August 2008 Archives

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton mentioned gays in their respective electrifying speeches at the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver. But only fleetingly.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, one of the most important figures in the gay marriage movement in California, is a completely different story. He is that rare politician who made equal rights for gays one of his biggest priorities and on Thursday, his address to the California Democratic delegation ended with strong and passionate words against Proposition 8 which seeks to, once again, ban same-sex marriage in the state.

Here is part of what he said:
"I believe in equal rights....Civil unions is not marriage...I believe in real equality, full equality. That's what's at stake with Proposition 8. I plead for your support, for your activism and your passion and most importantly, your action in the next few months."

Also last week, Newsom was asked by Ray Suarez on the PBS program "The Newshour Insider Forum" if his deep involvement with gay rights hold him back as a state-wide candidate?

Replied Newsom: "This [campaigning against Prop 8] is not going to help me politically; I'm not naïve to that. I'm hardly front and center at this convention and I certainly wasn't in the last convention, but it's about my convictions; it's about my ability to sleep at night and reconcile the fact that we're running the 90 yard dash on gay and lesbian rights," Newsom responded. "And if you believe fundamentally that people should have rights that are of the same sex, but you're not willing to extend them equal rights, then what is it about that point of view that distinguishes it from your point of view about civil rights for people based on race or ethnicity? What is inherently more significant about someone and their rights that happens to be of a different race that should not be extended equally to someone who may have a different sexual orientation?"

Ok, I know that it is not practical for our presidential candidate to speak this way, but wouldn't it be wonderful if he did? In reality, it;s hold yiour tongue and get elected first then - maybe - support gay marriage and not just the lesser, and safer, civil unions stance..

Bravo Gavin!

I was walking down the 16th Street Mall Thursday after lunch when I came upon this massive crowd outside Hard Rock Cafe. The rumor was that Oprah Winfrey was inside. It turns out she was not. But other stars were since there was a Creative Coalition event on health care going on. Handsome Josh Lucas came out twice to wave to the crowd and to give autographs, Angela Bassett came out once and gave a shy wave, Alan Cumming popped out to give a few autographs and finally, Spike Lee did some hellos.

As I was on Oprah-watch, I chatted up two hot guys who made the time go far faster...They are a couple and their names areTed and Travis. I'm not sure which one is Ted and which one is Travis now that I'm home. I don't even know my OWN name at this point!

Anderson Cooper may be the "it" guy of TV news but Tom Brokaw still has plenty of star power. I was standing near the makeshift CNN studio when Tom, wearing tennis shoes and carrying a red backpack, tried to casually walk to the NBC studio. No dice. People were hollering to him from the stands and a stream of folks down on the field asked him to stop for a picture. "I've got to keep moving," Tom said at one point, smiling.

Attending Cyndi Lauper's concert at Fillmore Auditorium was just terrific. I loved when she said, "Listen to mama, vote for Obama." I love, love, love Cyndi Lauper.
Thank God for my friend Hope Hamashige who moved to Denver about 3-4 years ago. On Tuesday night, I had to wait more than two hours to interview the Black Eyed Peas because Bill Clinton's convention speech ran late. I called Hope to gab and she said, "I'm downtown too, I'll ride my bike over." We got to hang out and tell some of our war stories with a young reporter from People mag, just out i\of college. Made us feel a liittle old.

I tell ya, it was one hell of a week. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

On my last night in Denver, I got through the tight security of Invesco Field to watch Barack Obama's speech at field level just fine. But getting past the security guard at Woody Paige's house later that night? A nightmare.

With hotel rooms in short supply, I had already been staying at Woody's country club house on a golf course for five nights without incident. For some reason, the woman at the guard house says I'm not on the list, have never been on the list, and she's not letting me through the gate. I had worked 16 hours and it was about 1:15 a.m. I tried to reason with her but she dug her heels in. I wasn't on the list.

Things got ugly. I don't want to get into more details but let's just say, many things happened. I was eventually let in. I'm not sure if that woman still has a job today. If not, I won't lose a wink of sleep over it.

But that was the only glitch in what was a wonderful stay. Woody is a well-known Denver Post columnist and ESPN personality who has been in the business long enough to talk about covering the Martin Luther King assassination in 1968 and still ambitious enough that he wrote a column from the Democratic National Convention every day I was there in addition to his regular sports column.

Here are links to my favorites from the week:
-- Been there, done that, do it again
-- Gripe time but wrong causes
-- Stadium has risen along with candidate's star
-- A special boy called Barry

We were a busy household for the week. Along with Woody's charming and lovely girlfriend Geri who was there some days, LA Daily News photographer Mike Baker stayed there and so did a bright young reporter from Boston, Matt Murphy (pictured with me Thursday night at Invesco),

Someone in The Denver Post newsroom, where we were headquarted all week, remarked that it sounded like something out of "The Real World" or "The Surreal Life." Well, notsomuch. We all put in long hours and worked our tails off so no time for any drama!

But almost every morning, we all managed to have breakfast on Woody's patio, reading the papers and sharing adventures from the night before. This morning (Friday), we had a little extra time with the convention over with and Woody had us in stitches as he talked about the days of hot type and stories being typed in triplicate. Once, the "e" on his typewriter stopped working, the equipment guy blew off fixing it so Woody wrote a column entirely without a single "e" and explained to readers why. This ticked off the equipment guy who then refused to fix the broken key. So Woody walked over to a window (I think it was a paper in Memphis), dropped the typewriter out the window and simply requested a new one.

I can't imagine that a hotel could have topped this set-up and boy, the company was terrific.

It was an awesome experience, awesome. It's right up there with the really big events in my career and in my life. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, I unexpectedly got a floor pass for Barack Obama's speech. I jammed over to Invesco Field at Mile High where the excitement was off-the-charts. .Having a floor pass means you get to wander all around the place, including near the stage, near all the action and near the CNN booth and Anderson Cooper!

Here is Anderson and me. I handed my camera to a guy Anderson was talking to and he gladly snapped the photo then Anderson says to me: "You just asked the president of CBS News to take our picture!" Then the guy - I didn;t get his name - said, "I'm not the president." Anderson said, "You will be."

Here is Sheryl Crow just after leaving the stage. At this point, I was trapped in an area that suddenly went into lock-down because some VIP was coming in. Thinking it was Obama, I stuck around awhile but no dice. Got tired of waiting and found another way out but not before snapping a photo (below) of NBC's Luke Russert (Tim's son) interviewing Martin Luther King III who was one of the night's speakers on the 40th anniversary of his fahter's "I Have a Dream" speech.


Four years ago, John Kerry was the Democratic nominee. I snapped him getting interviewed by a Polish TV network.

I gotta jam over to Invesco Field. Just unexpectedly got a fricken floor pass for the Obama speech! What a day. Will write about it all later. This morning I met San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who is not only movie star handsome, but whose politics I really like. Will post some of his pro gay-marriage speech tomorrow or later today.

I'm sad to report that Del Martin, a woman who was part of the first legal gay marriage in California when she married her partner of 55 years in June, died Wednesday.

It's a beautiful thing though that she was able to get married to Phyllis Lyon before she passed on at age of 87 and got to be a part of history. Del helped found the pioneering lesbian-rights group the Daughters of Bilitis.

Ms. Lyon, 83, said in a statement, "I am devastated, but I take some solace in knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed."

Her death came on the day that a new poll showed that a majority of California voters oppose a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, though they are evenly split on the practice itself.

The discrepancy between voters' general attitudes against gay marriage and their position on banning it could be explained by a hesitancy to remove a constitutional right, said Mark Baldassare, president and chief executive of the Public Policy Institute of California, which conducted the poll.

On Thursday morning in Denver, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom paid tribute to Del during an address to California delegate in town for the Democratic National Convention calling her "one of the great civil rights leaders of our time."

It was Newsom who married the couple earlier this summer - just as he had back in 2004 when when the San Francisco mayor challenged California's marriage laws by announcing that the city would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who requested them.

I don't even know my name right now. After a late night, I'm here at a California Democratic Party breakfast at the Sheraton in downtown Denver where Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom are two of the featured speakers. I'll hear what they have to say, try and get a word with them too. Right now the Denver mayor is up there and I don't know much about him except that I watched him on Chalrie Rose last week. He just gave a shout out for gay marriage so dig him.
Anyway, last night was kinda cool. I went to the Creative Coaltion's gala at the Fillmore Auditorium and got to chat up Black Eyed Peas bandmates Fergie and Will i. am.

It was a natural that they would be performing a high-profile gig during the convention since it was Will's "Yes We Can" song and Internet sensation video gave Barack Obama one of the coolest celebrity endorsements ever.

"Will.i.am inspired me," Fergie said. "When Will made that song, I think it was touching to every person in America because it really said something."

The video features an eclectic mix of celebs: John Legend, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Walsh, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who sing a Bob Marley-style melody alongside footage of an Obama speech during the New Hampshire primaries.

"I did it because I was inspired by Barack Obama's speech in New Hampshire and that wasn't even his victory speech, that was a speech where he lost," Will said. "If he could inspire me when he lost, just think what he's gonna do when he wins. I don't know know how I'm going to contain myself. I'm just gonna keep writing and writing and writing. And not for fee, for free. For freedom."

Here is the video:

No time to watch the US Open while in Denver but I always have a few minutes to post a picture or two of hot male tennis players as you know. Andy Roddick is so ecstatic here that it looks like he won the whole doggone tournament. Relax Andy, it;s only a routine first-round victory over France's Fabrice Santoro and it wasn't even a close one. Andy just fired his brother as his coach (and had given Jimmy Connors the boot earlier this year). Only six more wins to go before he can add to his 2003 title. I'd give top-ranked Rafael (Muscles) Nadal a far better chance of winning everything. He looked equally ecstatic after his first-round win the other day and has more confidence and momentum than Andy.

Did Hillary Clinton give an awesome speech the other night or what? I thought she was wonderful. It was a very healing speech, I think, and made me feel better about my Obama vote in November. What a woman.

And here is Bill Clinton's speech from last night. I haven't even watched it yet, I confess, so have no comment on it. But here it is!

What a bit of fab news that dropped into my email box just a few minutes ago. We've all missed the heck out of "Noah's Arc" and can't for the life of us understand how LOGO cancelled its best show. But when the plug was pulled, we were promised a feature film and finally, it is here. Sexy Darryl Stephens and Jensen Atwood (pictured) are back for "Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom." Other original cast members Rodney Chester, Doug Spearman and Christian Vincent also headline.

Here's the synopsis: When Noah (Stephens), a young screenwriter from Los Angeles, agrees to marry his partner Wade (Atwood) in a small ceremony on Martha's Vineyard, he invites his three closest friends, Alex (Chester), Ricky (Vincent) and Chance (Spearman) to travel cross-country with them for a weekend of revelry. What he gets instead is a weekend of revelations where secrets and lies are exposed, hearts are challenged and friendships are turned upside down."

I'm awfully excited to see that Tony winner Tonya Pinkins - a major talent - is in the cast and that there is a special appearance by legendary singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow who I have always loved, loved, loved!

Also in the film: Gregory Kieth (Mista Nice Guy), Jonathan Julian ("In Justice"), Jason Steed ("The Bill"), Gary LeRoi Gray (Bring It On: All or Nothing).

Sounds terrific!!!

I ask you, is there any sound more beautiful than Rufus Wainwright singing "Hallelujah"? Darn few that's for sure. He ended his set at last night's HRC concert with the song that I was embarassed to admit I became familar with because it was sung by dreadlocked "American Idol" finalist Jason Castro last spring. Rufus is much, much better!

At the blink-and-you-missed-it press event before the show, Rufus talked a bit about the importance of voting and achieving equal rights: "In America, things are OK and we have to keep fighting for those rights constantly but outside of America, there's the rest of the world where it's still a life and death situation. How things go here, there are much graver consequences throughout the globe. We're the spearhead."

Before the start of the LGBT delegate lunch yesterday at the Sheraton (the one Michelle Obama made an unannounced visit to), I chatted up Barney Frank, one of only two openly-gay membes of congress.

I wanted to get Barney's thought on gay marriage in California since he is from Massachusetts where same-sex coupes can also marry and on Proposition 8 on the November ballot which seeks to re-ban gay marriage.

"I think that it;s very important that we win that," he said. "If this referendum were a year later, I'd be totally confident because once you have the reality of something like this, the opposition goes away because all of the negative arguements are proven incorrect. If it had happened last year, it would have lost. If it happened next year, it would have won big. This year I don't know. But one thing we know: the more people see what the reality is, the more the opposition ,melts away."

The HRC concert last night was so tightly-controlled and press access to the stars limited to a ridiculous five minutes or so. I was annoyed basically every minute I was there until the concert actually began.

We were led into the VIP tent pre-concert and some little blonde woman with a headset and a pinched face says, "Here is your tip sheet. If you don't follow it, you will be asked to leave the concert." Then some dude says, "You are sharing the tent with VIPs so if you could just stay in this area near the platform (a not so big area for a kinda big press corps). Gee, we wouldn't actually want to force the VIPS to breathe the same air as us!

Then the photographer from the Denver Post made the huge mistake of standing about an 2-3 inches past the big X on the ground made with tape. The HRC press dude leaps over and demands that he take what amounted to about a three inch step back.

These people were obnoxious and not treating the press like the grown-ups that most of us are. HRC Pres. Joe Solmonese was a gentleman though and I am sure this was no fault of his. He even gave me a hug hello inside the concert (we had coffee together a few years back). But those headset people, give 'em a little power and they run with it not even thinking that people like me are going to write about their every obnoxious, controlling and over-the-top move.

\Okay, this post was supposed to be about Melissa Etheridge and here I am on an absolute tangent. But y'know, i do feel much better now. In the VIP tent, during the five minutes and five seconds we had with the talent, I asked Miss Etheridge about her comment when she was one of the questioners during the HRC Democratic Candidates debate. She told Hillary Clinton that some of the LGBT community felt "thrown uder the bus" by her husband's adminsitration. Here's what she said in response:

"Ah no! I was gonna bring a little bus tonight (laughter). I think it is a dangerous thing that the media has been focusing on the divided Democratic party - Hillary and Obama. I think that is not true. I've been out there talking to everyone and we, for once, had the most awesome choice in the Democratic party. We had an awesome woman, and an awesome man to pick from. And we looked at them both and you know what? We came up with Barack Obama and we are all united behind him. It's a fallacy, its a lie to put out that we are not."

Okay, nice quote but she didn't really answer my question. I would have followed up but the controlling HRC folks yanked them off the stage practically before Melissa could finish her sentence.

Overall score: The HRC concert: a 10! The HRC press "event" : a minus 10.

That;'s all, thankyouverymuch.

Last night I went to the Human Rights Campaign's "Rock to Win" concert headlined by Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright, Margaret Cho and Thelma Houston.

The concert was stopped when Hillary Clinton made her fantastic speech at the convention and I'm so damned glad because watching it with thousands of people like that was almost as good as being inside the Pepsi Center itself. I had supported Hillary and felt lukewarm about Barack Obama but her speech really did rally the troops behind the nominee. It was such a triumphant night for this amazing woman and for the Democrats.

But, I digress.

The HRC concert was at Denver's Fillmore Auditorium and after I filed my story to The Denver Post, I settled in and danced around during Cyndi's awesome set. Had not seen her in concert since she toured with Cher eight years ago or so. She is a treasure, a wonderful soul and a brilliant talent.

She opened with her newest hit, then did a haunting "What's Going On," as well as that great song "I Drove All Night." Her voice was soaring and after a few songs, she kicked off her boots and danced around that stage like there was no tomorrow. The highlight, as I knew it would be, was when she got out the dulcimer and sang "True Colors," the most meaningful of songs about being who you really authentically are. Cyndi ended things on a fun note with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and brought out her son Declan (he must be around 11?) and he danced onstage with the same free spirit as his mama and it was a joy to watch.

Before the show, we had a little bit of time in the VIP tent with the performers and I asked Cyndi if she has seen any changes among LGBT voters since she began her True Colors Tour with the HRC last summer. Here's what she said:

"When I first put the ("True Colors") tour together, I saw a lot of apathy in the community and I know that apathy comes from feeling hopeless and hopelessness comes out of helplessness. We put this tour together to give information to the people because information is power and I strongly believe that this nation was built on the power of the people. ... I saw more hopeful people because there was information there for them to help themselves. Voting is one of the ways to help yourself. If you don't vote, you continue not to help yourself, you continue that feeling of hopelessness against a world that may be aggressively diminishing your civil liberties."

Cyndi had a pretty funny answer when someone asked her what she thought of people who were so disappointed that Barack Obama edged Hillary Clinton for the nomination that they were considering voting for John McCain: "I would say, don't vote insane."

"I would say, if you want to vote for your pocket, think of if it's been picked already and how much your dollar is worth today after this adminsitration."

.

Sorry I don't have time to make any remarks about yesterday's Luke and Noah scenes from "As the World Turns" but I did want to post them for you. These guys are such a cute couple when Noah isn't acting like a complete moron. Right now, he's being the good boyfriend that Luke deserves.

What can I say? I'm having an absolute blast this week in Denver. So invigorating, so much going on, so many people. My first priority is doing interviews but I'm trying to get some pictures too when I remember to. When I made my way to the convention hall yesterday, I made sure to get some snaps!
After I filed a piece from inside our press tent which is just outside Pepsi Center, I spotted ABC News "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran. I'm a big fan of the show which I think a lot of people figured would bomb out after the departure of Ted Koppel. But thanks in part to Terry, who is one of the three hosts, the show has thrived. It would be a shame if ABC yanked "Nightline" to make room for Jay Leno next year but it seems to be a real possibility.

Anyway, Terry had just finished listening to Ted Kennedy's electric speech and was on his way back to his press area when we met and had this picture taken. While it's not as good as bumping into Anderson Cooper would be (EVERYONE seems to be spotting Anderson except for me), Terry is pretty darmed hot.

This is the parade/demonstration that kept me stuck on Colfax Ave. about a block away from The Denver Post building for a good 15 minutes. I decided not to be pissed and just watch the damned thing.

Here is one of my best pals Ted Johnson who is covering the convention for Variety (he was filing a story from the CNN Grill and I snuck this picture of him before calling him over). It's been great having him in Denver because we've been able to see each other here and there and are always calling each other on the cell: "Are you going to this event?" "I haven't eaten all day either!" "Which shuttle stop is the Pepsi Center on?" "Does (deleted) keep calling and pitching stupid stories to you too?" "How mucn sleep did you get last night?"

I'm sitting here on a platform in the back of the ballroom at the Sheraton staring at some woman's dessert at the LGBT caucus luncheon. I haven't eaten lunch and watching these folks chow down is enough to make a hungry grown man cry. Barney Frank is up front speaking right now (not the easiest man to understand with that accent). The rumor is that Michelle Obama might show up so I'm gonna stick it out rather than run out of here and to the nearest hot dog stand.

I chatted up Barney when I got here as well as the tall, handsome and smart Chip Arndt. Will share those when I get a chance. Barney just said that a vote for John McCain is a disaster because "he has never voted for anything that would advance our equality...electing Barack Obama is essential."

More in a bit...

Rep. Tammy Baldwiin, another openly gay member of congress just said: "Elections have consequences. ... I truly view this election as the opportunity to transform hope into action...we come here filled with hope....The stakes have never been higher for our community."

