This past weekend, I ditched out on plans to head to Toronto, which would have coincided with their Pride celebrations, and instead went to the least gay place possible within a reasonable distance, my hometown. Shockingly though, this house - right on the main stretch between McDonalds and the crumbling downtown - displayed a rainbow flag, which I'm sure most Trenton, Ontario residents drove by without even realizing what it meant, and a ton of anti-war signs, a unpopular move in a town thats workforce is primarily employed by the Canadian military. Seeing as how I'm sure they're risking vandalism or even arson (I'm quite serious), I felt it necessary to give the house some props, particularly since I've spent the past few days beside a pool and have nothing else of note.

Despite what Radar Online said in the Wall-E post yesterday, that with an opera version of Brokeback Mountain, same-sex marriage in California and Madonna's new album, America is, by any reasonable measure, getting its gay on, besides maybe that little robot, the American film industry, is doing quite the opposite.

This is not new news, and Gregg Goldstein summed most of it up a few weeks back, noting:

Strand Releasing's 22 films in theaters last year (most with GLBT themes) grossed just $462,000. Killer Films has shifted its focus from queer-themed features to true crime dramas and other films, with tepid critical and financial success. Rotten Tomatoes says that gay- and lesbian-themed films averaged a 51.5% rating in 2006 and 2007 (well below its under-60% "rotten" threshold), while projects like the 2005 Toronto fest's best Canadian feature winner, "C.R.A.Z.Y.," can't secure U.S. theatrical distribution.

With all this talk about the troubles of the independent film industry, its already been clear for a few years that gay independent film has been undergoing a bit of a negotiation. Theatrically, a "gay film" hasn't made over $700,000 since Brokeback Mountain made 80 times that in 2005 (unless you count Notes on a Scandal).

The top five grossing GLBT-themed films since Brokeback?

1. Imagine Me and You FoxS $672,243
2. Another Gay Movie TLA $654,132
3. Adam & Steve TLA $309,404
4. Boy Culture TLA $220,409
5. The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green Reg. $153,122

According to boxofficemojo, none of them are even among the top 100 grossing gay-themed films of all time. Only 1 2008 release, Shelter, has grossed over $100,000.

Not to say that gay films aren't making money, or getting made or being seen. Its just gay film festivals are more relevant than ever, Logo is easily filling its programming, and in a throwback to old school methods of gay distribution, mail order catalogues like TLA's have become an increasing form, which takes the act of watching farther into the private in a similar way beefcake magazines or gay porn did decades ago (and entire other problem, one that begs more consideration that I have to offer here, is how very, very white all the films are, and how predominant masculine pretty men and feminine pretty women are in the lead roles...)

But anyway, this is not the point of this entry. These conclusions and accusations have been drawn many a time, and I just spent four months analyzing them in a thesis. And maybe someday when Im done edits and defending the fucker, I'll share more. But what I'm trying to lead into is as Goldstein's RT ratings suggest, since Brokeback, there hasn't been really too much that's made me feel sorry for the works being screwed over by these changes in distribution. Its quite possible I just wasn't seeing enough, and because of these trends missed out on some very hidden gems that didn't see the light of day. But in the past few months, I've seen four gay-themed films that really deserve some attention: three documentaries.. Derek, Chris & Don: A Love Story and A Jihad For Love, and one narrative film.. Were The World Mine. And I fear they won't. The latter two docs are already in release, doing good business in very limited locations, and though I hope that they expand nicely, I would not bet on it. And one, World, doesn't even have a distributor.

I heard about Were The World Mine a month or so back, but kept missing its screenings. I missed it at Inside Out and wasn't around for NewFest, but when fellow iW-ers, Brian and Charlie raved about their viewings, I felt like I needed to catch up. So I asked the publicist for a screener, and he happily obliged. Which is always a tad risky, since I might have hated it, and then obviously would have no warm things to blog about. But this was not the case.

Were The World Mine is a musical inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream. Directed by Tom Gustafson, it centers around a high school production of that very play, where a small town gay boy, Timothy (Tanner Cohen) finds a recipe hidden with the script for a love potion. In the form a purple "love pansy," Timothy know has a weapon of mass sexual disorientation, transforming his small town into a bunch of queers, including a very hot jock boy that Timothy pines over.

Extending the themes of Midsummer, Gustafson explores ideas of identity, love and sexuality with the help of vibrant imagery, great performances, excellent production value despite a very limited budget, and wonderfully executed musical numbers. Its not perfect, particularly if you pay close attention to the script, but its undoubtedly a joyous cinematic experience.

The film has played a couple mainstream fests - Florida and Nashville most notably - but mostly GLBT fests (winning audience awards left and right). Unfortunately, I watched this film alone, on a laptop, and it simply did not feel right. I needed an audience. I needed mutual cheers and mutual laughter. Were The World Mine doesn't belong in a DVD catalogue or on a download-site. It belongs in theatres.. not just in New York and not just in GLBT film festivals. Now, I can't imagine it won't get picked up (apparently the film is entertaining offers), but it remains to be seen whether it can overcome the gay-indie obstacles that have been facing past the festival circuit.

