Saw several cast members from here! TV's "Dante's Cove" starting with Reichen Lemkuhl who was, as always, very sweet and looking even more handsome than usual. Chatted with Reichen and actor-comedian Jason Stuart whose special 'Making it to the Middle" will air throughout the month. Also talked with Jill Bennett who was a terrifc addition to "Dante's" this past season.,

The lovely Thea Gill of both "Dante's" and "Queer as Folk" and I gabbed awhile and I kept telling her how much I liked her hair. I think the free vodka was starting to take effect. Thea and I talked about "Dante's" which is one of my favorite guilty pleasures and we decided for the fourth season, she and Tracy Scoggins' character of Grace (they play rival sisters) need to have a real Krystal-Alexis Carrington fight in a mud pit or a swamp or at the very least a swimming pool! Thea is featured inside the current issue of IN.

Had the pleasure of waiting in the drink line with Michael J. Ferrera who is the co-founder of Lifeworks Mentoring, a terrific mentoring organization that is making a difference in the lives if LGBT youth. I met Michael a few years back through my close friend, Eddie, and am looking forward to the annual Lifeworks fundraiser in June.

With my third free drink in hand (they were very tiny glasses), I found my pal Jim Key and spent the rest of the party hanging with him and assorted others including the manager of a famous singer, a guy who looked like Javier Barden a little,, a dude who looked like a buff Tom Brokaw, and a musician of some sort who I think was nominated for a Grammy.

All I can say at that point is what happens at Here Lounge, stays at Here Lounge!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Somebody send me to an anti-blogging clinic!
I was invited to last night's 40th anniversary gala for The Advocate as a guest. I'm a contributing writer to this great magazine and wanted to enjoy the evening just meeting people and hanging out with my pal, Trevor Daley, who I had so much fun with a few weeks back on opening night for "Avenue Q."
But at the last minute, I stick my tape recorder in my pocket (just in case) and I dash out the door. When I got to the party at Republic near West Hollywood, I saw a red carpet and headed straight to it instead of the guest check-in table. Trevor and I had arrived seperately and I didn't know where the heck he was. And at that moment, I didn't care. I had stars to interview!
Had not reserved a space on the red carpet but just crashed it. Just sorta got right in there and stuck my recorder in Nikki Blonsky's face! What a cutie pie. She the girl who played Tracy in "Hairspray" and I think she's so terrifically talented. But I'd been seeing pictures of her and Zac Efron in Australia promoting the fillm so I wondered: "Aren't you exhausted?"
Nope.
"I'm getting to see the world and getting to spread this movie across the world and show this amazing creation that we all just made."
I asked her what she thought of the domestic success of "Hairspray," only the fourth musical in history to earn more than $100 million at the box office: "We kind of all went into this with no expectations, hoping and praying that it would do well and thank God our prayers were answered."
Then I spot James Marsden, the unbelievably handsome James Marsden. He was in "Hairspray" and we gabbed aboiut that and a few other things that I'll share with you in a future post. (I'm such a tease!) Also chatted up Billy Baldwin who tried to trick me into believing he was one of his brothers. But I know my Baldwin brothers and I know that he's the hottest one. Billy did the red carpet with transgendered actress Candis Cayne who plays his love intererest in the new ABC series "Dirty Sexy Money." Sorry, future post on that one too.

Continue reading "Party for "The Advocate" is a night to remember..." »

