April 2008 Archives

I told the adorable Christopher Gorham at the GLAAD Media Awards that the gay blogs - including this one - went nuts over the photos of him in his underwear during a fantasy sequence on "Ugly Betty."

So, does he know that he such a sex symbol to gay men? He laughed and said he did not know that but remarked, "It's great!"

But the whole sexy thing, that he's heard: "I have to say, when I found out that I was one of the sexiest men alive last year in People, that was awfully surprising. It's made for lots of jokes around the house. My wife is totally sick of it but I still think it's funny."

It's been so great to have "Ugly Betty" back on the air with original episodes. But fans of the show who are rooting for our heroine Betty (America Ferrera) to end up happily ever after with her endearingly nerdy boyfriend Henry ( Gorham) better wake up and smell the coffee. Henry's ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his child and he's being a stand-up guy about it. But he really, truly loves Betty.
"It's a mess," Christopher said. "Oh my God Greg, it's a hot mess. It is my baby, we know that. That is tough."

He wouldn't tell me what was next for the ill-fated lovers but hints: "There's a big cliffhanger that involves me in the season finale."

Christopher, 33, is mighty happy to be in a hit show after starring in such quality, but unfortunately short-lived, shows as "Popular," "Out of Practice," "Jake 2.0" and Oddessy 5." But "Betty" is a big Thursday night hit and will begin filming its third season at the end of June.

"I really like what we're doing coming back with this last bit of season two and then going
into season three thematically because they're really bringing the show back to Betty," he said.

"I felt like it got a little crazy in the beginning of the second season, there were a
lot of storylines. So we're really boiling that down in these last five episodes, everything
is coming back to Betty which is where everything should be centered. I think the show is
going to be better and also, it's coming back to being the more of the family show that it was in season one."

I did not mention Paula Abdul's massive screw-up in my 'Idol" recap last night because I wanted to focus on the performances and not to antics of the judges. But boy, Paula - who has different levels of lucidity on the show - gave a critique of Jason Castro's first AND second songs even though the dreadlocked singer had not yet performed a second time. When this was pointed out to her, she said: "Oh my God! I thought you sang twice! You know what? This is hard!"

Not really THAT hard Paula. I took notes during the show and kept up and I'm not being paid the millions of dollars each year like you are. This is getting a lot of attention already and I hope it motivates Paula to be more on-point and useful in her critiques.

UPDATE: Paula talked exclusively to ET.com about her flub: "It got very confusing ... the producers come up to us in the dark and said, 'We are not going to have you guys judge after each performer, we are going to have all the performers go once, then twice and at the end critique them.'"

Surprised by the last minute switch in judging procedures, Paula recounts, "I am feverishly trying to write notes for every performance. ... I was trying to give my critique for Jason Castro, and scribbled Jason's name, and that was David Cook's! ... We all just screwed up everything." She adds with a laugh: "This is live television. This is fun!"

Yeah, but she panned the second song! Was she panning Cook? Still doesn't make sense but at least she's not slurring.

I knew things were kaput between Reichen Lehmkuhl and Ryan Barry when I noticed Ryan had changed his relationship status on Facebook. But neither of these impossibly hot men had said anything publicly about the split until now.

Here is what Reichen, past winner of "The Amazing Race" and a cast member of "Dante's Cove" has posted about relationships on his MySpace page. It's clear that he is bitter about this latest break-up. His previous relationship were with singer Lance Bass and with activist Chip Arndt with home he won "Race."

Reichen's Dating Tips for Hollywood

1. Never believe them when they say they're in love with you.

2. Never believe them when they tell you where their heart is.

3. Never believe them when they say they're only going to sleep with you, especially when there is a social climbing opportunity in front of them.

4. Never underestimate their need for celebrity, money, and fame.

5. Never believe you can fix it by being true or nice.

6. Never EVER believe love is more important to them than anything Hollywood.

7. Don't date in Hollywood. Realize that for them, it's all BUSINESS.

Reichen has also changed his status to "single" and posted the following headline: "You Shady Lying Sack of (expletive). You're BEYOND Gross. What an Idiot I Have Been!"

Ouch!!!

Good luck to Reichen. I don't know him well but he's always been very sweet whenever I've talked to him.

I'm watching "The View" (Elisabeth Hasselbeck is beyond irritating today but Whoopi controls her better than Rosie could) and they are announcing the Daytime Emmy nominations. Van Hansis walked out to announce the outstanding young actress contenders and when he was finished, it was announced that he had been nominated for outstanding young male actor. I have raved about his skillful performance as gay teen Luke . He makes us believe in Luke and care about him no matter how outrageous the storylines and no matter how many months pass without him kissing his boyfriend.

Also nominated in the talk show categories: Ellen DeGeneres nominated as host and her show got a nod as did "The View" and its five co-hosts - even Hasselbeck.

It's a day late but, as promised, here is my chat with Leslie Jordan that took place at the GLAAD Awards. Leslie just turned 53 yesterday and will be performing his new show: "My Trip Down the Pink
Carpet" at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Renberg Theatre on May 15th.

Can't wait to see his live show but wanted to know all about the "Sordid Lives" series based on the film of the same name:

Said Leslie: "We shot 13 episodes. We went to Shreveport, Louisiana because they offered us (incentives). We don't have a whole lot of money. We're in the editing process right now. It's a prequel. It begins early and goes up to (the film). So we have Peggy, who is the mother, out of the coffin and she's played by Rue McClanahan. Since Delta (Burke) wasn't able to do the show we have Caroline Rhea. Let me tell you something, it is brilliant. I sit in the editing bay and watch and I'm brilliant if I say so myself! (laughs)."

The show premieres July 23 at 10 p.m. on the Logo channel.

"We're doing a HUGE premiere in New York City the 15th of July and I'll be there. Olivia (Newton-John) has recorded eight original songs."

I asked if fans of the original film will be satisfied: "Are you kidding? They're gonna wet their pants!"
Here is a preview:

Jim Carrey is gay...on-screen at least in the prison break comedy "I Love You Phillip Morris." In case there is any doubt that his character is gay, the actor certainly appears to be camping it up in terms of wardrobe. A gold lions head belt buckle? Pul-eeze! He is pictured with co-star Rodrigo Santoro during filming in Miami but the love of his life in the movie is plaed by Ewan McGregor.

This is gonna be interesting. Based on a true story, Jim plays a con artist who is sent to prison where he falls in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris (McGregor) who is freed from jail. Carrey's character, Steven Russell tries to escape four times in order to be with him. What I wanna know is, why would he ever leave Rodrigo Santoro!

The season finale of "Brothers & Sisters" features an emotional commitment ceremony between Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty (Luke MacFarlane). I asked some of the actors who play Kevin's siblings on the show what they think of this rare television event:

Balthazar Getty (Tommy) : "We think it;s great. I wish it was a wedding, I wish it were allowed everywhere. We think it's great to have an opportunity to show that, to show mainstream America what's going on out there. It's telling great stories. It's not a show for gay people or straight people, it;s just a story for people, a story for families. Some people happen to be gay, some people happen to have addictions, some people happen to be straight. It's not some marginalized thing when our gay brother gets to get married, or have a ceremony. He's our brother and he's in love and he's having a ceremony and we love and we support him."
Rachel Griffiths (Sarah): "I'm very, very proud to be on a network show where very un-controversially where two people who happen to be the same gender are ready to declare their love, I think it's fanastic. Ten years ago it would have been unimaginable that it would happen without us having eggs thrown at us. It's wonderful. I wish it was recognized on a legal level in a jurisdictions all over the world. ...
What I love about our show is when we deal with politics, we do it through the personal, we don't kind of deal with the political then leave you to make the personal connection. We make you, hopefully, have great actors and great characters that you fall in love with and then through them we expose people through political ideas. You realize you can't reject that person you've grown so fond of. The combination of (Kevin and Scotty) and uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) coming out I just think is a very real reflection of people's lives out there and hopefully will encourage some people to re-consider fixed ideas that are not really based on anything."

Dave Annable (Justin) "I can't wait for it. I, as a viewer, love the Kevin and Scotty storyline. Every time they're there on screen I love it. They have great chemistry and Luke MacFarlane who plays Scotty is outstanding and he's such a welcome addition to us. We're lucky to have him."

I write a "Whatever Happened To..." column each week for my newspaper and thought Cindy Birdsong, the singer who joined Diana Ross and Mary Wilson in 1967 (replacing Florence Ballard) would be an ideal subject since she has mostly kept a low-profile in recent decades.

I sent a note to her via her MySpace page and received this prompt reply:
Dear Greg,
My name is Jim (Alias Motown Jim) here on MySoace and am managing Cindy's page for her. I spoke with her last night and she told me she wants to hold back for a while with anymore interviews, as she is still busy writing her final chapters to her book."

Jim said she would get in touch when the time is right. While I was disappointed to not snag an interview with this Motown legend, I'm so intrigued about her writing a book! What a story she could tell from being a member of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells then being plucked from that group to become a member of the most successful female singing group of all time.

Cindy, Mary and Diana performed and recorded together for three years before Diana left for a solo career. The group went on with replacement singers and Cindy, I believe, ended up being a Supreme longer than anyone other than Mary who stayed with the group in its various incarnations for close to 20 years.
I hope she will dish although I don't expect her to settle scores the way Mary did in her 1986 best seller "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme." But, you never know! Cindy was on the stage 25 years ago at the group's first reunion in 14 years and Diana ended up shoving Mary and their medly of songs was cut short halfway into "Someday We'll Be Together."

The drama!

Then in 2000, there was the scintillating possibility of Diana, Mary and Cindy reuniting again for a concert tour but negotiations fell apart over money. Diana and Mary gave dueling interviews to Barbara Walters while Cindy stayed above the fray it seemed. Diana went on tour with two later Supremes who she had never performed with and her "Return to Love" tour was such a disaster that it had to be cancelled midway through leaving ticketholders (like me!) majorly disappointed.

Anyway. good luck with the book Miss Birdsong!

Here are a few clips of Cindy performing as one of the Supremes. The first is Diana's final TV appearance with the Supremes in 1970 on Ed Sullivan singing "Someday We'll Be Together" and the second clip is a post-Ross hit "Stoned Love" with her replacement, Jean Terrell, in the lead. It's terrific!

This week's episode of "How I Met Your Mother" featured Emmy-nominated Neil Patrick Harris shirtless! We don't often get to see how hunky he is! He's so smart, talented and witty that I don't think we objectify him enough! It's been a heady weeks for NHP with his "Harold and Kumar" sequel doing better-than-expected business at the box office.

Here is a clip from NPH's recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel:

NO GRACE UNDER FIRE: Brooke White better get a grip is all I'm saying. After Simon Cowell told her that her ridiculous version of Neil Diamond's "I'm A Believer" was "a nightmare." She yelled out: "No! No! Nooo! Absolutely not!" She was going for some kind of groovy 60s chick thing I think and it was painful to watch her on that song. Based on that performance, she'd be voted off tomorrow night. But, she came back nicely on "I Am, I Said" safely behind the piano. Simon told her it was "Well done but reiterated that he "hated the first song."

SLEEPWALKING: Let's face it, if Jason Castro were not so damned cute, he would have been gone weeks ago - certainly before Carly Smithson who was missed this week I must say. Jason sang "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morning" just fine but did not challenge himself one bit. Very safe and maybe that will keep him in. His blue eyes and dreadlocks get him far more votes than his limited vocal range and complete lack of stage presence.

KING DAVIDS: Paula Abdul called David Cook "the American Idol" after his rock solid performances of "I'm Alive" and especially "All I Ever Needed Was You." Cook has passion and confidence and is the consumate professional and that's why I think he deserves the win the whole thing. But he doesn't need to because he's already a really big star and I'd buy his album right now if he had one. As for David Archuleta, how can you argue with that amazing voice - especially when he knows how to use it so well, hitting all the notes on "America" and making the most of lyrics like "let freedom riiiiing!" His first number, "Sweet Caroline" was just fine but I was really excited about the second number. The knock I have on the younger David is that, especially on fast songs, he seems a little awkward standing on stage. He needs to figure out what to do with his body. Castro has the same problem and Brooke is a disaster in this regard. Syesha Mercado and David Cook on the other hand, total comfort with their bodies - on stage - and their gifts.

BEST OF SHOW: Give it up for Syesha Mercado! I'm lovin' this joyous and confident girl who would most certainly be in the top three if we were voting purely on talent and stage presence. I loved her first number, "Hello Again" which she sang barefoot sitting at the steps of the stage. She built nicely to a powerful finish and looks to have hit her stride big-time. Then she went into high gear like she did last week with a theatrical number: "Thank the Lord for the Nightime." :She was in full-flight, utterly confident, commanding the stage, knowing how to move, how to perform. She made Brooke and Jason look as stiff as corpses. Simon still thinks Syesha could be in trouble, didn't think the second song was memorable enough to close the show with. I hope not. She deserves to go on the top four and Brooke or Jason deserve to go home.

We will find out tomorrow!

God bless Luke Snyder. He finally realized that his boyfriend Noah Meyer has just put him through too much and it hit him - an epiphany - moments after moving in with Noah and his green card wife Ameera.

"I want to be alone with you Noah, not you and your wife, just you," he said after pulling away from Noah's lips twice resulting in two almost-kisses. (damn, can't he just make out first, get mad later?)

Luke storms out, barks to Ameera "You can have your bed back!" When Noah goes out to try and stop him, Luke says what I have been wanting him to say for months: "All we do is wait! For your father to accept us, for me to get better from the shooting, for Ameera to get her (immigration) papers. I am sick of waiting!"

Hooray! You go boy!

Then he adds: "I want to be alone with you right now but I know that can't happen. Until it can, I can't put myself in a situation that makes me feel worse than I already do."

The clip below plays it all out beautifully. My favorite Noah line is when he says to long-suffering Ameera: "I want you to go! I just want this charade to be over!"

I snagged this off Kennethinthe212. It's the love scene between Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe in "Shelter." For a pair of straight guys, I'd have to say they do pretty well here. Usually the whole thing fails because straight guys are afraid to kiss each other - they always end up sort of mashing their faces against each other. Gay men know the art of kissing. But these guys do OK, I'd give them a B-minus for authenticity in this scene but a soilid A for their overall performances in this fine film.

It was great to see Tuc Watkins after the awards show and to find out that his character on "Desperate Housewives" will be participating in a commitment ceremony in the season finale with partner Lee (Kevin Rahm).

Tuc Watkins has handsome leading man looks for sure. But he is also a terrific comedic actor who really has a way with a line. My all-time favorite was from an episode of "Brothers & Sisters" when gay TV exec character checked out a hot computer tech guy and said, "Hellllo lunch!" That was a Tuc adlib.

Gregg Plitt, one of the trainers this season on Bravo's "Workout," has stunning eyes in person. They look a little startling here but trust me, thjey are gorgeous - as is he.

Me and my handsome pal, Jim Key. He looks like a movie star but he's really head of communications for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center.

Jim and I with the charming Billy Baldwin of ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money." I feel kinda short standing next to these very tall dudes...

...but that's nothing compared to standing next to John Amaechi. I could be a munchkin from "the Wizard of Oz." I'm standing with John, the former NBA player and author of the great book "Between the Lines," and the terrifically talented actor Wilson Cruz. My new interview with Wilson will be posted in the coming days.

Don't you just love sitting by the pool reading a good, dishy book. I'm reading Julie Andrews' "Home" right now, am looking forward to Barbara Walters' "Audition" out next week and most of all, John Barrowman's new book: "Anything Goes." Love, love , love John Barrowman whose book has been excerpted on Out.com.

Here is part of a story John tells about being invited by The Royal Air Force to be part of the Tattoo launch partly because Captain Jack is in the RAF:

I eventually emerged from the Hawk as if I'd been doing this all my life, which in Captain Jack's world, of course, I had. In my world, though, this was the experience of a lifetime. In fact, I was so high from the adrenalin rush and so in awe of the Hawk itself, I was almost speechless.4

This is what it means to be alive.

...the fabulous Leslie Jordan! The man best known as Karen Walker's nemesis Beverly Leslie on "Will & Grace" turns 53 today. He's one of the stars of the upcoming Logo series "Private Lives" (based on the cult fave movie). I will update this post later today with an interview I did with Leslie a few nights ago at the GLAAD Media Awards.

He had them at mango salsa.

When Luke MacFarlane's endearing character of Scotty sat down to dinner for the first time with the Walker clan on "Brothers & Sisters," it was a big outdoor party scene where Sally Field's Nora had just humiliated her late husband's mistress Holly (Patricia Wettig). The tension was incredibly high until Scotty piped up and asked, "Is this salsa mango?"

Scotty Wandell and Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) had instant chemistry from the minute the financially struggling waiter-turned-chef walked into his law office on a legal matter. He cut through Kevin's veneer with quirky humor and charm and you knew he had Kevin's heart when he bit into a red velvet cupcake and smiled at the end of one of their early episodes..

"My whole experience on the show started off as just a few episodes and it's just become more and more and more and I'm so grateful for that," Luke told me Monday night when we chatted before the start of the "A Conversation With Brothers & Sisters" event at the Television Academy in North Hollywood.

Luke, 28, was among the 12 cast members who participated as he was recently promoted from recurring character to full-fledged series regular: "They are making a regular for season three. It's very, very nice. We all know in television it's hard to get a gig that lasts for a long time so when the agent calls up and says, 'You're guaranteed these number of episodes you feel very, very lucky."

Luke, who studied drama at Julliard, was previously best-known for his role as Pvt. Frank "Dim" Dumphy in the series "Over There." The Canadian actor had never given any interviews about his personal life until discussing his sexuality for the first time in an interview with the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail a few weeks ago 2008. He decided to share that not only is he playing a gay man on TV, but he is a gay man in life.

""It's been relatively simple for me," he said of the increased spotlight. "I'll say that I decided to do that interview, I decided to answer those questions in an effort to make my life simpler and that's going to contunue to be my motto. So, I'll have to say, it hasn't been that hot a light on me at all."

Even though through much of show's first season the writers had Kevin struggling with commitment issues and go on to have relationships with a closeted soap actor (Jason Lewis) and a minister (Eric Winter), Scotty had been a fan favorite from his first scene and audiences wanted to see he and Kevin together.

