crazy driving school teacher for a buncha teens and doing things like eating a banana split while driving ("It's dangerous to drink and drive," she says to them, "not eat and drive."); and acting as caddy for Ray Romano and Brad Garrett during a day of golf.
But my favorite segment involves Gwyneth Paltrow who appeared on the show to promote her movie "Proof." Ellen takes her on a door-to-door publicity campaign in an L.A. neighborhood, mortifying the Oscar-winning star by talking to neighbors through a bullhorn and other hijinks. It was truly funny - especially when Ellen gathers up a group of people and knocks on the door of an unsuspecting neighbor and announces that they'd like to hold a screening.
Also funny celeb bits with Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, John Travolta and especially Steve Martin but the real gems are just odds and ends stuff like really funny little kids with unique talents, her prom date from 30 years ago showing up and them taking a "now" picture wearing the same hideous clothes as their "then" pic, and then there's Ellen accidentally falling, hard, on her ass, as she is leaving the stage. The next day, she analyzes the spill for the audience with slow-motion replay.
Ellen also loves to dance and you'll never forget the sight of Justin Timberlake, dressed as a giant gingerbread cookie, doing some serious moves with Ellen who was dressed as a glass of milk.
I'm SURE you are all finished with your Christmas shopping but just in case, you might want to pick up this DVD released by Warner Home Video. But really, just buy it for yourself. Ellen is so quick-witted and reacts to and interacts with her guests so brilliantly that at times she reminds me of Carson.

Watched the first three episodes of FX's new show "Dirt" last night and I think it has some serious potential of becoming a guilty pleasure. The show debuts Jan. 2 and stars Courtney Cox as a ruthless tabloid editor who will stop at nothing to get a photo or a story. I loved Cox as wacky and endearing Monica Geller for all those years on "Friends" so it took some getting used to seeing her be such a bitch!
She fires people on the spot and expects everyone to not only work hard, but to get results. She must be having a blast. The relationship between Cox's Lucy Spiller, editor of "Drrt" magazine (that's not a typo!) and a schizo but tenecious photographer (played by Ian Hart) who she orders to do such things as crash a funeral to snap a picture of a dead movie star in her casket.
Lucy has a gay brother played by Will McCormack who kind of serves as her reality check. He is a successful interior designer to the stars and one of the homes he works on is that of handsome movie star Jack Dawson (played by Grant Show). If you want to be surprised about what happens in episode three, QUIT READING NOW. If not, here goes: Remember way back when Show was Jake on "Melrose Place," the show that wouldn't even allow a gay kiss between Jake's neighbor Matt and another guy? Well, times have changed - especially on cable! Show's character is married with kids and talks about them on TV interviews etc. But we learn that he is a big closet case when he not only gives McCormack a very sexy kiss (no dry lip-lock is this), he then sinks to his knees and well, I think you know what happens next!" (Show and McCormack are pictured, right, at the show's recent premiere party)
When I chatted with Show last month at the "Melrose Place" reunion party, he couldn't give me details about what was going to happen other than he was playing a closeted movie star. But he did tell me he would be doing some things on screen that he had never done before!
OK, now I know what he means!

Cox and her super cute husband, David Arquette, are co-exec producers of "Dirt" of which 13 hour-long episodes will air. Show is on for at least three of the episodes. I like having him around, i hope they write him into more.

I wrote a profile on the absolutely hilarious Caroline Reid for the current issue of LA's Frontiers magazine. It's rare that I am laughing so hard during an interview that I can barely take notes. I'm having trouble linking things from home so I have just cut-and-pasted the entire thing for your enjoyment. WARNING: Her language is more than a little blue so I've bleeped her a few times since my blog is part of the L.A. Daily News and we just don't talk that way!

Flying the Bitchy Skies
Tart-tongued air hostess Pam Ann is cleared for landing in a special New Year’s show

BY GREG HERNANDEZ

She’s been the opening act for Cher and the in-flight entertainment for guests flying to an exclusive Elton John party in Italy, and now potty-mouthed flight attendant Pam Ann—a bitchy air hostess if there ever was one—is getting ready to land in Los Angeles. She will hold court at the Hollywood Palladium with her show Come Fly with Me, which promises to give new meaning to the term “carry-on.�

“She’s nice to the first-class passengers but she’s never understood economy. She can’t wrap her head around it,� says comedian Caroline Reid, who created the character of Pam Ann 10 years ago. “She hasn’t been back in economy since the ’70s; heaven forbid if she had to work Southwest or JetBlue.�

Reid recently phoned from London to talk about the character (“the bastard daughter of Dame Edna�) that has made her a gay icon in Europe and seems certain to do the same in the U.S. “I’m really a gay man,� she explains. “If I had a [penis], I’d get into so much trouble. I wish I did for one day, I’d just like to try it out.�

Pam Ann will be the main character on the Dec. 29 show at the Palladium, but some of the other members of Reid’s wacky flight crew will make cameos or be seen on-screen. They include Valerie, a 105-year-old who has been flying from Dallas to Fort Worth forever. “All she does is walk across the stage but it takes her 10 minutes. She got the biggest hair, the size of Dallas, and she loves her Southern fried chicken. I’d love to bring Valerie, but I’m scared to. Then there’s Sara from Virgin Atlantic, who is part of a cabin crew that is just so stupid. They get lost in a 747, they can’t get back to the galley. They can’t even spell JFK! They’ll be introduced with the video.�

As always, Pam Ann’s main concern is making sure that everyone’s “flight� is going well.

“I’ll be talking to people and upgrading them—and deriding them—so the boys better wear their finest!� says Reid. “I might put a bomb on board and we can find it. I get into trouble all the time. I’ll have a few surprises for L.A. The boys are just so much fun. We’ve got dancers—Pam’s People Dancers —four gorgeous dancing boys gracing the stage.�

Sometimes though, this spontaneous interaction with the audience gets Reid into spots of trouble.

“Everything has gone wrong,� she says. “I always deal with it OK. Some people look at you like they are going to glass you if you comment on their outfit. Some of the things are uncontrollable. I say, ‘This is a live show, not TV.’ That’s the charm of the show, too. I do play with the edge a lot. Some of my friends come just to see me get out of so many holes I’ve dug.�

But all went well when Reid was asked to be the opening act for the U.K. leg of Cher’s neverending farewell tour—once she realized it wasn’t an elaborate joke being played on her: “I thought it was ‘Cher: The Tribute Act.’ Why would I think it was going to be Cher, for f**k’s sake? Cher Cher? Stop f***ing with my head! Sonny and Cher Cher? Cher? Malibu? So I’m all, ‘Yes, I’d love to.’� Then, opening night at London’s Wembley Stadium, she says, “I was s******g my pants wondering, ‘Why did I agree to do this?’�

She was far less nervous when Elton John hired her to entertain a private plane filled with VIP guests flying to Venice for the 40th birthday party he was throwing for husband David Furnish.

“He’s got loads of money and chartered a private jet for David’s 40th birthday to Venice. I was their in-flight cabin crew. I verbally abused them from London to Venice. I said, ‘There’s a lot of money on here!’ Then we went to the party in Venice for three days and I flew back with them and we got absolutely hammered. Victoria Beckham was on board. Skinny bitch! I whacked her a few times: ‘Get in your seat and eat that pie! You want gravy?’ I was mental!�

Speaking of weight, despite having the hottest show in London’s Soho and playing to sold-out houses in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Australia, New York, and all across the U.K., Reid is wary of L.A.’s image-conscious culture. “I want some plastic surgeons there who can come in backstage and suck some fat out of my ass,� she says. “I want to look like Nicole fucking Richie when I come out!�

For additional info on Pam Ann’s New Year’s Eve-Eve-Eve show on Dec. 29 at the Hollywood Palladium, visit www.newyearsla.com or www.pamann.com.

I happily admit it, I watch the Kennedy Center Honors every year. I love seeing entertainment legends get their due and the talent that comes out to pay tribute is always first-rate.
I watched an advance screener of the show last night (it will air on CBS on Dec. 26 at 9 p.m.) and I gotta say, the absolute highlight is Betty Buckley belting out "Memory" from "Cats" as part of the tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber who was honored this year along with Smokey Robinson, Dolly Parton and Steven Spielberg. Buckley's performance was spellbinding, astonishing and absolutely glorious. She was crying. Webber cried. Good God, I cried.
You. Must. See. It.
The mega-talented Buckley, a Tony winner for "Cats," was supposed to play the matriarch on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" but was replaced by Sally Field after the pilot. I can't see anyone but Sally in the role of Nora Walker but no one but Betty Buckley could have achieved what was achieved on the Kennedy Center stage.
As for the other performances, you'll want to see Christine Ebersole's "As If We Never Said Goobdye" and Josh Grobin's "Music of the Night," both part of the Webber tribute. Smokey Robinson, so deserving of this honor, was feted by Aretha Franklin who I love no matter how heavy she gets, how outlandish her clothes or wacky her hair. When it's Aretha, you just sort of have to say, "You are the queen!" She called "Smokey her "oldest and dearest friend" but unfortunately she only sang a bit of "Natural Woman" acapella. The rest of the numbers, including one by the Temptatiions, just seemed a little flat to me - an absolute lover of Motown music.
The Dolly Parton segment, introduced and narrated by a classy Reese Witherspoon, was terrific with performances of several of Parton's songs by Carrie Underwood and a scary looking plastic-surgery-gone-wrong Kenny Rogers ("Islands in the Stream," a lovely "Jolene" by Allison Krauss, a just O.K. "Coat of Many Colors" by Shania Twain and a real to-be-treasured "I Will Always Love You" by Vince Gill. Apparently Jessica Simpson screwed up her performance of "9 to 5" so we don't see it or her which is just as well. She didn't belong on that stage with the caliber of talent assembled on that night.
The Parton segment made you really respect Dolly the artist as a top-notch songwriter and performer. She a lot more than boobs and hair. Her warmth and gratitude from where she was seated in the audience was projected so nicely down to the stage. She loved her tribute - you could tell.
If you're home eating leftover Christmas fudge, watch this show! If not, set the VCR (if you still have one) or TiVo. You'll know what I'm talking about.

In case you missed this week's Dante's Cove profiles, here are links to all of them and more pics for your viewing pleasure:
Tracy Scoggins
Gregory Michael
Jon Fleming
Charlie David
Gabriel Romero
Nadine Heimann

Elton John and David Furnish, together more than a decade, celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary today. Congralations to them and to the U.K. for showing that same-gender marriage does not have to be so SCARY!!!

I'm hoping Santa is making a list and checking it twice because I've got some mighty big Christmas wishes. I've been more nice than naughty so I'm hoping for the best:

1. Courage for more closeted celebrities to come out and be proud
2. Restraint for bloggers who want to out closeted celebs
3. Continued big ratings for Rosie O'Donnell and the rest of the gang at "The View"
4. Every award possible for "Dreamgirls" Jennifer Hudson
5. A pair of socks for Donald Trump (So he can stuff them in his big mouth!)
6. Another season of "Noah's Arc"
7. Success for the indie gems "Vacationland" (now on DVD) and for "East Side Story" (awaiting DVD or theatrical release).
8. Big ratings for ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" and lotsa action for Kevin!
9. Another Emmy Award for Sally Field
10. Some fun and gay things to do for Andrew on "Desperate Housewives"
11. Giant sales for Dave Koz's new CD of movie themes.
12. For gay marriage to become legal in more states.
13. For closeted politicians and religious leaders to get real.
14. A really steamy third season of "Dante's Cove"
15. For "celebs" like Paris, Britney, Nicole and Lindsay to grow up!
16. For a "Sex in the City" movie to begin filming
17. For Chad Allen, Robert Gant and Judith Light to have big success with "Save Me" at Sundance and elsewhere next year.
18. A great Oscar show for 2007 host Ellen DeGeneres!
19. Record attendance at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing, NY.
20. Many, many more readers for "Out In Hollywood"

Barbara speaks!!! Miss Walters, the co-producer of "The View" on which she also appears on several times a week, weighed in Thursday on the Rosie vs. Donald Chump feud. The Donald, with all the maturity of a third-grader, was quoted as saying that Walters "hates" Rosie and regrets hiring her to be on the show.
Walters, in a statement to In Touch magazine, begs to differ:
"Donald Trump is a personal friend of mine and has been a good friend to The View for many years," she tells In Touch. "I'm sorry there is friction between Donald and Rosie. That said, I do not regret for one moment my choice to hire Rosie O'Donnell as the moderator of The View. I certainly hope and expect that this tempest will pass quickly."

Donald Chump's viscious personal attack on Rosie O'Donnell's weight, looks and intellect yesterday also included this doozy on "Extra" : "Look at her life. Her life is a mess. She's a mess. Believe me, her girlfriend cannot be happy...She can't be thrilled kissing Rosie O'Donnell. What's worse than that?...Can you imagine what Kelli has to put up with? Living with a pigface is very tough."

Does Donald Chump REALLY think his beautiful wife would have even given him the time of day is he weren't loaded. No way! So Beauty and the Beast comparisons are not the wise way to go cuz Donald, you are NOT very pretty. Proving this point is a picture posted today on TMZ.com. (see below).

Rosie pointed out Kelli in the audience on today's "View" and said said, "I was afraid to leave her home in case someone with a combover [ahem] came and stole her from me." She had earlier posted these remarks on her blog: "i will let u know if the donald sues me or if kelli leaves me for one of his pals. dont u find him charming."

Not at all.

Anyway, there is head-scratching over what Mr. Chump thinks he can sue Rosie for. Free speech is legal in America. She said he cheated on his wife. He did. That he went bankrupt. He did. That he has awfiul hair. He does. That the whole Miss. USA thing is a publicity stunt for his show. It was.

Stay tuned.

Of course I love "Dante's Cove" because of all the hot guys. But there are some pretty hot girls too and it is the only show I can think of that offers equal time to both gay men and lesbians. I love Tracy Scoggins and I love Thea Gill but the woman on the show that I love the most is Nadine Heimann who plans Van. She is terrific! I talked to Nadine recently and was shocked to learn that this is her first TV acting job!
"I love Van. This is actually my first real character, the first actual job I've ever done. I've done a lot of hosting and commercial work and modeling but this is my first chance to really delve into a character and work with a group for a long period of time. I've actually grown a lot and am starting to study a lot now and starting to fall in love with the craft. I kind of take it from my stomach, real feelings and emotions from inside of me.""
This is amazing to me. Nadine's performance is so natural and so powerful that you'd think she was an old pro at this. Her character has to face down some of the biggest villians on the show and she is just fearless. Van makes bad decisions at times, but she is courageous and has enbraced the witchcraft that she somehow seemed born to do.
This has made Van popular with lesbian viewers but also with gay men as well. "It's actually surprising that the gay fans will email me and say, 'I know this is weird because I'm a guy but you're my favorite.' And I'm like. 'Oh! A 16 year old boy from Texas wants to be a lesbian witch! (laughs)."
Her character is best friends with Toby (Charlie David) and their bond really bridges things nicely for the male and female fans."Toby and Van are each other's whole security system - security blanket. They are both going through so much. In real life, I love Charlie. For a lesbian and a gay man to have that kind of relationship together, it's not that common. But they have the type of bond that really any best friend relationship has."

Nadine admits, reluctantly,. that she is straight in real life. But on the screen, she sure makes for one helluva lesbian!!!

Oh, this is rich.
Donald Trump is set to sue Rosie O'Donnell after she branded him a "snake-oil salesman" and called his staging of a press conference - in which he decided to allow Miss USA Tara Conner to keep her crown despite underage drinking - a publicity stunt.
"Because his show ‘The Apprentice' is starting again in January, he held a big press conference to see if he was going to allow Miss USA, such a prestigious title," Rosie said on "The View" while rolling her eyes. "It's basically a model competition . . . They have one question in Miss USA, yeah and they're like ‘I'd like to cure cancer and end world hunger – and then I'd like to go to Studio 54 and do some crack.'"
"There he is, hair looping, going everyone, everyone deserves a second chance," Rosie said. "He's the moral authority? Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair, had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for twenty year olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend."
She also said she expected him to sue her but added "he'll probably be bankrupt by that time so I won't have to worry."
So Donald fired back on the various entertainment shows later Wednesday. On "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider" he called Rosie "fat" and "ugly on the inside and outside" and on and on. And he said this to "Access Hollywood": "She says things that come to her mouth, she's not smart, she's crude, she's ignorant and to be honest I look forward to suing Rosie. I'm gonna sue her and I look forward to it. She's really very dangerous for the show."
Real dangerous. Ratings are through the roof and feuds like this only pump them up more.
Trump also branded Rosie "a loser." "Rosie's been a loser for a long time. Her magazine failed, she got sued. She folded up like a tent. Rosie is somebody out of control who really just doesn't have it and she ought to be careful because I'll send one of my friends to pick up her girlfriend and I think it would be very easy."
Can you BELIEVE this dude? How old is he? Three? You'd think a man with that much money and that bad a hairdo would have a much thicker skin. I was considering checking out the new season of "The Apprentice" since it takes place in L.A. and reportedly has two gay male contestants. But I don't think I'll be able to watch this bore - especially after he started calling names at a woman who has a bigger heart than most and is far more deserving of our respect than Donald Chump.
And Mr. Chump, maybe Rosie's wife Kelli isn't as shallow as you are and will resist temptation unlike you, who left Ivana - the mother of your three children - for a younger woman. They have four children and you should have more respect.
Meanwhile, "View" Executive Producers Bill Geddie and Barbara Walters weighed in on the verbal fracas releasing this statement: "Both Rosie and Donald are high-spirited, opinionated people. Donald has been a friend of "The View" for many years and Rosie, of course, is our enormously popular moderator. We cherish them both and hope the New Year brings calm and peace."