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Missed T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl on the red carpet last night at the anniversary party for The Advocate but was glad to catch up with them for a few minutes inside. I didn't take any photos so I'm posting one of them from two nights ago when Heigl won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a drama series for "Grey's Anatomy."
"It's really nice to be here," Katherine said. "I'm really happy to be here tonight. I'm glad we came. I'm glad I got invited."
These are two close friends who are enjoying their growing stardom together. It's been almost a year since T.R. famously came out publicly and he was on the cover of The Advocate last June.
"I was surprised that they asked and they were very, very kind to me," Knight said of "The Advocate."
Heigl told me that she gave T.R. the dog he posed with on his "Advocate" cover for his birthday. She said of the cover story: "That was kind of one of the most amazing moments. I loved his article, I love that cover so much."
Heigl is unquestionably on a career high with the huge big-screen hit "Knocked Up" and now the Emmy: "I have that terrible feeling that now something sh*tty is gonna happen [laughs] because that's how life is. It never can be too good, something will happen."
T.R. said of Emmy night "was a great time with Katherine getting it, it's a wonderful thing."
He didn't seem at all disappointed that he lost out in the supporting actor category to Terry O'Quinn of "Lost."
"Terry O'Quinn is my hero. I want to be like him, he's a phenomenal actor. Even to have my name in the group of those guys. It's such a flattering thing. That's the important thing to me."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was at the gay pride celebration in West Hollywood on Sunday and what a fun time it was [pics to be posted later today]. Sunday was a long day what with the French Open starting at 6 a.m. and getting calls from the studios starting at 8 a.m. for a box office story.
Rushed over to Santa Monica Blvd. just before the parade's 11 a.m. start time (had to eat a $20 parking fee at the Pacific Design Center...ouch!). Found my friend Mark Kellam (pictured w/me) and a big group of his friends and we had terrific curbside spots. [Click HERE for additional pics}. For the next few hours, there was the usual fun and flamboyant, the shirtless boys etc. that you will see in most mainstream coverage. But there is so much more to the parade.
There was a warm reception for retired NBA player John Amaehci, the grand marshall, who spotted me on the
street and said once again, "You're everywhere!" There are the PFLAG marchers, the gay-straight student alliance partners, Project Angel Food, the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, the LA Police Chief William Bratton marching next to LA County Sherrif Lee Baca, actor Chad Allen on a bicycle with other recent finishers of the AIDS Ride, there was singer Deborah Gibson - a wonderful straight ally, there was the hilarious Alec Mapa, there was Jackie Warner from Bravo's "Workout," there was Reichen marching with his hot new boyfriend, there was LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo who parade-watchers cheered for getting Paris Hilton back in jail, and scores of LA and West Hollywood City officials and activists. We had a blast waving and giving shout outs to all.
Mark's friend, Dan, was standing next to me with a cute little poodle named Co-Co that got us a lot of attention from people in the parade...they'd point and wave. Between the little dog and my big mouth, we were pretty much in contact with most people who went by...There was a real hunky Sheriff's deputy who kept riding by to keep us up on the curb. I stepped off it and said: "Arrest me?" He just smiled and rolled on. At least I snapped this picture of him!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I'm all ready to head out to this "Live Out Loud" fundraiser for the Lifeworks organization Saturday night and have an address but no map! Mapquest, Yahoo maps and Google maps all reject me because I must have too much crap stored in my computer and am lacking memory. At least this is what my friend Ted tells me as I frantically call him and say: "Where the HELL is the 1100 block of Las Palmas Avenue?" As we gab on the phone I suddenly see this big sign that says "Live Out Loud."
I try and park in the free VIP lot before I am kindly directed to the $6 lot across the street. The first person I see that I recognize is John Amaechi! He just happened to be the main celeb guest along with "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo and is going to be the grand marshall of Sunday's gay pride parade in West Hollywood. What a BIG improvement over the grand marshall just two years ago: Paris Hilton. That remains a head scratcher.
Anyway, standing on a red carpet getting his picture taken, John sees me and says, "You're everywhere!" Once inside, I see actor Jason Stuart who is so talented and funny and we are soon joined by Mr. Amaechi himself. We gab awhile then John goes to circulate and Jason and I are joined by John Taylor, a voiceover artist and former radio personality who looks kinda like Kevin Bacon. We hung out on and off throughout the night.
John introduced me to Max Mutchnick (creator of "Will & Grace" with David Kohan). I had been assigned to do a piece for AfterElton.com on their recent pilot for CBS but had to beg off due to schedule overload. But I was curious about what what was happening. Max told me that the network had passed on the homo/hetero buddy pilot and he was disappointed. Clearly this was a pilot close to his heart since it was based on his real-life friendship and professional partnership with Kohan who he has been friends with since their days at Beverly Hills High School. CBS, the number one network with the most returning shows, has precious little prime time real estate available and, along with the other broadcast networks, are leaving less room for sitcoms. He said he was planning to get into the one-hour television business now but he's not yet quite sure which genre.
As I'm doing the schmooze thing, trays of bite-sized food are being offered and everyone is getting hooked on these macaroni and cheese balls which were as addicting as crack cocaine. They were literally battered and deep=fried balls of mac & cheese that you would dip in horseradish sauce. I tried not to count but I do believe I had seven of them. John Amaechi confessed to the crowd during his remarks that he was also "having issues" with the cheesy mac balls.
John, always so eloquent and wise, was introduced by Ellen Pompeo who was beaming as she took the stage for a short presentation about Lifeworks. It is a very worthy organization that teams LGBT youth with mentors who help them create a roadmap and set goals in five areas: career, education, wellness, home, and personal development. John and Ellen were followed by a teen who is being mentored and he talked about what it has done for his life. I didn't get his name but he got a rousing ovation and I could see in his face that standing on a stage like that in front of all of these people and telling his story so well would be something he would never forget.
At the end of the evening, I got to say hello to Michael J. Ferrera, the organization's co-founder and executive director. He's an old friend of my pal, Eddie, and we were introduced last month in Palm Springs at the Wang's in the Desert happy hour.
I congratulated him in a sensational event...