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese is now speaking. He said the first political campaign he ever worked on was Barney Frank's and he is honored to be sharing the stage with him. I'm bored now. Let's hope it gets better.

Okay, is Michelle Obama gonna show up or not? I'm gonna snag a dinner roll or something off a table in a minute. These are desperate times.

Joe, still talking. I'm nearly comatose.

OK, Barney just said Michelle Obama is gonna be here and no matter what they are doing, when she arrives, they are gonna put her right up there on stage. I'm gonna listen to her remarks then bolt straight to Subway for a footlong.

Some other dude is up there yammering. I didn't get his name. So, as I wait, I'm gonna post video of Michelle Obama's speech at the convention last night to get us in the mood.

1:55 p.m.: Still waiting for Michelle Obama to arrive at the Sheraton. I'm feeling more patient because some cute guy at a table near my platform took pity on me and gave me a roll from his bread basket. It. Is. Delicious.

***********************************
2 p.m. Michelle Obama is here! Barney Frank introduced her to a raucous reception, a prolonged standing ovation. Just wild.

"I am honored and thrilled. what a welcome. I should stay here all afternoon."

A man interrupts when he yells out: "Great speech!" (last night). People started applauding all over again.

NOTE: This is not a complete transcript of her remarks. It's bits and pieces...

"I'm pleased to be here today with another public servant i admire Tammy Baldwin." She also thanked: Joe Solmonese and Chuck Wolfe from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund."

"Thanks you for your vision, thank you for your leadership..it means so much to me and to Barack."

We'e here celebrating this wonderful party , Our country and the better future we can build together....and to restore a sense of fairness and opportunity for every single American."

"Although we have a lot of work to do, this week we are going to celebrate how far we've come. Hasn't this just been an amazing year or 19 months or however long it's been? Thiis campaign 2008 has just been amazing. We have seen people who have never talked about politics before -ever. ...They're writing checks and knocking on doors."

She then paid tribute to the woman who had been her husband's rival for the Democratic nomination: "Hillary Clinton's historic candidacy banished forever the notion that a woman could not be president (huge applause). "I got those two lijttle girls, you saw them, they're cute. Because of the work this year that Sen. Clinton has done....little girls like mine and other little girls around the country can dream a little bigger."

"In just two days, we are going to make history again by nominating this guy that I'm married to. In the words of my husband, we are fired up and ready to go. I know that Barack is going to be an extraordinary president. I know that with every fiber of my body."

"Most of all, I'm here as a mother, no matter how many titles or caractures that they make, iI'm a mom first. It's the first thing I think about every day....these arent politicial issues for me, these are all personal."

More on Barack: "I've lived with this man for 20 years and i've said this many times, he has not let me down once.... Wherever he has the chance, he's used his God given talents to move that bar."

She called for the repeal of Don't Ask, Dont tell: and said the real money quote: "Discrimination has no place for a nation founded on the promise of equality."

Mrs. Obama also called for protection against hate crimes and workplace discrimination. I didn't hear anything about gay marriage.

"We all know our country's journey toward equality is not finished yet," she said. "We've got work to do."

I was walking out of the revolving door of The Samba Room in downtown Denver last night really pissed that I stood in a crowded Planned Parenthood party for an hour waiting for Ashley Judd to show up and she had not. I woulda had a hissy if it were not for the delish coconut shrimp and the cute guy I was talking to.

Deadline was 20 minutes away and I still had no star interview from this damned sioree. But as I exited the revolving door, just about to enter it was Cyndi Lauper! I was so shocked I just blurted out: "Cyndi Lauper!" She smiled and I said, "Greg Hernandez, Denver Post. Two quick questions?" She nodded, I put the recorder near her gorgeous mouth (she is a beautiful woman) and was able to get an item for today's paper. Here it is:

Cyndi Lauper performs tonight at a Hujman Rights Campaign concert but made time Tuesday night to drop by the jam-packed Planned Parenthood party at The Samba Room.

"They helped me when I was a young girl," the singer said of Planned Parenthood as she made her way into the bash. "It's a wondderful organization, teaches women about their bodies and supports us in our choices and our right to choose."

Lauper said she is looking forward to the HRC concert at the Fillmore Auditorium where she'll be joined by Melissa Etheridge, among others.

"Come on down," she said. "We're celebrating humanity. End discrimination. We're gonna have some fun."

I'll be there and post about it tomorrow! Can't wait!

"Mad Men" star Jon Hamm, who has to be considered the front-runner for the Emmy next month, is one of those guys who is so good looking that you kinda wanna slap him. But he's so swell that you don't. Anyway, he's not only on the cover of the new issue of "Best Life" magazine, there's an interview inside and a buncha sexy black and white photos of him too.

What. A. Babe. That's the Russian star Marat Safin on Monday night at the US Open. The sexy Safin, who won the tournament back in 2000 over Pete Sampras, was among the former champions who gathered at the Billie Jean King United States Tennis Assn. Tennis Center to celebrate the 40th anniversary of what is known as the "open era." It was in 1968 that professional tennis players could play in the sports four major tournaments and win prize money. Before that, youy had to be an "amateur" and couldn't make a living off your tennis.

Always a class act, the elegant and classy Roger Federer is one of the greatest male champs on the last 40 years. He's won the US Open in each of the last four years.
Three other prominent former American champs, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors - who won 12 singles titles between them - did not show up for the ceremony.

Very uncool.

But four-time champ John McEnroe, three-time champ Ivan Lendl, 1989 men's winner Boris Becker and 1988 men's champ Mats Wilander did.

Also there was cutie pie 2003 champion Andy Roddick who is still young enough to bag another title. Maybe this year? Not likely but it would be so nice to see.

If I weren't at the Democratic National Convention, I would have wanted to be at the US Open on Monday night for the amazing parade of past champions there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of open era tennis. It was in 1968 that tennis players could be professionals and earn big bucks at the US Open and other prestigious tournaments.

No female champion has had more success at the tournament in the last four decades than Chris Evert (above) who was the winneri in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1982 and runner-up in 1979, 1983 and 1984. Chrissie was, hands-down, my favorite player and really is the biggest star tennis ever had. She had the glamour, the endorsements, the poise and most of all, the grit. She'd come on court in a nice little tennis dress, long, blonde hair in a pony tail and ribbons, and she'd just mow down opponent after opponent.

What a portrait! Look at the history in this picture. That's a lot of great names including the great Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, each four-time winner,Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova,Rod Laver, Tracy Austin, Stan Smith, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Roger Federer, Mats Wilander, Marat Safin, Gabriela Sabatini,Lyndsay Davenport and on and on.

I had a gap between assignments this afternoon so I headed out to the Pepsi Center in Denver to roam around the Democratic National Convention to see what I could see. I'm not a political reporter so I used one of the Denver Post's hall passes during an off-peak time.
Went into the convention hall and watched some of the speeches and soaked up the atmosphere. Then went into the corridor and watched some correspondents from "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" do their thing. Then bumped into Gayle King, far prettier and youthful looking in person than she sometimes looks on television.

It had been a big day for Gayle because earlier Monday, she had interviewed Michelle Obama for her radio show. It was one of one of only two interviews the Democratic candidate's wife gave before her speech on the convention floor.

"I'd been up since 4 a.m. worried about Michelle's speech and she walks in cool as a cucumber. She said, 'Gayle, just relax, just breathe, it'll be okay."

King, a longtime media personality who is most famous for being Oprah Winfrey's best friend, dished a little about their chat.

"What gave me chills was when she was talking aoout marriage and relationships, that in all the years she's been married to Barack, he's never done anything to disappoint her. That he's a man of character, he's a man of dignity, and he's a man of great intelligence. That gave me chills. As somebody who is divorced, who has been disappointed, it was just good to hear somebody who believe that and speaks about it so passionately."

So how did King get the Michelle Obama interview anyway?

"I'm not above groveling," she admitted.

This is no big surprise: cutie pie Lance Bass will be on the new season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" this fall. The big mystery was whether the openly gay Lance would be paired with another man or with a woman, as is tradition. While I think it would have been kinda HOT to see the two guys together - especially if it was the delicious Marksim Chmerkovskiy (sigh...), it will be more of a level playing field for Lance if he is with a woman.

The rest of the line-up is a bizarre and very fun mix. Soap queen Susan Lucci, who is such a lovely lady, is a great choice and should be very popular with viewers. Here's the real hoot: 82-year-old Cloris Leachman! She's always been incredibly fit but it will be interesting to see how she handles the physical part of it all. Cloris is as colorful personality as there is out there - and she is out there - but she's also a brilliant actress who not only has an Academy Award, but has won nine Emmys!

Other celeb participants: Grammy Award-winning singer Toni Braxton, 18-year-old Cody Linley, a cast member on the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana," two-time Olympic gold medal-winning beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor (hooray!!!);,Maurice Greene, the men's 100 meter winner at the 2000 Summer Olympics; television personality Brooke Burke; celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito; Kim Kardashian, the star of the E! Entertainment unscripted series, "Keeping up with the Kardashians," comedian Jeffrey Ross and former NFL player Warren Sapp.

As far as beefcake, I'm stoked to see the still handsome after all these yearsTed McGinley included on the roster. This handsome devil has been on more successful TV series than almost anyone - even though his specialty has been joining the shows several seasons into a long run. He went from "Happy Days" to "The Love Boat" to "Dynasty" to "Married With Children." But he started with "Faith and Hope" which I thought was really funny. It only lasted three seasons but he and Faith Ford were a riot together.

The "Dancing with the Stars" season premiere is set for Sept. 22, with all 13 couples competing during the two-hour episode. One couple will be eliminated on Sept. 23 before the remaining 12 couples dance again.

This is a column I wrote before leaving for the convention that ran in today's LA Daily News. I wanted to share it with you:

The days of keeping a low profile at industry events are all but over for Zachary Levi, star of the NBC action-comedy "Chuck." But, like just about everything else, the 27-year-old actor has a good sense of humor about it.

"When I was on `Less Than Perfect,' I had the luxury of being able to sort of skim through the red carpet, take a couple of pics, do a few interviews then I'd be on the dance floor all night long," he said recently. "But now I've got 10 red lights in my face which, by the way, I'm all about."

That's because on "Perfect," which ran for four years on ABC, he was part of an ensemble cast that also included Sara Rue, Sherri Shepherd and Andy Dick. On "Chuck," he's the title character and there's nowhere to hide.

It's safe to say there is no other show on television like "Chuck," which returns for its second season Sept. 29, Zach's birthday. He plays Chuck Bartowski, a computer whiz whose life suddenly gets far more interesting - and complicated - when a college friend who is now a rogue CIA agent sends him an encoded e-mail with all of the world's big spy secrets. It's the only remaining copy and it gets imbedded into Chuck's brain!
While he keeps his cover job at a computer store, Chuck is now a spy and the actor said we should expect to see him getting a little better at a role he was never trained for.

"He evolves a little bit," he said. "I think he starts to find a little more confidence and a little more footing in this new world of being a spy. But he can't get there too quick, otherwise there's no way to go."

And the job at the store (he's part of the Nerd Herd at his local Buy More store - a parody of Best Buy's Geek Squad) is as important to the character as using his newfound knowledge to help the government thwart assassins and international terrorists.

"It really is the perfect cover job," Zach said. "It really allows for so much of the comedy on the show, the other odd employees and the boss. Last season they were all sort of episode-to-episode and it's nice when you get to have these guys who you spend so much time with, to be shown a little love. They're in the opening credits now.

"It's a really beautiful thing."

But it's not just Nerd Herd members who will be getting some screen time in the new season.

"There's lots of great guest stars: Michael Clarke Duncan, John Larroquette, Ben Savage, Nicole Richie. Tony Hale is doing a multi-episode arc, Jordana Brewster's coming on for an arc. It's very cool," Zach said. "As an actor, it means the world to me that other actors that I respect look at the show and go, `Yeah, that'd be fun to do.' I guess we're doing something right."

Zach is hoping for a nice, long run on the show and wouldn't mind squeezing in a movie during the summer hiatus.

"One of the things that I love about this show is the action and I hope that if I do it long enough, film producers will think, `Hey! Maybe he can do an action movie?"' he said.

"I want to do everything. I want to do action movies, I want to do comedies, I want to do romantic comedies, I want to do drama. I just think the world that I get to work in is such an amazing place. I hope I get to do it for the rest of my life."

Good morning from Denver. I covered an early event and stopped at a Starbucks to check email and blog a bit. I think I'm going to the convention hall later troday - I think. Anyway, here is a video of Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Mitcham being interviewed by a gaggle of reporters. Just watching him, I can't help but think about what a special and unique position he has in the world now: an out and proud 20 year old sports superstar. And he';s so cute!

The Democratic National Convention officially starts today, but the parties and events have been fully underway for a few days now. I hit the ground running Sunday by attending two shindigs, the first of which was an early evening tribute to African American leaders at a place called Mezcal Restaurant. Among the celebs I chatted up were Alfre Woodard, Tim Daly, Matthew Modine, Dana Delany, Gloria Rueben, Richard Schiff, Rachel Leigh Cook, Ellen Burstyn, Alan Cumming, and Tony Goldwyn, Spike Lee was there but after being bombarded by camera people as he got out of his car, he went inside and never returned to do the press line!

Speaking of the press line, my old L.A. Times pal Hope Hamashige (that's us, above) lives in Denver now and I had to cancel our dinner plans when I got an unexpected extra assignment. But I had about an hour or so of downtime and suggested we meet for a quick bite near the party at Mezcal. I thought I was lost getting there and called her on her cell: "Where the HELL is this place? The streets are cionfusing." I'm at a red light. Hope says into the phone: "Greg, I'm standing right next to you!" I turn to my right and there is Hope at the street corner, cell phone pressed up against her ear, doing her fabulous cackle.

What was great was that after we had a quick snack at the pub next door, Hope hung out with me as I did the arrivals line and snapped all these great pictures of the celebs I was chatting up including the beautiful one of Alfre Woodard above. Alfre told me she has been stumping hard for Barck Obama for more than a year.

Tim Daly and Tony Goldwyn arrived together looking as dashing as ever...Tony told me that playing the guy who killed Patrick Swayze in "Ghost" was the best thing that ever happened to his acting career. He's now an accomplished director.

Gloria Reuben told me she is happy with Barack Obama's vp pick Joseph Biden..

Dana Delaney got a little break from the set of "Desperate Housewives" where she has been having a blast with the fast-forward five years plotline. My pal Hope said she had met Dana at the first inaugural for Bill Clinton back in 1992! I mention this to Dana and the two start chatting about their dresses etc. Very funny. .

I was rushing back to the Denver Post newsroom after saying goodbye to Hope when I ran into one of my best friends, Ted Johnson, whose covering the convention fot Variety and who has a well-respected blog, Wilshire & Washington. He was on his over to Mezcal but we had to gossip for a few minutes.

My night was not over. I then road a shuttle downtown to the Denver Performing Arts Center for an event paying tribute to the Civil Rights Movement. There was no arrivals line so I had to wander aroiund looking for some famous faces. Got a quick quote from Rev. Al Sharpton who was just mobbed by delegates with cameras as he made his way in. Just as I was about to leave, I decided to go down to the front of the theater to see if there were any celebs there I could ambush. None. I tell my predicament to a nice volunteer and next thing I know, I'm being led down to this backstage area and standing next to the evening's host, Danny Glover! So did a quick interview with him just in time for the 10 p.m. deadline.

And there's four more days of this! What an adventure!

I may be in Denver for the convention, but I'm still excited about the US Open starting today. I fell in love with tennis in 1979 when my two of my big brothers were watching the men's final between John McEnroe and the late Vitas Gerulaitis in the living room and I plopped myself down to watch it with them. I was hooked! I don't think I've missed a final since!

I've always tried to predict the winners and while I used to just tell all my friends who I thought was likely to win, it's fun to have a blog and to share the fun with readers.

This year, the man to beat is someone whose face I don't even have to post. He's the top gun(s) in tennis in every way, he's Rafael Nadal. He's number one in the world and you have to respect a champion who achieves that status by actually dethroning the reigning number one as Rafael did with Roger Federer (pictured below). He's won the French Open, Wimbledon, Olympic Gold medal and many smaller tournaments this year. He's the top seed and the guy to beat.
That being said, I think this could be where Federer turns his miserable year around. He's only won two smaller tournaments all year long but he was the runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon and was greatly lifted by the surprise gold medal at the Olympics in doubles. It was joyous to see him so happy after so many disappointments in 2008. He is the four-time defending champion and will be giving all he has to win title number five.

But to win, Federer will likely have to beat the Serbian cutie Novak Djokovic in the semifinals which could be tricky. Novak beat Roger in that round at the Australian Open back in January and went on to win his first grand slam title.

I think it's safe to say those three are the only guys who can win. I usually would include Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, in the mix but he's had trouble winning even minor tournaments in recent months so I don't think he'll make it past the quarterfinlas.

As for the women, who cares? It's hard to care when no one has picked up the mantle of being a consistent top player since Justine Henin strangely retired this spring. But of the top gals, my fave is Venus Williams who looks like a gazelle on the court. She's won two US Open titles to go along with her five Wimbledons and is always a threat.

When I start my day with an airport shuttle picking me up at 5:55 a.m., I don't expect to be at a party at an amusement park late that night. But I was because I didn;t come to Denver just to sit around!

Last night was the media party at Elitch Gardens which is right next to the Pepsi Center where all the official convention business will be taking place. I met up with my old pal Bridget Johnson (p[ictured with me at left) who just started a new job as an editorial writer for the Rocky Mountain News. It was so great to hang out and win stuffed animals.Everyone won stuffed animals. It was fun and festive. But you can;t help but wonder how someone was gonna fit a giant stuffed lion or Batman into their luggage.

There was tons of free food and booze. I didn;t drink any alcohol but I did indulge in a fuinnel cake which wasn't quite at Orange County Fair level but still pretty darned good. I was chowing on my funnel cake as Bridget played a game, she looked up at me and burst out laughing. I didn't realize I had powdered sugar ALL OVER my black polo shirt. All over.

I didn't really know who was who as far as dignitaries go and they were in a VIP area where pipsqueaks like me were not allowed. But I did read in the Denver Post this morning that NY Post columnist Cindy Adams (the 80 year old with a beehive and eye make-up that looks like it was applied with a spatula (meow!) was denied access to the VIP area for not having the right credentials. I'll bet she was steamed! Hopefully, she had a funnel cake and all was better.

Anyway, tons of people, lots of fun. And, protesters outside, of course. As Bridget and I were walking to the parking lot, a dude with a megaphone and a banner looks at us and says through the megaphone: "A vote foir Obama is a vote for dead babies!" We walked past him then I burst out laughing. Not at dead babies but just at how random and ridiculous it was. There was no one else around - that little chant was just for us.

And finally, a funny moment at the end. Bridget finds her Volkswagon convertable in the lot right away and I, of course, have forgotten where the hell I parked my rental car. She says, "Hop in and we'll find it." She remarks, "Wouldn;t it be funny if it was just like 3o feet away. That would be so 'LA Story." It wasn;t 30 feet away, it was TWENTY feet away.

WE absolutely cracked up.

