December 2008 Archives
This past year has been a dream come true for a gay kid who used to just pour over Rona Barrett's magazines the second they came out. It's been so much fun to interview such a diverse list of celebs this year from showbiz legends to new discoveries and everything in between. I'm sure there is a massive game of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" that could be played with all of the people I've interviewed in 2009. Here is a user-friendly list to allow you to revisit some of those people. Just click on the name and enjoy!
Florence Henderson (pictured w/me)
David Duchovny, Tommy Tune and Carol Channing, Joey Fatone, TR Knight, Cameron Mathison, Joey Lawrence, Elizabeth Pena, Jean Smart, Patrick Duffy, Ross Mathews, Sharon Stone, Robert Gant, Tom Ford, Rufus Wainwright, Leslie Jordan, Christopher Gorham, Billy Baldwin, Luke Macfarlane and Matthew Rhys, Janet Jackson, Lee Pace, Brandon Routh, Jason Alexander, Neil Patrick Harris, David Spade, Ron Livingston, Julie Newmar, Lucie Arnaz, Rosie Perez, Joely Fisher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Martina Navratilova, Sean Faris, Jared Leto, Brad Rowe, Tatum Channing, Ryan Phillippe, Steve Guttenberg, Donny Osmond, Audra McDonald, George Takei, Ruby Dee,Anthony Hopkins, Lorraine Bracco, Debra Messing, Kristen Chenoweth, Jon Hamm and Ricki Lake...
Since tonight is New Year's Eve, it's a good time to start thinking about our resolutions for 2009. I want to go green and drink fewer sodas, for starters. Since I'm making resolutions for myself, I thought I'd also help those in the show-biz community out and start a list for them:
** As the awards season kicks off next week with the Critics Choice Awards followed a few days later by the Golden Globes, can the interviewers on the red carpet do a little basic research and get past the Joan Rivers "Who are you wearing?" schtick. It is tired and turns the whole thing into a big advertisement for designers and jewel makers etc. It feels like I'm watching Home Shopping Network!
I loved what happened last year when someone asked Julie Christie whose pants she was wearing at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Christie's curt reply: "They're mine."
** Speaking of awards, it would be such a thrill to see Meryl Streep, so superb in "Doubt," finally win a long overdue third Academy Award. When she won the supporting actress Oscar in 1980 for "Kramer vs. Kramer" followed by a best actress win just three years later for "Sophie's Choice," Streep seemed destined to win several more. But it has not happened despite a record 14 nominations overall.
I just do not for one minute believe that Gwyneth Paltrow was better in "Shakespeare in Love" than Streep was the same year in "One True Thing." I also believe she should have won for "The Bridges of Madison County" although Susan Sarandon was a worthy winner for "Dead Man Walking."
** It might take a miracle but I wish for resolution between the Screen Actors Guild - working without a new contract since last June - and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
SAG, understandably, does not want to be screwed out of residuals for web programming the way they were on DVD profits in the past. But the stalemate and threats of a strike are hurting everyone and bitterly dividing the often fractious guild even deeper. It's no sure thing that SAG would have enough support among its won members to go on strike (a vote will take place in January) so I do hope a plan B is ready to go.
** Somehow, the wonderful but tragically unseen "12 Miles of Bad Road" rises from the dead after being cancelled by HBO before it aired a single episode. I've watched all of the episodes produced and believe me, with a cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Gary Cole, Mary Kay Place and Leslie Jordan, this show is a hoot and deserves to be aired.
I'm not sure what the business implications are but I'd like to see this show, created by the gifted writer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason ("Designing Women"), picked up by a cable channel like Lifetime or Oxygen, released on DVD or even streamed over the Internet. With all the garbage reality shows on TV, it's criminal that such a quality shown has not been seen.
** Those tacky weekly magazines we can't help but leaf through at the supermarket need to let Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie move on with their lives!
With Britney Spears now walking the straight and narrow and Lindsay Lohan mostly out of trouble, I realize there may be a dearth of sure-fire best-selling covers out there but c'mon! Most of the stuff is clearly untrue or blown way out of proportion.
I also have no use for the over-exposed and underwhelming Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag who would go to the opening of an envelope if cameras were there. Santa, even their good deeds like serving food to the needy seem like a shameless publicity stunt.
** And finally, even though the 2009 Emmy Awards are more than eight months away, the parties involved clearly need to get a head start on finding: a suitable host for the show honoring television's best.
Things were bad enough when Ryan Seacrest was solo host in 2007 but were made five times worse when last fall he was joined by reality show hosts Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Howie Mandel and Tom Bergeron. The quintet did not rehearse a thing which was obvious when they laid the biggest egg since the one Jonathan Winters emerged from on "Mork & Mindy" all those years ago.
Attention TV Academy: Try something radical and book a host with talent and charm like the Oscars have done with Hugh Jackman. I have some suggestions: the wildly popular Ellen DeGeneres if she'd do it or the very smart and funny Jon Stewart, Bill Maher or Joy Behar.
My favorite part of this is Kathy dissing on Lou Dobbs. Kathy and Anderson are such a great team! They should have their own morning show. Too bad they have such kick-ass day jobs...
Here is more of last night's Griffin-fest. She was also on with Larry King...
Male star of 2008: Neil Patrick Harris
This is an easy choice. This immensly takented man who nabbed his second consecutive Emmy nomination for his performance as Barney on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." But that's not all. The proudly gay actor also reprised his role as a fictionalized version of himself in the sequel "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantamano Bay" and was a revelation in the web series "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" now available on DVD through Amazon.com, I like Neil best as himself whether he's guest hosting on "Live With Regis and Kelly" or announcing the Emmy nominations with Kristen Chenoweth. He makes it all fun. All that AND he's got a talented and very handsome boyfriend named David Burtka.
Runner up: Chad Allen also had a stellar year with the stage plays "The Little Dog Laughed" and "Looped," two stellar Donald Strachey movies on the here! TV channel, the long-awaited release of the well-done feature film "Save Me" (Chad also was a producer) and finally, Chad also did a well-recieved three episode arc on the summer series "General Hospital: Night Shift" as a patient who falls for a handsome doctor played by Adam Grimes.
Busy Chad also found time to speak out against Prop. 8 and even manned the phones for the campaign. Great guy.
Female star 2008: Ellen DeGeneres The wonderful Ellen had another memorable year of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and won her fifth consecutive Emmy for outstanding talk show host. Ellen also used her show, in her low-key way, to speak out against Proposition 8. She personalized the issue when she married Portia de Rossi in the summer making the cover of People magazine.
The world's most famous and popular lesbian comic (sorry Rosie) also hosted "Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show" on TBS. When it was my turn to ask some questions during a conference call Ellen had to promote the variety special, I mentioned that she sounded a little more subdued than usual and wondered if the election had taken a toll.
"I feel good, I feel really good," she insisted. "I think the next day (after the election) a lot of people felt energized about Obama and excited for that then there was that big, loud voice saying, 'You are not equal to us' and that feels bad - really, really bad. A loud voice saying, 'You don't deserve the same rights.' So it took a little bit of air out of me from the night before.
Straight star of the year: Brad Pitt:Who would have thought that Brad Pitt would have done more to try and defeat Prop. 8 than Rosie O'Donnell and most other celebrities - straight or gay. He donated $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign and spoke out against it in interviews.
This makes it all the more sweet that Brad had such an amazing year as he and Angelina Jolie added newborn twins to their brood and Brad gave a pair of first-rate performances: he was an absolute riot in "Burn After Reading" playing a dumb blackmailer then topped that with a career role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." He's up for a Golden Globe and SAG Award and will likely nab the second Oscar nomination of his career.
I'm usually running around somewhere in either Palm Springs or West Hollywood on New Year's Eve but if I were at home tomorrow night, I'd have the TV on CNN watching the fun team of Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. The D-Lister adores the Silver Fox and plays off him well. Above is a clip from last year's show followed by two more after the jump.
Continue reading Getting ready for more of Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin on NY Eve....
President George W. Bush, who has just three weeks left in office, finally did something for gay and lesbians in the United States. The president who supported Don't Ask, Don't Tell and who vetoed the Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill, signed the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) two days before Christmas.
This has not been widely reported and I found it on The Minnesota Independent website via Queerty. The new law makes it mandatory for businesses to roll over retirement benefits to a same-sex partner in the event of the employee's death.
The Independent writes that "previously, employers could decline and surviving same-sex partners would have to pay tax on the inheritance of the deceased partner's retirement savings. Legally married heterosexual couples automatically avoid that tax penalty."
Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.hailed the move. "This legislation secures much-needed protection for lesbian and gay couples. Our community faces unique challenges in preparing for retirement because we are denied Social Security spousal and survivor benefits. Protecting our hard-earned retirement savings is even more crucial to us, and until now, the tax code made it that much harder."
WORD IS OUT: STORIES OF SOME OF OUR LIVES: A restored version of this landmark movie was screened at Outfest in LA over the summer and was the most moving theatrical experience I had all year. It will be released in early 2009 on DVD with a documentary that updates some of the stories originally told in this movie 30 years ago. It features 26 people who opened up in front of the camera about their lives; their struggles, their quiet triumphs. What an eclectic group - wonderful group. All so different from each other. Some of the stories were chilling: the man who was sent to an institution and given shock therapy after he confessed to his wife that he was gay; the woman who lost custody of her children because she was living with her lover; the woman who willingly spent four years as a teenager in a mental hospital in an effort to not be gay, and on and on. These people break your heart at times then warm it with their resilience, their humor and their incredible perspective. The movie was released in 1978 and has a positive feeling to it because the sense was that LGBT people had come quite a ways and it would only continue to get better. Then came AIDS. It is impossible to watch "Word Is Out" and not reflect on your own journey. It may or may not have been as harrowing as some of the people in the film but I'm certain it was not an easy one. I'm excited for everyone to see this movie and will keep you posted on release plans.
MILK: The Gus Van Sant-directed "Milk" came out as we are still reeling from the passage of Proposition 8 in California which took away the right of same-sex couples to marry. Some complained the the movie, had it come out earlier, might have help defeat the measure. I'm not so sure about that but admit, the story of Harvey Milk is damned inspiring. Sean Penn will likely win a second Oscar for his performance as the slain San Francisco County supervisor while Dustin Lance Black could nab screenplay honors. Also look for Josh Brolin and James Franco to be nominated in supporting categories. This is not only an important film, it's a quality film and the most important gay-themed "mainstream" movie since "Brokeback Mountain."
SHELTER: I still get comments on the blog about "Shelter," the beautiful love story between a surfing artist and the older brother of his best friend. Trevor Wright was so good in the role of the young artist that he elevates an already strong script. Also wonderful is Brad Rowe as the older lover who encourages Wright's character to go for his dreams and helps him to make that possible. The movie had been around the festival circuit last year then had its theaterical and DVD release in mid-2008.
CIAO: Just released last week, "Ciao" was one of the best gay-themed of the year. I absolutely loved it. Directed by Yen Tan, this is a no-frills movie with a wonderful script. It's mostly two guys talking, getting to know each other. And you can't keep your eyes off of them. I didn't feel like I was watching a movie sometimes, just watching two people interact. When Mark (Chuck Blaum) dies in a car accident, his best friend Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) is left to tie up loose ends as he mourns. While sending emails of the sudden passing, Jeff meets Andrea (Alessandro Calza), Mark's Italian online boyfriend. On a whim, Jeff and Andrea decide to meet, each hoping to gain a sense of closure. Calzar is physically so beautiful but he also brings such a charm and a lot of heart to his performance - especially in those moments when he is sharing with Jeff the things about Mark that Jeff never knew about. Whether over dinner, over beers or visiting Mark's apartment and grave, these two form a beautiful bond and you will want to witness it.
NOAH'S ARC: JUMPING THE BROOM: You gotta figure fans of the "Noah's Arc" TV series were gonna love the long-awaited feature film almost no matter what it was about. The great news is this: the movie, "Noah's Arc" Jumping the Broom" was terrific and worth the wait. I walked out of the screening with a smile because I liked it so much, liked spending time with Noah, Wade, Alex, Ricky and Chance again. Only a cast already this comfortable with their characters and with each other could come up with that kind of chemistry and those kinds of performances in the movie that was shot in just 15 days. Rodney Chester (Alex) is just a comic delight throughout the movie and gives his character the kind of larger-than-life personality that translates well onto the big screen. He has such great energy and timing but also dials it down just right in his two more dramatic scenes. Rodney has great material as his character takes it upon himself to become the wedding planner from hell for Noah (Darryl Stephens) and Wade's (Jensen Atwood) wedding at Martha's Vinyard. (The series is set in LA, but at the time the movie was shot, marriage was not yet legal in California - it is legal is Mass.). Every character has some major drama and relationship trouble including Chance (Doug Spearman) and Eddie (Jonathan Julian), and the slutty Ricky (Christian Vincent). I like that we peel the onion on Ricky some and learn why he is the tramp that he is. The movie was co-written and directed by Patrik-Ian Polk.
Okay, that does it for favorite gay-themed movies but I will add the following flicks that I also liked that didn't have much or any LGBT characters (that I know of!): "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Sex and the City," "Mamma Mia," "Frost/Nixon," "Iron Man," "The Dark Knight," and "Doubt."
This is always one of the most well-done and entertaining awards shows all year and the reason is because it's nothing like an awards show! There are no speeches by the recpients - just tributes from admirers, superior biographical pieces and wondferful performances. The big draw this year is the great Barbara Streisand who is honored along with Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Twyla Tharp, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry.
The show airs on CBS at 9 pm. (PST)
This is just plain bizzaro but hey, it involves Mickey Rourke! The Daily Beast has reported that in a private text message, Rourke bashes his likely Oscar rival Sean Penn allegedly calling his performance as a gay political leader Harvey Milk "average" and accusing Penn of being a homophobe!
Oh man, I can't wait for the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards where they are pitted against each other in the best actor races and have to be considered to be the front-runners.
The Daily Beast, in an item that has been widely picked up by such sites as The Huffington Post, writes: After his December 23 appearance on David Letterman, Rourke told someone backstage that he was surprised that so many people seemed to think that Penn was his Oscar competition since "I'm not even sure he'll get a nomination."
On December 28, a Los Angeles entertainment honcho shared a text message... that Rourke had sent him: "Look seans an old friend of mine and i didnt buy his performance at all--thought he did an average pretend acting like he was gay besides hes one of the most homophobic people i kno" [sic]
This is ridiculous. If it is true, Rourke, widely praised for his performance in "The Wrestler," is shooting himself in the foot! Oscar ballots just went out last week and people are deciding on nominees as we speak!
Here's what Rourke's publicist had to say about the report: "There is no Oscar feud between Mickey and Sean. They have known each other and been friends for a very long time. Mickey attended the New York premiere of Milk to support Sean and only has the greatest respect for him." She adds that Rourke is "completely unaware of the text."
I have a feeling this is not the last we've heard of this!
Josh Brolin - one of the hot actors of recent years - will be on Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio on Monday January 5 @ 8/7c. He will, of course, discuss playing Dan White, Harvey Milk's assassin in "Milk" as well as his lead role in "W" which featured his top-notch performance as George W. Bush. Other noteable roles for Brolin include "No Country for Old Men" and "In the Valley of Elah." Since Josh is such a smart and funny guy, my guess is this will be one of the better episodes.
Thanks to Orli for the heads up!
Here are some clips...
I'll be doing at least one of these linds of lists each day this week as we wrap up 2008 and look ahead to 2009. On a personal level, an absolute high point of my year has been continuing to do this blog. It is so satisfying and stimulating and also so validating to know that so many of you check in each day. It means the world to me...
But enough about me! Here are some of the high and low points of the year:
High: The California Supreme Court makes it legal for same-sex couples to marry each other in the state. I'll never forget the feeling of jubliation on that day, a feeling that the right thing had finally happened. Robin Tyler and Diane Olson (pictured above) filed the lawsuit that started it all and were the first to be married in LA County.
Low: The passage of Proposition 8 which, for now, bans same-sex couples from marrying. It was a reality check to see that even in California, there is a huge nimber of people who do not think gay people should have equal rights. It hurt.
High: The uprising post-election day. The rallies and the marches were such a cathartic thing to witness and to be a part of. The passage of Prop. 8 was something that woke everyone up and made them realize this was not going to be an easy fight but one they must be a part of. Also, the hard look into leadership of the No on 8 movement was and is needed although I think there have been some cheap shots taken in hindsight.
High: The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. He emerged as a stronger candidate due to his battle for the Democratic nomination with the formidable Hillary Rodhamk Clinton and won a lot of us over. He heavily courted the gay vote and though he would not support same-sex marriage, there was a feeling and a hope that he would come through for the LGBT community.
Low: Obama's selection of anti-gay Rev. Rick Warren has left many incredulous, hurt and angry. I am all three. It does force one to lower expectations far as hoping Obama will come through on LGBT rights in the near future. Now we can take a wait and see attitude and realize that we have to stay strong and fight the good fight. I'm very proud of thiose who have spoken out and made their outrage over this terrible selection known.
Low: Republican candidate John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Questions about her qualifications aside, she has been no friend of gays (she favored a federal ban on same-sex marriage) and would have have been a disaster for LGBT citizens.
High: Tina Fey made us laugh so, so much with her dead-on impersination on Palin on "Saturday Night Live." It was an Emmy-worthy performance, so letter-perfect that you could confuse the two at first glance. But when Palin finally appeared on "SNL" as herself, it was a little too real and a little too scary.
Daniel Craig is on vacation on the beach in St. Bartss and I sure wish I was there too!
The seven-time Emmy winner turns 71 today.
She is forever young thanks to the seven seasons of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." She also has some dramatic chops earning an Oscar nomination for "Ordinary People" and an Emmy for "Stolen Babies."
But comedy is what she did best as you can see in this clip from my favorite episode of all time:from her sitcom: "Chuckles Bites the Dust."
This is a mix of the serious, the silly and the sexy...
Let's start with Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious rebuttal to girlfriend Sarah Silverman's "I'm F****** Matt Damon" video. It's called "I'm F****** Ben Affleck. You gotta see it to believe it!
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Staying in comedy mode, Tina Fey did several "Saturday Night Live" sketches as Sarah Palin. I think this one is the funniest with the funniest line of them all: "I can see Russia from my house!"
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Scotty and Kevin, played by Luke Macfarlane and Matthew Rhys, respectively, got hitched in the season finale of "Brothers & Sisters" last spring and it was such a moving episode filled with heart. I'll never forget it.
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Same-sex kisses between men on television shows usually leave something to be desired - especially when one or both of the actors are straight. An exception was this smooch between Adam Grimes and Chad Allen from the summer series "General Hospital: Night Shift".
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It is no wonder Anderson Cooper enjoys his side gig on "60 Minutes" so much: he gets to show off his biceps and hang out with sports hotties. His interview with David Beckham was fun but even better is this clip from his recent interview with Olympian Michael Phelps. Anderson challenges Phelps to a race in the pool!
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It was such a thrill to watch Tina Turner and Beyonce Knowles perform at the Grammy Awards. Beyonce showed proper respect to her elders and Tina showed that even though she is pushing 70, she is as sensational as ever.
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The 2008 Tony Awards were highlighted by Patti LuPone's win in the best performance in a musical category. The great LuPone, amazingly, had not won a Tony in 28 years! It was long overdue and much-deserved. I was watching from the LA Tony Awards party at the Skirball Center with the likes of Tommy Tune, Carol Channing and Florence Henderson and I can assure you, there was not a more popular win the entire night.
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The presidential campaign made "The View" must-see TV during election season. This particular showdown was my favorite because Barbara Walters finally confronted Elisabeth Hasselbeck on the substance in her staunch defense of Sarah Palin who she actually campaigned for. Said Walters: "We love you on the program. You are the counterpoint. But every single day you never ever say, 'Maybe there's another point.'"
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Ellen DeGeneres, God bless her, was one of the most important voices and faces in the fight to preserve gay marriage. Her wedding to Portia de Rossi made the cover of People magazine with a splashy photo spread inside. At one point, people complained that Ellen wasn't doing enough. But they were silenced when she took up the issue on her show with the likes of John McCain, donated $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign and made this video with her own money:
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And finally, here is the amazing commentary by Keith Olbermann given on MSNBC on Nov. 10, six days after California voters passed Proposition 8 and banned same-sex marriage in the state. It was one of the most common sense thing I have yet to hear on the issue:
Still playing in just 311 theaters, the ticket grosses of "Milk" cannot really be compared to such mega-Christmas weekend releases as Jennifer Aniston's "Marley & Me," Brad Pitt's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories" and even Tom Cruise's "Valkyrie."
All four of thiose films exceeded expectations.
But "Milk" is strong.as it grossed an estimated $1,830,000 Friday throughb Sunday for a to-date gross of $13,597,000. It's per-screen average of $5,884 is still extremely high and fuels optimism as Focus Features expands the release to more theaters in the coming weeks.
On Christmas Day, one of my brithers announced that he was taking the entire day off from work next month so that he could watch all of the presidential inauguration coverage. It made me realize how lukewarm I had become about it because of President-elect Barack Obama's insulting choice of the homophobic church leader Rick Warren to give the invocation. The kicked in the stomach feeling has not gone away since the announcement was made - it is just so bitterly disappointing.
Frank Rich of the New York Times has written an excellent column on the controversy that I want to share portions of it with you...
As we saw during primary season, our president-elect is not free of his own brand of hubris and arrogance, and sometimes it comes before a fall: "You're likable enough, Hillary" was the prelude to his defeat in New Hampshire. He has hit this same note again by assigning the invocation at his inauguration to the Rev. Rick Warren, the Orange County, Calif., megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and "an older guy marrying a child." Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious -- and glib -- decision by Obama to spend political capital. It was made with the certitude that a leader with a mandate can do no wrong....
There's no reason why Obama shouldn't return the favor by inviting him to Washington. But there's a difference between including Warren among the cacophony of voices weighing in on policy and anointing him as the inaugural's de facto pope. You can't blame V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and an early Obama booster, for feeling as if he'd been slapped in the face. "I'm all for Rick Warren being at the table," he told The Times, but "we're talking about putting someone up front and center at what will be the most-watched inauguration in history, and asking his blessing on the nation. And the God that he's praying to is not the God that I know."
Warren, whose ego is no less than Obama's, likes to advertise his "commitment to model civility in America." But as Rachel Maddow of MSNBC reminded her audience, "comparing gay relationships to child abuse" is a "strange model of civility." Less strange but equally hard to take is Warren's defensive insistence that some of his best friends are the gays: His boasts of having "eaten dinner in gay homes" and loving Melissa Etheridge records will not protect any gay families' civil rights.
Equally lame is the argument mounted by an Obama spokeswoman, Linda Douglass, who talks of how Warren has fought for "people who have H.I.V./AIDS." Shouldn't that be the default position of any religious leader? Fighting AIDS is not a get-out-of-homophobia-free card.
Continue reading NY Times columnist takes Obama to task for selecting Warren....
...the kid turns 18 today. Here he is singing the song that announced to the world that a major talent had arrived: "Imagine."