Gee Barbara and Bill, way to stand behind your gal.

I usually try and take the high road on "Out In Hollywood." Usually. But this is just too dishy to pass up. I reported last week that I bumped into Reichen last week on his way to the OutZoneTV party at Here Lounge in WeHo. He was sweet and friendly to me and worked the press line like a pro. So, I decided I wasn't going to post any snarky items about he and Lance from here on out. But Perez Hilton did not! Perez reported on his blog that later that night (I was looooong gone by that time I guess), Reichen was allegedly spotted making out with a reality show contestant etc. All this as he professed to still be in a relationship with Lance Bass.
Well, Reichen was LIVID over these items posted on the Hilton blog and posted a message of his own on his MySpace account. Here is the text:

All,

From the Horse's Mouth: Just a friendly reminder that when you read websites like PerezHilton.com, you are reading lies and are being taken advantage of as you make more money for a person who does nothing but fabricate storeis to make his site look interesting.
That anyone would trust someone like Mario Lavendeira (PerezHilton.com) who STEALS from photographers, bloggers, and the general population, is beyond me, really. This person is a common criminal.
Contrary to what this ugly wind-bag has reported, I have not broken up with my boyfriend. I did not go home with anyone from "Survivor" from any party. I have not "made out with" anyone at a party while I have been with my boyfriend. The opposite has been written on his site. It is all a complete and blantant lie. This person is a liar. Period.
My book was done before I ever met Lance. I do not date people so that I can "use" them. I'm self-sufficient and happy to be that way. I have served my country, I have made my own money, my own career, written my own books, bought my own homes and other possesions, and I'm proud to be this way, on my own. I am not broke. I am individually financially sound. I date people because I happen to love them. Period.
I will only post this once. This disgusting person and his site makes up blatant lies to create interesting stories. I am one of this criminal's targets. Understand that. So know, from here on out, that if you read anything about ME on PerezHilton.com, you are 99.9% sure to be reading a lie or an exagerrated, incorrect version of something that is 0.01% true.
Merry Christmas Everybody!!
Love, Reichen

I love producing my "Out In Hollywood" more than anything else I do professionally. But I also love the satisfaction of producing more in-depth journalism for both the L.A. Daily News where I am a staff writer and for The Advocate, where I am a contributing writer.
So, in an act of shameless self-promotion, I'd like to point you to a story on gay bloggers that I wrote for the year-ened issue of The Advocate. I interviewed a lot of bloggers who I really admire including John Aravosis (AmericaBlog) and Andy Towle (Towleroad) as well as media experts, magazine editors and publicists on a story that focuses on the impact gay bloggers have had on the world in 2006. Of course, Perez Hilton and I also sat down and spoke for the article - one of countless ones this self-proclaimed "Queen of All Media" is featured in these days.
So, click onto Advocate.com then onto current newsstand issue to get to my story and others in the year-end issue.

He's the handsome new club owner on "Dante's Cove" and Gabriel Romero certainly made an impression in the season finale. Let me just say it took place in the kitchen of the hotel when everyone was under a love spell and Gabriel's character, Marco Laveau, was not wearing any clothes: "That magic works on all of us," Gabriel told me, laughing.

We had met a few years back at a Trevor Project fundraiser and I remember having a long, in-depth conversation with Gabriel about spirituality and other things. It was such a nice departure from a lot of the superficial stuff that goes on at those kinds of events.
But this was before he joined Dante's Cove. This time, we had other things to talk about like what is Marco Lavreau all about?
"There's a real mystery to the character. We don't know yet if he's bad or good. He has a mysterious past. He knows something about the magic that goes on in Dante's Cove. You'll find out a lot more about Marco in this next season."
Romero says joining the show in its second season when it was already an established hit "has been awesome."
"All of the actors and the crew and the producers embraced me. They were so loving and such a great group of people to work with. That part was easy. The harder part was getting the style of the show and falling into that and to really fit in with the characters and start creating my own and add a little bit of spice as a Latino in there."

Q. So, who do you want to hook up with next season? Toby? Kevin? Adam? Ambrosious?
A. "If you really want to know the truth, I want the WOMEN! Van and Michelle had such a beautiful relationship. I want that! I keep telling them, why don't we have an episode where the magic works on all of us and we all turn?
Q. But you're gay in real-life, right?
A. "I'm bisexual.

Oh, THAT explains things! Anyway, Gabriel, who has done all kinds of stage work in L.A., has never shied from gay roles. He caused a sensation in Mexico when he played a gay character on a telenovela "Los Beltran." He also appeared in the short films "Myopia" and "My Straight Boyfriend."

I'm working from home today so had "The View" on in the background. After watching the first half-hour of the show, I gotta say, Rosie O'Donnell on that show is helping to change the world and cure it of homophobia. Think about how so many times someone who was anti-gay or whatever finds out one of their friends/family members is gay and it changes them. I see it that way with Rosie. So many people feel like they know her and seeing on this show, as herself, is changing their attitudes - and they might not even be aware of it.
For example: Just after the women sat down for the opening 'Hot Topics' segment, Joy Behar looks at Rosie, wearing a sparkly and rather dressy red jacket and casually says: "It brings out your feminine side." Rosie explains that she is wearing it to a dinner later and just wanted to get used to it. She said the last time she had gone to this particular dinner, she wore sweats! So, "I wore it for (wife) Kelli."
I thought, cool. But then Rosie goes further (of course): "When Bette Midler was on the show last week she whispered into my ear: 'I'm so glad you're over that butch phase!" Rosie then admitted that one of her shorter haircuts during the period between the end of her own talk show and joining this one "scared a lot of people."
Anyway, then the BEST part of all. As they cut away to commercial, Rosie showed video of her family (Kelli and their four kids) decorating their Christmas tree. To the sounds of Barbra Streisand's version of "Do You Hear What I hear?" you see the family (and Rosie as Santa!) being a family, a happy, wonderful family. Even the da,ned dog looked happy!
God bless ya Rosie for being you, for sharing your family with America, and for helping to change the world - one viewer at a time.

ONE MORE THING: As is that weren't enough, Behar later welcomed comedienne Judy Gold on to talk about her show "25 Questions for a Jewish Mother" currently playing at St. Luke's Theater in NYC. I had no idea who Gold was but now I do and she is a riot. She's also a lesbian. she just started talking about how her kids have "two Jewish mothers" and Joy interrupts her and says: "You didn't set up that you are a lesbian." Gold says, "Oh yeah, I'm gay. I'm a lesbian mom. Who else is a lesbian mom?"
The camera flashes to Rosie who is sitting in the audience with Elizabeth Hasslebeck (who has calmed down in a good way). Rosie smiled and raised her hand.

Just noticed this in The Hollywood Reporter: ABC has given the green light to the drama pilot "Football Wives," based on the popular British primetime soap "Footballers' Wives" which airs on BBC America in the U.S.
Hooray! I love this show for many reasons (the delicious character of Tanya Turner (Zoe Lucker) being the biggest one!)But here's a few queer reasons to cheer: the character of Noah Alexander (Marcel McCalla), introduced in season three, is gay. Not only is he gay, but he fancies the team's David Beckham-ish captain, Conrad Gates (Ben Price). Conrad is married and is carrying in various affairs with women but being the open-minded guy that he is, he also has an affair with Noah!
So here, the deal. How gay will the U.S. version, centered around the NFL instead of pro soccer, be? Football is such a homophobic sport so it will be interesting to see if the show will have a character like Noah and allow the captain to be bisexual.
There is reason to be optimistic though. Openly gay director Bryan Singer ("Superman Returns" and the first two "X-Men" movies) has come on board to potentially direct the project, which revolves around women whose lives are transformed when they marry NFL superstars. I also like the fact that the show is being produced by Touchstone TV for ABC which is behind hit primetime soaps "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy" and promising new entries to the genre "Ugly Betty" and "Brothers & Sisters." All but "Grey's" have significant gay characters (provided Andrew gets utilized again on 'Housewives').
Openly-gay writer-director Marco Pennette penned the pilot script and is one of the executive producers.
I. Can't. Wait!

With his dark good looks, Charlie David has made a strong impression the last two years as Toby on "Dante's Cove." Where others are scheming or confused, his Toby is centered and tries to do the right thing for those he loves including lover Kevin (Gregory Michael), best galpal Van (Nadine Heimann) and for his longtime friend Adam (Jon Fleming) who we found out in season two is in love with Toby.
"It will be interesting for us to venture into Toby having a different relationship," the actor says. "There is flirtation and interest between Toby and Adam who have been friends since high school and with Kevin being whisked away by a warlock (Amrosious) to God know where, what's a boy to do?"

Although the love scenes between the men on "Dante's Cove" are quite steamy and some would say almost soft-porn, Charlie David is the only leading man who is an out gay actor. The other leads identify themselves as straight with one (Gabriel Romero) being bisexual.
"People said I was crazy to come out," Charlie told me. "I'm sure I've lost roles and I've gained some roles. But I wouldn't change the decision. It's a sign of the times that we are having more men and women coming out early in their careers."
He says he is "thrilled" to see fellow actors Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight come out this year and to see out actors like Chad Allen, Peter Paige and Robert Gant working: "No matter when someone comes out, I think it's freeing for the industry and I'm happy for them as a person. Our lives just become so much easier."
With filming of the third season of "Dante's Cove" still several months away, Charlie is focusing on the production of a film he wrote called "Mulligan's Father." It will be made as an independent film intended for the film festival circuit. In addition to himself, the cast will include Thea Gill who plays Diana on "Dante's Cove" and is best known for the five years she spent playing Lindsay on "Queer as Folk."
"The father, who is in his mid-40s, has an affair with his son's best friend (David)," Charlie explains. "I'm finding that it's a theme right now, these gentlemen my father's age saying, 'You know what? Maybe I haven't lived my truth.'"
Well, Charlie David certainly appears to be living his truth and I admire him greatly for it!

I've never met Andy Cohen, the senior vice president of production and programming at Bravo, but I sure love his blog which is on Bravo's Outzone TV page. Andy is a huge fan of "Dreamgirls" and of the Supremes, whose story inspired the movie. He posted one of the most in-depth interviews I have yet to see with former Supreme Mary Wilson and I am not only providing the link (above) but some excerpts of what I found to be most compelling:

ANDY: BEYONCE SAYS SHE STUDIED THE SUPREMES AND SPECIFICALLY DIANA ROSS.. DID YOU SEE DIANA IN DEENA?
MARY:She didn't... I don't know if it was directorial decision or an actresses decision or what but in the original play it was that way as well. That character was not a Diana Ross character per se in total - only in the facade. It was not really the inside of the person. It didn't go there. That would've changed the script if she was playing Diana. As an actress she could've made different choices to be more knowledgeable but that would've been TOO Diana Ross. This way they have an out - it's loosely based. Diana is not that character in all respects. And I thought that was fine. Unles they were going to say outright it was about us. They have not said this is our story. The Jennifer Holiday character IS Florence [Ballard]. Most people don't know that but that is Florence. That's what happened basically along with a lot of other things, I don't think the mass public really has a clue about that part.

ANDY: THERE IS A LOT OF SPECULATION ABOUT WHETHER DIANA ROSS IS GOING TO EMBRACE THIS FILM IN THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE..... ANY THOUGHTS?
MARY: I've always wanted our story to be told so I embrace the play because sitting there watching the play in the 80s... people ask when I knew the Supremes had made it - and seeing the play was one of those moments. That was one of the moments when I saw that our career, when I saw those three girls from the Brewster projects had dared to dream had made them come true. That was one of those moments that I knew we had truly impressed the world. Whether they say it's our story or inspired by or what, that was the moment I embraced it because it showed me we had touched the world with our being, with our songs, with our look - I mean look they're copying our images, it's not us but it's our image! You can't say that for the Ronettes! Of course I embraced it. We made history.

ANDY: SO THEN WHY WOULDN'T DIANA EMBRACE IT?
MARY: Because she also made history as Diana Ross, so obviously for her that's what she wants to embrace. And that's her right. That's her right. For me I didn't go on to become a major star. I went on to become a major great human being, but the world doesn't want to read about that in rag magazines! (Laughs) But I am a great human being! I am what my mother wanted me to be and she was very proud of me. My intentions are good and I want to do great and do the right thing and that's the most you can want in life. I've said before that If I had to die, I would want to come back as Mary Wilson. I like me that much. I remember a friend of mine said that a big executive told him, 'that Mary Wilson thinks she's a such a star.' Well, right! I've always thought I was a star - when I was in kindergarten I was a star! I think more people should feel like that. People should feel good about yourself, it doesn't mean you're better than anyone else..

Working for the TV show "Extra," Wilson conducted s television interview with Beyance Knowles and Jennifer Hudson at the "Dreamgirls" premiere in L.A. last week. Wilson asked Hudson about Jennifer Holliday, who originated Hudson's role on Broadway and who has felt snubbed by the moviemakers and the studio:

ANDY: DID [HUDSON] GIVE [HOLLIDAY] THE CREDIT?
MARY: Yes she did. People have got to be honest and have enough integrity in themselves to speak out, and Jennifer has got to come out and talk about how wonderful it was to be a part of it. No one's gonna come out and beg you to do something if they can make money without you. I learned that. So you have got to stand up on your own and take your own credit. This young girl does not know probably how to embrace Jennifer Holiday, which would be a wonderful thing for her because she (Hudson) has the pipes to do this part and can also give credit to Holiday for creating the part... It's like having Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight meet, you know, they're both great singers and they can meet together and be friends. This spearation thing, this competion - I don't like it, I hate it. People of our race especially. We've got to embrace each other. We've all done great things and the next generation is gonna carry on and do better but no one should forget what was done before them to pave the way. We walk on their shoulders. I hope that my asking the question helped things along. I want people to know that Jennifer Hudson does respect Jennifer Holiday.

ANDY: THIS IS GOING TO OPEN UP ANOTHER ROUND OF PEOPLE WANTING YOU, DIANA, AND CINDY [BIRDSONG - FLO BALLARD'S REPLACEMENT] TO GET BACK TOGETHER. IS THERE A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL?
MARY: If Diana decides she wants to do it, it'll happen. You need her to want it to happen and she may not want it to happen and that's her right. If she does I will be right there waiting. But only when she wants to and comes to me and says she wants to. People keep asking me and I keep saying "ask diana, stop asking me" Are you afraid to ask her? Did she scare you all that much? she's not that tough! (laughs)

ANDY: ARE YOU TWO IN TOUCH?
MARY: On occasions. Rare occasions.

The current issue of "Entertainment Weekly" asks if hunky Matthew McConaughey is the sexiest man alive or a serious actor.

Well, I consider him to be BOTH and so does he: ''I like sexy people, and I think being yourself is sexy. Being yourself and being as good a man as I can be is sexy. My face is considered handsome. My body is considered well put together. For me not to appreciate that would be way out of line. It doesn't mean that I'm not anything else.''

Whether he's datinbg Penelope Cruz or sharing a summer bro-mance with Lance Armstrong, this is one sexy man. But I also think he's a wonderful actor which he has shown in such movies as "A Time to Kill" and "Frailty," great in comedies like "Failure to Launch," "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "EDTV" and a terrific adventure hero in the underappreciated "Sahara."

So I'm feeling a little under the weather this morning but suddenly, I'm cheered up by these pictures I spotted on AfterEltcom.com's awesome blog Best. Gay. Day. Ever.
We get our first look at the new gay romance on "Brothers & Sisters" between Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and a closeted soap actor named Chad (Jason Lewis) who he meets at the gym.

