May 2008 Archives

It has been one of the most extraordinary days in my lifetime, tough to think of anything else except the California Supreme Court ruling overturning the same-sex marriage ban.

My joy has built with each passing hour since learning the news this morning. It's deeply life-affirming.

I've been under the weather all week and homebound. But I've shared this day with friends - straight and gay - on the phone, via e-mail and on Facebook where it was just thrilling to read the reactions in real time. I've followed events on TV and on the Internet just absorbing - trying to absorb that this has really happened. I didn't expect it to.

Me? Get married? My heart has a few broken pieces and many frogs have been kissed. But ya know, I'd still like to get married someday, I hope it happens. The possibility makes me feel deeply happy - to the core really. But the most beautiful thing is all those loving and committed couples of the same gender who can marry and have the same rights as straight people in this country. Many have been together for decades, have children together. They are families.

Tomorrow is a day to write about the fight ahead, The battle to preserve this ruling will be bruising because gay marriage foes are primed. But gay people (and our allies) are strong and we've had to really work hard to make ourselves heard and to be accepted on our own terms. I think we are never more remarkable than when are fighting for what is right.

- Greg Hernandez
- 5/15/08

Lorri L.Jean of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, a tireless activist whose efforts on the issue go back years, said at a news conference: "Today, I can marry the love of my life." Jean added that her father had died seven months ago. "He so wanted to walk me down the aisle," she said. "But I know he's dancing in heaven!"

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, pictured next to Lorri, told The Advocate after: "I feel proud to be a Californian. I feel that today we reassert the fundamental obligation of every freedom-loving Californian, that is, that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is essential and must be protected by the Constitution."

**********************************
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom: "Today, the California Supreme Court took a bold and important step forward to end discrimination in California. The Court's ruling to grant same-sex couples the right to marry affirms the very best of what California stands for - and proudly continues our state's long-standing commitment to equality and justice.

As San Franciscans, we have taken an irrevocable step toward resolving one of the most important civil rights issues of our generation, and the state's highest court has done the right thing with their ruling. San Francisco is the first government entity in American history to challenge the constitutionality of state marriage laws that discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. I believe that the path San Francisco pursued was not merely right - it was inevitable. It is America's path - the road to true freedom and equality.

The rights afforded by California's Constitution have triumphed, as they must, over laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples. In the late 1940s, California courts were among the nation's first to strike down laws banning inter-racial marriage. The state's Supreme Court has once again distinguished itself as a leading defender of our civil rights.

**********************************
John Amaechi, via The Advocate: "My very first reaction was that I was quite surprised. I watched the arguments on television and I watched the debates, and to me, as a partisan member of this debate, it seemed like it was such a wonderful logical argument that wasn't about special treatment but about pure equity. Still, I just didn't expect that the supreme court would come back with such a wonderful decision. So I am thrilled.

But at the same time, I want to see how this is going to translate. The sad fact is that when reasonable people move to bring equity to the masses, there always seems to be an objection and someone who wants to try and stop that from happening.

I would have to have a partner, of course, first, before I would consider getting married, but I hope to get married someday. The inability for LGBT people to get married and have their partnership recognized publicly does damage to their relationship. It hinders the recognition of LGBT people in society on the whole. And I think everyone deserves to have that spectacular day that sits beautifully in their memory for the rest of their lives.

**************************************
Melissa Etheridge (with wife Tammy Michaels) did this interview with The Advocate today:
"I feel they have made an honest woman of me. What a wonderful blessing for us and the gay community. We're moving forward. It makes me feel happy for the whole human race that we are finally getting out of our differences and coming together and we are putting this all behind us. It really is going to be the thing that we talk to our kids and our grandkids and say, "That was the olden days -- wasn't that ridiculous?"

Where were you when you heard? Were you following the case closely?
Yesterday my wife [Tammy Lynn Michaels] said, "Hey, they are going to vote." And it had been since March since they said they were going to do it, so you kind of forget that people are fighting every day for this. So yesterday my wife said, "Tomorrow they are going to come down with it." So I turned the news on this morning and they said any minute we are supposed to hear this, and so I have been listening. But then I dropped the kids off at school and I did a couple of errands and when I came home I said, "Honey, have you heard anything?" She went back and got on her computer and five minutes later she came back and said, "Whoo! We are married!" [laughs]

So I assume you are planning on getting legally married now?
Well, we had a wedding in 2003, and then we got the domestic partnership after that, so now my wife and I have to sit down and think, what will the formal thing be that we do? I don't know if we want to do the whole full-on thing again because we did do that, and that was our ceremony to ourselves. But I think this calls for a party.