If you have already seen "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" then you no doubt were impressed by the heartfelt performance of Taraji P. Henson.
She plays Queenie, a young woman who takes in and raises a baby left on her doorstep. The baby, which is Brad Pitt's character in the film, was born an old man an ages backward.
"I always knew I would star opposite Brad Pitt someday," Henson joked. "But I thought it would be something hot and steamy, not his mama. But I'll take it!"
It was such a delight to talk with Henson who is the only performer to receive three 2009 Screen Actors Guild nominations. She is up for best supporting actress and best cast performance for "Button" and part of the nominated cast of "Boston Legal."
The 38-year-old actress had been best known for the 2001 film "Baby Boy" and her role as a cop on the old Lifetime series "The Division." Then she earned acclaim and several awards for her performance in "Hustle & Flow" as Shug, a pregnant prostitute.
"'Hustle & Flow' actually got me 'Benjamin Button'" she explained. "Lorraine Mayfield, who casts all of (director David)Fincher's films - two years before the film had even been greenlit - she was in the theater watching 'Hustle & Flow.' She called David while she was watching the film and said, 'Oh my God, I found Queenie!' So unbenownst to me, I go in to read for it and I didn't even know the job was mine."
This could be why she was so relaxed at the audition: "I jumped through the hoops and I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah, whatever. I've got a garage sale to get back to.'"
Since then, it's been non-stop work with films that include "Talk to Me," "The Family the Preys" and "Smokin Aces."
Henson recently completed a role in the independent film "Once Fallen" with Ed Harris and Amy Madigan and has "Hurricane Season" with Forest Whitaker set for release in March.
"I like great company," she said of her co-stars in the various films," she said. "I hope it keeps rolling, I hope it just keeps coming on in."
In choosing roles, she is looking for "incredible projects and characters that I can bring to life that will reach people and touch them and hopefully change lives," she said. "That's why I do what I do."
Something else she will be doing a lot of next year is attending awards ceremonies. In addition to her SAG nods, she's up for a Golden Globe Award and the Critics Choice Award with an Academy Award nomination looking increasingly likely.
"That part, I can take it or leave it," she said of getting glammed-up for all the awards hoopla. "But I understand that it's a part of the job description - you can't have one without the other."
The wonderful indie movie "Ciao" is getting some terrific reviews. But if you're not the type who cares about that kind of thing, then you will need no bigger reason than leading man Alessandro Calza. He's not only beautiful, biut talented. He co-wrote the film's script with director Yen Tan.
"Ciao" opened in selected theaters Friday.
This talented actor, who came out at 19 while co-starring on ABC's "My So-Called Life," turns 35 years old today!
Whether starring on Broadway ("Rent") or on television ("Noah's Arc," "Raising the Bar," "Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World," "Party of Five") or in films ("Coffee Date," "He's Just Not That Into You," "Bam Bam and Celeste," "Party Monster"), the gifted and authentic Wilson is one of the great talents.
Happy Birthday!!!
I'd think this is kinda like getting a star of the Hollwyood Walk of Fame. Maybe it's an even bigger honor since the Oleson twins have a star. Anyway, the now out-and-proud Clay Aiken was honored this week with a caricature that now adorns the walls of the famed eatery Sardi's.
Clay is currently on Broadway portraying Sir Robin in "Monty Python's Spamalot" at the Shubert Theatre. Th3 2003 "American Idol" runner up made his Broadway debut in the show on a Jan. 18 and played through May 4. He returned to the show Sept. 19 and will remain in the role through Jan. 4, 2009.
...Reichen Lehmkuhl who turns 35 today!
The first winner of CBS' "Amazing Race" (with former partner Chip Arndt), Reichen has managed to remain in the limelight in a variety of ways since "Race": writing a book ("Here's What We'll Say"), being an actor ("Dante's Cove"), having his own calendar and line of jewelry, and dating Lance Bass for awhile. He's now with the equally gorgeous Ryan Barry, writing a column for Advocate.com and, I hope, starting a new season on "Dante's" soon! He's also cooked up something called The Real Reichen, a web com that allows viewers to watch Reichen during his day. Unlimited viewing is $99 a month!!!
In earlier my postings on the late Eartha Kitt, who died on Christmas Day, I hadn't mentioned an event in her life that derailed her career in the US for at least a decade: it was the day she confronted Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War at a White House luncheon.
Kitt was clearly not intimidated by her surroundings on that day in 1968. Mrs. Johnson's biographer, David Murphy, recounted the incident in the book "Texas Bluebonnet: Lady Bird Johnson."
As the president was contemplating his future, Lady Bird went on with her official duties and hosted a Women Doers lunch on Jan. 18, 1968 that was to focus on crime. Singer and actress Eartha Kitt was invited upon the recommendation of Sharon Francis and Liz Carpenter since Kitt had testified to Congress in favor of the President's anti-crime legislation. When President (Lyndon) Johnson entered the room, Kitt confronted him, "Mr. President, what do you do about delinquent parents, those who have to work and are too busy to look after their children?" He told her that Social Security legislation was just passed that provided millions of dollars for daycare centers. Kitt was not pleased but Johnson told her those were issues for the women to discuss at the lunch.
During the question period, Kitt stood up and confronted Lady Bird, "Boys I know across the nation feel it doesn't pay to be a good guy." She moved into (sic) closer to the First Lady and said that boys don't want to behave for fear of being sent to Vietnam saying, "You are a mother too though you have had daughters and not sons. I am a mother and I know the feeling of having a baby come out of my guts. I have a baby and then you send him off to war. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot. And Mrs. Johnson, in case you don't understand the lingo, that's marijuana.
After a few others spoke, Mrs. Johnson was reportedly near tears when she said: "Because there is a war on, and I pray that there will be a just and honest peace -- that still doesn't give us a free ticket not to try to work for better things -- against crime in the streets and for better education and health for our people. I cannot identify as much as I should. I have not lived the background that you have nor can I speak as passionately or as well, but we must keep our eyes and our hearts and our energies fixed on constructive areas and try to do something that will make this a happier, better educated land."
My pal Ted Johnson, who I just spoke with last night when he called with Christmas wishes from Minneapolis, is still doing a little work on his holiday and posted on his Wilshire & Washington blog about how Kitt really suffered professionally after the incident:
It didn't do her career much good, as it went into freefall, forcing to Europe for bookings for nearly a decade. The CIA maintained files on her and investigated her background, all but suggesting that she was a nymphomaniac, even though she otherwise embraced the image of a sex kitten. She said in 1998, "I was thrown out of the country, practically," Kitt explains. "Johnson put out the news that I was a 'bad girl' by being rude and all that. And it wasn't true. It was his way of defacing me in the eyes of the American people. He put me out of work."
Only in 1978, when she won a Tony nomination for "Timbuktu!," was she invited back to the White House, at a reception hosted by President Carter. Her exile was over.
Chad Allen had a very busy year in 2008 with two new Donald Strachey movies, a recurring role on the summer drama "General Hospital: Night Shift," and stage stints in productions of "Little Dog Laughed" and "Looped," the latter play opposite Valerie Harper as Tallulah Bankhead.
Now 2009 is off to a fast start for the talented actor, one of the highest-profile out performers in the entertainment business. According to his MySpace page, Chad has replaced the previously announced Tony winner Jarrod Emick in the upcoming pre-Broadway engagement of "Looped" at the Cuillo Centre in West Palm Beach, FL. He had created the role of Danny Miller in the world-premiere production of Looped at the Pasadena Playhouse this past summer.
In a statement producer Tony Cacciotti said, "We are all extremely excited to have Chad return to the production. He and Valerie have such remarkable chemistry together and will once again have audiences roaring with laughter. We are so grateful Chad's schedule has allowed him to continue with this project."
Harper, a four-time Emmy winner whose Broadway credits include "The Tale of the Allegist's Wife," again stars as Bankhead. Performances Dec. 31 at the Florida venue with an official opening Jan. 7, 2009. Performances will continue through Feb. 15, 2009. Rob Ruggiero directs.
Eartha Kitt, who died yesterday at the age of 81, was a delicious Catwoman on the old "Batman" TV series. No one purred like Eartha who has such fun with words like peeeeeerrrfect and puuuuuurloin.
Take a look...
I raved about "Ciao" when it was screened at Outfest last summer and was very happy to be able to chat recently with director Yen Tan about his movie which opens in selected theaters today.
It's the story of two men who form an unlikely bond when a mutual friend dies unexpectedly. The two men are Jeff (Adam Neal Smith), the dead man's best friend, and Andrea (Alessandro Calza), an Italian he'd been corresponding with online before his death. It is Jeff informs Andrea of the friend's passing, They continue their correspondence and eventually meet when Andrea travels from Italy to Texas.
The handsome Calza is not only one of the leads, but he also co-wrote the movie with Tan who told me about how their professional partnership came to be. They met online when Alessandro wrote him an email congratulating Tan on his film "Happy Birthday."
"We started corresponding and it was nice to have this platonic friendship with him," Tan said. "He was basically a pen pal. He was in Italy and I lived in Dallas. Over time, I was playing around with some new film ideas. I always thought he was interesting so I basically modeled the character after him and asked for his input about if that was what an Italian guy was like."
"We're both very work-oriented people, we wanted to work on a project together and that's basically what we did. I drew from Alessandro's online experiences. It's one of those things where obviously you have the horror stories where people completely make up something about themselves and they are the complete opposite of what you had in mind., But there also stories of people who ended up having a very deep connection...You can end up revealing a part of yourself that you wouldn't to people around you."
It was a leap of faith to cast Calza as one of the leads in what basically an intimate two-character film with lots of dialogue.
"He's not an actor at all," Tan said. "That was kind of a risk I always considered. Initially when I asked hoim to read for the part, he emailed me some (video) clips. I thought he had a very dynamic camera presence. We went through a whole year of preparation where I instructed him about acting."
The film was shot in Dallas in 15 days and Tan was able to deliver a film that is deliberately paced and slower than people are accustomed to. He lets the story take its time to unfold.
"I think it comes back to the whole idea of letting yourself experience a film on a very emotional level," Tan said. "I think a lot of films do that. In our case, we were trying to reach for something that was more than you could see, something you could feel."
"Ciao" has been embraced at various film festivals and Tan was pleased with the reception. But now that the film is in theaters, he's a bit anxious.
"As I'm going through this right now, I'm realizing that you are really putting yourself out there when you are getting released," he said. "All kinds of scrutiny. People will like it or hate it. It can be really jarring at times. Ultimately, when audiences are very emotionally engaged by the film and tell us about it afterward, it kind oif validates everything."
Earlier post: Outfest Spotlight: "Ciao" explores love, friendship and grief...
Here's a LINK to the film's website and below is a trailer:
Melissa Leo is one of those hard-working actresses who has been respected for decades but is only now getting the kind of widespread recognition she has long deserved.
Leo has delivered deeply moving performances in films ("21 Grams") and on television ("Homicide: Life on the Streets") and last Thursday was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the acclaimed independent film "Frozen River."
Since she was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for "River" and would seem to have a good chance at an Oscar nod, I wondered how this hard-working actress was handling all the newfound attention.
"I've really been blessed with continuing to work this entire year and several fabulous roles in beautiful projects as this builds and flows," she said. "(Working) is how I know how to walk and feel most comfortable. (For awards ceremonies) I will don my movie star dress and get help with my hair but not change my internal reality."
In "River," Leo plays a single mother faced with desperate financial circumstances who in the effort to earn fast money, is drawn into border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River located on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec.
While the recognition is nice, Leo said she already has such great memories of making the film with writer-director Courtney Hunt
.
"It was just a magical, amazing thing," she said. "Every night we'd get back to our little hotel and Courtney would say, 'We got it!' The hardest thing was the last day of shooting because we weren't going to do that the next day."
It was an absolute pleasure to chat up television legend Carl Reiner recently and to be able to tell him that "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which he created, is one of my top five favorite shows of all time.
"I love hearing it!" said the 86-year-old, still sharp as ever.
The 1961-66 sitcom, starring Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam still seems so fresh and current today.
Reiner told me why.
"It was about human condition, it was about human behavior," he said. "If you're writing about yourself and you're being honest about it, you put things within the realm of possibility. When I wrote any of these things, I would always say, 'Would I possibly do that? Could I do that? Would I behave that way? Would she behave that way?' If you pay attention to what real behavior is, that doesn't change very much."
Reiner, who also had the recurring role of Alan Brady on the show, was delighted to learn that the has some fans in high places.
"What a thrill it is to have Barack Obama write in his book that he got great pleasure out of watching his wife enjoy the reruns of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show.'" he said.
So which of the current TV shows does Reiner like to watch?
"I liked "Boston Legal" which is closing now. Well, I liked two-thirds of it. Everybody was (having sex) on that show every 30 seconds and I say, 'Let's get to the courtroom!'" There are other good shows. "My Name is Earl" makes me laugh and "Desperate Housewives" too.
Below are parts of an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show titled: "Obnoxious, Offensive, Egomaniac, Etc." Reiner appears in the third clip...
This unique and great star died today at the age of 81. It's somehow fitting that she would pass on Christmas Day since one of her greatest legacies (besides Catwoman on the old "Batman" TV series) is the song "Santa Baby." No one sang it as great as Eartha Kitt which you can see in this video below from just two years ago.
I just heard a piece on Eartha on NPR and she talked about how she always thought she was waiting for her prince to come. But the men never stayed and she realized: "I'm my prince!"
I like that...
Dear Santa,
There is much to wish for this year. I can assure you I've been more nice than naughty, So check your list, check it twice, and please see what you can do. Here is all I am asking for:
** When it comes time for the California Supreme Court to rule on the passage of Prop. 8, please have them overturn the ban on gay marriage and affirm the legality of the marriages that took place between June and November.
** Please have that Rick Warren man step aside and not give the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration next month.
** Santa, see what you can do about having that unfair "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy reversed so everyone can serve their country and stop being discriminated against.
** Santa, please see that Sean Penn's name will be called at the Academy Awards in Feburary for his performance in "Milk." Ditto for Meryl Streep in "Doubt." And while we are on the topic of awards, an Oscar nod for "Milk" screenwriter Dustin Lance Black would be awfully nice...
** Please have Luke and Noah consumate their relationship on "As the World Turns." Don't you think it's way past time for them to have sexy time Santa?
** Santa, can you make it so Elisabeth Hasselbeck leaves "The View" to pursue other opportunites? I don't like her.
** And just one last thing Santa. Can you join me in wishing all the wionderful Out In Hollywood readers HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
This is the fun and breezy title song from Bette Midler's "Cool Yule" album. In the video below, Bette sings the Christmas version of "From a Distance."
I'm in the OC for Christmas Eve. The tamales are cooking, all the presents are wrapped and my nieces and nephews are chomping at the bit: "Can we just open ONE pwesent early???"
I'll be posting my annual Christmas Day wish list tomorrow but until then, I leave you with Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas."
This is my weekly metro-section column that ran in today's LA Daily News:
Mark my words: the tabloid triangle that is Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is something people will still be talking about in 2058.
Hollywood history backs this up.
It has been a full 50 years since singer Eddie Fisher left his wholesome movie star wife, Debbie Reynolds, for femme fatale Elizabeth Taylor.
Debbie and Eddie's own daughter sees the parallels between then and now.
"In the '50s, my parents were known as `America's sweethearts,"' Carrie Fisher writes in her new memoir, "Wishful Drinking." "Their pictures graced the covers of all the newspapers.
"They were the Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston of their day ... If Mom and Dad were Jennifer and Brad, then Elizabeth Taylor was Angelina Jolie."
This week, the modern-day movie star trio is all over the tabloids as former couple Pitt and Aniston are busy hyping their respective Christmas Day movie releases, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Marley & Me," on talk shows and in major magazine interviews.
In Touch magazine has this gigantic headline: "THE FEUD GETS WORSE: Angelina is Furious as Jen Makes Fun of her Kids." OK magazine proclaims that Jen is "OBSESSED WITH ANGIE!"
Whether they like it or not, they are ensconced in what Aniston describes in the current issue of GQ as an "insane Bermuda Triangle." The GQ cover features a nude but strategically covered Aniston and is one of the reasons why the coverage has reached fever-pitch in recent weeks. In the interview, Aniston deadpanned: "The funny thing is that people don't realize that we all go away to the Hamptons on weekends. I've got (Pitt and Jolie's adopted daughter) Zahara on my hip ..."
Aniston had earlier told Vogue that it was "uncool" for Jolie to state publicly that she fell in love with the still-married Pitt while the two were making the film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2004.
Pitt has never publicly said a bad word about Aniston, but in the current Rolling Stone, he seemed to confirm at least an emotional overlap with Jolie when he said "I fell in love" on the set of the movie.
Whether any of this tit-for-tat will help their box office performances remains to be seen, but it sure is helping to sell a lot of magazines.
And public relations expert Michael Levine says interest in the three stars as a triangle might never wane: "It makes us feel better to watch famous, beautiful people suffer and struggle in a more glamorous way."
But they hardly seem to be struggling.
While Pitt and Jolie are riding high with a brood that now includes six children, and likely Oscar nominations for "Benjamin Button" and "The Changeling," respectively, Aniston remains an in-demand leading lady. Next year, she'll be seen in "He's Just Not That Into You" and the romantic drama "Traveling."
She's also had some big comedy hits such as "The Break-Up," "Along Came Polly" and "Bruce Almighty," and received widespread acclaim for her performance in "The Good Girl."
Jolie and Aniston seem destined for the same lasting stardom that Taylor and Reynolds have had.
But what about Pitt, the man in the middle?
Fisher's career was never the same after the '50s love triangle, but Pitt is a bigger star than ever. He has scored big at the box office with "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels and has an eclectic film r sum that includes "Fight Club," "Interview With a Vampire," "Seven," "Babel," and this year's comic turn in "Burn After Reading."
"People love Brad Pitt and he's sort of dodging the bullets," observed Gary West of the Web site mrpopculture.com. "He's the darling of Hollywood, as if he can't do wrong. It doesn't look like he's the bad guy like Eddie Fisher was when he left Debbie, who was beloved by the public. (Brad and Angelina) have become sort of a classy couple in their own way."
Ironically, Taylor and Reynolds - once good friends - buried the hatchet long ago and even co-starred together in the television movie "These Old Broads," written by Carrie Fisher.
In the film, Taylor's Hollywood agent character apologizes to Reynolds, who plays an actress, for stealing her husband, "Freddy Hunter," all those years ago. She explained in an obvious dig at Fisher: "I married Freddy because I was in a blackout. What's your excuse?"
DListed's Michael K has posted an early Christmas present: photos of Anderson Cooper's yearbook page from Dalton School in New York in 1984. He's listed as Anderson Hays Cooper, He listed his senior quote as, "Mary had a little lamb, the doctor fainted."
He was cute then, gorgeous now...
OMG! Papa can you hear me???
I could try and contain my excitement but hey, I'm a gay man doing a gay-themed blog. On February 3, 2009, The "Yentl" Extended Director's Edition goes on sale!!! The film was Barbra Streisand's directorial debut and I think it is a wonderful movie with songs to die for. Amy Irving got an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress but Streisand's superb efforts as director, star, co-writer and producer were ignored just as they were eight years later for "the Prince of Tides."
I'm still bitter about those snubs.
But anyway, back to the new DVD from MGM Home Entertainment. It is a two-disc set and includes never-before-seen bonus features such as Streisand's Original Concept Reel, commentary with Streisand and Executive Producer Rusty Lemorande, 11 deleted scenes including an unused musical numbers "The Moon and I" and "Several Sins a Day," rehearsal footage, rehearsal/final film comparisons, storyboard montages for musical numbers, a photo gallery and theatrical trailers.
The release is timed to the 25th anniversary of the film.
Here's a plot synopsis: In turn of the century Eastern Europe, a Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy in order to pursue a religious education in "Yentl."
The film is based on a play by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer's original short story "Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy." When Yentl's father, who secretly tutored her throughout her childhood in the Talmud - the primary source of Jewish religion law - dies, she faces a life of female drudgery with no hope of continuing her studies. Frustrated by her feminine destiny, Yentl transforms herself into looking like a boy, renames herself Anshel, and heads for the nearest Talmudic academy where she hopes to pass as a male student. There she falls in love with fellow student Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin).
Below are some clips from the movie starting with the great musical number "Papa Can You Hear Me?" followed by a video of "The Way He Makes Me Feel" which has several lovely scenes from the movie. The third video is the powerful and soaring "a Piece of Sky."
I may have mentioned once or twice on this blog that Harry Connick Jr. is, in my opinion, one of the sexiest men on Earth. He just sends me. So who better to hear a few holiday tunes from. Above is "When My Heart Finds Christmas" and below is "(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus."
Enjoy!!!
There's a storyline involving Jade who I don't give a rats about (even if she is held hostage!) and Maddie is back in town and I don't care about that either. But Luke and Noah are in these scenes and I feel it is my duty to post them! At the end, we finally get a sweet Luke and Noah scene.
Popped in a screener last night of the TNT Series "Trust Me" wanting to like it because it stars former "Will & Grace" lead Eric McCormack and my longtime crush Tom Cavanagh of "Ed" fame.
Well, I really did like it!
As two best friends working as creative partners at a top-ranked Chicago ad agency, this is the best bromance to hit cable TV since the guys on "Nip/Tuck" and certainly hotter than the one between William Shatner and James Spader on "Boston Legal."
Mason (McCormack) an art director, is a responsible, workaholic family man while his writing partner, Conner (Cavanagh), is a single, impulsive copywriter with the attention span of a teenager. Their relationship is put to the test in the pilot when Mason is named a creative director of the agency and becomes Conner's boss.
Joining McCormack and Cavanagh in the cast are are Monica Potter ( Boston Legal ), Griffin Dunne ( Law & Order: Criminal Intent ), Sarah Clarke ( 24 ), Mike Damus ( Lost in Yonkers ) and Geoffrey Arend ( Garden State ).
While the characters are just being introduced in the pilot, we can see that Cavanagh is the funny and quirky one while McCormack has some of the uptightness of his Will Truman character. They play off each other well. I love the character of Sarah Krajicek-Hunter (Potter), an award-winning copywriter who tends to rub people the wrong way but have no use for Hector (Arend) and Tom (Damus), a junior creative team with untraditional ideas. I hope they come off better in future episodes because in the pilot, they seemed like a pair of idiots.
"Trust Me" will premiere on TNT on Monday, Jan. 26. at 10 p.m. following an all-new episode of "The Closer."
I've received so many emails wondering why I haven't posted this shirtless pic of President-Elect Barack Obama shirtless on vacation, I just haven't been in the mood with all this Rick Warren stuff. But, beefcake is beefcake and our new president definitely is in great shape!
This is the gorgeous Feliciano Lopez who has played in Rafael Nadal's shadow in recent years. OhLaLaMag has posted even more shots like this. I'm glad to see Lopez embrace his hotness. He has the best legs in tennis and a solid game too that has him ranked in the top 20.
Speaking of tennis, I'm looking forward to the start of the 2009 season after two months of inactivity. There are two weeks of tournament play before the start of the Australian Open in mid-January.