Well, I'm off to downtoiwn Denver for a meeting at the Post, a party with Spike Lee and dinner with friends after. I'm staying at the unbelievable house of Post columnist and ESPN personality Woody Paige ("Around the Horn") who is just a fantastic host. I'm sitting in his study as I write this. Tomorrow, I may write from one of the decks overlooking the stream. Or maybe I'll use the ground floor deck. It's so tough to choose.

I could get used to this!

Greetings from Denver! I'm settled in and leaving in a bit to attend some big media party. How great to flip on the computer and to see that Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, an openly gay 20 year old, produced the dive of his life last night to win the gold medal in the men's 10m platform at the Beijing Olympic diving competition.

He is the only openly gay male athlete competing in these Olympics and that is HUGE. Yes, the great Greg Louganis was gay and performed heroically as an HIV-positive athlete in 1988 (he also won two golds in 1984) but Greg was not openly gay at that time. Matthew is and he proved that being open does not mean you can't perform at your highest level,

This is just so amazing is a broader sense but also in a purely sporting sense: Matthew produced the highest scoring dive in the history of the Olympics with his sixth and final effort to become Australia's first male Olympic gold medallist in diving since Dick Eve in 1924.

Mitcham was trailing China's Zhou Luxin by more than 30 points leading into the final round, but scored a whopping 112.10 on his last dive - a back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists - to pull off an stunning upset.

"It's absolutely surreal. I never thought that this would be possible,'' he told the press after. "I wasn't even sure of my medal chances at all. After I did my last dive and I saw I was in first, I thought, "That's it, it's a silver medal, I am so happy with this' and then I won. I can't believe it, I'm so happy.

"...Everything that I did was to win an Olympic gold medal. That was my aim when I was training every single day, twice a day, 11 sessions a week, 30 hours a week, before every single dive, it was like `I want to win Olympic gold' and that made me try my hardest in every single training session for the last year and a half.

"It was all worth it.''

WELL DONE MATTHEW!!!

* PS: Thanks to the reader who pointed out that I originally posted that Greg Louganis had won his first two golds in 1964 - of course it was in 1984. Greg also won a silver medal in 1976 while still in high school..

Good morning all,I'm sitting inside a sports bar called Home Turf inside LAX waiting for my flight to Denver to board. I'm excited to be covering my first Democratic National Convention! Table tennis is playing on the big TV screen in here. Did I ever mention that I was Zura Hall ping pong champ in the spring of 1986 (my dorm at San Diego State). Well, I was pretty good but watching these guys play is humbling - and exciting.

Anyway, while I'm told I will get a little bit of time inside the main hall at the DNC, my role is all things Hollywood so that means plenty of parties, coincerts, lunches etc. around Denver My blogging will be on a whenever I can basis since my first priority has gotta be material for the Denver Post, the LA Daily News and our chain of newspapers. Somehow though, I think there will be plenty of material to post on Out In Hollywood, maybe even more than usual.

Things are already roilling as far as convention-related news. I got this email from Barack Obama this morning: (OK, I know millions of others did too but I like the personal touch:

Greg --

I have some important news that I want to make official.

I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.

Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois -- the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago.

I'm excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can't do this alone. We need your help to keep building this movement for change.

Please let Joe know that you're glad he's part of our team. Share your personal welcome note and we'll make sure he gets it:

http://my.barackobama.com/welcomejoe

Thanks for your support,

Barack

I read the item "Clinton, Schumer Under Fire For Gay Marriage Stance" on Queerty.com today with great interest because I have been so down on Barack Obama's stance on gay marriage and especially the manner in which he expressed it again last weekend.

There were some readers who wondered if I would have been as hard on Hillary Clinton since she has an identical stance. It's a fair question and maybe I would have cut her more slack because, overall, I thought she was the best person to lead this country.

With the Democratic National Convention beginning on Monday (I'll be there!), I realize it is time to get behind our candidate because I think, gay marriage stance excepted, he would be far better for our country - and a majority of Americans - than John McCain.

Ok, back to Hillary and gay marriage. on Queerty, gay activist Allen Roskoff has some harsh words for Clinton and her fellow New York Senator Chuck Schumer on their anti-gay marriage stance:

"It is way past time that our community start holding accountable the U.S. Senators from New York: Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer. As New York State is on the verge of reaching marriage equality, it is a disgrace that both our U.S. senators still oppose our right to marry. While some people may like to bask in the sunlight of the razzle-dazzle Clinton and the powerful but boring Schumer, they do so at the expense of full recognition of our relationships."

"Unless the senators change their positions and support marriage equality by Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2009, I am calling on the LGBT community, including all the political clubs in New York, to declare the senators unwelcome to our support."

Wow. He has drawn a line in the sand. We'll have to stay tuned!

I was at the In Magazine summer party earlier this week at The Abbey and me and some of the guys were sipping on our free drinks and admiring the gorgeous bartenders. A majority of them, like Chris May (pictured) are straight. We theorized that this works because they are gay friendly but can remain professional as drunken men of all stripes fawn all over them. Not that the gay ones - and there are some really hot gay ones - don't remain completely professional, it was just a theory we floated. This whole post is really just an excuse to post the pretty pictures.

So anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, Chris May. He is featured on the cover of In Magazine's first annual drinks issue. He's one of those beautiful guys who serve us drinks at The Abbey. I've had Chris as a bartender plenty of times and he really is friendly and down-to-Earth and fairly chatty with regulars. Seems like a real sweet guy. He's 28, involved in a committed relationship with a woman, loves golf and owns two boa constrictors!
Thought I'd excerpt a bit from his Q&A:

When did you first start working at the Abbey and what drew you to the job?
I started at the Abbey in early 2004, and the obvious thing that drew me to the Abbey was the massive amount of business the place does on a daily basis. I also had a lot of friends that told me it was the best bar in L.A.

What's the best part of the gig?
The best part is that, when I go to work, I feel like I am just spending the day with friends. The Abbey has more regulars than any place I have ever been, and they are really good people for the most part.

You must get hit on a lot at work? How do you handle all the attention?
"A lot of the time it is so busy that you don't really have time to listen to it anyway. I really never take offense to anybody who is just trying to be flattering. It's just a compliment after all."

Ed Westwick wants to make it clear that he and his "Gossip Girl" co-star Chace Crawford are not lovers. Here's what he says in the weekend edition of Page Six Magazine:

"People think Chace is gay, and thought I was gay, that we were humping. It's not true, but hilarious. People project their fantasies onto people. I've never been someone who makes it my objective to go out and pick up chicks. But I've met some fantastic ladies here. You know those amazing conversations where you find yourself in a café talking until 2 a.m. and never see them again."

Well, I guess that settles that!

With the CW set to launch the new "90210," SOAPnet is airing a 24-hour marathon of the original "Beverly Hills 90210" series on Monday, Sept. 1 starting at midnight.

Twenty-four "pivotal" episodes have been selected and I thought I'd pick out the ones I'd want to see the most:

12AM - Episode #1991-Pilot A - "Pilot-Part 1/The Class of Beverly Hills" - Twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh move to Beverly Hills where they start school at West Beverly and go to their first party. (Season 1)

1AM - Episode #1991-Pilot B - "Pilot-Part 2/The Class of Beverly Hills" - Brenda's romance with an older man causes problems at home and at school. (Season 1)

5AM - Episode #1991-021 -"Spring Dance" - At the big spring dance, Kelly brings Brandon and is crowned Queen; Brenda leaves with Dylan and sleeps with him for the first time; Steve takes Donna, but it doesn't go well. (Season 1)
10AM - Episode #1992-049 - "Wedding Bell Blues" - The Walshes are furious when they realize Brenda lied and ran off to Mexico with Dylan, especially Jim who forbids her from seeing him. Kelly's pleasantly surprised when Jake shows up at Jackie and Mel's wedding. (Season 2)

12PM - Episode #1993-054 - "Shooting Star / American in Paris" - Even after David catches them kissing, Dylan and Kelly end up spending a romantic night on the beach together; Meanwhile, in Paris, Brenda pretends she's French when she meets a handsome American student (Dean Cain). (Season 3)

3PM - Episode #1993-068 - "Back In the Highlife Again" - Dylan tells Kelly that he chooses her over Brenda, and they kiss in the pool. They then break the news to Brenda and she takes it badly. (Season 3)

8PM - Episode #1994-081 - "The Little Fish" - The gang starts to adjust to college life - except for Brenda and Dylan, who have both given up on school for now and spend some quality time together. (Season 4)

11PM - Episode #1994-109B - "Mr. Walsh Goes To Washington - Part 2" - Kelly surprises Brandon in Washington; Donna catches David cheating; Brenda shares a special goodbye with Dylan before heading to London. (Season 4)

Neil Patrick Harris is really in demand and I'd like to think it's not only because he's super talented, but also because he's super gay..

I'm not sure what that means but I guess what I mean is that since he came out as a gay man two years ago, he's just gotten to be a bigger and bigger star. He and Sarah Chalke have been tapped to host the 2008 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy® Awards on Saturday, September 13 from the NOKIA Theatre it was announced Thursday.

That's the show a week before the regular Emmys when they award the guest acting trophies and the reality show prizes, among others. This is the ceremony where, last year, Kathy Griffin told Jesus to "suck it...this award kis my God now."

Here's the bio that came with the press release: Neil Patrick Harris received his second Primetime Emmy® nomination this year for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Barney Stinson on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother." A television favorite since his Golden Globe Award-nominated role in "Doogie Howser, M.D.," Harris has since firmly established himself in all mediums. On the stage, he most recently starred in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Other recent theater credits include star-turns in the London musical production of Jonathan Larson's "Tick, Tick...Boom," the Tony Award-winning musical "Assassins," "Cabaret" and "Proof." Harris' additional television credits include the series "Stark Raving Mad," "Will & Grace," "NUMB3RS," the mini-series "Joan of Arc," and the CBS television movie "The Christmas Blessing." Harris' film work began with "Clara's Heart," and includes the recent release "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay."

What a stud!

Love, love, love the new People Magazine with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi's wedding featured. There is an interview with the brides inside and they were each asked when they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
Portia: "Instantly."
Ellen: "The first time I ever saw her. We both knew when we met each other. We each knew each other for three years before we actually got together. The timing wasn;t right."
Portia: "When I met her, I just was so attracted to her and just wanted to be around her, but I was at a different stage. The scared stage, I was on 'Ally McBeal' and I couldn't imagine living as an openly gay woman. And to be with Ellen that meant that I would have to overcome a lot of my fears. So a few years passed and I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me again. She's everything to me."

Jason O'Mara wanted to make one thing clear: he's not changing his haircut for his new ABC series "Life On Mars."

Even though his character of NYPD Det. Sam Tyler finds himself sent back to 1973 when he's hit by a car while chasing down a criminal, Jason didn't go for a retro look. After all, Sam had been living in 2008 until his little accident.

"I don't think it's really necessary to do anything to my hair," the actor told me recently.

I guess a bad 70s hairdo ("Mod Squad" anyone?) wouldn't be so good for ratings. One thing the Irish-born actor is trying to do though is work on an accent for the series, based on the British hit of the same name.

"I'm gonna try and give it sort of a New York flavor. That's very difficult to do, to do a subtle New York accent," he said. "It's easier to do Italian or something very specific."
On the show, Sam is trying to understand what has just happened to him and figure out how he can get back to the present day.

Meanwhile, he doesn't know who to trust and is, of course, without any hi-tech crime fighting techniques.So what would Jason miss the most is he really was transported back to the 70s

"Well, I would certainly miss the Internet, iPods, my DVR, microwave oven and cell phones of course," he said.
The Irish-born actor is no stranger to television audiences after roles as a regular or guest star on a number of series including "The Closer," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI: Miami" and "Criminal Minds." He was part of the cast of "The Agency" on CBS and co-lead of "In Justice" on ABC and did several pilots that didn't make it on the air.

"I've been working with ABC for the last four years and this is kind of the culmination of a lot of that work."

The series doesn't premiere until early October but in recent weeks, the promos featuring Jason have hit the airwaves.

"This is a new deal for me, I've never had a fall launch like this," he said. "We're the only ABC fall drama so there's a lot of pressure so, it's very exciting."

Jason has lived in the U.S. for the last six years where he has consistently worked. He has a home in a small town in Connecticut with actress wife Paige Turco and their young son David. Paige, who Jason met when both were regulars on the CBS drama "The Agency," is currently one of the stars of the FX drama "Damages."
The couple's main priority right now is "trying to stay in the same city" as they juggle busy acting careers.

Here's another Olympics-related picture I've meant to post during The Games. I met five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comăneci and her husband Bart Conner, a gold medalist himself from the 1984 Games. A few years after this picture was taken (I think it was snapped 2004), the couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Dylan Paul Conner, on June 3, 2006.

How cool is this?

I just found out that Chad Allen is going to appear in at least three episodes of "General Hospital: Night Shift."

Chad, who's long-awaited movie "Save Me" and latest Donald Strachey flick come out in a few weeks, will play Eric Whitlow on the SOAPnet series with his first appearance coming on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

In storyline, Eric is introduced as a patient in need of a liver transplant. First-year resident Kyle Julian (Adam Grimes) will help Eric's family find a suitable donor, while developing a relationship with him in the process.

Love it!

"We're delighted to have Chad join our show because, not only is he a remarkable actor, he's also an amazing activist. For years I have been inspired by Chad and welcome the honesty and authenticity that he will bring to our show," said head writer Sri Rao.

I. Can't Wait.

The Advocate will go from being a twice-weekly publication to a monthly one, the new editor Jon Barrett confirmed at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's LGBT Media Summit in Washington, D.C.

"I don't think there is a need for a biweekly magazine anymore with the Web," Barrett said. "We will have more room for bigger stories and we're going to get better writers....You will see more news in the magazine."

Barrett's first issue is the one currently on newsstands that features a cover story about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Here is an excerpt that is relevant to the debate that's been going on this week on this blog:

His promises to gay people -- full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, a reversal of "don't ask, don't tell," immigration rights for same-sex couples, a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to federal hate-crimes laws -- go further than any presidential nominee in history.

Marriage marks the limit of Obama's courage. He supports civil unions, believes marriage rights are best granted by the states, and asserts that he believes "marriage is between a man and a woman" -- the phrase that's been honed by conservative opponents of marriage equality.

His stance on marriage is the one crashingly false note in his message to gay voters. It is difficult to understand his position as anything but calculated dissembling. Rick Garcia of Equality Illinois says, "I wish he was being brave and bold and doing the right thing, but it's his campaign's and his determination that it would not be helpful or beneficial when running for president of the United States at this particular time. I don't think he can risk any position other than the one he's taken."

Tracy Baim of Windy City Times observes that in Obama's most recent book, "he talks about a lesbian asking his position on marriage. He says, 'I might be on the wrong side of history....' Anybody who says that is self-aware enough to know that they in fact are on the wrong side of history."

Baim remembers pushing Obama in an interview to explain what she calls his "basic hypocrisy" on the issue: "I could sense someone who was trying to be practical and not treat it emotionally. I sat there and said, 'I don't have the same rights as you.' And he said, 'You're not going to get them right away, but here's what is possible.' That kind of equivocation can drive an activist crazy, but his job as a politician is to be practical."

Here is a LINK to the complete cover story by Michael Joseph Gross.

The 8-time Gold Medalist, Michael Phelps, on a box of Corn Flakes. Pretty cool. I grew up in a big family (six kids) and we always had boxers of Corn Flakes, Wheaties and Cherrios in our cupboard. Sweet cereals like Cap'n Crunch? Never. That could be why when I went away to college, I'd have Cap'n Crunch (w/crunch berries) at least a few times a week at the Dining Commons.

I haven't had the chance to blog about yesterday's episode but wanted to post the clips for ya...

Neal McDonough fans who miss seeing the former "Boomtown" star on television each week can celebrate: Neal has joined the cast of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" as Nicolette Sheridan's love interest.

"It's like Disneyland, it's the happiest place on Earth," he said of the "Housewives" set. "Nicolette is terrific, she's great. It's just this great cast."

Neal had not done a steady television gig since the cancellation of NBC's "Medical Investigation" in 2005. Instead, he was busy making movies including "Flags of Our Fathers," "88 Minutes" and "The Hitcher."

"I was traveling everywhere, I wanted to see my wife and kids," Neal said during a recent chat. "I was about to go off again and ('Desperate Housewives' creator) Marc Cherry and said, 'How'd you like to be the new guy?' It's just a lot of fun and it's nice to drive 3.5 miles to work, get home and kiss my wife."

Edie Brit (Sheridan) has has been unlucky in love on "Housewives" but in Neal's character of Dave, she finally seems to have found the perfect man.
Or so she thinks.

"There's definitely a past to the guy that no one else knows about and he's hell-bent on revenge as the year goes on," Neal said. "The audiences is gonna like this."

While Neal makes his debut on the show next month, fans can see him even sooner than that because his latest film, "Traitor," hits theaters Wednesday.

It's an espionage thriller that also stars Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce and Jeff Daniels.

"To work with Don and Guy and Jeff, those guys are fantastic," he said. "It's a very smart, entertaining film. This is one of those smart thrillers where you will never guess what's going on. If you can guess, you are pretty amazing. It's just really layered and that's what I like about it. It was one of those characters that was just right for me."
So what would Neal consider to be a "just right" character?

"I generally play those hardened tough-as-nails type of guys, I think that's what I am," he said. "Lee Marvin, John Wayne kinds of guys, not a lot of BS about us. We like to get to the bottom of situations, not dance around issues. These are the kinds of characters I like."

In "Traitor," Neal plays FBI agent Max Archer who he said "fights his way through to get answers."

Neal, 42, was trained at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts and Sciences and was a busy theater actor but soon began landing guest spots on various television series including "NYPD Blue," "Quantum Leap" and "Murder One." His first significant film role came in 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact" which was a dream come true for a life-long fan of the franchise.

"I get a kick out of watching myself on screen," he admitted. "I'm so blessed to have the career and the life I have."

We used to have so much fun talking about what a beeeyotch Brenda Walsh was back in the day. This would be the early 90s. Above is a new promo of Shannen Doherty, the reason I want to check out the new "90210" (Well, that and hunky Rob Estes, of course)

Here;'s an item I wrote about it for my column in today's Daily News:
Brenda and Kelly back in the 90210

"Beverly Hills 90210" stars Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth are working together again on the CW's new "90210," reprising their old roles of Brenda Walsh and Kelly Taylor.

There was no love lost between the two actresses during the latter years of working together in the mid-90s so it would have been fun to be a fly on the wall when they reunited on the set.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Jennie said in the new issue of TV Guide. "I'm not much of a small talker and I don't think she is either. I was a little nervous because I hadn't seen or talked to her in 14 years. Everyone was making it out to be such a big deal that I think we both fell prey to having that affect us."

Considering they once had an on-set fistfight, it must have come as a relief when they greeted each other with a quick hug and a hello.

"I think it will be OK," Jennie said. "We're both grown women, both professionals. Once we were working, it felt like a good fit."

But there is one disappointment: a third original cast member, Tori Spelling, dropped out of the show, reportedly because she was not being paid as much as Shannen and Jennie.

"I know that Shannen probably doesn't share the same feelings that I have for Tori,' Jennie said. "But I love Tori like my sister."

Wow!
Misty May-Trainor and Kerry Walsh won the gold medal in beach volleyball in pouring rain to become the first team to ever successfully defend their Olympic title (they won in Athens four years ago). These are two amazing athletes who were an absolute joy to watch.

