News: Christian Bale, Prostate Cancer, Elton John, Iran, Serotonin

Congressional hearings on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to be held tomorrow.

Christian Bale arrested on assault charges brought by his mother and sister.

A push or a brush: Bale charges trumped up?

BBC Radio1 DJ Kevin Greening, who died last December during a gay bondage session, left £515,575 to his 'life partner' Andrew Lowe and nothing to his mother: "Greening's will instructed that his mother Mary would only receive a payout if she had outlived Mr Lowe at the time of the DJ's death. Even then she would only be entitled to half the money, with the rest going to AIDS charity the Terrence Higgins Trust."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says he's "committed" to Anglican church's stand against living in sin and gay sex: "I do not believe that sex outside marriage is as God purposes it."

Study: Serotonin affects spirituality. "A team of Swedish researchers has found that the presence of a receptor that regulates general serotonin activity in the brain correlates with people's capacity for transcendence, the ability to apprehend phenomena that cannot be explained objectively. Scientists have long suspected that serotonin influences spirituality because drugs known to alter serotonin such as LSD also induce mystical experiences. But now they have proof from brain scans linking the capacity for spirituality with a major biological element."

New prostate cancer drug called most significant advance in the field in 70 years: "Abiraterone could potentially treat up to 80% of patients with a deadly form of the disease resistant to currently available chemotherapy, they say. The drug works by blocking the hormones which fuel the cancer. The Institute of Cancer Research hopes a simple pill form will be available in two to three years."

YouTube Superstar Tricia Walsh-Smith loses battle for husband's cash. Judge slams YouTube antics.

Hello Yellow Brickle Road: Elton John finally plays the Green Mountain state. "The show — a celebratory culmination of a U.S. road trip that began in California in 1970 — was a musical milestone for the 61-year-old singer: With Monday’s Vermont concert, John has performed in all 50 states. 'I’m thrilled,' he said before the show, graciously accepting Vermont-made gifts. 'I love America. It’s taken me 39 years to get to Vermont and it’s worth it. It’s a glorious night out there. I’m very, very lucky.'"

Bet you can't guess whose legs these are.

British activist Peter Tatchell, who was the international grand marshall at last weekend's San Diego Gay Pride and participated in the protest of that city's Manchester Grand Hyatt, criticized U.S. foreign aid to countries with poor human rights records in a speech at the San Diego Pride Human Rights Vigil: "We must urge the US State Department to make foreign aid and trade conditional on the recipient countries agreeing to respect human rights, including the human rights of LGBT people. Tyrannies should not be rewarded: No US aid for anti-gay regimes."

Patrick Swayze on cancer progress: "I'm a miracle, dude. I don't know why."

Human Rights Watch demands release of two HIV/AIDS doctors being held by Iranian authorities: "Human Rights Watch says the authorities have not disclosed why Arash Alaei and Kamyar Alaei were detained last month, or where they are being held. The two brothers have travelled widely outside Iran, including to the US, to take part in conferences on HIV/Aids. They were due to take part in a major meeting in Mexico next month. Arash Alaei was scheduled to give a presentation on some of Iran's innovative HIV programmes, Human Rights Watch says. The brothers are credited with getting the Iranian authorities to tackle the stigma of HIV infection and the disease Aids, in a country where sex, drug abuse and the disease itself are taboo subjects."

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News: Dark Knight, Gay Youth, Ravello, Ian McKellen, Uganda

Here's a list of the groups that are lobbying the Senate to remove the HIV travel ban.

The Dark Knight has its premiere and it's a big night for Christian Bale. But it was an even bigger night for the late Heath Ledger. His family paid him tribute as did his co-stars.

Reese Witherspoon cuts Jake Gyllenhaal off from his normal habit of swearing like a sailor: "Some of (the things she insists on) are run-of-the-mill. He has to take off his shoes when he’s in the house; trash must be taken out when the can is three-quarters full; and no feet on the coffee table."

PBS debates airing full-frontal Ian McKellen in broadcast of Royal Shakespeare Company's King Lear next year.

Some San Franciscans are objecting to a plan by the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco that would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant as the George W. Bush Sewage Plant: "What we didn’t expect was that most of the opposition was coming from people who didn’t want to name anything. They just wanted to forget about the past eight years and move on or they felt that this is a facility that does something really quite useful and it would be inappropriate to put his name on it. […] If you get to the point where people are defending the sewage plant, that’s a sign that things have not gone so well."

Brad Blog: Alabama Attorney General Troy King, who last week was the subject of rumors that he was to resign in the wake of a gay sex scandal, was the client of gay GOP consultant Ralph Gonzalez, who was killed in a double-murder suicide last year.

The Washington Post on the coming out process and its emergence at earlier and earlier ages: "He has grown so used to the stares and laughter of strangers that their insults slip off his 118-pound frame like an oversize shirt. 'I think I've dealt with it so much my whole life that it really doesn't bother me anymore, not as much as it used to,' Saro says. 'If you have a birthmark on your leg for so long, you don't even notice it.' Saro, who first said he liked boys to a classmate in sixth grade, is like many of today's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths who openly discuss their sexual orientation and identity with friends, and sometimes family, before entering high school."

Whoopi Goldberg to join cast of Xanadu on Broadway.

Britney shoots video for Madonna tour.

Uganda's State Minister for Ethics and Integrity Dr James Nsaba Buturo says that opponents of gays should not be afraid of retribution because God will protect them: "It's true gays are rough people but men of God should not fear their intimidation. Ugandans should strengthen their mobilisation against the gay movement because the government is also committed to support them."