Hmmm. I think Brody Jenner's idea of a special bond between guys is a bit different than my idea of it.
He talked up his new reality show "Bromance" with "Entertainment Tonight" about his search for a few good men who he wants to get bromantic with (yeah, I really did just write that. It may be time for a few days off!)
"The Hills" star is the host and producer of a new series for MTV, which is bringing a group of regular guys from around the country to Hollywood and giving them the opportunity to compete for a chance to become part of Brody's entourage.
"Bromance is a special bond between guys," Brody says. "It could be one guy; it could be a group of guys. I am lucky I have a great group of friends. [It's] traveling the world together, going through the bad times and the good times. Somebody who is always there for you."
So if he had his pick of all the men in Hollywood, who would he chose to be his "Bromance"?
Says Brody: "David Beckham. Because he would bring in all the chicks."
Egads. I feel silly about this entire item but I'm gonna hit send because it's a cute picture of Brody.
How can I put this? I am so sick of this whole thing! Mostly because it only seems to feed into Rick Warren's ego and I feel certain he will never step aside from giving the invocation at the inauguration. In watching various video clips, some new, some old, I find him to be disengenuous at the very least. Just spinning. I'm surprised with Melissa Etheridge, quite frankly, but it doesn't change that I think she's awesome overall. But after all we have been through in recent months with Prop. 8 passing, this Warren controversy is just appalling. There are those who believe opponents of the guy are over-reacting. I am not one of those people.
So, I'm gonna do a round-up of the latest developments and statements etc. and will add to it as needed later today.
First of all, and this is really beyond the pale, Prop. 8 proponent Warren who doesn't even let gay people become members of his church, stopped by the Out of the Cloest store in West Hollywood and was photographed by TMZ.com with his arm around a gay person! Wow. He must not be anti-gay! Gimme a break.
TMZ writes: We got this pic, taken yesterday at Out of the Closet thrift store. That's Warren on the right (naturally), his arm around Erol Sarabi, who is openly gay. Warren, who supports the ban on gay marriage which has not sat real well with some Obama supporters, bought 8 to 10 books, two of which were his own (that doesn't help with his Amazon ranking). Warren told Sarabi not to believe everything he reads, that he does a lot for AIDS research and was happy that Out of the Closet does free AIDS testing.
Warren also said he met with Melissa Etheridge recently and the two planned to have dinner together -- go figure.
By the way, Warren gave a signed copy of his book to Sarabi. The inscription from the Bible, Proverbs 19:21: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
And then there is this little attempt to rehab his anti-gay image in the weeks leading up to the inaiguration: The Huffington Post notes that John Aravosis of Americablog noticed on Friday that Warren's church website explicitly bans gay people "unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle" from membership at Saddleback. (They are allowed, however, to attend services.) Now Warren has removed the anti-gay language from the church website. The photo on the right is of the original page.
UPDATE: Queerty reports that the Church is keeping their anti-gay rhetoric on the church website after all.
Said a church spokeswoman: "I wanted to make sure you were aware that the Q & A addressing homosexuality on the Saddleback Church Web site has not been permanently removed, but rather repurposed for clarity. I know your readers have noticed the change.
********************************************************
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) thinks President-elect Obama picked same-sex marriage opponent Rick Warren to give the inauguration invocation because Obama "overestimates" his ability to unify people. On MSNBC Monday Frank said: "Oh, I believe that he overestimates his ability to get people to put aside fundamental differences....But my one question is, I think he overestimates his ability to take people, particularly our colleagues on the right, and, sort of, charm them into being nice. I know he talks about being post-partisan. But I've worked, frankly, with Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay, the current Republican leadership. The current Republican leadership in the House repudiated George Bush. I don't know why Mr. Obama thinks he's going to have them better than George Bush.
Frank added jokingly: "And so, to be honest, when he talks about being post-partisan, having seen these people and knowing what they would do in that situation, I suffer from post-partisan depression.".
And not jokingly, he said: "I think Rick Warren's comments, comparing same-sex relationships to incest, is deeply offensive, wildly inaccurate, and very socially disruptive. And I'm glad he is talking to the Muslims. I'm glad everybody's talking to everybody. We're not here talking about not having conversations. We're talking about singling somebody out for a great honor. And I think the president-elect made a serious mistake in doing that."
And finally, Warren has made a new video to his church. Watch them and try not to throw your shoe at the screen:
Here are the Luke-Noah-Brian clips from yesterday's episode of "As the World Turns." I have not had the chance to watch them but I do know there's a Luke and Noah kiss somewhere in there. Frankly, I'd rather see a Luke and Brian kiss.
She sings it just about as lovely as her father did...enjoy!
This was written by Melissa Etheridge this evening. I have enough respect for her to hear her out on why she decided to engage Rick Warren...
This is a message for my brothers and sisters who have fought so long and so hard for gay rights and liberty. We have spent a long time climbing up this mountain, looking at the impossible, changing a thousand year-old paradigm.
We have asked for the right to love the human of our choice, and to be protected equally under the laws of this great country. The road at times has been so bloody, and so horrible, and so disheartening. From being blamed for 9/11 and Katrina, to hateful crimes committed against us, we are battle weary. We watched as our nation took a step in the right direction, against all odds and elected Barack Obama as our next leader. Then we were jerked back into the last century as we watched our rights taken away by prop 8 in California. Still sore and angry we felt another slap in the face as the man we helped get elected seemingly invited a gay-hater to address the world at his inauguration.
I hadn't heard of Pastor Rick Warren before all of this. When I heard the news, in its neat little sound bite form that we are so accustomed to, it painted the picture for me. This Pastor Rick must surely be one hate spouting, money grabbing, bad hair televangelist like all the others. He probably has his own gay little secret bathroom stall somewhere, you know. One more hater working up his congregation to hate the gays, comparing us to pedophiles and those who commit incest, blah blah blah. Same 'ole thing. Would I be boycotting the inauguration? Would we be marching again?
Well, I have to tell you my friends, the universe has a sense of humor and indeed works in mysterious ways. As I was winding down the promotion for my Christmas album I had one more stop last night. I'd agreed to play a song I'd written with my friend Salman Ahmed, a Sufi Muslim from Pakistan. The song is called "Ring The Bells," and it's a call for peace and unity in our world. We were going to perform our song for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group of Muslim Americans that tries to raise awareness in this country, and the world, about the majority of good, loving, Muslims. I was honored, considering some in the Muslim religion consider singing to be against God, while other Muslim countries have harsh penalties, even death for homosexuals. I felt it was a very brave gesture for them to make. I received a call the day before to inform me of the keynote speaker that night... Pastor Rick Warren. I was stunned. My fight or flight instinct took over, should I cancel? Then a calm voice inside me said, "Are you really about peace or not?"
Continue reading A message from Melissa Etheridge....
Gee, I wonder why?
If being a hypocrytical, self-loathing, dishonest human being makes you a loser, then he is. More than anything, he is a sad pathetic man. At some point, you just have to live an authentic life and stop making a spectacle of yourself.
The clip above is from a documentary about the disgraced former pastor...
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of letting my frustration over Barack Obama'sselection of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration consume me!
I've felt fury, I've felt extreme disappointment and mostly, I've felt incredulous. There are so many other people he could have chosen and if Warren were racist in the same way that he is homophobic, Obama never would have selected him.
So I can't help but feel anything but thrown under the bus.
I don't have the stomach to post a lot about this during the holidays, I want to enjoy them. Because of that, thank God for Andy Towle who does the Towleroad.com site. He just does not miss a thing. He has a terrific round-up today of the latest developments including over the weekend when Warren and Melissa Etheridge were at the same event - the 8th Annual Convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach.
Warren defends his participation in the inauguration and I fear this whole thing has just given him a bigger head. Etheridge seems to be buying into the entire buildling a bridge thing that Warren says he champions. See video below.
Meanwhile, Etheridge's wife Tammy-Lynn Michaels has been completely swayed by Warren, according to my pal Ted Johnson's Wilshire and Washington blog:
"...The rest of the public is given an animation of rick warren... and then my wife meets the man behind the projections, the quotes, the "OTHER SIDE". and he is warm, caring, effusive, and LOVES gays. since he nearly swallowed honey when he hugged her, i tend to believe him. he wants our gay marriages to be just as respected and embraced as the straight marriages. he just wants to wear his yamaka, and me wear my hat."
Hmmm. Was there any kind of KOOL-AID served at this event?
Also, VP-elect Joe Biden defends the selection of Warren in an interview tonight on "Larry King Live" saying in part:
"Barack Obama said you've got to reach out. You've got to reach a hand of friendship across the aisle and across philosophies in this country.We can't continue to be a red and blue country. We can't be divided like we have been. ...I would say to the gay and lesbian community, they have nothing to worry about. Barack Obama, every aspect of his life, every aspect of his public life, and every commitment he's made relating to equality for all people, will be things that he will stick with and that they should view this in the spirit in which he offered the opportunity to -- to Mr. Warren."
Here's a clip:
That's it for Rick Warren news today unless he graciously decides to step aside in order to not distract from the Obama inauguration.
The death of Karen Carpenter is something I remember as vividly as the day John Lennon was shot or when the Challenger exploded. It's not up there with 9/11 but it was pretty devastating for fans of The Carpenters - and there are many gay guys in their 40s who know exactly what I mean.
One nice thing though is all the music Karen and her brother Richard left behind - including two classic Christmas albums. My favorite of all the holiday songs they recorded is "Merry Christmas Darling."
Enjoy...
BONUS VIDEO: The Carpenters doing a Christmas medley on one of their holiday TV specials:
Samantha Ronson apparently has been running herself ragged. The DJ who is Lindsay Lohan's girlfriend, wrote to her supporters on her MySpace page over the weekend: "I'm home and all good. Was just pretty exhausted from traveling and working too much to buy Chanukah gifts and my Jewish mother was worried about me."
Ronson had gone to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with Lohan.
She added: "I had good company and a Jerry's Deli delivery of chicken soup and potato pancakes and am feeling much better. [I] am back to watching all my favourite Jerry Bruckheimer shows."
Clay Aiken was wise to just do a quick cameo on the disaster that was Rosie O'Donnell's variety show! And now he's talking to People.com about his big year - becoming a father and coming out publicly.
"At the end of the day, Parker is the most important thing of the year, and of my life, without question," Clay said. "Having a son and that type of responsibility is obviously going to be something that I remember forever."
Of the widespread support he received after coming out: "We've been very impressed and my heart has been thoroughly warmed to find people very supportive."
He may inspire others to come out: "I'm very humbled by that. I really don't know what to say about that. I think that hopefully less than inspiring people I will have an opportunity to open people's eyes to different viewpoints and different possibilities in their life."
It has forced Matthew McConaughey to go for a run all covered up! It's just so nice to be treated to paparazzi shots of the star of "Sahara" and "Failure to Launch" running around without a shirt on. Let's face it, we enjoy that sight more than a lot of his movies!
The headline is to be sung to the tune of the old Neil Sedaka hit "Calendar Girl" just so you don't think I've gone insane! Well, now that I'm a Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles groupie, I want to turn you on to this cool calendar I bought after last night's show at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Members of the chorus spoof some of TV greatest hits including "Happy Gays" in which Mr. and Mrs. C. establish the first chapter of PFLAG! Other months feature "Bi-Witched," "Queerie's Angels," "I Love Loopy," "Fairy Tyler Moore" and "The Bratty Bunch."
The 16-month calender costs $15. For more info, go to GMCLA.org
I ask you, how is it that I have lived in this city for nearly a decade and had never been to a Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles concert? Well, if I knew what a completely wonderful experience it was, I would've done it a lot sooner! My pal Michael and I just had a heckuva good time in our front-row seats (thanks Harlan!) at the Alex Theatre. We were just endlessly entertained and amazed by this series of musical snapshots featuring stories of holidays past and songs like "Joy to the World," "Silent Night" and "The Christmas Waltz" as well as more fun fare like "I Wanna Be A Rockette!" and "Skaters Waltz."
BTW, one of the most powerful stories came from choir member and West Hollywood Councilman John Duran who talked about losing more than 100 friends to AIDS over a decade. He pointed to the choir and its more than 100 members to show the enormity of the loss.
The name of this year's show is "It's a Fabulous Life" with this kicker: "Holiday Songs in the Key of Life." This is one talented group! Among the standouts were Arron Rothart in the "Kislov Cowboys" number, and Shawn Ingram in the "I Wanna Be a Rockett/Parade of Wooden Soldiers" numbers.
It all starts out rather dignified with the choir in their tuxedos but along the way, it's anything goes with guys on roller skates, a parade of wooden soldiers, cowboys. One of the final numbers was "What A Wonderful World," one of my favorite songs of all time. It was just one treat after another. I'm hooked! Can't wait for the next show!
Prior to the show, Michael and I were invited to a reception at the nearby Americana which I had not been to before. It looks much like The Grove only more roomy! Inside, there were all kinds of really great guys there and publicist extraordinaire Harlan Boll introduced me to Executive Director Hywel Sims. (Hywell is pictured above with actresses Channing Chase ("Mad Men") and the amazing Lindsay Wagner who was escorted by her two handsome sons). Did you know Lindsay won an Emmy for "The Bionic Woman"? I'm such a fan.
Other celebs at the reception and/or the concert included the very funny Wendie Malik,Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson from "Little House on the Prairie") and soap actress Kate Linder. I'm told by a very reliable source that Monica Lewinsky was in the audience. I didn't see her but then again, my eyes were fixed on all the hot men on stage singing their hearts out.
** Photos by BILL DOW
It's so hard to know whether "Milk" will become a cross-over hit the way "Brokeback Mountain" was but so far, after four weekends in limited release, it has done something most gay-themed films rarely managed to do:it has reached $10 million in domestic grosses.
Friday through Sunday, "Milk" grossed an estimated $1,641,290 playing in 356 locations. That out it in eleventh place for the weekend - not bad considering new Jim Carrey and Will Smith flicks opened in first and second place, respectively. As "Milk" adds more screens in the coming weeks and continues to get awards attention, it would seem to be on its way to becoming a solid hit.
We shall see.
I'm not sure when or if I'll ever eat another meal at El Coyote restaurant again even but I was very interested in an interview Christopher Lisotta has done for Frontiers with Bill Schoeppner, an out gay man who has worked at the restauraunt for 26 years. He's close to Marjorie Christoffersen, the niece of the restaurant's founder and until she stepped down in early December, was a manager and a member of the El Coyote board of directors.
Chris writes that Schoeppner wasn't aware Christoffersen had donated $100 to the Yes on Prop. 8 campaign, but he found out soon enough thanks to demonstrations and boycotts.
Here is a portion of the interview:
Q. Thursday was a popular night for gay and lesbian diners. Was there a significant drop on Thursday, or did it stay steady?
A. No, there was a drop on Thursdays as well. There are a few of them that still come in, many of them feel like Marjorie is entitled to her own opinion and were pretty forgiving, but not as much as I would liked to have come back. I don't necessarily miss the gay dollars and all that, it's just the faces, the people I have known for all these years and years and years, and we've lost them. We don't see them anymore. I knew them on a first-name basis. It's kind of like some of them were taken away from me.
Q. Do you understand the anger people have, or do you think the anger directed at Marjorie is unwarranted?
A. I understand the anger, and I understand they are upset because, you know, they came to the restaurant and now they feel like they were stabbed in the back. I don't know, I feel like we were over targeted. It was just $100. We gave $500, the restaurant did, but it hasn't calmed anything down at all.
Q. Do you think she understands why people are so angry, or is that something she's trying to figure out?
A. I think she knows. She knows she made a mistake, but she just cannot take it back. How does she take something like that back?
This is such encouraging news.
The California attorney general has changed his position on the state's new same-sex marriage ban and is now urging the state Supreme Court to void Proposition 8, according to the Associated Press.
Jerry Brown filed a legal brief saying the measure that amended the California Constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman is itself unconstitutional because it deprives a minority group of a fundamental right. Brown had earlier said he would defend the ballot measure against legal challenges from gay marriage supporters.
But Brown, a former governor of the state from 1975-83, said he reached a different conclusion "upon further reflection and a deeper probing into all the aspects of our Constitution.
"It became evident that the Article 1 provision guaranteeing basic liberty, which includes the right to marry, took precedence over the initiative," he said in an interview with AP Friday night. "Based on my duty to defend the law and the entire Constitution, I concluded the court should protect the right to marry even in the face of the 52 percent vote."
This is amusing and interesting...
This was just posted on Lance Bass' MySpace page: The Dancing With the Stars tour kicked off in San Diego Wednesday night and Lance couldn't be happier.
Bass, who toured for a number of years with 'N Sync, tells PEOPLE his favorite part of being on the road is living on a bus.
"I love, love riding on a tour bus, sleeping on a tour bus. I'm more comfortable on my tour bus than I am in my actual home. The buses are so comfortable -- much better than when I was on the road with 'N Sync," he says.
Something fans catching the show will love are new costumes and fresh performances by the stars and the pro dancers: "There are huge costume changes -- like every five minutes," Bass says. "We're all changing back there. They've outdone themselves. The
show came together so quick and I'm so impressed that everyone could do it. We had two days off and then boom, we were back. It's just amazing."
This time around, Bass says he and partner Lacey Schwimmer are at ease because "unlike on the show, there's really no expectations. Everybody is there to have fun." The pair team for four numbers in the production, which also features two musical performances by Bass's fellow season 7 contestant, Grammy-winning singer Toni Braxton.
I was looking for another clip and came across this one. Boy, is he sauced!
I loved Jake Gyllenhaal in "Jarhead." Yeah, he was buff in it but also really good as he is in just about every role he plays. Jake turns 28 today and already has such an impressive body of work highlighted by his Oscar-nominated performance in "Brokeback Mountain." He was also excellent in "Zodiac", the best thing about "Rendition" and, of course, "Donnie Darko."
Rachel Maddow, an openly gay television commentator with her own show on MSNBC, did a commentary last night on the Rick Warren controversy. She points out that Barack Obama "did not invite Warren to his house, he invited him into ours." she called the decision to have the anti-gay Warren deliver the invocation at the inauguration "the first big mistake of his post-election politicking.
Reichen Lehmkhul, best known for winning the first "Amazing Race," is now writing a column for Advocate.com. I don't need much of an excuse to post photos of Reichen who is, as you can see, a real beefcake, but I did find some interesting part of his column in regards to coming out in Hollywood. Here is an exceprt:
I have auditioned for movie roles, soap opera parts, and other television roles where the final decision of "no" came down to the fact that I'm just "too out." Not "too stereotypically gay," but "too out."
Why is this a problem? I'm told that it's because many viewers out there who become fans of their television show's leading men won't be able to connect to that character if the viewer knows that the actor is really a gay guy. I've been told that conservative-minded companies that sponsor some of these programs wouldn't look kindly on the actor in, say, a leading male role if he were actually gay.
Is there something broken about these ideas? Of course there is! Should we ever pander to the prejudices of others to make them feel more comfortable? No. Should sponsors be able to have a say in the private-life sexuality of one of their actors? No way.
But this is reality -- though it's happening less frequently. The truth remains that the more we are out, ignoring the prejudice and stigma, fewer entertainers will have to worry about their sexuality.
Not all actors and artists have the luxury of being out, however. At first their reasons for being closeted may be financial. A struggling actor or musical artist who is working up the ranks isn't going to divulge their homosexuality for fear of stopping that forward career momentum. Then, after they are rich, famous, and popular, there might be a different type of pressure from the artist's management, lawyers, and agencies to hide who they are for fear of not being picked for that next movie or to record another pop culture-oriented album.
I'm glad people are making their disappointment known in regards to Barack Obama's decision to have Rick Warren, a pastor many consider to be homophobic, to deliver the invocation at the inauguration. I don't know about you, but I feel personally offended as a gay person who voted for Obama.
Anyway, that's life it seems. Rep. Barney Frank, one of the only openly gay members of the US House of Representatives, released a statement about the controversy. Here it is:
"I am very disappointed by President-elect Barack Obama's decision to honor Reverend Rick Warren with a prominent role in his inauguration.
Religious leaders obviously have every right to speak out in opposition to anti-discrimination measures, even in the degrading terms that Rev. Warren has used with regard to same-sex marriage. But that does not confer upon them the right to a place of honor in the inauguration ceremony of a president whose stated commitment to LGBT rights won him the strong support of the great majority of those who support that cause.
It is irrelevant that Rev. Warren invited Senator Obama to address his congregation, since he extended an equal invitation to Senator McCain. Furthermore, the President-Elect has not simply invited Rev. Warren to give a speech as part of a series in which various views are presented. The selection of a member of the clergy to occupy this uniquely elevated position has always been considered a mark of respect and approval by those who are being inaugurated.
Sorry for the lack of posts so far today but I just had to sleep in. Was out late after an evening at the theater (I mean that to sound like an evening at the theata!). I finally saw "Wicked" at the Pantages Theatre! I think it's the best darn musical I've ever seen live! It was so amazing. I'll never feel the same way about the Wicked Witch of the West again! Eden Espinosa (Elphaba) and Megan Hilty (Glinda) were terrific and provided many show-stopping moments. They were funny, they were touching and both deliver powerhouse vocals. And Carol Cane is in the cast! What a delight.
Just had the best time. But it was a long day after starting the day before 6 a.m. to do SAG nominations. But I'm rested now and am gonna start posting like a madman.
Stay tuned!
It's getting harder and harder to keep up with all the Neil Patrick Harris news.
I got home from a screening of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" last night and waiting for me was the new issue of TV Giide with NPH and two of his "How I Met Your Mother" co-stars on the cover! Love it.
Then a few minutes ago, I scroll over to AfterElton.com and they are reporting that Neil will be the first host of 2009 on "Saturday Night Live." That is fantastic! He's such a great comedic actor with such big celebrity now that I cannot wait to see what kind of outrageous stuff they will come up with.
And then there is this series of photos in Entertainment Weekly which has the cast of "Mother" re-enacting some of the big pop culture stories of 2008:
Michael Kearns sent me this video this morning, a spoof he wrote and directed featuring John W. McLaughlin as a Prop 8 activist receiving a long-awaited phone call from Marie Osmond!
I object to the David Archuleta reference but otherwise, this is smart and a good kind of bitchy.
Enjoy!
Here! Films, the theatrical distribution and worldwide sales division of here! Networks, announced today it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to "Eleven Minutes," a documentary about fashion designer Jay McCarroll, winner of season one of "Project Runway."
The documentary, co-directed and co-produced by Michael Selditch and Rob Tate, will open in theaters and debut on here! TV starting Feb. 20, 2009.
Here's some background on the documentary: In 2006, Selditch and Tate made a one-off TV special about Jay McCarroll for Bravo called "Project Jay." "Eleven Minutes" picks up where that story ends. It chronicles Jay's year-long journey while preparing his first independent runway show for New York's Fashion Week in Bryant Park, and the subsequent selling of his line to stores.
Said Selditch: "The goal of this documentary was to drop the pretenses of reality TV and focus on the daily trials of Jay McCarroll's design and work. Rob and I are very happy to be working with here! and Regent to release this documentary in theaters and on their network the final day of New York's Fashion Week in Bryant Park."