Said Luke: "Well, I do know that the fans had a lot to do with Scotty staying around as long as he has so I'm grateful for them."

I mention to him that now that Scotty is getting more airtime, the fans now want to get to know Luke himself a little better. He laughed a bit nervously and said, "In time."

We look forward to it.

Don't you just love all the drama of that "exclusive" headline? Well, I guess I'm feeling a little over-the-top after chatting-up both Kevin AND Scotty within moments of each other at a Television Academy event in North Hollywood last night. Oh wait! Kevin and Scotty are just TV characters - gay TV characters - played by actors Matthew Rhys and Luke MacFarlane.

I wanted to get their thoughts on this wonderful plot development that has Scotty and Kevin - an on-and-off-again couple since the beginning of the show - tying the knot in a commitment ceremony in the second season finale in a few weeks.

On the commitment ceremony:
Matthew: "It was great, perfectly put together. We didn't get there easily, there's no wasn't an easy road there up to the last few second, just like the turbulent path that we've had. There's a lot of drama before getting there but then you know, it's all resolved. And about time I think."
Luke: "It means that the audience is ready because, you know, in television we make sure people are ready before we foist anything upon them by sort of testing it and stuff. It means that the world is ready and it also means that the characters in their lives are ready too. It's a beautiful thing that's happening but also a very appropriate thing."

On working together:
Luke: Matthew's a wonderful actor, he just oozes charm. From day one it's always been super simple with him.

Matthew: "We do have (chemistry). It's a real joy to work with him, a pleasure. As much as (Kevin and Scotty's) drama came from their turbulence and the conflict in their relationship, being now in this (committed) relationship opens up a world of drama for them to play out. So, it's all exciting times.
"What's great is they really have picked two very diverse characters, the two of us compliment us very well as characters. Kevin can be a little bit uptight at times whereas Scotty, is a little bit too much of a free-spirit. So when the two meet, it makes for humorous times.

On Kevin's growth as a character:
Matthew: "It's been great to over two seasons have this arc, this sort of turbulent arc, and somewhere that he's reached which is what you want. You don't want to be ping-ponging back between old stories. So I'm glad the character's evolving."

On a lighter note, one of the pre-strike episodes had Kevin and Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) joining Scotty and his friends at a karaoke bar. Kevin, tired of being known as uptight, gets real drunk and begins singing to Scotty from the stage. Did Matthew have fun filming such a silly scene?

"It was fun. For me, as a Welshman, to desecrate a Tom Jones song like that, it was I found painful. And then to do the same to a Willie Nelson song, it was painful to be that bad! It came very naturally, of course. What I did was pretty unforgiveable."

Tomorrow: The Walker siblings talk about Kevin and Scotty. I get reaction from Rachel Griffiths, Calista Flockhart, Dave Annable and Balthazar Getty.

The answer seems pretty obvious to me: nothing.

Straight couples enjoy a kiss in public and that's great. If they are making out like crazy then they deserve a few remarks like "Get a room!" But I don't think anyone would call the police on 'em!

Make that couple a pair of guys and it's a different story. Last Friday night, ABC's "20/20" did one of its always intriguing "What would you do?" segments where they hire actors to do something provocative - for hours sometimes - as they film the reactions from passers-by.

Check out the clip:

I'm such a sucker for Mario Lopez photos. I mean, c'mon. Look at that smile, those dimples, those biceps. He's so perfect I could slap him! What makes it worse is the few times that I've met him, he's been unfailingly polite and chatty and the first time, he didn't even know I was a journalist!

Mario, weekend co-host of "Extra," "Dancing With the Stars" runner-up and Slater on "Saved by the Bell," is in NYC appearing on Broadway in "A Chorus Line" and is also taking time to promote his new fitness book. It's obvious that he's pretty much the best advertisement there is for the book!

I chatted up "Grey's Anatomy" star T.R. Knight Saturday night at the GLAAD Media Awards in Hollywood and wondered how much his life has change since a year ago when he was given one of the most heart-felt standing ovations in the history of the event.

"That was embarrassing," T.R. said.

But it shouldn't have been. People, myself included, we applauding him for his grace under fire. For matter-of-factly coming out after former co-star Isaiah Washington used the f-bomb, referring to T.R., during an on-set squirmish with Patrick Dempsey.

So how has his life changed since a year ago?

"In many ways that I'm still trying to figure out I guess," T.R. said. "The obvious change is I'm seeing somebody now, that's different from last year."

He was referring to boyfriend Mark Cornelsen who was standing patiently nearby as T.R. did press before the awards. There have been lots of photos of the couple popping up on various sites and I wondered if this was a pain in the neck: "Most of the time you're not aware that people are taking photos when they do unless they're obvious and being very stinky about it."

A few pesky photogs aree nothing though compared to the good that has come of his higher profile as an openly gay television star: "I've been lucky to have been invited to lend my voice in support of organizations that I believe in and IK look forward to doing that more. I want to concentrate on helping illicit change. I look outward a lot more."

form mt:asset-id="7856" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image">
SHORTEST SPEECH: Janet Jackson was clearly moved and emotional by the reception she got from the crowd at the Kodak Theatre Saturday night but she wasn't rendered speechless - just speech-lite.

"Thank you so much ... I love you too," she said at the beginning of her brief remarks. "I am really humbled that GLAAD would honor me in such a way tonight. I hope I can always walk worthy of this award that I hold in my hand and in my heart."

Then, she was finished! That was it!

Some folks grumbled but most agreed that they enjoyed Janet's brevity to the longer speech given last year by Jennifer Aniston - a choice that still had people scratching their heads a year later.

BIGGEST LAUGH: Kathy Griffin brought her 87-year-old mother - who most in the audience know from her appearances on "My Life on the D-List" - onto the stage for a cute little mother-daughter Q&A. Kathy joked that her mother says: "Why can't you be clean like Ellen (DeGeneres)? Ellen doesn't have to swear. Ellen's nice."

Then the fun began with Kathy asking her mother a series of questions. No matter what her mother said, it was funny because of the way she would say it. The final question was this: "Who's the gayest person in the room tonight?" Mrs. Griffin scanned the room and answered: "Ryan Seacrest?"

Brought. The. House. Down.

BEST LINE IN AN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH: "Ugly Betty" creator Silvio Horta, whose show won Outstanding Comedy Series: "I wanted to make a show with Latino characters, African Americans and gay characters. Those pesky network execs had me add some straight white people too."

SWEETEST LINE BY A PRESENTER: Billy Baldwin walked out with his gorgeous "Dirty Sexy Money" love interest, transgender actress Candis Cayne and said: "So, whaddaya think? Do I know how to pick a love interest or what?" Billy then went on to point out that Candis is the first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender role on network television. Added Candis: "I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world."

MOST SHAMELESS PLEA FOR WORK: Actor Leslie Jordan, who just wrapped filming on Logo's "Sordid Lives" series, walked out to present with Garry Marshall and said: "I've been through 12 miles of bad road. My HBO series has been kicked to the curb and I'm not working." He then suggested himself for Julie Andrews royal role in the "Princess Diaries" movies if a third one is ever made: "We could change the character to an evil little queen." (NOTE: HBO paid for production of the Linda Bloodworth-Thomason series "12 Miles of Bad Road" then inexplicably decided not to air it. I have the episodes and plan to watch them and post a review)

COOLEST TRIBUTE: Presenter Sharon Stone said of honoree Rufus Wainwright: "Rufus is actually so out that he's never even seen the inside of a closet!"

MY FAVORITE LINE: Rufus Wainwright in his acceptance speech: "An artist's decision to live an authentic life should go hand-in-hand with success."

We already know they are gonna have a sweet commitment ceremony at the end of the season so it was amusing to watch the lead-up to it on last night's episode of "Brothers & Sisters." Scotty (Luke MacFarlane, above) cuts his hand at work and has to pay $2,500 for an emergency room visit. Kevin (Matthew Rhys), somehow, did not know that Scotty was working 70 hours a week without health insurance. He later comes up with a solution: "Why don't we file for domestic partnership?" Then he lists all the reasons why: health plan, other benefits etc.

Scotty points out that domestic partnership "is our version of marriage, for now at least. At the risk of sounding like a 12-year-old girl, I want my wedding to be special."

You go Scotty!!!

American tennis star Robby Ginepri gets a lot more attention for his looks and his physique than his results these days. But the 2005 US Open semi-finalist, pictured below playing in Barcelona on Monday, is still out there trying. Maybe if his game doesn't improve, Robby can find work as a model. He looks pretty terrific in the picture above which is from a photo shoot for an Atlanta tennis publication. Another picture of Robby in action after the jump!

Billy Baldwin and I were just about to do an interview on the red carpet before the GLAAD Media Awards over the weekend but first he had to answer a very serious question from someone working for one of those In Touch/Us Magazine/Star rags. "What do you think of the Star Jones divorce?" Good sport Billy gave the silly question a go: "I don't know anything about it, i saw it in a headline. I know it was pretty quick, she wasn't married very long? That's too bad. I just had my 17th anniversary so I'm very excited about that."

Billy, of course, is married to singer Chynna Phillips who has been low-profile professionally in recent years as the couple are raising ther xx children. Billy, on the other hand, is more high-profile than ever with a juicy role on ABC's new hit drama "Dirty Sexy Money" as well as two new movies in release.

"I did "A Plumm Summer" and I was in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," just a little cameo but I'm great in it," he jokes.

I mention what a breakthrough his "Dirty Sexy Money" storyline is since Billy's state attorney general character is carrying on an extra-marital affair with a transgender woman who is portrayed by Candis Cane, a real transgender actress.

"It's been great, it's been a lot of fun," Billy said. "It comes very easily. i don't know what that means but it just comes very easily and very naturally. They write the scripts, we have the scenes, we play the scenes, we have this incredible affection for one another and sensitivity in our relationship and it just comes very easily for both of us. I think it's great. I love it."

Billy, who became a movie star at a young age in such films as "Backdraft," "Flatliners," and "Three of Hearts," had been looking for a regular TV gig for awhile: "I took a shot at a couple of pilots before and this was the first one that got an order and now we're off to the races. If we do what we did last season, it looks like we're going to be around for awhile so I'm very excited about that."

We also talked a little bit about Billy's very-public disagreement recently with his conservative Christian brother, actor Stephen Baldwin, about gay rights. I wondered if they usually duked it out this way. "The fights we have in real life are a lot worse than the quotes," Billy said. "We let each other have it all the time, Daniel and Alec and Stephen and I. That's the nature of a raucous, rowdy, Irish-Catholic upbringing. We sat around the dinner table and we talked about a lot fo things and fought about a lot of things."

Billy (pictured above with Stephen and Alec Baldwin in the late 80s) was doing an chatting with "Brothers & Sisters" writer Greg Berlanti while posing for the cover of Out Magazine when he was asked about some of his brother's conservative views which included being against same-sex marriage.

Billy said of his decision to publicly disagree: "I told him earlier, look I love what you're doing with your Christian agenda. So much good has come out of it for you and I'm really proud of you. But when you start mixing it with Christian right politics and the Bush agenda, you start getting into war and you start getting into issues that I find offensive and if you're going to that publicly, just be prepared because if I'm forced to, the gloves are gonna come off. And they did."

This is pretty shocking. Rebecca Romijn, who has done a solid job as transgender magazine editor Alexis Mead on "Ugly Betty" will be reduced to a recurring character when the show returns for its third season next fall.

In an interview with the New York Post over the weekend, Rebecca said: "They made a tremendous amount of changes, especially with the writing staff [during the writer's strike], and while I know I'll be coming back next season, with all the changes, I'm not sure they can take care of my character they way they have been. So I'll be leaving, back in a recurring capacity, but it's time for me to leave and find something else."

"Ugly Betty" won the GLAAD Award for outstanding television comedy Saturday night.

The poster for "Sex and the City: The Movie" has surfaced and it features Sarah Jessica Parker, solo. Oh sure, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis' NAMES or on the poster but not their picture.

Hmmmmm.

Seems kinda odd since the show really is an ensemble even though Jessica's Carrie Bradshaw is obviously the core. SJP is the biggest star of the four I guess, as far as box office, but just barely. Last year's "Failure to Launch" with Matthew McConaughey was a huge hit but "Smart People," released just a few weeks ago, barely sold a ticket.

Next to the Oscars, the GLAAD Awards are probably my favorite kudofest to cover all damned year. It's just so GAY and fun. Everyone there is either gay or gay-friendly. Well, I guess it really isn't very different from the Academy Awards!

I arrived at the Kodak Theatre just after 4 p.m. to make sure I got checked in and situated on the red carpet. I had both a press credential and a VIP ticket for the cocktail party, the show itself and the gala dinner following the show. Last year, I wandered back and forth from the red carpet to the cocktail party but this year, things were roped off in a very imposing way. But I spotted these bottles of some kind of vitamin water at the bar and decided to grab one. I stupidly asked the guard near me if that was cool with him. Of course it wasn't! It may have been 10 feet from us but he was not gonna let me fetch a drink despite my ticket. I remarked that it is better to say sorry than ask permission and got a fellow journalist - Japhy Grant - to toss me a bottle. He was standing in this forbidden area with Logo's Jason Belini and Itay Hod. They didn't ask permission. Smart guys.

As stars began to appear, I noticed a strange phenomenon: red carpet squatters! Some woman with booze on her breath and slurring her words planted herself next to me and said she was friends with one of the sponsors and was taking photos. I held my tongue until she interrupted my interview with Kathy Griffin. After Kathy left, I turned to her and said, "You have got to move before I turn you in." Booze breath disappeared quick! Then there was the woman on my left who said she was from KCBS/KCAL. She had a generic mic and was shooting her own video. i know there have been budget cuts but pul-eeze. She didn't interrupt my interviews so I let her stay.

The frustrating thing about red carpets is unless you are one of the first 5-6 outlets in the line, the handlers try to limit you to one or two questions before they pull the star. So you have to really try and keep the star engaged and just ignore the handler who is making that sign across their neck that means "cut it off!"

I'll be sharing the interviews throughout the week but here is a rundown of who I gabbed with and my impressions: Janet Jackson (Speak up! Can't hear ya!), Tom Ford (Hello, gorgeous!), Jackie Warner of Bravo's "Workout" (absolutely awesome and inspiring), TR Knight (Can I see your boyfriend's ID?), Christopher Gorham (having a very good hair day and a very cute face day), Lesie Jordan (A delight!), Jeff Lewis of Bravo's "Flipping Out" (just like he is on television!), Maeve Quinlan who plays the mother of a gay teen on "South of Nowhere" (Could every actress please be this articulate and thoughtful?), Billy Baldwin (You really are the cutest Baldwin brother!), Ron Rifkin of "Ugly Betty" (Do you really want to be giving this interview? You look like you'd rather have needles in your eyes), Sofia Vergara (my new girl crush!), Rufus Wainwright (fabulous in so many ways), Andrea James and Calpernia Adams (Gorgeous gals!) and Jennifer Beals (Why are you so damned serious all the time!).

By the time the show started, I was happy to be able to sit down! I sat next to a cute writer-actor named Troy who I gabbed with before the show and felt really stupid when I complained about how high up our seats were. Mine was a complimentary seat. His cost $450.

Gulp.

Will write about the show in a seperate post. So let's zip on ahead to the after-party.. First of all, I had not eaten since 10 a.m. and forgot to put a Clif bar or something in my bag which I usually do at awards shows. So by the time the show was at the half-way point, i started to imagine that everyone sitting in front of me was a drumstick and all the little people way down there on the stage were french fries!

So once the show ended, basically bolted for the escalator upstairs to the ballroom where there was suddenly a logjam. I ask a security guard what the hold-up is. He says they have not yet opened the doors to the dinner. Ugh. But I forget about my hunger when John Amaechi stepped out of an elevator near me (John, a former NBA player, is hard to miss!) and we exchanged hellos and a hug. Then the doors open and I head straight to my table, wolf down the salad that is already at my spot then go outside to briefly hunt for stars with my pal Jim Key (pictured w/me, above). We see Billy Baldwin and get a picture snapped with this tall drink of water. I head back in and the entree is waiting for me (I had asked the waiter to [place it there even if I wasn't back at my seat). It was chicken and some kind of potsticker things. I ate it fast, made minimal chit chat, plowed through the gift bag then headed back out. Worked the room and saw Wilson Cruz who I adore and got a picture with he and Mr. Amaechi and remarked that I was in the middle of an interesting sandwich. (Is that naughty? I didn't mean it that way, honest!)

But it was best running into Tuc Watkins, the handsome actor who plays one-half of the gay couple on "Desperate Housewives," has played the scheming David Vickers on "One Life to Live" on and off for more than 10 years, and played a gay TV exec on one of my favorite all-time shows: "Beggars and Choosers." As I walked up, he said, "Greg, right?" I figured he got a copy of the column I wrote on him last fall. He never got it but said, "I remember talking to you because you ask really insightful questions. I remember it was a really good interview."

I loved the compliment for sure but wanted some scoop: What about this gay commitment ceremony on the season finale. Tuc said they are just beginning to work on it and seemed unsure of just how much he could say about. Just then Marc Cherry, his boss on the show, walked up and I moved on to let them chat. Good thing Marc had earlier provided me with some info.

That was about it. Saw lots of friends and fellow journalists but I don't want to bore you with all that! I know you just want the glitz, the glamour and the celeb dish!

-- Thanks to photographer extraordinaire Brian Putman for the pics!

The GLAAD Media Awards were a pretty star-studded affair but there was no star who burned brighter than the event's big honoree Janet Jackson who got the night's only standing ovation.

She only did a few non-televised red carpet interviews and, somehow, one of them was with me. So it was quite surreal experience to be talking to her then to suddenly be surrounded by, literally, dozens of tape recorders and microphones of other reporters horning in on our chat.

Janet just kept talking like it happens all the time, which I'm sure it does! I wanted to know how she felt about being honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation with its Vanguard Award for her influence in increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS and LGBT equality in the mainstream media.

"I love it," Janet said. "I never expected it in a million years so when I heard they wanted to honor me, I was really taken aback. It's just for the work that I've done with AIDS and acknowledging the gay and lesbian community through my music and so on. I'm just very appreciative."

Janet, whose chart-topping single "Together Again" was a tribute to the close friends she lost to AIDS, said she grew up in a very gay-friendly household.