I got completely hooked on women's beach volleyball during these Olympics because of this team and saw every single one of their matches. They had great attitudes and showed such heart as they took down team after team - including China in the final.

"I'm so glad it's over," Kerry said after. "I'm the happiest girl in the world."

I've twice this week expressed my dismay over Barack Obama's comments Saturday in Orange County on gay marriage. He said he believes "marriage is between a man and a woman." For me, it was a throw us under the bus moment and it hurt me deeply. Does that mean I want John McCain to win in November? Heck no! And I'm not basing my vote in November on a single issue. But I have no regrets over voicing my disgust at hearing those words come out of his mouth the way that they did at this time in our history. To make it worse, he said it in California where we have a very important vote this November to protect our right to marry.

I appreciate all of the readers who took the time to write such long and thoughtful comments - even if some of them felt that I should keep my big mouth shut! I wanted to highlight some of them in this post - excellent points made by all.

From Scott: Greg, I really love your column, but I have to say that I think you're using a double standard here. If Hillary were the nominee, she would be staking out the exact same position as Obama (that is -- support for civil unions, but not for same-sex marriage). Yet, something tells me you would be able to overlook that -- or at least put it in better perspective -- if it were Hillary saying it. Make no mistake, Hilly would adopt this same position. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. Also, implying Obama would not congratulate Ellen & Portia on their marriage is simply too much. You're taking what is a political reality (which is that a Presidential candidate cannot be pro-gay marriage right now) and then smearing him as a bigot. You also are overlooking the fact that he supports the full repeal of DOMA (Hillary only supported a partial repeal); supports the passage of ENDA and hate crimes legislation to include sexual orientation and gender identity; believes gay and lesbians should have the same rights to adopt children; and supports the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But the critical tone of your post doesn't make any mention of these facts, and how he is miles away better than the alternative. Finally, I think there's a heck of a lot more at stake this election cycle than gay rights. I'm a gay man and a huge gay rights advocate, but to me the economy, the environment, and healthcare are my top 3 issues. This is an extraordinarily important election. We live in a complex and increasingly turbulent world, and given that it strikes me as myopic to base one's vote on a single issue.

From Peter: To me the telling thing about Obama not really being against gay marriage, (as nearly every politician is) it's that he keeps saying that it is up to the states and he will not stand in the way of any state making it legal. Nationally we would also have to get rid of the Defense of Marriage Act first, which is something Obama has repeatedly said he wants to pass legisation overturning. That would be any first step in the process of making gay marriage legal nationally.

From Doug: do you really expect a candidate running for president of the U.S. to say that they are PRO gay marriage? Really? That is incredibly naive. Clearly it would put the issue even MORE in the spotlight and be yet another way for McCain to clobber Obama. Face it, the majority of this country is NOT cool with gay marriage at this point and NO successful national candidate is going to be elected to office with a pro-gay marriage stance. I am relieved he is diffusing this hot-button issue with a middle of the road response. The less an issue this is the better. Let's say for a second he was PRO gay marriage. That would energize the far right even more to get out and vote this November--thus ensuring that Prop 8 would pass and kill marriage rights. Think about this very carefully, politically, strategically. That said Obama clearly is not going to nominate supreme court judges from the moral majority right wing. Your "disappointment" is understandable. It would be great if we lived in a country that is open minded and less simple-minded than it is. But this is America, land of they hypocrites who go to church on sunday and celebrate the myth of the ideal family, but surf porn on monday. Who divorce at alarming rates, but look poorly on people who divorce. Who have children with no parenting skills whatsoever, yet deny adoption rights to willing and capable gay parents. Yes, you move in liberal hollywood circles interviewing mostly liberal talent and it is easy to forget that the rest of the country is not like you. At all. Don't forget the sad scary reality that middle america calls the shots on who gets elected at the end of the day and the last thing we need is a liberal core base standing on the sidelines being critical of the democratic nominee. We need to unite with the common cause to keep McCain out of office this fall!

From Eric: To answer the question "do you really expect a candidate running for president of the U.S. to say that they are PRO gay marriage? " Yes! Absolutely! And yes I have thought about this very carefully, politically, strategically. You want to talk about naive? Naive are the lap dogs that give a free pass to politicians to allow continued discrimination against gays, regardless of party, because they live in fear of backlash Naive are those that think the Democrats really want to actually help gays. People thought that with Bill Clinton and we got "Don't ask, don't tell" and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, and an angry finger wag when gays questioned him on it. Now the Democratic party is weakening the 2008 party platform on gay issues over that of 2004. A national strategy on combating HIV/AIDS,well,that too is now off the platform. The Republicans may not like gays, but the Democrats want gay money, then for us to go back in the closet and shut up. Neither party has the guts to stand up and do whats right. This is "Out in Hollywood", not "Hide in the Closet Hollywood". What is more disappointing than Obama's comments are some gays that think that just accepting that no mainstream candidate wants to support gay issues will somehow advance equality. Gays needs to quit being fearful of losing ground. If not now, then when. When the 2012 elections come along, some will say, lets wait another cycle for gay issues, then another cycle, and so on. Yes, there will ups and downs. There will be defeats. But think of all those who fought for gay rights when times were much less favorable than they are now. The only way to change the political landscape in a gay favorable way is to fight and demand equal rights of all elected officials without compromise. Every year that goes by is a year lost. Candidates from either party can overcome this issue if they are in touch with Americans on other issues (which the two current major candidates are not). Don't let the efforts of those who fought the good fight before be in vain. Let it be known that this is one voting block that will not be taken for granted. If you don't, there will be no real change.

Heuy, I was watchning the men's gymnastics last night and I didn't see THIS! It's an innocent hug between German gymnast Fabien Hambuechen (bronze medalist) and American silver medalist Jonathan Horton after the horizontal bar apparatus finals. But it looks like they're gonna kiss and go show each olther their medals somewhere more private.

Horton is a real cutie pie but I got a little annoyed (I'm such a grump!) that he kept talking into the camera. Sorry, it just got on my nerves.

But I'm happy for his well-deserved silver medal and the USA team bronze and admire Jonathan's positive attitude.

Picture via Towleroad

There is a terrific interview with Peter Paige on the Queerty site today. This is a guy who should be getting a lot more attention. I'll share a few things I found interesting but when you have time, do go over to Queerty and read "Peter Paige Opens Up, Lets it Out" it in its entirety.
On the presidential race: I'm supporting (Barack) Obama, although some of his answers about same-sex marriage of late have not sat well with me. What's worse is, I don't believe him. I think his real opinions are much closer to mine. But he's trying to win an election by being "centrist." At the expense of my rights.

On his role models growing up: "Billie Jean King. Martina (Navratilova). Lots of lesbians, apparently. I also admired really strong, talented entertainers. But I didn't really see any gay men in the media that I wanted to emulate. I didn't see many, period. I mean, growing up I never saw a guy who made me think, "Wow, this is what I want my life to be like."

On how being an out actor has affected his career: I don't want this to sound bitter or resigned, but honestly, yes. I think the combination of me playing the gayest character in the gayest show on television ("Queer as Folk") and being an openly gay actor has made it really difficult for a lot of people in the industry to consider me in other types of roles.

On paying that price: Oh yeah, it's totally worth it. I think it is so important to have unapologetic images out there in the media. It's such a great thing for the younger gay generation to be able to see images of themselves on television in shows like Queer as Folk, on the internet, and in the media in general. I think it's really important to feel validated and represented in that way, and I'm glad that I can be seen not only as an openly gay character, but also as an openly gay actor. I didn't have any of that growing up. But thank God I'm having a really satisfying career as a writer and a director. If I didn't, I might be sitting around waiting for the phone to ring!

Thanks to reader Terry Cromwell, I now have the identity of the actor who has just joined "As the World Turns" as the potential love interest of Luke's grandmother Lucinda. He, of course, is the very handsome - and ageless - Laurence Lau who I never, ever forgot as Greg from "All My Children" so many years ago.

Here is what Terry wrote about him: Yep, that's Laurence Lau, who played Greg to Kim Delaney's Jenny - one of All My Children's most popular couple ever. He returned to the show earlier this year for a handful of episodes sans Delaney who's character is dead. Delaney moved on to prime-time television; He moved on to play Jaime Frame on the now-defunct Another World, opposite Anne Heche, who too went on to prime time glory (and temporary/occasional insanity).
He then moved on to One Life To Live, replacing Kale Brown (who played his father in law on Another World) in the role of Sam Rapapport. But don't be fooled by his youthful good looks, Lau, who looks a radiant mid-forties is actually ten years older. So while I find the matching of he and Lucinda a little jarring, the age distance between he and Hubbard (who portrays Lucinda on ATWT) is smaller than it might appear. Now Lau hasn't just done daytime television. Before his stint on AMC, he appeared on such shows as Eight Is Enough and The Waltons, and later on such shows as Jag, Martial Law and Law and Order. Lets hope Lau will stick around Oakdale for a while.
Here is a video tribute of Laurence's "All My Children" days:

This one is a hoot: it's with Anne Heche...

And finally, here is a video of some of his prime-tine performances:

In a blog post titled "Just Married," Ellen DeGeneres writes about getting married to Portia de Rossi on Saturday. There are some jokes, of course: "I had a big, big weekend. I got married to Portia de Rossi! Sorry, John Stamos... this one's taken."

,"The wedding was everything we hoped it could be," Ellen wrote. "I wish I could've invited all of you. But I have some pictures and video I can show you when Season 6 starts on September 8. I can't wait to see them too... it was all a blur. See you then."

"Blissfully yours, The just married Mrs. DeGeneres."

Molly Shannon in a new TV comedy?

I'm so there!

This "Saturday Night Live" alum is an absolute riot and will be playing Selma Blair's mother in the NBC comedy "Kath and Kim" which premieres this fall. It is based on a popular Australian comedy of the same name.

"It's really fun to play a character and it's fun to be different from yourself," she told me recently. "I even wear a wig."

The wig is to help the audience believe that Molly, who turns 44 next month - and is mother to two young children in real life - is old enough to play mother to Selma who is 36.

But hey, it worked for the late Estelle Getty on "The Golden Girls." She was actually a year younger than her TV daughter Beatrice Arthur.

What really worried Molly the most were inevitable comparisons to the original "Kath and Kim," a show about a dysfunctional mother and daughter, living in a suburban community in Florida.

"It's a little hard because I'm such a big fan of the Australian version so I get a little nervous thinking, 'Oh God I could never imitate that,'" she said. "A couple of years ago, they did a version of the script with a different writer and they came to me with it. I didn't like the writing so much. Then they brought in a new writer and came back to me a year later and I really liked this new version."\

This marks the first TV series Molly has headlined since 2004's "Cracking Up" which lasted just nine episodes. She's confident things will go better this time around.
"It's just such an opportunity," she said. "Just to be in this position where the network's excited about the show, we're picked up for 13 (episodes). I just feel so grateful for that."
"There's so much you can't control in TV, I just try to have fun and enjoy the people that I'm working with. But of course I hope it does well."
Even though Molly left "SNL" in 2001, her characters remain fresh in the minds of fans - none more than the neurotic and melodramatic Catholic school girl Mary Katherine Gallagher who ended up being the central character in the spinoff movie "Superstar."
Her guest spots have also lived on including the "Seinfeld" episode on which she plays Sam, a co-worker who drive Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) bonkers because she didn't swing her arms when she walked.

And, of course, there was her recurring role on "Will & Grace" as loony neighbor Val who became the nemesis of Grace (Debra Messing).

"People love that show," she said of 'Will & Grace." "I only did a few episodes and people act like they saw me so much on that."

That's because she was so unforgettable.

I'm a little bummed that the charming and talented Christopher Gorham would not be returning to "Ugly Betty" as a regular this fall. He had proposed marriage to Betty in the season finale - the same episode where another suitor with less baggage (Chris' character, Henry, just had a child with another woman) asked her to take off with him to Italy.

Betty chose Italy.

"The show got us together then had to think of ways to keep us apart," Chris told TV Guide's William Keck.

But Keck reports that Chris has landed on his feet with a role on the CBS show "Harper's Island" which is a mid-season replacement series. He plays a dashing groom named Henry Dunn whose friends gather on an island for the wedding. They start getting killed, one by one.

Gorham is never at a loss for work with such series as "Popular," "Medical Investigation" and "Out Of Practice" on his resume. The problem is, they are all very good shows that don't seem to last long enough. "Betty" was the exception and now he's off it.

Whatever. I'd watch him in anything.

The US Open begins in NYC on Monday. I'm rooting for Roger Federer and Venus Williams to take the titles. But I also want American Robby Ginepri to do well! He's among the best eye candy in the game. He won a match Tuesday at the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament, the final chance for players to g et match play in before the last of the year's big four tournaments begins.

Cynthia Nixon says in the cuirrent issue of People magazine that she would have never have known that she had breast cancer had she not had a mammogram every year since she was 35. Something small was detected and doctors said,. "We wouldn't think anything of it except it wasn't there last year." If they didn't have the previous year's to compare it to, they might have missed it.

Still, the "Sex and the City" star was not worried: "The doctors said, 'The chances of this turning into anything really frightening are quite small.' And my mother had been disagnosed almost 30 years before and she's perfectly healthy."

But her girlfriend, Christine Marinoni, was very scared: "Christine was the one with the tears. To her, cancer sounded like, 'Oh! She's gonna die!' What turned her around was calling my surgeon. He talked to her about statistics and said, 'Don't worry, this is totally treatable.' I even had my kids (Samantha, 11 and Charles, 5) go in and speak to him. I told them, 'This is what grandma had. It's gonna be fine.'"

Young love...so sweet. These are the Luke and Noah scenes from yesterday and they are actually all upbeat - no downers for once. The boys meet with Luke's cool grandma Lucinda and a good looking guy who is going to be the administrator of Luke's non-profit. The actor looks very familiar. I think he played Greg on "All My Children" many moons ago.

Anyway, he is hot for Lucinda and they go to dinner and he maies her dance then Luke and Noah walk and they dance. It's fun stuff.

Barack Obama may believe that marriage "is between a man and a woman," anyone who sees a copy of next week's issue of People Magazine can see that it is not. It is between two people who love each other.

Obama's comments over the weekend still deeply disappoint me. Frankly, it makes me sick and not want to vote for him. But this post was meant to be about Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. The fact is, Ellen is one of the most popular entertainers in America, beloved and respected. She's hosted the Oscars, won countless Emmys and has millions of people watching her on television every day. She got married last weekend and I love to see that People magazine is treating it like it would any other big celebrity wedding - which it is.

If Obama is elected (I'm sure I'll vote for him because the alternative is dreadful), I wonder if he'll invite Ellen and Portia to a White House state dinner and I wonder if he would congratulate them on their marriage.

Awesome!!! Just awesome...But Mark Spitz's similar pose gets higher marks. Why? Because the medals are on chains and that allows us to see more of his body!

When you see Hart Bochner on the new USA network series "The Starter Wife" this fall, you might not immediately place him.

But then it will come to you: He was the sleazy businessman in the first "Die Hard" movie, Jacqueline Bisset's (and then Meg Ryan's) lover in "Rich and Famous," the killer in the cult fave "Apartment Zero" and the lead in the 1988 miniseries "War and Remembrance."

But there are huge gaps in the handsome actor's on-screen résumé.

"I stopped acting for a long time because I started directing in the early '90s, which is what I always wanted to do," he explained when we chatted recently. "Then I realized I missed acting and that I was still capable enough to exploit it."

"Wife," which stars Debra Messing and Judy Davis, originated as a miniseries in 2007 and proved so popular that USA ordered it as a series. Hart plays Zach McNeill, who becomes romantically entangled with Messing's character when he teaches her writing class.

"Wife" marks the first time he has taken on a role as a regular on a television series, and he seems very happy to have taken the series plunge.

"I'm having a blast," he said. "I honestly am having the time of my life. Every day I think to myself, I feel so lucky and I hope this goes forever."

Still, he wants to direct again. Hart's efforts behind the camera include the comedies "PCU," starring Jeremy Piven, and "High School High," and he wrote, directed and produced the 2007 romantic comedy "Just Add Water."

It sounds like he's willing to wait awhile, though. "People in the television business are much nicer than people in the movie business. They need product so the tendency is to say yes. The movie business got difficult and money is so tight that it's easier to say no and for an executive not to put themselves out on the line."

Online bonus: Hart has aged very well. But boy, he was basically the sexiest man alive in "apartment Zero." I found a few scenes of him and Colin Firth that are very homoerotic...

A series of beefcake shots of Bochner after the jump!

Tennis star Rafael Nadal, now number one in the world, should greatly enhance the sex appeal and the marketability of his sport...

By this time, I've interviewed so many famous people that I rarely get nervous about it. But today, I got nervous.

At 12:15 p.m. PST, I called Yoko Ono at her home in The Dakota for a column I'm doing on John Lennon's artwork which is going to be on exhibition next month in SoCal. I'll post the finished column in a few weeks but wanted to give you guys a little preview.

Yoko was a little more open than I thought she'd be and actually very easy to talk to. My nerves were gone about 30 seconds into the interview.. We started out by talking about Lennon's artwork:

"He was just being himself and himself was a guy who had an incredible sense of humor. It wasn't about trying not trying to impress critics, he was just having fun doing it and it shows. People who see his work, the first thbing they do is smile or laugh. There's a warmth to his work. At a gallery, usually you see work that is very serious, there's a lack of a sense of humor in art world."

Yoko is 75 years old. You would not think so by looking at photos of her or seeing her on television. I wondered what the secret was to her fountain of youth:

"I have no idea, I'm just very lucky. I think it has a lot to do with the way I think about things. There was a time when I was really feeling bad, the fact that John passed away. But I thought, 'I have to not drown in this. I'm a mother. I think I have to stay alive for Sean."

And how is her son, musician Sean Lennon, doing these days?

"Sean is very well," Yoko said. "At one time he wasn't, he was feeling so bad about the fact that his father is so big and it was difficult for him. But now he's got his own gig and he's happy about it."

We know that plenty of the 10,500 athletes participating in this year's Olympic Games are gay but only 10 of them - including just one man - are willing to say so publicly.

Outsports.com said Australian diver Matthew Mitcham is the only out man. He said he just wanted to be known as a successful Australian diver and argued that his homosexuality should not be an issue: "It's everybody else who thinks it's special when homosexuality and elite sport go together," he said.

The out lesbians are: Judith Arndt (Germany, cycling), Imke Duplitzer (Germany, fencing), Gro Hammerseng and Katja Nyberg (Norway, handball and a lesbian couple), Natasha Kai (U.S., soccer), Lauren Lappin (U.S., softball); Victoria "Vickan" Svensson (Sweden, soccer); Rennae Stubbs (Australia, tennis) and Linda Bresonik (Germany, soccer).

I guess Ellen and Portia won't be getting a wedding gift from Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama. He said over the weekend that "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman...I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage, but I do believe in civil unions."

I'm not gonna be knee-jerk because this position is no surprise. But hearing him say it causes me to be very angry and disappointed all over again. Does he believe in equal rights for all or not?

I know you can't wait to see Shannen Dougherty back as Brenda Walsh on the new "90210." Getting her back in that role is a real coup for this updated version of one of my 90s faves. Also nice to have Jennie Garth back. It's a pity Tori Spelling dropped out (money issues) but of the three, she's probably the one we can do without.