A former small-town gay myself, I am a sucker for this narrative, especially when its told originally and with the frankly unparalleled energy of Were The World Wine. And small town gay boys all over deserve to at least be able to take a trip to the nearest mid-size city to see this in a theatre. But they probably won't, and maybe they wouldn't even if they could. Maybe they'd rather watch Zac Efron and place naughty subtexts in their minds while doing so. Or maybe they'd rather watch reruns of Queer as Folk, taking it too seriously and breeding a new generation of shallow. Or maybe that's all a little harsh, and all they need is to experience something more innovative and more important. And I can only wish that Were The World Mine somehow plays a little role in doing that. On a big screen.

Tomorrow marks the opening of one of my most anticipated summer films, Wall-E. Reviews are finally in, and they are astounding, only aiding this anticipation.

Some Metacritic-made-easy quotes:

NYT: The first 40 minutes or so of Wall-E -- in which barely any dialogue is spoken, and almost no human figures appear on screen -- is a cinematic poem of such wit and beauty that its darker implications may take a while to sink in.

Voice: A film that's both breathtakingly majestic and heartbreakingly intimate.

But Radar Online brought a different take than any of the reviews (so far, at least. maybe this will catch on)..

An opera version of Brokeback Mountain. Same-sex marriage in California. Madonna's new album. America is, by any reasonable measure, getting its gay on. And nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to robots.

Take Wall-E, the new movie about an ostensibly male robot's romance with an ostensibly female visitor robot. Seems hetero enough, sure. Yet, on a closer inspection, Wall-E's story of overcoming isolation and social awkwardness in a new, fast-moving cosmopolitan world seems like a classic coming-out tale.

Radar celebrate's Wall-E's coming out with a trip down homo-robot memory lane. Check it.

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who have been together 55 years, inaugurating the first official day of California gay marriage in San Francisco. It was estimated that about 500-700 people were outside city hall cheering every couple that crosses the threshold.

23/6 posted a bunch of hilarious "loyalty oaths" for those switching from supporting Hillary to John McCain. Below is the one for the gays:

Every decade and a half or so, pop radio embraces a song about girls toying with the other side, and apparently, they like their titles simple, to the point, and exactly the same. Look below at the video's for Jill Sobule's "I Kissed Girl" from 1995 and Katy Perry's just released video of the same name.

1995:

2008:

So how has bicuriousity in pop culture evolved based perhaps too simply on two pieces of evidence? Well, its catchier, more naked but somehow less explicit. But other than that, lyric-wise and even image-wise (despite Fabio's cameo), Sobule's take is considerably more appealing. Mind you, it was a surprise hit, with folk-influence that probably wasn't intended to hit the mainstream. Perry's song, however, seems manufactured for it. But basically, it all comes down to this: Sobule's song speaks to genuine bicuriousity, or perhaps even bisexuality or lesbianism, in a sweet little way. Perry's song speaks to sluts who get so drunk they make out with a girl because thats the way their attention seeking ways go. Am I wrong? Take a brief comparison of the lyrics:

Sobule:

And I opened up and I told her 'bout Larry
And yesterday how he asked me to marry
And I'm not giving him an answer yet...
I think I can do better!

I kissed a girl
Her lips were sweet.
She was just like kissing me
Kissed a girl won't change the world
But I'm so glad,
I kissed a girl!

Perry:

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter
Your my experimental game
Just human nature
It's not what, good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

For Xtra magazine, here.

In a recent interview with Out magazine, William Baldwin goes on at length about his brother Stephen's born-again ways, particularly the gay-hate that comes with said territory:

I think Stephen enjoys the juxtaposition of my brother Alec and me on one side and he on the other side and again the attention that might garner in the media that Baldwins are at war at the dinner table. I'm not saying he doesn't believe what he says. I just don't think that he fully understands. So I asked him, "Do you think a gay couple should be married? And if not, do you think they deserve access to the same rights on a federal level and state level that you do? And if you don't -- are they some lesser form? Why don't they deserve the same rights and privileges that you do?" [And he responds,] "Because God said and the Bible says that marriage is an institution that exists solely between a man and a woman blah blah blah," and he falls behind that crap. And I said, "Well if you had a choice -- if you and your wife were to die and your kids were still young and you had a choice between your children being in foster care and potentially being physically and emotionally and sexually abused as opposed to being adopted by a loving, healthy, caring lesbian or gay couple, what would you rather have?" He couldn't really answer, and I said, "Thank God Dad isn't here on this earth right now, because he would be so devastated and so horrified." I have three kids, and I said, "If I go on and have 10 kids and nine out of the 10 wind up being gay that's absolutely, 1,000% undoubtedly -- I'm cool with that. But if one of the 10 grow up to think the way you think, I will be absolutely fucking devastated and our father would be turning in his grave to know that one of my children grew up thinking that way." And I don't mean to say that I'm saying this is a lesser of two evils -- I don't want to be misconstrued. I don't love my brother any less, but I think he's very confused.