"Even when I was younger, when I was growing up, my mother was very religious but there were a lot of kids who were dancers that she brought into the home and now that I think about it, think back, they were gay. They all called her mother and she treated every one of them like they were her children. And that's where it kind of started I suppose and I've been around the community all my life."

Janet's award was presented Saturday night inside a sold-out Kodak Theater in Hollywood by Ellen DeGeneres. Other stars in attendance included Billy Baldwin, Wilson Cruz, Jennifer Beals, Cindy Crawford, Sharon Stone, Christopher Gorham, Sally Field, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Leslie Jordan, Becki Newton, Michael Urie and Candis Cayne, among others.

More reports from the GLAAD Awards to come over the next several days!

Had time for a quickie with the awesome Kathy Griffin at the GLAAD Awards last night and, as always, she was a hoot! Here is our little conversation which ended quickly as "handlers" pulled her away...

Kathy: Hi, remember me?"
Greg: Yes! How could I forget you? It was at the Chateau Marmout."
Kathy: At a power luncheon."
Greg: The gays love you, obviously, so is this like your prom?"
Kathy: Yeah, this is the prom that no one asked me to when I was actually a senior. Now I get to come, I finally have the dress that I also couldn't afford when I was in high school. This is my prom, yes."
Greg: Why do you think we love you so much?
Kathy: I think maybe, what I'm told by my gay friends, is they like it that I just go there. I believe the phrase 'sick sense of humor' has come up several times which I embrace."
Greg: You've just exploded in popularity with the 'D-List' show getting so big.
Kathy: Back June 12 (on Bravo). This year, it's ridiculously gay. I do a gay cruise in Bora Bora, I perform on Pink flight which is an all-gay flight between San Francisco and Sydney for Gay Mardi Gras, I do the Bearfest with the boy bears. I mean, it's good stuff this year.
Greg: You're so not afraid.
Kathy: Oh no! I'm not afraid of a hairy back!

I chatted with "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry at last night's GLAAD Awards and wanted to know all about the rumors that the show's fifth season will have the residents of Wisteria Lane jumping ahead five years in time. Another rumor is that that gay character of Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom) would be living with Bob (Tuc Watkins), who is currently sharing a home with his partner Lee (Kevin Rahm).

"First of all, I don't know that there's any truth to that rumor," Marc said. "Second of all, I will never comment on future storylines. Third of all, wouldn't that be a scandalous storyline to do?!"

Then he dropped a bombshell on me: "We're having a gay commitment ceremony between Tuc and Kevin in the final episode."

What? Huh? I beg your pardon! You mean when we were all abuzz over the ceremony between Kevin and Scotty on "Brothers & Sisters," Marc was planning one for his show?

"I only found out that 'Brothers & Sisters' was doing this like a week ago," he said. "The tonality of our show is so different, I think we're doing it in a totally different way. Ours is more of a comedic backdrop to a much darker story going on at a different part of (Wisteria Lane). Even though they are gay commitment ceremonies, I think they're going to be handled completely differently."

Then I asked what seems like a silly question but with all the "As The World Turns" controversy (gay characters Luke and Noah were not shown kissing for more than seven months), I had to know if Bob and Lee would lock lips at the ceremony. We have not yet seen them bed anything near physically intimate.

Said Marc: "I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of smooch...But you know what? You never know. I haven't edited the thing, we're still shooting it. There's always a surprise in editing."

When tennis is played on hard courts or on grass, Rafael Nadal is merely a top five player who gets good results much of the time but doesn't dominate. European clay though, is a different story. In the last three years, he has been virtually unbeatable on the surface and continued his dominance on Sunday by beating world number one Roger Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo tournament for the third year running.

Federer. who has reigned supreme on all other surfaces, is no slouch on clay but he's only managed to beat Nadal on the dirt once in eight matches. He lost 7-5, 7-5 in Monte Carlo but can still feel good about the real clay court prize: the French Open which begins in three weeks. It's the only major Roger has not yet won. Nadal, just 21, has won it three times in a row and I just have a feeling is ripe for a loss in Paris to Federer or someone else.

If Roger wins the French, my friend Henry is gonna do a back handspring in front of the Taj Mahal!

Imagine being a young actor just off your first big film and a director meets you with this job offer: you are to play a paralyzed soldier and not let on to anyone know - not even your co-stars or the film's crew - that you can walk in real life.

It happened to Lee Pace, the star of ABC's "Pushing Daisies" who filmed his part in director Tarsem Singh's epic fanstasy "The Fall," four years ago when he was not yet famous. He played a bedridden man in a hospital who befriends a young girl with a broken collar bone and starts telling her a vivid, fantastical story of exotic lands.

"I thought, 'Great! I'll really be acting now, great method stuff," said Lee, who was trained at Julliard. "I had only done one movie before this, he had seen 'Soldier's Girl' and thought I'd be perfect for this one. God knows why."

Lee talked about what a toll the role took on him - far more than playing Ned on "Daisies," a pie maker with the power to bring dead people back to life.

"It was really lonely," he said when we spoke a few days ago. "I could walk around but no one could see me. I couldn't have anyone over. I had to lie to everyone. Everyone thought I was paralyzed. I
wasn't the pie marker (on "Daisies") then so I could get away with it."

The other challenge was acting opposite then six-year-old Cantica Untaru, a Romanian girl who did know a word of English.

"She was cautious and as it went on, she got real close to my character," Lee said. "She would take care of me, draw me little pictures, she would play with my nose and talk in a way that was absolutely private. It's like she had no idea she was being filmed. My job was kind of getting her to talk and be un-self-conscious and improvise with her a lot."

"The Fall "goes into limited release on May 9, marking the first time it can be seen outside the film festival circuit.

"When I had my very first meeting with Tarsem, he said, 'This is the kind of movie that they will teach about in film school.' I thought, 'Yeah, every director says that.' But it really is. He has made a movie that is absolutely incredible and I played a little part in doing that. It's layered and complicated. It's a really, really special movie."

Lee has managed to land a series of parts in quality films and television shows including the recent "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" (above) opposite Amy Adams and Frances McDormand, and in the upcoming "Possession," he gets above-the-title billing for the first time with co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

His first film was a stunner based on a true story: In 2003's "Soldier's Girl," Lee played Calpernia Addams, a transgender woman dating Army soldier Barry Winchell (Troy Garity) who was murdered because of his sexuality and his relationship with Addams.

"I didn't come to the audition dressed in drag, I was just wearing a T-shirt and jeans," Lee recalled. "I knew how to connect and mean what I say. I don't know how to play a drag queen."

After he was cast, he told director Frank Pierson and he was having a difficult time finding his way into the drag queen element of the character: "Pierson just said, 'Play the woman and the story will be clear. All I had to do was play the integrity of it, falling in love with someone else, getting away from her past. All I had to do was focus on is falling in love. After that, the make-up people will do their job."

"I'm really proud of that film. When I broke it to my parents that I was playing Calpernia, my mom was like, 'Oh, well, at least you're not playing a killer.' When I got cast in 'Infamous,' I was like, 'Guess what mom.'"

In "Infamous," Lee and Daniel Craig portrayed the two killers Truman Capote wrote about in his book "In Cold Blood" and the movie dramatized his research of the film. The movie had the misfortune of being released a year after a nearly identical film, "Capote," won Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Oscar for his portrayal of the famed writer.

The film was shot before Craig was cast as the new James Bond but things were already in the works for him to become the next 007.

"We shot a sequence in Waco and I did this drive back with him and he was on the phone talking to someone about the Bond thing," Lee remembered. "It was all coming together at that time. He was great to work with, he absolutely transformed himself."

With a string of good movie parts behind him, Lee was not even thinking of doing any television when "Pushing Daisies" creator Bryan Fuller approached him. The two men had worked together in Fuller's previous series, the short-lived "Wonderfalls."

"'Wonderfalls' burned me on the whole TV thing, The network did not support us and the show was shot in Toronto and I was hesitant to get back into it. But too many things were right about this. The material and the script was good and knowing Bryan Fuller, I had real faith in how he would develop it. It's scary signing that kind of contract but I'm really glad I did it. It's been a strong experience all the way around."

"When I first read the script, I was like, 'This is gonna be a hit. I knew that if we made it, it was gonna be a hit, a show that people watched. So, the real debate was, 'Am I comfortable being the lead of a popular TV show. You have a very different life. People get you on TV for free in their homes, you are more approachable when you are in airplanes, people watch me in restaurants. I'm really tall and people think, 'That tall guy looks like the pie maker."

Lee will resume his pie baking when "Daisies" resumes production in June for its second season of episodes. The first season got off to a strong start but was cut short because of the the writers strike and unlike other ABC shows like "Desperate Houewives" and "Grey's Anatomy," was not rushed back into production to make fresh spring episodes.

"It's given us time," he said of the break. "The writers have a chance to look at our season and see what worked and what didn't work. There are some things that could use some tinkering. We're not (a procedural show) like 'CSI' or 'Law & Order,' we have to go by our taste and our instinct with it."

Several months ago, I came out publicly in support of Hillary Clinton for president. As the Democratic primaries go on and on ... and on, I've been watching it all go down and am basically ready to support whoever the nominee is against John McCain this fall.

But I am such a big fan of Maya Angelou - have read almost all her books - that I had to share this open letter she has written in support of the senator from New York:

Dear Friend,

Vote for Hillary Clinton and show your support at www.hillaryclinton.com. I know she will make us proud.

There has been some serious problems with the blog system today so my posts are taking a long time to publish - if they do at all. I'm trying tho!

Today is the Day of Silence which takes on a lot more meaning because of the horrible death of teenager Lawrence King who was allegedly shot in the head by a classmate he apparently had a crush on.

TR,Knight, speaking with students at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex's School of Social Justice, said "straight guys feel so threatened by us - look at me, I'm not going to hurt you!"

He said crushes are completely natural and while they may be a nuisance for the object of affection, they are most certainly not a license to kill.

"Lipstick Jungle" hunk Robert Buckley is making a Lifetime movie with Heather Locklear and whaddaya know, the writers found a reason for him to take his shirt off. Do you think Robert will ever get tired of having to appear half-undressed in most of his scenes?

I sure hope not!

It was so nice to have an openly gay man on a national show like "The Insider" even if the show annoyed me with its five-part Ivanna Trump marriage coverage. Really. The woman is on her fourth husband and what exactly does she do anyway?

Okay, back to Thomas. Where the heck is he? He has been off of the show about as long as chronically troubled host Pat O'Brien who has done a few stints in rehab. It's no wonder they brought in squeaky clean Donny Osmond for awhile! Thomas, a former CNN Headline News anchor, seemed to ease into the job just fine with his "Truth or Rumor" segment and celeb interviews.

I'll keep ya posted if I find out anything.

My post yesterday marking Barbra Streisand's 66th birthday included some videos of her performances but not this one which is one of her most dramatic and memorable. At the end of the 2001 Emmy telecast - which had been postponed twice because of 9/11 - host Ellen DeGeneres introduced a surprise guest but never mentioned her name. Suddenly, she was just there. And her version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was most powerful and meaningful.

I'll never forget it and neither will you.

Here are some pics of our favorite "Brothers & Sisters" couple getting ready for their big day. Luke MacFarlane (Scotty) is always adorable but I don't think I've ever seen Matthew Rhys (Kevin) look as handsome as he does in these pictures.

Two years ago, Amelie Mauresmo was the number one tennis player in the world, the first openly gay woman to hold the top ranking since Martina Navratilova last did in 1987. Amelie won Wimbledon and the Australian Open that year before going into a tailspin and falling out of the top 20.

But this photo, showing the French star smiling before a national flag, is just lovely and her relaxed smile could hint that she's ready for another run at the top. The photo was snapped during the draw for the Fed Cup World Group play-off between Japan and France in Tokyo on Friday. The play-off will be held this weekend.

I watched a screener of Robert Gant's new flick "Kiss Me Deadly" in preparation of our interview next week. It was great to see him in a lead role like this as an ex-spy turned photographer who is dragged back into his old life. He is strong and sexy and in just about every scene! Robert dons his best James Bond tux for Instinct's May cover to promote the upcoming spy flick which debuts next week on here! Networks and co-stars Shannen Doherty. "Our movie shows that the gay guy can kick ass," he tells Instinct, "that the gay guy can be the hero."

Here is some video from his cover shoot:

*********************************

VIDEO BONUS: I came across this episode of "Nip/Tuck" on which Robert guest stars. It's so bizarre and the woman who plays his horny elderly wife is an absolute hoot!

These pictures just warm my heart. Scotty (Luke MacFarlane) and Kevin (Matthew Rhys) will commit to each other (I wish we could say marry each other) in the season finale of "Brothers & Sisters" and it looks like a beautiful ceremony, The fact that Luke recently publicly acknowledged that he is gay adds something to the whole thing. The show's storyline also provides a positive image of gay love and commitment to viewers gay and straight, young and old...

Boy, a day after the smooch heard around the world, Luke casually gave Noah a quick kiss on the lips on his way out the door in one of the scenes on "As the World Turns" today. Just like a regular couple. Maybe the show's powers that be or sponsors have been watching "Brothers & Sisters" and learned a few lessons about how to portray gay love without incident.

Anywho, Ameera gets all gussied up and tries to seduce Noah. She kisses him and he pulls away with kind of a grossed out look on his face. He actually was decent about it but told her it could not happen. She runs off in tears and says 'I'm so ashamed." Luke, who must be feeling more secure after getting to play tonsil hockey with Noah the other day, basically laughs it off telling Ameera: "What's a kiss between friends? Who cares?"

But he wisely decides to movie in with the green card couple and the show ends with he and Luke presenting a birthday cake to Ameera who had only a bit earlier had ditched her hussy clothes, got back into her traditional garb, and announced sjhe was going back to Iraq.

The boys, being ever so sweet, stopped her and as she prepared to blow out her candles, she said: "I wish for my friends to be very, very happy."

Well, maybe they will be now that you are over your delusion! But in soap land, there will certainly be some new roadblock for our young gay lovers who have already survived coming out, Noah's homicidal father, Luke temporary paralysis and now Ameera.

Here are today';s scenes:

Carly Smithson was, without a doubt. the most upbeat "American Idol" contestant the morning after being eliminated that I've spoken to so far this season.

She was also articulate, gracious and thankful.

"I loved every minute of it," she said Thursday morning. "We're all so grateful for the experience...I'm not that sad to be leaving."

"I think at this stage we're all into the top six and I feel that everybody was thinking they could go home. Not one person feels safe anymore."

Still, Carly had every reason to believe she'd make the top five after a strong performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" Wednesday night. I told her I thought it was her most relaxed and joyful performance to date.

"I realized that I had to not take everything so seriously," she said. "Early on in the show (the judges) set the standards so high for me and were a lot harder on me than the other contestants and it got to me for a few weeks."

But Carly said spending time with Mariah Carey, who was last week's mentor on the show, showed her that she could be relaxed and just be herself.

The Irish singer, now 24, had a recording contract when she was a teenager and released an album that went nowhere. She gave up on music until a few years ago but her past professional experience brought criticism.

"I kind of started out on the show with some bad press and I don't think it really helped me that much. Every week, I gave as good as I could."

She believes the results have at times come down to more of a popularity contest than merits of a performance.

"Women vote for this show, it's obvious," she said. "And they vote for the boys. The boys are adorable. I definitely feel that the girls had more of a struggle this year trying to get the popularity vote."
Judge Simon Cowell's often harsh criticism of her song choices and even her wardrobe made her more determined in the end.

"It's like he set this high bar for me straight way. I felt like I did a great job. I gave it everything I had. ... I guess Simon just had a different idea in his mind, I'm not sure he wanted me to be who I am. I can't please everyone. He's only one person."

The above article is my News Lite column tomorrow appearing in the LA Daily News and other papers. Here is some online bonus material exclusively for Out In Hollywood readers:

On her future: "I'm free to go make a record and start writing and be with my husband and be in the real world because the 'Idol' bubble is really weird."

On this week's mentor Andrew Lloyd Webber: "He was one of our most amazing mentors (who) took so much time with us and really cared about every song we were doing and every choice that we made. I feel personally so grateful."

On her break from music during which she worked as a waitress in Georgia then in San Diego: "I had worked really hard to break (into) the music industry and I wanted to break from it and love it again. It had been such a struggle and an effort."
But she's fully into it now: "I started to want it so bad again...It's just a great gift that I've been given. ... I felt like I need to do this again, I missed music so much. I love it now. I have such a hunger."

...the legend turns 66 today. So many of us have loved Barbra for so long - virtually all our lives - and stuck with her through every hairstyle, every musical genre, every husband or boyfriend. She's always sang one helluva number and there really is no one else like her - no one.

Some Barbra videos, through the years:

Here is a wonderful 1997 visit to "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" where Rosie was overcome with emotion to be welcoming her childhood idol to the show. Barbra's music filled Rosie's house when she was a kid and was an absolute favorite of her late mother:

*********************
One of my favorites: Streisand singing "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from "Sunset Boulevard" during her 1994 comeback tour...It's like buttah...

*********************
Another fave: Barbra, in character as Esther Hoffman, singing "I Believe in Love" in a concert scene from 1976's "A Star is Born." Love the curly hair!

Even though it was not revealed - as had been expected - on Monday night's episode of "Gossip Girl" which of the male teen characters is gay, we know that it is golden girl Serena's little brother, Eric van der Woodsen (played by Connor Paolo).

What I really love is how we are supposed to find out! According to several reports, the little cutie pie in gonna get caught making out with one of the other male characters on the show. This could be the best coming out since Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom) was caught by Teri Hatcher's character kissing another boy in the swimming pool during the first season of "Desperate Housewives."

Anyway, read after the jump to see who Eric is gonna lock lips with!

...and he's got the big guns to do it! Here's the deal on Nadal: the world's second-best player for the last three years. He is the king of clay court tennis with a record of 109-3 on the surface since the start of 2005. He's also won 95 of his last 96 matches on clay including a win Thursday at the Masters Series Monte Carlo where he is the three-time defending champ.

I love spouting my tennis knowledge but let's face it, I really just wanted to post another picture of his big biceps! So sue me.

This clip is hilarious. After seeing it, I'm not sure Neil Patrick Harris' head is still attatched to his body!