For more information about the film, please visit http://www.elevenminutes-jaymccarroll.com/
Here's a clip:
Sharon Gless, no scary good in her Emmy-nominated role on "Nip/Tuck" last season, has been a gay icon since her years on "Cagney and Lacey" then "Queer as Folk."
Love, love, love Sharon Gless! So, I'm glad to see an interview with her on Advocate.com
about her latest role in the film "Hannah Free," adapted from the play by Claudia Allen. It tells the story of two women, Hannah (played by Gless) and Rachel, who grow up together in a small town and develop an undying love for each other. Due to the social ramifications of homosexuality in their generation, their love goes through trials as Rachel chooses to live a traditional, heterosexual life while Hannah continues on as an unapologetic lesbian.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:
Q. So, I'm not going to lie. To prepare I watched you as one my favorite characters you have played, Debbie on Queer ss Folk. What I enjoy about your career is that you've played the role of Cagney, which was inspirational to lesbians. You've played a role on Queer as Folk that was extremely supportive of the LGBT community, and now you're actually playing a gay person. How does it feel to finally "be" one of us?
A. I love it! It's very natural to me. I mean, I'm constantly reminding myself that I'm playing a lesbian. But to me, it's just another character. It's not too different than playing other roles because it isn't about just being gay. It's about love. In this case, I'm just in love with a woman.
Q. See, that's interesting because you say Hannah is strong and unapologetic for who she is. Looking back at your résumé, it seems like you have played a variety of parts that fit that mold: opinionated, outspoken, strong, and yet even vulnerable. As an actor, have you always sought out these parts consciously?
A. I didn't consciously choose them, but I knew I was better at them. Not to say they are easy to play, but I am better with them. What's interesting is that in real life, I'm pretty shy. But I do have that quality in me, that mouth. It's just more fun playing outrageous people like that. Hannah fits the roles I love playing -- she and Rachel are so contrasting.
Q. Relevant to what's going on right now in civil rights history with Proposition 8 [the measure rescinding same-sex marriage rights in California]. You're playing a character that can't be with the one she knows she loves with all her heart because others don't accept it, while living your real life in a historical moment where people are now legally having that opportunity taken away. What are your thoughts on Proposition 8?
A. It won't last. It's like gays just aren't allowed to do anything. And the thing is, the proposition isn't just about being gay, it's about being a human being. Marriage isn't just about love, it's also about the legal benefits. Why can't same-sex couples at least have that? I believe it will be turned around. It's against the Constitution and just won't stand. It might take bit by bit, but [Hannah Free] is just about that -- people just trying to get only what they deserve.
My friend Karen Ocamb has written such a good essay on the Rick Warren controversy that I am just speechless. I'm going to post a few excerpts here then direct you to read it in its entirety on The Bilerico Project.
There's a saying in the 12 Step programs about being sick and tired of being sick and tired.
It's at this point - generally your own personal version of rock bottom - that you surrender and admit something has been screwing up your life.
Well - I guess that's where I am now. I'm sick and tired of hope.
Today - when it was revealed that Obama picked Rick Warren to deliver the Inaugural Invocation - I felt sucker-punched. I mean - after the (on-going) devastation of Prop 8 - this Inauguration was supposed to be something akin to breathing again...It's not that Obama thinks of this as a "Sister Souljah" moment as I first thought. The fact is - Obama doesn't think of us at all. The gays who might be near him are staffers who happen to be gay and for whom being gay is apparently not an issue. He doesn't see them as gay - and therefore he doesn't see us at all.
Greg note: BTW, I chose this illustration to go with the story because it just seems ironic now, not inspiring.
This is a preview of an interview Ann Curry did with controversial pastor Rick Warren for "Dateline NBC." Curry pont-blank asks Warren, chosen by Barack Obama to give the invocation at his inauguration, is homophobic.
His reply: "Of course not. I have always treated them with respect. When they come and wanna talk to me, I talk to 'em. When the protesters came, we served them water and donuts."
Gee, thanks...
The President-elect is standing by his decision saying in part: "I think it is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something I have been consistent on and something I intend to continue to be consistent on during my presidency...What I've also said is that it is important for America to come together even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues..."
It really stinks.
Excuse me while I fall asleep at my desk! Got up at 5:15 a.m. and had to jam out of the house to get to the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood for the 6 a.m. announcement of the Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. I was excited when the cast of "Milk" announced in the outstanding cast category and Sean Penn and Josh Brolin were nominated in the individual acting categories.
I had to zip over to the newsroom and write a story in less than two hours and here it is:
Richard Jenkins got nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award Thursday for his performance in the film "The Visitor."
So how was he planning to celebrate?
"I'm going to the store, I have to get some milk," he said shortly after receiving the news. "I'll make a Caesar salad later on and if the barber gets a cancellation, I might get a haircut."
Jenkins' competition in the outstanding lead actor category is Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon"), Sean Penn ("Milk"), Brad Pitt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), and Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler").
"It's a little surreal," said Jenkins, the veteran character actor previously best known for his role on the HBO series "Six Feet Under." "I did know at the time that it was an amazing project I was working on but how anyone would feel about it, that you have no idea. Maybe because I've been around so long, things have come together."
Things also came together for the drama "Doubt," the film version of the hit Broadway play. It got five SAG nominations - two more than any other film.
Leading lady Meryl Streep earned her sixth nomination in the lead actress in a movie category while costars Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis were nominated in supporting categories.
The four "Doubt" actors will also compete in the outstanding cast category, SAG's equivalent of a best picture prize. Other nominees in the ensemble category are "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Streep's individual competition for the SAG Award is Anne Hathaway ("Rachel Getting Married"), Angelina Jolie ("Changeling"), Melissa Leo ("Frozen River"), and Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road").
Leo was in Vancouver when she found out about her nomination and said: "I've been just dancing around the hotel. An actor is often alone in a hotel room."
She is thrilled to be included among the nominees, especially Streep.
"I was leaving SUNY Purchase (State University of New York, Purchase) when Meryl was doing "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and she is someone who has just awed and inspired me," Leo said, her voice suddenly growing thick with emotion. "To see my name beside hers and the other fine actresses, it makes me a little speechless."
One of those actresses, Winslet, was a double nominee Thursday. She earned a second nod in the supporting actress category for her role in "The Reader." But Taraji P. Henson did her one better with three nominations - more than any other performer.
Henson is part of the "Benjamin Button" ensemble and is up for supporting actress for her role as Pitt's adoptive mother in the film. Her third nod was in the television category of outstanding cast in a TV drama for "Boston Legal."
Other notable nominations: the late Heath Ledger earned a nod in the supporting actor category for his performance as The Joker in "The Dark Knight. He had previously been nominated in 2006 for "Brokeback Mountain."
Ledger, who died Jan. 22 of an accidental drug overdose, competes with Hoffman, Josh Brolin ("Milk"), Robert Downey Jr. ("Tropic Thunder"), and Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire").
Penelope Cruz earned a nod in the supporting actress category for her performance in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" to compete with Adams, Davis, Henson and Winslet.
In the television categories, the comedy "30 Rock," the miniseries "John Adams" and the dramas "Mad Men," "Boston Legal" and "The Closer" led with three nominations each.
David Duchovny, nominated for outstanding actor in a comedy series for Showtime's "Californication," will be vying for his first SAG award on his ninth nomination. But to end his SAG losing streak, he'll have to beat Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock"), Steve Carell ("The Office"), Jeremy Piven ("Entourage") and Tony Shalhoub ("Monk").
Sally Field, nominated for "Brothers & Sisters," is also trying to win her first SAG Award. The two-time Oscar winner and three-time Emmy winner has never won despite being nominated six previous times for various projects.
Kiefer Sutherland, ineligible for actor in a drama series because his series "24" did not air this year, earned a nod anyway for the TV movie "24: Redemption." He competes with Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson nominated for "John Adams" as well as Ralph Fiennes ("Bernard and Doris") and Kevin Spacey ("Recount").
The nominations were announced at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood by Eric McCormack and Angela Bassett SAG President Alan Rosenberg was also on hand with most of the questions afterward focused on a possible strike by the guild next year.
"Everybody's worried," McCormack said. "But I think today is that one day when we've gotta go, 'Lets celebrate performances and not be politicians. We're actors today."
The nominations are determined by panels of more than 2,100 actors randomly selected by the guild for the movie and television categories for awards to be handed out Jan. 25.
I doubt I will never get over what an astonishly bad decision it was for the Inaugural Committee to have selected a bigot like Rick Warren to deliver the invocation. They should reconsider and choose someone else who has not made such a point of alienating LGBT Americans.
The Inaugural Committee now has some talking points on the controversy which I got via Karen Ocamb. I've read them. It does not help one bit as far as I'm concerned. But here they are and you can decide for yourself:
**** This will be the most open, accessible, and inclusive Inauguration in American history.
****In keeping with the spirit of unity and common purpose this Inauguration will reflect, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have chosen some of the world's most gifted artists and people with broad appeal to participate in the inaugural ceremonies.
**** Pastor Rick Warren has a long history of activism on behalf of the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. He's devoted his life to performing good works for the poor and leads the evangelical movement in addressing the global HIV/AIDS crisis. In fact, the President-elect recently addressed Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health to salute Warren's leadership in the struggle against HIV/AIDS and pledge his support to the effort in the years ahead.
**** The President-elect disagrees with Pastor Warren on issues that affect the LGBT community. They disagree on other issues as well. But what's important is that they agree on many issues vital to the pursuit of social justice, including poverty relief and moving toward a sustainable planet; and they share a commitment to renewing America's promise by expanding opportunity at home and restoring our moral leadership abroad.
**** As he's said again and again, the President-elect is committed to bringing together all sides of the faith discussion in search of common ground. That's the only way we'll be able to unite this country with the resolve and common purpose necessary to solve the challenges we face.
**** The Inauguration will also involve Reverend Joseph Lowery, who will be delivering the official benediction at the Inauguration. Reverend Lowery is a giant of the civil rights movement who boasts a proudly progressive record on LGBT issues. He has been a leader in the struggle for civil rights for all Americans, gay or straight.
**** And for the very first time, there will be a group representing the interests of LGBT Americans participating in the Inaugural Parade.
My question is still this: WHY choose Rick Warren to deliver the Invocation?
Emmett Belivau is the Executive Director/CEO of the Inaugural Committee. Let him know your thoughts:
202-203-1715 emmett@pic2009.org
Cameron Mathison has been taking some grief for what appeared to be a glimpse of a thong during a scene on ABC's "All My Children." The soap hunk has insisted it was a T-shirt tucked-into his pants that created the illusion. As the ladies on "The View" brought it up during today's Hot Topics, Cameron walked in and showed how the wardrobe malfinctioned really happened.
I just want to go on the record and say that if any man on daytime TV would look good in a thing, it;'s Cameron!
I am still reeling - as many of you are too - over the selection of anti-gay pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration. It is such a slap in the face to the gay community that - despite President-elect Barack Obama's refusal to support same-sex marriage - still supported him in the presidential election. It is a serious lack of R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
But Aretha Franklin, I got no quibble with and will be thrilled to see her perform on this historic day. Here are some Aretha performances to remind us why she is The Queen! The first is a medley that includes "R-E-S-P-E-C-T."
Below is Aretha singing "Natural Woman" at the 1994 Grammys...
And finally, here is one of my all-time faves. It's Aretha and Michael McDonald singing their hit duet "Everchanging Times" at the 1992 Grammy Awards. A short time later, she joins the late Luther Vandross on stage for a rocking finale. Aretha, in her Pebbles Flintsone on acid hairdo, lost the Grammy that year to the great Patti LaBelle. But she has 18 others to keep her warm at night.
This is an utter nightmare and a total insult to the LGBT community and their straight allies. All you have to do is watch this video and you will see why people aren't at all happy about Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in Orange County speaking at the inauguration. He was not only pro-Prop. 8, but he's sounds very homophobic and bigoted.
Terrible choice. Terrible.
Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign has written a letter to Obama asking him to reconsider. Here's an excerpt:
...We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination. Only when Rev. Warren and others support basic legislative protections for LGBT Americans can we believe their claim that they are not four-square against our rights and dignity. In that light, we urge you to reconsider this announcement.
Complete text of the letter is after the jump...
This is amazing!
"Mamma Mia!" is already the most successful film musical of all time worldwide raked in over $30 million its first day out on DVD, according to an email I just got from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
It had already been proclaimed the fastest selling DVD of all time in the U.K. after first-day sales reached 1.6 million units, surpassing the previous record holder "Titanic."
The film garnered two Golden Globe ®nominations last week: Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actress in Musical or Comedy for Meryl Streep.
In Australia, the DVD became the biggest DVD release of the past two years, holding the number-one spot for four consecutive weeks and was also Universal's biggest home entertainment release ever in Germany, with one million units shipped to date.
In addition to Streep, the film also stars Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper and Christine Baranski.
Peter Kirk, the openly gay nephew of Captain James T. Kirk, and his boyfriend set foot on board the starship on a new episode of the independent online project "Star Trek: Phase II" which imagines a "fourth" season of the original series using new actors in the classic roles. Peter is played by Bobby Rice and boyfriend Alex Freeman is played by Evan Fowler.
According to AfterElton.com, "Blood and Fire" was co-written and directed by David Gerrold, the out gay writer of the classic "The Trouble with Tribbles" Star Trek episode and a writer and associate producer on the first Star Trek spin-off, Star Trek: The Next Generation. "Blood and Fire" was originally written for that series, with the strong support of series creator Gene Roddenberry, and it was intended as a metaphor for AIDS. But at the time, television executives and the show's producers balked at the inclusion of two minor gay characters.
The scene is after the jump!
Earlier posts:
-- Greg's Star Trek story
-- Gay-themed Star Trek webisode is complete
Continue reading "Star Trek" episode with gay love story debuts online Saturday....
I've been a big fan of this talented actress since "Down With Love." She was a real bright spot on NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" earning a Golden Globe nomination and next appears in the film "The Spirit."
She is in a relationship with Tony winner Cherry Jones who plays the first female president of the U.S. in the upcoming season on "24."
Happy 34th birthday to this lovely actress...
I must say, this is one of the better stops on the Tom Cruise redemption tour. He reads a Top Ten list of the top 10 most outrageous internet rumors about himself. Number 2 is my fave: "After jumping on her couch, Oprah hammer-locked me til I coughed blood.'
This picture isn't from the spread on cover boy Nick Adams in the current issue of Instinct Magazine but I like it and it's my blog! The Broadway star, who gained fame starring alongside Mario Lopez in "A Chorus Line," will next appear in the Broadway production of "Guys and Dolls."
Nick talks about being a gay man and says coming out to his family was no big deal: "It was incredibly easy. It wasn't a huge shock. We had a conversation and then I went on with my life. They always welcome anyone who I've ever wanted to bring home."
Okay, so who's he bringing home? Anyone special? Nick says that right now, he is "one hundred percent single."
"It's just having the time to get to know somebody. Things get hectic and I don't have time to spend with someone to find out who they are."
At 25, I' say he still has plenty of time to find Mr. Right.
I was just blown away by the performances of Van Hansis (Luke) and Laurence Lau (Brian) on yesterday's episode of "As the World Turns." It was a heart-to-heart about Brian's attraction to Luke ("Of course I'm attracted to you, who wouldn't be") and Luke's anger and concern because Brian has just married his grandmother! This gave both actors a chance to shine and for their characters to come across as real human beings. It also signals that Luke and Brian could be way more interesting than Luke and Noah have become.
Before a screening of "Valkyrie" began Monday night, the audience inside Grauman's Chinese 6 in Hollywood was all abuzz. But not about seeing the movie.
"Did you see Tom Cruise on 'The Today Show' this morning?" a woman sitting behind me asked her son. "He was on 'Oprah' too."
It's tough not to see Cruise these days. In addition to making up with Matt Lauer Monday morning, he paid a visit to David Letterman last night, and last week did an Elvis Presley impersonation for Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."
Yeah, Cruise is promoting "Valkyrie" - the thriller that casts him as a would-be assassin of Adolf Hitler - but this current media blitz is about something more: movie star redemption.
"When you're Tom Cruise, you have to play for history," top Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman said Tuesday. "You're not just playing to promote a movie, you're playing for the long, long haul. He's patching up these bridges that have been destroyed. I think once he gets beyond 'Valkryie,' once he gets beyond this redemption tour, I think he's well-positioned for his next movie."
Having to win back moviegoers once seemed unimaginable for the actor who so memorably danced into moviegoers' hearts in 1983's "Risky Business," then firmly remained there - uninterrupted - for 20-plus years with hits that include "Top Gun," "War of the Worlds," "Minority Report," and "Mission Impossible."
He also got respect for such dramas as "Rainman," "A Few Good Men" and "Collateral," and earned Oscar nods for "Born on the Fourth of July," "Jerry Maguire" and "Magnolia."
But over-the-top behavior in 2005 like dancing on Oprah's couch with glee over his romance with
This week, a contrite Cruise told Lauer: "After looking at (that appearance), I really thought...that I came across as arrogant. I absolutely could have handled that better."
In the current issue of People magazine (he's on the cover, of course), Cruise referenced the Oprah appearance and jokingly described his 2005 antics as "my year of jumping dangerously."
Bragman, who has worked with everyone from Monica Lewinsky to Frank Sinatra, is impressed with the new Cruise.
"I like his appearances, I think he's charming, I think he's smart. He's redeeming himself. My only issue is, I think Tom is so much bigger than his movies. In a lot of these interviews, we're spending a lot of time talking about things other than the movie and I think he should be talking about the movie."
This is a man who has had 14 of his movies gross more than $100 million domestically but who hasn't headlined a megahit since "War of the Worlds" in 2005. "Mission Impossible 3," which came out a year later, was such a box office disappointment that its studio, Paramount Pictures, cut ties with Cruise.
Since then, "Valkyrie" has had its release date moved around several times (it is now set for release on Dec. 25), and the actor's only roles have been a supporting part in last year's political drama "Lions for Lambs," which bombed, and an extended cameo in the summer hit "Tropic Thunder."
"Thunder" actually has turned out to be a real bright spot for Cruise who last week earned a Golden Globes Award nomination for his well-recieved comic performance. But will people go to see him in "Valkyrie"?
"On the face of it, a film with this subject matter doesn't scream big box office," said box office tracker Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "But you plug in Tom Cruise and suddenly it has that potential.
"The 'Tropic Thunder' performance was a great performance and was a fantastic public relations move," he added. "If you were down on Cruise, after you saw 'Tropic Thunder,' you were kind of digging Cruise again."
I don't often post about various events because that could turn into a full-time job. But when i know the people involved, I like to give a shout out. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., at A Different Light bookstore in West Hollywood (8853 Santa Monica Blvd) is a DVD signing for the newest movie from writer-director Rob Williams of Guest House Films who I met a few weeks back at a holiday party hosted by actors Steve Callahan and Matthew Montgomery. Rob is also behind the terrific films "Long-Term Relationship" and "Back Soon" which both starred Montgomery.
I watched the movie over the weekend and found it entertaining and fun. Lotsa gay soap opera, appealing performances and tons of nudity - if you're into that kinda thing. The movie stars, in alphabetical order: Chris Carlisle, Joel Harrison, Gaetano Jones, Derek Long, Derek Meeker, Douglas Myers, Daniel Rhyder and Stephen Twardokus.
Here's the trailer:
3-DAY WEEKEND trailer
Frankly, this movie looks kinda silly. But Paul Rudd is always appealing and hey, there is a man kiss in it. Check out the trailer of "I Love You, Man" which I found via Towleroad.
It's nice when someone smart and thoughtful like Melissa Etheridge speaks about equal rights for gays but annoying when it is someone like Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
On today's episode of "The View," Etheridge said of the passage of Prop. 8 last month: "To have people vote to take away rights is very un-American."
She commented that Whoopi Goldberg's comments on the topic were eloquent but to Hasslebeck she said: "I was saddened with your conversation only because I felt you misleaded people when you started to talk about a Swedish priest who was put in jail..."
A defensive Elisabeth started saying stuff that included. "We're not in California. I didn't vote on Prop 8. I wasn't there..." and "It should come from the people and it's not a personal thing to me" ... "For me, it's not a personal issue, it's a legal issue."
If you're going to talk about the issue on national television, then take a stand Hasselbeck. Tell us whether or not you are against gay marriage instead of these cop-out remarks. Start talking like a real person.
I try to keep track of all things involving Matthew McConaughey because, let's face it, he is a hottie and in the right movie, he is a wonderful screen presence. Loved him in "Sahara," "A Time to Kill" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." But I don't recall his movie "Surfer Dude" even being released in theaters.
At any rate, it comes out on DVD on Dec. 30. He plays a soul-searching surfer experiencing all kind of things in order to find inner peace, according to OhLaLaMag. But who really cares about plot when we get to see Matthew in the buff! Go to OhLaLa to see the below picture uncensored.
Advocate.com has posted more of its People of the Year and Tina Fey has made the cut. The site points out that during her brilliant Sarah Palin impersonation in the months leading up to the election, she managed to shed light of the candidate's views - including abiyt gay people.
Fey had her Palin say, "I tolerate gays. I tolerate them with all my heart" and her delivery of Palin's homespun patronization of gay people had the whole world laughing at her obvious intolerance.
The Advocate's also writes:
Watching the vice presidential debate in October, Fey says she was struck by Democrat Joe Biden's initial comments about gay rights. "I thought, Wow, I've never heard anyone say this with such commitment in a format like this. And then he immediately qualified it." It's a frustration gay people can identify with. But it took Fey's cutesy, wink-laden delivery of, "Look, I think marriage is a union of two unwilling teenagers," to bring humor into the disappointment while simultaneously calling into question the Alaskan Republican's authority on the subject. (Palin's pregnant 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is engaged to her high-school boyfriend.)
"The whole thing makes my head hurt," says Fey of gay marriage. "Why are we deciding this? It has always confused me that people evoke marriage being a sacred institution. It's a license you get from the state. It's inherently a civil union."
Given her humility, it's no surprise that Fey didn't think her Palin performances would resonate with gay people specifically. "I don't think I really asked any gay people about it," she says. "But the guys in wardrobe at SNL, they loved it."
Well this sounds like the perfect stocking stuffer!
The hit movie version of the stage smash "Mamma Mia!," starring the Golden Glove Award nominated Meryl Streep, hits store shelves today on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def.
Here's some more info on the DVD features:
- A sing-along bonus feature that includes on-screen lyrics for 22 musical numbers
- Includes all-new musical number, "The Name of the Game"
- Deleted scenes and Outtakes
- Featurettes that give an in-depth look at the making of Mamma Mia! The Movie.
- 2-Disc Special Edition available for a Limited Time Only with digital copy
Below is some of the DVD bonus material featuring Meryl and other members of the cast:
I've got no idea what's up with these outfits but maybe we'll find out on today's "Ellen DeGeneres Show" when Britney Spears is the guest.
It was unimaginable that Britney would have been able to do something like this a year ago when she was still so deeply troubled and erratic. Now she seems to have it together - at least outwardly - and is once again a big star. It's the fastest comeback in history!