Billy's got insight. And it makes me blissful to know my beloved Jack Donaghy stands beside him.

The last few days have caused a bit of quarrel between gays and both Jay Leno and David Letterman. First, Jay Leno took asked Ryan Phillippe to give his best "gay face" after mocking him ("weren't your parents proud?") for playing the first gay teen on a soap opera. Then, David Letterman (who I've always really enjoyed and thus this disappoints me more), called pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie an "androgynous freak show."

In case you haven't seen, here are clips of both offenses:

So quite a little hubbub has resulted. And rightfully so. Just months after sensitivity to gay jokes on late night was called into question by, among others, daytime talk show host Ellen deGeneres (mainly in response to the horrific murder of 15-year old gay teen Lawrence King), the one-two punch stylings of America's talk show giants is certainly a problem.

My favourite of the many responses against Leno in particular was Avenue Q creator Jeff Whitty. The highlights are here. Whitty eventually came to accept Leno's apology (and denounce GLAAD's johnny-come-lately retaliation effort), but not before he wrote an insightful letter Jay's way:

Not everyone can stomach you, I fear, so for those who can't, I'll do a little transcription. You were interviewing Ryan Phillippe, whose first acting job was as a gay teenager on One Life to Live. So naturally you homed in on how WEIRD and HILARIOUS it was that he played a GAY PERSON - while Phillippe reasonably tried to shift the conversation to the larger issue of how weird it was to be on a soap opera.

But you couldn't be stopped! You went for the comedy gold!

Whitty goes on to include links to a dozen or so "gay faces" - the battered faces of various gay-bashed individuals to prove the most important point in all of this:

I bring those faces up because there's a group (with whom you are supposedly sympathetic) undergoing a major civil rights struggle, and you seem to adore using the stereotype that we're laughable and really, all the same in the end.

Anyway... More of the same (though in a much more ballsy - or is it just a suicide mission? - context), gay activist Wayne Besen took the topic to Bill O'Reilly to attempt to explain the basic fundamental problems with homophobia to the, I'm sorry, lost causes that watch FOX News. As expected ( Many could have predicted it word for word), Reilly's response:

It looks to me in America that you can't ever make fun of any minority group. Ever. In any way. Anymore. In this country. I think that's where we are really. You can make fun of white Christian men. You can make fun of, famous people. But if you make fun of a minority, any minority...

And as you can tell yourself from the below video, Besen tries his best, but O'Reilly never listens anyway (and almost everything he says in the clip is wrong on many levels), so I wonder why people even bother:

Less attention has been paid to Letterman's comments, perhaps out of fatigue from Leno, but I for one think his offense is worse (and not just because I expected more). Thomas Beattie's situation - being the first trans man to become pregnant - is a sensitive issue in its newness. Trans-discrimination is a whole different ballgame than homophobia, and a rather revelatory story like Beattie's needs to be carefully celebrated as a wonderful turn of events in a life that likely saw personal conflicts of an incomparable nature to that of gays and lesbians. An "androgynous freak show" is a plainly cruel claim to be made in Beattie's regard, and exemplifies the difference between gay jokes and trans jokes: gay jokes seem to revolve around insecurities people - mainly straight men - have regarding gays, and usually play out with "light" though harmful jokes in the realm of, as Besen articulated: "Ha Ha Your Gay". However, trans jokes go for the "freak" factor, placing trans people much further into the depths of subordination.

Sadly, though, even if this little outburst shuts up the Lenos and the Lettermans for a little while, thats likely not making any of the Bill O'Reillys of this world go away. You can't force good humanity, and I guess it takes more than something like Lawrence King's murder to show people that this kind of dialogue is not a good thing.

Finally.. Ill end off by referencing The San Francisco Chronicle's Violet Blue's own
take on the situation. Blue decided to return the favour by heading to the 1996 Journal of Abnormal Psychology, for this fun ditty on the origins of homophobic remarks:

The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals... The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire... Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.

So maybe it was just Ryan Phillippe's pecks (which are also one of the best things about Stop-Loss, which in a related note I saw last night and was quite disappointed by), that made Leno feel the need to go there? If that's the case, I totally forgive you Jay.

Want a pet rooster? How about a gay rooster pair? Petfinder.com lists these two cocks as up for adoption (pic above is actually them):

Deciding that they were not going to adhere to normative chicken social conventions Julius and Big Daddy have chosen one another as companions. Thus, against the odds, we are seeking a rooster-savvy home where they can stay together for the rest of their days. Big Daddy is julius' protector, and at night he roosts over Julius like a mama hen sitting on a brood of chicks! Obviously the idea of separating these guys is just too heartbreaking to even consider!