Anyway, there will be no early peaks at the show which usually means disaster but the network says they have "made the strategic marketing decision not to screen "90210" for any media in advance of its premiere. We're not hiding anything . . . simply keeping a lid on 90210 until 9.02, riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night, and letting all our constituents see it at the same time."

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt because I think this new show could be lotsa fun!

...watching reruns of "I Love Lucy." listening to The Beatles, looking at pictures of Matthew McConaughey at the beach...

Sorry for the lack of posts this morning. I've got tons coming though. I was watching the Olympics last night (what else?) and when the men's gymnastics was on (sigh...) it reminded me that I had been meaning to post this picture taken a few years back of me and 2004 all-around champion Paul Hamm who, unfortunately, was not able to compete this year because of a badly injured hand. His twin brother, Morgan Hamm, also had to drop out. But the team still managed to win a bronze medal.

Congratulations to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi who were married Saturday at their home in Los Angeles home before 19 of their family and friends. What a beautiful thing...

What a way to begin his reign as the number one player in the world (starting tomorrow). Rafael Nadal won the Olympic gold medal in men;s singles to go along with his Wimbledon and French Open titles. Maybe he'll leave the US Open, which begins next week, for Roger Federer. But I wouldn't get against those biceps!

Joan Baez has one of the most beautiful voices in the universe and I am a huge fan of hers. Here are sone videos of her singing some of ny favorites. Above is the gorgeous 1975 hit "Diamonds and Rust' which she also wrote. Below is her more recently singing "Forever Young."

What a feat! Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games, eclipsing Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games.

I got a little weepy when, after getting his gold, Phelps climbed through a horde of photographers to give his mother and two sisters a kiss. He gave his mom the bouquet of roses he got during the medal ceremony.

After the race he said: "Nothing is impossible. With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that's something I learned and something that helped me."

Phelps won three relays in Beijing along with five individual races.

"Without the help of my teammates this isn't possible," he said. "I was able to be a part of three relays and we were able to put up a solid team effort and we came together as one unit. For the three Olympics I've been a part of, this is by far the closest men's team that we've ever had. I didn't know everybody coming into this Olympics, but I feel going out I know every single person very well. The team that we had is the difference."

I'm not gonna lie, Madonna leaves me absolutely cold.

But she's a gay icon who deserves some repsect on her 50th birthday and I'm gonna pay her some. This year, she was not only inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (pictured, left) but she surpassed Elvis Presley to achieve the most top 10 hits in the rock era. "4 Minutes" was her 37th top 10 hit.

She's been a cultural lightning rod for about 25 years now and while her music and movies have never really appealed to me much (except for 'Evita'), I have great respect for someone who has managed to stay on top for so long and who remains relevant and interesting to her audience.

Happy Birthday to the Material Girl...

Here is a clip from "Evita" with Madonna singing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"

...Shawn Pyfrom who plays Andrew Van de Kamp on "Desperate Housewives."

The talented young actor turns 22 today and for four seasons now, has been one of network television's few gay characters to be a series regular.

Andrew's best seasons were in year one and two when he was a sociopathic teen terror with a libido. But in season three, he was defanged and curiously relegated to second-rate status without a storyline of his own. It's been a disservice to the character and the actor and I hope that in season five - with Andrew now working as his mother's assistant - he'll see more interesting storylines.

But, I won't hold my breath.

Wow! Imagine if Novak Djokovic had won the GOLD medal in Olympic tennis? He won the bronze over American James Blake and just ripped his shirt right off his body!

I found it to be quite hot.

After the match and the shirt-ripping, Novak said: "I think I've motivated myself a lot with this bronze medal. ... Right now I just want to think about my medal and enjoy it, celebrate it, because I've put a lot of effort in it. And then, of course, we don't have much time for celebrations because the fourth and last Grand Slam of this year comes in a week time where I have to be well, so I can get really far."

Meanwhile, Roger Federer had some celebrating of his own to do because he and his Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal in doubles on Saturday!

For a man with five Wimbledons and four US Opens among his career titles, there is little left to accomplish. But Federer had never won at the Olympics and after losing in the singles, it looked like he never would. But the team surprised everyone - including themselves - with a victory over Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden. The score was 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
Hopefully this is a turning point in what has been a frustrating year for Roger. He lost in the finals of both Wimbledon and the French Open to Rafael Nadal and on Monday, Nadal takes away his number one ranking as well after a 4 1/2-year reign.

But history has shown that there is no more motivated player than a former number one who is still young (Roger just turned 27) and feels they have something to prove.

"Sort of a dream-come-true moment," Federer said. "Maybe it comes around once in a lifetime. It's almost disbelief, to some degree."

The top video is a Broadway tribute to Rosie as part of her final episode of "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." Below is a video montage of her guests through the years... I really wish Rosie would put together a DVD boxed set of the show's great moments. Oprah Winfrey did it, Merv Griffin did it, Johnny Carson made an industry out of it. C'mon Rosie!

Bonus: Rosie and Bette Midler on the show...

My friends Michael and Ted and I flipped on the Olympics after sharing some Chinese take-out last night to catch Michael Phelps win his record-tying seventh gold medal. He's awesome, we know that, and to win the seventh by such a close margin made it that much more sweet.

Our conversation soon turned to Mark Sptiz and something we don't think has been discussed enough: when Spitz won his seven golds in 1972, he was HOT! Even the 70s mustache doesn't detract from the fact that he was movie star handsome. Even though his record could be broken by Phelps if the US wins another relay, all of the attention has brought sio much renewed attention to Spitz's accomplishments and you are reminded of how amazing he was in the swimming pool.

Victor Garber is the rare performer who is so talented and versatile that he moves effortlessly between roles on television, in movies and on stage.

He's played both Jesus ("Godspell") and the Devil ("Damn Yankees"), been nominated for Tony Awards for both musicals and plays, played Jennifer Garner's dad for five seasons on "Alias" and Thomas Andrews in the 1997 film "Titanic."

Victor, still youthful-looking at 59, is now a part of one of the most unique shows on television: ABC's "Eli Stone." He plays an attorney Jordan Wethersby on the quirky comedy-drama that returns for a second season in October.

"I wasn't intending to go back to television but I really loved the script," Victor told me recently. "I read it and I thought, 'This is so great.' That's what inspires me to do anything - what's on the page. So I was very happy to get involved and it's turned out to be one of the best experiences I've had."

"Eli" stars Jonny Lee Miller in the title role, an attorney who starts seeing things, like George Michael singing in the firm's offices. His visions are due to a brain aneurism and result in him taking on cases for moral rather than financial reasons.

"He's seen something in Eli that has awakened something in him and that's such a wonderful thing to play," Victor said of his character. "He's sort of a reminder of who he used to be and I think that just continues this season."

Another thing that continues is that the characters occasionally break into song.
"I'm so happy to be used the way I'm used in this show because I get to do a lot of things," Victor said. "I was stunned when they threw 'Freedom' at me and 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.' I really didn't expect anything. Even though my background is Broadway pretty much and I used to be a folk singer, this was very, very different for me and I was very nervous. I'm just thrilled that they threw them at me and that I was able to pull them off on some level."

Victor, whose film debut came as the lead in 1973's feature film version of "Godspell," is back on the big screen this fall as murdered San Francisco Mayor George Mascone in "Milk."

The film stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the county supervised killed with Mascone by Dan White (Josh Brolin).

"It's an amazing project and I'm thrilled to be a part of it," he said. "I worked with Sean and Josh. It's a small part but I loved the experience and I love (director) Gus Van Sant. I think it will be a great movie."

Victor has remained close to his "Alias" co-star Garner and even officiated her wedding to Ben Affleck.

So how does the role on "Stone" compare to that of spy Jack Bristow on "Alias"?

"'Alias' was such a challenge in terms of being able to follow it," Victor admitted. "We used to joke about it all the time, delivering lines then I'd say, 'I have no idea what I'm talking about right now.' Fortunately the fans could explain it all to me when they'd run into me."

"I'm very lucky," he added. "I've had 'Alias' then 'Justice' which was short but I loved doing it and now this. I feel like I won the Lotto."

Here are some clips of Victor singing on the show:

Spanish hearthrob Rafael Nadal, who will become the number one player in the world next week, has clinched at least a silver medal by beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the Olympic semifinals.

On Sunday, Rafa faces Fernando Gonzalez of Chile who beat Roger Federer's conquerer James Blake earlier Friday. Djokovic and Blake will play for the bronze medal.

I haven't seen the match yet but AP describes the end this way: Nadal closed out his latest victory in dramatic fashion. On match point he scrambled to retrieve two overhead slams by Djokovic. When the flustered Serb shanked a third overhead, Nadal collapsed to the hard court in jubilation.

Meanwhile, here's some great news for my pal Henry: Roger Federer has salvaged his Olympics experience by making it to the gold medal round in doubles! Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka upset top-ranked American twins Bob and Mike Bryan and win a spot in the final. They collapsed to the ground in elation and hugged each other after beating the Bryan brothers 7-6 (6), 6-4.

"I'm very excited," Federer said. "Having beaten the best in the world and going for gold, it's an incredible scenario. This is a big moment in my career."

That is what US Weekly is reporting exclusively. If it's true, congratulations to these two talented and dynamic women who I greatly admire and am very happy for.

I say "if" because the memory of US Weekly editor Janice Min going on "The Today Show": to announce exclusively a few years back that Angelnia Jolie and Brad Pitt were gettoing married - or maybe it was Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. Anyway, she was dead WRONG!

So, if Ellen and Portia do get married, US Weekly will restore some of its credibility in the area of wedding announcements.

I'm a fricken mess this week! Sleep-deprived and all discombobulated. It's the damned Olympics. I was excited about the men's swimming events but somehow got completely absorbed in women's beach volleyball (Misty Mae-Trainor and Kerry Walsh) then the women's gymnastics all-around came on and forgetaboutit. I was up until 1:30 a.m.!

Was that exciting or WHAT? The medals were up in the air until the last rotation and you just held your breath through every routine. In the end, American Nastia Liukin edged her roomate and fellow American Shawn Johnson for the gold by the slimmest of margins. Shawn kinda scares me. She;s cute as a button but I just think she;s gonna need therapy down the line.

My latest Olympic crush, Ryan Lochte, may have lost the showdown with an awesone Michael Phelps Friday in the final of the 200 individual medley, but he did manage to win an individual gold of his own in the 200-metre backstroke on Friday, taking the race in a world-record one minute 53.94 seconds.

The final of the 200 individual medley came about an hour after the backstroke victory and he had to settle for the bronze as Phelps set his sixth world record in as many events at the Beijing Games.
This is kinda funny: Ryan won the 200 backstroke despite a problem with his LZR Racer suit, the state-of-the-art skin that has helped swimmers set a slew of records in Beijing.

"My suit came undone after the first 50," he said. "I was just trying to control my legs."

I can't believe I've never posted this commercial. I love it!

I love the ending of "The First Wives Club," don't you? Too bad they never made that once-planned sequel. Too bad Goldie Hawn doesn't seem to be making movies at all anymore. Miss her.

Hey, I didn't watch a single episode of Bravo's "Make Me A Supermodel" but I'm sure plenty of you did and want to know what Ronnie Kroell has to say about his bromance with fellow contestant Ben.

He's so good looking, apparently, that people are shocked that he has a brain inside his pretty head: "It's funny how many times I meet people, and I start to talk, actually having an in-depth conversation about politics or religion, and it takes them off guard," he says in the story. "I used to take it as an offense, but it's just the idea that's out there. People don't expect us to have brain cells I guess."

On his embarrassing first attempt to break into the modeling industry: "I had no clue about proper etiquette or dress when you're going into casting calls and go-sees. So little Ronnie at 15 got in his prom tuxedo and went into an open call. The agent was about ready to have a coronary laughing so hard at me!"

There is a little more depth in the mag's Soapbox feature which allows the wonderful Judith Light to make an intelligent, compassionate call to arms for the LGBT community:"I encourage the younger generation to know their history. What your people have done, who your friends and straight allies were. Know it so you can have real pride in your being: of who you are and where you came from," she says. "That's your family. I urge you to draw courage and power from it."

Remember the early days of Food Network? I sure do and one of my favorite shows was "Too Hot Tamales" featuring Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken whose restaurants include Border Grill in Santa Monica and Ciudad in downtown LA.
So I'm really excited that Susan, who is openly gay, is co-chair of an event I'm looking forward to attending on Saturday night: The LA Gay and Lesbian Center's 3rd Annual Simply diVine! Wine and Food Tasting and Auction.

It takes place at the Two Rodeo shopping district in the heart of Beverly Hills with participants including Paradigm Winery, Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery and Bernardus Winery. There are 12 restaurants providing food including AOC, Jar and The Grill on the Alley.

Susan is going to spice things up by cooking a coupla summer dishes: Peruvian cerviche and cochinita pibil tacos. Yum!

"Like Latin food, Simply diVine! is an event full of passion and delectable surprises," says Susan. "This passion radiates from the incredible work everyone at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center does to improve the lives of thousands of people in Los Angeles.

Susan been working like heck to promote the event and here is a link to a TV appearance she and Mary Sue made Thursday during which she makes the cerviche. Click HERE!

Go to www.lagaycenter.org/wine for tickets and more info!

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: I'm rooting against Michael Phelps tonight in the finals of the 200 inividual medley.

I'm not being anti-American or anything, it's just that I have really taken a liking to his U.S. teamate Ryan Lochte and would love to see Ryan take an individual gold at this Olympics.

If Ryan can win, he would spoil Phelps' mission to surpass the seven achieved by Mark Spitz in 1972. He has five so far. Last night, each won their respective semifinal but Ryan had an 0.01 second advantage over Phelps in terms of time. This one-two finish means they swim next to each other in the middle lanes in tonight's showdown.

Ryan also reached the 200 backstroke final and said: "Those (races) are tiring, but this is what I train for."

Citing "insifficient evidence, police in the UK said Thursday that Christian Bale will not face abuse charges related to the family feud that erupted the day before his "The Dark Knight" premiered in London last month.

His spokesperson released a statement saying the "American Psycho" star is relieved the situation is behind him.

I'll bet he is!

"Contrary to various press reports, Mr. Bale has not been cautioned or charged at all," his spokesperson Jennifer Allen says. "Mr. Bale considers this to be a deeply personal matter and would ask that the media respect both his and his family's privacy. At this time there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale."

ET.com posted this statement from a Crown Prosecution Service spokesman:"We can today confirm that we have advised the Metropolitan Police Service that the actor Christian Bale should not face any charges following an incident which occurred in relation to his mother and sister at the Dorchester hotel on 21 July this year.

"Whilst the CPS treats all incidents which take place in a domestic context seriously, it is important that the views of complainants are also taken into account when making decisions in such cases.

"Taking all the factors into consideration, the decision has been taken that there is insufficient evidence to afford a realistic prospect of conviction.

Here is the US Men's Gymnastics team, winners of the bronzed medal in the team competition. They are all quite yummy but my fave is Justin Spring standing in the back, biceps obscured.

This is a good news-bad news thing.

It's bad news that Roger Federer, one of my very favorite tennis players and one of the all-time greats, will not be the Olympic champion. The good news though is that he lost to American James Blake who could not have picked s better time to notch his first win ever over Roger. Blake, part of the reigning champion Davis Cup team, is now in the semifinal round and in excellent position to get to the gold medal match.

Good luck James!

I picked up Kathy Griffin's new CD at Amoeba Records and has listened to it at least three times. I love, love, love when she does the bits about her 87-year-old mother. Apparently since her dad died, the mom has been watching a lot of bad TV and says to Kathy: "I just hope you don't turn into a skank like those goddam Kardashians." Priceless!

Here are a few clips from a "My Life on the D-List" episode. The season finale airs on Bravo tonight!

Came upon this surfing the net and found it amusing, especially the first few minutes when the shy drama kid (Nathan Bexton) musters up the guts to cold call a hot guy from his high school (Jason Hall) who he barely knows. Now, Jason looks a tad too old to be playing a high school student but believe me, you won't mind...

Enjoy!

Why am I so tired today you wonder?

You would be too if you had attended the premiere of "The Cheetah Girls One World" movie in Hollywood last night with your very cool 9-year-old niece. You woulda thought it was the second coming of Christ with all the screaming fans lined along Hollywood Boulevard to catch a glimpe of stars Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan and Kiela Williams on their way into the El Capitan Theatre then into the after-party at the Roosevelt Hotel.

This was a special night for me because I was escorting my beautiful niece Leah to her very first Hollywood premiere. I had trouble sleeping the night before because I was nervous about her having a good time and dealing with the logistics of getting her from Orange County to L.A. and back.

We got there early - too early - so killed time at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the corfner of Hollywood and Orange. As Leah sipped on her frozen lemonade, I did a mock interview with her about the upcoming premiere. We were finally allowed to pick up our tickets and enter the theater. But first, we lingered on the blue carpet (no red carpet here) and I snapped photos of her with some of the male stars of the movie (the girls had not yet arrived). We got inside and sat down with our popcorn and sodas and Leah gave me a quick Cheetah Girls primer. Then I realized that we had some terrific seats! We were right across the aisle from Bruce Jenner and his wife, Kris, who is the mom to those Kardashian girls, and next to us was "Access Hollywood" personality Tony Potts and his daughter.

But my niece didn't really care about them. She cared that Anna Maria Perez de Tagle from "Hannah Montana" was sitting directly in front of her and two seats over were twins Camilla Rosso and Rebecca Rosso from "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody." We chatted with them and got autographs before the cast was announced and the movie started. Leah loved the flick, of course, and I will say that it was sweet innocent fun and I was so impressed with the diversity. It was filmed in India and it really teaches the kids about different cultures in such a way that they won't even know they're learning important lessons.

I give the movie an uncle's seal of approval.

We then made the walk over to The Roosevelt and Leah bumped into Madison Pettis who stars in "Cory in the House" on the Disney Channel. I took their photo and Madison and Leah talked about their outfits. I'm thinking to myself how comfortable my niece is in this situation, not star struck at all and very in the moment.

We get inside the party and immediately see Cheetah Girl Kiela Williams and I take their picture. Leah's eyes begin darting around and I soon realize that she is not gonna sit down and eat from the buffet until she had met every single Cheetah! She spotted Sabrina and tugs me along with my camera. I get their picture together. Then she sees Adrienne Bailon in a dimly-lit corner being congratulated by friends. I say, 'We probably shouldn't bother her." My niece, without blinking an eye says, "Let's try." So we do. And Adrienne very kindly poses with my niece. (Sorry for not posting any of the pics, Leah's very protective uncle doesn't want her photo on the Internet).

Then, we could finally eat. At this point, Leah wants to be a fashion designer but she should think about being a celebrity journalist! She was my favorite Hollywood premiere date ever!