E! Online's Marc Malkin talked to dreamy Brody Jenner about his new MTV reality show "Bromance" for his terrific celeb site.
I thought the quotes were kinda amusing and also look at this as the perfect excuse to post some pics of a really attractive guy who, so far, is simply famous for being famous.
Here are some excerpts:
Jenner tells Malkin that things got particularly weepy during some one-on-one time.
"I did this whole sit-down with these guys, which we called Broprah. I was sitting around and would say, 'OK, now tell me about...' and then all of a sudden it got to be like, 'Whoa!' We're uncovering some deep stuff. These big, grown guys are sitting around crying over being friends with a dude."
Jenner purposely put his wannabe buddies into some compromising and rather uncomfortable situations because he thinks it forced them to show their true characters. For instance, the elimination takes place as they sit knee to knee in a hot tub. "It's kind of homoerotic and I love people saying that," Jenner says in all seriousness, adding, "I'm cool with my sexuality and the gender that I like and I have a beautiful girlfriend. That's why I feel so comfortable with having these awkward guy moments."
Here's a preview of "Bromance" which premieres on Dec. 29...
Hollywood's writers strike prevented Denis Leary from working on episodes of his FX series, "Rescue Me," for several months.
So what did he do?
He sat down and wrote something else: the best-selling book "Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid."
"I wanted to write a book and talk about things that made me laugh," he said during our recent chat. "When I read books by comedians -- like a George Carlin book -- my goal is to laugh out loud."
You might figure that for Leary, a guy who got his start as a stand-up comedian, writing a collection of sardonic essays would be a piece of cake.
Wrong.
"On stage, I go out with five notes in my head, and that could be 45 minutes, because I'm always watching television or reading newspapers," he said. "I had to learn to put it on the page and have a theme."
Leary has had an interesting time promoting "Why We Suck" at various bookstores across the country in recent weeks.
"I was on this crazy tour for two weeks," he said. "It went all over the country. It's always surprising when you meet people out on a book tour, I know 'Rescue Me' is a 50-50 audience between men and women. With the book, I was getting all these women. One woman looked 90 and acted like she was 60 and said: 'I laughed my ass off with this book!'"
Leary also broke some of the traditional rules that seem to have taken hold at major book signings these days.
"I kept on asking, 'Why are you guys telling people they can't take pictures and get the book personalized?' My thing was, they are coming out and paying $25. I made sure to write whatever they want, and they got to take a picture."
Leary said he'd love to write another book soon, but acting is still his first love. He earned a Golden Globe Award nomination on Thursday for his performance in the HBO film "Recount" and is busy filming new episodes of "Rescue Me" that will begin airing in April on FX.
"Instead of shooting one season of 13 episodes, we are doing 24 episodes and will run them all at the same time,... with seasons five and six combined into one long season," he explained.
"I'm really biased. I think it's really the best stuff we've ever done. We come out the first week of April and (go) right into the fall. Fans will be elated."
Crooner-turned-heavy metal artist Pat Boone thinks we got the wrong idea when he wrote a column comparing the peaceful demonstrations over the passage of Proposition 8 to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India writing, in part:
How crazily ironic that the homosexual activists and sympathizers cry for 'tolerance' and 'equal rights' and understanding -while they spew vitriol and threats and hate at those who disagree with them on moral and societal grounds."
Claiming to be misunderstood, Boone has posted a new column. I find him confusing. If he loves us so much, why so publicly not support our equal rights? Why go out of your way to use what is left of your fame to hurt us?
Here's a snippet:
I need to say right here, honestly and unashamedly - I love gays. I always have, always will. I have proved it, over and over.
I met my first homosexual friend while I was in high school. He was a Navy veteran who had come back to finish his schooling. He put his hand on my thigh while we were parked at a fast food drive in. I was a cow milker with a vise-like grip, and after I nearly squeezed his wrist off, letting him know he had the wrong guy, he said, "I guess you'll tell everybody, and I'll get kicked out of school." I assured him I wouldn't, and I told nobody. I really felt empathy for him, because he obviously was not a happy man.
I've been in the entertainment business for over 50 years now, and I've had many dear and close friends, guys (and some gals) I have loved who were practicing homosexuals. How could I not? We forged real friendships, never strained or awkward. We each knew the other's perspectives and respected them. Every one of them can tell you that I've never condemned or made them uncomfortable, in my home or theirs, though they knew I couldn't approve their sexual practices. So what? We were friends, and we could be honest with each other.
Years ago, I sat by the bed of one of my closest friends as he lay dying in a VA hospital. AIDS didn't have a name yet, but that's what was killing him. His teeth had fallen out; he had no immune system left. We prayed together, and I saw him off to heaven. I loved Roger.
The American Film Institute has released its list of the year's 10 best movies (in no particular order) and "Milk" is among the movies chosen.
The Harvey Milk biopic starring Sean Penn, directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black has some impressive company but I have yet to see most of them. I have seen "Milk," "The Dark Knight," "Iron Man" and "WALL-E" but not yet "Frost/Nixon," "Frozen River," "Gran Torino," "Wendy and Lucy," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." and "The Wrestler."
"Today Show" host Matt Lauer said "this is not a rematch" but did begin this morning's interview with a humbled Tom Cruise by addressing their contentious meeting a few years back. Tom admitted to coming across as "arrogant."
Here is a clip:
Earlier post: Tom Cruise and Matt Lauer: Rematch set for Monday...
The singer turns 69 years old today! She had the tall order of replacing Florence Ballard as a member of The Supremes and she did so with class. Diana Ross left the Supremes for a solo career in 1970 but Cindy remained with Mary Wilson and new lead singer Jean Terrell and they had several top 10 hits including "Stoned Love." She took some time off to have a baby but returned before finally leaving the group for good in early 1976 - one year before it disbanded.
TRIVIA QUESTION: On which episode of "Designing Women" did Cindy Birdsing's name come up? Answer comes later this week unless someone comes up with it first!
*** We already have an answer! Scott in Washington DC correctly writes: Her name appears in the episode where Anthony gets stranded on the women's camping trip/retreat with the ladies and has to play drag for the trip. When the director asked him his name, he uses Cindy Birdsong.
Below is a television appearance shortly after Cindy joined the Supremes:
Curtain down, dim the lights...
Broadwayworld.com reports that the current Broafway production of "Gypsy" starring Patti LuPone will close on January 11 - about six weeks earlier than originally planned.
The production has been set to run through March 1, 2009. at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street).It will have played 332 performances and 27 previews by the time it closes and not only won a Tony for LuPone as "Rose," but also for Boyd Gaines as "Herbie" and Laura Benanti as "Gypsy."
Producer Roger Berlind said in a statement: "Though we originally announced that "Gupsy" would play its final performance on March 1, 2009, due to these uncertain financial times my partners and I have made the difficult decision to close instead on January 11, 2009."
Here is Patti LuPone's glorious performance on the Tony Awards telecast in June...
...and here is her Tony acceptance speech - the second Tony coming nearly 30 years after her first win for "Evita."
Continue reading The Broadway run of "Gypsy" will end early....
"Milk," all but snubbed by the Golden Globes Thursday (only Sean Penn is nominated), had its best weekend at the box office to date. The movie about the life of Harvey Milk, written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant, finished in ninth place with estimated ticket sale revenue of $2,636,000.
The film added 229 more theaters to its run (now playing in 328 locations total) resulting in a 43.7 percent increase in business over last weekend. Total gross to date is $7,630,000.
Poor Meryl Streep.
She's got a sinus infection and a bronchial infection but didn't want to pull a John McCain and cancel her appearance on Dave Letterman's show. So, she coughed her way through it!
Letterman: "You really shouldn't be out walking around."
Meryl:, "Well I was afraid to cancel."
It's a busy time for Miss Streep, who received two Golden Globe Award nominations on Thursday - one for "Mamma Mia" and the other for "Doubt."
The comedy legend is 83-years-old today. Hard to believe, but an entire generation knows Dick Van Dyke mostly from his long run on the CBS mystery-drama "Diagnosis Murder." He's starred in the great 60s movies "Bye Bye Birdie," "Mary Poppins" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and his sitcom, "The Dick Van Dyke Show," is one of the best there ever was. Five seasons of absolute perfection that doesn't seem at all dated today. So smart, so funny. Here is a clip (yes, that is Mary Tyler Moore as his wife!)
Designer Tom Ford, in the new issue of Details magazine, says he thinks everyone should ignore their sexual orientation at least once:"There's one indulgence every man should try in his lifetime: If you're straight, sleep with a man at least once, and if you're gay, don't go through life without sleeping with a woman. Either way, you might be surprised at how natural it will feel if you can get past the mind-fuck of stereotypes. In the end, it's just another person that you are relating to in a physical way."
Interesting. A few other Ford rules:
--- Someone who is secure enough to be very present when relating to another person is sexy. In other words, a good listener always lands who he wants.
--- If you're careful not to overuse Botox, then yes, why shouldn't you use it? A little bit of it between the brows can make you look less stern and more approachable. Who needs to frown, anyway?
Tom Cruise, doing all kinds of publicity these days for "Valkyrie." He was on "The Tonight Show" Thursday night - the same day he received a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in "Tropic Thunder." What made this fun and different was that he sang a little bit of "Blue Suede Shoes" for Jay Leno and at the end shook his pelvis a little bit.
Fun!
Tom also recalled how when he first arrived in LA to live, it was Sean Penn who picked him up at the airport. They had already appeared in "Taps" together.
(the rest of the appearance is after the jump!)
Continue reading Video: Tom Cruise visits Leno...does Elvis impersonation....
Bea Arthur called a few days ago and was very apologetic. She had not had a chance to speak with me at the Television Academy Hall of Fame ceremony a day earlier but had some time now.
The star of "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and the original Broadway productions of "Mame" and "Three Penny Opera" had no need to be sorry. The dinner was about to start and she was being swarmed by well-wishers.
Her induction came a bit later than originally planned because when the Academy first approached Miss Arthur five years ago, she declined because she felt there were others far more deserving.
But finally, the 86-year-old star relented.
"It was fabulous," she said of the evening. "I mean, I was really very, very, very touched. I'm not good at those evenings though. I feel I can act ... but standing there and accepting accolades is something else. I was embarrassed."
Her seven seasons as Dorothy on "Golden Girls" and six years on "Maude" brought her to an entirely different level of stardom that was far different from her 30 years as an acclaimed theater actress.
"Suddenly the whole country knew me. It was very odd and different," she said. "Originally, I used to find myself running away from people and dodging them at restaurants. But I since have found that people who do come up and tell you they enjoy you and your performance, it's really very sweet."
She then shared a funny story about Rue McClanahan who she not only starred with in "Golden Girls," but also on "Maude."
"When we started 'Golden Girls' and Rue, my darling Rue, suddenly found herself a so-called TV star. I remember she couldn't believe that I did my own grocery shopping! But I did and would usually meet Angela (Lansbury) in produce."
She and Lansbury have been the closest of friends since the 60s when they were in "Mame" together and it was the "Murder She Wrote" star who did the Hall of Fame induction for her friend last week.
"Angela, bless her heart, went on much too long!" Arthur said.
She seemed relieved when I assured her that most in the audience were charmed and touched by Lansbury's words that night because they not only paid tribute to a great career, but also gave insight into who Arthur is off-stage - a mom, a gourmet cook, a loyal friend.
I had seen Arhur's one-woman show, "Just Between Friends," at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood several years ago and wondered if she ever planned to do the Tony-nominated production again.
"Maybe a couple of times for charity but no more touring! We did fabulous business in New York but we continued touring and that got to be a bore: endless plane rides and endless terrible meals and bad hotels. When we finished I said, 'That's it!'"
What about writing her memoirs?
"Oh God no!" she said. "Who would care? Everybody writes book and I think it's ridiculous."
Okay then, how about another television role? In recent years she played Larry David's mother on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and got an Emmy nod for her guest part as a babysitter on "Malcom in the Middle."
"I enjoy that, doing a one shot," she said. "But I'm too old and I'm too tired to attempt another series. It would be just my luck that it would be a hit!"
Just a day or two ago, I wrote how one of my favorite "I Love Lucy" episodes is the one featuring Van Johnson. I'm sad to report that the actor has just died at the age of 92. I really didn't know much about Van other than the Lucy episode and from seeing him in a film on television here and there. But this Bloomberg obit sheds some light:
Van Johnson, a box-office idol who starred in World War II action films and dramas such as "The "Caine Mutiny" and returned in the 1980s to Broadway, where he had started a half-century earlier, has died. He was 92.
Family friend Wendy Bleiweiss said Johnson died earlier today in Nyack, New York, the Associated Press reported.
Johnson found stardom playing servicemen in war movies such as "A Guy Named Joe" and "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." His boy-next-door persona endeared him both to teenage girls and the mothers of sons at war.
Badly injured in a car crash in 1943, Johnson didn't see military service himself. He rose instead in Hollywood's ranks as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer discovered that Johnson's accident scars helped his on-screen combat credibility. The studio paired Johnson, with his swept-back, strawberry- blond hair and face full of freckles, with sweet-faced actresses. He played opposite June Allyson in five films, starting with "Two Girls and a Sailor" in 1944, and made another five pictures with swimmer Esther Williams.
In 1939, Johnson was in the chorus of "Too Many Girls," a Rogers and Hart musical that included Cuban musician Desi Arnaz. He went to Hollywood with Arnaz and some of the others to make the musical's film version and appeared, uncredited, as "chorus boy #41," according to the Internet Movie Database. Lucille Ball starred in the movie, where she met Arnaz, whom she later married. A few years later, Ball introduced Johnson to MGM's casting director, a chance meeting that gave his career a needed push.
Though a teen idol, Johnson at 30 wasn't romantically linked, and MGM decided to head off speculation about its leading man's sexual orientation. With a studio publicist in attendance, Johnson married Eve Wynn on Jan. 25, 1947, in a ceremony four hours after her Mexican divorce from Wynn, father of her two sons.
"They needed their 'Big Star' to be married to quell rumors about his sexual preferences, and unfortunately I was 'It!' the only woman he would marry," Wynn wrote in a note to Ronald Davis, a Southern Methodist University professor emeritus whose unauthorized Johnson biography was published in 2001.
The marriage produced a daughter, Schulyer Van Johnson, on Jan. 6, 1948. Johnson and his wife separated in 1961, though their divorce didn't become final until 1968 due to wrangling over the financial settlement.
As Hollywood's golden era faded, Johnson made films in Europe and performed in nightclubs. In 1961, he revived his stage career as professor Harold Hill in London production of "The Music Man." Back in the U.S., he lived in a Manhattan penthouse within view of the East River. He made occasional Hollywood movies, including "Wives and Lovers" and "Divorce American Style" in the 1960s, performed in regional theaters and cruise ships and made TV guest appearances on "Love Boat" and "Murder She Wrote," among others.
At 68, Johnson returned to Broadway in the hit musical "La Cage aux Folles," performing the lead role of Georges for most of 1985.
Here is a scene from that "Lucy" episode when he and Lucille Ball sing and dance. It's pure magic...
Poor Lance Bass.
Being one of the most famous gay men on the planet does not guarantee a successful love life. He tells USWeekly that his stint on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" - on which he danced his way to third place - "really destroyed a relationship that I had, which just sucked. I just had no time whatsoever, so now it's time to really focus on myself."
But there is a bight side: "The great thing about this show is it really has made me fall in love with dancing," he said.
So much so that he is part of the DWTS tour wraps. When that ends, he vows that "I'll be hanging up the dancing shoes ... but it is fun to take classes once in a while."
This has been a terrific week for Kiefer Sutherland who I think is a real class act. The actor was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the TV movie ":24: Redemption" and also received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His proud father, Donald Sutherland, was on hand for the occasion.
A long-awaited new seaspn of "24" premieres next month on FOX.
This is great!!!
I know that some folks might find the selection of Hugh Jackman to host the Academy Awards strange, but I LOVE the idea. If you saw him host the Tony Awards a few years back (which he won an Emmy for), then you know he is a confident, charming and dazzling host. He can sing and dance and he's HOT! He's a bonafinde movie star and People Mag's sexiest man alive!
Jackman, who first claimed fame as Wolverine in the "X-Men" movie franchise, recently starred in Baz Luhrmann's romantic adventure film "Australia" with Nicole Kidman and was oh-so dashing.
The AP reports that with new producers, a new set director and even a new music director, the Academy has been hinting at an all new look and feel for this year's Oscars telecast on Feb. 22.
Jackman's selection is a departure from the Academy's standard of big-name comedians. Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show," hosted the ceremony in 2008 and 2006; Ellen DeGeneres was the 2007 host. Chris Rock, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg have also hosted the show in recent years.
Here's a clip from his Tony gig:
Get in line D-lister! This is a funny moment form last night's "Larry King Live" Watch Anderson blush!!!
The songstress (I just don't think that word is used enough these days) turns 68 today. To celebrate, here is a video of one of her biggest hits "That's What Friends Are For" with proceeds going to AIDS research. She's joined by, as you probably know, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight...
Enjoy!
Out In Hollywood fave Neil Patrick Harris was nominated in the category of best supporting actor in a comedy. I knew this was his first nod for his role as Barney Stinson the CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" but did not realize he had twice before been nominated: the first nod came way back in 1989 for supporting actor in a motion picture ("Clara's Heart") then three years later for best actor in a TV comedy ("Doogie Howser M.D.").
Let's hope that NPH pulls out a win this time. To do so, he'll have to beat "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven who had beaten Neil for the Emmy the past two years.
Let's get real about one of the reasons why I care about this: Tom Cruise looked absolutely amazing in that tight T-shirt he wore in his "Today Show" interview with Matt Lauer a few years back. So the question is, what's he gonna wear on Monday when these two go at it again?
So you know the history, right? Tommy called Lauer "glib" and criticized Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants. Now he's promoting "Valkyrie" and will sqaure-off with Matt again. We know it'll be cool though because Tom showed up not long ago at a raost for Lauer and good-naturedly ribbed him and has put a lid on his beliefs - at least in interviews.
In the new issue of People magazine, Cruise admits of the infamous interview of '06, "I think I could have handled things better."
Here is the video so you can relive every delicious moment and check out those biceps!
Anderson Cooper, CNN's Silver Fox, was at a launch party last night for his "Planet in Peril" documentary premiering on CNN tonight at 9 p.m.
Anderson, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and National Geographic Channel host Lisa Ling examine effects of the Earth's rapidly growing population. Among other subjects, the trio investigates the spread of disease, oil and poverty in Nigeria, shark fishing and shark dive tours, African elephants and mountain gorillas. It is the second "Planet in Peril" special.
"I love the political coverage this year, I found it incredibly exciting, but it's always nice to change things up," Cooper told the New York Daily News. "You don't get the opportunity to go into the mountains in the Congo, then off to Rwanda every day, so it's something that I really jumped at."
Let's face it, I'm so over Noah and I wish Luke would be too. But you know how young love is, you just can't see what is clear to everyone else. Anyhow, Luke's uncle had a bachelor party today and his grandma's new hubby, Brian, got real sauced. Noah shows up and starts defending Brian and Luke had a great snarky line: "Noah, why do you defend him? Just because he reminds you of the good ol' days when you were pretending to be straight?"
Anyway, Luke gives Brian a ride home and his hottie step-grandpa made the moves on him again. Luke finds him more resistable than I would and the episode ends with him snarling: "Consider this a warning: if you ever come on to me again, I will tell you (my grandmother) everything."
Afterelton.com live-blogged the episide.
So what if Brad and Angelina didn't call. There were several other excited Golden Globe nominees to chat with Thursday morning.
"Entourage" star Kevin Connolly was just completely discombobulated early after finding out about his first-ever nomination.
"I'm just speechless to be honest with you," he said. "I don't quite know what to do with myself. I'm just standing here. It's weird. None of my L.A. friends are awake yet, I don't know who to call. I have a little bit of a flu but there's a real adrenaline rush. This is just the happiest day of my life."
Connolly, who plays Eric Murphy on the long-running HBO hit, had no idea nominations were being announced. So when he heard the answering machine to his kitchen phone repeatedly going off, he feared disaster had struck.
"I didn't feel any good could come of it," he said.
He's pretty sure he won't have to worry about making a speech on awards night: "The funny thing to me is who I'm nominated with. Alec Baldwin. Have you heard of him? Steve Carell? Just to be there is amazing."
I spoke with Simon Beaufoy nominated for his "Slumdog Millionaire" screenplay, as he was riding in a taxi in London. He was heading home to celebrate with some champagne.
An Oscar nominee back in 1998 for "The Full Monty," Beaufoixy was feeling very grateful.
"With 'Monty,' it was the first movie I had ever written and I thought, 'This is fun.' Now, 10 years later and having never had another nomination, I really understand the measure
of it now."
He looks forward to attending the Globes ceremony next month and attending some screenings of "Slumdog."
"You go to a screening in England, they are all very polite. In the States, they grab you and say, 'That was fantastic!' " he said. "You really know when an American likes something. For us repressed English people, it's fantastic to go out there."
"Frost/Nixon" writer Peter Morgan called from his cell phone and immediately made a confession: "I'm in a strange place for a Globe nomination. I'm walking the streets in a dark, cold central European capital. I'm in Vienna. It feels more like a place to go and see a shrink."
But at least he was able to talk freely. It was a different story when he first found out about the nomination: "I was on a Viennese tram car when my phone rang. I couldn't really express feeling joy as I was surrounded by melancholic Viennese ladies of a certain age. But the really good news about being in Vienna is it's already dark and it feels like evening. It's already an appropriate time to celebrate."
Morgan's last trip to the Globes was a triumphant one as he wion for "The Queen." And yet, he said, "this experience feels more special than 'The Queen.' Last time I was sort of dazed. This time, I'm more aware of what the privilege means."
"Wall-E" writer-director Andrew Stanton woke up in time to flip on the television and watch the nominations being announced.
"Then it dawned on me that they don't announce the animated film category on television so I found out online," he said. "It does make you giddy."
Stanton, previously nominated for "Finding Nemo," was particularly gratified by the nod because "Wall-E" was a bit of a departure from the usual Disney-Pixar fare.
""It's a real affirmation to stick with your artistic instincts," he said. "It really renews your faith in the audience!"
Here are other reactions that came through in the form of statements. Some aren't bad and sound like someone actually said 'em!
Sally Hawkins, best actress nominee in a musical or comedy for "Happy-Go-Lucky": "Wow, wow, wow - what a surprise, I cannot describe how I feel, so appreciative of it all and so very pleased!! Such an honor to be in the same category as Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson. They are great, iconic women that I've watched for years - they have definitely inspired and influenced me in my decision to pursue acting. So proud to be in this film and having the chance again to work with Mike Leigh. These past couple of days have been a whirlwind but I am feeling quite lucky and blessed at the moment."
Double-nominee Tom Wilkinson for the miniseries "John Adams" and the TV movie "Recount" said: "I love the Golden Globes. I've been there a few times and always have fun since it's very relaxed. I look forward to going again. How absolutely terrific both 'John Adams' and 'Recount' have been so recognized; of course i'm thrilled they singled me out too."