Most important, what do you think this means for your kids?
You know that's the thing. I was just talking to someone about this, and I get all choked up about this because I think that the part that people who don't really understand this issue don't realize is that we are people with jobs and families. We have kids. And there have been years and years of explaining to them. I remember when it was on Schwarzenegger's desk and we were like "Oh, if he signs it, we may be able to get married." And then he vetoed it, and we were like, "Oh, mean governor!" So they have gone through this with us, and I can't wait to pick them up from school today and say, "Hey, your parents are just as married as anybody else's." That's a big thing. It's going to be a good day.

I'll be updating this throughout the afternoon...

Ellen DeGeneres (with girlfriend Portia de Rossi): "I'm thrilled that the California supreme court overturned the ban on gay marriage. I can't wait to get married. We all deserve the same rights, and I believe that someday we'll look back on this and not allowing gays to marry will seem as absurd as not allowing women to vote."
***************************
Chad Allen (via Advocate.com): I have to say I was completely shocked at the level of emotion of my own reaction. It's not that I didn't care, it's just that I didn't know that I cared that much. But when I found out about it, I was so full of joy and happiness and I was really emotional. I think that just relays the sense that when you are denied something, at least for myself, I tend to try and disregard its importance. And when all of a sudden it happened, I realized there was a part of me that wanted it so desperately.

I think it's of massive importance for our self-esteem and the personal level of acceptance that we all struggle for as gay and lesbian people, for us to simply know that this part of our dreams is even capable of coming true.

I'm thinking about getting married. I am in love with my partner, deeply madly in love with him, and though I am not ready to propose yet, it is in there. I have always said that I wasn't going to do it until I could do it legally, and now that we can and it's real, there is even a little bit of pressure now, like "I can't use that excuse anymore." It's a kind of pressure that, say, my sister has always had going into a relationship, wondering if this is the one and what about popping the question, and when do you do it and how do you know. But I have lived in ignorance of that until today.

***************************************************
Rosie O'Donnell posted this picture of herself and wife Kelly Carpenter O'Donnell on her blog with these three simple and beautiful words: love now legal...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "I respect the Court's decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."

(The state legislature had passed a marriage bill twice only to be vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger both times.)

**************************************************
California State Senator Sheila Kuehl in an interview with The Advocate said of Schwarzenegger's statement: "I thought it was generous and wonderful of the governor that literally 10 minutes after the opinion was announced, he issued a statement backing the opinion of the court. He said that he would uphold the opinion, and he said he would come out in opposition to any attempts to strike it down. "

Kuehl, a former actress, told The Advocate about how she heard the news and her reaction: About one minute to 10 a.m., people started gathering around my desk, and when we were able to get the document, we started going through [Chief Justice Ronald] George's opinion. Then at about 11 a.m., the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee was on the phone with Justice George, and so I got a chance to get on the phone with him and I got to thank him. Then, Justice Joyce Kennedy was in the building, speaking in favor of an appointment nominee, so I went down to the chambers and spoke with her too.

How will she celebrate this victory? "I already have tickets to the theater, so I can't go to the big party in West Hollywood. But I felt like I got the best of my world today because my friends in the legislature were all here. We went through all the gay bills together over the past decade -- the students bill, the hate-crimes amendment, the fair employment act. We've got a great group here."

Syesha Mercado won't be competing for the title of "American Idol" next week but on Thursday, she had to be the happiest third-place finisher in the show's history. Week after week this dynamic performer dodged the elimination bullet until it was just her - the underdog - and favorites David Archuleta and David Cook left standing.

I had to know how she handled being among the bottom three vote-getters so many times with such poise and wondered if she had her bags packed each and every results show day.

"Every week is new. And I never packed my bag," she said. "They told us, 'You got to pack your bags.' I'm like, 'I'm not packing my bags because I don't want to go home yet. I'm not ready.' So I think if you want something, it's going to happen for you. If you want to be top three, you're going to get top three. If you want to win, you're going to win. Whoever is the most passionate, they're going to win. Whichever David's the most passionate, they're going to win. So every week, like I said, I set a goal, and I just wasn't ready to go home. I didn't pack my bags because I wasn't ready."

Syesha told me she dealt with the pressure by just talking to her family a lot and said they really helped her stay strong.

"I tried my best to pray before every performance and get that positive energy flowing and hold everybody's hand and be like, "Burst of energy and positivity." I just tried to clear my mind. You become stronger and stronger. And just being there, I just think I got a lot stronger every week.