Neil Patrick Harris is hitting the talk show circuit hard promoting "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantamino Bay" which opens Friday. But he spent more time talking about "American Idol" on yesterday's Ellen DeGeneres show saying that he is most impressed with David Archulleta who "I think will sell a trillion albums." He also defended arrogant judge Simon Cowell saying: "I think he's the coolest judge ever...Paula (Abdul) talks and talks and talks and talks."

But Ellen took issue with some of Simon's rudeness such as when he told Carly Smithson that she was dressed horribly: "He doesn't have to be personal and he doesn't have to attack and say, 'You're forgettable.'"

Well said Ellen!

I launched a Facebook page a few months ago and really enjoy the connection to people - old friends, new friends etc. But the wonderful actress Martha Plimpton, who I loved in "Running on Empty" and "Last Summer in the Hamptons," hates it. She gives the most hilarious quote about the social networking site in the new issue of "The Advocate" which interviewed her for its "Big Gay Following" feature.

Plimpton: "I went to Facebook for literally two days and it nearly ruined my life. MySpace doesn't announce to the entire (expletive) universe every goddamned move I make. MySpace doesn't send e-mails to people without asking my permission. Facebook is horrible. People can write how they know you -- or how they think they know you, which I hate. It's a constant barrage of fucking pointless noise. It made me so stressed out for two days that I honestly felt like, If I don't get off of this thing, I might end up in an institution.

That just cracks me up. It's the most passionate she is during the entire Q&A which she seems sort of bored with until Facebook is brought up. Then she just blows a fuse!

Here is a link to the whole thing. Trust me, this is the best answer she gives.

I came across an interview Helen Reddy gave to USA Today while I was vacationing so I've found myself humming "Angie Baby" at unexpected times since. In the late 70s, the first concert I ever went to was Helen Reddy at the Anaheim Convention Center. I was with one of my brothers and some cousins. I don't remember much about that concert but back in 1997 while I was vacationing in London, I caught her performance in "Blood Brothers" on the West End. It was a matinee and we got second row seats. Magical. It was during a record heat wave and the audience was given free ice cream before the show (or maybe during intermission) because it was so warm inside the theater.

I met Miss Reddy a few years ago at a book signing in Santa Monica for her memoir "The Woman I Am" and she told me how much she enjoyed that run of "Blood Brothers." I asked her why so many people still remember her songs all these years later. She kind of disappointed me with her answer which hinted there was something strange about it. Kind of like "People need to get a life."

Oh well, I didn't really like ther book that much. I wanted more showbiz dish and less reincarnation stuff. Anyway, this clip from 1997 is Miss Reddy on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and it's tons of fun watching them team up for the classic anthem "I Am Woman" which Reddy co-wrote. Rosie really oughta do a DVD collection from her show don't ya think?

The dreadlocked Jason Castro managed to survive a dreadful performance and Brooke White's false start did not lead to her demise. Instead, it was Carly Smithson who was sent home from "American Idol" tonight despite her very strong and very joyful performance of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

I was first of all shocked to see Brooke safe and Syesha Mercado in the bottom two when they were alone on stage. Then comes the even bigger shock when Jason was safe and Carly sent to the bottom two stools. Ridiculous voting outcomes. The only good thing was that we were spared from having to hear Jason screech out "Memory" again.

Simon Cowell's usual influence was not a factor this week, obviously. I gotta say, his arrogance irritates me. When Syesha was singing her heart out on her encore of "One Rock and Roll Too Many" near the judges, Paula Abdul stood and sent out love and support, Randy Jackson reached out his hand. Simon kept his back to the girl, not in the moment at all.

For some reason, Ryan Seacrest decided to kiss Simon on the head at the start of the show and Simon had a moment of gay panic. Ryan then reassured him: "Relax, it didn't mean anything."

But Simon redeemed himself a bit in the final moments of the show when he said to the departing Carly:"I apologize for giving you a compliment (Tuesday night), Kiss of death. You can leave here tonight with your head held high."

She sure can.

Well, it only took SEVEN months. I'd thank the writers or sponsors of producers or whoever decides to let straight people kiss all the time and gay people kiss just every seven months or so but my goodwill toward the show has diminished over this long drought.

It's been an insulting and unnecessary aspect to what had been a wonderful storyline and it is credit to the actors, especially Van Hansis as Luke, that I have stuck with this show at all. Van has made us care about his character and brought a wonderful authenticity to Luke.

I've gotta run and can't do a big rundown but will just quickly say that Ameera is moping because it's her birthday and her gay hubby didn't remember. She tearfully reminds him (boo hoo) and he goes to the store with Luke to get her something. She clings along. She then gets an idea to get a sexy make0ver only what she doesn;t know is that while she's putting on that dress with the low cleavage and all that lipstick, her gay hubby is finally kissing his boyfriend on-screen again.

Here are the scenes from today' show. The big kiss comes toward the end..

James Franco talked to "Entertainment Weekly" mostly about the upcoming comedy "Pineapple Express" but a few questions about his role as Harvey Milk's lover in "The Mayor of Castro Street" were snuck in there. The film stars Sean Penn and is directed by Gus Van Sant. Here is that part of the exchange:

Now, you've had a number of onscreen love interests: Kirsten Dunst, Neve Campbell, Catherine Keener. In Milk, which comes out in the fall, you play Sean Penn's lover. Where does he rate in terms of your onscreen romances?
JAMES: The top! He's a little hairier than those other ones, but oh well...

That film has an amazing cast: Penn, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, and, of course, Gus Van Sant, who directed.
JAMES: It's hard to think of a director or actor who I regard more highly than [Gus and Sean]. Gus has been a hero of mine since "Drugstore Cowboy" and "My Own Private Idaho." And of course Sean is probably the best actor around. It was great. Surprisingly kind of comfortable and easy. Gus has a very soft-spoken, soft-handed approach, so he just brings everybody together, the right elements together, and then he doesn't really have to do much. It just kind of happens. At least that's how it feels.

Well, I will not ask you what sort of intense, hands-on research you had to do for this film. I'll leave that to the other reporters.
JAMES: I know the two main questions I'm going to be asked in the next year are ''How much pot did you smoke?'' (for 'Pineapple Express') and ''What was it like to kiss Sean Penn?''

The entire interview with James can be found at EW.com

Some people think your gay card has to be revoked if you're not a fan of "Sex and the City" and of the character of Samantha Jones in particular. Well, I get to keep mine because I love the show and Samantha and Miranda, Charlotte and Carrie as well. In fact, last New Year's Eve when me and my pals couldn't get right into The Abbey and Here lounge I joked to the doorman, "I'm Samantha Jones" in the same way that Kim Cattrall, who plays the powerful PR woman on the show, did in so many episodes enabling her to bypass so many long lines.

Well, it didn't work for me but then I'm not Samantha or Kim. The Advocate features Kim on its cover and has sent me a few excerpts to share with you...Enjoy!

On her "Sex" character: "People book me on jobs and expect Samantha to show up," which can be exasperating. Why me? Cattrall must think. No one expects Kristin Davis to arrive at an event as a relentlessly sunny type-A husband hunter. For some reason, Samantha's personality stubbornly adheres to its vessel, possibly because it represents an ideal, the kind of person we like to imagine there'd be more of, if the world were a different place. It's such a powerful persona that Cattrall refers to Samantha in the third person without even seeming to notice she's doing so. "She has a tremendous fan base," she says of her character, as if talking up a colleague.

On marriage and children: For all her desire to put some distance between herself and Samantha, there are undeniable parallels. "I'm a woman of a certain age who doesn't have kids and never really settled down," she says. When she talks about children, she's refreshingly unapologetic about brooking no quarter for them. "I enjoy kids but not for long periods. I think they're adorable and funny and sweet, and then I have a headache." And she once told a journalist she thinks marriage is antithetical to sexual passion. "My perception is, the times I've been in long-term relationships and not taken care, there's been a price to pay, and we start looking somewhere else because the person next to you in bed is pissed off."

On the tabloids: When the show ended, rumors swirled about an ongoing catfight between Cattrall and the other three women, particularly Sarah Jessica Parker. People wanted to know why she didn't seem friendlier with them. "Do you get along with your colleagues all the time?" she asks me. "If you're spending 18 hours a day [at work], the last thing you want to do is go and have a drink with the people who you just -- you just need to get away."

On the delay of the film: Cattrall was reported to have held up production of the film after the three other actresses signed on, and she reiterates a number of reasons for doing so: Her father was diagnosed with dementia; she couldn't see the script before signing; when she did see the script, she didn't like it. "I didn't think it was that great," she says. "I'm glad we waited four years for a much better story line for all four characters." And of course, the money. Cattrall doesn't dispute that she held out for more, but she says it wasn't out of jealousy over Parker's higher salary, as was widely reported. "I never expected to be paid what Sarah was being paid," she says. "Sarah's a producer. But I felt that the offer was not worthy of what the three of us had contributed, and I spoke up about it. You know, my dad was a big union guy. He felt that the workers should get a part of it."
She insists that reports she was only doing the movie for the money took her words out of context. Still, she's candid about the fact that this is her nest egg, and she's not getting any younger. "I'm a woman in my 50s. I'm not living with some multimillionaire. I'm it. Negotiation is about getting more money, and I think, Would they have a problem with this if I were a man? You look at James Gandolfini. He stood up and said, 'Hey, I'm worth it.' " Her hard line appears to have worked. In March the Post reported that not only had Cattrall gotten a raise, but so had Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, thanks to her bargaining efforts. "Enough said" is all she'll say in response to that. "It's like, 'Oh, don't make any waves. Just be a good girl and take it.' And you know, I'm happy with my deal, ultimately. I feel like I stuck my neck out. I fought. I don't ever want to be on a set where I feel undervalued."

To read more from the article, go to Advocate.com

This is great news: here! TV has just announced that it will bring back the sexy anthology series "The DL Chronicles" for a second season. It will premiere on the network in late 2008 and feature 5 new episodes.

The series, recently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the category of "Outstanding Television Movie or Mini-Series," is the first television show to center on the "DL" phenomenon in the gay community. The DL (short for "down-low") refers to straight men of color who live their everyday lives as heterosexuals, often married to women, but engage in discreet gay sex and gay relationships on the periphery.

The show was created by Quincy Lenear and Deondray Gossett. The network describes the series this way: "...Not only sexy and provocative, but also offers a socially-conscious insight into the lines between sexuality and perceived socially acceptable behavior within the African-American community. It provides an unapologetic view of intimacy between men of color and explores these scintillating stories with honesty and integrity."

Among the stories told in the upcoming season are that which involve a high school student's newfound gay relationship and its effects on his homophobic father, a reverend who questions his sexual identity and religious beliefs upon meeting a handsome stranger, and an interracial love story about two guys from different sides of the tracks.

Personally, I could care less if Michelle Rodriguez were gay or bi or straight. I thought she was good in "Blue Crush" and "Fast and the Furious" (I never saw "Girlfight") but she is once foul-mouthed woman. I chatted with her about five years ago at a backyard party thrown by Chris McGurk who was then head of MGM Studios. I mentioned to her that my then-12 year old nephew just loved her and she was most ungracious. "(Expletive), that's all I need is buncha (expletive) kids after me." She was drinking so I just moved on to the more classy stars who were there that night like Halle Berry, Pierce Brosnan, Bill Pullman and many others.

That evening came back to me when I read about this lovely quote from from Michelle in the new Latina magazine in regards to speculation about her sexuality: "I picture [the journalists and bloggers who are constantly trying to out her] turning into pigs, slime coming out the side of their mouth, and I picture them jerking off...I don't answer those questions. I just keep it to myself and it's nobody's business. If I wanna (expletive) a girl, a boy, a dog -- that's my business. That's why there's bathroom doors."

Michelle: Get a grip. Get some manners.

I caught last night's episode of "Law & Order: SVU" about a closeted football star's boyfriend who ends up murdered. Handsome Bailey Chase played the pro quarterback who we think did the killing because the dead boyfriend wanted to go public. Turns out it was his slimey agent who did the deed.

Anyway, AfterElton.com has done a nice recap and I'd like to direct you there after I give you some of my impressions. I really did not like the character of the famous model who refered to the football player as a "homo, ass-bandit" etc. just because he didn't put out for her. Somebody needed to seriously rip out her vocal cords.

Chris Meloni's character disappointed me because I thought me was more evolved, maybe because he did so many guys on "OZ." When he finds out Chase's character is gay he laments: "But he's my son's hero."

So, Meloni and Mariska Hargitay think they have outed the footballer while investigating the case and he quickly gets bashed, gets a fractured skull by a group that yells "get the faggot." He ends up in a coma. A radio shock jock called Sportsman Larry was tipped off and outed him to 5 million viewers. Please tell me this is not how things would go down if a real NFL player were to come out. It really made me sick.

Mariska's character it is revelaed is dating a newspaper editor played by Bill Pullman and she gets suspended because they think she leaked the information about the gay footballer to the press. Pullman, one of my longtime crushes, is aging wonderfully, looks as handsome as ever. But he was largely wasted in the episode. Maybe he'll be back for a return visit!

First of all, Andrew Lloyd Weber was a terrific mentor to the singers, giving real advice and feedback and not afraid to speak his mind. And his Broadway songs were a real test for most of the singers this week, reshuffling the deck a bit and allowing us to see just how terrific a performer Syesha Mercado is and how limited a singer Jason Castro is.

THE WORST: I think Brooke White will be voted off tonight. She forgot the words and had to start over. At this point, with only six contestants left, she deserves to be eliminated. But she did go on to perform "You Must Love Me" from the movie version of "Evita" admirably. The same cannot be said of Castro's "Memory" from "Cats." I thought it was a good song choice for him but he did not connect with the song and seemed to rush it.

THE BEST: Syesha was a revelation opening the show with "One Rock N' Roll Too Many." She was in a red dress, did a Michelle Pfeiffer atop the piano in "Fabulous Baker Boys" thing and was quite simply, sensational. Loved. This. Performance.

SOLID GOLD: Carly Smithson, David Archuleta and David Cook were all damned good and sang their way to a top five finish, I'm sure. Carly seemed relaxed and joyful singing "Jesus Christ Superstar" and had a terrific look going to boot. Archuleta was strong as ever on "Think of Me" as he learned to open his eyes while singing. He's already stopped constantly licking his lips, thankfully. David Cook, meanwhile, closed the show on a high note with "Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera." He left the rocker persona at the door and was a real Broadway star. A very convincing transformation that I think should give him more momentum in what essentially is the battle of two Davids.

...Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic feels the need to tear his shirt off after he wins a tennis match but I think more players should also begin doing so, don't you? Do ou hear that Andy Roddick? Rafael Nadal? Marat Safin?

Djokovic, the third-ranked player in the world and reigning Australian Open champion, stripped a bit after winning his second round match Tuesday at the Master Series tournament in Monte Carlo.

Tori Spelling's character on "Beverly Hills 90210" famously remained a virgin through most of that show's run. In her new movie, the one-time Donna Martin does a real 180-degree turn as a pregnant bride! Well, the character Tori plays in the new indie flick "Kiss the Bride" isn't pregnant but the actress was four months along during the filming in 2006.
"I fell in love with the character and had to have the role," Tori told me Tuesday when she called from the set of her Oxygen network reality show "Tori and Dean: Inn Love." "I had just found out that I was pregnant and hoped they still wanted me."

They did. With her ever-expanding belly cleverly obscured by a pillow or a flower bouquet etc., Tori played a bride who finds out on the eve of her wedding that her future husband may or may not be gay. The film opened in Los Angeles last Friday and expands to other markets Friday.

"I'm really proud of the film," she said. "I think it turned out great."

Tori, who turns 35 next month, is pregnant with her second child with husband Dean McDermott who she met on a movie set, appears with on the reality show, and who has a small role in "Bride."

"When Dean and I met and fell in love, our dream was to always work together and so far it has totally worked out," she said. "He's my true soulmate. As soon as I found him, eveything started to fall into place. It's so great to find that partner who is that true partner."

Tori recently published her autobiography, "sTori Telling" which detailed her career, a short-lived first marriage, and her rocky relationship with her mother Candy Spelling.

"It was a very cathartic experience. I started it when I was pregnant with Liam so it had been awhile in then making. To see it released and have such a great response, it's a whole new world for me."

And how are things with her mother who was famously spoofed by Loni Anderson's in Tori's sadly short-lived series "So NoTORIous." Tori said Candy is "a great grandmother" but the mother-daughter bond is still strained: "It is what it is," she said. "Do I hope it improves in the future? Of course. But 34 years of contentiousness doesn't get healed overnight."

The above is what appears in my LA Daily News column tomorrow. The following is bonus online material:

On her popularity with gays: "I don't know how it got created around me. I guess they know how much I love them and connect with them. Most of my friends are gay, I connect with gay men more than anyone else. It's been a rough road with critics and peoplewise and I feel the most support and love when I'm surrounded by my gay friends."

On working with her "Kiss the Bride" co-stars Philipp Karner and James O'Shea: "When I read the script, I thought it was really contingent upon on the chemistry between the three characters. [The 18-day shoot] was such a rushed experience. I showed up on the first day of shooting and met them. That was a little scary. In rthe movie i feel like Alex (Spelling)and Matt (Karner) meet and instantly have this friendship, this bond, It was the same thing with Philipp (pictured, shirtless, above) and me. We met and were like best friends, we just completely bonded. He was so nurtruring and making sure I was comfortable. And James (pictured with Tori, below) is great. I felt that we related in the way that Alex and Ryan (O'Shea) related. There's a side to Alex that he doesn't really show which she does show to Matt."

On working with "Kiss the Bride" director C. Jay Cox: "I was really excited just to meet him because I was a fan. He challenged me as an actor. every day. You didn't just come to work, you had to step it up. We would do a scene and he had a way of talking to you. He'd throw something at you and say, 'Let's try it this way."

On her professional choices: "My career has been so eclectic that I'm just exctied about different roiles. I love comedy. The right roles come when they come and the ones that don't come, I create, I create for myself like 'So noTORIous" I was sick of waiitng around pilot season after pilot season waiting to get cast. The same with 'Tori and Dean: Inn Love." The demise of 'So noTORIous' is the bane of my existence. I've never been so proud of anything."