Lewis, so utterly hot as Samantha's true love Smith Jarrod on the last season of "Sex in the City," is signed on for at least four episodes of my favorite ABC show. The first episode airs in February (just in time for sweeps!) but the show returns wioth new episodes Jan. 7.
So until Jason makes his debut...enjoy these pics and check out more on the AfterElton.com blog.

Jon Fleming's character of Adam on "Dante's Cove" was Toby's straight best friend from high school during the first season of the show and he was played by handsome Stephen Arnell. In season two, Adam is not-so-straight anymore and admitting his love for Toby. He's also being played by the handsome Jon Fleming who took over the role when Arnell landed a part in a movie.
"I think Adam identifies himself as a straight guy in love with Toby (Charlie David) and no one besides Amrosious (William Gregory Lee) and Toby know my secret that I'm gay on the show," Fleming told me recently. "I think if Adam doesn't convince Toby that he should be with him, he might lay low. He's kind of like a Toby or bust type. If I've been closeted that long, Toby is the one I'm going to come out for. But, it's up to the writers obviously."
Adam is determined to break-up the show's romantic leads Kevin (Gregory Michael) and Toby.
"Adam is the kind of guy who doesn't let anything stand in his way. I think Kevin should be worried, Adam has put in his hours at the gym. He's gonna want to make Kevin look bad to win over Toby."

Before landing on "Dante," Fleming had done a lot of modeling and was mostly being cast in All-American type roles like football quarterbacks etc. Straight in real life, he saw Adam as "a layered role with him being closeted and having a drug addiction."

Q. So far, Adam has hooked up with both Toby and Ambrosious so I wanna know who was more fun to do love scenes with? Openly-gay Charlie David or straight actor William Gregory Lee?
A. "I didn't want to rehearse anything. I was just, 'If we're going to do this, let's just go for it and we just went for it and had a good laugh afterward. They are both very professional and they were both on the show the first season. It's not about what would a gay do or what would a straight guy do? It's basically how would I act with someone who I'm in love with? Love is the universal thing and I use that. If I love someone, what would I do to get that person?"
Q. Is Charlie a better kisser because he's a gay man?
A. "No comment! (laughs). They each have their own style."

On taking on an explicitly-gay role: "I think the world has changed and movies like 'Brokeback Mountain' has made it easier for straight actors to play gay characters and it's seen as a challenge. You take on the role, you take on the character and you make it your own. I'm very blessed to have a challenging role like this. The show is growing, it's more than just skin. I think there's been some great storylines and I'm definitely excited tio shoot more episodes. The show is growing and obviously everyone is getting behind it."

On keeping fit for the show: "Luckily, I got a start on that when I was a kid. My father was a football and basketball coach so it's something I enjoy doing but it does add a little more pressure knowing I'm going to be shirtless pretty much 99 percent of the time."

In January, Fleming is switching gears and making a horror film called "Frathouse Massacre" which will be shooting in Ohio. "It takes place in the 70s and I'm playing a frat president who goes a little overboard when it comes to hazing and ends up offing a few people. I play a really evil character."

I gotta say, I've always thought Deborah Gibson was a very talented singer and I was also aware of some of her film roles in small indie films like "Coffee Date" and "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend." But until I met her at the Ribbon of Hope Celebration, I didn't realize how utterly cool she is and how lucky gays are to have her love and care about us.When we spoke before the start of the event, Deborah was feeling a little heavy-hearted because she had written a song, "Unsung," for the event that she would sing as the names of people who have died from AIDS would scroll on a screen. She told me it was the first time she had ever been asked to extend a song—the disease had taken too many people and they needed more time to properly display their names on stage.
"We should just be aware of how many people are living with [HIV]. I remember when I was in 'Les Mis' and there was a guy I worked with who understudied the lead who had been HIV positive for a really long time. He was so incredible and such a great example of people just carrying on with their lives. It's important for people to feel support. Causes are trendy. When something's new, everyone's on a bandwagon and then when it's not bandwagon time, people kind of move on to some other trendy cause and they forget how prevalent it still is."

Gibson (pictured w.Eartha Kitt in a recent production of 'Cinderella") was just 16 when she exploded onto the scene as pop singer Debbie Gibson with the hit "Foolish Beat," "Only In My Dreams" went right to the top of the charts around the world and the #1 single "Lost In Your Eyes." She has sold over 16 million albums worldwide to date but is now far more focused on theater where her roles on Broadway and in London have included Sandy in "Grease," Eponine in "Les Miserables," "Belle" in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and Gypsy Rose Lee to Betty Buckley's Mama Rose in "Gypsy." That's not even all of the stage credits. An amazing career and goes to show you how far real talent can take you once the pop star thing fades (are you listening Britney Spears?).

She and Neil Patrick Harris did 'Cabaret' together on Broadway and she is impressed with how he and other male stars have handled coming out in recent months:"I can't wait until it's not front page news. That fact that it's still front page news is strange because in my world, it's like 'whatever.' An actor is an actor. I've had to act opposite lots of straight leading men who, were givin' me nothin. (laughs). I won't name names!

I'm sure jealous Jan Brady would be thrilled to know that her perfect big sister, Marcia, has gotten a little plump. Too many of Alice's home cooked meals? Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! had too many Carbs! Carbs! Carbs! Just how plump Marcia (Maureen McCormick) is, we're about to see when VH1 kicks off a new season of "Celebrity Fit Club" next month - again hosted by out personality Ant who himself has lost 43 pounds ("I'm small as a bug!").
Ran into Ant at an event a few weeks ago and am finally getting around to sharing what he told me about the new season which will also include Dustin "Screech" Diamond, Ross the intern from "The Tonight Show," rapper Da Brat, and former teen pop star, Tiffany.
"I love it. It's going to be different this year because there are a lot of race and gender issues going on, there's a lot of drama. It's off the hook!
He explains how the beautiful and previously slender McCormick, the fantasy of generations of teen boys and lesbians, packed on the pounds: "It was emotional. She had a lot of personal problems and she ate her way through them. She's the nicest person I've ever met. My boyfriend met her and she ran right up to him like she had known him for years. I hate her! She's so sweet. How am I going to be argumentative and combative with someone who I want to take home to meet my mom?"
McCormick, now 50, has never stopped working since her sitcom days. She had the title role in 1997's "the Barbara Mandrell Story," had a recurring role on the NBC soap "Passion," and has had scores of guest spots on various television shows. She's also worked on the stage and released an album of country music.
Diamond is best known for his long-running role as Screech on the "Saved By the Bell" series which he remained on long after original castmates Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselar, Tiffani Theissan and Elizabeth Berkley all moved on to bigger and better things.
Says Ant: "All he does is tak about penis and how big it is. And he's trying t get me to buy his T-shirt to save his house and buy his porno movie. I bought it and he said he was so large. I'm watching it and I'm thinking, 'How did you measure, from the small of your back?' It's not all that or a bag of chips. It's not even a Twinkie. But he's making about 30 grand a month off of the porno tape! I'm about to say, 'Let's go invest in a video camera!"
On "Celebrity Fit Club," participants like Ross the intern (pictured, left) are enticed to lose weight with cash and prizes. They are divided into two teams and participate in unique challenges and each week, they are publicly weighed on a pair of giant scales.
What would Alice and Mrs. Brady think of all this?

Paramount Pictures knows it has a great movie on its hands with "Dreamgirls" so why not build up the word-of-mouth to a fever pitch? The studio will not release the movie nationwide until Dec. 25 but this weekend, offered limited showings in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
All 21 shows were sold out with each location grossing $120,000. Moviegoers who got into the showings paid $25 a ticket and received a commemorative program as well. I got a program at an industry preview last week and it is a keeper: filled with amazing photos from the movie and giving credit to all of those in front of and behind the camera who helped to bring this musical sensation to life.

Season three of the campy gothic soap "Dante's Cove" doesn't even begin filming until April meaning we won't be seeing the new adventures of the sexy cast until summer. But I caught up with Gregory Michael, Charlie David and John Fleming - three of the show's hottest male stars - at the Ribbon of Hope Celebration recently and each made time for a chat with "Out in Hollywood" as did their co-stars Nadine Heimann (Van) and Gabriel Romero (Marco).

Gregory and Charlie play Kevin and Toby, the show's main romantic couple, who are constantly being pulled apart by outside forces including Adam (Fleming) who has loved Toby since high school and Ambrosious (William Gregory Lee, pictured with Michael, above), a powerful warlock who only has eyes for Kevin. Gregory compared Kevin and Toby to "Ross and Rachel on 'Friends.' You want them to be together. But Ambrosias is looking mighty fine over there!"

Read my interviews with the stars of "Dante's Cove" in the coming days:
ARCHIVED: Tracy Scoggins
TODAY: Gregory Michael
MONDAY: Jon Fleming
TUESDAY: Charlie David
WEDNESDAY: Gabriel Romero
THURSDAY: Nadine Heimann

During the break from the show, the 25-year-old Gregory is focusing on his music career and performing gigs with his band, Auxburn. They hope to release a CD of their music next year which he describes as "John Mayer meets Coldplay."
Since Gregory is straight in real life and had a recurring role on "As the World Turns" prior to getting cast in "Dante's Cove," he did consider possible career ramifications of playing a gay man - especially one who is involved in graphic lovemaking scenes with another man. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it. I did. We did it before 'Brokeback Mountain.' But I played a date rapist on 'As the World Turns' for two years and I'm not a date rapist. It's another job to me and I'm getting recognized and there are a lot of possibilites on the horizon."
He believes "Dante's Cove,"which airs on the here! TV pay channel, has come along "at a time in our society where [sexuality] doesn't matter to people and I think it's wonderful."
So for a straight and single man, how is he so convincing in all of those love scenes?
"I'm definitely straight," he says, laughing. "But Charlie is just amazing and good."

For those of you with Dreamgirls fatigue, just skip this post! One of the movie critics who I respect the most, and who is not a snob about movies, is Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal whose Friday reviews are a must-read. Joe may have to see plenty of clunkers but he loves movies and it comes through in this review of "Dreamgirls" which he acknowledges has dramatic problems when it comes to the story. But he gives full credit to Hudson for making it all OK in the end. Here is some of what he wrote today:

"The human voice in full cry borders on the miraculous - an infant's throat can project tones of piercing urgency at phenomenal intensity. Then there's the phenomenon of Jennifer Hudson: her soaring, sinuous voice raises up the film version of "Dreamgirls" and finally transcends it...It's one of those show-stopping performances that makes your heart race and your ears stand on end-full of unrequited love and ferocious passion. She's the best part of the show by far."

He writes that when Hudson, as the wronged Effie launches into the show's signature anthem "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and other songs, "all's right with the world."

Morgenstern praises writer-director Bill Condon who he says "has done the original 'Dreamgirls' proud...What's up there on the screen looks grand and sounds grander, a sumptious vehicle that glides from one number to the next - with periodic slowdowns for melodrama - like the two-toned Caddy in one of its songs."

The terrific actor Alec Mapa, so funny and talented, has some advice for fallen church leader Ted Haggard in his "Minority Retort" column in the next issue of The Advocate. Haggard resigned from his Colorado church after he admitted to buying drugs and to soliciting the services of male prostitute Mike Jones.
"It's one thing to be outed as gay, but to be outed as an adulterous, evangelical, rent-boy soliciting meth head? That's gotta smart. You've fallen from grace. Your own church has chucked you faster than a carton of sour milk...your situation reeks of self-hatred."

So, Alec has this advice for the beleagured Haggard:

GO FOR IT: Come out, but for real this time. Wrap yourself the flag and proudly declare yourself a Gay American. Stop referring to yourself as something "so dark and dark that I've been warring against it my entire adult life." That kind of talk went out with shoulder pads and shock treatments....As the former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, with its purported 30 million members, you have an enormous opportunity to change hearts and minds.

GET OUT OF COLORADO SPRINGS: Spend a year in a gay neighborhood...I'm talking the Castro, Provincetown, Mass., (Chelsea), West Hollywood. You've been spewing homophobic bile because you've never met a gay person you didn't order from a phone book.

GET A REAL BOYFRIEND: Mike Jones is hot, but stepping out on a wife and five kids for a hooker is no way to build a healthy self-image. Grow a pair, own uyp to who you really are, and maybe everyone will eventually end up as friends. Sure, it might take years of counseling and medication, but that's everybody's story. The fall. Redemption. Grace. Forgiveness. I remember reading about that in a book somewhere.

Well said Alec!!!

I haven't seen any of HBO's "Rome" but maybe someone will give me the DVD for Christmas (hint to friends and family) so I can enjoy that handsome Brit James Purefoy who plays Marc Antony. I've thought he was the bomb since seeing him several years ago as a sexually confused man in the indie gem "Bedrooms and Hallways." Purefoy gave a recent interview to Out magazine (he is the January cover boy) and says he leaves things open when it comes to sexual situations and would "never say never" when it comes to having sex with a man.
He says: "You'd be a fool and an unwise man to say never. I haven't as yet had a gay relationship - not since school anyway - but I'd never say never. That would just be foolish. I've known lots of people who've been straight and turned gay; I know lots of people who've been gay and turned straight. I think the more of a big deal we make out of that stuff, the harder it is for people to act how their heart wants them to act."
OK, but what about this gay at school stuff, Jimbo?
"Anyone who went to an English [private] school in the 1970s will have had some kind of a gay experience. You bang 500 adolescent hormonal boys together at exactly the time when they're exploring their sexuality, and don't be surprised if some shenanigan comes out of it."
This revelation leaves gay men like me just giddy with hope. Then we wake up and realize most of us have as much a chance with him as with Brad Pitt! But if there is a lucky guy who does get to know Purefoy in the biblical sense, congratulations in advance.

Took a nice, three-hour nap at home yesterday after a long day that included covering Golden Globe nominations at 4:30 a.m. Woken up in the early evening by a friend calling who wanted to meet for a drink at a bar on Santa Monica Blvd. in WeHo. I decide I've slept enough to have a night out after all. So we meet, have a drink or two at Mickey's, I buy the new issue of "The Advocate" next door at A Different Light bookstore and show my latest article to my friends then decide to head home to get some zzzzzzzzzzzs.
Walking down Robertson to my car, I bump into Reichen! He is so nice as he gives me a hello peck and a little hug. Tells me he is on his way to a party at Here Lounge being thrown by Bravo. So, I follow him in and get away with it even though I'm not on "the list." I watch as Reichen, looking a little thin these days, does scores of interviews and he's charming and laughing and thoughtful. I start to feel like a schmuck for making some snarky remarks in recent weeks about he and Lance breaking up and making up. I'm not good at being nasty! I'll leave that to Perez Hilton (who I interview in thne new Advocate article. Will give you a link as soon as it's available online). Anyway, every time i see Reichen, he is always so polite and nice and I'm just not gonna knock him. I'm not gonna be a schmuck.
Anyway, I begin to wander around the party and I see Wilson Cruz who I've interviewed several times and he's always great to see. He's being led somewhere by his publicist so our remarks are brief. I begin to walk up to him later and I am stopped by some girl with a clipboard: "Are you purple?" Huh? Apparently I had to have a purple wrist band to walk the two feet to Wilson. Heck, I didn't even HAVE a wristband. I was crashing this shindig!
So, I turn around and am suddenly face-to-face with this cute young blond kid and we start to chat. Turns out he's not just some Hollywood wannabe, he's a working actor by the name of Randy Wayne.
He's straight but he is playing gay in an upcoming indie movie "Dream Boy" based on the novel by Jim Grimsley which chronicles the secret relationship between two gay teenagers in the rural south. It is directed by James Bolton whose "The Graffiti Artist" made a splash at Outfest a few years ago. Randy, who is quite personable and articulate, plays Luke Duke in Warner Bros. straight-to-DVD sequel "The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" out in 2007, was a regular in the short-lived NBC comedy "Sons & Daughters" this year, and will also star opposite Lindsay Wagner in "The Surfer King" as a kid working at a water park's snack shack and competes in the "Employee Olympics."
Best of luck to Randy! I hope he stays just as sweet after he becomes a big star. We agreed to talk again before "Dream Boy" comes out for Out in Hollywood."
Getting tired, I left Here Lounge and headed to The Abbey next door (just to use the restroom). I bump into a coupla radio personalities I know and they tell me that I have wandered into a party for "Dreamgirls." Well, looks like I'm at the right place!" But I am exhuasted, it is near midnight, and I only last about 15 minutes.
Party crashing is exhausting.