Judges Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell thought Syesha had chosen poorly by singing the Peggy Lee song "Fever" on Tuesday night believing a powerful show-stopper would have left a stronger impression among voters.

She didn't come out and say she regretted singing the song but she did tell me she did the best she could on that number.

"You can't do everything. So I made up in my mind that I wanted to do a song that was performance-driven, so that's why I did that," she explained. "I had other choices in mind, but I couldn't do them, so - maybe if I had a chance to do them, I wouldn't have got that comment, but you go with the flow. If you can't do something, you do something else. You just work with that. So I did that song, and I have no regrets. It works out the way it was supposed to work out."

So what is next for this performing dynamo who will most certainly be one of the most popular draws on the "American Idol" tour this summer?

"Well, as I tell people, I want to do everything, and I'm really goal-oriented, so I know that whatever goal I set, it can be accomplished, whether it's within a year span or whatever, ten year(s)," she said. "So I want to make an album. I want to star in a film. I want to do Broadway. I want to open up an organic restaurant, and like a lupus foundation, homeless foundation. It just depends on what comes first, but I have goals that I want to do, and I write them down and going to continue to look at them. Basically, whatever opportunity comes first and what's the best career move for me, that's pretty much what's going to happen"

ONLINE BONUS: I mentioned in last night's post about Syesha's father and his struggles with drugs. She addressed it during this conference call with me and a group of other journalists: "Well, the struggles that we go through, I've always seen it as it can either make you or break you. And for me, it made the strong person that I am. It made the sincere, humble person that I am. Having my dad struggle through that, it really, really - it really made me sad a lot of my life. It actually made me understand people more and be more.... I told myself that I'm not going to let this determine what my future is going to be. I'm going to do something good. And I'm going to help my dad and encourage him and be there for him. And I'm going to make him proud, so that he wants to make me proud, and that's exactly what he's doing now. He sees me doing something good, and it's really motivating him to stay sober and stay clean. And it's just a beautiful story to tell."

Love. This. Girl.

This just in from Lambda Legal: It's an unforgettable day for same-sex couples and advocates of fairness and opportunity across the nation! The California Supreme Court has ruled that the state may no longer exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage. We are so proud.

Lead counsel NCLR, Lambda Legal, the ACLU and Equality California have been fighting for this victory for four years and today we have made history! But we must all do what we can to make sure that discrimination is not written into the state constitution in California through a ballot initiative.

...the great star, Lanie Kazan.

The singer-actress who first made a name for herself as Barbra Streisand's understudy in "Funny Girl" (She only subbed for two performances but the world took notice!) turns 68 years old young today. She's had an amazing life which I learned all about when we had lunch back in February, My favorite part of our chat was when the star of such films as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "My Favorite Year" talked about why gays love her so: "They love me and I love them. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am a little larger than life and I say what I feel and I sing what I feel. I have an big emotional range and I think a lot of gay men and gay women - at least more in the past and I think it's still holds true - have been caught in that inability or the fear of self expression, of really being who they are. And that's what try and do. I'm me and I'm full blown. I think a lot of gay people identify with that part of me, not afraid to express my feelings - my joy, my pain. All of it."

Related posts:
-- Exclusive: Lainie Kazan talks about singing in LA again, Greek Wedding, and going on for Streisand...

-- Part 2: Lainie Kazan talks about a career low point and how she came back...

-- Lanie Dazzles in Concert...

It's a new honor I just created after spotting this picture of Warren Beatty on a new friend's MySpace page. Can you believe how beautiful this man was? I'm guessing this is mid-to-late 60s. Anyone know when this was taken? It shows that before he became an Academy Award winning director ("Reds"), married Annette Benning and slowed down professionally to raise their four kids, he was just a breathtaking young movie star.

...Not that there's anything wrong with that!

The English newspaper The Sun writes that the Spice Girl recently confessed to the fact that she attracts gays like a moth to a light. "All the men that like me are gay. It's true. I have a really strong gaydar. I do love gay men though,"

Her hubby, sexy soccer star David Beckham, who is not gay that we know of, is still attracted to her too we assume!

As predicted, David Archuleta and David Cook will compete for the title of "American Idol" next week and THAT will be a final not to be missed! It'll be epic, a real battle of the titans. Syesha Mercado seemed prepared for the inevitable and was radiant even though it was her elimination night. As well she should be. Third place out of more than 100,000 people who tried out. I'll be among those interviewing Syesha tomorrow morning and I look forward to hearing what she has to say about her experience.