I've always been a little lukewarm about Janet Jackson but I've become more of a fan lately. I just caught "Why Did I Get Married" on DVD and I was impressed by how really good she was in the film. And now that I've read her new interview with E!Online's Marc Malkin, I like her even more. Here are some highlights:

Q.When did you first realize you were a gay icon?
A. I never thought of myself as that, and it never even crossed my mind when people started calling me icon and legend and all this other stuff. I remember I was over in Europe and I called my boyfriend [music megaproducer Jermaine Dupri] once because they had introduced me on a show as a legend, and I said, "You know they introduced me as 'the legendary Janet Jackson', " and he said, "You are." [Laughs.] I never thought of that or looked at myself in that way. But I'll wear the title. I'll own it.

Q. What's a good Janet drag queen?
A. They really study you. They truly study you. But you know, they pour it on more, which I absolutely love. They give more than I do and I love that. The first time I went to the Baton in Chicago and saw this show, I was with some of my [female] dancers. Afterward, I said to my dancers, "We've gotta pull up because these bitches are hitting it. They're giving so much femininity and we look like boys onstage." The next night we had a show and we were trying our hardest to ooze with that feminine touch.

Q. The AIDS epidemic started and then we were at the height of it when you started to hit the big time with albums like Rhythm Nation and Control. Do you remember when you first heard about the disease? Was it when you started losing friends?
A. I lost a lot of friends. Friends from the show Fame who I had danced with, some of the kids from Nasty, some of the kids who danced with my brothers who I knew. Makeup artists. I lost a lot of friends to AIDS and one who I absolutely adored so much. His name was Jose, and we worked a lot together in Europe. He would put these eyelashes on me that he would make from real hair. His sister would cut her hair so he could make these eyelashes. They were the most beautiful things. He was so much fun to be with. I had heard he was sick and he was passing, and it was just so sad. It's so sad.

Q. You appeared in a PSA to combat hate crimes that was produced after 15-year-old Lawrence King was murdered in February because he was gay. Why was that so important to you?
A. That broke my heart. He was finally coming into his own and being himself and being OK with who he was. He was feeling good about that and not living in this shell and pretending to be someone else. He was letting all of that go and saying, "This is me." But being murdered for being who you are, for being real--we were crushed by that.

There's lots more to this interview. Go to Marc Malkin's site to read the interview in its entirety!

I've never even heard of "Viva Hollywood!" which apparently is a show that has actors vying for a role on a TV show. One of the male contestants named Vinci, has heightened the show's visibility with an on-screen freak-out when he was told he would have to perform a gay love scene with fellow contestant, Berto.

OK, so he didn't wanna do it but it's hardly worth CRYING over. "The scene is gay! The scene is gay!" he says in tears as others try and calm him. "I'm leaving the TV show. Put me on a plane, I'll get the f*** out of here."

Then I love this next line because it shows a clear lack of pespective of the real hardships people have to endure sometimes: "I don't want to stay. Sometimes, life throws you in positions that you don't want to be. Not even close to it."

OK Vinci, but you aren't off at war getting shot at, you don't have a disease, you haven't been sent to jail on trumped up charges. Get. A. Grip.

..."Ugly Betty" star Eric Mabius!!! So what the heck am I doing in this picture? Hey, it's my birthday too! We're both Earth Day babies! Yeah, I'm blogging on my birthday because, to me, Out In Hollywood is the real gift...

I caught Neil Patrick Harris' appearance on "Regis and Kelly" Monday morning and he was his usual funny and charming self. He's so good on talk shows. He compliments Kelly Ripa on her ripped bod first calling her Linda Hamilton then saying "You look like Madonna. Look at those guns!"

Regis asked about NPH's sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" which is on a ratings upswing and should be easily renewed for a fourth season. But, the actor said "We're not yet, our fingers are crossed. They make you sweat it out. It's a big business, television, so you can never be too confident."

Then the conversation segued into the reason why Neil is burning up the talk show circuit: he co-stars in "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantamano Bay" which opens on Friday. He plays an actor named Neil Patrick Harris but, he said, it's "sort of a very extreme version of myself...I'm on hallucinegenic mushrooms and take the boys to a house of ill-repute. It's good, wholesome entertainment."

They showed a clip of the film with NPH driving Harold and Kumar who question his ability to drive in his drug-induced state. His reply is a reference to Doogie: "Dude, I was able to perform an appentectomy at 14, I think I can handle a couple of mushrooms...Did you see that unicorn?"

If you only know Charlie David from his role on "Dante's Cove," then you don't know what a thoughtful and intelligent actor and writer that he is. But that will be apparent now his movie "Mulligans" is completed and ready for the film festival circuit. Charlie write the script, acts in the movie and produced it.

I got a note yesterday about what is happening with the movie which is about the father (Dan Payne) of a college student (Derek James) who enters into an affair with his son's best friend who is played by Charlie when he comes to stay with the family for the summer. Also in the film is the lovely Thea Gill of "Queer as Folk" and "Dante's Cove" fame. Here is the trailer:

The movie will be having its world premiere at the Inside Out Film Festival in Toronto on May 18th at 5pm. Other festival acceptances to date include Honolulu, Calgary, Fort Worth, and New York. And that's just for starters!

This next clip includes interviews with the cast and the director and is a good behind the scenes look at what looks to be a terrific film:

The night before I headed to the Balboa Penninsula for an amazing beach house week (I will blog a bit about it later this week), my pal Kenneth Walsh (Kennethinthe212) was in town from New York and we had a blast at The Abbey which was jammed-packed even more than usual. We chatted a bit with Phiipp Karner, one of the hot stars of "Kiss the Bride" who I had interviewed just a few days earlier and snapped a picture with him (that's Kenneth's partner Michael standing far left). Kenneth has blogged some about his trip on his cool site. It was so good to spend some time with this fantastically talented guy who I met just last fall but feel like I've known forever.

Brandon Routh's voice sounded a little rough on the phone the other day and he quickly explained why: the actor who plays the Man of Steel in "Superman Returns" had a cold.

I lamely blurted out that he should "drink lots of fluids and stay away from Kryptonite!"

It wasn't the first time he'd heard that in recent days, but gave me a courtesy laugh anyway.

Brandon is excited to be one of the leads in the independent movie "Lie to Me," a romantic drama about a couple navigating the hazards of an open relationship. It opens the Newport Beach Film Festival on Saturday.

"Don't take the kids," he advised. "It's an interesting date movie, maybe even an interesting first date. It puts it all out on the table and raises a lot of interesting subjects for people - things that are really important and what people my age are going through. Mainly, am I ready to commit to one person?"

Brandon, 28, already knew one of his co-stars pretty well since he was engaged to Courtney Ford when they made the film and the couple were married last November.

"She's really amazing," Brandon said of his wife's work in the movie. "We have some really great, fun scenes and it was exciting to be able to work with her and see how amazing she is in this film and to know we can both set aside who we are in our relationship."
"We had a lot of conversations about that topic (of fidelity) with ourselves and the rest of the cast. It's a topic that is very interesting: What is commitment? What is love? Are we afraid of love?"
The couple will be among the cast and crew at the Newport festival on opening night and Brandon is eager to get the crowd's reaction: "I'm proud of the movie. Any time your name is attatched to a movie, it's scary. You don't know how it will turn out. But it's exciting too."

The world of independent movies and getting attention for them on the film festival circuit is obviously worlds apart from headlining a big studio film like "Superman Returns."

"Yeah, it's a little bit different, you don't get all the glitz and glamour - but that's all right. It's a lot of fun to be able to work with people who are passionate about their film. It gives you a lot more chance to really experience the character sometimes without the pressure of all the money."

Before "Superman," Brandon was simply a working actor looking for his big break. Landing the lead in a summer blockbuster that grossed more than $200 million domestically can change your career - and your life - pretty darn quick.

"To some extent, I rolled with it," he said. "I'm pretty calm most of the time by nature. It is certainly a lot of exposure and takes getting used to. What takes the most getting used to is when that goes away a little bit and going back to real life. My life contains both of these scenarios. There's a time to be in the spotlight and out of it. It's balancing those parts of life and now I have the opportunity as well to do some great work and prove to people that I can do many other things."
And what about the next movie in the "Superman" series? Brandon said director Bryan Singer is in the process of meeting with writers. He's eager to return to the character and to work with the director again.

"Bryan was very open to communicating about the character and was very collaborative with me. We talked endlessly about the character and what he's going through. On set, we were on the same playing field. He's a genius and it's exciting to see him work. I think ('Superman Returns') is a beautiful film. I'm really, really proud of it and very excited to continue."

It's almost as if Casey was speaking for the audience when annoying Ameera said to him: "I know that Noah loves Luke but it doesn't change the fact that I'm married to him. I'm his wife."

Uh, Earth to annoying Ameera...come in annoying Ameera.

Casey: "You gotta be real about those two. You're a nice girl, I don't want you to get hurt...(It's) not gonna happen, that's all I'm trying to say...He's with guys! And that's not going to change because of some piece of paper. No offense but if you have ideas that you're turning Noah straight, that's not how it works no matter how much you want it to."

Ameera glares at him, tells him to mind his own business and later tells him to leave. Casey tells the trio that their sham to keep Ameera in the US "is stupid and pointless and you're gonna get caught. ...How long do the three of you think you're gonna pull this off?"

On the way out, Casey sets an in denial Luke straight, so to speak: "I quit you Luke!" (The two had been pretending to be a gay couple to throw immigration off the track) "(Ameera) is in love with her gay husband who happens to be your boyfriend! Wake up Luke!"

The light bulb finally goes off in Luke's head and he has a talk with clueless Noah about it saying that Ameera is getting a little too into the husband and wife thing: "She kissed you Noah! Was that in the script. She did it because she wanted to."

At least Noah is kissing someone! Because he sure as heck isn't kissing Luke, dammit.

Noah assures Luke that "it doesn't matter. Even if Casey's right, I don't feel that way about her...I'm with you...I am...and she knows that."

Previews show Ameera AGAIN kissing Noah. The show is really testing us and insulting us and daring us to just give up on it. Maybe we will someday soon, maybe we will.

...Patti Lupone! The great star who has played Eva Peron ("Evita"), Maria Callas ("Master Class"), Mrs. Lovett ("Sweeney Todd") and now Mama Rose ("Gypsy") on Broadway as well as Norma Desmond ("Sunset Boulevard") on the London stage, turns 59 today. What a magnificant talent. Still, to my old pal Danny Sullivan, visiting from London this month, she will always be Libby from TV's "Life Goes On."

I got a real kick out of the current New York Magazine cover piece about my favorite guilty pleasure "Gossip Girl" which returns to the CW tonight with an original episode. Here are a few excerpts from the article co-written by Jessica Pressler and Chris Rovzar:

One time we played hooky from work for an hour and skip-walked all the way from our offices in far west Soho to the East Village to catch a scene of the show being filmed. Technically, we're a little old for Gossip Girl--our own high-school experience was kind of a while ago. Like, 90210-was-still-on-the-air a while ago. But it's not just tweenage girls who are hooked on the show.

At first we cloaked our adoration in irony. "It's awesomely bad," we explained to friends. "You know, like Showgirls. Or a Bloomin' Onion." But before long we were covering the show pretty much exhaustively on the Daily Intelligencer, the blog we write on nymag.com. And then a funny thing happened: E-mails and texts from fans of all ages began filling our in-boxes. "S. at Cafe Gitane, not with Lonely Boy!" read one text, from a 28-year-old marketing executive. "OMG!" we texted back. "Is she cheating?" "No, he is a gay." (Translation: Blake Lively, who plays Serena van der Woodsen, was spotted with someone other than Penn Badgley, who plays her onscreen boyfriend and whom she's rumored to be dating in real life. The "he" who is "a gay" is just some guy who looked that way to the texter.) The more we wrote about Gossip Girl, the more its radically invested fan base began to reveal itself to us. We were like a support group for the fully grown, employed, non-pervert adult fans of the show.

But there should be no shame in a love of Gossip Girl. After all, it is (and we have come to this conclusion honestly) the most awesomely awesome show ever
Chace Crawford on after he started dating Carrie Underwood. "I wasn't ready for all that craziness," he admitted. "I didn't realize what that was going to entail." Chace and Carrie recently broke up--gloriously, by text message--but the damage had been done. Paparazzi began following him on errands, someone posted his home address in Chelsea, and every little photo op became a gossip story. Rumors that he was dating singer JC Chasez grew so insistent that the actor has been forced to deny his alleged gaydom. (They share a manager, he explains in exasperation, who occasionally arranges for them to appear at the same events.)

After Chace and Ed Westwick were spotted going to Best Buy to pick up movies together, Ed also had to deny to the Daily News that he was dating Chace. (Well, they did get Little Miss Sunshine.)

It's true: Ed and Chace aren't dating. It's better. They're roommates.

Here is a LINK to the entire article...Enjoy!

Channing Tatum showed a lot of skin in his most recent movie, the military drama "Stop-Loss" and that was a good thing! Sadly, he's a lot more covered up in his next role as Duke in the upcoming movie version of "G.I. Joe." Oh well, I'd still pretty much watch anything he's in at this point. I finally checked out "Step Up" after interviewing Channing at the "Stop-Loss" premiere last month and am now a big fan,

"Ugly Betty," one of the best shows on television and certainly one of the most gay-inclusive, returns with a batch of brand-new episodes beginning this Thursday. To mark the occasion some cast members, led by Becki Newton and Michael Urie, headline the first-ever "Ugly Betty" Video Podcast.

Enjoy!

..."Star Trek" icon George Takei who turns 71 years old today. It's only been in recent years that George has been quite public about being gay but he's been in a committed relationship for more than 20 years. He's also been enjoying a terrific resurgence professionally with a recurring role on NBC's "Heroes" and a frequent gig on Howard Stern's radio show and the announcer and foil...

The return of new epidodes of "Gossip Girl" on Monday nights means the return of cutie pie Chace Crawford! I'm as happy as a clam at high tide...

FROM DOOGIE TO KUMAR: Neil Patrick Harris and his boyfriend, actor David Burtka, are pictured here at the premiere of "Harold and Kumar go to Guantanamo Bay," a sequel that features NPH as an exaggerated version of himself. Very exaggerated...

KISSING THE GROOM: Here is actor Philipp Karner at last week's premiere of his new film "Kiss the Bride." He plays the high school best friend - and former lover - of the groom who shakes things up when he returns home for the wedding.

If you ask Jason Alexander what he's been up to lately, you're not going to get a short answer.

I bumped into the "seinfeld" alum at an event recently and was surprised to learn that in addition doing film roles, directing and doing guest spots on various television series, he's also the director of a local theater company and a fledgling stand-up comedian!

"I don't start with the small stuff my friend," he said. "I go right to the big venues. I leave in a couple of weeks to do a two-week comedy tour in Australia and I'm doing some of the comedy festivals up in Canada this summer. I like it. I'm well aware that this is not who I am - there are guys who really do this. I'm just sort of toying with it. But it's great fun and the audiences have been wonderful so far."

Do they expect him to walk out and act like George Costanza, his character on "Seinfeld"?

"I don't know what they expect," he said. "All I can tell you is if I have to do 25 minutes, the first 10 minutes are free because they just think I'm gonna be funny. It's been a really kind of fun transition because it's a kind of entertaining that I thought I would never do after working with Jerry and the guys I met because of him who are the best of the best, I really thought I would do this and here I am."

You can't really blame Jason for steering clear of doing another series right now after being twice-burned post-"Seinfeld." His 2001 ABC comedy "Bob Patterson" was much-hyped then pulled after just five episodes aired. His 2004-05 series on CBS, "Listen Up," seemed to be far more promising both ratings-wise and creatively but it was not renewed for a second season.

"I've been a little skittish in television because I've had two series since 'Seinfeld' that didn't sustain so I'm a little gun-shy," he said. "The second one I think there was a real audience for," he said. "When that one went off the air, I got letters from a lot of people who were really enjoying it with their families. I thought it
had a lot of potential...and I thought CBS gave up on it a little early. So, I'm a little nervous about television."

He's got plenty to do anyway.

Jason, also a Tony Award winning stage star, is the artistic director of the Reprise Theatre Company which produces four large musical revivals each year at the Freud Theatre on the UCLA campus in Westwood with the next production being "Flora the Red Menace" (Reprise.org).

"I am so thrilled to be running this company and I really think in the next 2-3 seasons, we're going to be a very big story here in Los Angeles," he said.

So, with his theater background and roles in TV and film, I asked Jason if it's tough for him to choose which medium to work in at any given time.

He laughed.

"You think a lot more people are coming after me than actually are," he said."I've found things that I'm passionate about, that I'm excited about on a smaller scale than what I was doing a few years back. It's fine for me but my agents aren't as thrilled. They'd like the next best series."

Top-ranked Roger Federer, who had shockingly not won a single tournament all year, won the Estoril Open Sunday after second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko retired with a leg injury while trailing 7-6 (5), 1-2. It's been eight years since Federer needed five tournaments to get a shot at his first trophy of season.

"It's not the way you want to win a tournament, but that's just the way it goes sometime," Federer told the crowd after the match. "It's great to win a title again and to straightaway win my first clay court tournament of the season gives me great confidence going into Monte Carlo."

It's official: James Franco has been announced as the face the new men's fragrance Gucci by Gucci which will go on sale this fall. Good choice Gucci!

As part of this year's Day of Silence (April 25) commemorating those lost to anti-gay violence, Lance Bass has taped a message speaking out against homophobia.
Former boy bander and forever homosexual Lance Bass came out against homophobia for this year's Day of Silence, which commemorates those lost to anti-gay violence. This year, the day honors Lawrence King, the 15-year-old high school student who was shot by a classmate (allegedly at this point) on whom he apparently had a crush.

Says Bass: "I heard about Lawrence on the news, and it was just incredible to me that kids that age that would have such an issue ... with the subject of being gay."

I came across these pics on my pal Kenneth Walsh's site (Kennethinthe212) and found them very appealing and thought you might to! Happy Friday!!!

When C. Jay Cox and I chatted last week about his latest movie "Kiss the Bride" which opens in LA and other selected markets today, I recalled the thunderous reception his last film, "Latter Days" received when it premiered at Outfest four years ago. Anyone there that night will never forget it - especially C. Jay.