The handsome Eric Mabius has found well-deserved success in one of this fall's breakout hits: ABC's "Ugly Betty." He plays Betty's in-over-his-head boss at a high-fashion magazine. Mabius first got our attention as a buffed-out stud in the indie fave "Welcome to my Dollhouse" then played gay in "Cruel Intentions" opposite Joshua Jackson (pictured below). He was on "The L Word" and "The OC" before landing the gig on "Betty" and is featured as a star with a "Big Gay Following" in the next issue of The Advocate. Here is some of what this guy has to say about his gay fans and gay roles.
On playing gay in "Cruel Intentions" all those years ago: "Listen, I went to Sarah Lawrence [College]. I went to high school in Amherst [Mass.], and nearby Northhampton has the largest lesbian population on the Eastern seaboard. So I've been user-gay friendly for a while (laughs).
On gay fan mail: "I was touched during spring break this past year - some of the soldiers in Iraq got their spring vacation, and I was out to dinner in Hollywood. Quite a few soldiers came up to me, obviously some gay and some lesbian, telling me how the DVDs of "The L Word" got them through their tours."
On the latently gay character of Betty's nephew on Ugly Betty: "I've seen some negative response to that character specifically. There are comments about "warping" the youth of today or that it's "immoral." Nobody's making him anything other than who he is. Hopefully, in a year or two that will just be a bump in the road, and there won't be any more of it. It won't be about pointing out ethnicity or orientation; it'll just be part of the fabric. And that's why the show is so good."

From where I stand, you're so good too Eric!

Even if it means my story on gay bloggers got pushed inside, I'm happy to see that The Advocate (where I am a contributing writer) has named Bill Maher as its person of the year and placed him on the cover of its upcoming year-end issue. He is outspoken and smart and I'm always interested in what he has to say about practically anything. I wish we had some politicians that had as much common sense and were able to articulate it as well as Bill Maher.
Here are some excerpts from the article on the host of HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" written by HeathCliff Rothman:
His pro-gay statements include: "Stop calling homosexuality an unnatural act," ripping Democrats by saying "their refusal to endorse gay marriage is a hypocrisy" and then there's this one:"The only thing abominable about being gay is the amount of time you put in at the gyum. No, in America, when a man puts something in another man, it had better be a bullet."

Maher says of his empathy came from his folks: "My parents were big on the civil rights movement, and [they talked] to me about President Kennedy's forcing the issue about civil rights, which had a big impact on me. So, the empathy wasn't that big a leap. Either we're all free equally, or none of us are free."

On being outspoken on gay rights: "I get called "courageous" a lot. When I hear courage, I think "This isn't really courage, dismantling a roadside bomb is courage." This isn't courage. It's just the right thing to do."

On same-sex marriage: "I think I feel for this issue as someone who has always crusaded for legalization of drugs, especially marijuana, and was always told, 'What do you care if it's legal? You can always step outside the restaurant and take a hit.' It's like Democrats saying to gay people, 'What do you care? You can still live together, we're not stopping you, we're not breaking into your bedroom.' My answer to both was, 'Fuck you. YOU step outside and drink brandy after dinner. YOU call what's under your roof a civil union.' We're all equal, or we're not."

On his gaydar: "Terrible! When I was about 24 years old [and] a young comic in New York, I did a set one night at the Improv. I come off-stage, sit at the bar, and this guy in the show room, he says to me, 'Hey that was funny.' And we're talking and I tell him I'm going to another club, and he says, 'Can I come and watch?' 'Yeah, sure.' So we go over to the other club, I do a set. So after, he's talking to me, and the third time he mentions homosexuality, I think to myself, 'Hey, I must be on a date.'"

I just spotted this pic of the usually mostly naked Matthew McConaughey on Pink is the Blog so I'm sharing with y'all along with the funny remarks the blogger added to the picture. Personally, I like him better when he's not wearing much!!!

Meryl Streep may only have two Oscars (criminal!) but she has had 14 nominations overall. Her record is slightly better at the Golden Globes where she have won five trophies and this morning, received her TWENTY-FIRST nomination for her performance in "The Devil Wears Prada." The first was for 1979's "The Deer Hiunter" and the first win came a year later for "Kramer vs. Kramer."
In between her first and most recent nods, there were wins for "Angels in America," "Adaptation," "Sophie's Choice" and "The French Leuitenant's Woman" and nominations for "The Mancharian Candidate," "The Hours," "One True Thing," "Music of the Heart," "Marvin's Room," "The Bridges of Madison County," "Postcards from the Edge," "Ironweed," "A Cry in the Dark," "Out of Africa," "Silkwood," the comedies "She Devil" and "Death Becomes Her" and the TV movie "First Do No Harm..."

I happen to think Meryl Streep can walk on water and I am grateful to her for all of the performances over the years that have made me laugh and cry. My faves are "Prada," "Postcards," Adaptation" and "One True Thing" which I think was more Oscar-worthy than the uneven performance given by Helen Hunt that year when she won for "As Good as it Gets." I also think Streep shoulda won for "Africa" or "Bridges."

What a body of work.

I may regret letting you all know about this in case I make a big fool of myself (only three hours sleep last night) but here goes: I will be a guest on Now in LA's Marty Keegan's Hollywood Babble On show around 12;15, possibly as late at 12:30.
I've never met Marty but he's a comedian so he may throw some curveballs my way. He's also a great-looking guy who, sadly for us, is married (to a woman!). I look forward to the chat. Here is the link: http://www.nowinla.com/
and I believe it is avaiable for rebroadcast for awhile after the live chat. You can even e-mail questions in during the show I'm told. We'll chat about the Golden Globe noms, about gay Hollywood and whatever else comes up....If I can stay awake. Golden Globe duty started at 4:30 a.m.!

First of all, I've been up already for nearly five hours. I have just enough adrenaline to make it to maybe noon then I gotta have a nap or I'll go INSANE! Why was I up so early you ask? To cover the Golden Globe Award nominations LIVE from the Beverly Hilton Hotel where we had to be by 4:30 PST. To read my early morning ramblings from there, please click On the Red Carpet, one of the Daily News' sister blogs to Out in Hollywood that I will be contributing to frequently during awards season. I've been obsessed with awards shows since I was a kid: "Mommy, can we watch the Oscars tonight?" So to be getting a front-row seat and backstage pass for all of this is a kick!

Anywho, some of my personal faves made the cut even though Daniel Craig was not one of them. I was hoping he'd get a supporting actor nod for "Infamous" but didn't happen. That category is overflowing with star power with Brad Pitt (Babel), Ben Affleck (Hollywoodland), Jack Nicholson (The Departed), Mark Whalberg (The Departed) and...Eddie Murphy for "Dreamgirls." I think Eddie will and should win. It's the performance of his career.

So, for this "Dreamgirls" obsessed blogger, I'm happy to see the film get four other nominations including best picture (musical or comedy), best actress in a musical or comedy (Beyonce Knowles), best supporting actress (Jennifer Hudson) and best song (Listen).

I was hoping "Little Miss Suinshine" would do better buit am thrilled to see the always-terrific Toni Collette nominated for best actress in a comedy or musical and the film itself nominated for best picture - comedy or musical. But Collette will lose to my absolute fave, Meryl Streep, up for her delicious role in "The Devil Wears Prada" whicxh got three nominations overall. In addition to Streep, who already has xx Golden Globe trophies, the movie itself is up for best picture- comedy or drama, and the hilarious Emily Blunt got a well-deserved nod in the supporting actress category. My friend Eddie and I were doing lines from "Prada" in Palm Springs over the weekend and the one that really cracked us up was uttered by Blunt when she is in the hospital after getting hit by a car and says to Anne Hathaway's character (who gets to go to Paris instead of her): "You eat CARBS!"

So, three of my four favorite movies of the year will bve competing against each other for best picture - musical or comedy. I gotta think "Dreamgirls" will beat back "Sunshine" and "Pradea" but all are deserving. My fourth fave, "Casino Royale," got zippo moms. WhatEVER.

So let's talk TV. How about that Sarah Paulson? YES!!! The beautiful and out actress who lights up "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was nominated for best television supporting actress. Maybe she will win a Globe to put on the mantle alongside to two Tony Awards won by her partner, Cherry Jones. She's up against double nominees Blunt ("Gideon's Daughter) and Collette ("Tsunazmi, The Aftermath") as well as "Grey's Anatomy" star Katherine Heigl. But who do I think should win? There is not a better comic performance on television than the one Elizabeth Perkins turns in each week on ":Weeds."

I know that Hugh Laurie is terrific on "House" but so are the four other nominees for best television actor -drama and all are a lot hotter! (a shallow comment from a sleep-deprived gay man). But c'mon, Patrick Dempsey, Michael C. Hall, Bill Paxton AND Kiefer Sutherland ALL in the same category. That is almost too much handsome man for me. And, they are all wonderfully talented, of course.

This is my final posting of the day. I gotta get some sleep so I can be at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning to blog about the Golden Globe Award nominations LIVE on our sister blog On the Red Carpet. Click onto DailyNews.com tomorrow morning if you want to read my possibly incoherent ramblings as I post them! If "Dreamgirls," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Little Miss Sunshine" nab a buncha nominations, it will make it all worth it. And if Daniel Craig gets a nod for supporting actor in "Infamous," I'll be happy as a clam at high tide. Also, I hope "Brothers & Sisters" gets a nod or at least acting nominations for Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths, previous Globe winners who I think have the best chance.
Time to go and set the alarm clock!!!

OK, so you are a regular reader of Out in Hollywood and already know that my two favorite topics the last few weeks have been "Dreamgirls" (I got an email from one reader today saying 'Enough already!") and the A&E movie "Wedding Wars."
Anyway, if you live in LA or New York, you can see "Dreamgirls" as soon as Friday while the rest of you will have to wait until Christmas Day. But if you missed Monday night's airing of "Wedding Wars" starring John Stamos and Eric Dane, have no fear. Here are the dates and times for future airings:

Friday, Dec. 15: 8 a.m. EST, 2 p.m. EST.
Saturday, Dec. 16: 10 p.m. EST.
Sunday, Dec. 17: 2 a.m. EST, Noon EST

Obviously, for those of us on the West Coast, subtract three hours and ENJOY!!!.

I dunno, I loved Jake Gyllenhaal in "Brokeback Mountain" but I wouldn't pay $10,000 for the cowboy hat he wore in the movie unless he came with it! That's what the current bid is (as of 1:15 p.m. Wednesday) on eBay!!!
One-hundred percent of the proceeds from the hat auction will benefit Variety The Children's Charity. It will be interesting to see how high the bids get by the time the auction closes on Monday at 5 p.m. PST. It'd be cool to own the hat, sure, but I hope no one does anything crazy like selling a kidney or robbing a bank just for a hat!
Anyway, the item is listed as Jack Twist's Cowboy Hat From Brokeback Mountain. It is item 250057893732

Somehow, I don't think this would be happening if Rosie O'Donnell had not joined the show this fall: Disney announced Wednesday that it is streaming select daily clips on ABC.com of the hot topics discussed on "The View" following the airing of the show live.
The segment, always the best part of the show, has become even better now that it is led by O'Donnell who, we all know by now, will say anything!!!
"'The View' is live, topical and hot!" says Bill Gedde, exc.producer. ":The technology of ABC.com will take the show to another level. Viewers will be able to get their 'View' fix whenever and wherever, and that's exciting for us."

It's not exactly the People magazine honor but it is Daniel Craig news and gives me yet another reason to post pictures of this talented and oh-so-hunky actor: A poll of 4,000 women conducted by condom maker Durex Play resulted on Craig being the choice as the sexiest man on the planet. The scene in "Casino Royale": where he emerges from the water had an impact reminiscent of Ursula Andress' white bikini-ed entrance in "Dr. No" in 1962.

"Daniel Craig is an obvious choice for the sexiest man on the planet and he has all the attributes that make up a real icon," says Durex spokesperson Rosie Lodge. "The scene in 'Casino Royale' where he is frolicking in the sea has caught the attention of women across the world."

And more than a few gay men Rosie!

The rest of ther top 10 also reflects good taste but obviously is slanted toward Brits: 2) "Sin City" actor Clive Owen; 3) "The Holiday" star Jude Law; 4) Steve Jones, a presenter on T4, the UK's Channel 4 youth timeslot; 5) People's sexiest George Clooney; 6) cinema pirate Johnny Depp; 7) soccer star David Beckham; 8) popstar Robbie Williams; 9) Depp's "Pirates" co-star Orlando Bloom; and 10) former 007 Pierce Brosnan.

Everyone knows that the plot for "Dreamgirls" was inspired by the story of The Supremes, the Detroit girl group founded by childhood friends Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard (pictured below). So it was great to read that Wilson was invited to the film's LA premiere this week and said seeing the film "was like my scrapbook."
She shared her thoughts with a reporter from USA Today: "I totally enjoyed it," said Wilson, 62. "But I saw it from three perspectives: The original Broadway play which I saw. The story that is supposedly loosely based on The Supremes. And the film itself. My mind was racing."
It wasn't as emotional though as when she first saw "Dreamgirls" on Broadway 25 years ago: "It took me right back to when we started as the Primettes, as three little black girls from the Brewster projects in the 50s. I began crying, it was so much like us."

And Wilson remains close to the three children of the late Flo Ballard, who the character of Effie (played by Jennifer Hudson in the film) is loosely based on. Ballard had the strongest voice of the three, like Effie, but was replaced as lead singer by Ross. In the movie, the character played by Beyonce replaces Effie as lead. Ballard was fired from The Supremes in 1967 and replaced by Cindy Birdsong. But while Effie is triumphant in the end and stages a comeback, Ballard was not. She was an alcoholic who died in poverty in 1976 at the age of 32.
"(Florence) was Etta James and Aretha Franklin in one great voice," said Wilson. "Effie got a chance to show her talent, Florence never did."

Wilson (pictured w/Ross and Birdsong) who still works over 100 dates a year, titled her best-selling 1986 memoir "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme." The book exposed so much negative information about Ross that the diva never again had a top 10 record. There were negotiations for Ross, Wilson and Birdsong to reuinite and tour six years ago but money disputes killed the plan. It's too bad. Now Wilson says she can't even remember the last time she spoke to Ross.

While she enjoyed the film, she told the newspaper that she wishes The Supremes had been acknowledged in some way for inspiring the story: "Not giving you credit - that hurts. But I am the kind of person who can rise above that."

It was even better the second time around. I'm blown away by it. After seeing "Dreamgirls" for the second time, I'm even more appreciative of this film written and directed by Bill Condon which hits theaters nationwide on Dec. 22 but begins exclusive engagements in Los Angeles and New York on Friday. I suggest buying the movie's soundtrack right away and get yourself nice and ready for this delicious movie-going experience - the best musical Hollywood has put out in many years. Better than "Chicago," better than "Moulin Rouge." It is already garnering nominations from critics' groups and I predict will get more nods than any other movie when the Golden Globe nominations are announced tomorrow morning.
I've already gone on and on about Jennifer Hudson's star-making turn as Effie White and, well, I repeat all of that with an exclamation point! All of her numbers are first-rate including "Love You I Do," "One Night Only" and "I Am Changing."

But let me say this, whatever you may hear about her nailing "And I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going," she's even better than that. The audience burst into applause when the number was over and I was, again, astonished at the absolute brilliance of it. What a moment in film history. She sings it so powerfully but she feels it too and conveys that to the audience - her heartbreak. God, she is GOOD!
I also had even more appreciation for Eddie Murphy's career-transforming performance as James "Thunder" Early. You will never think of him the same way again. My friend Donn, who I took to the screening, asked, "Is THAT him really singing?" It is. No stand-in! The guy can sing, dance, be funny, be tragic...be BRILLIANT! And Anika Noni Rose? She the third member of the Dreams and obviously modeled after the Supremes' Mary Wilson. She is sweet and lovely and can really sing a number. I overlooked her the first time as I just tried to process all the talent on the screen but this time I took her in and realize what a great performance she gives as the singer in the middle of Effie's dramas and Deena (Beyonce Knowles) rise to superstardom.
Beyonce is perfect in a role that doesn't have near the meat of Hudson's but does have its own moments, especially when the singer absolutely brings the house down with the anthem "Listen." She's singing it as a goodbye to Jamie Foxx's Curtis and Foxx deserves credit for getting all he can out of a role that is far less flashy than Murphy's. Foxx says so much with his eyes.
And now, for the hunk factor which I didn't address before. Eddie Murphy looks great but Jamie Foxx (forgive me) is a stone-cold FOX! One of the sexiest leading men to ever grace the screen.
And what about the gorgeous and oh-so-talented Keith Robinson who plays's Effie's brother (and the group's songwriter) C.C. White. How could I not have not paid ample enough attention to this stunning man during my first viewing? He sings beautifully and is as much a hearthrob as Foxx.
I promise to not review the film each time I see it because I will probably see in a bunch of times - that's how much I love it. But I want to congratulate this fine cast, Bill Condon for putting together the best movie of the year, honor composer and lyricist Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen, high-five producer Laurence Mark, give kudos to cinematographer Tobias Schliessler, choreographer Fatima Robinson, editor Virginia Katz, costume designer Sharen Davis, production designer John Myhre, and a big hand for casting director Debra Zane (what a genius) who cast the film with the help of Jay Binder.
Standing ovations all around!!!

