The Life of Pi: VIDEO

Haven't read the novel, but the new trailer for Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee's adaptation of Yann Martel's tale of survival is visually stunning, to say the least.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via the daily what)

News: Nevada, Scholastic, Rihanna, Malta, Sean Hayes, GOP

Repeal of HIV travel ban in final stages.

Marriage equality campaigns push for early vote in Maine.

Scholastic bans gay-themed book from book fairs: "Luv Ya Bunches, about four elementary school girls who have little in common, but bond over the fact that they’re all named after flowers, is the first installment of a four-book series. But Scholastic says the book, released on October 1, failed to meet its vetting process because it contains offensive language and same-sex parents of one of the main characters, Milla."

The fleshjack for fangbangers.

New Yorkers plan calling party this Friday for Maine marriage equality.

GOP moderate who supports marriage equality in New York state in race seen as test for 2012 presidential elections.

Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth coming to Broadway in revival of Promises, Promises.

George W. Bush will never shut up about his rug.

Silhouette and initials of Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz shot at by Southeast Republican Club at gun range event: "Among the approximately 40 people at the event was Robert Lowry, a Republican seeking his party’s nomination to run against Wasserman Schultz next year. Lowry shot at a target bearing the letters 'DWS' next to the silhouette head. Lowry said he didn't know who wrote Wasserman Schultz' initials on his target, but said he knew they were there before he started shooting. He initially described it as a 'joke,' but after answering several questions he said it 'was a mistake' to use a target labeled 'DWS.'"

James Franco: Just don't ask him to pronounce Versace.

Rated R: Album cover drops for Rihanna's latest.

Billy Bell drops out of So You Think You Can Dance due to illness.

Scientists discover gene that makes rodent's cells "cancer-proof".

President of Malta condemns anti-gay discrimination: "He said he had LGBT people specifically in mind when referring to minorities and various families during his inaugural speech. President Abela stressed the important of anti-discrimination legislation in employment and agreed that Malta EU membership is a positive factor contributing towards greater debate on diversity and acceptance."

Daytime TV to see mass gay wedding of 22 couples on One Life to Live.

Ricky Gervais to host the Golden Globes.

Ang Lee has fond memories of the Brokeback kiss: "I was directing Heath kissing [Jake Gyllenhaal] and I told him that you would never kiss a woman that hard. He needed to do it in a heroic Western way, more passionately. I remember seeing Michelle watching while we filmed - at that point they were already 'friends' - and she had a look of concentration on her face because she also thought he should be stronger with Jake."

Madonna hits Malawi to break ground for her girls' school.

More than 1,000 couples have registered as domestic partners in Nevada: "he law took effect Oct. 1, and more than 700 couples pre-registered and picked up their certificates that day. Nevada's constitution bans gay marriage, but the partnership law extends certain rights previously enjoyed by only married couples to couples who live together. That includes community property and the right to seek financial support after a breakup."

Emile Hirsch Ate Pig Crap for Ang Lee

Emile Hirsch talks to Parade about his experience playing a Vietnam vet in Taking Woodstock and the scene in which he and other festival-goers take a wild ride on a mud slick:

"I haven't really had my hair cut since I did Milk. It was fine for Woodstock, but I still can't get a trim because my girlfriend likes it long. I cry myself to sleep every night dreaming of buzz cuts. No, I'm kidding, I like long hair. I'm trying to bring long hair back. When I was actually doing the sliding scenes it was a lot of fun. It was kind of an animalistic pleasure, like a dog rolling around in the dirt. But it wasn't real mud -- it was movie mud. And I was like, 'What is this stuff made of?' because some of it ended up in my mouth. And they said, 'It comes from pig crap. We clean it up and put some vegetable oil in it.'"