"I can't dwell on it too often because it just feels like this stolen moment from someone else night," he said. "It was one of those incredible experiences that was so overwhekming that it was hard to imagine that it was actually happening to me."

"Bride" stars two leading men, James O'Shea and Philipp Karner, who are unknown but very good in a film that also stars Tori Spelling as a bride who about to marry a man whose high school best friend (and former lover) comes back to town to attend the wedding and stirs up old feelings,

"It was important to get a name like Tori," said C. Jay (pictured above). "In the landscape of independent film, it's so tough in sort of a crowded landscape of even a lot more gay films are being made. It's vital to get somebody who at least can give your film a bit more of a profile to help a movie stand out. I think it really helps to have a recognizable name. Tori was just perfect fort the role of Alex, the bubbly sensibility and absolutely loveable quality."

But Tori was pregnant during filming and her character was not. This led to various efforts to conceal her baby bump with strategically-placed pillows and other tricks. Says C. Jay: "There's a drinking game in which every time something appears in front of Alex's stomach, you have to take shot, You get wasted."

Of his leading men, the director says: "I feel we were really lucky to get Philipp and James because they were perfect for the roles. Philipp lends this polished cosmopolitan air of someone who has lived in the city and moves in that world and he comes back to a small town. I just feel like they were both an absolute find and also a thrill to work with. Both are great guys,...We shot for 18 days, it was areally a tight shoot. They developed this great chemistry."

One of my favorite character in the movie is the friend/co-worker of Philipp Karner's character played with great comic flair by Jane Cho who shows up every now and then: "We were going after Margaret Cho but she was in London and unavailable. In a way, I'm thrilled we were able to work with Jane, She brings this freshness and lights up every scene she's in."

Loni Anderson was the subject of my "Whatever Happened to..." feature this week. Here is the story:

Based on her looks, time seems to have stood still for Loni Anderson.

But believe it or not, the sultry co-star of the classic sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati" is now 62 and even has a teenage grandaughter.

Playing the blond, buxom and brainy Jennifer Marlowe on "WKRP" for five seasons made Anderson a star. Her high-profile marriage and subsequent divorce from third husband Burt Reynolds further enhanced her fame.

Anderson, who lives in Los Angeles, still acts and appeared in two short-lived series in recent years: "The Mullets" and as Tori's Spelling's self-absorbed mom in the autobiographical comedy "So NoTORIous."

"That was a great comedy that we did, and I wish we were still doing because what a great character to play," she said. "I've been a Goody Two-shoes all my life, I don't like to play one. I really like being the naughty person, I like the evil, I like the left of center and I like comedy.

"Comedy is my favorite thing to do."

In the post-"WKRP" decade, she co-starred with Lynda Carter in the detective series "Partners in Crime" and in the sitcoms "Easy Street" and "Nurses."

The role in "Nurses" came in 1993, about at the same time that Anderson underwent a very bitter and public divorce from Reynolds, whom she had been with since the early 1980s and married in 1988.

Reynolds and Anderson adopted a son, Quinton, who is now 19. And Deidra, Loni's daughter from her first marriage, has given her two granddaughters.

"I love being me," she said. "I've loved it through the good and the bad because it took all of that to make you who you are. I love my family, my children. I've just had a very blessed life, a great career - and now, the man of my dreams."

The man is Bob Flick, whom she met in her native St. Paul, Minn.

"We met a long time ago when I was a senior in high school," Anderson said. "We were in love then but we lost contact with one another until just recently. So, it's a love story through the ages."

"We're planning on getting married," she added. "We've moved into a new house, and we're having a wedding and it's all very exciting."

If she could choose just one DVD of her work to be placed into a time capsule, she wouldn't choose "WKRP."

"As far as just an individual performance that I loved was `The Jayne Mansfield Story."'

In that movie, Anderson starred opposite future California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played Mansfield's husband, bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay.

...but will they still be together five years from now?

There's an intriging rumor via the Televisionista site which suggests that "Desperate Housewives" may fast-forward bt five years for season five. Wow! That would be pretty cool, I think. The recurring gay characters Bob (Tuc Watkins) and Lee (Kevin Rahm) will appear on the show's May 4 episode as a couple but in this fast-forward scenario, only one of them would still be living on Wisteria Lane AND he would be living with a 24-year-old Andrew Van de Kamp (the criminally under-used Shawn Pyfrom). I'm all for it!

We'll have to see how this all turns out but it would certainly be a way to get rid of some of the cast. I think the most useless at this point are Edie Brit (Nicolette Sheridan) and Tom (Doug Savant).

The season finale will be a two-hour episode airing on May 18.

This is cool news: Beatrice Arthur, best-known as television's "Maude" and as Dorothy on "The Golden Girls," has been named one of the six 2008 inductees into the Academy of Television Arts and Science's Hall of Fame joining such past female TV icons as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore.

We all know the gays love her because no one can deliver a bitchy line as well as Bea Arthur! But here's the official bio from the Academy: Bea Arthur is a two-time Emmy® Award-winning and a Tony Award-winning comedienne, actress and singer. In a career spanning six decades, Arthur is best remembered for her trademark role as the title character Maude Findlay on the 1970's sitcom Maude, in which she portrayed an outspoken feminist living in affluent Westchester County with her husband and divorced daughter. The show ran for six years, during which time many controversial topics, including abortion, were tackled. In 1985, she was cast as Dorothy Zbornak, the divorced substitute teacher on The Golden Girls. On stage, her many roles include "Lucy Brown" in the 1954 off-Broadway premiere of Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, "Yente the Matchmaker" in 1964's Fiddler on the Roof, and a 1966 Tony Award-winning portrayal of "Vera Charles" in Mame, a role she recreated for the film version in 1974. In 2002, she made a triumphant return to Broadway starring in Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends, a collection of stories and songs based on her life and long career. The show was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.

Also being inducted are Dan Burke, Larry Gelbart, Merv Griffin, Tom Murphy and Sherwood Schwartz .

Well, somebody had to go since they were only down to seven. But Kristy Lee Cook did not deserve to be the one. She had really stepped up in recent weeks and found her confidence and I was rooting for her to land in the top 5.

Brooke White, who I have really rooted for, has gotten on my nerves. She gets kinda shrill on the results show...especialy when she's in the bottom three! Syesha handles it all with such grace. I think Jason Castro should be next to go quite frankly. Would he even still be on the show if he were not so cute? Not likely.

It is between the two Davids in the end with the battle really for thrid place. I really enjoyed seeing Elliot Yamin last night. I actually thought he was even cuter before he had his teeth fixed. He did a beautiful tribute to his mom whoi died recently and had been in the audience for every show a few seasons back when Elliot made it all the way to the top three.

In the new romantic comedy "Kiss the Bride," James O'Shea plays a bisexual guy about to marry the girl of his dreams. But just before the wedding, his best friend and lover from high school - shows up at the wedding after 10 years away. He forces the groom to examine his past and his future..

I talked to the young and talented actor about the movie last week and got the most serious questions out of the way first: Did he knw going in how often he was going to be shirtless in the film?

"There was never a part of the casting process where I had to strip down. I don't know if they just made assumptions," he explaine..

They assumed correctly since he looks pretty terrific in every scene. Still, he wishes he could "go back and work out more before the start of the process."

The love scenes between he and co-star Philipp Karner were very intimate and he said director C. Jay Cox made it comfortable for the actors on those days of filming - especially a flashback scene that has them as high schoolers playing a game of strip Battleship they called "Battle Strip." You know, your ship sinks, you take something off.

"It was challenging because we had to play 16 year old versions of ourselves and wanted to be true to the sincerity of the moment. I think it went pretty well, It's a tribute to the chemistry we had."

Tori Spelling plays his fiancee in the movie and he describes the former "90210" star as "very professional and nice and down to earth. People might have preconceived ideas but she's really friendly and self-deprecating. She was very easy to work with."

The film has already helped boost O'Shea's career since it enabled him to get an agent who booked him roles on such series as "NCIS" and "Ghost Whisperer."

"I had a better year because of it. Now it's coming out and i'm hoping that it will get some attention."

James and Philipp are very good in their roles and make you believe in the love story. But neither actor will discuss teir sexuality at this point so I couldn't tell you if they are straight or gay: They want to keep us guessing! We already know that tori, pregnant with her first child during filming and currently pregnant with her second, is straight obviously.

"Kiss the Bride" will begin an exclusive LA run on Friday and the Regency Landmark on LaBrea at Melrose.

This is from Diana's 1981 special when she was still at the very peak of her solo career. She looks terrific, sounds terrific and clearly feels terrific. Stay to the end when Michael Jackson dances onto the stage. It makes you miss the person he was...

With his leading man looks and overwhelming talent, it was only a matter of time before Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson hit the big screen. The star of "Xanadu" has just signed on to appear in director Chuck Griffith's highly anticipated, New York-inspired film, "Shifting the Canvas."

The film that tells the story about a group of artists living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn who struggle to maintain a rather dysfunctional family of friends in a post-9/11 world challenged by gentrification, deception and sterilization. The openly gay actor will be playing Jens, a straight Ivy League type who works on Wall Street with Denton, a young gay character recently relocated to New York from the South, who is trying to reconcile his newfound sexuality and relationship with everybody around him.

The film will also star Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall), John Paul Pitoc (Trick), Gedde Watanabe (Sixteen Candles), Matthew Montgomery (Long-Term Relationship) and various cameo appearances by New York nightlife icons.

After undergoing a lumpectomy and radiation in 2006,Cynthia Nixon has gone public with her battle against breast cancer. It is so nice to see a big star who is so articulate and who can make a real difference in raising awareness and stressing the importance of mamograms.

William Baldwin, star of ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money," has joined brother Alec in publicly dissing broter Stephen's anti-gay views: Alec Baldwin has already come out against born-again Christian brother Stephen Baldwin's anti-gay politics in Out Magazine. "My brother Stephen does not have a political bone in his body... He hides behind the Word and whenever you confront him he'll hide behind some verse. He'll say, "All that really matters to me is that the Lord said blah blah blah blah" and he'll fill in the blank... I don't love my brother any less, but I think he's very confused."

I gotta give Mariah Carey a lot of credit for being one of the better mentors on "American Idol" and for having such a rich songbook for the contestants to choose from.

The women had a tougher time of it since they had the memory of Mariah's versions to compete with. The guys did not and David Cook had another one of his more brilliant weeks with an absolutely terrific version of "Always Be My Baby." Randy Jackson stood and said it was the most brilliant performances this season. Paula Abdul, of course, agreed. Simon Cowell said "it was sort of like coming out of karaoke hell and going into a breath of fresh air." Cowell loved the daring and originality. It really was thrilling. I'd buy that record!

Other highlights: basically everyone. No one stunk so that made the judges really be picky, I think. Here is how they fared:
David Archuleta: If anyone can beat back the disadvantage of going first it's this kid who pretty much set the standard for the night with his version of "When You Believe" which the judges - even Simon - all loved. For everyone but David Cook, this is the kid to beat!

Carly Smithson: A very good performance tonight with "Without You" which really built into something powerful and ended with flourish. Simon was still hard on her. But she said: "I enjoyed myself, I had a good time." So did I. I hope she has enough votes to stay in. Sometimes, it seems like Simon is on a mission to bring her down as he continues to judge her at a different standard. If Kristy Lee Cook had sung that song that well, Simon would have been raving.

Syesha Mercado: This was a great week for her! She soared. Randy liked it, Paula liked it and said "tonight was unbelievably magical for you." Simon said technically she was good but said she ran a risk of singing a song that is not that well known. Paula, in contrast, thought she was smart to pick a Mariah had not made a classic.
Brooke White: I'm not sure if I liked her version of "Hero" so much because it's my favorite Mariah song. When she plays the piano I think that's how I like her best. Randy and Paula liked it except for a few off notes. Simon said "it was like ordering a hamburger with only the bun."

Kristy Lee Cook: "Forever" She really got better and better as the song went on. Randy liked the end and Paula was blown away ("of course"). Simon said "I think you managed with what you could...it just wasn't great." She really did look and sound terrific and could have earned herself another week of safety which would be amazing considering how many times she's been in the bottom three.

Jason Castro: "I Don't Want to Cry" Randy said: "It was wierd to me." Paula loved it, of course. "You, were amazing." Then Simon actually liked it. It identified with him even if it was not the best vocal."

Philipp Karner may not be well-known, yet, but it should just be a matter of time after people watch his performance in the new romantic comedy "Kiss the Bride" which will have its LA debut on Friday.

He is a terrific actor and really the key to the success of this entertaining film which also stars James O'Shea and Tori Spelling and was directed by C. Jay Cox whose last film was the acclaimed "Latter Days."

In "Kiss," Philipp plays Matt, a magazine editor in San Francisco who gets invited to his high school best friend's wedding. Here's the wrinkle: the friend, Ryan, was his lover and he hasn't seen him since they went their separate ways once college began.

"I really was drawn to the character because he does a lot of growing up in the film," Philipp said when chatted last week. "He starts out as someone commitment phobic jumping from one relationship to the next and ends up in a very different place and commits to someone for the first time, accepts their flaws and lets the past be the past. It's a powerful rite of passage."

In the film, heterosexual couple Ryan (O'Shea) and Alex (Spelling), have their happiness is disrupted by the arrival of Karner's character who plans to rescue his former love from whatever "she-devil" has trapped him into this huge mistake. But Alex takes quite a liking to Matt who tries to rekindle the old flame with her fiance.
It gets complicated, of course.

The reason I give Philipp so much credit is because it is his character who must have believable connections not only with Ryan but also with Alex.

"We knew each other from before," he said of James O'Shea. "We did a read-through on the script a year before and got lucky and booked the role. Working with him and doing some of the more sensitive scenes, it was a big help knowing him and we were comfortable with each other. We were very playful with it."

And what about those love scenes? They have three different kissing scenes and one of them includes a flashback to when they are high school pals and playing a game of "Battlestrip" which leaves them both absolutely naked.

"It was only uncomfortable because it's technical," he said of the nudity. "We had a sock,over our stuff, if you moved an inch to your right, the whole shot is ruined. You have to be make sure to be aware of all these different things. We really did have a good time. When those kinds of scenes you really want to think the characters thoughts. I just want to believe it."

And for Tori Spelling he says: "She's wonderful. It's almost cliche but you don't know what to expect when you are doing a film with Tori, she knew us all away with her easy charm and easygoing manner. When matt meets Alex, he tries really hard not to like her but he gets off-guard and he ends up falling her as a person."

Ryan seems to be bisexual in the film and Philipp believes this is possible: "People think in black and white terms even gay people. People want to think it's either gay or straight and there's no room in the middle. One of the important messages is to accept people as they really are. I think human sexuality is a lot more complex than we let it be sometimes."

As for his own sexuality, Philipp isn't really sharing: "I feel like the less people know about an actor, the better for the audience and the actor. I just find it cheap. The goal is to be believable on-screen."

Philipp has done some television guest spots and plans to perform in a play in New York this summer called "Diving Normal." This means he will have to leave his job as a bartender at The Abbey in West Hollywood, at least for now. My friend Kenneth Walsh (Kennethinthe212) and I got served there by Philipp on Sunday night.

"That job has been so good to me and I love everybody I work with but I'm ready to let it go," he said. "But I'm always going to be fond of it because I've made some incredible relatiohships. The casting director for 'Kiss the Bride' met me at The Abbey, then he cast me on 'CSI Miami.'"

More "Kiss the Bride" interviews to come:
- Thursday: A conversation with James O'Shea
- Friday: An interview with director C. Jay Cox

The handsome crooner is pretty much a natural at whatever he does from music to TV to movies. So when he hit Broadway a few years back in "The Pajama Game," he was a natural and nabbed a Tony Award nomination...

The American hottie who has had an up-and-down career is trying to make an impact at the US Clay Court Championships...BTW, sorry for the erratic posts today. There are problems with our system. Also, I am on vacation in Newport, just yards from the sand so I'm a little distracted with all the sights. But will be blogging here and there each day - I promise.

Hooray!

We have another successful TV actor who has publicly come out. Luke MacFarlane, who plays Scotty on "Brothers and Sisters," gave an interview to Canada's Globe & Mail and publicly acknowledged that he is a gay man. This comes as no surprise given that he had been linked to TR Knight and there was much Internet speculation over his friendship with "Prison Break" star Wentworth Miller. But it is a wonderful thing and, I think, will make him more high-profile than ever. Look what it has done for TR and for Neil Patrick Harris.

Here is an excerpt from the article: "Though no secret to his family and close friends, Macfarlane has, until now, been guarded about his personal life as a gay man. Over lunch in Los Angeles, where he lives, he initially insists that he has no concerns about his public revelation - but a few seconds later he is shifting nervously in his chair, and concedes that he is 'terrified.' ... 'I don't know what will happen professionally ... that is the fear, but I guess I can't really be concerned about what will happen, because it's my truth. There is this desire in L.A. to wonder who you are and what's been blaring for me for the last three years is how can I be most authentic to myself - so this is the first time I am speaking about it in this way.'"

He also talked about future plotlines on "Brothers and Sisters" that, I believe, have him and Kevin (Matthew Rhys) getting hitched. Here's what he says about it: "From a standing outside perspective, and also as someone who is gay, I think that it's a very exciting time. How exciting that we're saying, 'This can be part of the cultural fabric, now,' because it is two series regulars, two people that you invite into your home and you see every week. It's telling of the beginning of more waves and I'm very proud of that...Most importantly, in portraying gay people, the more we realize it's just like portraying anybody else and, gay marriage, it's not about two people being gay, it's about two people who love each other and who have decided to commit to each other for the exact same reasons any other couple would get married. Hopefully, the more that becomes part of the cultural awareness it won't be...(he pauses and says, employing a mock, exaggerated voice of a television announcer)...a spectacular Sunday episode."

Neil Patrick Harris issued a clarification of comments he made about Britney Spears guessing on "How I Met Your Mother," the CBS sitcom which Harris is one of the stars. Here's what he said to an AP last week: 'We've done a good three and three-quarter seasons with guest stars that we feel like are exactly perfect for the characters that (were) written ... by the crack writing staff,'' Harris told a reporter visiting the set of the Monday night CBS sitcom. ''I worry that if they start 'Will and Gracing' us too much, that the show will suffer. And we're all really proud of the content of the show. I mean viewership is not our game. It's the network and the studio's game, you know. It's the promotion department's game. We wish we weren't opposite an awkward reality dancing competition. But we have no say about that. I just am a real fan of our content. I think we have a great show going and I hope it's not screwed up by the desire for 700,000 more viewers.'