Dustin Hoffman, nominee for best actor in a musical or comedy "Last Chance Harvey" said: "It is so exciting to be nominated, but working with Emma was reward enough. Don't get me wrong, I still want to win!"
Emma Thompson, best actress nominee for "Harvey" said: "Dustin and I had the best time making this film. It seems insane to get an award nomination on top of that, but I'm thrilled."
Shirley MacLaine, nominated for best actress in a miniseries or television movie for Lifetime's "Coco Chanel" said: "I am really thrilled! I guess I should dress up more. Maybe Chanel could do a couture line for seniors?"
Marisa Tomei, best supporting actress nominee in a motion picture for "The Wrestler" said: "I am absolutely thrilled and cannot be happier that The Wrestler has been given so much attention. It is such an honor for the HFPA to have recognized my work and Mickey's in this beautiful film."
Rachel Griffiths, supporting actress nominee for TV series "Brothers & Sisters" said: "When I got a phone call early this morning, my heart dropped because I thought my nanny was calling in sick!!! I am so thrilled! It is a joy to go to work everyday and this is the icing on the cake."
Amy Adams and Viola Davis were both nominated for supporting actress for "Doubt."
Adams said: "I am so honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for DOUBT along with John Patrick Shanley, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis. Helping to bring John's Pulitzer Prize-winning play to the screen was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career."
Davis said: "I cannot even believe it! I feel so blessed and grateful to the HFPA for honoring my work. It's more than I have ever dreamed. First working with Meryl, Phillip, Amy and John and now THIS!! Thank you! Thank you!"
James Denton may be best-known for his role as Mike the plumber on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," but lately he's also been plenty busy making music.
The actor is a member of The Band from TV which has attracted enough of a following to release a new CD/DVD called "Hoggin' All the Covers." Other band members are Greg Grunberg ("Heroes"), Hugh Laurie ("House"), Bonnie Sommerville ("Cashmere Mafia") and Bob Guiney ("The Bachelor").
"It's been such a huge charity endeavor that's raised almost $1.5 million," Denton told me this week. "It all started when we got together to do one little event two years ago so it's been amazing."
All proceeds from "Covers" are being donated to charities including "Epilepsy Foundation" and "Save The Children."
Denton also recently teamed with his wife, Erin O'Brien, for a five-week run of the play "How Cissy Grew" at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood.
"That's my background, I never thought I'd be in front of a camera," he said. "People are always curious when they see that a TV guy is doing theater, like I'm trying to legitimize myself a little bit. But I'm actually more at home there."
"It's just so fun, getting to tell the entire story every night and your performance isn't being subjected to editing and all those things," he added. "If you're good you can be proud and if you suck, it's your fault."
He's still loving his day job on "Desperate Housewives" though with the show taping its 100th episode this week. But he's not working as much with Teri Hatcher these days since their characters divorced during five-year leap in time the storyline took at the start of the season.
"It's a little frustrating in that I like Teri so much and we have such fun working together," Denton said. "But, you know, I love Dana Delaney and we've gotten to be really good friends and I now get to work with her for a little while. I think the story of Mike and Susan requires that they be kept apart so they found another way to do that and I think the five-year jump was so great for the other storylines."
Love Wanda - especially now that she's out! Take a look at her visit with Jay...
I'm in the newsroom soooooo early today to take calls from Golden Globe nominees for my print column tomorrow. I didn't hear from Sean Penn (as if!) but I'm happy to report that he is one of the nominees for best actor in a motion picture-drama.
That's the good news.
The Globes, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, otherwise completely snubbed "Milk" which has scored in the best picture, director, screenplay and supporting actor categories in various crtics awards.
Oh well. There's always the Oscars.
One of the best things about Carrie Fisher having her autobiography, "Wishful Drinking," out is that she is making TV appearances to promote it. This woman is one heckuva guest - funny and smart and candid. Here is her interview with Matt Lauer on "The Today Show."
Brad Pitt - one of the few straight stars to donate significantly to the No on Prop. 8 effort - is on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone.
The superstar, while talking about his religious upbringing, said: "I just found it so stifling, my religion. I know it's very comforting for other people. And it was too much of what you shouldn't be doing instead of what you could be doing. I get enraged when people start telling other people how to live their lives. It drives me mental. This Prop. 8 thing just drives me mental."
Check this out!
Here's the best quote: "I'll tell you this," he continued. "Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality. And the protections that we have, for religion -- we protect religion -- and talk about a lifestyle choice! That is absolutely a choice. Gay people don't choose to be gay."
As you know, I was one of those kids who watched so much television in the 70s that I can recite entire scenes from shows like "The Brady Bunch," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and, of course, "I Love Lucy." Hell, I even know lines from "The Flintstones" okay?
So basically, attending last night's Television Academy Hall of Fame ceremony was heaven on Earth. I got to tell Carl Reiner how timeless "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is and tell Lily Tomlin how frustrated I am that her "12 Miles of Bad Road" series never made it to air. Then there was the lovely lady Florence Henderson who, when she saw me, gave me a big hug then instructed by friend Beth on exactly how to take our picture. "You'll want to get closer so you can see who we are."
And this was all before the ceremony even started!
Beth and I arrived at the Beverly Hills Hotel just as the cocktail party was starting and quickly found ourselves mingling with the likes of Norman Lear and honoree Sherwood Schwartz. We then headed out to the arrivals line outside so I could do a few interviews. Gabbed with: the handsome James Denton who was the evening's host; with Tony Griffin who was there to accept the award for his late dad, Merv Griffin; with Sherwood Schwartz about his classic shows "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch."
Beth went over to the other side of the line to snap a photo of the glorious Angela Lansbury and Beatrice Arthur as they arrived. They never made it to the other side of the line and only did a few one-on-ones inside with TV crews.
Lansbury, a TV Hall of Fame member herself, inducted Miss Arthur, the Emmy winning star of the classic sitcoms "Maude" and "The Golden Girls."
"She's one of the few television actors to get a second act. Most actors are lucky to get one defining series," Lansbury said of her friend, with whom she co-starred on Broadway in "Mame" in the 60s. "She personally has caused me to laugh as I have never laughed before."
Arthur remarked during her acceptance speech: "To be a success in this business, you need two things: talent and luck and I've been very, very lucky."
One awkward moment before the ceremony came when Florence Henderson was doing interviews and Christopher Knight arrived. He took one look at her and made a beeline out of there. He publicly scolded his TV mom some months back for remarks she made about his marriage to Adrianne Curry. Knight, 51, was stopped by a TV Guide reporter before he could make a complete escape so when Florence made her way inside, they were face-to-face. Ever the pro, she posed for photos with him and you'd never know anything was wrong.
Then I overheard Knight telling the TV Guide dude the real story behind the feud: "She has made statements about the validity of our marriage and it puts me in the position where I have to make a decision." I stopped listening at that point wanting to say: "Oh Peter Brady grow up!"
Anyway,Henderson inducted Schwartz at the ceremony with not only kind words, but sang the "Brady Bunch" theme song with special lyrics that she wrote for the occasion. She also pointed out that both of his classic sitcoms had at their core about "a man who tried to express in his own way that people need to learn to live together."
Schwartz, amazingly sharp at the age of 92, said in his speech: "I understand I'm the oldest person ever to be inducted. ...Oh, to be 91 again."
I chatted with him prior to the ceremony about the honor: "It's very exciting actually because this is like the creme de la creme. I don't know where you can go from here!"
Merv Griffin's posthumous induction was bitterwseet but his very handsome son, Tony Griffin, brought the house down with an anecdote about the time Orson Wells left a pair of his pants backstage after appearing on Griffin's talk show. His dad jumped into one leg of the oversized pants and insisted that Tony jump in the other.
"He would have absolutely loved this night," Tony told me before the show started. "It brings him alive again, for a night and for the kids, it's nice for them to see how important their grandfather really was."
We had such a great time. The video presentations for each of the honorees really showed how mucb each had accomplished and there was not a slacker in the bunch.
As we were waiting for our car at the valet, I turned around and there was Lily Tomlin! I had not seen her at any point during the night but had just finished watching "12 Miles of Bad Road" in which she stars. So my reaction when I realized I was standing next to Lily Tomlin was this: "You're HERE!"
She laughed. I laughed. Beth laughed. Then we gabbed.
Great night...As we snaked up Sunset Blvd. to the freeway, Beth and I were trying to sing the theme song to "Maude" but sorta got tripped-up after "Betsy Ross had it all sewn up...and then there's Maude!"
This is a blast! Every time I check, "Milk" has either been nominated or won another award! The latest news comes from the New York Film Critics Circle. They have chosen the drama as best picture and gave Sean Penn best actor honors to go along with the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. prize he won yesterday. This solidifies Penn's status as the front-runner in the best actor Oscar race. Josh Brolin, who also played the title role in "W," took the best supporting actor award for his performance as Dan White.
I think it's so fantastic that TVLand is kicking off the new year with a show that made its debut 57 years ago! That show, "I Love Lucy" is one of the great joys in so many of our lives. It makes us laugh and comforts us in such a unique way and somehow, it is timeless.
TVLand is letting viewers vote for their favorite episodes for the "Lucy's New Year's Eve Countdown" which runs Wednesday, December 31 from 8AM to 9PM ET/PT. Tune in on New Year's Eve day to see which episodes made the cut, from Lucy's "Vitameatavegamin" commercial to Lucy and Ethel's candy factory debacle to the legendary episode of Lucy crushing grapes. As an added bonus, visitors to the Web site can also watch classic episode clips, view a photo gallery of iconic pictures from the series and play an "I Love Lucy" trivia game.
So what are your favorite episodes??? I love the one in Hollywood with Van Johnson (remember when Lucy was down by the pool pretending to talk to him when he was sleeping?) and the hitching a ride one with Elsa Lancaster ("Hatchet!!"), and the salad dressing episode, the freezer episode and Ethel's birthday episode and those fancy cocktail pants and on and on and on.
You can log onto TVLand.com to vote.
Here is a collection of scenes:
And this video is one of my favorite scenes EVER. It's Lucy trying to sell beef on ther sly inside a butcher shop:
One last one: a musical number when Lucy does Cuban Pete...
This ran in today's Daily News...
Jay Leno had to announce he was making an unprecedented move to prime time to grab entertainment news headlines this week. All Oprah Winfrey had to do was share with the world that she is, once again, officially fat.
In the January issue of O Magazine, Oprah shares with her readers that she has gained 40 pounds over the past two years because an out-of-balance thyroid condition caused her to develop a fear of working out.
"I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight," the now 200-pound Oprah writes in the article. "I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?"'
This kind of disclosure might be humiliating for most people, but for Oprah - who is arguably the most listened-to woman in the country - it's really good business.
Like millions of others, I've watched Oprah's show - now in its 22nd year of syndication - plenty of times and am aware of her personal struggles with weight, self-esteem and sexual abuse. And she would never brag, but her book club has made the nation read again, and Barack Obama could never repay what she did for his presidential campaign.
But I had never witnessed the cultural phenomenon that is Oprah in person until this past Friday at The Hollywood Reporter's 17th annual Women in Entertainment: Power 100 breakfast.
Before heading into the Beverly Hills Hotel, Oprah lingered outside to chat with us reporter types. We wanted to know how she landed atop the Power 100 list.
"I say to anyone who wants to be powerful, find a way to be more of yourself. ... Nobody can be powerful unless you are also authentic, unless you are also real. And I have made a living out of it - a really good living out of being myself."
"Oprah, what is your definition of beauty?" one of the reporters from the supermarket weeklies asked. Eyes rolled.
But the talk show queen took the question and made something meaningful out of it: "The greatest compliment I ever got came from somebody who had interviewed me a decade ago and then saw me years later and said: `Oh, you're the same, you've just become more of yourself. That's what I think makes you beautiful, when you can fulfill whatever that is in yourself."
As she is saying this, I was having what Oprah likes to call an "Aha! moment." This is why the woman practically rules the world. She starts talking like this and you feel completely and unmistakably inspired.
This is the biggest reason why, in 2007, her Harpo Inc. pulled in $345 million in revenue from a plethora of Oprah-branded media led by "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (44 million viewers each week in the U.S. alone) and O, The Oprah Magazine, the third-largest monthly publication on U.S. newsstands and read by 16.6 million people, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Am I a sucker for suddenly buying into all things Oprah? I talked to, of all people, actor Denis Leary about it this week.
The "Rescue Me" star said he had been gearing up to write a scathing chapter on Winfrey in his new book of sardonic essays titled "Why We Suck," currently in the top 10 of the New York Times best-seller list.
"I didn't know anything about her except that she's Oprah," Leary said. "I was planning on using her as a touchstone for what straight men feel is this gulf of information from what we know and what women glean from this God-like figure. I was completely filled with disdain. I didn't have the ammunition, but I was ready to load up. I wanted to prove her so ridiculously wrong."
But he ended up becoming a genuine fan and completely intrigued by her Oprah.com Web site.
"She's actually the first one to say, `I'm too fat' and `I'm on a diet.' This chick is her own checklist of balances, she's her own safety net," Leary said. "I couldn't figure out why she was on the cover of her own magazine, and now I realize anyone would pale in comparison."
So what will she do for an encore?
Oprah will soon have her own 24-hour namesake cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, set to launch in 2009 or early 2010 in an estimated 70 million homes.
"Our digital component for OWN will be as powerful or more powerful even than our cable capabilities," Oprah told the women at the breakfast - shifting effortlessly from best friend mode to CEO of Harpo Inc. mode. "The world of digitalization allows us to connect and be able to respond to our viewers in a way that we could only imagine was possible five years ago. I'm skyping people every day on my show. It's all going faster than we ever imagined. Remember when we all grew up watching `The Jetsons'? And now, we are The Jetsons."
Hooray! More awards love for "Milk."
The Critics Choice Awards were announced today and the biopic about Harvey Milk got best picture and best acting ensemble nominations as well as nods for Gus Van Sant (director), Sean Penn (actor), Josh Brolin and James Franco (supporting actor), Dustin Lance Black (screenplay) and Danny Elfman (composer).
My Oscar prediction for Sean Penn got some major credibility Tuesday with the actor being named best actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Supporting actors in "Milk" were bypassed in favor of the late Heath Ledger who was picked as best supporting actor for his performance as Joker in "The Dark Knight."
Other winners: The animated smash "WALL-E" as best picture ("Knight" was runner-up), Sally Hawkins got the best-actress prize for the British comic drama "Happy-Go-Lucky." and Penelope Cruz was chosen for supporting actress in the Woody Allen romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," as well as her role in the drama "Elegy."
Danny Boyle took directing honors for "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Happy-Go-Lucky" director Mike Leigh won for best screenplay.
I'm not going to be participating in this because, frankly, I've got too much to do tomorrow and don't feel right about not following through with my professional commitments.
But I do absolutely support anyone's right to make a statement and want to share some information with you that was sent to my Facebook page:
It's time to take a stand for FULL EQUALITY for ALL AMERICANS, including the LGBT Community!
45 States ban gay marriage in some form.
30 states ban gay and lesbian employment protection
16 states are planning to ban gay adoptions and fostering.
Civil Unions are denied the 1100 Federal benefits of marriage.
Join us on December 10th, International Human Rights Day.
STRIKE! Take the day off, close your business, or call in sick. (unless you may get fired because you are gay or lesbian)
BOYCOTT! Don't buy anything, spend money or support the economy.
PARTICIPATE! Don't stay home! To volunteer, petition or protest, go to adaywithoutgays.com.
(If you live in CA, go to couragecampaign.org to find out how to help overturn Prop 8.)
Is Pat Boone trying to become the Anita Bryant of this era? He made some outrageous comments saying that the Prop. 8 protesters are like the terrorists that attacked Mumbai. Here's an excerpt of his crazy rant:
Boone: "Watch your evening news. Read your newspaper. Are you unaware of the raging demonstrations in our streets, in front of our churches and synagogues, even spilling into these places of worship, and many of these riots turning defamatory and violent? Have you not seen the angry distorted faces of the rioters, seen their derogatory and threatening placards and signs, heard their vows to overturn the democratically expressed views of voters, no matter what it costs, no matter what was expressed at the polls? Twice?"
Thank God for Keith Olbermann who calls Boone out in the video above.
I refer to California's Proposition 8.
More trouble on the set of "Grey's Anatomy," this time involving T.R. Knight. The Emmy-nominated and openly-gay actor has asked to be released from his contract and it appears his request will be granted. according to an exclusive report on EW.com.
There had been Internet reports that Knight walked off the set but EW.com reports that that is not true and that he is still working.
According to EW: Rumors of Knight's unhappiness at Grey's date back to the early days of Isaiahgate. Per an insider, the actor was disappointed that it took [Shondra] Rhimes so long to publicly condemn Washington's use of the F-word, even as his co-stars (Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey, etc.) rallied to his defense. (The incident led Knight to come out as a gay man.) The boss lady eventually released a statement denouncing Washington's behavior, but word is, it was too little, too late. Nonetheless, my Grey's source insists Knight does not want out of his contract for that reason, adding, "He just feels it's time to move on."
Knight's character of George has been put on the back-burner this season. The actor's desire to depart comes on the heels of the controversial firing of actress Brooke Smith wwhose character was involved in a lesbian storyline with the character portrayed by Sara Ramirez.
This is bizarro - especially in light of William Shatner's catfight with former "Star Trek" co-star George Takei over allegedly not being invited to his same-sex wedding. "Boston Legal" finished its five-year run last night on ABC. It won James Spader a pair of Emmys and Shatner one. The "bro-mance" between these two dudes was the heart of the show but their marriage is more in the "New Adventures of Old Christine" practical mode than romance.
The very, very funny Mario turns 49 today! We love him for "Sex and the City," "Men in Trees" and his stand-up routines but mostly, we love him for being out and proud and loud!
If ever anyone was a television hall of famer, it is Beatrice Arthur. An Emmy winner for both "Maude" and "The Golden Girls," she's given us a lot of laughs in two intelligent, classic and hilarious shows.
I'm so excited to be invited to tonight's Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame dinner where Miss Arthur will be inducted along with the late Merv Griffin, "MASH" writer Larry Gelbart, "Brady Bunch" and "Gilligan's Island" creator Sherwood Schwartz,
Here are a series of video clips from Miss Arthur's two great TV shows starting with "Maude" followed by a clip from "Golden Girls."
And finally, here is a guest appearance on "The View" from a few years ago (Rosie was still hosting) when Arthur was promoting the DVD release of "Maude."
After the jump: Bonus video of Arthur and Lucille Ball singing "Bosom Buddies" in a scene from the 1974 film version of "Mame."
This is wonderful news.
It has just been announced that "Milk" will receiving the Producers Guild of America's Stanley Kramer Award which honors pictures taking on provocative social issues. The Kramer Award is named after the legendary filmmaker whose works include "The Defiant Ones," "Judgment at Nuremberg" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."
The prize will be presented at the guild's awards show Jan. 24.
...give a rat's you-know-what about fashion but how can you not stop in your tracks and admire how stupendous Beyonce Knowles looked at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC on Sunday night. She'd make Audrey Hepburn proud...
Whatever this guy is selling, I'll buy it!
"Lost" star Josh Holloway is seen here in the Pacific Ocean shooting an ad for Davidoff's Cool Water in Hawaii. Josh used to be a full-time model so he probably took to the photo shoot like a duck to water.
For more shots like these, check out ASocialite'sLife.
Luke is determined to out his grandmother's new hubby and tries to do so with the help of Brian's ex-wife. It backfires and leads to a confrontation between Brian and Luke. It's fun stuff to watch but I can't help but wonder what it all means. Why was Brian, who is clearly gay, marry Luke's grandmother Lucinda? She's a wealthy woman but he apparently agreed to a pre-nup. I guess we will just have to keep watching. Meanwhile, all of the passion has gone out of Luke and Noah's relationship. My guess is Luke hooks up with Brian before he hooks up with Noah.
Advocate.com reports the following: Amid talk from some gays about boycotting the Sundance Film Festival because some of its movies are screened at a Cinemark theater owned by a major Prop. 8 contributor, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and Outfest have announced that they will participate in the prestigious film showcase.
GLAAD president Neil Giuliano said in a statement released this week: "Some have suggested that staying away from Sundance will help make a statement that will help our cause. Yet for many LGBT filmmakers, Sundance is their single most important opportunity to ensure their stories about our community reach a broad audience, and they are not in a position to stay away from that opportunity. We certainly respect those with a different view, but we believe we must be there, be visible, and ensure the LGBT community has a place to come together."
go to Advocate.com to read the entire story...
This, is hilarious. "All My Children" star Cameron Mathison is getting all kinds of attention for one of his recent scenes on the show (see videos below) where, at first glance, it looks like he is wearing a thong!
JustJared.com quotes Cameron as telling OK! Magazine: "I am finding this hysterical. I gotta be honest, it looks exactly like a thong. But I hate to disappoint, it's only my t-shirt stuck in my underwear. After the hoopla, I am thinking of starting a new line of thongs."
And here is a clip from "The Soup" on Thong-gate:
"Milk" continued to impress at the box office in its second weekend of limited release taking in an estimated $1.7 million. The Gus Van Sant-directed movie about the life of Harvey Milk is currently playing in 99 theaters and had a hefty per theater average of $17,076 - that's a 16 percent increase over last weekend with 63 theaters added.
"Milk," which stars Sean Penn in the title role, has now grossed a total of $4.1 million and will have the opportunity to add handsomely to that total this coming weekend when 250 more theaters are added. It is doing its strongest business in the suburbs of New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to Daily Variety.
"Milk" could be further helped in its third weekend by the annoucement of the Golden Globe Award nominations early Thursday. I predict nominations for best picture-drama, best director (Van Sant), best actor (Penn) best supporting actor (James Franco, Josh Brolin) and best screenplay (Dustin Lance Black).
Frontiers magazine learned Saturday Marjorie Christoffersen is stepping down as a manager at the Los Angeles restaurant El Coyote. Bill Schoeppner, a fellow manager at El Coyote who has been with the restaurant for 26 years, told Frontiers Christoffersen was also resigning as a member of El Coyote's board of directors.
"She no longer works here," Schoeppner said on Saturday. "She just told me tonight."
Christoffersen created a firestorm of controversy for the 77-year-old L.A. institution after local blogs broke the news she had donated $100 to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. Long a popular destination for the LGBT community for its cheap Mexican food and generous Margaritas, El Coyote found itself the target of boycotts and demonstrations after Christoffersen's donation went public. In a press conference hosted by the restaurant days after the news of the donation broke, Christoffersen tried to explain her donation did not have to do with animus for gay and lesbian people, but was instead tied to her Mormon faith. Christoffersen did not apologize for the donation and did not indicate she would support any No on 8 organization. Boycott organizers and demonstrators were not impressed, and have argued online and in the local news media that Christoffersen's support for the ban of same-sex marriage was reason to shun El Coyote.
Schoeppner said Christoffersen tended her resignation to her mother, Grace Salisbury, who is described on the El Coyote Web site as the matriarch of the restaurant. Salisbury's sister-in-law founded El Coyote in 1931.
