"Sex and the City" Director Michael Patrick King Debunks 'Just Gay Boys Talking' Myth
Jim Slotek writes:
(New York City, NY) It's always been said of Sex and the City. "You know the secret of that show," actress Parker Posey once remarked to me during Sex and the City's heyday in the early '00s. "It's just gay boys talking, not women." And they're still saying it. On the very day a few weeks ago when I spoke with the director and entire cast of the Sex and the City movie, the New York Times ran a summer film roundup feature in which critic Manohla Dargis wrote that the show's "four bosomy buddies are really gay men in drag."
Sex and the City director Michael Patrick King (pictured), who shepherded the show for six years as exec producer and who, like its creator Darren Star, is openly gay -- demurs good-naturedly. No, he doesn't do drag. "I've never had Manolo (Blahniks) on, I've never been in high heels. I really have seen enough shoes (working on the show). It's like a gynecologist that goes home and says, 'Honey please, I've seen enough of those today.' And here's another thing, I rarely say the word 'Fabulous!' because I've typed it a million times."
There's no doubt there is an urban-gay element to the story of columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her friends Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). But the show, based on the quasi-autobiographical book by Candace Bushnell was a complex soup of sexual input. The 10 story consultants were seven straight women, two gay men and one straight man. "Why do people always talk about how gay men are writing the women and they never talk about how straight women are writing the men?" King goes on. "It's interesting, Mr. Big (Carrie's boyfriend -- played by Chris Noth -- who is at the centre of the movie's will-they-or-won't-they-get-married plot) is written by women and they wrote him well and understand him. I'm not a doctor, but if I had to write ER I'd know to use the words 'rib-splitter' or 'STAT!' Here it's words like Manolo or Prada." READ MORE
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It’s Hard Out There For A Prince
Manvendra Singh Gohil’s coming-out sent shock waves through India. Since then, he’s become a media darling, but can he find true love off-camera?
Tim Murphy writes:
Since he shocked and rocked India with his coming-out two years ago, he’s become a media sensation, and it’s already clear to me that he loves the adulation. In his own princely way, he might even be addicted to it -- a veritable Rajput media whore. But the prince, 42, says he wants love, and recently, I’m learning, it looks like he might have found it. The million-rupee question: Can he cool his love affair with the press long enough to nurture one with another man?
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil (“Manav” to his friends), 39th in line to the throne of Rajpipla, a principality in the prosperous west–central Indian state of Gujarat, walks stiffly toward the camera in a tight-fitting kurta of luminous champagne-colored cotton and a pataka, or stole, of embroidered red silk organza. The prince sits bolt-upright on a divan, hands primly in his lap. “My name is Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil,” he tells the camera, “and I would be interested to come down to England.” Other than me, this is the prince’s media obligation of the day: to make an audition tape for a planned Channel Four reality show, The Traveling Prince, in which princes from around the world will travel to England and, hopefully, meet Prince Charles and Harry and Wills.
The on-tape interview begins.
“Who do you most admire?”
“I admire the courage of Elton John.”
“Who is your favorite American?”
“Oprah Winfrey. I really admire that woman, having the best talk show in the world.” (He was on it last fall, in a series featuring gay people from around the world.)
“What is your message to British people?”
“Because section 337 of our penal code still exists, there is a lot of stigma and discrimination in our country toward gays,” he says, referring to the Indian law, begun under 19th-century British rule, criminalizing gay sex. It’s seldom enforced but often used by police to blackmail closeted gay men. The country’s small cadre of out gay activists have long lobbied for its demise.
“Would you marry a man?”
“We can’t get married. We can only have some sort of understanding between two partners, which I look for.”