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have a friend who, whenever he is in town from overseas, things turn out to be some kind of episode of "I Love Lucy." On Friday, we decided to leave Ricky and Fred at home to have some lunch at LA's Farmer's Market then do some shopping at The Grove.
I'll call my friend Ralph because, as he put it, 'I don't want you using my name in that blog of yours." After some pizza, we stop at Banana Republic and as Ralph tries on belt after belt, I'm getting this bored, glazed look in my eyes. Then I notice some sales items! They have these really nice sweaters for just $10.99, some kind of clearance thing. I pick up a light blue one and a grey one. Ralph, belt in hand, says: "You should get one in every color!" I look at him: "I'd look like an avocado in that green one." I guess Ralph considers himself the glamorous Lucy while I'm dumpy Ethel. We make our purchases and as we walk out, my bag sets the alarm off, I know I've paid so no panic here put Ralph jokingly flees the store in an obvious effort to distance himself from me. The sales kid disappears with my bag for so long that we ask his co-worker where the heck he is. She says he's cutting off tags. We start in with the Winona Ryder shoplifting jokes. Then we hear this voice off in a distance: "I can't BELIEVE these sweaters are only $10!" It's the sales kid. Ralph: "What's he doing? PAWING through everything in your bag?"
I felt so exposed.
Next up: Nordstrom. Ralph needs "product." We get this very chatty Brit with exploding cleavage who sweetly asks Ralph what his skin issues are. "Oh, I have a little dryness maybe," he says. She starts pulling out some samples of her line (called "Anthony") then keeps coming back to Ralph and noticing some new alleged imperfections with his skin: "Oh, I see you have some acne...you need some of this." "Oh my, there's some redness." "Well, you have an oily problem...you didn't really give me a proper assessment of your skin." All the while she's building up this huge bag of goodies for Ralph to take with him because she assumes he's a local and will return in a week or so to make a big purchase. No chance sister! He doesn't even live in this country! Still, she had made poor Ralph, whose skin looks just fine, feel like an red and oily-faced, pimpled-headed teenager. He is mortified. I, on the other hand, cannot stop laughing.
Then a woman who looks like Janet on "Three's Company" charges at us with a look of feindish glee holding teeth wightening samples and just puts it right on us! She starts to tell Ralph and I about our astrological signs (she completely has us reversed by the way) and says these qualities are what make us a good couple...which we are not! In the end, I agree to buy 10 days worth of this teeth wightening stuff (supposed to last for six months...we'll see) for $89. I'm a sucker for Janet because she never got as much screen time as Chrissie and now she has to work at Nordstrom. I wonder if she's in touch with Mrs. Roeper.
Next: Abercrombe & Fitch. Why? Because there is a shirtless stud standing at the door greeting people. That's it, we're in! He is quite a dish. We feign interest in the clothes but really we just wanted to check him out. We're outa there in minutes and about to get a coffee when Ralph gets a look of euphoria on his "oily" face: "There's Kiehl's!" Huh? Ralph wants more product so he dashes in. The woman at the counter was not as direct as the brassy Brit at Nordstrom but she does note the "oily skin" thing. We walk out nearly crying with laughter because up until this shopping trip, Ralph had spent four decades in this Earth thinking his skin was "just a little dry." It reminds us of the Lucy episode when she and Ethel go to get makeovers and the snotty woman tells Lucy that her face powder gives her a weird unnatural look. Lucy says with shame and embarassment: "I'm not wearing any powder."
We've had enough shopping and decide to head to West Hollywood for some margaritas and dinner at Fiesta Cantina. It's 2 for 1 prices from 4-8 and we get there at 7:50 p.m. The place is packed, no time to find a waiter so I push my up to the bar and manage to order two margaritas at about 7:54. We soon get a table and ask a waiter if we can order a few more margaritas before happy hour ends. He says: "Oh, that's way over. You have to pay full price now." (It's 8:02 p.m.).
We have some dinner there then hit The Abbey where we order drinks then spot John Amaechi, the former NBA player who I had lunch with and profiled some months back. I introduce him to Ralph and we all chat. John confesses that he never reads any of the articles written about him but he agrees to check out Out In Hollywood. We see John again later on and he meets our other friends Michael and Ray who are also in for the weekend.
We have a prime table but are only using half of it when we bump into Jackie Warner from Bravo's 'Workout" show. She asks if she can borrow some chairs from our table and I jokingly say "No!" But she and her entourage take it seriously and seem miffed at me! Sheesh, these reality show divas just don't get my humor. But later, I went over and chatted with Jackie and she was actually quite lovely and nice. So it's all good. We closed the place down and the Memorial Day weekend had officially begun!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been such a whirlwind weekend that I'm too tired to see Jennifer Hudson perform at Long Beach Pride tonight, as planned. Sorry Jen, we'll just have to catch each other some other time. But, I'm not too tired to write about last night's insanely fun premiere at Disneyland for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" which I escorted by 13-year-old niece to. Since we were invited guests, I didn't have to work the red carpet and instead, we walked it! It was a red carpet that stretched all the way from the entrance of the park down Main Street and off into Frontierland.
There were mobs of people packed behind the ropes shouting and waving and snapping pictures. Not at us of course but it was quite a rush. My niece nearly fainted when she found herself standing next to Wilmer Valderrama from "That 70s Show." I yelled hello over to Joey Fatone he was friendly and fun. Then we saw Ian Ziering then Janice Dickerson and then the big sighting..Orlando Bloom! My niece was having such a surreal experience and I snapped pictures of her reacting to it all. Priceless. We also chatted with one of the three judges from "Dancing with the Stars," the female one.
Thankfully, this was not one of those premieres where they show the movie first and make you wait until something like 10:30 before you eat dinner. Dinner was served first and we chowed down on teryaki chicken and beef, some terrific salads and asparagus and white chocolate-coverfed strawberries the size of a small child. Sitting at the next table is the great Cloris Leachman and I introduced her to my niece as an Oscar winner and winner of eight Emmys.
"Actually, nine," Cloris corrects me.
She is very sweet to my niece who has just been accepted into a selective drama program at school and wants to be an actress.
"You'll do great," Miss Leachman says.
We say goodbye and with 45 minutes remaining before the movie begins, we go star hunting. Well, my niece's version of star hunting. "Ohmygawd, there's the Cheetah Girls! It's Chad Michael Murray! It's Emma Roberts!" I take her picture with each of them even though I am not quite familiar with their resumes.
Finally, we are being urged to take our assigned seats in this outdoor theater that has been erected for the occasion that surrounds part of Tom Sawyer Island. We have our buckets of popcorn, churros and drinks and say hello to the women sitting next to us: Cloris Leachman!
By this time, we're old friends and Cloris is telling my neice to cover herself with a blanket so she doesn't cold and I start gabbing with her saying that my friend Eddie and I love some of her lines from the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" especially the first episode of the series when her on-screen daughter, Bess, blurts out that Mary's ex-fiancee is in town.
Phyllis (the character Leachman won a few of her Emmys for) turns to Bess: 'That was mother's news Bess....that really was mother's news."
I did the whole bit before I could help myself and, thank God, Cloris was doubled over with laughter. It was so gratifying. My niece was very impressed with my spontanious outburst and I told her i sometimes get a little crazy around stars.
OK, where were we? Oh yes, the movie! The reason we were there! We were treated to some terrific music before the producer, director and cast was introduced and made grand entrances including Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush. Keira Knightly was not present. We settled in and my niece, a big fan of the first two