Just got advance screeners of season four of "The L Word," which begins its new season on Jan. 7. I'm excited about the additions of Marlee Matlin and Cybill Shepherd to a cast that already includes Jennifer Beals and Pam Grier among others. Here is the new cast photo as an appetizer!

I'm taking a friend to a screening of "Dreamgirls" at The Grove tonight. I saw it a few weeks ago, can't wait to see it a second time and am sure I will see it some more as a paying customer over the holiday season. To me and a lot of other people, the best part about the movie is the glorious Jennifer Hudson as Effie who I think should/will win the Oscar for best supporting actress.
But all of this hoopla has left the original Effie, Jennifer Holliday, out in the cold. Just 21 when she debuted on the show in 1981, she won a Tony Award for best actress and two Grammys and her version of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" has long been a classic. But she was not asked to appear in the film - even in a cameo as her Broadway co-star Loretta Devine was - and was disinvited to the film's premiere. This despite the fact that Holliday says filmmakers used her voice for the hit song to market the movie.

"For six months they used my voice on the trailer,� Holliday tells Deborah Norville of "Inside Edition." She says she doesn’t want people to think she’s angry, but admits the resurgence of interest in the Dreamgirls story is extremely bittersweet for her.

“What the public doesn't understand is that I actually created my role. I wasn't a girl-for-hire where someone said, ‘Here’s the script and here's the songs--your job starts tomorrow. I actually created that role,� Holliday says.
“Everything from the song And I Am Telling You to the end of the second act, I created. Effie was not in the second act at all. I fought for her to be there. I fought for her to come back strong. I fought for her to have more songs.�

Holliday has gained a lot of weight (topping out at 340 pounds) and lost her recording contract because of it. She was so despondent that she attempted suicide. “I took an overdose of sleeping pills and, just to show you how bad my career was, I tried to take my life, and nobody even wrote about it. It was like, ‘Okay, I didn't even get in the paper.’ They didn’t even know who I was,� she says.

But Holliday slimmed down long ago, has released several CDs, and says she’s coming forward now because she feels more optimistic and in control for the first time in years. “I was only a voice for so many years, not a person. But I do feel, for the first time, that I am a person and that I am more than a voice and somehow I do want to move forward. I’ve chosen life, although it's still quite difficult for me day-to-day, but I do want to live.�

Even though she has been frozen out of all things "Dreamgirls," Holliday is gratified that her unforgettable performance on the 1982 Tony Awards is on a popular video website YouTube. “I’m glad about YouTube showing my Tony performance because that way the public can see that I did it first and that this is being copied.�

I'll be covering the Golden Globe nominations live Thursday morning at 6 a.m. on the Daily News blog "On the Red Carpet" which you can connect to through DailyNews.com. I'll just be letting it fly as the nominees are announced.
Should be fun! The trick is waking up on time.
But until then, I'd like to share my thoughts on the Broadcast Film Critics award nominations announced today because two of my favorite movies all year, "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Dreamgirls" received seven nominations each including a nod for top feature!
Although Steve Carell's performance as a depressed gay man in "Sunshine" didn't make the cut, the entire cast was nominated for best ensemble, Alan Arkin for supporting actor, Paul Dano for young actor and the amazing Abigail Breslin for young actress. "Sunshine" also was nominated for comedy movie and writer (Michael Arndt).
Gay fave Meryl Streep received a best actress nod for "The Devil Wears Prada" which, ya gotta know by now is my other favorite movie of 2006 (completing my top four, in no particular order, is "Casino Royale). "Prada" also is competing for comedy movie honors.
I'm also happy to see that Robert Altman's final film, "A Prairie Home Companion" was nominated for best acting ensemble because the cast not only includes Streep but also out performing legend Lily Tomlin as her sister and their scenes together were magic. And good grief, can Meryl sing! Fans of hers have known this ever since we heard her sing "You Don't Know Me" and "Heartbreak Hotel" in "Postcards From the Edge." Is there anything this amazing actress (egregiously overlooked at the Oscars so many times) cannot do?
Other gay connections: In the young actor category, Joseph Cross (left) was nominated for his performance as a gay teen in "Running With Scissors," out singing star Melissa Etheridge is nominated for best song for her "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," and foreign language film nominee "Volver" was directed by openly gay director Pedro Almodovar.
As for "Dreamgirls," its gay director Bill Condon received a nod as did Eddie Murphy (supporting actor), Jennifer Hudson (supporting actress), acting ensemble, and original song ("Listen" by Beyonce).

Two of the stars of Logo's "Noah's Arc" were on hand at the "Wedding Wars" premiere last week and it has taken me this long to put together a posting. I am one busy gay dude. I still have about five interviews from the Ribbon of Hope Celebration the week before with "Dante's Creek" stars and others so some treats are in store.
So, first, highlights from my chats with the talented and very sweet Darryl Stephens (Noah) and Jensen Atwood (Wade) who play star-crossed lovers who may or may not find lasting happiness together.
"I hope they never get back together because that's what people want to see and we should disappoint them as often as we can!" Stephens (left) said, only half-joking. "We could be like Bruce Willis and Cybil Sheperd in "Moonlighting."
But whatever happens, Stephens thinks it's great that "Arc" and other shows are featuring gay characters and storylines without much controsversy.
"It's interesting the way it's becoming normal finally for Americans to see gay people on television which is great," he said. "Remember when you couldn't see black people on television? Let's get over it and include the culture. America is so diverse and there's so much going on. Let's have that reflected in the media and on television. It's about time."
For Atwood, "Arc" has given him an opportunity to play something else other than roles many black actors get cast in: a pimp in "Medium," a gang member in "Heist" and most recently, a gang member named "Snoop" on an episode of NBC's "Las Vegas" who "gets to rough Josh Dxxx up a bit."
He's grateful for the work but wants more parts like Wade on "Arc" which casts him as a screenwriter.
"A full-blown, emotional character, not just angry black guy," Atwood said. "It's definitely given me a foundation in the business. People can see my work and they can see what I do. But as far as Hollywood knocking down my door or Hollywood throwing me any parts, I'm still auditioning as I always have."
He also hopes to release a CD by the end of next year that he says is R&B, hip hop flavor. He is writing some of the songs and has recorded two of them already. "Hopefully my fans are my fans and they'll follow my career and anything that I put out they'll watch or listen to."
As for Stephens, he says both actors are awaiting word on the future of the series: "Hopefully there will be a season three of 'Noah's Arc.' It has not been announced yet, we're still waiting to hear. I believe we're supposed to know by Christmas. We shall see."
Stephens had a small role on a recent episode of ABC's "Ugly Betty" and has had a string of strong performances in recent gay indie films including "Another Gay Movie" and "Boy Culture." I saw him in both and he was terrific in each movie.

Anyone who watched "Queer as Folk" for five seasons knows that the real love story was between Brian (Gale Harold and Justin (Randy Harrison) from the first episode to the last. These guys had real chemistry (and that is putting it mildly!) and it was nice to see SOMEONE break through Brian's demeanor and have that someone have such a strong sense of himself even as a teenager.

Everyone from the cast has moved on to other things with Harold appearing in the lead role on FOX's short-lived suspense drama "Vanished" and on the New York stage in Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly Last Summer." But we haven't heard much from Randy Harrison. I bumped into Peter Paige (Emmett) at a house party last weekend and he told me Randy was doing a lot of stage work. (Peter himself is staying busy with his own indie flick "Say Uncle" now out on DVD and a well-received guest spot on "Grey's Anatomy).

So I was happy to see on the AfterElton.com blog, Best. Gay. Day. Ever. that Randy will next be appearing Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" at Minneapolis’ the prestigious Guthrie Theater from January 20th to March 25th.
Randy recently showed up in New York to lend support to his former "Q as F" on-screen partner at the opening night party for "Summer" and Randy sure has grown up good!

Well, I guess they've worked things out...this week. Just spotted these pics on Towleroad.com and thought you'd all like to see how happy and committed to one another Lance and Reichen looked over the weekend at the Reef Check fundraiser in Hawaii. To think, it was only a week ago that Lance's peeps were releasing a statement confirming their break-up. Those crazy kids.

"Ugly Betty" executive producer/showrunner Jim Parriott has left the new hit series and is being replaced by Marco Pennette, the openly gay talent who has created/co-created and executive produced such series as the comedies "Caroline in the City," "All About the Andersons," "I'm With Her" and "Crumbs" as well as the light drama "Inconceivable."

The show is already terrific and I think Pennette will only make it better, particularly anything connected to the gay characters. It's also great to see Pennette land on a show that is already a hit. I interviwed him last year for The Advocate's fall season preview when he had two shows with prominent gay characters on the fall schedule: the NBC fertility clinic drama "Inconceivable" and the very funny ABC comedy "Crumbs" that starred Fred Savage as a closeted gay man and Jane Curtain and William Devane as his parents. I loved this show and still have the preview screeners from it. It's rare a reporter keeps preview screeners but this show was worth hanging on to.

Anyway, during our interview for The Advocate, Marco told me the most hilarious story. It was about how he was outed, in front of his parents, on the red carpet of the People's Choice Awards. He was there for "Caroline in the City" and a friend, unaware that he was not yet out to his parents, asked how things were going with his new boyfriend!

Classic!

Pennette has been serving as a consulting producer on the show. He now will executive produce alongside the pilot's writer Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Salma Hayek, Jose Tamez and James Hayman. "Betty" stars America Ferrera as not-so-attractive but intelligent and sweet Betty Suarez, who works at a fashion magazine. The show co-stars Eric Mabius, Vanessa Williams, Alan Dale and the recently added Rebecca Romijn.

Thomas Roberts, an openly gay CNN reporter who used to anchor an afternoon segment of Headline News, spoke out on Monday against a judge's decision to allow a former Roman Catholic preist who molested Roberts and others to serve the rest of his sentence on home detention after just 18 months in jail.

A lawyer for Jerome F. Toohey Jr., known as Father Jeff, had asked the judge to release his client either on probation or home detention because the conditions of his confinement at the county jail are "extremely tough." The former chaplain of Calvert Hall College High School in Towson has been kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day for his safety because of threats made against him.

Roberts, a former Calvert Hall College High School student whom Toohey was convicted of abusing in 1987 and 1988 after the then-teenager sought counseling from the priest, told the judge that dealing with the sexual abuse that began when he was a sophomore has been difficult for him as well.

"I was let down by a trusted system years ago," Roberts said of the Roman Catholic Church. "I fear today that I will be let down again. This was a lenient sentence."

Robert later called the judge's decision "disappointing."

Although the charges filed in May 2005 against Toohey covered alleged abuse between 1987 and 1989 when Roberts was a student at the Catholic boys' school, the charge to which the former priest pleaded guilty covered abuse only between September 1987 and March 1988. Charges involving later alleged abuse were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Rosie O'Donnell can't stop generating headlines for herself and ABC's morning chatfest "The View." Whether she's letting a drunken Danny DeVito sit on her lap, fighting with Kelly Ripa about Clay Aiken or getting some Asians angry at her for using the words "ching-chong" when she was pretending to speak Chinese. On Monday, she told everyone to lighten up and get a sense of humor.

That's why I love Rosie (pictured as Betty Ruibble in 1994's "The Flintstones") being on this show: she's at a point in her life where she is confident in herself personally and professionally and she's just not gonna censor her. She's a smart and evolved woman and mother married to the woman she loves and comes out every day and shows us who she is. ROSIE ROCKS!

Anyway, the ratings for "The View" were up by 15 percent during the recent November ratings sweeps period (when ratings are measured in order to set future ad rates) compared to the Nov. 2005 sweeps when the show was moderated by the terrific Meredith Viera (now co-hosting 'The Today Show) and Starr Jones Reynolds who seemed to wear out her welcome somewhat on the show and with the public. The other regular panelists are the very witty and wise Joy Behar and the oh-so-annoying Elizabeth Hasslebeck who almost makes ya miss first-season disaster Debbie Metanopolis!

"The View," produced and created by frequent co-hoist Barbara Walters, is number 4 in daytime ratings and with Rosie, the show has garnered its largest audience ever: 3.4 million viewers. There were rumors that O'Donnell was going to leave the daytime talk show for other projects but Rosie has quashed that speculation: "Don't anybody worry where Rosie's going," O'Donnell said on air recently. "She's right here."

I first spotted John Barrowman more than 10 years ago on the short-lived CBS sudser "Central Park West" which had him playing a JFK Jr. type character who ends up killing his awful wife. I was pretty smitten with him and still am but, sadly for me and others, the out British actor is off the market. AfterElton.com reported today that Barrowman, currently starring in the BBC’s sci fi show "Torchwood," is set to marry his partner Scott Gill December 27th in Wales.
Pardon me as I try to continue typing through the tears. You see, John Barrowman isn't just a handsome, talented actor, but he is also a stage and recording star who can REALLY sing and dance. And he's a gay man so talented that he just keeps working and working in every medium from leading roles in such West End musicals as "Anything Goes" and "Sunset Boulevard" and in the U.S. films "DeLovely" and "The Producers." His CDs include "John Barrowman Swings Cole Porter" and "John Barrowman: Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber."
The last time Barrowman appeared as a regular in a U.S. series was in 2001's short-lived "Titans," an NBC sudser with Victoria Principal, Perry King and others. His current series "Torchwood" is a spin-off of the popular UK series "Doctor Who" and Barrowman plays bisexual intergalactic con man Captain Jack Harkness.
Congratulations to John and his lucky future hubby Scott!!!

John Benjamin Hickey played a by-the-book Army major on last night's "Brothers & Sisters" and in that single episode, made the whole debate over whether an actor can be gay and play straight roles seem ridiculous. Hickey was completely convincing as the Army officer who insists that Justin (David Annable) return to the battlefield despite the character's struggle with drugs and alcohol.
Anyway, nice to see the talented Hickey on such a roll these days. Alternating between roles in theater, television and film, he has always been plenty busy. But this has been a particularly busy time with both Clint Eastwood's "Flags of our Fathers" and the Truman Capote biopic "Infamous" out in recent months.
Hickey can also play gay real well too: he was one-half of a gay couple of the wonderful, but short-lived, comedy "It's All Relative" that aired on ABC three seasons back.
Anyway, back to "Brothers & Sisters." It was a good holiday episode that gave Sally Field lots to do as Nora and featured more of Patricia Wettig as Holly than any previous show. With five Emmys between them, these two actresses are among the best and will no doubt have more scenes together in upcoming episodes.
Kevin (Matthew Rhys), didn't kiss any guys this episode but instead was focused on fighting for Andrew in court so that his brother could go to rehab before returning to the armed forces. At one point, an emotional Andrew says to Kevin, 'I really love you." Kevin jokes: 'You're so gay!"
Not that there's anything WRONG with that.

"Wedding Wars," the romantic comedy about gay marraige debuting on A&E Monday night, has been getting a whole lot of publicity because it stars two of the hottest prime-time docs on television: John Stamos ("ER") and Eric Dane ("Grey's Anatomy.) Stamos plays a gay man who works as an event planner and is asked to plan his brother's wedding to the daughter of a conservative governor. When the governor comes out against same-sex marriage, Stamos' character goes on a very public strike.
I chatted with the movie's accomplished director, Jim Fall ("Trick," "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" and TV's "Grosse Pointe"), last week about the movie and his stars.
"The movie really should be in theaters, it was written to be," he says. "But luckily A&E had the smarts to snap it up and make it because I'm not sure it would ever get made as a theatrical film. But the timing is really great on every level, just politically to our two lead actors being so popular (laughs). We shot this back in May and Eric had just done one episode of "Grey's Anatomy" and John hadn't started "ER" yet."
Fall, who turns 44 this week, made a name for himself with the 1999 gay indie classic "Trick" which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He believes that the movie works on a pure entertainment level but also sends some important messages.
"I hope it just humanizes the issue of equal rights," he says. "It's a movie about equal rights but first and foremost, I wanted it to be entertaining, I wanted it to be funny and I wanted it to be heartfelt. I think the way to win anyone over, if they are going to be won over, is through humor and humanity. That's why I think this movie was so perfectly conceived is because it's a comedy first and it's entertaining and if you just walk away with that, that's great. If you come away thinking, 'Yeah, maybe everyone does deserve equal rights' even better."
The production had even more meaning for Fall as he and his husband, Juan King, got married on the set of the movie last spring, in Canada, where same-gender marraige is legal. "John Stamos and Bonnie and Sean and Mark and the rest of the cast came to our reception at the one bar in Halifax and it was really fun."
Said King: "I was the wedding planner!"