And I wonder who Syesha thinks will win next week? Will it be David the boy or David the man? As Simon Cowell said: "I think we're gonna have a real humdinger next week"

Since there are no performances to recap, I took notes on each of the hometown visits.

David Archuleta: After watching David A's hometown trip back to Utah, it was clear that this guy has already won the competition. The girls are nuts for him in the way they were for THE BEATLES! Then he won me over when he cried at his high school because he couldn't believe so many people had shown up.
At an earlier stop at the mall - which also had huge, screaming fans, he wondered: "Where did everybody park?"
We're so used to David just smiling and kind of laughing and kind of talking. We got to see more of his personality and were reminded of his youth when after watching the clips of his hometown visit from the stage he said to Seacrest: "It's embarrassing, they showed a lot of me crying. Gosh."

Syesha Mercado: At her elementary school in Florida, there was a wild crowd and people were absolutely losing their minds: "This is crazy, I've got people throwing their babies at me." Before she went on to her high school, there was a visit with her parents. Her dad, a recovering drug user, called her success on the show "a natural high" and said it was a reason to stay clean and sober."
Well, he was honest. It also gives you some insight into what a tremendous person of grit that Syesha is to rise above that and my hunch is, she's got a pretty terrific mother.
In the limo back to the airport, she sobbed: "This is so good..I feel so happy. This is my dream and I'm living it."

David Cook: Blue Springs, Mo. The newscasts were on "Cook Watch" He was latrer seen doing the weather, on radio and later thowing out a pitch at the ballpark: "It's amazing how crazy this is." There were throngs of fans (some weeping) at his concert. He then went to his elementary school to surprise his music teacher whom inspired him: It was all topped off by a parade - people lining both sides if the street: "This is a trip," he said. "I can't process it ... I got to do all the things that I wanted to do growing up here in one day...This is AMAZING!"

Chace Crawford, seen here in a GQ photo shoot, tells the magazine that gay rumors are all part of being rich and famous. The rumors about the "Gossip Girl" pretty boy were rampant a few months back when he was photographed a lot with singer JC Chazez who has denied being gay or that they are more than platonic friends.

Chace told GQ in its June issue said of these kinds of rumors "Hey, if there's a gay rumor, you know you've made it."

That's a refreshing attitude. We're seeing more and more hot young stars very non-chalant about gay rumors but, I think, those are the ones who are not gay. The ones in the closet probably have very thin skins about that kind of speculation!

I've loved Sarah Jessica Parker ever since she kept twirling around on the beach in front of Steve Martin in "LA Story" (I missed the whole Broadway ("Annie") and early television stardom ("Square Pegs"). But I really became a mega-fan from the time the first episode of "Sex and the City" aired. I've never interviewed her and the closest I've gotten to her was backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in 2001 when she ran by me holding her award.

This is my set-up for saying that I filled with envy that EOnline.com columnist Marc Malkin got to interview SJP herself before she jetted off to London for the start of an almost two-week European tour in support of Sex and the City movie. This comes on the heels of Marc's terrific interview with Janet Jackson last month. You go boy!

Here are some tidbits with the link to the whole thing at the end:

How many outfits do you bring with you for the press tour?
[Laughs.] Probably more than is necessary. But they've really got us busy over there, and we have a lot of work to do, so we are required to wear clothes. It's the law. That's how I rationalize it.

Did you watch some of the episodes to get back into your role for the movie?
Any excuse to not look at myself is preferable. And in my opinion, the script just really stood on its own. [Director and writer] Michael Patrick King has such skill in telling these women's stories. We didn't have any time to rehearse at all, so he said to all of us, "You all have been rehearsing for six years." It's strange how much muscle memory there is in a role.

The new issue of Vogue just came out with you on the cover. The shots of you and Chris Noth are amazing. The chemistry is still there.
It was incredibly easy with Chris. We stay in touch, we email, and we're really good friends, and I just adore him. I just adore being around him.

I asked a bunch of friends what they would ask if they could ask you one question, and at least five said they wanted to know which your favorite episode was.
I'm very bad at picking favorites, because I'm one of eight kids and I always heard my mother saying, "I will never pick a favorite among the eight." But I have particular fondness for the early episodes, because we were just figuring out how we wanted to tell these stories. One episode in particular is "Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys," because it's kind of dark and there's something very fresh about the storytelling.

Where do you keep all your awards? There are a lot!
I have them affectionately cluttered on a shelf in my office.