His family, the prince explains, despite having lost their formal power when Britain left India in 1947, still possesses enormous local esteem (not to mention a lot of real estate). “We are even treated as gods in some areas,” he says. Then he gets down to the news peg: “I became famous in India because I am the first member of a royal family to come out as a gay.” READ MORE
TV Comedy Legend Dick Martin, Dead at 86
Broadway World reports:
Dick Martin (pictured right), who co-created [with Dan Rowan, pictured left] and co-hosted Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In – a show which forever changed the face of television – and who championed free speech and satire as staples in American media, died today of respiratory complications, while surrounded by his wife, family, and friends. He was 86 years young. MORE
Gay Tennessee Man Terrorized
Out & About reports:
Neal Moffitt Anthony from McMinnville, Tennessee, has been terrorized with death threats and harassment over his sexual orientation. Neal Moffitt Anthony has been the target of hate crimes at least eight times this past year. The most recent example happened early in the morning on Friday, May 23, 2008. These photos show the extensive damage, which included spray painting hate messages, breaking windows, cutting the phone line to the house, cutting cables to security cameras, and breaking out security lights. SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE
Gay Rights Groups Rally Against Flag Policies
Ralph Higgins writes:
(Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada) Gay rights groups rallied in Pictou County, Nova Scotia on May 17, to speak out against the recent decisions by some rural counties to ban rainbow flags on government flagpoles. But rather than fighting the counties, gay groups have adopted a new positive strategy: reach out to the local governments and ask them to confirm their commitment to diversity. Kevin Kindred of the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project attended the May 17 rally. He says that communities can benefit from a commitment to inclusiveness and to welcoming differences among citizens. "Local governments have always celebrated community groups and events by flying flags, whether in support of cancer research, amateur sports or diversity events like Pride or Black History Month," he says. "Ending that practice just to avoid dealing with the rainbow flag — that hurts communities and shows an incredible failure of leadership."
Four local governments in Nova Scotia, including Pictou, have adopted government-flags-only policies in the past year, after Truro town council rejected a request to fly a rainbow flag in Aug 2007. READ MORE
Out, Proud and Ready to go for Olympic Gold
Matthew Mitcham is the first Australian to go to the Olympics declaring his homosexuality, writes The Sydney Morning Herald's Jessica Halloran:
Matthew Mitcham is brave enough to dive from a 10-metre platform for Olympic gold and courageous enough to do what no Australian athlete has done. When Mitcham balances on the Beijing diving tower this August, like all Australian Olympians, he will be hoping the ones he loves will be there to watch him. The gold medal hopeful's journey has not been easy. Those close to him have seen Mitcham, 20, battle depression, retire in his teenage years after physical and emotional burn-out, then nine months later resume his sport and build himself into the champion he is today. One person who has been by his side for the entire tumultuous journey is his partner, Lachlan. Mitcham has taken the courageous step of revealing his sexuality to the media for the first time, in an exclusive interview with the Herald. He has also applied for a grant through a Johnson & Johnson Athlete Family Support Program to have Lachlan near him in Beijing. "We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment," Mitcham said. "But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go." READ MORE
H/T: Outsports.com
Star Trek's George Takei To Marry Brad Altman
Actor George Takei wrote this eloquent piece announcing his intention to marry his partner Brad Altman (pictured right), now that the California Supreme court has over-tuned the same-sex marriage ban in that state.
George Takei writes:
Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!
The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily.
The California Supreme Court further ruled that our Constitution provides for equal protection for all and that it cannot have marriage for one group and another form - domestic partnership - for another group. No more "separate but equal." No more second-class citizenship. Brad and I are going to be married as full citizens of our state.
As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I grew up imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences of U.S. internment camps. Pearl Harbor had been bombed and Japanese Americans were rounded up and incarcerated simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Fear and war hysteria swept the nation. A Presidential Executive Order directed the internment of Japanese Americans as a matter of national security. Now, with the passage of time, we look back and see it as a shameful chapter of American history. President Gerald Ford rescinded the Executive Order that imprisoned us. President Ronald Reagan formally apologized for the unjust imprisonment. President George H.W. Bush signed the redress payment checks to the survivors. It was a tragic and dark taint on American history.
With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, "Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress."
For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite.
Please visit George Takei's official website HERE
Fernando Fernandes NUDE!
Big Brother: Brazil contestant Fernando Fernandes recently did a nude photo spread in the pages of Vogue Germany, shot by famed photographer Mario Testino. Sizzling! NSFW
Meet Prince Jake
Last month I posted the news that Disney had high hopes for its live-action adaptation of the popular video game, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The studio had a script and was feverishly looking for a hot male lead to play the Prince; Jake Gyllenhaal and Disney were in talks. Today, The Hollywood Insider, confirms that Jake has been cast in the lead role. Filming is set to begin in July with director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). If the movie is a success it will no doubt turn into a film franchise, which I think will be a good career move, plus we'll get to see a lot more of Jake!
Reader Request: NSFW pics of Matthew Cameron!
Yesterday, I posted hot pics of sexy bear, Matthew Cameron and reader Kirby commented "Now this one certainly deserved a NSFW!"
Does licking Mark Ballas make you gay?
TMZ reports:
We were asking Mark Ballas [pro-dancer on Dancing With The Stars] about the whole gay stereotype thing with male dancers, but his manager kept licking his ear and kissing him on the cheek. But really, what are the odds that all the pros on DWTS would be straight?
SEE VIDEO HERE.