One of my funner side gigs is writing pieces for LA's Frontiers Magazine. I have the cover story of the current issue - a light-hearted Q&A with the impossibly gorgeous Marco Dapper whose first feature film, "Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds" opened in theaters on Friday (Dec. 8). A sequel to 2004’s raunchy comedy with a heart of gold, the movie stars Dapper, Brett Chukerman, and returning cast members Jim Verraros, Emily Brooke Hands, and Rebekah Kochan.

The 23-year-old Dapper is from Oakland, but has been in L.A. for several years. He takes acting classes, models, goes on auditions, and works for a company that does setup for Hollywood parties. Here is much of my interview with him:

Q. So what landed you the role in Eating Out 2—your acting or your abs?
A. Probably both! [Laughs] It was a combination of those two things: a person who could act with the abs. There were a lot of good looking, ripped-up guys auditioning. I walked in and said, “Oh crap.� So I think it had something to do with my acting, because there were a lot of hunky men there, like 15 guys with that top-model look. But I knew I had something to offer.

Q. Tell me about your character in the film.
A. He’s Troy from Illinois who comes out west. He’s curious, doesn’t know if he’s straight or gay. He meets Jim’s character and Brett’s character, and Rebekah and Emily, and they all scheme in trying to get me to swing either way. Here I am trying to figure out myself and they are taking advantage of me. Bastards.

Q.Your character goes to a sort of reformed gay group. What do you think about that? Can gay people be “rehabilitated�?
A. I don’t believe it personally. I guess you could be bisexual. If you like a dude, that’s who you are. If I like a woman, that’s who I am. Overall, you know when you are kid that you are gay. I think you are born with it.

Q. Did playing a gay man in the movie affect your views?
A. It was actually a real eye-opener for me. I wasn’t involved in the gay community at all. I wasn’t homophobic—I used to go to the Castro District for Halloween—but it was a touchy subject. I didn’t really know many gay people at all except for a few teachers. But I stated talking to the cast and getting to know everyone, and it opened my eyes to what the community is.

Q. Since you are straight, did you have any concerns about playing a gay sex scene?
A. I knew wouldn’t have a problem. I was comfortable with it. I was a little nervous at first, but he’s an actor, I’m an actor, get over it. We’re both actors here.

Q. Did you enjoy it?
A. I’m not gay and I don’t have tendencies, but I do make it believable. I’ve had guys say, “You’re gay, right? You looked like you were enjoying it.� I try to act and have the audience buy that. I learn the lines then throw them away so I can live in the moment, take in other people. I want to live in the moment and go off the other character.

Q. What’s it like to be the fantasy of both men and women?
A. I’m having fun. If you gotta be a piece of meat, you gotta be.

Q. In the movie, your body is jaw-droppingly chiseled. Just how often do you work out?
A. About five days a week. After I graduated from high school, I started seriously working out. I was a smaller kid in high school. I decided to get in shape and turn it around.

Q. Besides getting to see you naked, why should people buy a ticket to this movie?
A. It’s very funny. I laughed more than I thought I would. With the first [Eating Out] movie, I didn’t think it was funny at all, because a lot of the jokes were gay-oriented. The second one I think will appeal to both gay and straight audiences. It has universal appeal.

Leave it Bette Midler to tell is like it is when it comes to the antics of the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. Midler, a superstar for more than 30 years with several Emmys, Grammys and two Oscar nominations to her credit, had this to say about this terriblly overexposed trio: “I've been the other side of these wild and woolly sluts that we are seeing around our lives these days...I'm wearing underwear, I'm wearing a lot of underwear. In fact, I'm wearing all the underwear that those girls are not wearing, at least two bras and several pairs of panties, plus some panty hose.�
“Girls, get a life, get a grip,� Midler advises. “I mean, someone should sit those ladies down.�
The magnificant Midler, married for 22 years and with a 20-year-old daughter, has just released a new CD of holiday tunes, "Cool Yule" that I hear is pretty terrific.

There are A-list epic romances and then there are 15-minutes-of-fame type pairings. In the epic category - even though they aren't real people - are Luke and Laura from "General Hospital," with all their break-ups and make-ups over 25 years. Then there was Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche, who came out as a lesbian couple at the height of Ellen's sitcom fame and were soon seen at the White House, movie premieres and everywhere else. Superstars Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were seen as the ideal Hollywood couple and their split certainly got the world's attention. Then there was Burt Reynolds and Sally Field who had a passionate and rocky romance during the time that he was the number one box office star in the world and she won her first Emmy and first Oscar. They lasted a good five headline-grabbing years...
And if you go back several decades, what romance made more headlinesand ups and downs than the legendary one between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton? But we cared, we were interested. They fought, they loved, they made movies together like "Cleopatra" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe." These were talented and interesting people with successful careers, so unlike folks like Britney and KFed and Pam Anderson and Kid Rock.
In that vein, I think it's gonna be a real pain in the neck if something so seemingly sketchy as the romance between former 'N Sync star Lance Bass and reality TV star Reichen Lehmkuhl starts making headlines for every blip in their relationship. Earlier this week, I hear they broke up and Lance's publicist had confirmed they had split. But now Bass, via his MySpace Web page, writes that they are trying to work things out (so WHY release a statement confirming the split only days ago? sheesh!).
"Reichen and I have gone through a few rough days... I have no doubt things will work out. We are very mature and deal with things the right way."
Mature? Um, OK. I guess we'll stay tuned for a bit. I'm already thoroughly bored with it though.

I read about some comments "Dreamgirls" star Jennifer Hudson allegedly to a magazine calling homosexuality a sin a few days ago. First Csrol Channing and now Jennifer Hudson? Noooooooo! But I held off on posting about it because everything else Hudson has had to say about gays has been so positve. So i wondered, did she misspeak? Does she love gay people even though she thinks they are sinners? Well, since I think she is so fabulous, I'm just going to print what she write on her MySpace Website where she tries to explain away this growing controversy:

"It should be a happy day because I heard that the National Board Of Review picked me as one of the BreakThru Actresses Of The Year... but it turned into a sad day and I can't understand why or how this happened. When you are up, people try to tear you down. Some paper is saying that I have a problem with gay people. It's just mean and wrong. My feelings are so hurt and I can't sleep. Anybody that knows me, knows that just ain't true. It makes me so mad that people can twist your words and say anything they want. And there's nothing I can do about it, except to say, please don't believe everything you read."

So there it is. I think her heart is in the tight place and I remain a fan. Congrats on the National Board of Review kudo - it will be the first of many, many awards in the coming months....and GET SOME SLEEP!

While I was in Palm Springs soaking in sun, eating at great restaurants (El Mirasol on Palm Canyon Drive TWICE) and trying new things like singing at a Karaoke bar for the first time - ever - after a few glasses of Merlot. I ended up doing three numbers and my friend Eddie, my partner in crime for this little mini-break, fears the experience has turned me into a diva. We listened to the soundtrack of "Dreamgirls" on the drive home and I nearly lost control of the car during one particularly difficult note on "And I'm Tellin' You, I'm Not Going."

No worries, I won't be quitting my day job. Sorry for the lack of postings in recent days. While I was in PS, Fusion: the Los Angeles LGBT People of Color Film Festival, announced its audience award winners for this year’s festival and I think the audience had terrific taste, especially with the selection of "Best Narrative Short" which was given to THE DL CHRONICLES, EPISODE: ROBERT, directed by Quincy LeNear & Deondray Gossett. It's the story of men of color who by consequence and by choice live sexually duplicitous and secret lifestyles identified as straight but engage in sexual activity with men. This episode was terrific and sexy and the fantastic news is the here! TV will produce and air more episodes.

Best Feature was given to CUT SLEEVE BOYS, directed by Ray Yeung. This British Chinese Gay film – the first of its kind – boasts witty one-liners. After the death of a mutual friend, two aging gay Chinese men use different approaches to find true love.
 
Best Documentary Short was given to I’M STILL HERE: BECOMING LEGENDARY, directed by REACH LA Documentary focusing on the creative spirit and the desire for self-preservation within the L.A. Ball Community. I didn't get the chance to see this movie but hope to catch it on DVD.

“We are proud to celebrate the winning directors and their films, and have been fortunate to share their talent and diverse visions," Kim Yutani, Outfest's associate director of programming says. "Their compelling stories and quality filmmaking have resonated with enthusiastic audiences this year.�
 

Out in Hollywood has been welcoming lots of new readers in recent weeks and i want to thank everyone for the nice notes of support. I'm heading out to PS (Palm Springs) for a long weekend so new postings will be light for a few days. But, I''m sure I'll manage to share a few tidbits even poolside.

Future Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson graces the cover of the Dec. 19 issue of The Advocate and talks all about the making of "Dreamgirls," how she had to wait so long to find out if she got the role, and how it was meant to be that she would be voted off "American Idol" the season Fantasia went on to win.
Here is a bit about she and her big group of friends in Chicago - almost exclusively gay men: "Girls don't like me. People say, 'Oh here comes Jennifer and a bunch of dudes.' And gay guys always recognize me when I'm out. I love that. It happens so much - even if I have a hat and sunglasses on - that if I see a group of gay guys and they don't [recognize me] I think, what's WRONG with them?'"

I urge you to read a terrific round-table discussion on the state of gays on television on AfterElton.com which includes thoughts from the site's editor, Michael Jensen, Bryan Fuller, producer of NBC's "Heroes," actor Jack Plotnick, and GLAAD Media Director Damon Romine.
I have excerpted comments made by Damon (pictured, right) because of his overall view but the conversation between the four principals is quite compelling.
Says Romine: "There’s been kind of a lot of anticipation this year, from all the visibility from "Brokeback Mountain" and "Transamerica" and a lot of discussion about [gay people’s] lives on TV with the election and all. If you look at the numbers of scripted characters on TV, though, LGBT characters only represent 1.3 percent of all characters currently on broadcast networks. That’s pretty low and not representative of us at all.
There is "Brothers & Sisters," however, which is telling an incredible and inclusive story, especially in comparison to what else is on. And there’s "The Class," which has a leading gay character. And gay characters are fairly well-represented on unscripted shows. As far as gay and lesbian youth, there’s been improvement, with shows like" Desperate Housewives" and "The War at Home" and "South of Nowhere," which features two teenaged lesbian characters.

Even on daytime television, on shows like "General Hospital" and "All My Children," the gay characters are members of the family. … In all the 50 years [of daytime soap operas], this is the first time that they’ve included gay characters [as] core members of the central family. [Editors note: All My Children just introduced a transgender character on the show.] Now that that’s happened, it will be hard to get rid of them.
Usually with gay characters on soap operas, they’d have their story lines around for a week or two, and then they’d go away. Bianca on "All My Children" is the daughter and one of the main characters on the show now. Of all the people on the show, she’s kind of considered the moral compass. And when you have a gay character and make her the moral compass, that’s really important."

Talked to both Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" earlier this week at the premiere of A&E's "Wedding Wars," a nice event sponsored by GLAAD at the Arlight Theater in Hollywood.
Carson, the show's fashion expert, is wicked funny, so quick and playful. But ya know, I think he's an awful dresser sometimes! He looked like he just grabbed something off the floor and threw it on! Am I a bitch? Maybe.
Anyway, here is some of Carson's red carpet material where he answered any question thrown at him with great humor and enthusiasm.
He had this to say about John Stamos kissing a guy in "Wedding Wars" twice: 'Why can't I be in this movie? I have fresh breath and everything!"
Carson, plenty busy with a new fashion line and a show promoting it on QVC on January 25, says fresh episodes of "Queer Eye" will begin airing sometime in 2007: "We are having a new season of "Queer Eye" this spring/summer. We're like one of those special shows that gets saved until whenever there's room."
He said the new season has already been filmed but as far as filming any new ones he said: 'I don't know, they haven't told us yet They always wait around until the holidays to let you know - keep you on you on pins and needles, wondering if you can buy Christmas presents or not!"

Carson's favorite show is "Project Runway" because "I love to see people yelling at each other while they are actually operating a sewing machine and "Grey's Anatomy" iks always good. I'm a McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) man and I just saw T.R. Knight last night at the Trevor Project and he is looking cute as ever. I'd be happy to welcome him to the gay community, if ya know what I mean. I'm single!"
He says he's going home to Pennsylvania and "you know, liquor and tears like every other holiday."

Caught up with the show's "culture expert," Jai, at the afterparty and he told me he was still on a high from his run on CBS' "Celebrity Duets" which gave him the opportunity to sing with, among others, legends Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle as well as Taylor Dane and Brian McKnight.
"The night I got kicked off I sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with Patti LaBelle and it was one of more overwhelming and emotional experience. I didn't even feel like I was in my skin. I was just overcome with all kinds of emotion. She's great."
Jai recently moved to Los Angeles from New York and said he just finished filming 14 episides of a series called "Style Life" for the new SiTV network which caters to an English-speaking Latino audience.
"I want to get back to acting and live performance which is what I did before ("Queer Eye"). I played a young dad on "All My Children" and on Broadway and it was all great but now I'm here in the television capitol of the world I'd like to go in for some scripts and sort of show what I can do."

I asked Jai, who just turned 27, if "Queer Eye" has been a blessing or a curse as far as his acting career goes: "It's a double-edged sword because you do have that notoriety no matter where you go. The show's been syndicated in over 113 countries. But, it is a blessing because it does open doors that wouldn't have ordinarily been open to you."

Thought you all might enjoy some excerpts from Kathy Griffin’s appearance on "Larry King Live" this week. She talked lots about her recent airplane mishap (smoke in the cabin, emergency landing) and about some booooring topics like a panty-free Britney Spears. So, I’ll skip all that and just share the questions relating to the gays:

King: What is this with you and gays?

GRIFFIN: I, you know, I just was that girl in high school that went to the prom with a gay guy. You know, that girl? And, in fact, my prom date is now a choreographer for Disney World.

KING: Why do certain girls...like gay guys?

GRIFFIN: You know, I just sort of always identified with gay people. They're the best audiences in the world. And I kind of, you know, I sort of identify with a little bit of a struggle, feeling like an outsider looking in. And I don't know, audience wise, gay audiences are great because they'll just go there with you. You know, you can't shock them and they are just game.

But I did have a gay panic recently. I went to the Streisand shows … and I didn't go with my gays. And I don't think a Streisand concert is as good with straight people. I think it is a little bit better if you go with gay people?

KING: Why?

GRIFFIN: It enhances the experience. And so when she started to sing "Oh My Man, I Love Him So," I welled up. And I looked around and there was a heterosexual couple to my right, a heterosexual couple to my left. And I just panicked and I turned to a gay man behind me, because I have very good gay-dar. And I just grabbed his hand and we held hands. And it was like a one night stand where I never knew his name, he never knew mine and we just looked at each other and welled up and kind of gave like the gay, like the gay nod, like that's our Streisand.
KING: Well, wait a minute. Are you saying gays appreciate her more than heteros?

GRIFFIN: I think it's a horse race, but I know she does very well with gay audiences. We get her, Larry.

KING: What did you make of the former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey on this show?

GRIFFIN: Larry, that was intense. First of all, he vanished. So he does the press conference, I'm a proud gay American. And you know what I'll never forget, is the wife. Remember the wife standing next to him in the Chanel suit, Xanaxed out of her gourd? God love her. She's seen everything. Give that woman a vacation. Give her a break. So McGreevey what is it, he went to like India or something for a while?

KING: There he is.

GRIFFIN: Yes, with the boyfriend. And, Larry, I can't believe you asked him if it was a life partner or a love partner. It's life partner, Larry, you have to speak gay. It's a language. And then when he was talking about how difficult it was to tell his father. Very emotional, that was a very compelling hour.

KING: And then we had a guy who said he had a relationship with he came on last week and said he didn't do it. That he was lying.

GRIFFIN: I don't know about that. He was molested? He's 40.

KING: Molested.

GRIFFIN: I don't know. McGreevey's hot. I would, you know, I have no problem getting him off the bubble. You know what I'm saying.

KING: Do you think we're ready for a gay president?

GRIFFIN: I'd love it. By that, I assume you mean Oprah. I tease, Larry, I know we're scared of her. Oprah, first lesbian president, Gayle, lesbian vice president. Just a thought, I'm not outing anybody.

Hey, you know you've made it when The Advocate chooses you for their "Big Gay Following" feature. The current issue features the lovely Cameron Diaz who stars with Kate Winslet in the soon-to-be released "Holiday." I thought Diaz was just first-rate in last year's "In Her Shoes" which pretty much got overlooked but was quite good. Here is some of her interview with The Advocate's Brandon Voss:

Q. How does it feel to be featured in the Big Gay Following section?A.
When I heard the news I was ecstatic! I’ve always wanted to be in The Advocate. I was trying to figure out how I could get into it, actually.