Tell me about the new Sex and the City book.
You know, we haven't talked about it with anyone else. We did this book for the movie, and what is amazing that no one realizes is that we had to go to print before the final cut of the movie. So there are scenes in the book that are cut from the movie. I just got my first copy, and it's kind of unbelievable, because it's like a version on paper of a director's cut.

I have to tell you that us gay boys are going crazy for the movie. Two people have asked me today if I have a ticket for opening day. It's like a gay bar mitzvah. And you know what, it's already sold out in Hollywood. We have to go to the Valley!
Oh, that's even better! There's great Mexican food in the Valley. But that's great! I hope it makes you all happy. I hope we've done right by our audience.

To read Mark's interview with SJP in it's entirety, go to EOnline.com.

Sara Ramirez was on "The View" this morning and looked absolutely gorgeous. She wrapped up the fourth season of "Grey's Anatomy" last weekened then flew to New York to announce the Tony Award nominations yesterday. She, of course, is a Tony winner herself for "Spamalot" and the threater-loving women of "The View" started heaping compliments her way the minute she sat down:

Whoopi Goldberg: "Your voice. You are brilliantly funny and fabulously talented."
Joy Behar :You basically stopped that show ("Spamalot").
Sara recalled what it was like the moment she won her Tony: It felt amazing. I had my mother and my best friend next to me and I was not prepared to walk up there in that dress! (pictured, right) James Earl Jones is saying my name and he's saying it right! (It's pronounced Sada)

OK, didn't mean to bury the lede: Sara also talked about the possibility that her character of Callie Flores on "Grey's Anatomy" might enter into a lesbian relationship with
Brooke Smith's surgeon character. Callie has taken up with Dr. McSteamy (Eric Dane) and a clip shown on "The View" shows Callie teasingly saying to him: "We're lovers didn't uou know?... Look me in the eye and tell me you're not thinking about a threesome.You're not thinking of her and me and you and a video camera."

Ha! I love it!

Sara said Wednesday of the lesbian possibility: "It's so interesting because nothing has really happened yet there is a lot of buzz and speculation and perhaps some assumptions ... It's a revolutionary show with universal truths about relationships. If (creator and head writer) Chandra Rhimes decdes she wants to expand that further and expand our homophobic horizons, I think it's great."

So do we!

This is the most stunning retirement in the history of tennis - even more surprising than Bjorn Borg walking away from the game at the age of 26 back in 1982.

Justine Henin, three-time defending French Open champion, reigning U.S. Open champion and top-ranked female tennis player in the world, announced Wednesday that she is leaving the sport that she ruled magnificantly last year when she set a single-season prize money record.

I can't friggen believe it! Justine had a lot of heart and that's why I liked her. She is smaller than her rivals Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport and yet she was able to win more major tournaments (seven) than all of them except for Serena who has eight. She also won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2004. She becomes the first woman to retire from tennis while atop the WTA rankings. Steffi Graf retired in 1999 while ranked number three while Chris Evert walked away 10 years earlier ranked fourth.

"This is the end of a child's dream," Justine said at a news conference in Spain. "This is a definitive decision. Those who know me know it is serious."

Like Graf, there will be no farewell tour. The retirement is immediate: "It is a new beginning for me. I feel like I already lived three lives. I gave the sport all I could and took everything it could give me. I take this decision without the least bit of regrets. It is my life as a woman that starts now."

Justine won 10 tournaments last year, but has been in one of the worst slumps of her career this season. She lost last week in the third round of the German Open and pulled out of this week's Italian Open, citing fatigue: "I thought long about this," she said, her voice cracking and eyes watering. "I started thinking about it late last year. I was at the end of the road. I leave with my head held high."

Her personal life has been a difficult one. She was divorced from her husband last year. And she was only 12 when her mother died of cancer, and became estranged from her father and siblings for nearly a decade before reconciling last year.

In addition to her four French Open titles, Henin won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. The only Grand Slam title to elude her was Wimbledon, where she was the runner-up in 2001 and 2006: "Winning Wimbledon would not make me happier than I am," she said. "I could never dream of Wimbledon. It was destiny. I didn't feel myself capable. It was too much for me."

Patrick Dempsey is about as handsome a guy as there is and he handles his stardom well. It's also nice to know that he's appreciative of his gay fans as we learn in the Q&A with Brandon Voss in The Advocate. Patrick is the subject of an upcoming "Big Gay Following" feature. Here are some excerpts:

Do you have a Rupert Everett-like gay best friend?
[Laughs] He's not like Rupert Everett, but yeah, I definitely do. He's a good guy, but it took him a long time to really get out of the closet. Everyone around him knew, and then when he finally came to terms with it and said, "Yeah, I'm gay," we were like, "Finally! Good for you." You could see the release in him where he wasn't having to pretend anymore and was becoming his own person.