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Teaching Evolution? Many High School Biology Teachers Include Creationism In Their Curriculum!
Science Daily reports:
In many ways, much has changed since the famous Scopes Monkey trial of 1925. In recent years, US courts have consistently ruled that teaching explicitly religious alternatives to evolution in public schools is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
But in a new essay in PLoS Biology, political scientist Michael Berkman and his colleagues show that despite these many legal victories, a surprising number of public high school biology teachers still include creationism or intelligent design in their curriculum. READ MORE
Jason Lewis Interview
Sex and the City's Jason Lewis recently did an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Here's an excerpt:
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What it was like to go back into the world of Sex and the City after four years?
JASON LEWIS: It was nice. It was really — it was actually kind of phenomenal, because it was nice to get to work with those people again, first off. They used most of the same crew from the top to the bottom of pretty much everyone that was on the TV show. So it was like a little reunion. And in terms of doing the work, I think they did a — that's kind of a hard road to hoe. They've got a lot of audience expectations, time's moved forward, and I think they did a good job of delivering what that reality would be. So it was fun to work on.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was the dynamic among the four ladies, etc.? There's been so many rumors and gossip about them not getting along.
JASON LEWIS: I think that's what it is — rumors and gossip. People love rumors and gossip. Honestly, most of my stuff was with Kim alone. But the few scenes when we were all together, everyone was completely fine with each other, as they always were. I never really experienced the animosity you guys seem to experience solely in the press.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What has been your weirdest fan encounter?
JASON LEWIS: Weirdest fan encounter from the show? I once had a woman lift my shirt up and rub my belly while her husband was taking a picture of us. But then everyone asked me about that after I mentioned it and I felt terrible for the woman, so I stopped saying it.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Did she just run up to you, lift up your shirt, and rub your stomach?
JASON LEWIS: No, I was doing a charity thing. I was en route. I was in Kentucky and I hadn't eaten all day, so I stopped by a bar to get a burger and a beer and they were there. And she asked if she could take a picture and I said sure. We were standing next to each other and she just lifted up my shirt and started rubbing my belly and her husband was like, ''Honey, what are you doing?'' And she said, ''It's OK. I've seen him naked on TV.'' And he says, ''No! No, honey. I don't think it is.'' I didn't have to say anything. I'm sitting there just going, What are you doing, lady?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What is it like being a part of this phenomenon?
JASON LEWIS: I feel pretty lucky. It definitely helps you in terms of getting other work and whatnot, but this is some of the really special TV that's been in the world and I got to be on it and I certainly had not much more to do than say the wonderful lines that were written for me. So I feel blessed.
"Harvey Milk Day" Bill Advances
The Sacramento Bee reports:
(Sacramento, California) California would become the first state to designate an annual day to honor a gay-rights pioneer, Harvey Milk, under legislation passed Monday by the Assembly. "It's a bill about hope and dignity," said Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat and openly gay legislator who proposed the measure.
Assembly Bill 2567 passed the Assembly, 45-23, with no Republican support. It would designate every May 22 [Milk's birthday] as Harvey Milk Day and encourage schools to conduct "suitable commemorative exercises." Mark Leno said the designation would show gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths that they have a history and heroes. Opponents argue that commemorative exercises would detract from academic schoolwork and that Harvey Milk was more of a local than a statewide figure. AB 2567 now goes to the Senate.
Harvey Milk was a gay-rights activist and former San Francisco County supervisor who was shot to death at City Hall with Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978, by former board colleague Dan White.
''Dancing With the Stars'': Is Kristi Going To Win?
DWTS RECAP - Annie Barrett writes:
Last night, Kristi, Cristián, and Jason (literally) kicked things off with a group cha-cha, an excellent new development that I hope will be repeated in future seasons with different dances. I loved that each couple had to cha-cha to the same music, and that for the final segment, when Jason, Kristi, and Cristián performed the same steps side by side, no one was trying to jut out in front of the others.
READ MORE
Senator and Former KKK Member Backs Obama
UK Pink News reports:
The longest-serving member of the US Senate has backed Barack Obama's bid for the White House. Robert Byrd (pictured) has represented West Virginia since 1959. During his turbulent career in the Senate he has admitted, and frequently apologized for, membership of the Klu Klux Klan as a younger man. A controversial figure, he also attempted to wreck the Civil Rights Act 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 1965, which he has also said he regrets. His endorsement of the 46-year-old Senator from Illinois is a significant boost to the young Democrat. Senator Byrd, 90, was effusive in his praise for Senator Obama, calling him "a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian."