Q. Do you mind that many of your gay male fans are insanely jealous that you get to sleep with Justin Timberlake?
A. No, of course not! I’m not at all intimidated. I don’t even care about the girls who flash all their bits and pieces at him. None of that bothers me. I love it! I’m like, “How awesome is your life? How cool is it to be you?� And Justin loves all of his fans. People adore him across the board, and he’s not uncomfortable with any part of it. We love the gays.

Q. How do your gay fans differ from your straight fans?
A. A gay fan isn’t afraid to gush, which a girl doesn’t mind! The Sweetest Thing seems to have a big gay following.

Q. That scene in [The Sweetest Thing] which Christina [Applegate] pretends you’re giving her oral sex while she’s driving has surely fueled many a lesbian fantasy.
A. I’m sure! Wow, I’ve never even thought of that. That’s interesting. That’s some place to go.

Q. Has your tomboyish personality ever attracted any lesbian advances?
A. Oh, yeah, definitely. Which I don’t mind at all. I love women. I think they’re amazing and beautiful.

Q. Do you have any celebrity girl-crushes?
A. I had a major girl-crush on Pamela Anderson. Still do—she’s hot as ever—but she was my first. When I first discovered her I was like, Wow, she’s so beautiful!

Glad to hear that Nina Jacobson, the highest-profile lesbian working in the movie studio system, has signed a three-year producing deal with DreamWorks, a division of Paramount Pictures. Jacobson was fired last summer from her job as president of production at Disney. She found out the news on the very day her partner gave birth to their third child.
Jacobson says she is looking forward to working at DreamWorks where "they have created a culture...that values talent and candor, and I am honored to be able to contribute to their slate."
While at Disney, Jacobson was behind the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise as well as developing such films as "Remember the Titans," "A Sixth Sense," "The Princess Diaries," "Freaky Friday" and "The Rookie," among others.
Congratulations Nina!

Lance Bass and Reichen Lehmkuhl are attempting to work out their relationship, they tell PEOPLE in an exclusive statement.
"We remain the best of friends," they say. "Please respect our privacy as we try to work things out during this difficult time."
Hmmmmm. Something tells me they aren't going to "work things out" since they have already gotten all the ink they can possibly get outa each other. During their relationship, the two made many public appearances together, including red-carpet events and Lehmkuhl's book release party for his memoir Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The NY Post's PAGE SIX column gives this account of the split: Lance Bass finally kick Reichen Lehmkuhl to the curb - we hear he's already got another man. At the opening of Sunset Beach in L.A. the other day, Bass showed up with "a very attractive man as his date," said our spy. Bass refused to pose for pictures with the stranger, and snuck in and out of the side entrance. Page Six first reported the troubles Bass and Lehmkuhl were having due to the former Marine's insistence on Bass dropping his straight friends and not having a full-time job. Bass' friends also think Lehmkuhl maneuvered the former *NSYNC-er into coming out at the same time as his book debut, "Here's What We'll Say."

This definitely sounds like very exciting news: Premium gay television network here! TV has acquired worldwide rights to the award-winning television series "The DL Chronicles." The network plans to debut the first three episodes this spring and will be producing up to 9 additional episodes in 2007. The second installment of the cutting-edge series, "Robert," just screened at the 2006 Fusion Festival on December 3.  I saw "Robert" and if it was smokin! If the others from creators Quincy Le Near and Deondray Gossett are anything like it, I think you will be quite pleased.

"The DL Chronicles" tells the stories of men of color who by consequence and by choice, live sexually duplicitous and secret lifestyles. Narrated by aspiring journalist, Chadwick Williams, as he pursues research while authoring a book about MSM (Men who Sleep with Men) aka "The Down Low," a slang term sometimes used for African-American men who identify as being straight, but secretly engage in sexual activity with men.

"The stories of men who have sex with men of color are rich and varied and deserve to be explored," Le Near and Gossett said in a joint statement. (I hate joint statements. Think about it, did they actually mouth these words at the same time as someone wrote them down?)
Anyway, here is the rest of what "they" say: "We hope to tell these human stories with integrity and honesty and continue to creatively raise the bar and push the envelope for Queer entertainment. We are excited to have the opportunity to bring our stories to millions of desiring viewers across the US and abroad, and especially proud to be in the company of those who opened the doors before us."

Bring on the DL Chronicles!

James Brolin arrived solo to Monday night's premiere of "Wedding Wars" at the Arclight, much to the disappointment of a lot of red carpet press who were hoping for a flashbulb frenzy with his wife Barbra Streisand on his arm. But she no doubt wanted her hubby to have his night and is probably still tired from her recent concert tour!

Got in a few questions to Brolin before someone dragged him away to pose for pics with John Stamos in front of one of the movie's posters. Sheesh! But during our brief time together, the man who rose to fame as hunky Dr. Kiley on "Marcus Welby M.D.," was quite friendly and thoughtful and, well, still very handsome. Brolin's character in the movie is a likeable governor or Maine but publicly opposes gay marriage when it becomes a campaign issue.

"He actually is (in favor) but he won't say so because he won't get elected again. It really represents a situation that's pretty common nowadays," the actor told me. "A lot of our politicians make decisions based on how much lobbying money is available to them, they make decisions based on whether they're elected next time or not.

Brolin believes it is "absolutely" a matter of time before gay marriage becomes legal in the U.S.
"With the polling and the future of voting, for or against it, all the young people in America who haven't voted yet who are going to vote next are all for it."

An event over the weekend raising money for The Trevor Project, which operates a suicide prevention hotline for gay youth, drew recently out actors Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight. Both actors breezed past press on the red carpet with Harris explaining to USA Today that his "highly paid PR firm" had advised him to "lay low for awhile." But Harris did show up with boyfriend, actor David Burtka but they did not pose for photos together unlike Lance and Reichen no doubt during their limelight-loving relationship.

At the cocktail party after, Knight explained that "Life was good before [coming out] and life is good after."
But their decision to lie low at the event did not sit well with the transgendered Alexis Arquette (pictured below with sisters Rosanna and Patricia earlier this year) who was outraged by the refusal to give interviews and that neither actor acknowledged their comings out during their remarks on stage: "People like that are weak; it's pathetic." Arquette then wished for a world "where people didn't have that fear."
I think Arquette, out as a gay actor ("Grief," "I Think I Do for Now") long before he began to publicly transition to becoming a woman, is being too harsh on these two actors who actually have handled their coming out in a very classy way and by being there at the Trevor Project event, they aren't hiding.
His sister, Patricia Arquette, was more understanding: "It's never easy to come out. It's a very brave thing. I was terrified for Alexis, with all the cruelty in the world, that he would be taunted, teased or beaten."

It was nice to be able to watch A&E's "Wedding Wars" starring John Stamos and Eric Dane on a big screen at The Arclight last night at the premiere co-hosted by GLAAD. My friend Michael and I got in late since I was out doing red carpet interviews so we had no choice but to sit in the very front row. Good thing about the Arclight is that there is no bad seat in the house - the front row is still a good distance from the screen.
The movie is about a gay man (Stamos) who enthusiastically plans his brother's wedding. But shortly before the nuptials (to the daughter of a conservative governor, played by the lovely Bonnie Somerville (pictured, right), he goes on strike after the governor (James Brolin) speaks out against gay marriage.
His brother (Dane) is the governor's speech writer and it somewhat stuck in the middle but is definitely alkso lackiing a sensitivity chip and who at one point, Stamos refers to as "Darth Brother."
Stamos' character is genuinely hurt when he learns that his brother wrote the speech for the governor against gay marriage: "So, it's OK for me to PLAN your wedding, not OK for me to have my own?"
Stamos starts picketing the governor's mansion and at first looks silly: "1,2,3,4, Don't you close that closet door! 5,6,7,8, open up the marraige gate!" But after awhile, he gets more articulate and confident: "Why can my brother get married and I can't? If you don't treat people equally, this essentially stops being America." He starts to get national attention and his strike leads to a nationwide "Day Without A Mexican" scenario, only with gays, where gay people go on strike and life as we know it comes to a halt.
Stamos is terrific as a gay man on-screen. He just delivers his lines so effortlessly and wonderfully with a gay man's flair but not over the top. In the early scenes when he is walking around the govenor's mansion with definite ideas about what to do for the wedding, he was terrific. And when he's supervising his future sister-in-law's hairstyling, he says: "No Farrah Fawcett! Give us a little Jaclyn Smith!" And when he learns he won't be his brother's best man: "If I can't be the most important man at the wedding, at least I'll have the best pecs."
But also terrific were the scenes between Stamos and Dane whose conflicts are not resolved easily. They sing together, the argue, they physicially fight, they play pranks.
And while Stamos is fighting for the right to get married, the movie also shows him as a flawed person who has not even come out to his parents despite being in a live-in relationship with an extraordinarily handsome federal prosecutor played well by Sean Maher (pictured, right).
But both the brothers grow as people in the film and in the end, when Shel (Stamos) says, "I'm not the same person I was before," you believe him. and after the governor refuses to change his anti-marriage stance, Shel tells his supporters: "We may have lost the battle but in my heart,. I know we'll win the war...and we're going to make marriage stronger and more beautiful than ever."

Some other points: Much has been made (especially by me!) over the two kisses between Stamos and Maher. Well, they were just brief smooches, kisses like gay man who are close but platonic friends give each other as a greeting. So, it was not very steamy and far more sexy was the scene at the wedding reception when the two men are dancing together. THAT was hot because they looked so in love. The actors are all strong and make the movie quite watchable and not really heavy-handed. Another treat, you get to hear Stamos sing an old Michael Jackson song (from the days when he still had his original nose) and let me say, Stamos sings one helluva number. I hope he goes back to Broadway soon, once the season of "ER" wraps.
Anyway, with same-sex marriage such an important right for gays and lesbians and such a political hot potato for most politicians who are driven by polls and not their own values, I'm glad to see a movie like "Wedding Wars" get made and that it was able to attract top-flight talent. Directed by Jim Fall, it is executive produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, the team behind the screen adaptations of "Chicago" and "Hairspray," and all deserve major kudos for getting the movie made and for doing such a first-rate job.

It was cold and windy outside the Arclight Theater last night but, teeth chattering, I managed to snag interviews with much of the cast of A&E's "Wedding Wars" including stars John Stamos and Eric (McSteamy) Dane. "Eric, your hand is on my butt," Stamos joked at one point as two of prime-time's hottest docs posed for pics together. 'I invited him to dinner a few weeks ago and he showed up in a towel."

The very tall and very handsome Dane came up to me first as Stamos conducted a miniseries worth of interviews with the E! channel which no doubt was stock-piling footage for its various specials.
"I'm the straight one and John's the gay one. It's not much of a stretch," Dane joked. "My character is a campaign manager for the governor who releases a statement about gay marriage and it creates a rift between my brother and I. He's not personally against gay marriage, he's a politician and he's got the pulse of the state and that sort of determines what his choices are. I didn't have a problem with my brother being gay, it's just what the polls stated."

At this point, some of the other "reporters" interject with silly questions like, 'Do you believe in regifting" and "Do you think there have been more requests for prostate exams since you've been on 'Grey's Anatomy'?" Puleeze. Dane deflected that silliness.

I ask Dane about the recent episode of "Grey's" where his plastic surgeon character treated a patient who wanted to have a sex-change but had developed breast cancer as a result of the hormones she was taking: "She was/he was, my patient for a couple of years and I was taking him through every phase of the transition, the transformation...I think he really cares about his patients. He's super, super dedicated and I think that's where a lot of his angst comes from and his abrasiveness. He's really serious about his job and he doesn't have much time for people around him who aren't as serious as he is."

Then I ask McSteamy if he would ever do a gay role, one that included a same-sex kiss: "It depends on the material. I think we all know that 'Brokeback Mountain' was definitely worthy of that. If something like that presented itself then I would have no problem with it."

Finally Stamos escapes from the clutches of the E! reporter and I remind him of our interview last year for Orange Coast Magazine and he brightens up: 'Yeah! That was a nice thing. And a good picture too!"

I ask you, can this man take a bad picture?

Q. OK, so John did you have any hesitation about playing a gay role?
A. "Nah. I knew the guy was in love with this man and he believed in gay rights but I never thought of him as a gay guy."
Q. Was it entirely unpleasant kissing Sean Maher who plays your boyfriend in the film?
A. No! It was fine. Sean was great. He's not here tonight huh/ (John scans the red carpet for a sec, on-screen lover not to be found). We kissed a lot. We had two separate kisses. One of them was supposed to be hug and I said, 'Why don't we kiss?'"
Q. How many off camera? Did you rehearse?
A. (laughs). We didn't have to rehearse the kiss.
Q. You were on the cover of "The Advocate" and some people were saying, 'I KNEW he was gay!' and you said in an interview that you didn't care.
A. I really don't care.
Q. What do you think of some of these actors who recently came out?
A.You know, I think it's fine. I feel people should come out when they are ready to come out. I think it's hard for actors sometimes for actors to play straight roles when people know they're gay so I think it's up to them. If they feel they want to keep it quiet, then they should keep it quiet."

Well, I hope this flick is worth it. I am skipping the DVD release party for "24" at Les Deux tonight and the always pleasant experience of seeing Kiefer Sutherland. Instead, I'll be heading over to the Arclight in Hollywood for the premiere of the A&E gay-marriage movie "Wedding Wars" starring John Stamos (sigh....) and Eric (Dr. McSteamy) Danes. I'll post a review in the morning along with a second-by-second critique of Stamos' first on-screen same-sex kisses. If I can snag some red carpet interviews, will post those as well.
Time to hit the freeway!

I used to catch the CBS Sunday night drama "Cold Case" far more often in previous years and from the very beginning, the show has had the occasional gay storyline and have been recognized with a GLAAD Award for it. But judging from the emails I got this morning, last night's "Forever Blue" episode was a real winner. But I missed it! It seems that CBS treated this episode just like any other without any special promotion. This is a good thing overall. I'm just sorry I missed it.
Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) and her team re-open the 1968 murder of a local cop believed to have been killed in a drug bust gone bad. But Lily finds out that the dead cop Sean "Coop" Cooper(Shane Johnson) was romantically involved with his married partner Jimmy Bruno (played as a young man by Brian Hallisay and in the present day by Chad Everett).
One of my friends called this the "Brokeback Mountain" episode and it apparently included a passionate same-sex kiss. I love it! Coop had wanted Jimmy to move away and start a new life but he is murdered by two homophoibic cops who believed Coop was a queer cop disgracing the force.

AfterElton.com's blog Best. Gay. Day. Ever. writes: I think it’s a necessity for people to understand that gays and lesbians did–and do–get beaten and murdered just for being gay. (The show went out of its way to ask if things were really that much better for gay cops today.) Besides the aforementioned kiss, the show not only portrayed the two men as being deeply in love, but in fact being “the lucky ones� because they truly loved each other. The show also showed the horrible damage wrought by living in the closet. And despite Coop’s death it even managed to end on a happy note as Jimmy, now an old man (Chad Everett) went back to where he had last been with Coop and saw themselves walking away together holding hands. It was quite touching and something millions of Americans tuned in to see without knowing they were going to.

Dante's Cove Profiles: First in a series...

Chatted up a slew of cast members from "Dante's Cove" last week including the sensational Tracy Scoggins who is an absolute hoot as Grace, a member of a coven of witches called the "Tresum." I''ve been a fan of Tracy's going back to when she was on "Dynasty" as Monica Colby which she also played for three seasons on the "Dynasty" spinoff "The Colbys" where her castmates included Barbara Stanwyck and Charlton Heston, among others.

At 53, Tracy still looks stunning and has been mighty busy since her days on "The Colbys." She was a regular on the sci-fi series "Babylon 5" and the western series "Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years" as well as a juicy recurring role on "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." That is in addition to a slew of guest spots on various TV series and some movie roles.

At the core of "Dante's Cove," recently renewed for a third season by here! television, is the deadly game of revenge between Grace and her former fiancee Ambrosius who on the day of their wedding centuries earlier, she caught him having sex with their butler. She imprisoned Ambrosius in the body of an old man and since then, have been engaged in real doozy of a battle for each other's soul.

"Can you tell I'm having fun? I'm having a blast," Tracey told me. " I like being a pioneer in things which this sort of is being one of the first gay and lesbian nighttime soap operas. I couldn't ask for a more fun character. I mean, I COULD ask, but that would be really ungracious of me!" (laughs).

At this point, I cannot hold back. I say to her: "You look so SMASHING on the show like when you wore that red dress and showed up at Hotel Dante.
"What they try to do with my character is, she was very well dressed in the 1840s and they try to have that a continuing thread when she gets her way into the future," she explained.