We're not talking about T.R., are we?
No, no, no. It's somebody else.

<Your character (in "Made of Honor") often gets mistaken for gay, which also happens to your character in 1989's "Loverboy." Has that happened to you in real life?
Sometimes now, yeah. I try not to read the blogs, but it seems everybody's convinced I'm gay -- especially since Versace. But the great thing with sexuality and being gay is that there's really no stereotype anymore.

At 17, you dropped out of high school to play David in a San Francisco production of Torch Song Trilogy. Did you or your parents have concerns about your taking a gay part so early in your career?
No, not at all. Doing theater, the gay community was always incredibly kind to me -- never aggressive or predatory, always supportive and nurturing. That was the great thing about being a part of that show. Especially being so young, there was a lot of concern only because I was out there on my own and I'd never been in the big city before, but everybody looked after me.

Have you been aware of your gay following since your breakout success in 1987's Can't Buy Me Love?
Yeah, there was some stuff that [celebrity photographer] Greg Gorman and I shot that sort of opened things up, and everybody was telling me about that. It's good fun. It's flattering.
Did you or your agents have any hesitations before accepting a three-episode arc as Will's sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace, your first major foray into TV?
No. When I sat down and talked with the show's creators, they were like, "Here's what we want to try to do," and I was like, "Yeah, I'm in for that." It was fun. I loved that character, and certainly that role and being on that show helped turn things around for me profoundly.

Opposite another straight actor, Eric McCormack, was it challenging to make a gay romance appear believable?
No, because you just play a relationship -- two people attracted to each other. You just trust that and don't worry about it. The situation reveals that you're gay; you don't have to play gay to be gay.

As a Versace model, not to mention all the shirtless scenes you have in Made of Honor, do you feel pressure to constantly hit the gym?
Yeah, I work out, but I'm not fanatical about it. I'm not the kind of guy who can be completely cut-up; I just want to stay in shape and be healthy and lean. But there's always the pressure of having the perfect male body. At the same time, I've got way too much going on to worry about it. You just have to go, "Here's my body," and hope people like it.

On People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" list, you came in second to Matt Damon in 2007, George Clooney in 2006, and Matthew McConaughey in 2005. How's it feel to be that close to the title for three years?
At least I'm consistently in the top two. And I've been there longer than the other guys, so that's fine.

Which male celebrity do you find sexy?
Johnny Depp, certainly, without question. There's just something about his individuality, his humility, and his sense of style. He's also immensely talented and intelligent, and that's all very sexy.

What's the oddest thing you've done with your character's action figure from Disney's Enchanted?
It's not so much what I have done but what my friends have done with the doll -- and then sent pictures of to my cell phone. They've put the doll in various sexual positions with other dolls -- with Barbie and Ken.

Here is a LINK to the entire interview...

When I saw Cynthia Nixon talk about her girlfriend Christine Marinoni on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" a few weeks ago, I was touched by her obvious love for this woman. But in the blogosphere, all I ever read is disparaging remarks about Christine's appearance. It is ridiculous. She's not a Hollywood star, so don't expect her to look like Halle Berry or Charleze Theron or even Cynthia.

I wish people would stop that kind of garbage and celebrate the same-sex love, a couple who is high-profile and showing the world that doesn't want to give us equal rights that gay people aren't all shallow and want to be in relationships.

Had to get that off my chest. Now on to the news. Cynthia, in London for the premiere of "Sex and the City," told The Mirror that she would love to marry Christine: "It's something my girlfriend is interested in and it was not something my boyfriend ever was. I think that to get married to her would be a little act of rebellion. It's like if you've never had the vote and then you get it you're going to run out there and vote."

She also said that she's never been in love with a woman before, , "I had been with men all my life and I had never met a woman I had fallen in love with before. But when I did, it didn't seem so strange. I don't define myself. I'm just a woman in love with another woman."

I think they make a beautiful couple...