Gore Vidal home in Ravello, Italy to open as luxury hotel next spring.

FIRST LOOK: Project Runway designers enter the workroom.

Miss USA Crystle Stewart discusses her fall at the Miss Universe pageant: "I think I'm going to have to take some walking classes. I would never have thought in a million years that I would fall down at the Miss Universe pageant _ right after Miss USA fell last year. I always wondered: My God, if that happened to me, what would I do? Things happen. I'm perfectly fine. I'm going to move back to New York and get on with my life." Watch it.

Ruminations on a gay and straight brother...

The schedule for this year's Comic-Con in San Diego has been released.

Politics of Fear: Cartoonists respond to the Barack and Michelle Obama New Yorker cover, and Salon asks if the Bush era has killed a lot of liberals' sense of humor.

Philosopher Mark Vernon: I was a gay priest.

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News: Syrian, Luke Macfarlane, Batman, Seattle Opera, Outfest,

Killer of Daytona Beach cross-dresser sentenced to life in prison.

Becks is a Sharpie in new print campaign.

Gay Syrian Jojo Jako Yakob to be deported from Scotland: "It has now emerged that an immigration tribunal has turned down his request to stay in the UK, despite accepting that Yakob is gay and that Syria criminalises and represses homo– sexuality."

He came out shirtless: Matthew McConaughey has a child.

Kenyan bishop threatens to quit over gay marriages: "The Reverend Thomas Kogo, a bishop at the Eldoret ACK Diocese, has issued the quit notice, saying he could not support a church that condones homosexuality. Kogo, who has just returned from a pilgrimage in Israel, said the faithful must uphold the sanctity of the Anglican family. He said those advocating for gay marriages were driven by desire for money and wealth. 'God recognises marriage between man and woman, and there is no way we will accept homosexuality and gay marriages. The Bible is very clear on the matter,' he said."

Boy George speaks to Newsweek about denial of visa: "I am hardly a threat to national security. I am just a performer trying to do his job. I have called America home at different times in my life. I love America, and the American people have always treated me with love and kindness since I went there as a 19-year-old boy with my band Culture Club."

Turkish oil wrestling!

SAS Scandinavian Airlines launches dedicated gay website: "The website is unique in its personalised aspect, providing a ‘gay’ counterpart to the popular SAS crew tips, offering tips from SAS’ own gay crew members on the best offerings in Stockholm and Copenhagen."

Gay and lesbian Christians to protest Pope Benedict's arrival in Sydney: "The protest, calling for equality for gay and lesbian followers, will take place at the Pitt Street Uniting Church this Sunday, coinciding with Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Sydney. Catholic writer and educator Michael Kelly said gay and lesbian people had been marginalised and condemned by mainstream churches, particularly the Catholic Church. He labelled the 'version of Christianity that is coming to Sydney' as propaganda. 'We call on gay and lesbian Christians ... to join us in standing up for the goodness of being gay, and not allow right-wing religious propaganda to silence our faith, hope and love,' he said."

Batman refuses to work with Robin.

Brothers and Sisters' Luke MacFarlane interviewed at the Rome Fiction Festival.

L.A.'s Outfest film festival begins tomorrow. Here's the official site. It's opening with the gay hockey film Breakfast with Scot. Also, here's a new piece from indieWire on the state of queer cinema...

Indian actor walks off talk show after being asked about sexual orientation: "What sort of a question is that Sajid? First you call me for your chat show, and then ask me such stuff!"

American Idol's 'gay stripper' David Hernandez spotted sucking female face in San Diego.

Seattle Opera announces three LGBT nights for upcoming season: "At these designated performances, patrons may pay $100 for discounted main-floor orchestra seating, private intermission receptions (with wine, hors d'oeuvres and desserts) and admission to preshow lectures. The inaugural event — an Aug. 22 presentation of 'Aida' — will be hosted by Seattle Opera trustee JJ McKay and Washington state Sen. Ed Murray. Tickets for the evening are on sale now." (site)

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Todd Haynes' Dylan Biopic I'm Not There Stirs Up Buzz

Over the last day or so the internet has been abuzz about Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Bob Dylan in gay filmmaker Todd Haynes' (Far from Heaven, Velvet Goldmine, Poison) upcoming experimental biopic I'm Not There.

As a Haynes fan I'm really looking forward to this film, not only for Blanchett, who features prominently in a scene leaked yesterday in which Dylan converses with beat poet Allen Ginsburg (played by David Cross), but for the unusual approach Haynes has taken, enlisting five additional actors who also play Dylan at various stages of his life.

Haynes is at ease with experimentation (his breakthrough film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, was a biopic of the singer's life made entirely with Barbie Dolls) and has proven he can do Oscar-caliber drama, so hopefully I'm Not There will be a treat.

Each actor's portrayal, at different stages of Dylan's growth, is shot in a different style meant to showcase various moments on the folk singer-turned-rock star's journey.

Harvey Weinstein told the New York Times on Tuesday that the film is being given a "rolling release": "With a movie like this you have to build it. I don’t think you can go out on 500 screens. The reason for Film Forum is you go where the best word of mouth is on the movie. I like the movie; I think it’s adventurous. The audience is going to have to work — work in a good way."

He also singles out one actor: "I may be jumping the gun, but if Cate Blanchett doesn’t get nominated, I’ll shoot myself."

And here's the leaked scene with Allen Ginsburg:

The film is the first biopic on the legendary folk icon to get the approval of Dylan himself.

Here's Ledger as the singer (his wife Michelle Williams also has a role):

Shots of the other four actors — Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin, and Ben Whishaw, after the jump...

I'm Not There is out in New York and L.A. on November 21st.

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