Jason Statham: Hypothetical Gay Action Hero

Chris Lee writes about a gay action hero that went by the wayside:

In 2005, Louis Leterrier, the director of 'Transporter 2' (and also credited as 'artistic director' of the first 'Transporter') told me he created a gay subtext for the character so as to avoid making a 'Steven Seagal kind of movie.'...'If you watch the movie and you know he's gay, it becomes so much more fun,' Leterrier said then. 'It's so great -- the first gay action movie hero!' He continued: 'Action fans in general are pretty homophobic. You see these tough guys who say, ' 'The Transporter,' that's such a great movie!’ If they only knew they're really cheering for a new kind of action hero.' And to drive his point home, he mentioned a scene in 'Transporter 2' in which a drug czar's wife, played by Amber Valletta, makes romantic overtures toward the Transporter. Martin rebuffs her, explaining, 'It's because of who I am.' Letterrier's take on that? 'That's him coming out!' At the time, Jason Statham, who plays the Transporter, dismissed the director's claims. 'It’s just Lou-Lou trying to be funny,' Statham said, using his private nickname for Leterrier. 'Although he did say, ‘In Part 2, you will become the gay icon.’'"

In Transporter 3, Lee notes, Statham's character makes out with a woman for the first time. Perhaps it's just a phase.

Sphere: Related Content

News: Mumbai, Pilot Whales, Britney Spears, Scuba, Pregnant Man

A grim first look inside the Taj Hotel following the weekend's deadly terrorist siege in Mumbai. The owner of the Taj said the hotel had temporarily increased security following a warning they received. The Big Picture offers some powerful and troubling photos. Hostages says he wishes he had a gun rather than a camera. This video allegedly shows the final living terrorist beaten and arrested. Condoleezza Rice heads to India.

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire wins big at British independent film awards (Bifas): "...the story of a Mumbai teenage boy who astounds all around him by doing well on the Indian Who Wants To Be a Millionaire quiz show, won best film, best director and best newcomer for its British lead."

Pregnant man Thomas Beatie and family go international.

Scottish women targeted in homophobic gravel attack: "Police say the happened at around 2am yesterday morning as the pair made their way along Duke Street towards Lochend Road following a night out. The women, aged 34 and 35 were then subjected homophobic abuse by two men who were walking in the opposite direction. The men then picked up gravel from the ground and threw it. One of the women had gravel thrown directly in her face before both men ran off towards Leith Links."

Britney Spears goes on the record, brings Circus to X-Factor.

Scientists: Blueberries can improve memory.

Nature/nurture argument for homosexuality to be informed by forthcoming study of twins.

Scuba dive in the middle of the Utah desert.

Judge rules murder of gay man in Australia not homophobic: "The court had heard Fleming, 35, and the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sharing a beer at a Narrabeen toilet block while sheltering from a storm. Fleming, a 'gentle, childlike man' with Asperger’s Syndrome later approached the youth with his trousers down and attempted to hug him. NSW Supreme Court justice David Kirby said the killing was the result of a failure of communication. 'He feared that he may be raped or sexually assaulted,' Kirby told the court as he handed down the sentence. 'He says, and I accept, he is not homophobic.'"

Gay penguins segregated at China zoo after urge to father children leads them to steal eggs. No doubt the wingnuts will be all over this story.

Tampa, Florida area sees shift in attitudes toward gay people: "The gay and lesbian community that left Ybor City in the early 1990s is returning to play a key role in its resurrection. A local salsa instructor is satisfying a growing interest in a class for gay and lesbian dancers. And in Palmetto, the nation's first gay and lesbian retirement community is appealing to people nationwide seeking a slice of Florida paradise. Perhaps no sign of support is clearer than the election of Kevin Beckner, the county's first openly gay commissioner. He defeated Brian Blair, a supporter of the county's ban on recognizing gay pride."

British rugby league adopts stance against homophobia: "League officials say posters and logos carrying the message, 'Some people are gay. Get over it!' will be displayed at rugby league grounds, in programs and fan areas, as a bid to promote LGBT integration in the sport.

Ben Affleck shaves his head.

More than 150 pilot whales die in mass stranding in Tasmania.

Gay Catholic's book ruffles frocks at Boston church.

Secret behind Tina Fey's scar revealed.

Norman Mailer writer's colony to launch in May in Provincetown: "Still in its planning stages, the center, to be funded entirely through private donations, is scheduled to host at least seven weeklong seminars next summer, as well as monthlong fellowships and other events. And that's just the first season, Schiller said. Colony organizers include an ad­visory board of noted authors, among them Günter Grass, Joan Didion and Doris Kearns Goodwin. They are still planning the curriculum for the fall and winter seasons...The summer seminars, which will begin in May and end in August, will range in theme from first-person journalism to documentary filmmaking."