I ask, "Is Grace evil or is she just misunderstood? I mean, I know she's been hurt."
"I don't think anyone's black or white," Tracey said. " I don't think anyone's good or evil. Her heart is so scarred, she's just such damanged goods that she just has trouble caring about anyone anymore. It's about power and revenge and I think it comes from a scarred heart. I think that's why the audience can relate to her because everyone's been betrayed and everyone's felt like putting a spell on somebody."

When I saw Marlee Matlin at the Ribbon of Hope Celebration last week, I was taken aback at what an absolutely beautiful woman she is! What a stunner! I gabbed with her about her new role on "The L Word" which will have its fourth-season premiere at the end of next month.
"I'm having a blast. I love playing a lesbian! I want to be a good one and I want to do it well and do it right. I don't know if I have a lot more to learn, I'm sure I do," she said through sign language, was quickly relayed to me by an interpreter.
Matlin, winner of the best actress Oscar for "Children of a Lesser God," will play Jodi Lerner, the love interest of Jennifer Beals' character.
"I have to say, I'm a better kisser than Jennifer is but you know what, I let her take the lead," Matlin joked. "But at the same time, I think that has to change. I have to take charge!"

Series creator Illene Chaiken told me "I certainly think it's the best season yet. The characters really do continue to grow and develop. We have some fabulous new characters. Marlee is the headline, Cybill Shepperd is joining us. The show still keeps us happy."

Well, whaddaya know, MORE Daniel Craig news and another legitimate excuse to post another picture of my favorite James Bond along with his lovely leading lady, Eva Green. "Casino Royale," which has this blond-haired, blue-eyed sensation making his debut as Bond, finished in second place for the third weekend in a row adding $15.1 million to its three-week haul for a total domestic gross of just under $116 million. But the real story is overseas where "Royale" took in a dominating $44.7 million and is nearing the $200 marK in foreign grosses. That gives it a worldwide gross of $312.4 million. With openings next weekend in Australia and Mexico, "Royale" is well on its way to passing the $431 million worldwide total of "Die Another Day" four years ago. This 007 has left me shaken AND stirred.

I don't know why this doesn't surprise me but Lance Bass and Reichen Lehmkuhl have split up. The break-up apparently happened very recently and was a mutual decision, reports PerezHilton.com, the blog site which essentially forced the couple to go public by printing pictures of them wearing each other's clothes. Reichen later tried to make an adjective out of his boyfriend by saying he and other celebs such as Neil Patrick Harris had been "Lanced."
I will say, once Lance came out on the cover of People magazine, he and Reichen were EVERYWHERE and were indeed the IT couple for about a month or two. Reichen, who won CBS' "Amazing Race" with then-partner Chip Arndt several years back, has been through all of this public break-up stuff before and he is very fond of the limelight. He and Chip went on to appear on the cover of several magazines after they won the show even though they had, in private, decided to part ways.
Which brings us to Lance Bass. I think this will be a defining time for this former NSYNC band member, a time for him to accomplish something on his own and show what it is he can do. Sing? Act? I don't really have a sense of him but now maybe he'll find out who he is and why we should care.

Despite some heavy uncle duty this weekend (Disneyland AND a birthday party), I did manage to make it to the opening night gala Friday of Outfest Fusion: Los Angeles LGBT People of Color Film Festival. My friend Eddie is still in town and I invited him along to see the program of seven short films at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre followed by a terrific party.

The shorts ranged from a few minutes long to about 20 minutes in length. The most accomplished were the effective "She Kills Me," which tells the love story between a tough street boy who falls for a transgendered woman, and the dramatic and well-acted "Sarang Song." which is set in the 1970s and forces a young college student to choose between her involvement in the student protest movement and then woman she loves.
This 23-minute film, directed by and starring Tamika Miller, has received distribution from Frameline. "This movie was made with a lot of love from a lot of people," Miller told ther audience prior to the screening.
My favorite short was called "My Crazy Life" which was this unique and amazing little movie (just 6 minutes!) created by this irrepressible kid named Enzo Ybarra who walked out to introduce his work wearing a pink tiara. "Oh my God! There's a lot of people here!" he said before proceeding to introduce his mother to the audience. She stood up for warm applause and just kept standing and waving, standing and waving, standing and waving. It was a hoot. You can see that she nurtured her young son's spirit and embraced him as he is. Loved it.
Other shorts shown were 'Do the Math," "Modern Day Arranged Marriage" (very funny!), "Two Nights," and "Group of Seven Inches."

All were well received on a night that was filled with creativity and positive energy. Because I was busy meeting Mickey Mouse and going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride on Saturday then photographing my precious niece's 8th birthday party on Sunday, I didn't make any more of the Fusion Films. BUT, i did see some of them on DVD over the past week. I enjoyed "Cut Sleeve Boys" which screened Saturday evening, a British-Chinese film about two young guys on the prowl for sex and love.
And "the DL Chronicles, Episode: Robert" which screened Sunday afternoon as part of a program of five short films. "The DL," which runs 35 minutes, is about a closeted talent agent who falls for a hot health store manager. Both actors in this movie are very effective...and absolutely HOT. And their love scene, while very tastefully done, is a scorcher!

And finally, I watched "Hotel Gondolin" which was part of tonight's closing program at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The documentaryfrom Argentina is about a hotel that is home for 30 transgender and transsexual sex workers in Buenos Aires who create a safe environment for themselves and band together to effect social change. Directed by Fernando Lopez Escriva, the film shows the harsh reality of their lives and the interviews are compelling. I expected that I would maybe watch a few minutes of this movie then maybe move on but it was quite absorbing and is one of the rare works that humanzes transgendered people who can be so little understood and too often forced to live on the franges of society. Most of the girls here make it plain that 'sex worker' is not their first career choice, but the only possibility allowed them in Argentinian society. But it is so impressive how Monica, the self-proclaimed leader of these women, has such a strong sense of self. She is a real hero.

I remember being very excited about seeing the movie "54" when it was released into theaters eight years ago. It starred Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Breckin Meyer and an unrecognizable Mike Myers as Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell. The movie, written and directed by Mark Christopher, chronicled the rise and fall of the famed NYC hotspot of the 1970s where the likes of Liza Minneli, Bianca Jagger, Andy Warhol, and other A-listers could be seen partying night after night (a far more interesting crowd than this Britney-Paris-Lohan nonsense we seem to be consumed with currently.
I found the movie to be, at 93 minutes, underwhelming - like something was missing.
It turns out there was a lot missing - about an hour worth of footage - that included a love scene between Phillippee and Meyer. How could THAT be left on the cutting room floor? Somehow, I think this film would have grossed far more than $16.6 million at the domestic box office if it had felt more complete and been more satisfying.
It was made with a production budget of just $13 million and was released by Miramax Films which seemed to be more than a little queasy about the racier content and especially about the gay content. The real Studio 54 was more than just a little gay so if you are going to release a movie about it, I would think you'd have to go for it. Instead, this watered-down version came out and was most memorable for the absolute transformation of Mike Myers who was NOTHING like Austin Powers or Linda Richmond in this flick!
Since 2008 is only a little more than a year away, I personally think that would be the perfect time for Disney, which owns the rights the Miramax library, to release some kind of a restored version - or directors cut - of the movie with all of these juicy scenes intact. My guess is, they could make a lot of MONEY off of it. I know a complete version of the movie would sell a lot more DVDs than just a 10th anniversary release of the shorter version.
And if Ryan and Brecken getting cozy weren't enough to attract major gay interest, get this: "All My Children" leading man Cameron Mathison, one of THE hunkiest men in the acting profession, would have far more screen time in a longer version of the movie. And it is said that gay fans of this impossibly gorgeous man would be very pleased to see what was left of Cameron on the cutting room floor.

Did more than a dozen red carpet interviews with an assortment of terrific folks at last week's Ribbon of Hope event and you'll be seeing them in the coming days (and probably weeks at the rate my transcribing is going). First up is world-renowned saxophonist Dave Koz who I first met at the GLAAD Awards a few years ago and whose life and career have been forever changed since he came out publicly as a gay man in April 2004.

"I didn't get pushed out, I just decided it was time. I turned 40 and thought, 'OK, it's time for me.' But the more high-profile people that come out - and they have to do it at their own time - the more that do, the less of an issue it becomes and it's just going to be a blip on the screen eventually. It kind of is that way now with the three I can think of in recent months (Neil Patrick Harris, T.R. Knight and Lance Bass) so there's momentum."

Dave says that since coming out, he's gained some gay fans and that after he came out publicly "that summer we had the biggest summer of concerts, ever. I had more people coming to the shows and more record sales and it was proof to me that you can never go wrong by being true to yourself. It's been a great lesson for me to learn and since then, things have just gotten better. No negatives. Zero. I'm very happy."

He's also very single.
"Because I came out, 'People' magazine put me in their most eligible bachelors issue and I had some many people say, 'Oh, now you're just going to [get dates] left and right and nope. Nothing. Not even a date!"
I then ask a tall, handsome man standing near Dave on the red carpet if he was his date for the night. His reply: "No, but I would be!"

Dave performed at the Ribbon of Hope Celebration 2006 which will air in April on the here! network. but before that, in January 2007, Dave will release "At The Movies," a lush, inspired collection of twelve timeless movie themes.
Guest artists include India.Arie ("It Might Be You" Tootsie), Anita Baker ("Somewhere" West Side Story), Barry Manilow ("Moon River" Breakfast at Tiffany's), Johnny Mathis and Chris Botti ("Shadow Of Your Smile" Love Theme From The Sandpiper), Donna Summer ("A Whole New World" Aladdin) and Vanessa Williams ("The Way We Were" from the film of the same name). The album also includes six instrumentals showcasing Koz's interpretations of the themes from "Casablanca," "Schindler's List," "Cinema Paradiso," "Pink Panther" and "Summer of '42" as well as a rendition of "Over the Rainbow" that leads off with a sample of Judy Garland's unforgettable vocal.

Sounds like a winner!

My friends were teasing me over dinner last night over how many photos I have posted of a shirtless Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, in recent weeks. They were not complaining, of course, just teasing. And so, for them, and all of you, I post another on this Friday afternoon. But, I have a legitimate reason for doing so: "Casino Royale," Craig's debut as Agent 007, crossed the $100 mark in domestic grosses on Wednesday, its 12th day of release. The film begins its third weekend in a strong position and has been either number one or number two (switching places with 'Happy Feet') every day of its release. With a trio of newcomers that I don't think will slow the momentum of "Bond," I'd say the film is in good position to surpass the $160 million earned by 2002's "Die Another Die" starring Pierce Brosnan which is the highest-grosser of any of the 21 movies in the Bond franchise.

So I'm at my desk on a Friday afternoon, slurping on a Super Big Gulp and reading today's issue of Daily Variety. The review of "Dreamgirls" so jumped out at me that I feel complelled to immediately share - especially what reviewer David Rooney had to say about Jennifer Hudson as Effie (pictured, far right), the character who he says is "more fully developed...than onstage, Effie is a fierce, wounded, pulsating heart of the movie."

Of Hudson's breakthough performance he writes:

"The emotional intensity is immediately pushed several notches higher with Hudson's raw, devastating delivery of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." The anthem of proud desperation is forever linked to Jennifer Holliday's defining original interpretation but Hudson makes it her own, singing it on a bvare stage backed by mirrors..."

"An 'American Idol' finalist without prior screen experience, Hudson comes fully-formed to film. It's the kind of galvanizing [performance] that calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in 'Funny Girl' or Bette Midler in 'The Rose,' with a voice like the young Aretha."

High praise indeed! I agree 100 percent and would like to repeat my "Out in Hollywood" prediction that Hudson will win the Academy Award for best supporting actress.

I can't think of a better time to share this story then on World AIDS Day. I met singer-actress Sherri Lewis Wednesday night at the Ribbon of Hope Celebration 2006 and found her to be so inspiring and honest. She has been living with HIV for two decades and has this to say to younger folks who might be a little careless with their bodies: "AIDS still kills - we don't have a cure, only a few treatements and they don't always work. These are experimental treatments, they aren't cures. When you are under the influence of drugs and alcohol, you can't make judgments that are sane."

Sherri is a nationally known AIDS educator also known as Beachfront. Along with her one-woman show," Life Is a Beach," she is a public speaker for UCLA AIDS Institute and Being Alive, and serves on Women At Risk's board of directors and as the organization's outreach coordinator.

Sherri and I spoke before the event and I thought she was so impressive. But her keynote address really blew me and the rest of the audience away. She fell in love with a guy in the guy who infected her in the 80s. "Oh my God! He's so cute! He must be gay. So I ask him, 'Do you like boys or girls?' He said, 'It depends on the person.'" It was a heady time for Lewis. A cute boyfriend and a successful band, Get Wet, that had a video on MTV. But her record label went bankrupt and the boyfriend went back to boys...and left her infected with HIV.

"On April 12, 1987, my thirty-third birthday, the doctor called and said, 'I am so sorry. Your tests are positive." He had no other information for her, no treatment advice. He told her to "take good care of her health" and wished her good luck. Lewis remained symptom-free for 10 years and in 1997, breakthrough Protease Inhibitors were effective for her when she became ill.

When Lewis turned 50, someone asked her how she felt. Her answer: 'AMAZED!"

Anyone who knows me even a little bit is aware of my love for the movie "Postcards from the Edge," a brilliantly written and acted 1990 drama based on Carrie Fisher's best-selling novel of the same name. Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine were perfection as mother and daughter movie stars, fictionalized versions of Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds. Biggest difference: MacLaine's character of Doris Mann was an alcoholic, Reynolds is not.
Anyway, Streep got an Oscar nomination for her performance as the troubled Suzanne Vale who overdoses at the start of the movie then tries to put her personal and professional lives back together with her egocentric mother with problems of her own trying to control her every step of the way. MacLaine was robbed of an Oscar nod. The staircase scene when she screams that her her skirt "accidentally twiiiiirrrled up" alone should have gotten her a nomination.
That brings us to the news this week that Meg Ryan has been cast to play Suzanne in a "Postcards" sequel called "The Best Awful" which is the title of Fisher's follow-up novel. Instead of a feature film, this will be a miniseries on HBO.
"Awful" picks up after "Postcards." Suzanne has been diagnosed as bipolar and has gone from acting to TV hosting. She is dealing with the fallout from divorcing her gay husband. After going off her meds and taking an excursion to Tijuana in search of Oxycontin, she lands in a mental facility and tries to piece herself back together. This is all semi-autobgraphical as a version of those events all really did happen to Fisher whose one-woman show "Wishful Drinking" is currently playing to sell-out crowds at The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood.
Fisher will adapt "The Best Awful" for HBO and she and Ryan will also serve as producers of the project. While I know Streep is too old for the part now since it picks up right after "Postcards" ended, it will be interesting to see how Ryan does in the part. I haven't been a fan of hers in recent years ("In the Cut" was painful) and, well, she's got this trout mouth thing that seems to be growing worse with age which I find distracting. I think actresses should be more like Streep and just look like themselves.

At any rate, Ryan has some mighty big shoes to fill!

We won't be seeing a new episode of ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" until Dec. 10 but news about some future plot twists are leaking out involving Kevin (Matthew Rhys). A lot of us were so bummed that things didn't work out with Scotty but hey, it seems like an on-the-market Kevin could be lots of fun. Michael Jensen reports on his AfterElton. com blog that Jason Lewis has been cast as Kevin’s new love interest. The sexy Lewis, best-known for playing Samantha's season six boyfriend Smith on "Sex in the City," is going to play Chad, a closeted soap opera star.
Talk about perfect casting. Could Lewis look any more like a soap opera star? Kevin and Lewis will meet at an exercise boot camp and their relationship will run for at least four episodes starting in February. (Ratings sweeps time!)
But Kevin is also supposed to get involved with someone he meets through his sister Kitty (Calista Flockhart). It's supposed to be a big plot twist so there is growing speculation that his love interest could be Rob Lowe's new U.S. senator character.
I'm all for that!

Today is World AIDS Day, a time to reflect on the fact that since the first case of AIDS was diagnosed 25 years ago, 25 million people have been killed by the disease and 40 million people remain infected with the HIV virus. It is not going away even if it isn't necessarily a death sentence for those who can afford the drugs available.

I'd like to share with you some comments UN Chief Kofi Annan made this week: "Accountability – the theme of this World AIDS Day – requires every president and prime minister, every parliamentarian and politician, to decide and declare that 'AIDS stops with me. And it requires every one of us to help bring AIDS out of the shadows, and spread the message that silence is death."

a time to consider that by 2036, 138 million people will have died from the disease, according to new statistics released by The World Health Organization. This due to a virus that can be prevented with education and responsibility.