The thing I liked about Star Jones' soon-to-be ex-husband Al Reynolds is that we never heard from him. Her, we hear from and it ain't always pretty. Al used his MySpace page yesterday to write about how his life has become a living hell, or something like that. I'm just gonna post it in its entirety and be done with it:

Dear Friends: If you think you are having a tough day, may I propose you walk in my shoes for a few hours. In my mind, it feels like "Dump on Al Month." And I'm not having fun yet. I have been called a gigolo, a freeloader, unemployed, a sham and many other things that don't bear repeating. People on television, radio and the Internet have spoken disparagingly of my life, my sexuality, my career and my integrity. The media has barraged me (at my home), my friends, my family (including my 79 year old mother), my college classmates, my students and my professional colleagues. Yet, despite this intense level of provocation, I have said nothing. My publicist has put out a one sentence statement: "We're taking the high road." And we have and will continue on that path.

What I want people to know is that I am not the caricature portrayed by the media. I am complex, contradictory and capable of great intelligence but also remarkable stupidity. In other words, I am a human being. To me, labels are for clothes, not people. So ... please don't try to define me; don't try to categorize me; and most of all, don't label me. Instead, JUST GET TO KNOW ME. And if you see me, just call me Al.

He's going to make that happen as he begins what appears to be some kind of get to know Al Reynolds media tour (Do we HAVE to?) He is booked to appear on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show next Thursday. The TV Guide listings says: Al Reynolds (Star Jones' husband).

OK, the three well-deserving finalists, David Cook, Syesha Mercado and David Archuleta all gave solid performances but Cook rose above the other two - so much so that if he does not win the entire competition next week it won't really matter.

David Cook, this guy is a star. I loved his version of Roberta Flack's "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" because I've loved that song forever and it also gave us a chance to enjoy Cook's softer, more quiet side. David followed with Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" which he picked. It was nice to see him rock and roll after the slow first song but it's not like I'd want to hear the song again.
The judges were lukewarm on that one but Simon and Paula (and strangely not Randy) loved his finale: Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" chosen by producers who did him a big favor and he delivered. When he is on the stage, there is just that feeling that he belongs there and that he'll be there for a long time in big arenas and other venues. He's a lock for the final.

When it comes to the other two finalists, I actually think it was a draw on a night that they sang a song they themselves chose, one a judge chose and a third chosen by producers. Syesha got bagged on the most - even by Paula - and I think unfairly. She gave three different performances and showed much more flair and personality than Archuleta who, of course, vocally is in a league all his own.

Randy thought Syesha did an "amazing" job on the song her chose for her: Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" and the other two judges were complimentary. But that's as good as it got for her. After she sang her pick, the Peggy Lee classic, "Fever," Simon called it a "rather lame cabaret performance," and said she would "probably regret that decision tomorrow." If she regrets the third song, it's not her fault. Producers chose Gia Farrell's "Hit Me Up" but the judges all agreed that it was not the strong finish she would have hoped for. Why let the producers pick a song then? Let the performer choose two so their fate can be in their own hands. BTW, I think Syesha did a nice job with the song, very upbeat and her confidence on stage really helped sell it.

David Archuleta did a nice, subdued performance of Billy Joel's "And So It Goes" which was pretty. Paula, who called the performance "pure and stunning," picked it so we could see him do something different but I'm not sure she did him a huge favor. Simon's take: "It was very good. No surprises. [It was] a bit predictable, [which is] not really a criticism." David followed that with Chris Brown's "With You" which he picked himself. He was just fine but I understand what Simon was talking about when he said: "It was a little bit like a chihuahua trying to be a tiger in so much as it's not really you. I thought it was all a bit awkward." His final song, picked by producers, was "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg. He did a really good job with a song perfectly suited for his vocals and one that gave him plenty of opportunities to look into the camera with those big brown eyes. Randy and Paula loved it but Simon's comment, I think, should have been aimed at the producers: "I think you sang the song very well, however I thought the song and the lyrics were absolutely horrible. ... It was so gooey, it's something you choose for, like, a 90-year-old and you're 17 years old. Having said that, I do think you've done enough to get into the finals."
In closing, I gotta say that "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul seemed to have had a brain transplant tonight: she was on point, very clear, spoke in complete sentences, and didn't love every single performance. Who WAS that woman? Maybe she read a scathing Entertainment Weekly article that suggested five ways to improve "Idol" which has suffered from sagging ratings. One of them: can Paula and fellow judge Randy Jackson! I don't necessarily agree with that but when Simon Cowell's opinion is the only one the contestants really care about, it makes the other two kind or irrevlevant.

Has it really been 25 years since Jennifer Beals put on that torn sweatshirt and became a huge star in "Flashdance"? You can't tell by looking at the beautiful face of the 44-year-old actress who currently stars on Showtime's "The L Word."

Jennifer plays Ivy League educated lesbian Bette Porter on the series which is set to begin shooting its sixth and final season which will air in 2009.