A few days ago I posted a video of an at-the-time-anonymous Oklahoma lawmaker saying a wide range of horrible things. Since then, the video made the rounds of the web and the "human" behind that voice has been revealed as Sally Kern.

Numerous developments have occurred since (including Oklahoma Republicans essential praise of Kern's beyond-frightening words), and I figured I'd update. First, a letter written to Kern from Victory Fund (who posted the video in the first place) president Chuck Wolfe from a few days back that pretty much voices everything that's wrong with what's going on:

What you said is not okay, but that's not because most sensible people disagree with it. It's because your words give aid and comfort to those who would hurt, maim and even kill people who are different from you. Comparing gays and lesbians to cancer and terrorism and saying they are the "biggest threat to America," gives license to others to treat us that way, especially given the leadership position you hold in your community.

Then, the situation got a bit juicier. Allegations arose that Kern and her Baptist minister husband had and hid a gay son. Despite much evidence to the contrary, Kern issued a loaded and manipulative statement shooting down those "rumors":

Our son is not gay. We would still love him if he was, but that would not change the fact that homosexuality is a chosen life style and that we would pray for our son to have a change of heart. My heart goes out to the many parents who have lost sons to AIDs [sic] and other STDs. Those kinds of deaths are tragic because they could have been avoided.

THEN the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation began going through Kern's emails after she said she had been receiving numerous death threats, only to find bitch is also a liar.

And finally, today Ellen deGeneres made her second step into having a gay voice after her touching speech about Lawrence King a few weeks ago. Up until recently I had figured Ellen's contract obligated her not to go into the gay talk, but now that she's secured a place amongst the daytime talk powerhouses, she's using that power for good, and gave some light and quite funny, but definitely point-across words about Kern (even trying to call her) and the absurdity of her statement:

The Victory Fund, a equal rights org trying to "elect fair minded individuals across the nation," found quite the opposite in an unnamed Oklahoma lawmaker. Their site posted a very disturbing clip of a voice recording from an apparently closed meeting. The lawmaker (they don't release her name so that she doesn't become "a 'cause celeb' for the other side"), was unaware someone was taping, or she probably wouldn't have gone all Fred Phelps. To shame: Not everybody's lifestyle is equal, just like not all religions are equal.

Take a look at the clip and go to The Victory Fund's website to put your name against it (Its American-only, so doubly do it for me).

Continuing with the gay comic theme - and on my way to making this the gayest day of blog posting ever (while I'm at it, I might as well alert you to SameSame's recent list of the gayest songs of all time, including its unfortunate omissions of Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters, The Smiths... not all gays are about disco and Madonna, SameSame), - The New York Times ran an article about the ongoing Buffy The Vampire Slayer comics (which I do not read.. though I was a huge fan of the show) and the new revelation that Ms. Summers experiments with lady-on-lady sex in the latest issue.

Says the Times:

In a new issue of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comic book series, being released Wednesday, Buffy sleeps with a fellow slayer. And, oh yeah, she’s a woman.

He has written several stories for it, including an opening arc that introduces Satsu (pronounced SOUGHT-sue), one of nearly 2,000 slayers activated in the television show's finale. One of Buffy's prized disciples, she ends up sharing her bed.

Director Zach Snyder seems to have managed to outdo the homoeroto-fest that was 300 with his new film, next March's Watchmen. Pics were released from the set, and if these two of dreamboats Patrick Wilson and Matthew Goode are any indication, this is gonna give Batman and Robin a run for its codpiece money. In the best way possible.

Though I was reeling with national pride from word I got from a friend last night that Canadian distributors had refused to show Larry The Cable Guy's latest bigot-fest, Witless Protection in theatres, that quickly disappeared when I discovered news that CTV, one of Canada's main television networks, had aired this horrible commercial from conservative group Life Productions. To brief yourself first, check out the organization's cringe-inducing website that includes a "Are You Good Enough To Get Into Heaven Test" (One question, "God commands that we set aside one day in seven. Have you ever been guilty of breaking this Commandment?" will get you to hell alone). Anyway, somehow CTV (who is a "proud" sponsor of many Pride events), decided to air a commercial about "curing" homosexuality... I got word from a "facebook activist group" that they have stopped airing it due to protests, but seriously.. between this and last week's Bill C-10 bullshit, Canada is quickly losing the liberal image I once prided myself on being a part of....

The Watertown Daily Times is reporting that a little uproar has come about from St. Lawrence County officials removing a poster for the Out at the Movies Film Festival in Upstate New York. Allegations of homophobia ensued:

St. Lawrence County was accused Monday night of homophobia for removing a poster advertising the Out at the Movies film festival.