"Pirates" movies, was just entranced. Since I had just spent four wild days with friends in Palm Springs and headced straight to the premiere from the desert, I began to nod off toward the end...just out of gas. But the movie was an action-packed delight and Depp is a comic genius. His timing is so brilliant and the character of Jack Sparrow so unique, that he elevates the film to a level that is so enjoyable and fun. It will be a massive hit when it hits theaters on Friday. No doubt.
Meanwhile, as my niece and I were on the tram back to my car, she turns to me and says it has been the best day of her life.
Knock me over with a feather.
Sure beats seeing Jennifer Hudson anytime!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So WHO are these guys?
I met them last night. At a party. A party I was thisclose to skipping. I'm just gonna go ahead and admit it: there are some Friday nights, after a long week, that I just want to go home, plop down of the sofa, and watch "Washington Week in Review" on PBS. Last night was one of those times.
After work, I reluctantly started driving toward the Sofitel LA Hotel, across from Beverly Center, for the Q-MeCon opening night party. I thought to myself: "If there's a line for the valet, I'm hitting the Taco Bell and heading home." Well, no line. So, dropped off the car (more on the valet later) and headed into the hotel and over to the Poolside Lounge where it was wall-to-wall people, mostly attractive men.
Suddenly forgetting I was absolutely fried, I proceeded to have a blast. The first person I see is actor Jason Stuart, so funny in everything he does, then the head of here! Network Paul Colichman along with Steve Macias of here!
Caught up with friends and acquaintances and did a buncha interviews that are going to keep Out In Hollywood mighty lively in the coming days.
Got a warm hello hug from Chad Allen and we gabbed awhile. Chad's production company is one of the sponsors of the event so I asked him what heck this Q-MeCon conference is all about!
"We wanted to get involved in making the conference bigger this year," said Chad, who will be speaking at a couple of panels this weekend. "It's an opportunity for those of us who work in media at all levels who are queer or want to being the queer voice out, to come together and figure out what we're doing, how to do it better, and how to join forces in completing our projects and get them out there. It's a way for us to find out what's going on outside our own little arena, who's doing it, how they're doing it, and talk about it.. How to find money for your projects, how to promote your projects, marketing your project, everything."
Gabbed with the handsome and articulate Steve Kmetko who hosted E! News Daily when it was must-see viewing. Steve told me his is moving back to his hometown of Chicago after 25 years in LA to teach at a University. He had some very interesting things to say. I'll share more of our conversation later this week.
Scanning the sea of faces, I recognized one as being Charlie David, the talented and always warm and friendly star of "Dante's Cove." I've chatted with Charlie several times in the last few years and I find him to be in the mold of Chad Allen, an out actor who is thoughtful and intelligent and working to develop his own projects. He just got some of the scripts for the third season of "Dante's Cove" set to begin filming next month. He is preparing his indie movie "Mulligan's" which he hopes to begin shooting this fall and gave me a few little plot teases which I will share with you in, you got it, a future post.
Hey! I can't spill everything at once!
Also caught up with the very fun Tony Tripoli who was excited about my cover story on "American Idol" in the current issue of "The Advocate." Tony, who I profiled last year for a cover story in Frontiers, is so charismatic and I'm glad to see him making it as an actor. He did an episode of "Two and a Half Men" not long ago and was a regular on the "Fashion House" series. He's come a long way from being one of Kathy Griffith's best gay friends!
Goofed around with friends after doing my interviews and we came across these two guys near the pool wearing only their underwear! Scandal! But it turns out, they were only doing their jobs, OK? And being a nosy reporter/blogger, I felt the responsibility to go over and ask these two young guys with perfect bodies wearing only a pair of speedo like underwear exactly WHAT they were doing at this party.
Turns out they are Ethan Reynolds and Benjamin Bradley and they are on a world tour to promote Ginch Gonch underwear and what fine representatives they are!
So, all in all, a pretty darn good time. Walked out with this exec from the here! network which is one of the conferences' main sponsors, and after a few minutes, one of the valet dudes brings my car around. He gets out and hands me my car key, broken at the base, then he hands me the rest of my keys seperately. i say, "What the heck is this?" He says: 'Oh, weren't your keys like that before?" I say: "No, my keys weren't like that before." He gets his boss. The boss does not apoligize profusely as I would have prefered but instead says: "If you want us to pay for it, you need to fill out a claim form and the hotel has to get back to you."
I'm incredulous.
I say: "They BROKE my key!"
He says: "You've got to fill out a form."
I say: "I'll send you the bill" and I drive off in a mini-huff.
My advice is this: If you valet park your car at the Sofitel LA Hotel, be sure to specify that you would like your keys returned exactly the way you left them.
Sheesh!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got stood up last night...by a GIRL!
My friend Mariel and I had plans to attend the season 6 premiere screening of the FX cop show "The Shield" at the Arlight in Hollywood then attend the season 5 DVD party immediately after being held across the street at the Cabana Club.
I'm driving into the ArcLight parking garage and notice I have a voicemail on the cellphone. It's Mariel. "The wind blew the fence down in my front yard and I want to put it back up before it gets dark." Well, at least she didn't say, "Ya know, you make me sick!"
I never mind at all attending events by myself, it's easier to meet guys that way. But I didn't quite have my mojo last night and kinda felt like Loser, party of one, as I sat there eating my popcorn waiting for things to get started. But got over that pretty fast once the program started.
The first episode of season 6 was shown and it was a doozy. Forest Whitaker guest stars and is expected to be in a few more episodes this season but not the regular he was last season. I hadn't seen Whitaker in anything since "The Last King of Scotland" and the contrast underscores what a superb performance he gave in "Scotland" because it is so different from what he does on "The Shield."
Michael Chiklas is phenomenal as the lead character, so intense. He blew me away as did the rest of the cast which is terrific with a special shout-out to the terrific CCH Pounder who always elevates anything she's in. The audience was filled with scores of people who work in front of and behind the camera.
There was an emotional moment when the audience suddenly stood and went into a heartfelt standing ovation when the name of producer-director Scott Brazil was mentioned. Brazil directed 11 episides of "The Shield" and was with the show from the very beginning. He died last April during production of the season 6 premiere at the age of 50.
Thought about heading home right after the screening to catch the second half of "American Idol" but hey, who am I to pass up a party?
I wasn't very hungry so I pass on the buffet of food that includes such hearty fare as fried chicken and mac and cheese. But I'm a sucker for Coconut Shrimp and when a guy walks by with some on a tray, I snag one. Then when he comes by again a bit later, I snag another. Then another guy comes over with a tray that has those little mini-cheeseburgers on it. They are made with Kobe beef he says. It is basically so delicious that I scarf it down and am ready for another. Too bad I can't find burger boy now. And I can't very well tap on people's shoulders and say, "Hi. Have you seen that guy carrying around the little cheeseburgers? I need another one. NOW!" So, I move on.
Hung out with a couple of guys who work for E! online, took a photo of Michael Chiklis and one with CCH Pounder but really I wanted to go home. So I ask this short blond guy with a clipboard and headset what time the gift bags would be handed out. I'd been at the party an hour and not seen one yet. He looks at me, kinda snotty, and says, "The party only started 25 minutes ago."