This resulted in these kinds of headlines: "Neil Patrick Harris: Say No To Britney!"

I don't know if NPH got grief from the netwoek suits over this but he did feel compelled to issue the following statement: "It seems that yesterday a writer took some quotes of mine and speculated an opinion about their intent. I write to you to set the record straight. "As I have said all along, Britney did a great job on the show. She really did. In fact, we are all hoping that she returns rather soon to reprise her role as Abby. Look, that episode garnered our highest ratings of the season -- I would never ignore or disrespect that fact. I am just very protective of our show, and its content. I have a high standard of quality, and hope to maintain it on every level. Television is big business, I understand that. I have great faith in our casting department, as well as [Twentieth Century Fox Television] and CBS, to find the appropriate person for every role on our show. I was remiss in speculating otherwise. My job description is to act, and I should really do just that. "Britney Spears fits into our make-believe world very well -- if she chose to return I can only imagine that Carter [Bays], Craig [Thomas], and the rest of the writers would create a humdinger of a storyline for her. We should be so lucky.

AP also released a statement: "We're issuing a clarification to our story. Harris did not say that he opposed a return engagement for Spears, and our lead said that he did."

Well, that clears that up. I hope everyone feels better now!

Jennifer Holliday created something so special and so classic with her performance of Effie in the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" in the early 80s. Her performance of "I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going" at the Tonys is still a wonder to watch.

Enjoy!

Q. You've been famous since you were very young. But how has it been to have more attention focused on your personal life with \[paprazzi\] snapping your picture whenever you leave the house?
A. "Well actually, your statement's not accurate. People have just not cared that much about it which I think is probably the best results to the lack of scandal. It was a story that came out based on not much, it was a supposition story, there was no seedy night that happened that created a story. It was just a long-winded game of blogger telephone and I just sort of had to set the record straight and by doing so, it sorta squelched fires then it was not a story like it was in the beginning.
"People don't chase me around now. I think they might have chased me around had I not made a statement because then they would be looking for irrefutable proof of blankety-blank. My life is not that scandalous."

Q. Do you and (boyfriend David Burkta) want to do some projects together down the road?
A. "He should be able to have a career on his terms and not my terms. So I don't think either one of us have a desire for him to ride any kind of career coattail. He's very, very talented and deserves to be known for doing things independent of me. We're real conscious of trying to not make that a bigger thing."

The bad news: country music is really not George Takei's strong point. The good news: the show he sang on, "Secret Talents of the Stars," was cancelled after one episode! I love George and one of the judges, Debbie Reynolds, but let's bring back scripted television!

...baby blues. Those eyes are so beautiful, you almost forget about what a tremendous physique the current James Bond has. Almost. He was snapped on Sunday at the premiere of his new movie "Flashbacks of a Fool" at the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square in London. He plays a fading Hollywood star who returns home for the funeral of his best friend and reflects back on the days of his youth.

Explained Craig at the premiere: "He has failed as a human being, and I wanted to explore that. I think you have to work hard at not becoming disillusioned about what you do for a living. If you have any success in what you do for a living, you have to maintain an energy and love of it. If you can, that's a great thing."

No, I'm not talking about his looks! How shallow do you think I am? Ten times, the U.S. Davis Cup team has called on Andy Roddick to push the Americans into the next round. Ten times, Roddick has come through in the clutch. Andy has an easy 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu on Sunday, to clinch victory for the U.S. over France in the quarterfinals. The Americans will face Spain in the semifinals...

This is the first part of an interview I did recently with Neil Patrick Harris who plays the womanizing Barney on CBS' hit sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and who appears in the upcoming sequel to "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle."

Q. Is Barney gonna settle down?
A. "Oh, I hope never. I hope that never happens. If Barney settles down, we really jump the shark. Maybe in year seven.

Q. Is Wayne Brady (who plays Barney's gay brother) going to be coming back? He was a riot.
A. "He's done a couple of episodes already so I'm sure that if they wrote him in and his schedule was free he'd love to play. He's a great friend of the show."

Q. Of course everybody wants to know how it was having Britney Spears as a guest star recently.
A. "You saw her work on the show was very strong, it was a good week for us ratings-wise. But we're big fans of the content of the show and I hope we don't get into a situation where we're having to rely ob guest cast in order to get people to watch the show. But if every now and again someone comes on and gets a million more or so people to watch it, our hats are off to them."

Q. Did the first "Harold and Kumar" movie really change everything for you because people started to see you differently?
A. "It added a new wrinkle to my career, definitely. I was much squeakier and cleaner before that and post 'Harold and Kumar,' I think people figure me as a comic foil which I think is a much more enjoyable place to be."

Q. How is everything going for you professionally now? Do you have more offers than you can possibly take in TV, movies and theater?"Things are great, yeah. Doing a TV show takes up more than half the year and maybe you can squeeze a film in there if you can. But it's also nice to take a month off just to re-energize. But then the year is starting up again and I'm missing out on theater for no other reason than just scheduling. I would love to do a play or a musical or something but that's like a year's commitment."

Tomorrow, Neil talks a bit about his personal life...

WIND BENEATH MY WINGS: When 'American Idol' judges talk to contestants about connecting with a song, they should instruct them to watch this video of Bette singing this song at the 1990 Grammys. It is a magnificant performance from her voice to her phrasing to the way she quietly owned the stage. Moments later, she would win the record of the year Grammy for what was her first number one hit.

THE ROSE: Bette was in her post-"Jinxed" period just before her big comeback in all those Disney comedies when she sang this live at a major Martin Luther King Tribute. The YouTube clip states 1984 but I'm thinking it was 1985 or 86 because I remember watching it on TV. Anyway, it's a wonderful rendition of the song and again, she sings the hell out of it.

Well, Audrey Hepburn may not have had the vocal power and range to sing the songs in "My Fair Lady," but this classic scene in "Breakfast at Tiffanys" shows that she did indeed have a lovely singing voice. She was such a one-of-a-kind star...

David Spade is the focus of my newspaper column today. Here is the piece:
David Spade clearly doesn't mind sharing the spotlight.

He did it for seven seasons as sarcastic receptionist Dennis Finch on "Just Shoot Me," as Katy Sagal's brother on the final two seasons of "Eight Simple Rules" and is once again part of an ensemble on CBS' "Rules of Engagement" which returns to the air with new episodes Monday night.

"If I was a lead in a sitcom, I don't know if it would be as funny," he said during a recent chat on the show's set. "Sometimes the busboy shouldn't be the waiter."

"Rules" is about two couples and their single friend dealing with the complications of dating, commitment and marriage. Spade, 43, plays the single friend, Russell.

"This show is about the couples and I'm kind of like the little mosquito that flies around and gets in the ointment and makes trouble for everyone and that's kind of fun to do."

How would he compare Russell to Finch?

"It's like an older version of what I did on 'Just Shoot Me' but a little different in enough ways that it's fun for me to play - it's a little broader, a little more tough guy," he said. "The Finch guy was a little more prissy. This guy wear open shirts and chains, is 40 but still trying to milk it and uses all these bad pick-up lines that really just don't fly anymore."

Between sitcom roles, Spade hasn't had any trouble landing work including the leads in such feature films as "Dickie Roberts: Child Star," "Joe Dirt" and "The Benchwarmers" and also hosted Comedy Central's "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" for three seasons until last year.

But the sitcom life agrees with the actor who got his big break as a writer and cast member on "Saturday Night Live" for six years.

"I like the schedule, I like the structure of going to work, I like memorizing my lines during the week and performing with other people as opposed to a movie," he explained. "I like this kind of scene and it seems to work for me if I get it right. This came about kind of quicker than I would have thought but it's a tough town, you never know what's going to happen."

The roles in both "Rules" and "Shoot Me" came about similarly.

"It was four people and they wanted to add me," he said. "A guy had one line as George Segal's assistant and so they go, 'We can add you and put you out in the middle of the office and then sort of comment on everything that's going on. Even though it was a tiny part, I thought, 'Well, that's probably a good way to go for me and it just worked its way into a good ensemble."

I told David that I had seen him filmed by paparazzi at the same Taco Bell in Beverly Hills that I sometimes frequent and we joked about a charming panhandler who got a $20 bill out of the actor.

So is it tough to go about your business around town with cameras following you?

"It's a little disturbing with more video cameras instead of just photos, it's kind of like having LoJack (car security system) where everyone knows where you are at any given time," he said. "If you ever lost me you could go, 'Oh, this guy had you at The Belmont having breakfast and then you were here in your Malibu place...I think it's just a little disruptive to the social life with friends and things like that because it's an odd scene."

This clip has gotta be more than 30 years old! Cher, set to debut her new show in Vegas next month, really does know how to turn back time...

Before I write about Friday's episode of "As the World Turns," I have to say that the preview shown for an episode next week really irked me: it shows Ameera kissing Noah! Okay, we know that boyfriend-stealing hussy wants him to be her REAL husband but how dare the show allow them to kiss when they are no longer letting Noah kiss Luke. It's almost enough for me to just boycott the damned thing.

But I will tell you why I won't. His name is Van Hansis and through all the irritating plot twists, he continues to turn in an Emmy worthy performance and never lets you forget that his character is a gay man in love with Noah. He lets us see his joy, his frustration, his lust. He makes it worth it.

"The situation with Noah is getting weirder every day," Luke tells his parents in the biggest understatement in daytime drama history. "I want to help Ameera, I really do. But I feel like I'm being banished from my boyfriend's life."

We then cut to the newlyweds and Ameera is waiting on Noah hand and foot and he says it is making him nervous. Ameera, no longer wearing her headscarf, purrs: "But I'm your wife."

Barf!

Here are the scenes from Friday:

Heartthrob Andy Roddick served up 30 aces on his way to a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) win Friday over Michael Llodra to give the U.S. a 1-0 Davis Cup lead over France. Andy makes me so proud to be an American!

Michael Johns expected to be preparing for next week's "American Idol" on Friday. Instead, the singer was doing a round of interviews talking about his shocking ouster from the show.

He really did look stunned on Thursday night's telecast and I wanted to know if he had been taken completely by surprise.

"Of course I'd being lying to say I wasn't shocked," he said. "I hadn't been in the bottom three and thought the last 2-3 weeks had been my strongest. We're in this competition and stuff can happen and it did."

Michael, a 29-year-old from Australia, will have to settle for coming in eighth in the high-profile talent competition. While judge Simon Cowell had not been crazy about his decision to sing "Dream On" this week, he has no regrets.

"I'm living my dream and that song is all about heartache and overcoming struggle and I've done that in the last 10 years," he said. "That's why I chose that song."

It was 10 years ago that Michael came to live in the U.S. where he landed a record deal but never saw his album released. So "Idol" has been a second chance at stardom.

For a minute there, Michael thought he might be getting a second chance on the show when host Ryan Seacrest mentioned that it was the week of the show's "Idol Gives Back" charity event and noted that last year, no one was eliminated that week.

Then he told Michael that he was indeed going home.

"I get the television aspect of this competition but yeah, it was tough," Michael admitted. "I thought, 'I'm going home.' Then I thought, 'I'm not going home.' Then reality set in. Ryan gave me a look like 'I'm so sorry I had to do this.'"

Despite being eliminated, Michael had some high-profile fans including fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban who relayed a message to him this week. Dolly Parton had an on-air phone call with Michael Friday and said she'd like to write a song for him and possibly do a duet.

The judges were also supportive after the show including the often-harsh Simon.

"Sometimes Simon is off the mark to be honest, sometimes he's on and I respect his opinion a lot," Michael said. "I wasn't necessarily going to pander to what the judges said every week...Some weeks they loved it and some weeks they didn't."

"Simon is very influential, they all are," he added. "To me, it was more important showing America what kind of record I was going to make. ... That was more important to me than getting the three thumbs up."

As is tradition, Michael sang an encore of the song that got him eliminated on this week's results show. But there was a twist: he sang it brilliantly and waded through the audience before ending up at the judges stand.

I wanted to know what he was thinking about during the performance which really was one of his best.
"I wasn't thinking, I was feeling." he said. "I think that came across."

So what's next after the "Idol" concert tour this summer featuring the top 10?

"Hopefully I'll make a great record and this won't be the last that you see me," he said. "I just can't wait to get out there and rock!"

Ya know, it wasn't until I came across these photos that I realized how much I have missed "Ugly Betty" which returns to the airwaves with new episodes on April 24. We've had to put up with a lot of reality show CRAP over the last 3-4 months so the thought of new episodes of smart shows like "Betty," "Brothers & Sisters," "Desperate Housewives" and "Gossip Girl" just makes my mouth water.

Also making my mouth water is Betty's true love, Harry (Christopher Gorham) who ooks to be bringing Betty some flowers for her 24th birthday. But we see in the preview clip below that, as always, things get complicated.

Two more reasons to love "Ugly Betty" is the wonderfully sickening relationship between Mark (Michael Urie) and evil Willhelmina (Vanessa Williams).

And I'm so glad to see my fave Judith Light looking all powerful and glamorous in this photo with her on-screen daughter played by Rebecca Romijn.

BOND IS BACK: OK, so this publicity still of Daniel Craig from the new James Bond flick isn't as sexy as the one from the first flick when he was emerging from the ocean in a speedo but it's still pretty dang hot!

ON THE TOWN: Lance Bass was snapped out in LA last night with an unidentified guy. Don't know if it's a new flame, a friend or what but he's cute! So is Lance!

ON BROADWAY: Mario Lopez in a publicity shot for his new gig in the Broadway production of "A Chorus Line." I'm glad to see Mario doing something other than hosting "Weekend Extra" even though I like seeing those big dimples anytime, anywhere...

Well, what gay man hasn't spit out the lyrics of "I Will Survive" while getting over a break-up? If you have not and you are over the age of 35, then you must turn in yoiur gay card pronto! Let's face it, gay people are survivors and that's what makes us great and what makes us strong. We've gotten through so much and had to fight really hard to define ourselves and to live our truth.

I just love being gay.

I'm sorry folks, but I just watched the above video of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and all those thoughts just sorta welled up in me and I just went with it! You see, after "American Idol" ended last night, I left the TV on and "Don't Forget the Lyrics" was on (BTW, wouldn't Wayne Brady make a far better host for "Idol" than annoying Ryan Seacrest?). Wayne noted that it was the 30th anniversary of Gaynor's landmark hit "I Will Survive" and she took the stage and belted it out with all the energy and enthusiasm that she had way back when. She does not appear to be tired of sinigng this break-up anthem, thank God!

I just love these two! Sam Harris, who announced yesterday that he and his partner Danny have adopted a baby boy, taped a video blog segment with pal Rosie O'Donnell who reacts to the joyous news.

I love that these two immensely talented gay people are so open and directly in touch with their fans through the Internet because I watch these videos and it's not like I'd ever see anything this wonderful on Entertainment Tonight or TMZ.

I've never been all that high on Michael Johns but was mighty surprised to see him voted off "American Idol" last night. What was really interesting was how well he processed it because moments after getting the news, he took the stage and belted out an encore of "Dream On" that was a mighty improvement over his performance on Tuesday. He owned the stage and the theater as he went out into the crowd and made the most of his swan song.

Good job!

Also in the bottom three: Carly Smithson who had an off week and who I thought was gone and Syesha Mercado who performed well and got some unfair criticism from the judges for not "connecting." After Michael lost, Carly was crying like a baby and everyone (the remaining contestants) looked stricken. Let's get real: everyone from here on out (there are seven folks left) are winners and can make really terrific careers for themselves if they make a good record. Non-winners like Chris Daughtry, Bucky Covington, Kellie Pickler, KIimberly Locke, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson and on and on are doing pretty well for themselves.

So all the drama seems silly. We know it's probably gonna come down to the two Davids in the end with maybe Brooke or Carly in the third slot if they pick good songs each week going forward.

Ron Livingston probably wants people to seperate fact from fiction when it comes to his more famous roles. But sometimes that's not an easy thing to do for people like me.

Ron was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in "Band of Brothers," had major roles in the cult faves "Office Space" and "Swingers," and is the leading man in the drama "Music Within" out on DVD this week.

So what do I want to ask him about? How could he break up with Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica-Parker) on "Sex and the City" by Post-it note?
OK, it wasn't really Ron but his character, Jack Berger, who broke things off in such a spineless way in a classic episode of the series being revived with a feature film next month.

Ron only did eight episodes of "Sex" but it's a role he still gets recognized for all over the world.

"I've never had a part that was so far-reaching," Ron said Thursday. "I've had flight attendants in Singapore who barely speak English who know the show."

He doesn't mind one bit.

"It's a great thing," he said. "I was really fond of that character and proud to be a part of that show. As we get closer to the movie coming out, I think people are revisiting it.

He called to talk about "Music" which tells the real-life story of Richard Pimentel, an uncommonly gifted public speaker with a very troubled past that included a mentally unstable mother who abandoned him through much of his life. Lacking any college prospects, he enlists and becomes severely hearing impaired after an explosioin in Vietnam. He eventually finds a new purpose in his landmark efforts on the behalf of Americans with disabilities.

"Ultimately, it's really about a guy who kind of comes to grips with accepting himself with a lot of his imperfections," the actor said. "Our disabilities and our abilities are the same thing. It's our disabilities that highlight and strengthen our abilities, it's not the negative things that define us, it's the abilities side."
When he took on the role, Ron (pictured in a scene from the movie, left) thought he would have to delve into the world of being hearing impaired in order to portray Pimentel:"I had to throw all that out the window as soon as I met Richard because there was nothing that he does to let you know that he's deaf," he said. "That's part of the story, the amazng thing. He worked in the workplace for a few years not disclosing that he was deaf and got away with it. He just reads lips that well."

"Music" got some solid reviews but didn't make any kind of splash at the box office last year. Ron isn't worried though, he believes in movies gaining an audience over time.

"I've had great experiences with movies between 'Swingers' and 'Office Space.' I always feel that people find the movies that they want to find. They're out there. This movie, I think, is the kind of thing that gets under people's skin and fools them. It looks like an eat-your-vegetables movie and it's really not. It's a fun movie to watch.