A poster advertising the movies at the festival was taken down two weeks ago after about six employees complained that they found words in them offensive.

The words? The titles of three films: Itty Bitty Titty Committee, Butch Jamie and Out at the Wedding.

Out at the Wedding??? But seriously, "Titty" and "Butch" are hardy something to freak out over. I'm glad the festival folk gave those tight ass complainers a little fight, even if it is questionable whether it was homophobia at play or just extreme lameness.

Wait. Is something missing? Oh yeah.. That part where Rudin thanked his boyfriend John Barlow. Watch the speech here:

I hate to be all gay conspiracy theorist, but come on...

UPDATE:
As a result of complaints, they changed the transcript to include Rudin's shout out.

Watch Charles Barkley take a not-so-poignant but certainly ballsy and enjoyable stance against the Republicans on CNN, calling conservatives "fake Christians" and not-so-subtly announcing his pro-gay marriage stance. Pussyboy Wolf Blizter warns Charles that his statements might get him some serious flak from conservatives, to which Barkley (who also announced his plans to run for governor of Alabama in 2014) quipped: "They can't do anything to me; I don't work for them".

True to their slogan, Pizza Hut has apparently offered up some extra bigotry (get it? read the above ad and witness my use of google image search to bring you an easy joke) with their pizza..

The BBC is reporting that three gay men from Wales are suing Pizza Hut for sexual discrimination after they were refused service at a restaurant in Blackpool.

Michael Kemp, 42, Paul Barnabas, 47, and his partner Iain Buck, 38, were among nine gay men and transsexuals who visited the Church Street restaurant.

However, at the moment the law does not incorporate transsexuals.

They told them they "had run out of pizzas"? I prefer a side of creativity with my homophobia...

Jossip is reporting an interesting little tidbit. Apparently Ed Koch - former NYC mayor and considered by some (including me) as one of a dozen or so people of power whose mishandling (read: homophobia) of the AIDS crisis caused millions of unnecessary deaths - went and saw Andre Techine's The Witnesses on opening night.

The film details a group of people dealing with the beginning of the AIDS crisis in France. Kind of a gay (and odd considering the criticism this man has faced) thing to do for the "straight" Koch. Koch - again, in my own belief (but Randy Shilts and Larry Kramer would most definitely agree) - essentially pretended like the epidemic wasn't even happening during the first couple of years, because he was scared making any stance would prove the many gay rumors were true.

His first move (after some serious pressure), wasn't a favourite: he backed up the New York City Health Department's decision to shut down the city's gay bathhouses in 1985. Finally, in 1986, Koch signed a lesbian and gay rights ordinance for the city after the City Council passed the measure, but this was following several failed attempts by the Council to approve such legislation.

Anyway.. I could go on and on and on but I won't. Its really not that big of a deal (Koch going to the movies, that is. That whole history of AIDS epidemic thing is a bit of a big deal). Just thought it was a bizarre decision for a man with this history to publicly attend a gay themed films about AIDS in the 80s on its opening night?

They heckled Mike Huckabee!

At a rally in San Francisco, the non-profit left group got a chance to let Fuckabee have whats coming to him.. Why would he even bother going to San Francisco??

Here.

A day or two has passed as I transition comfortably from the dry, snowy cold of Utah to the wet, not-quite-as-snowy cold of Ontario (and on Saturday, the wet, not-quite-as-snowy, but definitely more cold Quebec), and I figure its time to consider the past two weeks...

Its kinda perfect that my Sundance soundtrack consisted of a never-turned-to-another satellite radio station playing 80s new wave in the SUV rented my colleagues. Because the kind of false nostalgia I always got when I listened to The Smiths or The Cure or watched Heathers... I knew where it came from, I knew what it all meant, but I was never there to experience it and thus was sort of at a loss in comparison to those who did... was the same false nostalgia I felt when listening to - or worse, attempting to engage in - the constant reflective thought expressed by pretty much everyone I was around. As a Sundance virgin, my only real nostalgia was for what had happened in the days prior to that one.

This reflection was usually surrounding two topics: The first, and less personally interesting, involved Sundance as a new-found clusterfuck. My colleague Eugene sent me a random post-Sundance article from a blogger I'd never heard of that kinda summed up all the talk exactly:


There are two Sundance Film Festivals. One hosts several thousand film enthusiasts, movie industry professionals and others with passion for and/or professional interest in independent films. The other Sundance plays hosts to thousands of guests who have marginal interest in films or even relevance to the independent film community. While hundreds of stars turn out for Sundance, only a handful actually attend the screenings, and then it's usually only for the films they have direct involvement in. Several dozen corporations host clients for skiing the Deer Valley slopes, drinking at hospitality suites, expensive dinners and overly-hyped parties featuring "B" list talent.