Huffington Post raises $25 million in new capital from OAk Investment Partners.

Warrant out for Polish man suspected in homophobic UK attack.

Sphere: Related Content

Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran: Longing in Little Ashes

Twilight's Robert Pattinson makes quite an entrance in the follow-up to the vampire movie, as Salvador Dali in Little Ashes, which details the intimate relationship between Dali and poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

Two new clips have been released that contain plenty of longing gazes between the two men, along with this additional poster (below) for the film, which adopts a bit of Dali's surrealism.

In one of the clips, it looks as though Pattinson's ready to take neck-biting to the next level.

Watch them, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Gay Relationships and Fanging with Robert Pattinson [tr]

First Look: Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran in Little Ashes [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

L.A. Film Fest Director Raddon Resigns Over Prop 8 Donation

Los Angeles Film Festival director Richard Raddon, a "devout" Mormon, has resigned from his position following revelations that he donated $1,500 to the campaign to write discrimination into California's constitution, Variety reports:

"After bloggers published his name, culled from public records of donors, Raddon tendered his first resignation on Nov. 13 to Film Independent's board of directors. It was not accepted, and Film Independent released a statement saying, 'Our organization does not police the personal, religious or political choices of any employee, member or filmmaker.' Yet Internet message boards and other published reports kept the issue at the center of a growing protest movement that has targeted 'Yes on 8' donors including the Mormon Church and Cinemark Theaters, whose CEO was a contributor. On Monday, Raddon submitted a second resignation. Those close to the org described Monday's conference call with the board of directors as emotional. While Raddon's contribution had caused some internal angst, he was well liked within the org. On Tuesday, Film Independent issued a statement saying, 'With great reluctance, Film Independent has accepted Richard Raddon's resignation. Rich's service to the independent film community and to Film Independent has been nothing less than extraordinary. He has always shown complete commitment to our core principles of equality and diversity during his long tenure.'"

A replacement for this bigot has not been named.

Sphere: Related Content

Milk Inspires Roger Ebert to Come Out as Straight

Ebert, like nearly every other reviewer in the nation (I said nearly), is raving about Milk and Sean Penn's performance, noting Milk's 70's campaign to bring gays out of the closet. Ebert notes that Milk's campaign for sexual openness has had much success, and suggests in not such explicit terms that he's behind efforts to make the Mormon church (and others against equality) pay for its anti-gay initiatives:

"In 1977, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. Yes, but I have become so weary of the phrase 'openly gay.' I am openly heterosexual, but this is the first time I have ever said so. Why can't we all be what we prefer? Why can't gays simply be gays, and 'unopenly gays' be whatever they want to seem? In 1977, it was not so. Milk made a powerful appeal to closeted gays to come out to their families, friends and co-workers, so the straight world might stop demonizing an abstract idea. But so powerful was the movement he helped inspire that I believe his appeal has now pretty much been heeded, save in certain backward regions of the land that a wise gay or lesbian should soon deprive of their blessings."

I object to Ebert's use of "prefer" but his sentiment is in the right direction.

Penn said, in an interview late last week, "I think less people would have died of AIDS [if Harvey Milk had not been assassinated]. I think Ronald Reagan would have been forced to address it. [Milk] was a leader, and he happened to be focused on the gay movement. He would have advanced that argument a lot sooner. I think people are dead because he died too soon."

Penn also condemned Prop 8: "If we could have no excuse for being ignorant in human history, then the punishment for support of Proposition 8 would be minimally manslaughter. There will be teenage boys who will hang themselves [because of this]."

Earlier this month I saw Milk (which I should also disclose, and you may have noticed, advertises on this site). As I noted back then, it's a powerful, classy, elegant, film. If there's anything I would add to that review is that if you see the film (it opens today) this weekend (whether it's at a Cinemark theatre or not), you should take a straight friend, preferably one who's not fully convinced that gays deserve rights under our Constitution.

Because Penn's Harvey Milk will likely, to use the leader's phrase, recruit them.

Yesterday it was announced that Penn would be the one to present Gus van Sant with a special tribute award at the Gotham Awards at Cipriani in New York City.

A.O. Scott of the New York Times said in his review of Milk: "...[it's] the best live-action mainstream American movie that I have seen this year. This is not faint praise, by the way, even though 2008 has been a middling year for Hollywood. 'Milk' is accessible and instructive, an astute chronicle of big-city politics and the portrait of a warrior whose passion was equaled by his generosity and good humor. Mr. Penn, an actor of unmatched emotional intensity and physical discipline, outdoes himself here, playing a character different from any he has portrayed before."

Penn image from GQ's Men of the Year issue.

For all of our Harvey Milk coverage, CLICK HERE.