"Everybody is kind of used to her walking around the restaurant with a water pitcher going from table to table to table," Schoeppner said of Christofferson. "I guess that part is no longer going to exist."
I'm giving you an early look at my Daily News column running tomorrow.
ABC's "The View" never fails to conjure up its share of controversy - even among the women who are no longer on the show!
Most recently it was
But one former lady of "the View" who has remained unscathed has been Lisa Ling, a co-host from 1999 to 2002. Unlike O'Donnell and Jones, Ling left the show on good terms and was eventually replaced by the controversial Elisabeth Hasslebeck.
Ling returned to her roots in television news and has been working on major stories for the past six years. Despite her work as a correspondent for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and a contributor to National Geographic Channel and CNN, Ling is still always asked about "The View."
"Somehow, it's kind of inescapable," she told me a few days ago. "I'm always associated with 'The View' but I'm thrilled to be. They really were very influential in my career."
People were shocked when Ling gave up what is considered to be one of the best gigs on television but she has since shown that she really is a reporter at heart.
She's did a fascinating series of reports from inside North Korea where she posed as a doctor, covered the drug war in Columbia, reported on the culture if U.S. prisons, and covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Virginia Tech Massacre.
Ling is also part of CNN's award-winning "Planet in Peril" series - the latest which airs Thursday - examining the conflict between growing populations and natural resources.
"I feel so lucky," she said. "Every day I wake up and I can't believe that I have the opportunity to tell these kinds of stories."
The 35-year-old journalist is used to all the world travel. She was still a teenager when she landed a job as a war correspondent for Channel One News that included assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I've been able to continue to travel and see the world and immerse myself in different kinds of stories," Ling said. "I just feel so blessed to be able to do so and hope that people respond to the work that I've been able to do."
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes posing as old-fashioned movie stars in NYT Magazine. Katie is cute but still not much of a movie star although I loved her performance in "Pieces of April." Anyway, in this video, Tom talks about all kinds of things and most of it we've heard before except for the part about falling in love wiht Brad Pitt on the set of "Interview With A Vampire." KIDDING!!!
Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Twyla Tharp and Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who this weekend became the latest recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement in the performing arts.
Here is an AP video report of the event which will be broadcast on CBS on Dec. 30. Trust me, you gotta TiVo it. I enjoy watching it even more than the Oscars because it is pure entertainment and first-class all the way.
Stars John C. Reilly and Jack Black spoke with Keith Olbermann on his MSNBC show about their participation in the already legendary "Prop 8: The Musical."
Barbra Streisand is among those being feted this weekend with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors and talked to the Washington Post beforehand. One of the things that she said was that she would like Larry Kramer's powerful AIDS stage play "The Normal Heart" to be her next directorial effort.
I say don't hold your breath. Streisand, whose directorial efforts include "Prince of Tides" and "Yentl," has not directed a movie since "The Mirror Has Two Faces" in 1996. She also starred in "Mirror" and has since only acted in a single movie: the smash comedy "Meet the Fockers."
But I do hope she finally does it because she is a mighty fine director with Nick Nolte ("Tides"), Amy Irving ("Yentl") and Lauren Bacall ("Mirror") all earning Oscar nods under her.
Her once all-consuming film career basically ceased ionce she married James Brolin and she has only surfaced with albums and the rare live performance.
"I've never really been, you know, married during a directorial time in my life," she told The Post. "How do you, you know, balance the personal?"
I have not wanted to post about Boy George's conviction last week but I am happy to share a "Saturday Night Live" skit (above) making fun of him and how cool to have Amy Poehler back from maternity leave in time to reprise her Hillary Clinton impersonation (below).
Enjoy!
It's great for the LGBT community to have straight allies.And it's amazing that one of those allies happens to not only have their own nightly show on MSNBC, but is unbelievably smart and articulate. After Prop. 8 passed, Keith Olbermann gave a commentary that no one who saw it will soon forget and that commentary made him one of The Advocate's People of the Year for 2008.
In his Advocate interview, he discusses the motivation for the comment, the possibility of a major team-sport athlete coming out, his role in Rachel Maddow's career, life after Bush, and that impersonation by Ben Affleck.
Here is an excerpt:
Advocate.com: You have been a great ally to gay people for a long time, but people feel you really hit it out of the park with your Special Comment about California's Proposition 8. Where did your passion about this issue come from?
Keith Olbermann: Well, that's like saying where does the intention to breathe come from. What happened in California does not make any sense on any level. That people would so misunderstand their obligations to each other... it's hurtful, wasteful, stupid, and hypocritical. This is like saying one group of people is not allowed to buy batteries. Why not? It's not like there's going to be a battery shortage. If you substitute in this entire equation the phrase alkaline battery for marriage, you can reduce it to the absurdity that it is.
Why do you think that some people don't feel as you do on this issue?
It's probably the standard, the exposure concept -- you take a member of group A looking at a member of group B. If he doesn't actually know anybody in group B, the likelihood that he's prejudiced against him or suspicious of him is statistically something like 90%. As soon as he personally knows somebody from group B, his odds of being prejudiced against that group drop to 10%. It's as simple as that.
And here is the video:
Reviewers are calling tonight's Lifetime flick "How Heather Got Her Groove Back" and there are similarities with the Angela Bassett movie "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." So if that's te case, then Robert Buckley is the Taye Diggs of this version and that means you will see the "Lipstick Jungle" star quite shirtless and quite a lot. It's nice to see Heather Locklear back on screen after a tough year on a personal level. She's one of those stars you root for.
Earlier post: My interview with Robert Buckley
It's a living.
Had never seen Oprah Winfrey in person until this morning and it was pretty cool. I stood about a foot from her sticking my recorder in her face as a small group of press chatted her up before the Power 100 Women In Entertainment breakfast this morning. She is one of the rare famous folks who absolutely live up to expectations. I'll have a seperate piece on Oprah over the weekend sometime but here is my column on the event:
Oprah Winfrey may have been the main attraction at Friday's Power 100 Women in Entertainment breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel, but honoree Glenn Close provided the event with some of its best moments.
The star of the FX drama "Damages" flew in from New York for the occasion and was funny, candid and surprisingly emotional when she accepted the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award .
"I've had a lump in my throat since I woke up - and I don't think it's the jet lag," Close said.
She went on to confess that she was wearing the same coat she wore to the premiere of her film "101 Dalmations" 15 years ago and also admitted to touching up her gray roots before facing the Hollywood crowd: "For some reason - even though I live in New York - I feel like a hick when I come out here."
The winner of three Tonys, two Emmys and five Oscar nominations got choked up at the end of her remarks saying: "To be given an award like this for something that already makes me so deeply happy \[pause\] is truly an embarrassment of riches."
Winfrey has often been named to the "Power 100" list, compiled by reporters and editors of The Hollywood Reporter, but had never before attended the event for those who made the cut. She joked that "this was a really good year to come" since she was ranked first.
"What a wonderful way to spend a morning," she said. "This has been extraordinary...I've never been at any kind of awards or presentation with the depth of feeling experienced here today."
She was asked if she believed there should still be "power lists" for women.
"As number one I'd say it's a great idea," Winfrey joked. "I think it's fun and it allows us to see who is doing what and it is a way to acknowledge the work in a respectful way. It's fun being number one but I loved myself just as much last year when I was seven or eight. When I heard I was first I thought, 'What did I do because I think I worked even harder last year!'"
Sigourney Weaver, former Paramount studio head Sherry Lansing, ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney and Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal also participated in the morning event. Among those in the audience were former "View" co-host Lisa Ling, Oprah's BFF Gayle King, Marcia Cross, Sarah Chalke, Vanessa Williams ("Melrose Place") and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa who made opening remarks.
I don't know if this movie gonna be any good but I like the photo from it that I found posted on Towleroad this morning. The film stars Jim Carrey plays a married father/conman who finds himself in the Texas prison system where he falls in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). The romance prompted four escape attempts and a lifetime jail sentence for Russell.
Check out the trailer:
She's a treasujre - insanely talented, brilliantly funny and has a heart the size of the Grand Canyon. Love, love, love Margaret Cho. She's the one that we want!
Hey, I don't care. I'm a big Fanilow and proud to be. And it was great to talk to Barry Manilow recently for a column and gush about El Mirasol, our mutual favorite restaurant in Palm Springs. It's the best!
Here is my column on Barry, running Sunday in the Daily News but a few days early for Out In Hollywood readers:
Barry Manilow has been making hit records for 35 years but he still
seems giddy as a kid when we spoke about his latest CD "The Greatest Songs of the Eighties."
"I can't believe I'm still making records that are being released!" he said.
The ageless performer has been busy promoting the CD and the new animated holiday TV special "Cranberry Christmas" - airing on ABC Family Monday night - and he's having a blast doing it.
"I just did a full hour on QVC that was fun, did 'The Tonight Show' and 'The Today Show'... then Ellen and Jimmy Kimmel," he said. "I believe in these records I make. I pour everything into it. I go out and become the media slut when I have a project to promote."
"Eighties" is his latest in a wildly successful series of cover songs from decades past which began with 50s songs then onto the 60s and 70s. But now that Manilow has tackled the 80s, don't expect a collection of 90s covers next.
"I just looked at number one songs - they have to have been number one - and I couldn't find melodies," he explained. "I found Celine (Dion) and Mariah (Carey). It was the decade of the girls and loads of hip-hop and rap. Not very many melodies."
But there are is plenty of melody in "Cranberry Christmas" which and longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman wrote original songs for including the current hit single "Christmas is Just Around the Corner."
Said Manilow: "They are planning on this being an annual animated show every Christmas. Wouldn't that be nice? Bruce and I are really proud of the stuff we did."
The material is a far cry from the duo's previous efforts which include the classic "Copacabana."
"Barry and I are theater babies, we love writing for character and situation," Sussman said. "We read the book and thought it was charming."
Manilow interjected: "Bruce and I are just whores, We say yes to everything, It wouldn't have mattered if it was Frankenstein meets Gidget."
The singer, who's now 65, said "I never think about age."
He's as in demand as he's ever been since 2005, has been the headliner at the
Las Vegas Hilton,
"I just love it," he said of the Vegas gig. "I'm still doing arena dates but I'm not on the road. I needed to get off the road, I really wanted my life back and that was the perfect offer. I don't want to stop doing it."
Well, I can't say I really blame him.
We love Kathy Griffin, obviously, but it's never cool to out someone. E!Online's Marc Malkin reports that our favorite D-lister tried to make amends with Clay Aiken last week when they both guested on "Rosie Live!" but he wasn't having any of it. Kathy had gotten a lot of lmaterial out of Clay's sexuality pegging him "Gayken" in her standup act long before he came out of the closet.
"I held up one of those ghetto blasters playing one of Clay's songs, and I begged him to take me back and he said no," Griffin said at last night's Grammy nomination concert in downtown L.A. "And then I walked out of the room and Gloria Estefan said to me, 'I told ya--you shouldn't have gone in there alone.' "
Malkin writes that Griffin said she was, at the very least, hoping for some sort of thank-you or acknowledgement for her role in helping him come out. "There were no words of thanks or even really any words at all, for that matter. I would have to say he was not very nice."
He doesn't need to thank her for anything. We gotta be able to come out when we are ready.
Jason Bateman told me this week that while nothing is official in regards to the all-but-officially-confirmed "Arrested Development" movie, he has no doubt that when the cast of the late great FOX series reunites on the big screen, it will be something special.
"There's no doubt in my mind that it will be every bit as good as the show and probably a
whole lot better simply because of the running time," he said. "You as an audience are trapped inside a movie theater and you can appreciate the density of the writing and the minutiae of the comedy. There's no distractions, there's no phone, there's no fridge, there's no doorbell. You're in there, completely inside our world."
While Bateman is now one of the busiest actors in movies - he's been in "Hancock," "Juno," "The Kingdom," and "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" among other films since "Arrested" left the air in 2006 - he remembers when things were different, and not that long ago.
"It goes to show you what a tough business this is." said Bateman, currently filming "Couples Retreat" with Vince Vaughn. "Every actor really is just a job away. I was circling the building before 'Arrested Development' and fortunately I got that show that happened to be watched by a lot of people that hand out jobs and it was as simple as that. Hopefully I don't screw that up and continue to pick the right things and not some of the low-hanging fruit because you can get shown the door as quickly as put through it."
I also asked Jason, who played a gay man in the short-lived series "Some of My Best Friends" (where we met the fabulous Alec Mapa!) for his thoughts on the oassage of Prop. 8. Here's what he said:
"Prop. 8 seems like a very sort of dated and homophobic proposition and I think anybody with an ounce of common sense would have voted no on that. It's not surprising that common sense stuff does not get pushed through based on the last couple terms of the executive branch. It's not surprising to me. Maybe that's why so many people with common sense feel so disenfranchised from the political process."
Two-time Emmy winner Kathy Griffin's career is thriving and it's all credit to her drive and relentless self-promotion. She claimed to have specifically put out a comedy album earlier this year in an blatant attempt to win a Grammy following her first Emmy win in 2007. She has since won a second Emmy and on Wednesday, got the Grammy nod for the CD "For Your Consideration" which, by the way, is perfect for listening to on the drive from LA to Palm Springs.
Congrats to Kathy!
Below is a "For Your Consideration" cartoon:
Following a screening of "Milk" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, director Gus Van Sant (pictured with Sean Penn at the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards Tuesday night) took questions.
Queerty reports that somebody asked the director how he felt the film could have impacted Proposition 8, if only it came out before the election. He said he and Focus Features could've rushed the film out before the Nov. 4 vote. Van Sant said they didn't even hear about the measure until July, and at that point it didn't have as much support. so there wasn't reason to think the movie would need to impact the outcome.
He's actually happy about Milk's post-election timing because seeing the film will make people "wise up" to gay civil rights, which will do more than passing "just one proposition."
Great to see Barney Frank on the cover of the new issue of The Advocate featuring its persons of the year. I had a brief chat with him about Prop. 8 at the Democratic Convention this summer and it has been very interesting to see him front and center during the hearings over the rescue package for the country's financial mess.
In this wide-ranging interview with The Advocate which includes lots of terrific electionj day color, Frank talks about his political life, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a Barack Obama presidency and his troubles past as a closeted gay man
I've excerpted the section about Prop. 8:
When the conversation turns to gay marriage, Frank says he is "cautiously optimistic" about Proposition 8 being defeated in California. "I just wish more time had passed since it was legalized and this election," he says. "With discrimination, the fear always outweighs the reality of it. You just hope there's enough time to show everyone that everything is fine, that gay marriage has no impact on heterosexual marriage."
Proposition 8 ended up passing, of course, prompting protests across the country. "It's great that people feel passionate about this," he says 10 days after the election, when I ask whether the upswing in gay activism pleased him, "but do you really think a rally on the Boston Common does one thing to change anything? I would prefer people channeled that energy -- whether it's for marriage equality or employment nondiscrimination -- into mobilizing and trying to persuade those who disagree with them. Notice that the NRA never marches. This is my continual debate with people in the gay community, many of whom want to hold rallies instead of doing political lobbying."
Frank's position on the rallies initially surprised me -- how could any gay person not be moved by them? -- but it shouldn't have. In 2004, when gays and lesbians were celebrating San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to buck California law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Frank called it a "spectacle" that would only increase support for President Bush's proposed federal constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. "When you're engaged in a political fight, if you're doing something that really, really, really makes you feel good, then it's probably not the best tactic," he told The Washington Post at the time. "[Some gay activists] have this notion that Martin Luther King and the rest of the gang just let it all hang out, that the civil rights movement was just a series of spontaneous outbursts. But it was in fact a series of strategic decisions.... I care deeply about [marriage equality], but the more deeply I care, the more sensible I have to be in achieving it."
Frank holds a deep reverence for the political process and rejects the notion that the ends justify the means. He also doesn't see the value in "wasting time" by talking to people who already agree with you. "It doesn't change anything," he tells me as we drive back toward Boston on Election Day. (Nancy Pelosi says she learned firsthand about Frank's low tolerance for preaching to the choir. In 1987 she called him to complain that a congressman was saying terrible things on the House floor about gay men with AIDS. "So Barney said to me, 'What are you calling me for? Go argue with him. Go make the case. Next time you want to complain, go complain to the person you need to convince.' ")
Frank, who in 1995 was famously called "Barney Fag" by Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, says he hopes people take a pragmatic, strategic approach to gay marriage. "There's a danger of using tactics that can advance you in the short term but hurt the long-term goal of marriage equality," he says. "The most important thing we can do is change the minds of people who voted against us. We know that many African-Americans in California were given blatantly false information about us. We didn't refute that effectively, and we're paying the price, because they voted disproportionally against us. I'm already talking to a lot of prominent African-American leaders about what we can do to change that. Thousands of people rallying on the Boston Common don't get African-Americans to change their votes in California."
Even if California loses marriage equality in the short term, Frank believes we will win the larger war. "I've seen anti-Semitism essentially disappear in my adult life as a social and economic factor," he tells me. "There may be some nuts out there, but generally things are fine. I think the same thing will happen with gayness. We'll get to a point soon enough where it's not even an issue anymore. But progress can be slow. I filed my first gay rights bills in 1972 in Massachusetts. Forty years later, it would be nice to have this wrapped up and put to bed."
Here is a LINK to the entire interview.
See more funny videos at Funny or Die
Enjoy!
Luke as a lush is a lot more fun than Luke as Noah's doormat!
On today's episode of "As the World Turns," Noah was nowhere to be found which was fine with me! Luke was all drunk (what else is new?) and Brian once again tries to "help" him. Enjoy today's scenes!
The Funny or Die site states that the brilliant "Prop. 8: The Musical," which premiered online with a bang today, was "conceived and written (six weeks later than he shoulda) by-Marc Shaiman, directed and staged by: Adam Shankman. They also produced along with Mike Farah.
The cast (in order of appearance):
California Gays and The People That Love Them: Jordan Ballard, Margaret Cho, Barrett Foa, J.B. Ghuman, John Hill, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Rashad Naylor, Nicole Parker
Proposition 8'ers and The People That Follow Them: Prop 8 Leader- John C. Reilly Prop 8 Leader's #1 Wife- Allison Janney Prop 8 Leader's #2 Wife- Kathy Najimy Riffing Prop 8'er-Jenifer Lewis A Preacher- Craig Robinson Scary Catholic School Girls From Hell-Rashida Jones, Lake Bell, Sarah Chalke
The Frightened Villagers: Katharine "Kooks" Leonard, Seth Morris, Denise "Esi!" Piane, Lucian Piane, Richard Read, Seth Redford, Quinton Strack, Tate Taylor
Jesus Christ: Jack Black
A Very Smart Fellow: Neil Patrick Harris
Here's the video again in case you want to watch it again (I've seen it five times at least):
See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die
More info can be found on the Funny or Die site.
I decided to finally watch an episode of "12 Miles of Bad Road," the satirical series from Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth Thomason cancelled by HBO before it even aired its first episode. stars Lily Tomlin as a wealthy Dallas matriarch of a large dysfunctional family who reconcile her booming real estate business and immense wealth with the day-to-day struggles of her outrageous family life.
The stellar cast also includes, for starters, Mary Kay Place and Leslie Jordan as Tomlin's eccentric sister and cousin.
It's a hoot! Just a blast!
I was hooked from the first scene and watched all six episodes that were produced, one after another. I LOVE this show. The writing has some of that "Designing Women" flair (Tomlin has a few Julia Sugarbaker-like Terminator moments and it is delish) and she plays off Place and Jordan especially well. I love the Texas accents, the comedy and the fabulous dialogue which can get quite bitchy but in a really fun way.
The three actors who play Tomlin's children are divine: Gary Cole plays philandering son Jerry and he is an absolute riot - even fuinnier than he was as Mike Brady in all those "Brady Bunch" spoofs; the lovely Katherine LaNasa as Juliet is a character you cannot keep your eyes off of any time she is one scree. She brings real emotion and depth to the proceedings when some around her can be a bit cartoon-like. And finally, there is Eliza Coupe as Amelia's alcoholic daughter Gaylor. Coupe gets a lot of the comedy and she delivers countless times. Reminded me a bit of Delta Burke during the last two years of her run on "Designing Women."
Another of my favorite characters was that of Juliet's soon to be ex husband, Saxby Hall portrayed to perfection by David Andrews who is one of the sexiest actors over the age of 50 in the business.
Of particular gay interest (besides Tomlin) are Jordan's character who is gay like the actor and delivers his lines throughout with such perfection you will laugh yourself silly. It's a fabulous role for this wonderful actor.
Earlier this year, HBO decided not to go forward with the series after it had completed only part of its initial 10-episode order due to the writers' strike. That left the Thomasons in the position to shop the show to other networks but shockingly, there have been no takers.
HUH? All the crap that's on television and there's no interest in a funny, edgy dramedy that's already had six episodes produced? The backstory os that HBO greenlit the series in early 2007 entertainment president Carolyn Strauss who stepped down in early 2008. The network decided not to resume production after writers returned to work post-strike.
It's a crying shame. I hope it gets aired on Lifetime or Bravo or what about Oxygen or Logo? At the very least, lets have the completed episodes released on DVD. People reallyh should see this. And again, kudos to Tomlin for so brilliantly inhabiting a role that she is now perfect for at this point in her career.
There are those who might find some of the material offensive but not me. I want more "12 Miles of Bad Road."
I read this new survey released today and wondered why it left me cold even though we should all be encouraged by the results. I think Proposition 8 has left me feeling very annoyed with public opinion when it comes to determining equal rigfhts.
But that's my thing. "The Pulse of Equality survey," commissioned by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and released today, is a telephone survey among 2,008 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, conducted from Nov. 13-17, 2008.
Among the results:
** Three-quarters of U.S. adults (75%) favor either marriage or domestic partnerships/civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Only about two in 10 (22%) say gay and lesbian couples should have no legal recognition. (Gay and lesbian couples are able to marry in two states, and comprehensive civil union or domestic partnership laws exist in only five others and the District of Columbia.)
** U.S. adults are now about evenly divided on whether they support allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry (47% favor to 49% oppose).
** Almost two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adults favor allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces. (The current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law bans military service by openly gay personnel.)
** About six in 10 (63%) U.S. adults favor expanding hate crime laws to cover gay and transgender people. (Hate crimes laws cover gay and transgender people in 11 states and the District of Columbia, and an additional ÂÂ20 states' laws cover sexual orientation but not gender identity.)
** A slight majority of U.S. adults (51%) favor protecting gay and transgender people under existing laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. (Existing non-discrimination laws cover gay and transgender people in only 12 states and the District of Columbia, and eight other states' laws cover sexual orientation but not gender identity.)
** Nearly seven out of 10 U.S. adults (69%) oppose laws that would ban qualified gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. (In several states, gay and lesbian couples are banned from adopting.)
Across the LGBT-related policy proposals, there were statistically significant differences in support with respect to age, gender, race/ethnicity and religion.
People under 65, and especially those 18-34, were more supportive than people over 65. Women were generally more supportive than men, with women age 18-34 often being more supportive than other segments.