In contrast to the less-than-energetic interview Olivia Newton-John gave in the previous post, "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm gave 100 percent to The Advocate's Brandon Voss for the current issue's Big Gay Following feature. I want you to read the whole thing on the Advocate's site but until you have time to do that, here are some appetizers:

Q. What's going on with you and your girlfriend of nearly 10 years, Jennifer Westfeldt [cowriter and star of Kissing Jessica Stein]? Are you waiting for gay marriage to be legal before tying the knot?
A. Yeah, that's a totally fair observation. Somebody once said -- more hilariously than I can -- that everybody ought to be allowed to be miserable in the same way. And it's not fair that a man and man and a woman and a woman can't choose to be protected under our government's laws together. That's just stupid, and I don't understand the rationale behind it. I think marriage, the institution, is driven much more by religion and family than it is by any sort of practical application of love. Love exists outside of government, so that's how Jen and I have our relationship. We discuss it all the time; we're like, "We're totally in love with each other, so why would we want to change the rules of that, if in fact that would?" Then, of course, you get into the practicalities of it, like, "What if you get sick and I can't visit you in the hospital?" or "What if you die and all your stuff goes to the state?" You're like, "Well, that makes sense. Shit, how do we handle that?" So it's unfair that the practical applications of it are not available to everyone. Then you mix in all the political grandstanding and bullshit that surrounds it, and it goes from unfair to absurd.

Q. So are you itching to play a gay role on-screen?
A. Well, c'mon, if I want to win awards, let's talk gay. [Laughs] Now, if I were a mentally disabled gay man, I'd hit all the boxes. If there's a great part out there, sure. For me, it's much more about being a part of telling a great story. After the first audition for Mad Men, I said, "I will do any part in this script." I just wanted to be a part of telling this story.

Q. What about Keanu Reeves (as a man crush), whom you worked with on the upcoming remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still?
A. You look at Keanu Reeves and you think, You gotta be kidding me. I think I'm a pretty good-looking guy, but c'mon, man, that's not fair! And he couldn't be nicer or more laid-back or more of a regular cat. It's like, Wow, you've got the whole package? Really?

Oh Jon, you've got the whole package too!

There are stars who give you so much in interviews, thoughtful answers with some depth. Then there are those who give little short answers and you just sit there wondering, 'How am I gonna get them to SAY SOMETHING?"

I sense the latter happened in this AfterElton.com interview with the Grammy-winning singer Olivia Newton-John who as an actress has starred in gay faves "Grease, " "Xanadu" and "Sordid Lives" as well as the AIDS drama "It's My Party." She is currently a cast member of "Sordid Lives" TV series on Logo.

She was asked when did she first realize she was a gay icon: "I really don't know, I don't think about being an icon really. The gay fans have always been very loyal, there are a really great audience and have always been there for me."

Here are a few of the answers where she said a little more.
On Meeting Kathy Griffin during Mardi Gras in Sydney: She and Carson Kressley were staying in the same hotel I was and my publicist said Kathy would like you to do her show (My Life on the D-List). I thought well that could be funny because I have never met her, if you can imagine, and she's something! [Laughing] you really have no idea what she is going to say, I think I survived OK. [laughing]

On her movie "Xanadu": which was a massive bomb but went on to be a cult fave and a Broadway show: "I was embarrassed by it. I love the music, but the script wasn't very good, it was not well received upon release, but people enjoyed it and it attained a different kind of status after that. ...Now I think it's a hoot, and I got to dance with Gene Kelly, how amazing is that?!"

The last time William Hurt worked with Glenn Close was on the 1983 film "The Big Chill," a classic about a group of college pals who spend a weekend together years later after one of their friends commits suicide.
Although both Hurt and Close have worked virtually nonstop in movies since then, it took the FX legal drama "Damages" to reunite them on the screen.

Close has always mixed TV work with films, including spending a season on the series "The Shield." But for Hurt, a recurring role on television is a first.

"For me, this is not different from (films)," the Oscar-winner told me recently. "This is not a departure for me. To me, it's all theater and any media of it, of theater, and its basic dynamics, is fodder."

On "Damages," the Julliard-trained actor plays a new client of Close's Patty Hewes character, with their previous involvement having been both personal and professional.

"I was riveted by the characters and that, to me, is the key," Hurt said. "Because, after all, there's only a few plots in the world, but every life is unique and original. What I really key off of is the life of the character. Is it unique and arresting to me? And this was completely that."

The cast began filming second-season episodes earlier this summer, but the new episodes will not begin airing until early next year. Hurt said he will be in about 10 of the show's 13 episodes.

So far, so good.

"The thing that saves it from the standard TV format, which is rushed, is the fact that every time you raise a flag, they come out and they talk to you," he said. "So you can talk about a question and receive an intelligent, if not final, idea."

Hurt remains busy in films - and has for decades. His credits include "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Children of a Lesser God," "Broadcast News," "A History of Violence," "Body Heat," "The Accidental Tourist" and "Altered States." Most recently, he had a role in this summer's "The Incredible Hulk."

This is just ridiculously fantastic. Michael Phelps is not a man who wilts under the pressure of history, he just swims right toward it. On Tuesday (or is it Wednesday? or Monday? I give up!) he added to more gold medals to his haul (I believe that makes it five for these Olympics) to become the most decorated Olympian ever. He now has more gold medals than Carl Lewis and others whose names are not coming to me right now. Plus, we get to see all these great pictures of he and his wet teamates loving each other after each achievement. It's so sweet. A Socailite's life has a complete gallery and OhLaLa Mag has a nice selection too!

"Mulligans" star Charlie David made a Public Service Announcement for the anti-Proposition group Love Honor Cherish.
"What I want you to know is [this] isn't just about marriage, it's about equality...marriage is a right that belongs to everyone." Charlie's boyfriend, Brandon Rolph also appears in the spot - shirtless!

I'm groggy this morning because I stayed up so late watching the men's gymnastics team win the bronze medal at the Olympic Games. I thought they were gonna get the silver behind China for awhile there but in the end, they were passed by Japan. But considering not much was expected of a team consisting of all first-time Olympians, what a terrific effort.

Of course, they are all a buncha cutie pies and my crush turned out to be Justin Spring (pictured, right) who was solid as can be in his events and just has a great smile. I bascially want to marry him.

"I think the medal was somewhat unexpected, but we knew that we had this potential," Spring said in an interview. "I know a lot of people doubted that we would make the second day (team finals), but this team never doubted ourselves. We had two last-minute replacements and anything you threw at this team, we rolled with it with smiles on our faces."

I was caught up in the competition and all but the real highlight if ya ask me was the team's post-medal ceremony interview with NBC's Andrea Joyce. They all had their muscular arms draped over each other and gave the most homoerotic interview of the week. If I can find a video, I'll post it.

Congratulations guys!

James Franco sure makes a handsome GQ coverman. The actor is currently starring in the stoner comedy "Pineapple Express" but is also talking about his upcoming movie, "Milk" opposite Sean Penn who plays Harvey Milk. He describes for the mag their first on-screen kiss:

"The first kiss of the movie "Milk' was out on Haight Street, with, like, 200 people watching, outside. I'm sure in the end it will be a really cool shot, but it starts close and then it takes maybe a minute. That's a long time on film with everybody watching, and, like, a fake moustache getting in your mouth. It was long enough that you couldn't help but thinking, 'Oh, my God, I'm kissing Spicoli.'"

That's new daddy Matthew McConaughey who is hitting the waves between diaper changes...

Charlie Hunnam may be just 28 years old, but he is an actor who would rather not work at all than accept a bad role in a film or on television.

Before he was cast as the lead in the new FX series "Sons of Anarchy" which debuts Sept. 3, he didn't find any projects that appealed to him to he took some time away from acting to write a screenplay.

But the star of such features as "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Green Street Hooligans" was finally offered a part that he knew was absolutely right for him: Jackson "Jax" Teller in "Anarchy," an action-drama that explores the life and brotherhood of a notorious outlaw motorcycle club.

"They are pretty bad," Charlie said recently. "If ever anything comes into their world and compromises the way they live their life or their freedom, then they strike out with a vengeance."

Katey Sagal plays his force-of-nature mother and Ron Perlman is his stepfather and president of the club.

"He's trying to distance himself a little bit from the violent nature of this club," Charlie said of Jax.

When we spoke, I wondered about the tatoos that were on the actor's arm. I asked him if they were real.

"No," he said before explaining that he participated in the selection of his character's body art: "You can either pay attention and make a specific choice about tatoos or you can show up and have the make-up artist put some tatoos on you. And I thought long and hard about it. I didn't want to go overboard but I wanted something very specific."
Real tatoos that are visible can be problematic: "I love tatoos but it's just such a pain to have them covered."

The English actor, now based in Los Angeles, was open to doing a series even though he had been getting steady work in such films as "Cold Mountain," "Children of Men," and "Abandon."

In fact, two of his most memorable roles were on TV: the original British version of "Queer as Folk" and the FOX comedy "Undeclared" which was cancelled after one season but remains a cult favorite.

I wondered if playing a tough guy was much oif a stretch for Charlie.

"I was a rough little kid growing up," he said. "I definitely had my share of fights but all that's behind me now. I'm an actor. I'm not a bad-ass anymore."

Here is a scene from "Queer As Folk: filmed nearly 10 years ago:

Let's just get this out of the way: I am a huge Emma Thompson fan ...huge. So her presence in "Brideshead Revisited"{ was alone worth the price of admission. I also am quite fond of leading man Matthew Goode.

I've seen the classic TV miniseries adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel which starred Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews and and this movie version just doesn't compare. So much of the material had to be compressed to feature-length 135-minutes. And yet, it still seemed to drag on a bit in a way that the miniseries never did.

The drama, set in pre-WWII, tells the story of Charles Ryder (Goode) who becomes entranced with the Marchmain family and their grand estate, Brideshead. He becomes close to gay schoolmate Sebastian (Ben Whishaw) who is in love with him. But Charles falls in love with Sebastian's sister Julia (Hayley Atwell) and it all goes downhill - for the brother - from there.

Sebastian is initially so charming and fun and the two men have idyllic times together in what is a very romantic, but non-sexual, friendship. But Sebastian is an alcoholic whose Catholic mother (Thompson) pushes all his buttons to make him feel guilty and self-loathing. To see him become so destructive because of his broken heart and his domineering mother is sad and it made me feel badly. It reminded me of the days when all movies with gay characters ended tragically and I don't so much enjoy being taken there anymore.

But that's the novel, that's the story. Once Sebastian is all but out of the story and it focuses on Charlies and Julia, I kinda lost interest. I missed Sebastian's spirit even though Atwell and Goode are very appealing in their roles.

Out of four stars, I give "Brideshead" 2.5 stars. (**1/2)

Here is the film's trailer:

Robby Ginepri went out there and gave it his best for the U.S. at the Olympic Games on Monday but lost to the No. 3-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4. He's still a dreamboat though....

I did not expect to begin my day sitting on the patio of a coffee house on Melrose called Stir Crazy. But I'm having nightmares with my car alarm system and am waiting for it to get fixed at the auto shop across the street. There's a blonde guy sitting across from me who is movie star handsome (looks a bit like Josh Lucas) so I may lose my train of thought as I try and blog a bit.

So, I've been meaning to write about what a fun time I had last Thursday night. My old pal Lorna Harris and I met up at the ArcLight for the premiere of "Harry Poole Is Here." Since she and her family have just moved back from the UK, this was out first event together in forever. Lorna was promotions director at the old KEZY radio station in the mid-90s and invited me to so many cool things including a joint Billy Joel-Elton John concert in San Diego that I will never forget.

So now I can return the favor a little bit. We arrived early to watch the stars, including Luke Wilson, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza and George Lopez and do their red carpet thing. I wanted to be there as a guest so I didn't bring my tape recorder and just took it all in.

The comedy drama follows a man (Wilson) who abandons his family and business to spend what he thinks are his last remaining days by himself. But the neighbors in the suburban neoghborhood where he has bought a house to die in just won't leave him in peace. There's lots of surprises and wonderfully sweet moments.

We had great seats and both enjoyed the movie tremendously.I think it is the best performance of Luke Wilson;s career and Adriana Barraza showed that her Oscar nomination for "Babel" was no fluke. She gives such a beautiful performance here as Luke's neighbor who has enough faith in God and in life for the both of them. The movie comes out Friday. If it is showing at a theatre anywhere near you, go see it!

The after-party was a really nice affair on the rooftop of the parking lot of the ArcLight. We feasted on some terrific barbeque beef and amazing macaroni and cheese that was so good I felt like doing a face-plant right into the serving dish,
We chattted up various folks including cast member Rachel Seiferth (pictured, right, in a scene with Wilson) whose character wears coke bottle-bottomed glasses then amazingly gets her perfect sight back. I whispered to Lorna inside the movie, "She's faking it. She's wearing contacts!" As we chatted with Rachel about her performance, Lorna blurted out my little remark from inside the theater about the contacts but I saved face (I hope!) by telling Rachel than in the end, she made me believe that she had indeed had her sight restored.

Well, I hope Lorna enjoyed the LAST Hollywood event I'll ever take her to! Just Kiddin! The very clever and smart Lorna has started a news site for women called Boudica.com that I hope you'll check out!

Here is a trailer for the movie:

Andy Roddick's grand plan of skipping the Olympic Games to better his chances at the US Open in a few weeks was looking better and better until Sunday afternoon when he unexpectedly lost in the final of the Countrywide Classic at UCLA. Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.

Still, as these pics from Kennethinthe212 show, Andy enjoyed the Southern California sun during the week. In contrast, the tournament at the Olympics has been plagued by rain.

Kyle Chandler was the star of one of my favorite shows, "EarlyEdition."

You remember it, right?

It was about a guy who, for reasons completely unknown to him, gets tomorrow's newspaper on his doorstep today. Then he's got just 24 hours to try and prevent whatever calamity he reads about.

Talk about stressful!

When I ran into Kyle recently - who now heads the cast of NBC's "Friday Night Lights - I had to tell him how much I enjoyed "Early Edition."

"That was a fun show," he said. "I've been very fortunate, no doubt about that. I went four years on that."

Kyle is hopeful that the critically-acclaimed but never highly rated "Lights" runs at least that long. He plays Eric Taylor, coach of the high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. The show is about a lot more than football and uses the small-town backdrop to dramatize issues facing Middle America these days.

The show was in danger of being cancelled after each of its first two seasons but has managed to weather so-so ratings and a writers strike to return in the fall - first exclusively on DirectTV then rebroadcast on NBC in early 2009.

"To have this opportunity with the third season, I'm very excited for it," Kyle said. "I think the show will be as strong as ever. I think it's a new opportunity. As long as they keep it on the air, I can focus on the stories."

"Everyone is excited," he added. "I'm working with some very, very intelligent people who are very, very creative. It's the best working atmosphere that I could ever imagine and I think a lot of that shows in the episodes. It all fits together."

This is the first year the show will air on DirectTV first in an arrangement that helped ensure "Nights" survival on broadcast television where shows are rarely given time to prove themselves and grow in the ratings.

Kyle is so confident about the show's quality that he believes if people just sample it once or twice, they will never stop watching.

"I think the people that don't watch it are the people that haven't seen it," he said. "A lot of people that I know who have seen it who initially thought they wouldn't be watching it for whatever reason ended up finding out that it was a lot different than they ever had
anticipated. We have a lot of very strong followers of the show. I expect that to continue and I expect a whole new audience with 17 million subscribers to Direct TV having a shot at it. It's really exciting. We've got a real chance of showing a lot more people what
we have."

Television viewers first got to know Kyle, 42, from his roles on the well-regarded television series "Homefront" and and the final season of "Tour of Duty" followed by roles in the short-lived the Joan Cusack sitcom "What About Joan" and the Rob Lowe drama "Lyons Den." He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his memorable
four-episode gig on "Grey's Anatomy" and has appeared in such films as the Peter Jackson-directed "King Kong," "The Kingdom" and "Mulholland Falls."

But the role of Eric Taylor on "Lights" is one he's been waiting his entire career for.

"I really like him a lot," Kyle said of his TV alter-ego. "I was unsure about him at first but I like everything about him."

Yeah, Rick Springfield. He's back on the charts with his highest charting album debut in more than 20 years. It's his. 17th CD "Venus in Overdrive" which came in at No. 28 on the Billboard charts this week.

He performed it on "General Hospital a few weeks ago. I also interviewed Rick last month. Here's the link: Catching Up With Rick Springfield

With its endless reruns airing several times a day, "Scrubs" sometimes seems to me to be on its way to becoming almost as ubiquitous as "I Love Lucy," the most repeated comedy in the history of television.

The two shows are so different and yet they do have one thing in common: both feature comedy teams that are the heart of the show. Where "Lucy" had best friends and neighbors played to perfection by Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, "Scrubs" is anchored by the extremely close - and very funny - relationship of young doctors Christopher Duncan Turk and Dr. John "J.D." Dorian played by Donald Faison and Zach Braff, respectively.

Donald told me recently that the chemistry between he and Zach was instant, "from the day I met him."

"We joked around really well together," he said. "For some reason, his sense of humor was the same as mine. I think pretty much everything that you see us do together, on that show, is how we are in real life. Maybe times that by ten. In real life we're that on
steriods."
The two characters are so close (J.D. calls Turk his "brown bear") that there has been some question - and many jokes - about whether they are gay and just don't know it.

Donald said that although "I am definitely his brown bear," he believes the two are merely engaging in typical male bonding: "I think that's in all male relationships. There's always references toward one's sexuality. It's a bonding tool. I don't think you'd be
dudes if you didn't do that. How could someone be your best friend if you can't do that?"

"There's not just gay references," he's quick to add. "There's black references and white references. Everything. The fact that I'm called brown bear or chocolate bear, it's not because I have the physique of a bear. It's because my skin is brown! It's definitely fun to not have to worry about being politically correct."

Although it's never been a blockbuster in the TV ratings, "Scrubs" has quietly built-up a loyal following throughout its seven years on the air. The many reruns and popularity on DVD led ABC to pick up the show for an eighth season when NBC was ready to send it to that big operating room in the sky.

So come January, we'll get more adventures of J.D. and Turk and their friends.

"Eight years on television, you can't beat that with a baseball bat," said Donald, who previously was a regular on the "Felicity," "Clueless," and "Clone High." "When we first started the show, I was 26. So I've almost lived a decade doing this television show and I
wouldn't change that for the world."

"I dreamt of it," he added. "Watching 'Cosby' and 'A Different World' and watching 'Family Matters' and 'Family Ties' and 'Cheers'and 'Friends' and 'Frasier' and all those shows. I think everybody dreams that that will happen one day. I for sure dreamed that it would happen. And it did and it's awesome."

Andy Roddick, in action Friday night, is now in the semifinals of the Countrywide Classic at UCLA. America's top player, the 2003 US Open champion and leader of the reigning champion US Davis Cup team, opted to skip playing for the gold medal at the Olympics to play some tournaments back home to prepare for the US Open.

I hope he gets the wins he needs because it's a real shame to not have America;s best out there at The Games.

You really didn't want The National Enquirer to get it right for once. But they did: After months of denials, John Edwards finally admitted on Friday that he cheated on his wife Elizabeth.

I have long liked Elizabeth Edwards more than her husband. The biggest reason is because she has unabashedly been a staunch supporter of equal rights for gay people - including their right to marry each other. John Edwards, like all other Democratic candidates, did not. John even went so far as to say that he just couldn't wrap his head around it, being a churchgoing Southern boy and all.

But I don't want to judge him on his infidelity. It happens. Marriages can survive it, or not.
But his lying about it publicly is what makes him look even worse. The former senator and vice presidential candidate did an exclusive interview with Bob Woodruff on ABC's "Nightline" last night. He seemed pretty open but also still not completely honest. So is it his baby? Why would he agree to meet this woman at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last month? Did he really know nothing about the payments being made to this woman?