Clipboard/headset guy, unfortunately, is Mary Cheney lookalike (and his hair had that flip at the end like Mary Tyler Moore's did on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") but at least gave me some useful information: 'They'll be handed out at 10," he says dismissively before turning on his heel and walking away.
I have a half-hour to kill now. If I've stayed at the party this long, I'm sure as heck not leaving without the gift bag which i know has a DVD of season 5 in it. So I walk around the room and so many people look vaguely familiar but I can't place them, ANY of them. Except for Frances Fisher. Her, I recognize. She played Lucille Ball in a television movie (and did so very well), was on "Titanic" and "Unforgiven" and I loved her as Julianne Moore's outrageous mother in "Laws of Attraction."
At last! It's a little past 10 and I see people carrying gift bags. I head over to the nice girl handing them out (Thankfully, the snippy Mary Cheney guy is nowhere to be seen), grab mine, and head out into the night.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I start a week-long vacation tomorrow and have two freelance stories to turn in before I depart. So, my head was splitting last night, I felt overwhelmed. So what did I do? I went to a party! It wasn't just any party, it was a major shindig at Boulevard 3 in Hollywood thrown by Time-Warner Cable celebrating the launch of MTV's LOGO throughout Los Angeles.
It was a star-studded affair charmingly emceed by Wilson Cruz and featured remarks by LOGO President Brian Graden. Bruce Vilanch arrived a little late and missed the red carpet but Joan Jett, Lance Bass, Chynna, the band Erasure, Jai Rodriguez, Jason Stuart, J.P. Calderon, Beth Grant, Tony Tripoli and Doug Spearman were all on time and most took a few minutes to gab with me.
I gotta say, Lance Bass is far more attractive in person! Pictures don't always do him justice. He was very sweet and told me that he would love to be involved in LOGO somehow, "maybe producing a few things." Lance has just announced that he is working on his autobiography, "Out of Sync."
Wilson Cruz, who I profiled for Frontiers magazine last year, told me he has just filming an indie movie called "Ode" and is busy developing a new series "for a network to be disclosed." Hmmmm. Wilson was in the second season of "Noah's Arc" which was recently announced as a feature film: "I don't know that I'll be in the movie since my character sort of wrapped up his storyline. But I would love to be!"
Wilson came out way back in 1995 when he was 19 and starring in ABC's "My So-Called Life."
"I think it's pretty amazing that we now have a gay network on 24 hours a day. In 1995, I would have never imagined that we would have a network to tell our stories by us and for us."
Actor Jason Stuart, whose most recently starred with Cruz in the indie fave "Coffee Date," has been on several LOGO comedy specials and when he's not performing, he watches the network plenty:
"I'm thrilled! Gay TV all the time! I want to watch my peeps." Stuart is especially excited about LOGO's acquisition of the BBC show "Bad Girls."
"A lesbian prison show from England! I can't get enough of lesbians in prison."
"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" cast member Jai Rodriguez says of LOGO: "I'm amazed and proud that a network like LOGO can succeed. And what I really like about LOGO is that the programming is diverse enough to also capture some of the straight audience."
Handsome "Noah's Arc" star Doug Spearman is especially grateful to LOGO because "as an actor, it's given me a TV show and made me a lead. It's every actor's dream. And now they're gonna make me a movie star! Also, as a gay man, LOGO gives me something to watch."
Also gabbed with Tony Tripoli, another one of my past story subjects for Frontiers. Tony came to the public eye as one of Kathy Griffith's "gays" on her "Life on the D-List" show but has since become a busy actor whose most recent gig was a fun guest spot on the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men."
"I didn't expect to fall in love with Charlie Sheen," Tony told me. "But the entire week, he was right next to me and he was just the sweetest guy." But he laments his wardrobe on the show: "Purple is officially over now. I wore so much purple that the color is now banned on CBS on Monday nights."
And I save the hunkiest for last.
J.P. Calderon, the "Survivor" contestant who came out a few months ago on "Janice Dickerson's Modeling Agency" and has appeared on the cover of Instinct. He could not have been sweeter (or hotter!). I asked him what life has been like since he took the brave step of coming out in such a public way.
"It's been great. I'm in such a happier place now, so much more excited about life. It's about being happy with who you are as a person."
Calderon, a college graduate who played men's volleyball, says he is focusing on modeling and hopes to also do some acting: "I was too afraid before to do it. Now I feel like I can conquer the world!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wasn't there but wanted to share with you some images sent to me today from Saturday night's L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s 35th Anniversary Gala & Auction where more than $460,000 was raised during at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