VIDEO BONUS: Here's a clip from the "Sex and the City" episode when Berger tells Miranda: "He's just not that into you"

Well, whaddaya know. Annoying Ameera doesn't like being in a fake marriage with a gay man. After what is it? Weeks? She's tired of the charade. Here's an idea: go back to Iraq!

She tells Casey: "I know that my marriage to Noah is only for appearances, just for a green card...but sometimes it gets confusing. It makes me sad to be exclused from a part of Noah's life."

What a selfish beeyotch! She hasn't expressed any concern over Noah's sacrifice or Luke's for that matter. Earlier, when Luke and Casey were helping the "couple" move into their new love nest, Ameera starts talking to Luke about she and Noah in the "we." "You and your family have been so kind to us but now me and Noah can set up a real house like a real married couple."

How Luke just doesn;t become unhinged and start saying: "Bitch! Keep youir hands off my man!" I'll never know. At least the show isn't having Noah be conflicted - that would be too much to stomach. As soon as his "wife" was out of the house with Casey, the gay lovers are in the bedroom, breathing heavy, rip their shirts off and look like they are about to kiss and more. Cool! I'm there, let's go.

Of course there's a banging on the door. It's the immigration dude makiing an unexpected visit. Check out the clip below to see how it goes down. There is a little bit of comedy that I enjoyed even as the stupid storyline continues to annoy me:

The second clip shows Luke's growing frustration with this whole charade. Noah pulls out of their hug on the porch saying the immigration agent "might still be watching." Luke leaves, pissed, then we see Ameera wondering where Noah is gonna sleep. Clueless Noah replies: The agent "could come back. It would look strange if we were sleeping in seperate rooms."

Yeah, like he's got a nannycam in the house or something.

An exasperated Luke gets home and his dad asks: "How'd it go?" I LOVE Luke's answer: "It sucked! ...I'm beginning to think this whole arrangement was just a huge mistake." Then, he adds: "Dad, you don't know how lucky you are. You're free to be with the person you love."
Here are the rest of the scenes:

Find more videos like this on In The Moment

For a show with episodes just five-minutes long, there's an awful lot of drama happening on "In the Moment, a provacative online soap opera which will premiere its second episode tonight. It sounds like a doozy:

Mike confesses to his boyfriend Steve, with whom he is having unprotected sex, that he cheated on him. ... Adam nearly has a meltdown when he loses the wireless connection on his laptop. Is he addicted to cybersex? ... A new couple just moved in next to Adam; one of the partners is very flirtatious with him. Will it go any further? ... Edgar continues to drink excessively; can he or his ex-boyfriend ever develop relationships while continuing to live together?

I just gotta find out!!!

It wasn’t long after it premiered in late January that the first episode of the online soap opera, exploring the sex lives of young gay guys in West Hollywood, became a hit. Episode one of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s "In the Moment" was viewed more than 30,000 times at www.WeHoLife.org.

It's entertainment with an important goal: getting gay guys to think and interact with others about actions that could result in HIV-infection or other health issues. Here's a sobering statistic that underscores the reality of what is happening in our community: In 2006, young men (ages 13-34) accounted for 41% of all the HIV/AIDS cases among males in the county, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Susan Cohen, director of Health Education and Prevention Services says: “We don’t want to lose another generation to AIDS. The statistics regarding the HIV infection rate among young gay men are alarming and traditional HIV education/prevention programs just haven’t been effective with this demographic. That’s why we created, and the city of West Hollywood helped fund, 'In the Moment.'”

(BTW, lotsa cute young actors on the show so it's a serious messagw with some serious eye candy.)

Once visitors to www.WeHoLife.org finish watching each episode, they’re invited to post their reaction on the site and to respond to questions regarding the issues the characters faced and the decisions they made.

"Moment" director and co-creator Dave Obrien observes: “Young people live their lives online. We’re trying to influence the YouTube generation, so it just makes sense for us to reach them this way. And with the premier of the second episode, we’ve expanded the opportunities for visitors to the site to interact with each other. Now they can create their own profile, interact with other users directly, start new discussion threads, and post video comments. The beauty of this campaign is that it reaches anyone with a computer, anywhere, enabling people to engage anonymously if they prefer.”

Here's the new episode:

Find more videos like this on In The Moment

(Both episodes were funded by a grant from the city of West Hollywood. Partial funding for the second episode came from money raised by the Center’s Young Professionals Council.)

Here’s a link to the beta site: http://inthemoment.ning.com/ When it goes live with the site tonight, it will be at: www.WeHoLife.org.

Thanks to OhlalaBlog for posting this delish picture of Team Sweden as they prepare for a Davis Cup match thisx weekend in Buenos Aires. Pictured above are Thomas Johansson, Robert Lindstedt and Robin Soderling.

The Swedes have a long history of gorgeous tennis players starting with Bjorn Borg who was a real teen heartthrob when he came onto the scene in the early 70s. But the real blonde bombshell was the insanely beautiful Stefan Edberg who had the same kind of muscular tennis legs as Thomas Johansson which are on display in the photo below. Thomas, the 2002 Australian Open men's singles champion, is a real nice guy. I've chatted him up twice at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells in recent years.

The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld writes that Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama has been weathering a small storm lately in the LGBT community for being too tight-lipped with gay and lesbian news media. ... But last week, his campaign offered (The Advocate) an exclusive sit-down in Chicago with the man who may well become the next President of the United States.

Here are some highlights:
I think the underlying fear of the gay community is that if you get into office, will LGBT folks be last on the priority list?
"I guess my point would be that the fact that I'm raising issues accordant to the LGBT community in a general audience rather than just treating you like a special interest that is sort of off in its own little box - that, I think, is more indicative of my commitment. Because ultimately what that shows is that I'm not afraid to advocate on your behalf outside of church, so to speak. It's easy to preach to the choir; what I think is harder is to speak to a broader audience about why these issues are important to all Americans."

If you were elected, what do you plan to do for the LGBT community -- what can you reasonably get done?
"I reasonably can see "don't ask, don't tell" eliminated. I think that I can help usher through an Employment Non-Discrimination Act and sign it into law."

Both you and your wife speak eloquently about being told to wait your turn and how if you had done that, you might not have gone to law school or run for Senate or even president. To some extent, isn't that what you're asking same-sex couples to do by favoring civil unions over marriage, is to wait their turn?

"I don't ask them that. Anybody who's been at an LGBT event with me can testify that my message is very explicit -- I don't think that the gay and lesbian community, the LGBT community, should take its cues from me or some political leader in terms of what they think is right for them. It's not my place to tell the LGBT community, wait your turn. I'm very mindful of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" where he says to the white clergy, don't tell me to wait for my freedom.

That's a decision that the LGBT community has to make. That's not a decision for me to make."

Go to Advocate.com to read the complete interview...

It's gotta be great to have Elton John on your side. The superstar sang at New York's Radio City Music Hall last night and raised $2.5 million for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Here he is greeting a former president (Bill Clinton) and a possible future one..

Here are some highlights:

I'm quoted extensively in a new story in PRWeek about the state of the newspaper business and the transition to online and blogs. Here's a link to Special Report: State of Transition

The writer called me several times and it seems like each time I was in the car, on the freeway. So there was not really an opportunity to do anything other than just tell it like it is but when I read these quotes, I come across as a real bitch - kinda harsh. But those are my words and I was happy to do the interview even though the writer does not mention the Out In Hollywood blog once! Sheesh!

Here is an excerpt:

Many reporters are still slow to embrace blogging, even though it provides an opportunity to enhance their job skills, says Greg Hernandez, staff writer and blogger at the Los Angeles Daily News. Indeed, only 22.1% of respondents report writing a blog for their traditional outlet.

"I think overall there were some early adopters, people who did embrace it early on," he notes. "And maybe they were more online-savvy and [saw] how their lives were moving in this direction and they realized that. But I think some journalists who had been around a long time... resented any new work.

"[Moving to the Web] really requires more work out of everyone," adds Hernandez. "People resented [being asked to do] more work for the same pay. They weren't grasping that the survival of the business and the publications were at stake and [that] if they couldn't step up, there might not have been room for them in the business."

Earlier post: Greg talks, and talks and talks...

While I was in Palm Springs a few weeks ago, poolside, I got a call from author Brent Hartinger who was writing a piece for AfterElton.com on the state of gay-themed films in the industry. I've just read it and Brent has done a really thorough and terrific job. I'm barely in there which is fine because he got some really key industry folks. Here's a quote of mine followed by a link to the piece:

There are gay characters in major films," says Greg Hernandez, author of Out in Hollywood and a longtime entertainment industry reporter. "But they're supporting characters. A gay-themed story, where it's the centerpiece of the movie, that's the toughest sell."

Read "The Gay Movie Revolution" in AfterElton.com

I missed seeing Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on Oprah this week but the show's Web site has a nice story on the pair. Here are some excerpts:

While the press loved to run stories about their rivalry, Chris and Martina say they completely supported each other off the court. "What's weird about tennis is you're both in the locker room before the match and after the match, and one is very happy and one is very sad," Martina says. "But we would put our arms around each other and say, 'You know what, I was lucky,' or, 'Next time you're going to get it, I'm sure', and, 'Are you okay?' Or we would leave notes in each other's racket bags for later."

Between defecting to the United States and being an openly gay athlete, Martina has been placed under scrutiny more than once and has become a role model for many. Chris says she knew Martina had guts from the moment she met her. "You lived your truth and you had a clear conscience and you felt great about yourself, so that is the most important thing," Chris says.

Singer-actor Sam Harris and Rosie O'Donnell have much in common: both got their first big breaks on the 1980s talent show series "Star Search," both are in longtime happy relationships with same-sex partners, both have adopted at least one child and both are very busy in the video blogging world. Sam recently had Rosie on for his weekly "Friend Friday" chat and I have posted all three parts. We know that Rosie is smart and opinionated and this shows us that Sam is too! Another thing they have in common! It really is like eavesdropping on two old friends and these two are clearly very close...

Part A: Sam welcomes Rosie, who he met in 1984. "We were children," Sam says. We find out they appeared on Broadway together in "Grease" in the mid-90s. Also in the cast was Megan Mullally. This one's full of showbiz stories...love it!

Part B: It's mostly about Sam's great friend Bridget Moynahan who, it turns out, is Rosie's third cousin. "You guys have a lot in common,' Sam says. "You're both bull-headed." Says Rosie: "My way or the highway!"

Part C: It's all politics...Hillary, Barack and McCain and more...

Sam Harris, the extraordinary singer and Broadway star who I loved as Perry Pearl on "The Class," has just posted a video blog with some extraordinary news: he and partner Danny Jacobson have adopted a little boy. The baby arrived at their home on Monday and Sam says his name is Cooper Atticus Harris-Jacobson.

"He is beautiful and he is perfect...he's here and he's ours," an emotional but composed Sam says.

See Sam's message for yourself but don't expect to see any footage of little Cooper just yet: "Danny and I have decided not to show you Cooper ... Certainly in awhile we will....I know you understand that."

Congratulations to the sensational Sam and to Danny on their bundle of joy. This was such a happy story that I'm late to a dinner because I had to post it right now!

I'm sitting here looking at an invitation to tonight's premiere of "Prom Night 2008" and wondering if I'll have time to finish my work and make it there. If I had my old friend Candice Choi still sitting a few desks away, I bet I'd make it. Candice and I tore up the movie premiere circuit like nobody's business about three years ago before she left me for the Associated Press in NYC! Candice would bring her digital camera and get all these goofy shots (That's her, pictured left, licking the Liberty Bell) along with the more traditional standing next to a celebrity snap. She was fearless and would go up to anyone, anywhere, and ask for a picture. My favorite is one of her next to Queen Latifah at the "Beauty Shop" premiere and Latifah had this "Who's this Chinese girl sitting next to me?" look on her face! Classic. I miss Candice as a Hollywood sidekick but she sent me some of these pictures from the premiere of "National Treasure" a few years ago for my Facebook page but I wanna post them here too!

The film's star, Nicolas Cage. Even Candice couldn't get near the Oscar winner since he was surrounded by security and a buncha hangers-on. Candice was pissed!

Candice snapped me with Justin Bartha who co-starred in the film and its sequel. I thought he was hilarious in the movie and told him that night I thought he was gonna be a big star. Candice said I was just being a suck-up...

Here is Candice with Jon Voight who plays Nicolas' father in the movie and its sequel. She looks awfully chummy with the Oscar winning dad of Angelina Jolie but the funny thing is, Candice often didn't even know who a lot of the celebs she posed with were. I'll never forget the time she got a picture with Renee Taylor and then said to me, "Now WHO is she?" She obviously never watched "The Nanny" !!!

Hey, no one can ever say that I don't get wild and crazy in public sometimes!

And finally, here is a photo I really treasure with Olympics Gold Medalists (and married couple) Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner. About 10 years earlier, I had covered an event for the LA Times where Nadia performed to the Diana Ross song "It's My Turn" shortly after defecting from Romania. I got to watch from the floor of the arena and for some reason started sobbing. Thankfully, it was dark and no one saw me. There's no CRYING in journalism!!!

Anyway, I've had so much fun with these pics that I've asked Candice to send me more and I will share them as "Hollywood Flashback" postings from time to time.

...for the eyes! Here are some shots of Spain's David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal during a press conference in Germany on Wednesday. They will face te team of. Germany in a Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinal this weekend. I know it's just my own little fantasy, but don't David and Rafael look kinda like lovers in these shots - whispering and laughing? It's adorable!

I love when Rosie O'Donnell has something to promote because it's always fun and interesting to have her on television where she belongs! Love the video blog but Rosie should have her own show - one that does not include the misguided Elisabeth Hasselbeck. That being said, Whoopi Goldberg does a far better job as handling Hasselbeck than Rosie could which is the mark of a good moderator.

So, Rosie paid a visit to "Good Morning America" where she did things like do crafts with Diane Sawyer (her new book is about crafting - a longtime hobby of Rosie's) and got Robin Roberts, who lost her hair during chemotherapy for breast cancer, to take her wig off on live TV. Rosie is never boring! Here are some excerpts from her interview with the blonde goddess of network news, Diane Sawyer:

On leaving "The View" last year amid a blaze of fireworks: "It was a little bit of [a] trial period. I almost made it to the end. I'm the same person I always was. On my show there was no one with a conflicting point view and I was the boss, which works well with me."

On Hasselbeck, from who she still receives an occasional email: "She's very young. Your life is a little bit more black and white [when you are younger.]"

Clinton or Obama?: "I've been saying both from the beginning. I think the only way they are going to be able to serve the nation is to put down their own egos and combine forces. We need both of them is what I believe."

To read more and to see clips from Rosie's appearance, go to ABCNews.com.

...the sensational Cynthia Nixon! She turns 42 today and continues to dazzle us with her amazing acting talent and her advocacy for gay causes and public education. She's forever Miranda on "Sex and the City" but if you've seen her in "Warm Springs" and other movies or on stage (she won the Tony for "Rabbit Hole"), you realize what a great actress she is and how she will continue have a very long and successful career. She also started very young, appearing in "Little Darlings" with Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol!

Before I judge the contestants, I gotta judge the judges. Paula Abdul seemed more coherent and on-point than I ever remember. So why is she such a dingbat so much of the time? Randy Jackson was actually meaner than Simon Cowell last night - hating a lot of the performances. They just were not their predictable selves and it was bizarro!

The performers were asked to sing songs that inspire them and while some choices were no-brainers, some were head-scratchers. (BTW, pics in this post are from earlier weeks, not last night)

THE BEST: I think David Archuleta, who sang "Angels" by Robbie Williams and sat at the piano, probably did the best of all. Lovely song, he did a good job on a night when a lot of his competitors did just OK. But surprisingly, perennial bottom-three gal Kristy Lee Cook was not among the so-so crowd. She sang Martina McBride's "Anyway" and knocked it out of the park. Vocally, she was fab even though she still doesn't seem to know what to do with her body. And after, her harshest critic Simon called it a smart song choice and said "You look like a star tonight."

And she did!
Rounding out my top three was Jason Castro who had one of his really great weeks. He sat on a stool, played the ukulele and did the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It was fantastic and his best performance since his "Halleluiah" performance.

BAD RAP: Also solid but leaving the judges cold was Syesha Mercado who skillfully covered Fantasia's "I Believe." This girl has an awesome voice and is a terrific performer but seems to be irritating the judges for taking on the big power ballads by Whitney Houston and now Fantasia. It's not really fair, especially since they were far easier on Brooke White whose version of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" brought nothing original to the song. Brooke should have played the piano herself on this one and put her own stamp on it somehow.
FALL FROM GRACE: David Cook has been so good week in and week out that he's judged on a completely different scale now. I thought his performance of "Innocent" by Our Lady Peace was interesting and strong and the little message he wrote on his hand at the end "Give Back" was a perfect touch. But Randy and Simon felt it wasn't his strongest week. I think he'll be safe though. He's too good not to be one of the last 2-3 standing.

JUST OK: I'm just underwhelmed by Michael Johns, maybe because he seems kinda generic. He did "Dream On" by Aerosmith and it was good but not especially memorable but enough to keep him on the show another week since Carly Smithson will likely be voted off after her sreamy performance of Queen's "Show Must Go On." I don't know why she picked that. My thought is if she does go home this week, it hurts her less than any of the other remaining contestantsd because she so clearly has magnificant talent and will land a recording contract and could make an exciting album.

Rosie O'Donnell appeared on Martha Stewart's daytime show Tuesday (she's got a new crafts book coming out) and the subject of Rosie's departure from "The View" and Elisabeth Hasselbeck was touched on:."I tried my best but it's hard for me when I'm not the boss. There was people there telling me what to do. There was a little Republican who scared me."

During O'Donnell's final weeks on the show, the Republican Hasselbeck, now 30, and the liberal O'Donnell famously sparred in May 2007 over the Iraq war. Here is a clip of that famous knock-down, drag-out fight from nearly a year ago that resulted in Rosie leaving the show three weeks earler than planned. She never returned to the show after this showdown:

I had a fun interview with the one and only Julie Newmar a few days ago and the one-time Catwoman had some real off-the-wall answers to my questions! Catwoman