Sphere: Related Content

News: Ann Coulter, Indonesia, Piano, Marc Jacobs, Pat Buchanan

Piano found in perfect working condition deep in woods of Cape Cod: "The Baldwin piano, which had a matching bench, was set up as if someone was about to sit down and play, reported WCVB-TV in Boston. Despite efforts by police to locate its owner, or at least explain how it came to be in a conservation area, police Monday said no one has contacted them...The piano is so heavy that it took more than a half-dozen men to load it onto a truck."

Ann Coulter's mouth wired shut. Image from a conservative women fur calendar.

SICK: Indonesian province moves forward with microchip implant proposal for people with HIV/AIDS. "Since the plan was initially proposed, the government has narrowed its scope, saying the chips would only be implanted in those who are 'sexually aggressive,' but it has not said how it would determine who fits that group. It also was not clear how many people it might include."

Britney Spears rolls the Stone back.

Amy Winehouse back in the hospital.

Brazil's DOM magazine halting publication.

Westboro Baptist Church flee after being met by hundreds of student counter-protestors in Omaha: "Students threw hamburgers and bottles of lemonade and milk at several members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., students said after the protest. A video of the protest was” recorded by 16-year-old student Mason Hartwell that” showed one counterprotester on the ground, seated with his hands behind his back and flanked by two law enforcement officers."

For the Gaybies: Marc Jacobs-designed Bugaboo stroller. "What would you pay for this hot new limited edition stroller? What if we told you there are only 15 available? How about if you knew it was designed by Marc Jacobs? If $1500 was the number you came up with, you know your luxury sedans."

Hillsborough County, Florida swears in first openly gay commissioner: "Democrat Kevin Beckner took the oath of office before a standing-room-only crowd that spilled into the first floor at County Center. Like the two other commissioners sworn in, Beckner thanked his parents and supporters. He singled out a 96-year-old activist who collected 400 signatures to get his name on the ballot and another woman who campaigned for him while battling cancer. As he joined a commission that three years ago voted to ban gay pride displays on county property, he also recognized his partner of 10 years."

A-Rod to help stuff Madonna's turkey.

Some 16-year-olds have all the luck.

New iPhone app helps you calculate whether or not you might be in danger of getting a DUI or endangering someone should you get behind the wheel after a holiday party. If so, it will call a taxi for you. Of course if you're that gone, will you have the foresight to use it?

World's largest cruise ship hits the water.

New documentary explores gay rights: "The rebirth of the gay rights movement and the battle over legalizing same-sex marriage will be the focus of the new indie documentary 'A Non-Issue?' The doc will follow Dr. John Corvino, a philosopher, lecturer and author of 'The Gay Moralist,' as he crisscrosses the nation engaging and debating those most against gay marriage."

"Ex-gay" groups receiving government subsidies in The Netherlands.

A look back at Pat Buchanan in 1977.

SX interviews Matthew Mitcham: "In a world where everyone seems to be on the make, Matthew Mitcham is a refreshing change. Unlike some other athletes that come to mind, he’s not milking his Beijing experience like a frenzied bovine. He’s not selling his story to the highest bidder, for instance, but is instead speaking to the gay press, and a community that has strongly supported him. He’s not hitting the party circuit, but has slipped back comfortably into his training at the Sydney Aquatic Centre, practising the sport he loves, spending his spare time (what little there is) doing ordinary things like catching up with friends and family, and hanging out with his partner."

Sphere: Related Content

Tom Ford Finds Being a Film Director Comes with 'Extras'

Recently I posted that production was set to begin on designer Tom Ford's directing debut adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel A Single Man (with Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Matthew Goode). Some of the first on-set photos have surfaced and Ford appears to be getting on well with the cast, which happens to include a few scantily-clad lads in tennis togs. Ford-designed, no doubt.

One more shot, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via fashionologie)

Sphere: Related Content

James Franco Not Afraid to Play Gay Twice

And why should he be?

Although NYDN's Rush & Molloy seem to think there are some "wicked" rumors going around about James Franco on the web that should make him concerned about playing gay on film again, Franco will do it again anyway, they say:

"But at a time when Hollywood still seems to like its heroic gay characters played by straight men, Franco isn't bothered by perceptions. Back-to-back gay roles 'don't make any difference to me,' he told us at Monday's Cinema Society screening of 'Milk.' 'Ginsberg has been one of my heroes, and this movie' - about the 1957 obscenity trial over Ginsberg's most famous poem - 'is just so important.' Never mind that Franco doesn't look much like the tubby, balding, bearded Ginsberg of the hippie era. 'I'm playing him when he was in his late 20s, just after he went to Columbia,' said Franco, who happens to be a student at the same university. (The girls moon over him in Butler Library.) 'We work with the old pictures. He has hair, he doesn't have a beard and he's not huge.'"