More than 800 people attended the annual gala, hosted by drag legend Miss Coco Peru and featuring Lesley Ann Warren, Alec Mapa (the night before his debut in "Desperate Housewives"), current Advocate cover subject Jane Lynch and Peter Paige (pictured, above), "Work Out" star Jackie Warner, and "Project Runway" alums Nick Verreos, Robert Best, and Jeffrey Sebelia.

Actor and activist Wilson Cruz (standing to the left of Warren, Mapa and Paige) was presented with the center’s Rand Schrader Distinguished Achievement Award. Andrew Cohen, senior vice president of production and programming at Bravo, accepted the Center’s Corporate Vision Award on behalf of cable TV network Bravo.

Some info about the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center: it provides a broad array of services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, welcoming nearly a quarter-million client visits from ethnically diverse youth and adults each year. The Center offers free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS medical care and HIV/STD testing and prevention as well as legal, social, cultural, and educational services.

For more information, check out www.laglc.org

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a fun time it was at the Egyptian Theater last night for the lively LA premiere of the comedy "Coffee Date." The A-list crowd was across the street at the premiere of "Bobby" at Grauman's and I gotta say, it's not so much that I wasn't invited, it's that I parked at the Hollywood & Highland structure to walk the block to the Egyptian and passed by at least three people I know waiting in line along Hollywood Blvd. waiting to get in. "WHERE are you going?" one of them asked. So I walked away giving myself a pep talk: "I'm A-list, I'm A-list. OK, I'm B-list or possibly C-list. Am I even on a list?"
So, who cares? Back to "Coffee Break." I loved seeing the movie again and for the first time on the big screen. It's a wonderful film about a straight guy (Jonathan Bray) whose brother (Jonathan Silverman) sets him up on a blind date at a coffee house with a gay man (Wilson Cruz) who he thinks is a woman (his name is Kelly and they didn't swap pics). But they are still drawn to each other over their mutual love of movies and begin to hang out as friends. "Other than you being the wrong gender, you're great," Bray tells Cruz during their first coffee date. "I think I was half in love with the woman you were." After their second evening together, when Bray is taken aback when Cruz tries to hug him goodnight, Cruz sayd: "We almost made it through the same night without a gay panic moment."

What follows is a series of misunderstandings that results in everyone thinking Bray's character is gay! His mother (Sally Kirkland), his co-workers (Jason Stuart, Debbie Gibson), his boss (Leigh Taylor Young). It's a wonderful film, written and directed by Stewart Wade. Hard to believe this is Wade's first film!
"My partner and I met on a coffee date," Wade said after the film screened. "Luckily, he turned out to be gay...and still is!"

Gabbed with some of the cast before and after the movie: out actor Jason Stuart, who is VERY funny and sweet in the movie as a supportive co-worker told me: "It's all about sexaul confusion, it's sort of like a Julia Roberts comedy with a twist.This is truly an independent film made by openly gay people starring openly gay people (he and Cruz) and we play gay parts in the film. That's sort of unusual in this industry where roughly 85 percent of the gay roles are played by straight guys."
The multi-talented Wilson Cruz, who starred on Broadway in "Rent" and locally onstage in "Tick, Tick...Boom!" got a lot of laughs during the film and it's good to see an actor, who came out at 19 when he starred as a gay teen in the short-lived gem "My So-called Life."

"We do take some liberties and we do take some chances. I think it's an exaggeration of reality but we tried to lay a foundation of realism to it and I think in that way it's really successful. At the end of the film, you feel like you watched two people deal with something in a very honest way," Cruz said.
Jonathan Bray, who is straight in real life (and mostly straight in the film) said "my character really is straight but I do delve into the confusion of it. I just love the way he write it, it was just very honest and very sincere. I really responded to the script. I read it, I thought it was funny and I thought it dealt very sincerely with questions of friendship and love and when you explore these emotions what does it mean to be in love and what is involved if there's sex?"
Sally Kirkland, also associate producer, always fun to talk to, called "Coffee Date" "a real feel-good film. It's got a gay theme but there's a real crossover thing. My straight friends love it, my straight friends love it."
I asked Sally if she was bitter about losing the Oscar in 1988 when she was a best actress nominee for "Anna." "I can't believe that bitch Cher won!" I said. (I worship Cher btw, was just trying to start a little something).
Sally giggled. "Aren't you sweet.? That was a tough year with Meryl (Streep) and Glenn (Close) and Holly (Hunter) nominated too."
Anyway, she wants EVERYONE to see the movie when it plays at the Landmark Theater on LaBrea Nov. 10, 11 and 12.
"It's the first time that I actually went myself and got the distributor," she said. "It was so good to be in the boys club and to achieve that."

For more info, check out the Coffee Date Website.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week marked the eighth anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming - a senseless tragedy still so heartbreaking. But his amazing mother, Judy Shepard, keeps her son's name and spirit alive through her work with the Matthew Shepard Foundation to "replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance." I met Judy Shepard Saturday night at a garden party kicking off a get out and vote campaign for the general election on Nov. 7. Judy told the crowd that Matthew, who was murdered at the age of 21, had been quite politically active in his short life. At the age of 7, he worked on his first political campaign, stuffing envelopes for a candidate. "He was always interested and informed," his mother says. At 12, Matthew ordered sweatshirts from the Clinton-Gore campaign.