Hispanics were more supportive than Whites and African-Americans in showing strong support for allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces. African Americans were more strongly supportive than Whites and Hispanics of expanding existing hate crimes laws to cover gay and transgender people.
Mainline Christians (a category that includes, among other denominations, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians) and Catholics were more supportive than Evangelical Christians, and Mainline Christians were often among the more supportive segments on a variety of issues.
The survey also revealed that there has been greater acceptance of gay and lesbian Americans over the last five years.
Approximately two in 10 Americans (19%) reported that their feelings toward gay and lesbian people have become more favorable over the past five years, with contributing factors including: knowing someone who is gay or lesbian (79%), the fact that laws have been passed that protect gay and lesbian people (50%), opinions of family or friends (45%) and religious leaders (21%), news coverage of gay and lesbian issues (41%), and seeing gay or lesbian characters on television (34%) and in movies (29%). Nearly three out of four Americans (73%) personally know or work with a gay or transgender person, and half of those who know or work with someone who is gay or transgender know five or more gay or transgender people.
"The visibility of the past several years, and the intense conversations of the past few weeks, seem to have galvanized a majority of Americans' support of equality for gay and transgender Americans," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano (pictured right w/TR Knight). "While this expression of support is encouraging, particularly after the setbacks we experienced on Election Day, it's not something we can rest on. There is a lot of work to be done. We must all do what we can to sustain and expand this emerging wave of grassroots activism so that it leads to laws and policies that extend full equality under the law to all Americans - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight."
Giuliano suggested that one of the crucial issues facing LGBT people is that many Americans aren't aware of the injustices that they face.
"Majorities of Americans clearly favor equality for gay and transgender people," Giuliano added, "but we've seen that too many still mistakenly believe that the intolerance and injustices we face are things of the past. So it's more vital than ever that we tell our stories, illustrate the injustices we face, and remind people of the common ground we share."
Here is my weekly Daily News column on the entertainment industry:
Prop. 8 and filmmaking collide
By Greg Hernandez, Columnist
Film Independent CEO Dawn Hudson was all smiles when she showed up at the Sofitel Hotel on Tuesday morning to help announce nominations for the 2009 Spirit Awards. Afterward, she was happy to discuss the state of independent film in this terrible economy and the impact the Spirit nods could have on the Academy Awards race.
But she didn't want to talk about Richard Raddon
.
Raddon is the former director of the Los Angeles Film Festival, which, like the Spirit Awards, is overseen by Film Independent. Raddon, who is Mormon, resigned under pressure last week amid fallout from his donation to Proposition 8, the measure passed last month by California voters banning gay marriage in the state.
"We're celebrating our Spirit Award nominations and couldn't be happier," Hudson said when I mentioned Raddon's resignation. With her smile suddenly looking a little forced, she simply said "Just happy to be here today" before pointedly moving on.
The truth is, if Raddon had not stepped down, the festival and the awards would have been prime targets for protests and possible boycotts as the backlash against Prop. 8 continues to build and shows no sign of letting up as Hollywood enters its awards season.
Activists have been scouring donor lists in recent weeks and Raddon's contribution of $1,500 was particularly galling to some because the film festival he headed has worked with so many gay and lesbian filmmakers over the years.
Hudson had said in previous press reports that Film Independent was not happy with Raddon's donation, but believed he had the right to religious and personal beliefs. The board of the nonprofit organization had initially voted not to accept his resignation, but eventually did last week.
Raddon released a statement saying that while he preferred to keep his contribution a private matter, he was "profoundly sorry" for the negative attention his donation drew to Film Independent and for the "hurt and pain that is being experienced in the GLBT community."
"I have always held the belief that all people, no matter race, religion, or sexual orientation are entitled to equal rights," he also said.
Then there was the $9,999 donation to the Yes on Prop. 8 campaign from Cinemark CEO Alan Stock. His financial support of the marriage ban has led some to call for a boycott of January's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, because many of its films are screened in a Cinemark theater. But that prospect horrifies many since Sundance, founded by Robert Redford in 1978, has been a staunch supporter of gay cinema and gay filmmakers over the years.
Actress Sandra Oh, who co-starred in the 2004 indie classic "Sideways," thinks a boycott would be terrible given what the festival has meant to so many people.
"Let's open up dialogue, let's talk about it," Oh said after announcing the Spirit Award nominations Tuesday. "I gotta tell you, people at Sundance like Mr. Redford, he'll build a tent. It's an opportunity, it's not a stopping place, it's an opportunity to talk about personal point of views. We can't just shut it down. That's what Sundance is about. (Festival organizers) are not going to ignore that. There are a lot of people who have Mormon beliefs in that area and have their strong points of view. OK, let's have a dialogue with them. Bringing people together is the best way for change."
That there is even any kind of push for a Sundance boycott represents a new chapter in the reborn gay rights movement where younger activists are breaking away from the established GLBT leadership.
"I think it's obvious that people are angry and I've been talking to a lot of these younger folks and they want to do something," said Patrick Range MacDonald, the LA Weekly staff writer who has covered the Prop. 8 issue and authors the blog Queer Town. "In the big scheme of things, I think the protests and boycotts are needed because they actually put people on notice."
One of the higher-profile younger people calling for action is 26-year-old Dustin Lance Black (pictured above), who was nominated for a Spirit Award Tuesday for writing the screenplay for "Milk." At a recent screening of his film in Hollywood, he urged some restraint when it comes to boycotts.
"I think we need to be really careful when we look at who the donors are and be a bit more targeted," Black said. "When you are talking about Cinemark, I actually know some people who are high up there and are gay and lesbian and who are horrified with what happened. So it is figuring out how to target specific organizations and groups and individuals in a way that is peaceful, legal and effective."
Black is not only an excellent writer, he makes an excellent point.
See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die
This is scary funny...and scary true...
Other performers involved include Jenifer Lewis, Saran Chalke, Allison Janey, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, and Kathy Najimy.
A quite interesting interview with David Furnish has been posted on AfterElton.com. A director's cut of "Diamonds and Tiaras," his documentary about spouse Elton John is being released and the interview gives Furnish the chance to try and clear up Elton's recent infuriating comments about civil partnerships vs. marriage.
Here is an excerpt:
Q. recently did an interview with USA Today where he said he didn't want to be married. He said he was very happy with civil partnership and that if gay people want to be legally joined together, they should just get a civil partnership. He also said part of the reason why Prop 8 failed was because gay people in California went after the word 'marriage.' That set off quite a controversy over here. Has any of that come to your attention?
David Furnish: Yes, it did. Elton and I have had loads of discussions about this. I think there's a couple of sort of mitigating factors that haven't been brought out in the discussion. I think one is that a civil partnership in Britain affords many more rights than a civil partnership in America. That was something that neither of us was aware of. I think the point Elton was trying to make was, America is very much a divided country at the moment. I think there are extremely religious, very fundamental religious people who have very strong views and very strong beliefs and they are very vocal. And I think there are a lot of people [for whom] religion doesn't necessarily play such a big part in their life anymore or they've learned to look at the Bible and religion as more than an evolutionary concept.
And this:
"As for the quote that Elton made to USA Today - it was made on a red carpet at the Elton John AIDS Foundation event in New York called "An Enduring Vision" - and I don't know if you've ever been down a red carpet, but you sort of stop and talk to everybody in little sound bites. So it wasn't an interview that was a specific interview about Elton, let's sit down and talk about your views on Proposition 8. It was literally, "So, are you happy to be here at the charity tonight?" and "How much money are you hoping to raise?" and "Who made your suit?" and "Oh, and by the way, what do you think about Proposition 8? Do you think people should get married?" And he sort of gave his answer and moved down to the next reporter and it certainly got picked up and it had a tremendous impact, but hopefully you and I chatting today can maybe give it the clarity that it didn't get the chance to get at that moment.
To read the full interview, go to AfterElton.com
Just could not resist pairing that picture of Donny Osmond and me at the Oscars with this post.
But it really has nothing to do with this item that was posted on the Joe.My.God blog:
It notes that in the "About My Beliefs" section of Donny.com,, the famous Mormon singer posted an undated response to a fan's question about his stance on gay marriage. He states that his beliefs about marriage are beautifully stated in "The Family - A Proclamation To The World," a document published by the leaders of our church back in 1995.
Then Donny writes:
"There are many gay individuals that are members of our church. I know many of them. In fact, some of my best friends are gay. You ask how I react regarding their marriages. Well, I do support our Church leaders who say that we can accept those with gay tendencies in our church as long as they do not act upon their temptations. Everyone has tenancies to succumb to temptation, but we all have the same standard given to us by our Father in Heaven. Whether we may be tempted to be immoral with members of our own sex or of the opposite sex, we are expected to live chaste lives. This is very well explained not only in the Book of Mormon, but in the Bible as well.
"You see, the whole beauty of God's plan is that we all have our free agency to live our lives the way we want to live them. Personally, I believe in the words stated above and that they came from a living prophet, so I abide by them.
"We all determine for ourselves what is right and what is not right for our own lives and how we live God's commandments. I am not a judge and I will never judge anyone for the decisions they make unless they are causing harm to another individual. I love my friends, including my gay friends. We are all God's children. It is their choice, not mine on how they conduct their lives and choose to live the commandments according to the dictates of their own conscience. I hope this helps.
-- Sincerely, Donny Osmond."
Anyway, Joe.My. God. notes that "there's no evidence that Osmond donated to Yes On 8, nor has he spoken publicly on the issue other than on his website. However as a devout and wealthy Mormon, some portion of his tithing probably went into the campaign."
Good morning. Well, I'm recovering from a bout with the 36-hour flu (so annoying!) but managed to get over to Sofitel, L.A in Beverly Hills for the announcements of Film Independent's Spirit Awards this morning and live to tell about it.
But enougn about me.
I'm pleased to let you know that James Franco got nominated in the best supporting male category for his wonderful performance in "Milk." Well-deserved. Then there is Sean Penn, nominated - as expected - for best lead actor. Sean's performance is so astonishingly good that I think they should hand him the Spirit Award and the Golden Globe and the SAG Award and, of course, the Oscar, right now!
Sandra Oh and Jason Bateman were on hand to make the announcements and I gotta say, my favorite moment of the morning was when Dustin Lance Black's name was announced as a nominee for best first screenplay. What he accomplished is amazing and he did it on his own with total dedication and faith. So glad it paid off for Dustin (pictured on set with director Gus Van Sant.
I was disappointed, however, to see that Van Sant was shut out of the best director category and once that happened, I figured best picture odds were lousy. I was right: "Milk" was passed over in the best picture category in favor of these five films: "Ballast," "Frozen River," "Rachel Getting Married," Wendy and Lucy," and "The Wrestler."
ALSO: I almost forget to mention that "Milk" got four Spirit nods overall as Harris Savides was nominated for best cinematography.
I finally got around to watching "10 Things I Hate About You" and loved it! Especially this scene when Heath Ledger sings "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" to Julia Stiles in front of the entire high school.
Enjoy!
I don't think it's a stretch to predict that "Milk" will be a solid box office hit and nab several Academy Award nominations. I wonder if the same thing will be said of "Valkyrie," the film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Tom Cruise as a Nazi soldier plotting the assassination of Hitler in the war thriller that opens Christmas Day.
Ironically, Singer had signed on to direct "Milk" in 2005, envisioning the movie as a political thriller. But a new Entertainment Weekly article notes that he went off to make "Valkyrie" with Cruise instead. Way back in 1995, when Gus Van Sant - who ended up directing the film - was previously connected to the project, never heard back from Cruise after offering him the role of Dan White who is played by Josh Brolin in "Milk."
A USA Today article published Monday about Cruise and Singer notes that the movie might be a sell to audiences since it is a Nazi film coming out during the crowded holiday season.
"...Ultimately, I think this is a good time for it," Singer says. "This is still a conspiracy thriller, and the holidays give a lot of people the chance to (go)."
Cruise, once box office king, has lost some of his luster. But he told USA Today that he is also optimistic that the film will find an audience: "The subject matter isn't the easiest, he says, "but ultimately, people want to see a good story."
With all sorts of emotions flowing since the passage of Prop. 8 nearly a month ago, Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA)'S Los Angeles chapter is sponsoring a community meeting.on Sunday in West Hollywood.
Robin Tyler (pictured with wife Diane Olson), is on the advisory board of MEUSA and one of the co-organizers of this meeting. Also present will be Torie Osborn and Jehan F. Agrama, commissioners on the City Human Relations Committee along with other community leaders will be there.
The email I got about the event had a tone that not-so-subtly took a few swipes at the "Virtual Town Hall Meeting" that took place last week and had its critics.
It reads in part:
Wouldn't it be great to have a Town Hall where you don't have to submit questions in advance?
Wouldn't it be great to have a Town Hall meeting that is not virtual, where you can actually see the people you are talking to? PC and Mac users both welcome, because there will be no logging in online, it is live and unscripted. You actually get to stand up and talk on an open mike, rather then be lectured to!
For the first hour, we want to hear what our community has to say about Prop 8, to share your feelings, whether positive or negative. For the second hour, we want to hear where you think we should go from here.
And by 'we' we mean all of us.
Everyone is welcome, including those who led,loved and lost the campaign, and those who felt left-out and did not, which includes community leaders, grassroots activists, young and old, LGBTQ and their allies, and people of color.
For Further information about the town hall meeting, go to
http://www.marriageequality.org/index.php?page=ca-los-angeles-county
The event takes place from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7 at The West Hollywood Auditorium, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. West Hollywood.
Those of us who have worshiped Meryl Streep for decades are thrilled with her current burst of box office success which began with "The Devil Wears Prada" two years ago and continued with last summer's "Mamma Mia." Now she is all over the place promoting her latest: the drama "Doubt."
I was lucky enough to be present at the world premiere of "Doubt" last month at the AFI Fest and had one of my three brief encounters with Miss Streep. She was being whisked by and I yelled out: "Hey, there's Meryl Streep!" She turned and waved at me. Inside the screening, she practically skipped to the front of the theater when introduced and I found it amazing this woman is 59 years old. She is a very young spirit.
Ok, the other two brief encounters: the first was at the ShoWest Convention back in 2003 and Meryl was there with the rest of the cast of "The Manchurian Candidate." At a press conference, I asked her if she had been influenced by Angela Lansbury's performance in the original version. She said she hadn't seen it and joked that if she had, she probably would have ended up imitating her. I maintained to my friend Eddie that Meryl and I had indeed had a conversation since I had asked a question, she had answered it, and I said 'Thank you.'"
Ha!
Then two years ago, she had just won her sixth Golden Globe Award for "Prada" and was backstage answering questions for the press. When she was finished, she walked right by me as she made her way out of the room. Our eyes met and I said: "Congratulations." She smiled and said: "Thank you." I didn't try and label that one a conversation. Maybe someday soon we'll get to do an interview! Hope so.
Anyway, the current issue of Entertainment Weekly has a wonderful article on Miss Streep with this headline: "She's the One: Meryl Streep has become astonishingly bankable ... At 59, she's a bigger star than ever - and she's loving it"
Here is a LINK...and an excerpt:
Streep has been the driving force behind two enormous summer blockbusters, The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia!, which shattered records and even bested a few superheroes. That's a coup for any actor. But given that Hollywood treats actresses over 40 as if they've passed their sell-by date, Streep's transformation into a bankable movie star at age 59 is astounding. Just don't tell her that. ''I'm not amazed,'' she says. ''It's like Obama. For the two days after he was elected, people were going around to every black person they knew saying, 'Aren't you amazed?' Why should people be amazed when the most qualified person is elected?'' (Her political passion extends all the way to her toenails. She's painted them Obama blue.) ''I've worked hard, so this is what I expect,'' she continues. ''It doesn't normally happen, but it should.'' She's right, of course. But it's still unprecedented. Studios are now carving out space in their summer schedules, between the Pirates and the Pixars, for a Streep film. ''A Meryl Streep slot,'' says Sony Pictures chairman Amy Pascal. ''Who ever thought you'd say that?''
The Divine Miss M, one of the great gay icons of all time, turns 63 years old today. She's still going strong with her ongoing Vegas show "The Showgirl Must Go On" a smash and her best movie role in years ("Then She Found Me") out on DVD. Here is a video of Bette singing an appropriate song: "I Look Good."
...Ivana Trump calls it quits from FOURTH husband Rossano Rubicondi after being married nearly a year.
Trump filed a legal separation agreement back in April. She says she kept it quiet because she didn't want to ruin Rubicondi's chances as a contestant on the Italian edition of "Survivor," The Associated Press reports.
Ivana says of the split, "Rossano wants to live in Miami and work in Milan...But, I am a New Yorker and my family, friends and businesses are here. As the beautiful song says, `Que sera sera!'"
Can you BELIEVE this woman?
This should be expanded into a book!
Special Investigation: Prop 8 Postmortem
By Karen OcambElection Night 2008. The Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood was filled with revelers expecting two historic firstsan African-American man elected president of the United States and the people of California validating marriage equality by voting down the odious Proposition 8.
Thunderous cheers shook the theatre as CNN declared each state for Barack Obama. But wandering unnoticed through the crowd were grim-faced No on Prop 8 campaign supporters shouting into cell phones: People had stopped going to the polls in West Hollywood and Silver Lake and there were still two hours before the polls closed.
A quiet dread crept into the nights festivities. West Hollywood City Councilmember John Duran, chair of Equality California, and Lorri Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, the event organizers, took to the stage to warn the crowd not to be discouraged by the early returnshistorically, absentee ballots are cast early by conservative voters.
At 8:01 p.m., bottled up excitement exploded into euphoria as CNN declared gay-friendly Obama Americas 44th president; the dream was no longer deferred.
But as time ticked on, the Prop. 8 results worsened.The initiative to give chickens and pigs greater cage space was passing; the perennial parental notification bill was being defeated; and Prop. 8propelled by a campaign of lieswas passing. Elation rapidly slid into jaw-dropping shock, depression and anger. The results were gelling into roughly 52 percet yes to 48 percent no.
The No on Prop 8 campaign refused to concede defeatabsentee votes were still being counted. A day later, they acquiesced.
The impact of the vote was profound and personal, especially for the young Obama enthusiasts for whom equality was a virtual assumption.......
To read the rest of the article, here in a link to the IN Los Angeles Magazine site.
Here! Films, the theatrical distribution and worldwide sales division of here! Networks, announced today on World AIDS Day it has acquired North American distribution rights to the documentary, "Sex Positive," from the director Daryl Wein and produced by Wein and David Oliver Cohen.
Here! Films and its sister company Regent Releasing will distribute the film starting March 13, 2009 in select U.S. cities.
"Sex Positive," Wein's first feature-length documentary, made its world premiere in competition at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at LA Outfest in 2008.
"Sex Positive" explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary AIDS activist in the 1980's, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe-sex practices has never been aptly credited. Berkowitz along with Dr. Joseph Sonnabend (a controversial virologist and AIDS doctor) and beloved activist/musician Michael Callen emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic as community leaders, demanding a solution to the problem before anyone else would pay attention. Through the eyes of Berkowitz, the audience is made witness to a graphic testimony of sex, death and betrayal, while placing the invention of "safe sex" in a fresh and compelling context.
"Both in government and the gay population, the widespread silence during the early years of the AIDS crisis is absolutely shocking," said Daryl Wein, director of "Sex Positive." "People my age were not born of the era in which the crisis of AIDS forced behavioral change." Wein continues to say, "I'm proud to be releasing 'Sex Positive' through here! Films as I feel it is my duty to challenge the complacency of my generation by instilling the values of those forgotten heroes."
When Robert Buckley was offered the role of a surfing instructor who falls in love with Heather Locklear in the TV movie "Flirting With 40," he told a bit of a white lie.
"I actually did not know how to surf," the "Lipstick Jungle" star confessed to me recently. "I grew up skateboarding and snowboarding and thought that was a good enough background. The producers asked me and asked me. I'm not a pro but not bad at it.' Somebody leaked to them I was lying or they could tell, They ended up getting me a surfing coach. I did learn for the movie."
The movie premieres on the Lifetime network Saturday night and tells the story of a divorced mom, on the verge of 40, who meets and falls for a much-younger man while on vacation. It is Locklear's first project to air since her recent arrest for DUI.
Buckley has only good things to say about the actress who he got along with terrifically during the film's shoot in Hawaii.
"We had such a good time doing it," he said. "It makes a difference when you connect with the person. To say, 'That's my job,' qualifies me as one of the luckiest guys alive. I had never been in Hawaii before the film and it was every bit as beautiful and amazing as I thought it'd be. You'd catch yourself and say, 'We are working.'"
In the movie, he teaches Locklear's character how to surf. In real-life, it very well could have been the other way around.
"She said she didn't (know how) but she was like strangely good, she picked it up really fast," Buckley said. "Maybe she took some lessons before she came so she'd look that much better than me. I'm glad all the surfing scenes are focused on her, she was the better of the two."
The timing of the movie's premiere has provided a bit of a lift for the 27-year-old actor since it was recently announced that NBC would not be ordering any more episodes of "Lipstick Jungle" after two seasons. His role of photographer Kirby Atwood also has him cast as a younger man involved with an beautiful older woman played by Kim Raver.
"Both with Kim and with Heather, I really have gotten along quite well with both of them, I can't say just how invaluable that is," he said. "There you are trying to create this romance and if you don't get along, it makes it so much more of a challenge."
Another similarity in the roles is that they both require the buff actor to be shirtless a lot of the time which has propelled him to sex symbol status.
"I would love to say it's so difficult, it is so hard being me. It can be a little embarassing, I kinda blush when people in public bring it up. I didn't grow up the hunky kid. It makes me smile and makes me laugh and I don't take too seriously, it always makes me
laugh."
So where does he hope to be professionally say five years from now?
\
His answer comes quickly: "Off unemployment!"
I had given up hope. But it seems that Andrew Van de Kamp finally has another boyfriend. Check out the clip from last night's episode...
This is a good day for a wake-up call.
AIDS still cannot be cured. About 40,000 persons in the United States become infected with HIV each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, one person in five among the 1.1 million Americans who are infected with the AIDS virus doesn't know it.
Though scientists recommended two years ago that HIV tests should be done as commonly as cholesterol tests, there has been little progress. One problem is that too many physicians don't understand the ease of today's rapid tests, which can cost as little as $15, according to the AP.
Of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV and AIDS have hit African Americans the hardest. Although African Americans account for less than a quarter of the U.S. population, nearly half of the people who get HIV and AIDS are black, according to the CDC.
On World AIDS Day, Public Health is emphasizing two messages: getting screened and avoiding risky behaviors, It's important to know your health status, so you can take steps to protect yourself and others.
I love this! Nick Adams is on the cover of the December issue of Instinct magazine and the photo spread looks very appealing if the shots on the OhLaLaMag site are any indication.
Nick is best known for his co-starring role in Broadway's "A Chorus Line" and has been busy working since including dancing on the "Rosie Live!" special last week.
About Out
in Hollywood
Greg Hernandez authored Out In Hollywood for the Daily News from June 2006 to February 2009. He can now be found at Greg In Hollywood: www.greginhollywood.com
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