To me and my experiences, this has always been any major festival. Toronto, Cannes.. in their own way, present that same dichotomy in their own unique and varying formations. Smaller fests, of which I would have never considered Sundance anyway (I who was 8 when Reservoir Dogs played there), have always fulfilled that first notion (almost) solely, and I've enjoyed them for what they were. Personally, for someone sorta new to all of this, the second "Sundance" presents a really interesting study in the state of celebrity culture; the state of humanity; and the state of those with a bit of money. I found it fun to attend Paris Hilton's publicity dinner or watch as hundreds of Utahians desperately roamed Main Street in search of celebrity. Maybe in five years, I'll sing a more bitter tune... But it seems to me that the first Sundance needs the second Sundance to thrive financially, and that they both exist just fine as long as people from either side mind the other's motiviations?

Either way... the second nostalgia was a bit more specific. I'm currently doing my thesis on queer film marketing campaigns post-2000... so I obviously made a point to take in all the GLBT festivities, whether panels, films or etc. I won't go into the specifics of the queer festivities (because I wrote about it here), but in general: There were a lot of queer films at Sundance this year, many of them by directors who were present during Sundance's "new queer cinema" moment in the early 1990s, and thus a "reunion" was sort of make-shiftingly created and there was a lot of talk of the past.

Tom Kalin spoke at one of the panels and pinpointed my position:

I can only see the early 90s and that first wave really coming out of a very specific historical moment.. the movies coming out of a specific moment. Its difficult to conjure for people that weren't alive or around during the time what it was like without AIDS medication and that kind of atmosphere of despair and frustration that people had politically and socially in their lives.

Christine Vachon, a the same panel, seconded it:

I mean I do think that term did come out of a sense of urgency that's very hard to reconstruct for people that weren't there and Im not trying to be like one of those people who was at Woodstock...

Its amazing to me that I can even say it with a smile now cause honestly at the time it really felt like it was such an atmosphere of death and despair.

Honestly, be around all this talk gave me a twofold emotional high: One of extreme amazement in watching these people - Kalin, Vachon, Gregg Araki, Bruce LaBruce, Isaac Julien, etc - in action.. These people whose early 90s films were my adolescent homosexual education and occasionally even brought on seminal autoerotic experiences (LaBruce...). These people - these artists - played a considerable role in assisting in my own identity, as well as the identity politics of the world I eventually came to exist in as an young, queer adult.

This was most notable during a screening of my "favourite" Sundance film (though, I must admit, there only were seven - and before you hiss, please note my actual job did not require me to see films and thus this is understandable)... Isaac Julien's Derek. At its core a poignant documentary about an artist whose life was cut too short.. the film intertwines archival interviews Derek Jarman with thought provoking prose written and performed by the goddess Tilda Swinton. Swinton was just as reflective in her words as anyone at Sundance: She spoke of today as a time of too much talk and not enough action. She spoke of too much focus on numbers and not enough films. She spoke of how Jarman wanted to evaporate with his work and how paradoxically this didn't happen - and given today's societal state - also did.

Though during the screening I was pretty much engulfed in Julien's artful representation of an endlessly charming, interesting and unpretentious man.. After I wiped away my supergay tears and left the Q & A, I was left feeling a bit like Kalin and Vachon suggested in that panel - clueless and ignornat. Just like 80s new wave or the Sundances where Paris Hilton wasnt running amuck, I never got to experience any of this firsthand. I never saw what Derek saw. I was never there to see the beginnings of AIDS or Reagan or riots or emotional despair I personally can't even fathom. What was I really the survivor of? What story did I really have to tell? I can get gay married. I could come out in high school to minimal fanfare. My parents wouldn't even flinch at the sight of me kissing another man. AIDS, though present, is something I'm educated on to the point that I can resite the components of an HIV replication cell. And while I realize I'm uniquely privileged, even in Western society... And thank god for that.. but lets accept: "We" don't have that urgency, and as Kalin & Vachon suggested, we will (hopefully) never know its horrors. But many of us seem to be ready to sit down an accept that this is as good as it may get. And thats maybe why the nominees for the GLAAD Media Award for best feature film this year were Stardust, Across The Universe and The Jane Austen Book Club.

I just wonder if this relative spoil is to blame for my potentially lesser generation of queer artists. Maybe its time that "we" just step out from under some queer niche and realize "we" have less sexual-identity specific stories to offer? Or maybe its not? Maybe "we" need to find our own voices, our own less urgent, but still necessary, voices.

Now I know I'm generalizing a generation, and especially generalizing a generation that hasn't even been given a chance yet.. and really all I'm saying despite my longwinded rantiness is that all this nostalgia just left me wondering..

I'm not going to go any farther in that regard (I have four months of thesis writing for that), but essentially, thats where my Sundance mind wandered.

Check out indieWIRE's dispatch, in honor of me being hungover from Sundance's "Homos Away From Home" party last night.

This is slightly old news, but its horribly enraging so I'm posting anyway: Douchebag Fox News host
John Gibson made a complete ass of himself yesterday by poking fun at Heath Ledger's death.