(I give Edwards major credit for not dragging his wife out to be interviewed to try and save his ass. He said he asked her not to come)

In a statement released yesterday, Edwards tries to explain why he lied: "I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman and asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99% honest is no longer enough.

He does say that he is willing to take a paternity test to establish the fact that he's not the father of the baby "and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby.

Here's the one part of his statement, which he also discussed in the Nightline interivew, that seemed 100% truthful: "In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up -- feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help."
Elizabeth Edwards, had been diagnosed with breast cancer after the 2004 presidential campaign. But, her husband pointed out, was in remission when he had his affair (how does this make it better?). She has since been diagnosed with an incurable bone cancer.

Elizabeth released a statement that is supportive of her husband, but is also candid and real. Not like most political wives who would stand there smiling at their sinning husband and have no comment whatsoever: "Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some -- most recently -- caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.

John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private.

The pain of the long journey since 2006 was about to be renewed.

Admitting one's mistakes is a hard thing for anyone to do, and I am proud of the courage John showed by his honesty in the face of shame. The toll on our family of news helicopters over our house and reporters in our driveway is yet unknown. But now the truth is out, and the repair work that began in 2006 will continue. I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John's conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time."

Anderson Cooper is not my only anchorman crush. There's also the best thing to happen to "Good Morning America" in, well, forever: hottie news anchor Chris Cuomo who turns 38 today.

First off, Chris is a babe - pure and simple. But he's also a terrific interviewer who is comfortable in his own skin. He was able to ask George Michael questions about his sexuality without a trace of self-consiousness or a need to re-assert his heterosexuality. Chris already had me at hello but that just sealed the deal.

This is almost as bad as the episode of "Sex and the City" when Jack Berger, the author Carrie dated after the second break-up with Aiden, broke up with her with a POST-IT NOTE!
Carson Kressley, who's riding high these days with his "How to Look Good Naked" series and is doing a pilot for a talk show on Lifetime, was dumped by his boyfriend of eight months, an Australian named George Maloukis, via email!

To make matters worse, George went ahead and talked about it on the Aussie radio show 2Day FM on Friday: "I sent him an email. I know it's wrong and I feel really bad. I just came home one day and I sent him an email, not thinking. Then I thought about it and sent him another email the next day saying I was so so sorry. I felt bad the way it was done."

George said the two were faithful to each other during the relationship and wouldn't divulge the reasons why he wanted the split: "There were a lot of reasons why. I was annoyed with him for a number of things. ... I can't tell you the real reasons [for the break-up] I am going to give him the respect."

George wanted to make one thing clear though: "I was never with Carson for the money. When I went to America, Carson paid for my ticket but I paid my own way."

I dunno. Maybe he just never forgave Carson for wearing those punk speedos to the beach!

Lindsay Lohan is holding Samantha Ronson's hand as the two are snapped at Samantha's birthday party this week. This seems to me to be about as public as they have been to date about their affection.

Looks like they are having fun together!

I would have found the entire divorce drama between Jim McGreevey and Dina Matos McGreevey a lot more entertaining if it were not for their young daughter who must be connected to these two wretched people for the rest of her life.

You know Jim, right? He's the former New Jersey guv who came out as a "gay American" and resigned from office. His resignation seemed to have far more to do with unscrupulous things he did in office than being gay but coming out, writing a book and going on Oprah kinda overshadowed that.

Dina is the woman whio smiled stupidly at him as he declared himself gay, said she was clueless about it then got mad when he got a rich boyfriend and has been fighting him for ever nickel in divorce court.

Judge Karen Cassidy today ruled that Jim McGreevey pay his ex-wife $108, 000 which is half of his savings, Dina gets no alimony. Here's in part what the judge said about these people in her opinion: "The McGreeveys clearly had agendas. As previously addressed, their anger seemed to override any ability to testify credibly or to be reasonable."

They are both losers in this, racking a combined $1 million or so in legal bills trying to tear each other down.

Idtiots.

Happy 27th birthday to the great Roger Federer! How cool is it that on this day, the tennis champ from Switzerland was chosen to carry his country's flag to lead out the delegation during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics at the National Stadium in Beijing, China.

If there's one thing Luke and Noah need on "As the World Turns," it's more screen time. But AfterElton.com notes in today's Best. Gay. Week. Ever. column that at least the soap's gay couple, played by Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann, are now included in the mid-show bumpers with the photo above that shows them clearly as a couple.

Didn't watch a second of it but had to note that the every shirtless Jessie was voted off of "Big Brother" last night (he's the muscular one holding the weights). His personality may have been unappealing, but his body sure wasn't! But, as sexy Nick found out last summer, a great bod will only get you so far...

James Franco was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last night promoting his new movie "Pineapple Express" which opened on Wednesday. But he also found time to talk about "Milk," the upcoming movie about the late Harvey Milk that he stars in as Sean Penn's lover.

Here is the video but I also suggest you go over to Towleroad.com to read the transcript of the most interesting parts!

"Ugly Betty" star Michael Urie!
His character of Marc St. James is one of the most delicious gay portrayals ever on television. He's campy, bitchy and scheming but shows us just enough heart and vulnerability to make us care. Marc has been dating a photographer (David Blue) and came out to his anit-gay mother played by Broadway legend Patti LuPone. But he's most fun in his scenes with his two bitches: Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) and Amanda (Becki Newton).

Update: I forgot to mention this: Michael turns 28!

The silver fox Anderson Cooper said while co-hosting "Regis and Kelly" the other day that he doesn't care for the E! reality show "Living Lohan" which stars the vile Dina Lohan (vile is my word, not Anderson's). He said Dina looks about 60 among other things.

Michael Lohan, the former jailbird who wouldn't walk daughter Lindsay down the aisle if she were to marry a woman, is not gonna stand for anyone bashing his family - even if it's his ex-wife: "I think Anderson Cooper is an opinionated, hypocritical idiot who should be an adult and keep his opinion to himself," he told Access Hollywood. "He is the last person to judge anyone, when he and his own family have their own issues."

I doubt Anderson will want to fan the flames anymore on this one. But Michael is ridiculous if he thinks that people are not going to have an opinion or two about that reality show or his family in general. When you seek the limelight like that, and get a lotta money for it, have a bit of a thicker skin.

As for Anderson, isn't he just so cute?

"Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford gives an interview to the British newspaper The Independent about the show and other topics. Here is the part where the article addresses all the gay stuff:

He says he laughed off rumors that he and co-star Ed Westwick are having a fling. (Crawford was also romantically linked to JC Chasez, though both vehemently deny gay rumors.) "It's kind of funny," Crawford tells the paper. "I guess some people assume there's a seed of truth to it. People think where there's smoke, there's fire." He says he wasn't sure who started the rumors -- and doesn't care. "I just don't even want to speculate on that. It's just one of those things that rolls off my back," Crawford says. "There's not one seed of truth to it, so it'll just go away in the end."

I won't be making it out to the Countrywide Classic at UCLA today. I'm recovering from horrible allergies and have got two columns to write. Then am attending the premiere of Luke Wilson's new film, "Henry Poole is Here" in Hollywood tonight. I'm excited because I'm taking one of my BFF's, Lorna Harris, who has moved back to SoCal with her hubby Danny Sullivan and their two biys from Great Britain after a 12 year absence! It is with Lorna that I attended my first Wimbledon back in 1991!

Anyway, OhLaLa Mag has posted some shots of Tommy Haas. The top one is from the other night at UCLA when he kept changing his shirt. It didn't help because he still lost to Donald Young but it was still a lovely thing to watch. The photo on the left is of Tommy practicing at the tournament in Cincinatti last week.

Heath Ledger will be allowed to rest in peace.

Federal prosecutors are not going pursue a criminal case into how the star of "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Dark Knight" obtained the powerful painkillers that contributed to his overdose death this year, the Associated Press reports..

The decision comes after recent reports that Mary-Kate Olsen was demanding immunity before answering questions about the startling death of her close friend and his drug use. Authorities say she was the first person called by a masseuse who found Heath's lifeless body in his Manhattan apartment.

Investigators suspect the painkillers found in Ledger's system, oxycodone and hydrocodone, were obtained with phony prescriptions or other illegal means. Oxycodone is sold as OxyContin and hydrocodone as Vicodin. Other drugs taken by Heath, including anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills, were prescribed legally by doctors in California and Texas.

The medical examiner's office wouldn't say what concentrations of each drug were found but made clear he was killed by the combination - not an excess of any one drug in particular.

I filed my newspaper column and posted some blog items then jammed over to UCLA yesterday to catch the late afternoon match at the Countrywide Classic between Americans Mardy Fish and Vince Spadea.

But I was more interested in a possible catfight between the two players than groundstrokes and volleys. A few months ago I read Vince's sometimes catty book ("Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player").chronicling a year on the pro tour. Mardy was chosen for the US Davis Cup team over Vince even though Spadea was ranked higher and had better recent results. Vince fought to gain a spot on the team - succeeded in being named an alternate - then details the tense days during the competition when he and Mardy played practice matches to see who would play. Vince won but still didn't get to play. Mardy played, and lost.

Okay, I'm not sure how interesting this story is but I've already typed it in so I'm gonna stay with it. So I got to UCLA to see who would win this time. Vince took the opening set 7-6 and lookedf to have the edge. But Mardy cuit down on the mistakes and played the important points better to take the next two sets 6-1, 6-0. Ouch! No drama after the match, just a polite handshake.

Damn!

I stayed for part of the sexy Russian Marat Safin's evening match but my allergies were all outa whack so I headed home before he completed his straight set victory. Marat is looking good and, I think, might win the whole doggone tournament.

Boy, those New Yorkers sure know how to party.

My pal Kenneth Walsh who does the awesome blog Kennethinthe212, got to hang out with Nick Adams and got a photo with him too. I would totally trade my picture with Susan Lucci to have one with that cutie Nick Adams.

You know Nick, he's the Broadway actor who is so studly that when they were appearing in 'A Chorus Line" together, Mario Lopez reportedly insisted that Nick cover up his biceps when they were on stage together,

Kenneth was at a National Underwear Day party so I got this picture of Nick in his underwear off of his Facebook page. You know, in honor the the special day and all.

You gotta go over to Kenneth's blog to see all kinds of photos of guys at the party - wearing only underwear! (BTW, Nick's' physique can be seen in upcoming advertisements for "2xist Underwear.")

Anyone who complains that broadcast television isn't creative enough these days probably hasn't seen a single episode of "Eli Stone."

Set in a top San Francisco law firm, the title character of this comedy-drama-musical has a series of visions - including one of George Michael singing "Faith" - that affect his practice, his relationships and his reputation.

Sam Jeager plays an attorney in the firm and is a critical member of an all-star ensemble that includes Jonny Lee Miller as Eli, Victor Garber, Loretta Devine and Natasha Henstridge.

"He's a wonderful character because just when you're about to root for him, he goes and does something really nasty," Sam said of his TV alter-ego, Matt Dowd. "I think we all know somebody in our lives who's like that - whom every once in awhile they redeem themselves."

Because it is such a unique show that requires many of its cast members to break into song, there was a question of whether it would catch on with audiences when it premiered last spring.

But it did and will be returning for a second season on ABC.

"There was kind of a buzz and the buzz was pretty accurate," said Sam. "It was a good script that turned into a good show.

At 31, the young actor has been steadily making a name for himself in television and films. In addition to many guest spots on high-profile shows, he has also had significant roles in such films as "Catch and Release," "Within," "Lucky Slevin," and "Hart's War."

He badly wanted the role on "Eli" but didn't like his chances going in.

"I knew that when I went into the audition that they had been seeing people for this role for several months," he remembered. "It didn't really put pressure on me because I just thought, 'Well, I don't have a chance in hell.' Thankfully, they saw that I was the character."

Sam (pictured above with Victor Garber) and I chatted at last month's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour where his co-star Jonny Miller was being hounded by personal questions about his former wife, Angelina Jolie.

He seemed relieved that interest in his personal life has been on a far smaller scale.
"I have a pretty simple life," he said. "I've got a wonderful wife and a great kid. I'm grateful that I can jump into the (showbiz) world and jump out. I've seen enough to know that it's not the kind of life that's easily taken on."

There's a couple of really good political stories on AfterElton.com today including the lead story on Gay-Baiting and what kind of role it might play for John McCain in the presidential election. It is a must read.

This excerpt is from the accompanying article The Pundits Speak: Keith Olbermann and other traditional journalists on gay issues

"When nobody can afford to go to a gay wedding, a straight wedding or a protest of a gay wedding, [the issue] is not going to make any difference," said Olbermann, host of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." "This is the danger of values, if you will, and that's used as a facetious term, values politics - when that's all you've got, when reality intervenes, like nobody can afford to keep their home or put gasoline or home winter heating oil in it this winter, people are going to say, "You're serious? You want me to vote for you when you've ruined the economy, ruined our place in the world, haven't stopped terrorism, made us kind of the bullies of the world, and I'm supposed to vote for you because you have some phony baloney belief that gay people shouldn't have the right to be just as miserable as all the straight married people?"

Really, I sense in the country a strong sense of incredulity to a lot of this and it's not just gender or sexual orientation issues, but all these other things are just being trotted out and thrown out and nobody's responding to them.

I'm happy to report that the fourth installment of the "A Donald Strachey Mystery" series starring Chad Allen will premiere on here!TV on Friday, Sept. 5. This one is called "Ice Blues" and I'm very exctited for people to see it. I think the third movie, "In the Other Hand, Death" is better than "Ice" but that's mostly because of Margot Kidder's standout performance.

Chad Allen plays a gay private investigator in this franchise and "Ice" gives the most screen time yet to his character's relationship with his husband, New York State Senate staffer Tim Callahan (Sebastian Spence). The relationship has been a part of all the movies but Tim is integral to the plot in this one. He asks Donald to uncover the source of an anonymous and generous donation to the Albany youth center that leads to a young man's death.

As events begin to spin out of control, Donald and Tim join forces in a violent showdown between the dangerous kiddie-porn ring leader Frank Zaillian, his cold-blooded associates and the wealthy and deceitful Lenigan family. Tim finds himself waist-deep in Donald's mystery and the couple unites to fight against big business, personal demons and family betrayal.

It's all pretty engrossing but the really great thing is how there are little bits of comedy that come through as Donald and Tim are on the run and the rapport between the actors has grown stronger with each film.

Roger Federer has had a disappointing year so far but boy, winning the Olympic Gold Medal would sure be a major lift for the man who will lose his number one ranking in a few weeks to Rafael Nadal. Here is Roger, still smiling, as he practices at the Olympic Green Tennis Center in Beijing.
Meanwhile, back in the USA, at UCLA to be exact, I had a nice afternoon and evening of tennis at the Countrywide Classic where I got to see three of the games hottest men play: Marat Safin (he won), Tommy Haas (he lost) and Carlos Moya (he won ... barely).

It was funny that the announcer just said all of the other player's names but whenever he'd say Tommy Haas, he would add, the "handsome young man from Hamburg." It kinda goes to show you though, Haas is so good looking that you can't help but comment on it. (The picture I've posted on the left of Tommy is not from last night but I,like it anyway! Don't you?) He didn't play so well last night though losing in straight sets to the promising young American Donald Young. Tommy is the Diana Ross of the tennis tourm changing his shirt four times in a match that lasted just over an hour. You know I was counting ... and watching!

Oh yeah, Kate Hudson was there last night too, sitting not too far from me. She is apparently friends with Haas' girlfriend. Now, it's been awhile since Kate has made a really good movie but her hair looks fabulous.

Between the bootleg director's cut of "54" to his standout performance in "Stop-Loss," I've become a huge fan of Ryan Phillippe this year. Here is the hunky actor working out this week in the hills somewhere in Los Angeles...

God bless Cyndi Lauper. I love this woman. I love her honesty, courage to speak out, and boundless energy to entertain and to do good works on behalf of LGBT people.

Here is an excerpt from her new interview with The Times in the UK that I just found stunning because of its forthrightness. So many people try to be politically savvy or correct when really all we want is to hear what is in their heart.

Here is some of what is in Cyndi's:

Lauper, of course, is very popular with gays. "But I hate that expression," she says. Like they are not quite real people." Unlike some artists, who turn up at GAY or produce an album for the gay fans whenever the hits dry up, Lauper's commitment to the cause is genuine. Her sister Elen is a lesbian, and for a few years in her teens Cyndi tried to convince herself that she was, too. "My sister was gay, my best friends were gay, so I figured I had to be gay. So I did everything they did. I tried kissing girls. But it didn't feel right for me and eventually I was forced to come out as a heterosexual."

In 2007 she launched an annual True Colours tour, which this year features artists including the B52s and Andy Bell, and helps to raise awareness of homophobia. "This community for me is my beloved community," she says. "This is not a money-making venture. I have been running with this community all my life, and when I hear people like George Bush talk about the gay community being antiAmerican it makes my blood boil.

"The guy who saved the White House, one of the heroes who crashed that plane on 9/11, was gay - the rugby player Mark Bingham, who died on United 93. And does Bush ever mention that? Does he f***! That gay guy saved his lousy ass. And this guy who says he prays to God, this guy who promotes hate and fear, this guy we call our President . . . This guy is the true anti-American."

Lucille Desiree Ball was better known as a clown, but what a beauty she was too. And a real glamour girl! The photo above was taken in 1941 when she was something of a movie star. That was a full decade before she would become the world's most famous redhead on the "I Love Lucy" show that continues to be a part of our lives in reruns and on DVD nearly 60 years since its debut!

Because we loved her so much when she was alive and because we have continued to love her long after she left us, I wanted to do this special birthday post to Miss Ball who was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York.

Here are a few of my favorite clips from "I Love Lucy"

1. Lucy dances with Van Johnson

2. I Love Lucy- The Maharincess

3. I Love Lucy- Friendship Rehearsal

I can't believe the nerve of this guy!

Okay, we know that Lindsay Lohan has never publicly acknowledged that she is in a lesbian relationship with Samantha Ronson. They are inseperable and they seem to be but she has not confirmed or denied. But her parents have commented on it including this latest from her father, Michael Lohan, who would do better to just keep his trap shut:

There have been rumors - which I doubt are true - that Lindsay and Samantha may be planning to say "I do." Someone asks her dad what he thinks and he, of course, can't resist an interview: "I haven't heard anything (about an upcoming wedding) from Lindsay, but if she was marrying Sam, I don't think she'd ask me to walk her down the aisle. She knows about my faith...she just wouldn't ask."

He did add this remark: "I want her to be happy and healthy and stay on the right path, If I discuss (her relationship), I say that I want her to be happy."

Then walk your daughter down the damned aisle if she asked you to!

Anderson Cooper is so cool. Here is a clip of him with Kelly Ripa this morning talking about various reality show including "Project Runway" and "Living Lohan."

It was so much fun talking to Kim Vo a few weeks back at the NBC Press Tour party. He didn't seem to mind one bit that I did not know who the heck he was or what he did. He's adorable and fun and now that I've done my research, he's a really big deal!

Not only is he one of the judges on "Shear Genius," the Bravo reality show hosted by Jaclyn Smith, but he has two major state-of-the-art salons: B2V Salon in Beverly Hills and Kim Vo at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

Hey, I barely have any hair left, why would I know about hair? Anyway, I asked him how the heck he got the job of "color judge" on "Shear Genius".

