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05/19/11
Since country singer Chely Wright ("Single White Female") announced that she and Lauren Blitzer were engaged, the couple has collected a passel full of frequent flier miles just from LGBT events alone.On May 21, Wright will be among the honorees at the 34th Anniversary Celebration for the National Center for Lesbian Right’s (NCLR) in San Francisco. In April she flew from Nashville to the West Coast for An Evening With Women, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s annual fundraiser for its youth and senior programs, which is where we met Wright’s fiancée.“I found a girlfriend that we can share clothes,” said Wright, glancing at similarly svelte, blonde and lovely Lauren Blitzer.“Not shoes,” chimes in Blitzer with a...
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04/28/11
From the look on Jesse James’ face, you have to wonder if he was shell-shocked by all the recent media attention, or maybe just stunned by the number of queers crowding into the Beverly Hilton for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s annual Evening With Women. James gamely strode the red carpet with Kat Von D (LA Ink), a fervent supporter of the Center since pal Linda Perry began orchestrating the entertainment program three years ago. Kat Von D introduces fiancée Jesse James to Linda Perry on the red carpet at An Evening With Women. Von D drew more attention inside the ballroom, igniting a bidding war during an auction for an exclusive luxury vacation spot on Kaui, which looked impressively paparazzi-proof. She was the highest bidder at $16,000, then...
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04/11/11
Director Josh Stolberg with actress Pamela Adlon, who plays a lesbian in Stolberg's new independent film Conception. Under what circumstances do people have babies? Writer-director Josh Stolberg offers a bundle of scenarios in his independent film Conception, including what it takes for a lesbian couple to give birth. With his wife and two young sons in tow on opening night last week at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, an exuberant Stolberg talked about the encounters between the nine couples in the film that lead to conception. “The truth is, a lot of the stories are different aspects of our relationship,” Stolberg said, speaking of his marriage to actress-producer Leila Charles Leigh (Kids in America). “There’s a fighting couple, which we do; the...
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12/10/10
On Dec. 3 , Holly Robinson Peet (The Talk), Wilson Cruz, Chaz Bono, Steven Weber, Ed Begley Jr. and Amber Heard (Drive Angry 3D, Rum Diary)—who came out publicly at the event, for the first time—were among celebrities out in Los Angeles in support of the 25th anniversary of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). GLAAD at 25 took a look back at the organization’s work in news, entertainment and online media to advance equality for gay and lesbian Americans. Jonathan Murray, executive producer of The Real World, Road Rules and Project Runway, was honored with the Pioneer Award. Below, filmmakers Renee Sotile and Mary Jo Godges of Traipsing Thru Films recorded comments from many of the stars for The Red Carpet. Celebs shared their opinions on why GLAAD...
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11/30/10
What’s Jane Lynch got cooking for Thanksgiving? “I have about 25 friends coming to my friend Jean’s house, my whole family, including my niece and friends from around the neighborhood. She just got a Viking stove [a top-of-the-line, commercial-home hybrid range] big enough to cook a turkey in.” Jane was talking turkey at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s 39th annual Anniversary Gala & Auction, which helps fund its programs for homeless youth, seniors and people with HIV/AIDS. She was set to receive the Center’s Rand Schrader Distinguished Achievement Award from none other than Glee nemesis (but real-life pal) Matthew Morrison. “I’ve been coming to this gala since 1992,” said Lynch, before heading into the gala in the ballroom at...
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11/11/10
I get annoyed when a character’s words don’t ring true. Even if the character is an ass and what he says is offensive (which apparently applies to the character that Vince Vaughn plays in The Dilemma), does that mean he shouldn’t talk that way? Ron Howard, director of The Dilemma (set for a January release), was asked by gay groups to delete a line about an electric car being “gay” from the comedy on the grounds that it’s insensitive to gay youth, whose suffering has resulted in a recent wave of suicides. I agree that young people who are bashed and bullied should be protected, I’m not sure that telling filmmakers to “fix” offensive language is the way to do it. It’s important that films and television reflect...
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10/28/10
Helen Mirren is at the trigger in Red and the shell casings fly like uncovered popcorn. Her hit-woman character joins a pack of smooth old-dog CIA operatives, played by Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich. It was fun watching Mirren cock weapons with confidence, step from elegant heels into sturdy boots, and eagerly enter a kick-ass fray. Her classy killer reminded me of a panel discussion that I heard at the recent Butch Voices conference in West Hollywood. Talking about Butch in the Movies were writer-director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry; Stop-Loss); JD Disalvatore (A Marine Story); Michelle Ehlen (Butch Jamie), and SheWire’s Tracy Gilchrist. Kimberly Peirce, JD Disalvatore, Michelle Ehlen, Tracy Gilchrist. You might be thinking: “There are butches...
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10/14/10
We Have to Stop Now is one of the biggest surprises on the film festival circuit this year, mainly because it wasn’t even meant to be a film.“It’s not about sex, it’s not about dildo jokes, it’s about people … about when we’re in a relationship,” says Cathy DeBuono, one of the stars and an executive producer.Originally shot as a web series, the episodes were “smooshed together” to appear as if it was meant to be a film, according to actor-comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer, who plays a therapist in the film. “If you can’t tell the difference, then I never said this,” she quips.I got the Stop Now scoop from Westenhoefer, DeBuono and the film’s other star/executive producer, Jill Bennett, who gathered in West...
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10/08/10
I’m sure that Hollywood is already a-Twitter with talk of the Maj. Margaret Witt story. As far as I know, Ally Sheedy hasn’t been asked to play the part yet, but the talented actror does resemble the decorated nurse; she’s about the right age and she’s played a lesbian in the past (in Lisa Cholodenko’s High Art). Plus, she might already sympathize with the character because, as she announced earlier this year, her teenage daughter is gay (apparently, so is Sheedy's mother). This real-life tale of the decorated Air Force nurse who saved lives while risking her own has the makings of a great film. The tragedy is that the military kills the hero’s career by pressuring her to admit that she’s gay.Hollywood has been down this war path before,...
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09/30/10
Hunters owner Jennifer Seymour, actress Paris Pickard and audience members Kelly and Coco Writer-director Ned Farr hit a bull’s eye when his film A Marine Story opened the Cinema Diverse film festival on Sept. 24, the same day a federal judge gave Air Force nurse Maj. Margaret Witt her job back after she endured a discharge under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.Farr nailed a second bull’s eye during a dart game at the opening night party, hosted by Hunters Nightclub, a sponsor of the three-year-old Palm Springs festival. Hopefully, his luck will carry on as A Marine Story marches into festivals across the country and offers a good argument for doing away with DADT.The movie stars Farr’s wife, Dreya Weber (The Gymnast), as the spit-and-shine Marine Alex Everett...
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