The Huffington Post sums it up:

ThinkProgress reports that, on his radio show yesterday (which opened with funeral music), Gibson called Ledger a "weirdo" with a "serious drug problem." Making fun of the famous "I wish I knew how to quit you" line from "Brokeback Mountain," Gibson said of his death, "Well, he found out how to quit you."

You can listen to the whole disgusting rant here and you can send e-mails along the lines of "fire John Gibson" to any or all of these addresses:

Gibson's email: john.gibson@foxnews.com
Show's email: myword@foxnews.com
Network's email: yourcomments@foxnews.com
CEO of Fox News: roger.ailes@foxnews.com

He managed to take the crown for rudest Heath Ledger comment from that little skank over at MSNBC, Courtney Hazlett, who remarked, "In a lot of ways, this reminds me - we've almost had a dress rehearsal for this with Owen Wilson."

Gibson responded to critims by saying that it was just "a little Brokeback Mountain joke" and there is "no point in passing up a good joke."

Its obvious things have come along way from the times reflected at the Julien/LaBruce/Araki/Kalin affair. The nominees for best film in wide release at the GLAAD media awards are:

Across The Universe
The Jane Austen Book Club
Stardust

I'm surprised they weren't forced to nominate I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Though this year's stellar queer lineup at Sundance suggests a change of pace, 2007 was obviously a horrific year for GLBT cinema. Even the limited nominees are nothing to phone home about:

The Bubble
Dirty Laundry
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Nina's Heavenly Delights
Whole New Thing

Though I'm pleased to see the cute and Canadian Thing get nominated, I was not a fan of The Bubble or Nina's Heavenly Delights. Though I haven't seen the other two, I can't imagine either of them compare to queer works of 1992 or 1993, or even 2005 for that matter. Not surprisingly, the television nominees showed once again where the queer side of the entertainment industry is leaning:

Drama Series
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Degrassi: The Next Generation (The N)
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
Greek (ABC Family)
The L Word (Showtime)

Comedy Series
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Exes and Ohs (Logo)
The Sarah Silverman Program (Comedy Central)
Ugly Betty (ABC)
The War at Home (Fox)

ABC obviously led the pack. And though there are certainly a nice variety of queer TV out there, I think some of the proclamations of its positive programming is a little unwarranted. I can't think of any queer content on CBS and NBC.. Even the days of the token queer supporting character seemed to have waived. Cable is obviously where its at, but the departure of Six Feet Under, Queer as Folk, etc, have left some serious holes to fill... holes I don't think Greek and The Sarah Silverman Program are capable of filling.

But yeah, go Degrassi.

Perhaps my bitchy feelings about the Queer Brunch was more a result of relativity to the night prior. The photo above, taken by my colleague Brian, is Bruce LaBruce, Tom Kalin, Gregg Araki and Isaac Julien, who I had the indescribable experience of watching gather together to celebrate their new films (each have one playing at Sundance), and reflect on the old. B. Ruby Rich, Tilda Swinton, and Christine Vachon were also in attendance... I came late so I missed on what I was told were some remarkable and reflective speeches, particularly by Ms. Rich, though did have the terrifying honor of being sat down next to Isaac Julien (by his drunken and lovely publicist, who was determined to get Julien to talk to me about my thesis topic even though I made it clear I would not be able to form clear sentences). I did my best, but when Ms. Tilda Swinton interrupted us to say goodbye to Julien (she produced his Derek doc, which I'm seeing tomorrow) and I nearly lapsed into a coma.

The feeling of being in that room and witnessing all of that is something I have a hard time articulating, but it certainly made my Sundance.

My maiden voyage on the Sundance Shuttle form Main Street back to my condo at the Racquet Club was met with a bit of drama... The bus drivers switched at Sundance Headquarters (after a 20 minute wait), and the replacement appeared to be some sort of trainee, as another driver was standing beside him giving instructions. After running over half a dozen curbs, the driver finally climaxed his poor driving by running into a parked car, and then continuing to drive before some angry ladies at the back of the bus started screaming: "You hit a car!" When we finally pulled over, I couldn't deal with the shuttle anymore and walked the rest of the way. I was exhausted from a day of walking around and from this:

The Sundance Queer Brunch, which I had been kinda looking forward to all week. An email from a publicist went out a few days back, stating:

Just reminding you about the 12th annual Outfest Queer Brunch this Sunday in Sundance at 11am at the Grub Steak Restaurant, presented by here! Networks. Attending the brunch will be a wide range of stars attending Sundance, including Paris Hilton, Sharon Stone, Winona Ryder, Quentin Tarantino, Kirsten Dunst, Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, Dennis Quaid, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ellen Page, Hugh Dancy, Wes Bentley, Nick Cannon, and many others.