"I slept my way to the middle and clawed my way to the top," he joked befire adding: "I've got seven years of experience, I own four salons and a product line at Barney's across the country. I'm an international recognized hairdresser and I think gives a pedigree of success. Britney Spears is one of my clients. She's been on and off and I';ve taken her to a new look recently."

He's also had many other celebrities including Uma Thurman and Kate Hudson.

Like his famous clients, he's blonde. I ask if he is a natural blonde (what do I know?). He says: "Are you kidding? I'm Vietnamese and French. I'm not natural whatsoever!"

I had to know what it's like to work with the lovely Jaclyn Smith, the show's host. "Jaclyn's amazing. Truly a class act. She's kind, she's sweet. I can't say enough good things about her."

C'mon, no diva moments from Jaclyn?"

"The only diva moments are from the contestants. There's a lot of drama with the contestants but Jaclyn and I stood hand-in-hand."

What about when Kate Jackson came on the show?

"That was amazing. Imagine two out of the three (original) Charlie's Angels. I thought I was in heaven."

How has Kim adjusted to being a TV star on "Shear Genius" I ask, unaware of his previous TV gigs.

"I've done 'Extreme Makeover' for four years so it was such a great continuation of that," he said.

I'm a litlte baffled. The home makeover show on ABC?

"It's on the Style Network Greg!" he says, laughing. "It's syndicated!"

Uh boy. I'm a ditz in this interview. But he's so much fun! I ask what Kim's future plans are: "I'm gonna keep my day job as a celebrity stylist but I'm hoping season three is coming soon. I would love a season three!"

I'm now a big fan...

That "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford and Zac Efron of the "High School Musical" movies are NOT the same person! But they really could be brothers don't ya think?

These photos were snapped over the weekend at the Teen Choice Awards...Is it just me or does it look like they just wanna start making out or something.

I personally think Andy Roddick should be playing in the Olympics instead of the Countrywide Classic at UCLA this week. He's part of the reigning Davis Cup team and a past U.S. Open champion and should be in China competing for a gold medal. That being said, it will be good to see him play this week since I plan on attending as many matches as I can.

Laat night, I invited my pal Evan to attend opening night with me and things got off to a rocky start when I tried to get a picture of the Spanish player Feliciano Lopez who just finishing up autographs. Some guard says to me, "No more photos please." I looked at him and asked: "Are you kidding me?" He says: "We ask that you only take photos of the players as they are moving." I was just about to launch into my, "This is a public sidewalk and I will take a photo of who I want" rant but quickly remembered I was on private property.

Wish I coulda got a shot of Feliciano though ... unbelievable legs.

So we have some dinner at the way overpriced food court then head over to the stadium where we have great seats for the featured match of American Mardy Fish - the silver medalist from the 2004 Olympics - and Alejandro Falla of Colombia. Mardy is the crowd favorite and, maybe because he was playing in SoCal, he looked like a surfer who had just rolled out of bed to play his match.

Right before the first point was played, two young girls, eighth-graders I think, plop themselves down in the seats directly in front of us. They have no interest in tennis it seems as they talk and laugh before the points, after the points, and DURING the points. After about five miniutes of this, I turn to Evan and say, "I'm going to have to kill them." We soon move up a row away from the chatterboxes as does another man in our row. A few games later, a man sitting in front of them turns and does what I'm sure several dozen people wanted to do: he told them to be quiet!

That was so much easier than killing them.

The match got a little dull in the second set when Mardy was just running away with it so Evan and I started talking to each other in British accents. I don't know why but we sure were cracking ourselves up.

Today's line-up looks terrific with three heartthrobs in a row: It starts with a 4 p.m. match featuring the gorgeous Russian Marat Safin followed by German star Tommy Haas. The evening's final match features the Spaniard Carlos Moya.

Yum, yum and yum.

Well, this certainly sounds interesting: here! TV has announced a new series called: "Everything You Wanted To Know About Gay Porn Stars ... but were afraid to ask." The series, directed by John Roecker, will make its debut on the network in the winter and will consist of six 30-minute episodes and a one-hour special. It takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of some of gay adult cinema's current and former stars including Johnny Hazzard, Brad Benton, Nick Capra, Jason Hawke, Nick Piston and Jason Ridge (pictured above).

Says Roecker: "I interviewed sixteen men that perform in gay porn and asked them what makes them tick. This is their forum and their voice. When I spoke to these men, I wanted to know what their parents thought, how they got into the industry and what their ultimate goals were. I found them incredibly bright, sensitive and inspiring."

Topics covered in the series include the impact of drugs on the industry, the dangers behind unprotected sex, depression, and the stigmas and drawbacks when starring in the gay porn industry. The series also promises to show us the lighter sides of these guys.

Selma Blair has become quite the movie star since her attention-getting performance in the 1999 film "Cruel Intentions."

She's starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in "Legally Blonde" and its sequel, was a riot in "The Sweetest Thing" with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate and also co-starred in "Hellboy" and this hit summer's sequel.

So what is the one-time star of the old WB comedy "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" doing for an encore? She's returning to television!

Selma stars with Molly Shannon in the new NBC comedy "Kath and Kim" set to premiere next month. The show, about a dysfunctional mother and daughter relationship, is based on a popular Australian program.

"My character happens to be very self-absorbed and very superficial and tabloid-obsessed and deems herself to be a trophy wife even though her husband works at the Best Buy," said Selma, who plays Kim. "It's kind of funny, but I have met many girls like this. She thinks she's 13 still and acts like she's 13 even though she's clearly not."
Shannon, an alumnus of "Saturday Night Live" who also did classic guest spots on "Will & Grace" and "Seinfeld."

"Molly is amazing," Selma said. "She's a wonderful, wonderful woman and it's just great to be around someone who's had so much experience with comedy and TV and can really show me the ropes of that."

I asked what made Selma decide to take on a TV series. It's not like she's not still getting plenty of movie offers.

"I was in Budapest away shooting and my life felt kind of fragmented and I wanted to stay put, work on relationships with my friends and stay closer to my house for awhile and be in one spot," she explained. "Then this script came and it was wonderful writing. It was a great part and I was thrilled to be able to be a part of it."

Selma recently completed a role in the upcoming feature film "Driving Lessons" as a teacher who finds herself in a lesbian affair with a student.

"It's my third time, I did in "Cruel Intentions" then with "Feast of Love" and now again I find myself kissing a beautiful, young woman on film."

Is Selma, divorced from Ahmet Zappa in 2006, worried about being typecast as a lesbian?

"I could care less," she said. "I'm just always pleased when anyone remembers me in anything."

I got sent this picture by somebody and figured I'd share since Kiefer Sutherland is one of my big crushes. Here is the Emmy winning star of "24" with NASCAR racer J J Yeley at the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway.

I caught the last 35 minutes of "Big Brother" last night - enough to see the ever-shirtless Jessie be put up on the block for the third time. I'm just popping in here and there but following every detail and posting terrific photos is GuyTVBlog.com.

Channing Tatum is a gorgeous guy who can also act. Chace Crawford is a gorgeous guy who ... well ... he's a really gorgeous guy.

They were among the celebs at Sunday's Teen Choice Awards. More pics are on the OhlalaMag blog... There's also a good batch of shots (like the one of David Beckham, below) on the site A Socialite's Life.

Here is the Out Magazine cover of Neil Patrick Harris one of his quotes that I found interesting and sweet:

The first face that empowered me was Danny Roberts from "The Real World: New Orleans." I think before him I'd never seen anyone wear [homosexuality] so comfortably. He was around my age. I could look to him as a role model -- if you could say that, even though he was on a reality show. He represented a way that I could behave and stand tall comfortably without being an overt advocate and without being someone hiding in the shadows. I liked that.

It's so great to talk to somebody who clearly loves his job.

Seth Meyers is one of those people. When we chatted recently, his appreciation and enthusiasm for his coveted gig as a cast member and head writer for "Saturday Night Live" was clear, as was his respect for the show's 34-year history.

"I still get goosebumps when I walk down the hall and see the pictures of everyone who's worked there," he said. "It's been seven years, and it still hasn't sunk in."

Seth's role has grown steadily over the years and will be bigger than ever when the show's new season kicks off Sept. 13. As co-anchor of the show's popular "Weekend Update" segment, he will be highly visible during the months leading to the November presidential election.

The show will extend its season to 22 episodes, and three live prime-time specials, anchored by "Weekend Update," will air on consecutive Thursday nights beginning on Oct. 9.

Then on the eve of Election Day, the "Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2008" will air.

"It's a dream job, and I love doing it, and we have amazing joke writers, so every week it's fun," Seth said. "I think that the day you get hired is the happiest day of your life, because the next day you start worrying about getting fired. It's like anything that's at the top of its field: It's a lot harder than you thought it would be, and it's supercompetitive. But right now we have a good chemistry with the group. We sort of pick each other up from week to week. It's incredible."

Seth, 34, impersonated former Democratic candidate John Kerry leading up to the last election and said that, for the most part, politicians have been good sports about it all - especially those who have actually guested on the show. This year, Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton all appeared as themselves.

"I have to say, with the politicians we had this year: (Rudy) Giuliani, (Mike) Huckabee, McCain, Hillary, Obama - they were all really easy to work with and deferred to our better judgment on things. I mean, obviously when a politician's coming in, you don't want to show them a script that you think would insult them. So we try to find something that we think straddles the line of both respectful and also funny."

Working with so many of the candidates last season gave Seth some insight into pressures they face on the campaign trail.

"You see people in the middle of a campaign and what they're going through, and you sort of realize how easy it must be to make the sort of slip-ups that get magnified in the press," he said. "It's amazing the lens these guys are under, and it's incredible they can get away without insulting everybody. But we do need them to do that. We're superhappy when they do that."

Hard as it is to believe, Seth has other things going in his career besides "SNL." He had a part in the recent sci-fi fantasy flick "Journey to the Center of the Earth." ("You know it's a small part when you're one of the characters that doesn't go to the center of the Earth," he cracked.) And he's one of the creators and stars of the upcoming comedy Web series "The Line," on Crackle.com, which he also directs.

But don't ask him about trying to follow in the feature-film footsteps of such "SNL" alums as Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler just yet.

"I'm enjoying the present so much right now that I'm trying not to focus too much on the future."

Well, here is the People magazine cover of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and their twins. The babies are cute and no doubt will be gorgeous as they grow but $14 million for their photos? Really? Babies are just like a loaf of bread at this point but whatever.

The thing that makes it so very cool is that we know the Jolie-Pitt family uses their enormous resources to give back to the world and this fee will go to their various causes. I finally got around to reading the Vanity Fair cover story on Angelina while on vacation last week and came away more impressed with her than ever before and was happy that she and Brad seem to have such a good relationship despite what those rags like In Touch and US Weekly etc. put on their covers just about every week.

Brad and Angelina are two accomplished and interesting people who also happen to be movie stars and two of the most beautiful people on the planet.

All of the attention the past three weelks has been on the historic box office performance of "The Dark Knight" with features Heath Ledger's last completed performance. And rightfully so -expecially after the movie managed its third weekend in a row in first place and will pass the $400 million mark in record time.

What has not gotten much ink is the success of the musical "Mamma Mia" starring Meryl Streep. In its third weekend in theaters grossed $13 million and finished in fourth place. It was just a 25 percent drop from last weekend which indicates strong staying power. In 17 days, "Mamma" has grossed $87.9 million.

Meryl has been a movie star for 30 years but her biggest box office hit came just two years ago with the summer release "The Devil Wears Prada" which took in $124.7 million. Amazingly, the only other two films Meryl has appeared in to have grossed more than $100 million are 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer" and 2004's "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Coming close was the classic 1985 film "Out of Africa" ($87 million) which woulf have outgrossed them all at today's ticket prices.

I'm most excited about the success of "Mamma" because it will encourage Hollywood to make more musicals.

Remember the Bravo "dating" show "Boy Meets Boy" where one dude (James Getzlaff) gets to be the "bachelor" and get wooed by dozens of guys? The annoying thing was that some of the guys were NOT gay! They were part of the reality show twist or whatever. Is it any wonder that we never saw a season two of this 2003 disaster?

I don't remember much from the show - and I did see every episode - but I do remember one particularly hot contestant who flashed his backside in the shower. His name is Dan Wells and he was one of the straight ones. So, in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, Dan is among the former reality show participants interviewed for an article titled: "What Were They Thinking?"

Here's part of what Dan says now about that experience: "I reached a point where I was like, 'Dude, this isn't cool.' People started getting emotional. Then you see the difficulty James had with his decisions, and here I am toying with him. It wasn't very nice. ... But it wasn't tough to act gay. You just pretend that you feel about guys the way you feel about girls. You learn as you go and you watch how the gay men were acting and behaving and so forth, and you role with the vibe of the situation."

Back in April, Novak Djokovic (above) had a chance to supplant Rafael Nadal as the number two player in the world.
All he had to do was win their semifinals match in a clay court tournament in Europe. Instead, Nadal blew by him and embarked on a stunning 32-match winning streak that included the French Open and Wimbledon crowns and titles on clay, grass and cement.

Cutie pie Serbian Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January, is no longer a threat for the number two ranking but he did manage to temporarily stop the studly Nadal from becoming number one in the world by beating him in the semifinals of the men's tournament in Cincinatti on Saturday. Had he won the tournament, Rafael would have dislodged Roger Federer from the top spot where he has reigned for a record 235 consecutive weeks on Monday when the new rankings come out.

But it only delays the inevitable: Nadal - ranked number two for a record 135 straight weeks - has so many ranking points that he will become number one in two weeks time and be top-ranked going into the U.S. Open where Federer is the four-time defending champion.

I was driving home from Palm Springs last night and National Public Radio's Terry Gross was playing an encore of an interview she did with Neil Patrick Harris back in 2005. It was that very interview, when it originally aired, that really shaped my opinion of this actor. He was so articulate as he spoke of everything from teen stardom on "Doogie Howser M.D." to a career on Broadway starring in "Rent," "Cabaret" and "Assassins" and, at the time of the interview, with Patti LuPone in a production of "Sweeney Todd."

Anyway, when I got out of the car last night, after listening to this interview, there was a brand-new copy of Out Magazine in my mail with none other than Neil Patrick Harris on the cover! Here are some excerpts from NPH's most candid interview to date on being an openly gay man in Hollywood:
On how the business has changed for gay actors since he first hit the scene as Doogie: "It's all uniquely so personalto each person. I can't say that the business is any different now than it was then because I wasn't 30 years old then and in a position to stand tall and say something. I think the fears that enveloped me then would be the same fears that would envelope people that are 15, 16, 17 now.... Clearly there's way more exposure and a much larger gray area with sexuality and the public's opinion towards it - on almost every level - professionally, artistically, legally. What made it more unique 20 years ago was that there were less examples - so that made it a shock. And I think the shock value has kind of worn off."

On growing up in Hollywood and coming out: Actually I think it was easier for me because I was around a lot of people who were gay and I was around a lot of people who were very confident. I was surrounded by people I could talk to freely about anything, and they were very successful emotionally and otherwise. And yet, part of the coming out process is figuring out who you like and what that means and how to act upon it. Being an actor reduced my level of anonymity. I couldn't just go to some bar and walk in and ask someone out on a date because there was too much awareness of me ... I sort of had to narrow my gaze from afar. If I had any regret, it would be that strange lack of anonymity that created panic within myself that I would be found out. I think that's everyone's big fear."
On his boyfriend, actor David Burtka: "I found a guy who I'm head over heels for ... I think if and when we do (get married), we'd probably announce it after the fact as opposed to making the bog announcement that it was going to happen. ... We both wear rings and I'm giddy when I see all the pictures of people so happy standing there, confirming the love they wish they could have expressed for a long time."

On Anderson Cooper: "Mmmmmmmmmm. Anderson. He's dreamy, just dreamy. I've been a fan of his since season one of "The Mole.' I just thought he was so cool when he talked on this cool, low super-agent voice - 'If you can accomplish this task...' Listen, no one should tell anyone how big their steps should be or when they can take them."

Justin Gumelstob, who never could manage to make the world's top 60 during his more than decade-long pro tennis career, got most of his attention for being known as "the most quotable guy on the ATP tour." Well, now that he has retired, maybe he should just shut up.

He was recently made to apologize for comments he made on a radio show that insulted Anna Kournikova . Asked if he hated the Russian player, with whom he trained as a youth player, he replied: "Hate is a very strong word. I just despise her to the maximum level just below hate." He added that he would not like to sleep with Kournikova, "because she's such a douche". Instead, "I wouldn't mind my brother, who is kind of a stud, nail her and then reap the benefits."

Real classy, huh? But that's not even what's got my goat. I just read an article in Out Magazine on former tennis pro Francisco Rodriguez who quit the tour a few years back and came out publicly. The article (click HERE to read it in its entirety), explores why no male tennis pro has ever came out. Gimelstob explains it all to us:

The locker room couldn't be a more homophobic place," he says. "We're not gay-bashing. There's just a lot of positive normal hetero talk about pretty girls and working out and drinking beer. That's why people want to be pro athletes!"

Oh, is that why Gimelstob? I think champions like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are pro athletes because they love their sport and they want to win. Something you were never great at on the pro tour except for the two mixed doubles grand slam titles you won. But I suspect those had more to do with who your partner was: Venus Williams.

The muscular Jessie Godderz, who never met a shirt he didn't want to take off, had flaunted his body for the cameras well before he showed up on "Big Brother" this season. Towleroad.com has the photos and the videos. Click HERE to check it out!

The actress who we first came to know in the indie face "Welcome to the Dollhouse" (She was Dawn Weiner), played Ryan Phillippe's little sister in "54," and lit up the "Princess Diaries" flicks, will marry Carolyn Murphy, her girlfriend of more than a year.

Congratulations to Heather on the upcoming wedding and for being an out and proud young actress!

I don't usually write about Lindsay Lohan but this photo was so sweet I just had to post it. Here she is with Samantha Ronson who is widely reported to be her girlfriend. Glad to see Lindsay calmed down and away from those scary parents of hers. I wish her well...

Even while on vacation - like this week - I still wanna blog a little bit.

Not so for Rosie O'Donnell, whose Rosie.com has become a must-read. Rosie told readers this week that she is taking a blogging break. Here is what she wrote:

i am taking off august
in blog-ville
2 c if i can
rosie unplugged

happy summer peeps

peace in
peace out

At first glance, Ryan Gosling - snapped here after a workout at 24 Hour Fitness this week - would appear to be just another one of the many hot young guys in Hollywood. But he is so much more with an Oscar nomination under his belt ("Half Nelson") and another one deserved this year ("Lars and the Real Girl"), Ryan is one of the finest actors of his generation.

Gosh, not only is Luke Snyder the world's sweetest boyfriend, he's also a wonderful brother and son. He is a rock for his mother and little sisters as the Snyder family deals with Lily and Holden's split due to Holden's infidelity. There's some terrific family drama in this episode!

I'm glad to see that Van Hansis is being given more to do as Luke than just moon over Noah who's undergone more personality changes than Sally Field in Sybil. In his current incarnation, he's the supportive, loving boyfriend who seems to - for the moment at least - know who he is and what he has in Luke.

Here are Thursday's scenes which include yet another Luke and Noah kiss! (and it's a pretty good one too)...