Emile Hirsch Flashes Some Skin on the Road to Woodstock

A still from Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, which premiered last night and features an extended acid trip, according to Movieline: "Not that anyone flies or bounds about the nearby foliage, but it’s a stunner nonetheless, overlapping pastel lighting effects, green-screen animation, shifting film speeds, lens trickery and undulating CGI in its glimpse at what’s casually referred to as 'the center of the universe.'"

News: Jon Huntsman, Ethiopia, Katy Perry, Hubble, Ethan Zohn

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire would like to see a marriage equality bill on her desk. SIGNS "everything but marriage" law.

John Mayer in lipstick assault.

The Pool: Inside a White House photo-op. 

AFP on the secret life of gays in Ethiopia: "Under its penal code, the very act itself can bring three years behind bars. And if the offender 'makes a profession of such activities' the penalty rises to up to five years. The law also seeks a maximum sentence of up to ten years if any kind of coercion is involved. Yet, there are calls for more stringent rules against the homosexual community whose exact size is impossible to determine due to fears of repression."

Colorado conservatives see "chipping away of legal barriers" to civil unions.

Hollywood Reporter: Taking Woodstock a "solid but minor" Ang Lee film.

Political masterstroke? Obama nominates Utah Governor Jon Huntsman as ambassador to China.

Katy Perry's Adam Lambert cape censored on iTunes.

Obama names lesbian Jenny Durkan for U.S. attorney: "Obama himself said that all six of his nominees for U.S. Attorney 'have distinguished themselves as fair, tenacious and respected attorneys throughout their careers in both public and private service.'  And Gov. Gregoire had this to say: 'I am so pleased the Obama administration also recognizes Jenny's leadership and experience, and nominated her for this important position.  I hope the Senate will act quickly on the nomination to confirm her.'"

A commentary on the NASA TV live feed of the Hubble repair: "One of the striking things, watching the astronauts work, is how slowly everything goes. They move slowly, slowly, slowly, like fish in glycerin. They can barely bend their hands to grasp tools because of all the pressure keeping them alive inside their suits."

Former Survivor winner Ethan Zohn battling cancer: "On April 30, Zohn was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's disease. The diagnosis came after months of unexplained itching and night sweats, originally thought to be a skin condition."

Madonna denies that she's planning to hold Kabbalah ccommitment ceremony with Brazilian boytoy Jesus Luz.

Chris Pine demonstrates the wonders of gold-digging for the paparazzi.

First record to be released on Justin Timberlake's record label TenMan gets some vocal help from Timberlake himself.

Male model fix: Todd Sanfield.

Conyers on Obama: "Why is he becoming so conservative now that he's got the job?"

New strategy against AIDS involves insertion of a gene that produces protective antibodies: "The new method worked in mice and now has proved successful in monkeys, too, they reported Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine...That doesn't mean an AIDS vaccine for people is in the wings, Johnson said. Years of work may lie ahead before a product is ready for human use."

Iowa attorney: risks paid off in marriage case. "Was the case winnable? Would it pose a security risk to the firm? Would other clients disapprove and take their business elsewhere?The firm's senior lawyers discussed the concerns, Johnson said, but quickly gave him the go-ahead. Over the next several years, Johnson estimates his firm poured roughly $500,000 into research, travel, and other expenses for the case."

Ang Lee, on Taking Woodstock and Brokeback Mountain

The Hollywood Reporter talks with Ang Lee about his forthcoming film Taking Woodstock, which takes its plot from the memoir of Elliot Tiber, the gay man who helped facilitate the legendary music festival.

THR: Since part of Elliot Tiber's story is about his coming out as a gay man, do you think the film will be viewed as a companion piece to "Brokeback Mountain"?

Lee: I think it's a very different story. In "Brokeback," being gay is the main issue. In Woodstock everybody's there, everything is tolerated for three days of peace and music. Our lead character could be anybody. It just happened to be Ellliot Tiber, who just happened to be himself. He's a closeted gay at the beginning, but he comes to terms with it. We didn't make big deal out of it.