Hoping to realize my lifelong dream of befriending Winona Ryder, I was pleased to see the only "celebrity" I saw there was the gay mormon who won the latest Survivor. In fact, the whole ordeal was sorta like a bad gay bar with bacon and eggs, set to the tune of Britney and Beyonce. The grab bags were the kicker, filled with condoms, lube, bad gay DVDs and a copy of "Instinct"

For the CBC no less, queer director-artist-smutmaster Bruce LaBruce is blogging on his Sundance '08 experience here. LaBruce is here promoting his Sundance film "Otto; Or Up With Dead People,"which is a midnight at Park City entry that follows a gay zombie lookin' for love in Berlin. Bruce's blog had its first entry today, where he gets nostalgic for Sundance past:

I can’t remember much about my screening in 1995, but I do vividly recall attending Larry Clark’s Kids, the sensation of the festival, as the guest of its executive producer, Gus Van Sant, and its writer, Harmony Korine. I remember because Gus and his then-boyfriend, D-J, and I smuggled a bottle of tequila into the screening and kept slipping it to Harmony, who was under the legal drinking age. Fun times!

I ain't got nothing on that.

In the casting I didn't see coming (but works for me) department, Ewan McGregor will play Jim Carrey's love interest in I Love You Philip Morris, a dark comedy based on a true story and directed by the Bad Santa scribes.

Says CinemaBlend:

The script is apparently somewhat based in fact. It tells the story of a married conman father named Steven Russell, who winds up in a Texas prison and then falls head over heels for his cellmate Phillip Morris (McGregor). Motivated by his desperate dude love, Russell tries to escape from prison no fewer than four times, using such potentially humorous methods as dying his prison outfit to look like surgical scrubs, and faking his death from AIDS. None of them worked, and while Morris got out Russell was sentenced to 144 more years in prison for trying to get out. Whoops.

I'm a little nervous after reading that synopsis. Faking a death from AIDS via the people who brought us Bad Santa may or may not have the dark comic delicacy that won't make it offensive (to me at least).

But there's no doubt this intrigues me greatly, and Carrey and McGregor have certainly shown me the goods in the past, so them together in one film (and making out to boot) is a good start to Milk's late '08 mainstream gay counterpart.

A few days ago I posted regarding a horrible incident that happened to a friend of mine.. Thankfully (though its hard to be "thankful" for anything when these sorts of things happen), there have been some developments:

Says queerty:

Hamilton, Canada coppers caught a break yesterday when 24-year old Earl Robinson turned himself in for one of last weekend’s two anti-gay attacks.

Meanwhile, officials are still looking into the second apparent attack.

Part of my daily blog circle, Queerty.com gave me a serious case of small world when one of their stories was actually detailing a crime that happened to a friend from my hometown, who goes to university in Hamilton, Ontario. It appears he wasn't the only victim of gay-bashing that night, with Hamilton police seeking out three bastards who will hopefully get caught and feel the effect of all the hate crime legislation Canada can has to offer.

From Queerty:

Hamilton police are looking for three suspects following two street assaults officers say were motivated by hate.

Two suspects are white males and the third has a darker complexion.

This kind of thing goes on a lot more than one living in liberal metropolitan meccas might expect, and I'd imagine a lot of it goes unreported (or uninvestigated). And its stuff like this that makes last week's US decision against hate crime legislation all the more perplexing.

The fantastically up-to-the-minute awardsdaily.com alerted me to some interesting developments.... It seems Juno stars Ellen Page and Olivia Thrillby are gonna get even friendlier this time around. Says AD, quoting New York magazine:

"With her much-acclaimed teen-pregnancy comedy Juno landing in theaters today, Ellen Page's sudden success is getting a long-gestating project off the ground. Some time ago — before her role in Juno, or even Hard Candy — Page was attached to a project called Jack and Diane, an off-beat drama about a love affair between two teenage girls..."

As Juno says: "I don't really know what kind of girl I am."

Wow. Way to not sell out after your breakthrough role, Ms. Page. And any film title that plays homage to the Cougar works for me.

Additionally, EW.com noted that Page's 2007 "breakthrough" male counterpart (or so says the NBR), Emile Hirsch is also queering up his follow-up, bringing Josh Brolin along too:

Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin (pictured) are aligning themselves with yet another prestige project. The two, who are currently earning Oscar buzz for their roles in Into the Wild and No Country for Old Men, respectively, are in negotiations for Milk, the Gus Van Sant biopic starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the former San Francisco city supervisor and gay-rights activist. Brolin is in talks to play Dan White, the elected official who assassinated Milk in 1978, while Hirsch is eyeing the role of street hustler-turned-Milk aide, Cleve Jones. James Franco (In the Valley of Elah), meanwhile, is gearing up to play Milk's longtime lover, Scott Smith. Milk, which is scheduled to begin shooting Jan. 21 in San Francisco, is being made by Groundswell Productions and will