Judy says that one of the first things her son did whenever he moved was register to vote. His voter registration card was found in his wallet after his death.
"He loved it and even at 7, he knew if you didn't vote, you were giving up a great privledge and responsibility. He can no longer vote, no longer has a voice to make a difference and we should pick up that (responsibility)."
In a conversation later, Judy told me "we have an opportunity to wake people up - if we could just get everyone to vote."

She added that she is "constantly amazed when (Matthew's) name shows up in the paper. It's a touchstone for people but it's also a double-edged sword for me. (Hate crimes) keep happening."

Judy says she was quite moved by the show of support from the crowd that included actors Chad Allen, Darryl Stephens ("Noah's Arc") and Tony Tripoli ("Fashion House") and, of course, my friend Trevor Daley (not the pro hockey player but one of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's main point persons in L.A.). Trevor is a real character and had invited me and my journalist friends Michael and Ted to the early evening Matthew Shepard event prior to a dinner we had all planned at the Barefoot Cafe. Dinner was really terrific but meeting Judy Shepard was something I will never forget.
"I used to think L.A. was not very caring," she told me. "But this has changed my mind."
The photo of Matthew on the badges and other promotional materials for the get out and vote effort is Judy's very favorite picture of her son. You can pledge to vote on Matthew Shepard's behalf at www.MatthewShepard.org/Vote

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Apologies for the late posting on an event that happened Sunday but took a break from blogging last night to have a shopping spree at Ameoba Records in Hollywood. I hate to be so predictable but, yes, among the DVDs I snagged was season five of "Will & Grace," season three of "Footballers Wives" and a Barry Manilow CD (Songs from the 50s). I'm so gay!

But enough about me (for now). Sunday was the Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Leadership Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. See earlier post for some Bruce Vilanch lines. A real highlight was being at the table next to the sexy star of indie hit "Quincearnera," Jesse Garcia, who was on hand to present an award to the films co-directors Richard Claster and Wash Westmoreland.

Garcia told the audience that he got the part of a gay teen living with his uncle and pregnant cousin in Echo Park by scanning casting notices in the trade papers. The straight Garcia was asked is he had any problems playing a gay part: "No dude!" he told the films casting director. "It's awesome!" "I really embraced the role," he said. "I wanted to break down doors, especially for Latinos in the industry where it's tough to get in anyway. It was just a tremendous honor to play this role and to bring it to life for those who don't have a voice."
And play it he did! In the scene shown at the brunch, Garcia shares a very sexy kiss with one of his gay next-door neighbors. I may have to add it to my next edition of Top 10 Guy Movie Kisses.
After the brunch, Garcia told me he has received many emails from gay youths who said they felt more positive about themselves after seeing the movie. "I didn't grow up in the gay community but I've learned more and I've always had gay friends. It's really cool to be a part of a community like this."

Real-life couple Glatzer and Westmoreland chatted with me about the reaction to their film which won both the audience award and the grand jury prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Says Westmorland: "t's just been a continuing series of revelations. Everything is beyond our wildest dreams from Sundance to this event."
Added Glatzer: "It's been so heartening to see people embrace this film."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The best thing about being invited to The Task Force Leadership Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel Sunday afternoon was chatting up the hilarious Bruce Vilanch. It feels like I've known Bruce forever since I did once date his dentist but we didn't meet until last December at a Christmas Party. I felt like saying, "Lemme see your teeth!"
Anyway, Bruce was the host of the lunch where spunky and passionate U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer was honored along with the inspiring Alice A. Huffman, president of the NAACP's California Conference, and "Quincearnera" co-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (more on them in a separate post.
Before the event began, I badgered Bruce at the pre-show mixer to tell me some jokes about alleged pedophile Mark Foley exclusively for "Out in Hollywood." He told me he was saving them for the show (by coicidence, I was seated next to Bruce's cardiologist from "Celebrity Fit Club" at the lunch. What's next? I meet his chiropractor!).
So Bruce starts off the show this way: "I was just on the phone with Mark Foley. We've been on the same page for years!" He added that he was not bothered that Foley never bothered to send him naughty emials but if "(SF Mayor) Gavin Newsom had been doing it, I would have felt left out!"
Even though the Foley scandal is revolting and it is devastating that he is claiming to be gay instead of what he really appears to be, a pedophile, it felt good to laugh at the jokes with a ballroom full of people who feel the same way.

Couldn't resist asking Bruce what he thinks of John Travolta nabbing the cross-dressing role of the mom in the feature film version of "Hairspray," a part originated by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway and played hundreds of times on tour by Bruce. "Well, he and I have been up for so many of the same parts," jokes Bruce. "You can't have a bigger flop than (Travolta film) "Battlefield Earth" so if it flops, it;s not a big deal and if it does work, he becomes Robert DeNiro."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I fly home tomorrow morning, on Sept. 11.
When I booked my flight to the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Assn convention here in Miami, I didn't make the connection. It just fit my schedule best. But all I've been hearing about all day is that tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of 9-11. So many convention-goers are getting the heck out of Dodge so they don't have to fly on the anniversary of that dreadful day. Well, I'm sticking to my flight. Hopefully, will have lots of room to spread out on my return flight and hope they are showing "The Devil Wears Prada." It's been a great time here in Florida and after our farewell brunch today, I had plenty of time to walk along Ocean Drive in South Beach (stopped and gawked at the Versace mansion like everyone else), had some lobster for dinner and went shopping along Lincoln Road. This is a great place, something about it just mellows you out.