"It's bittersweet," Jennifer said of the landmark show's impending end. "But I think the most important thing is that we've been telling these stories of these women in Los Angeles. What I hope mis when the show is off the air, that someone will continue to tell stories from the lesbian community in one way or another."
Jennifer, married to Ken Dixon and the mother of a 2-year-old daughter, has appeared in more than 50 movies including "Devil in a Blue Dress," "The Bride," "The Twilight of the Golds" and "The Anniversary Party." But her only previous experience with series television was way back in 1992 when she co-starred with Lisa Hartman and Drew Barrymore on the CBS summer series "2000 Malibu Road."

She didn't seem to too pleased that I mentioned "Malibu" but it was good fun as I recall.

"It's very, very different," Jennifer said of working on the two series. "This is a completely different animal. Working at Showtime and working with (series creator) Ilene Chaiken, it's been such a real pleasure. And I've also had a really great character to play - a very rich character to play."

Jennifer had just completed a film with Kevin Kline called "Joueuse" before preparing for the final season of "L Word." Still a student at Yale when she made the big studio film "Flashdance," the actress has enjoyed some of her best roles in independent films in addition to "L Word."

"It's really about the role and it's about the story," she said. "I'll go wherever the good story is."

I really knew nothing about the CBS.com reality casting series "In Turn" until I got a note today from GLAAD's Damon Romine telling me about the episode posted above: our "As the World Turns" guys Van Hansis (Luke) and Jake Silbermann (Noah), give some advice on how to lip-lock convincingly for the camera.

The remaining six contestants, three men and three women, prepare for their screen test in this episode 7 which involves their first on-screen kiss. What's cool is that only one pairing for the screen test is male-female.

Here is a link to GLAAD's cool blog CineQueer...

...trust me, I know how. I had those lips when I woke up in the middle of the night and they were HUGE.

Only I wasn't born with those lips - as I'm sure Lisa Rinna was - I got them a more painful way: an allegic reaction! The lips were double their usual size, red spots everywhere, right eyelid swelling, and welts and bumps everywhere.

Went to see my Dr. McDreamy at the Pacific Oaks Medical Group in Beverly Hills (really, he's THAT cute) and he was kind enough not to make fun of my lips. (I had worn a baseball cap hoping it might take some of the attention off of the lips). McDreamy just gave me a shot and a perscription and here I am, about an hour later, feeling a little itchy still but already better with the lip deflating to its usual size,

McDreamy was able to help me get to the bottom of it pretty quickly: I used a cheapo laundry detergent that I had never used before because it had been under my kitchen sink forever and I didn't want to run to the store to buy my usual brands Surf or Gain.

I won't make that mistake again! Now here's the real question: WHY does Lisa Rinna want her lips to look that way?

I just never would have predicted this: Neil Patrick Harris, in character as the womanizing Barney on CBS's "How I Met Your Mother," ends up in bed with Britney Spears! Well, Britney's character at least.

I'm all for it. I like that we are able to see for ourselves that Britney seems to be back from the abyss and I'd much rather see her play a crazy chick on TV than be one in real life.

And finally, it's always a treat to have NPH without a shirt on!

Here's a scene from last night's show>

So, I wrote a real tear-jerker of a letter to the folks at "Extreme Makeover" and I won a re-designed blog! But I didn't get sent to Disney World or someplace cool like that while the rehab took place. In fact, it happened Monday afternoon and thanks to Steve Rosenberg of the DailyNews.com team for re-formatting everything with so much care. You'll find a search box that works now, the most recent comments up in the left column, some ads (we gotta pay the bills!) and now I have more room for my posts with photos the size of billboards! OK, well, maybe not that big.

For my part, I spent several hours on Monday updating the archives and creating some new categories. When we started having technical problems with the blogs last year that made the whole process terminally slow, I stopped putting things in categories because it took forever. But now things are much speedier and the archives are up-to-date from March on and I plan to finish the rest of the months by week's end.

Then it's back to what I love best: creating content for this blog for all of you to enjoy!

The trailers for "Mamma Mia" have me so excited to see Meryl Streep headline a full-fledged musical for the first time. But this will not mark the first time Meryl has sung on the big screen. A few years back, she did several tunes in "A Prairie Home Companion" but my favorites are from the 1990 gem "Postcards from the Edge." Meryl does a sweet version of Ray Charles' "You Don't Know Me" early on (posted below) then ends the movie with this soaring performance of "I'm Checkin' Out" (above).

Enjoy!