Anyway, some thoughts. To be around these thousands of journalists over the past five days has been very energizing. It makes you realize how many talented gay and lesbian people are working in newsrooms - large and small - and doing stellar work with passion and commitment. I already knew some of them, met a lot of them for the first time, and made a few new friends who I am extremely glad to know. Over these days, we talked about the business in general, about gay coverage, about political and business coverage and...about blogging! A lot of my fellow attendees were surprised to hear that my blog, "Out in Hollywood," is done through the Los Angeles Daily News where I've worked since Sept. 2001. This is a pretty rare thing, I'm learning, for a mainstream newspaper to have: a blog that focuses on gay topics. The Miami Herald's Steve Rothaus, who covers gay issues for the paper, has a blog through his paper but most people do theirs independently or work for the LGBT media.

I'm very fortunate for the support I've gotten from my bosses at the Daily News who have been interested, and at times I think delighted, with the blog. Mostly, they have been encouraging and I'm very grateful for that.

See ya back in LA!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ya just never know who you're gonna run into at Outfest. On Monday night, Nick Nolte and Lesley Ann Warren were among the celebs taking in the screening of "Coffee Date" at the DGA while Kathy Najimy was at the Showcase to see pal Ricki Lake's new movie "Park."

But it really was celeb paydirt Tuesday night at the DGA where I went to see the documentary about Tony Kushner: "Wrestling With Angels." Before the movie, I was introduced to George Takei (below), the "Star Trek" legend who came out publicly last year. "Everybody already kneeeew," he said in that distinctive voice of his."

George is keeping busy these days attending 40th Anniversary "Star Trek" conventions around the world and he says fans have been great. Always out in his private life, Takei says he decided to go public after Gov. Schwarzennegar vetoed the same-sex marriage bill.

"I felt I needed to speak out on that, I felt I needed to be authentic," he said. "It feels great. Although my colleagues and the fans knew, the difference is now I get to address issue much more openly. And the conventions give me the opportunity to use 'Star Trek' as a platform for LGBT issues."

It seems that George is also pals with Howard Stern and did his second weeklong stint on Stern's radio show recently and may do it again sometime. Stern loves the way George says, "Oh myyyyyyyyyy." He says Stern won't marry his girlfriend until gays are allowed to marry as well.

"Howard could not believe that I am gay. He said, 'You're so masculine!' I said, 'So!' We have baseball players and truck drivers, all very masculine, and gay."

Also met Rex Lee (above), the openly gay actor who plays Jeremy Piven's gay assistant on "Entourage." He told me that when he auditioned, 'I didn't knoiw how gay to be. I wasn't clear on what flavor of gay they wanted. So I just went over the top. Then on my second reading I was more subdued. They must have liked something."

As he was walking over to the DGA earlier in the evening, Rex said someone driving down Sunset Blvd. honked and yelled out, "Lloyd!"

"It's such a blast," he said of his newfound fame. "A day doesn't go by that someone doesn't say, 'Hey! You're that guy on 'Entourage!'"

And last, but not at all least, I got to see the sensational S. Epatha Merkerson (pictured below) at the after-party for the Kushner movie. Epatha, winner of the Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards last year for "Lackawanna Blues," called the film "breathtaking."

" I thought it was fabulous," she said. "It's an amazing journey he's been on and I can't wait to tell him I was so moved by it."

Usually based in NYC where she films "Law & Order," Epatha is in town making a movie with Sir Anthony Hopkins. she has been in real demand since "Lackawanna" and after having the most memorable Emmy acceptance in recent memory: she dropped her speech down the front of her dress and couldn't retrieve it! Instead of trying to play it cool, she just confessed to the audience what had happened in the most genuine way.

This is a busy new chapter in this lovely, and lively woman's career and she deserves it. I'm a huge S.Epatha Merkerson fan.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What a night!

Outfest organizers sure know how to kick off a film festival. The opening night film, "Puccini for Beginners" was a real crowd pleaser with a lot of genuine laughs and plenty of heart. Well-written and smart, it moves along at a nice pace with terrfic performances from Elizabeth Reaser (pictured below), Justin Kirk and Gretchen Mol.

Writer-director Maria Maggenti (director of the beloved "Unbelievably True Adventures of Two Girls in Love") shot the movie in 18 days saying "I crawled over glass to get it done." New York City-based Maggenti hopes the movie leads to some bigtime directing gigs: "I hope the lavender mafia, whoever you are, are here tonight because I came to L.A. to get a job!"

Pioneer queer filmmaker Kenneth Anger, recipient of a special achievement award, bounded onto the stage of the Orpheum Theatre in a yellow suit and white tennis shows. He started making movies as a kid with his parents 16 mm camera and said: 'I love making films and I've always been out. My grandmother accepted me, my father did not...I was the black sheep. But I wouldn't be anything else." (Loud applause followed)

Now, I'm not one to name drop (well, maybe I am), but we had terrific seats directly behind Justin Kirk and some of his friends and he couldn't have been nicer. Justin (below) told me he felt "pretty damned good" to be at Outfest
this year with such a terrific movie.

Seated to my right was writer-director Craig Chester ("Adam & Steve) who is serving on the jury for best feature film. "Outfest is really like THE gay film festival in America now," Craig said. He gives all the credit to the festival's amazing executive director Stephen Gutwilleg who spoke passionately before the movie about the preservation of LGBT films from decades past, and to Kirsten Schaffer, the festival's popular director of programming and operations.

At the post-bash, chatted up Dreya Weber, star and one of the producers of "The Gymnast," one of the films I recommended in my earlier Outfest Early Picks post. Found out that Weber (below) is not only a terrific actress, but makes her living as acrobatic performer as well. So the amazing acrobats she performs in the film are all her, no stunt double folks.

Stay tuned for more adventures from Outfest 2006!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)