(image from GQ's "Men of the Year" portfolio)

Sphere: Related Content

Gay Relationships and Fanging with Robert Pattinson

In an interview in which he mainly discusses the new vampire movie Twilight, Robert Pattinson dips into some discussion of the relationship between Salvador Dalí and Federico Garcia Lorca in the upcoming film Little Ashes (at about 8:40):

"I guess it's devastating. It's when two people essentially fall in love with each other arguably, but no one really knows what the extent of their actual relationship was. It ruins everything in both of their lives. Not so much in Lorca's but it really does destroy a lot of things in Dali. But mainly because he's such an intensely sensitive man. He had so many neuroses about everything. His sanitya and his senseibility was such a knife edge his whole life. In Twilight it's kind of the same thing, but they kind of figure it out whereas In Little Ashes they can't figure it out."

Pattinson plays Dalí. In late October I posted a few images from the film and last week the one-sheet.

Incidentally, actor Peter Facinelli, who fangs Pattinson in Twilight, bragged about it to E!: "It was great. I can actually say I'm one of the few guys who have necked with Rob Pattinson. A lot of people are envious of me."

Watch the clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via afterelton)

Sphere: Related Content

Van Sant: Milk Camera Shop Visited by Harvey's Ghost

I'm not sure from what interview this story originated, but it's an interesting companion to this short film by Jenni Olson, shot at 575 Castro, where Harvey Milk's camera shop and campaign headquarters was recreated for Milk in the same space where it existed 30 years ago.

***
"Director Gus Van Sant claimed that Milk's spirit turned up at the set recreation of his Castro Camera Shop, where a gift store now stands.

'The gift store owners were very into the legacy of the store and willing to let us close their shop down and move our set in. They had a mural of Harvey Milk,' Van Sant said. 'During a shot at night there was a take where we were using most of the room and there were three or four actors in the scene. Some people were sitting on the sofa which was outside of the shot and during one of the takes somebody walked in from outside and sat down on the sofa during the shot.'

'After the shot was over, he apparently got up and walked out. The actors were like, 'Did you see that guy?' I didn't see anybody, but they kept describing Harvey, so I figure it was the ghost of Harvey walking into the store for a brief second," he added.
***

Olson shot the following film on the set, and added the famous Harvey Milk recording that was to be played in the event of his death by assassination.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Ghost or not, Milk's words have a power that will linger well into the future.

UPDATE: I met Gus at a party tonight (11.19.08) and asked him about the ghost story. He repeated it exactly as above, but it's just kind of a casual story. Take it for what it is. Everyone has their own mythologies and you're free to think what you think. It has nothing to do with marketing. I respect the memory of Harvey Milk wholeheartedly. I'm sure Van Sant does too. Milk's words are beautiful to listen to and should inspire anyone who listens to them. The short film about the camera is beautiful Jenni, and no doubt, though it's a set, you've captured it authentically. Nice work.

Sphere: Related Content

News: Malcolm Smith, Star Trek, Lieberman, Asbury Park, Beatles

Stop a marriage referendum in New York: "On November 4th, New Yorkers gave the Democrats a two-seat majority in the New York State Senate. Finally, it seemed, Democrats would be able to put marriage equality to a vote and Governor Paterson would be able to sign it into law. However, three Democrats refuse to endorse Malcolm Smith as the new Majority Leader because Malcolm Smith has promised to pass marriage equality in New York. Senator Rubén Díaz, Sr. and Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., both from the Bronx, and Senators Carl Kruger of Brooklyn, are all threatening to caucus with the Republicans to stop gay marriage in New York."

Hugh Jackman busts a few faces, but thankfully no one's looking there.

Trailer for new Star Trek film beams in.

A secret ballot vote by Democrats on Tuesday will determine Joe Lieberman's fate in the Senate: "Senate Democrats will decide by secret ballot Tuesday whether to take away Sen. Joe Lieberman's chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — a post from which he oversees U.S. security issues, as well as the operations of a wide segment of the federal government. The anger over Lieberman's campaigning for the Republican presidential candidate is still boiling — fueled by memories of his undercutting Barack Obama, including in a nationally televised speech at the Republican National Convention."

More on Rosie O'Donnell's upcoming variety show.

Gregory Craig to be White House counsel: "Craig is intimately familiar with the president-elect’s record because he played the role of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in debate preparations. The officials said Obama has settled on Craig but were not sure when the appointment would be announced. The choice gives the president-elect both experience and loyalty. During the primaries, Craig was an early Clinton alumni defector to Obama."

It's the Mad Hatter!

Bill Ayers talks back.

It's not easy for gay youth in rural British Columbia: "Gay or bisexual teenage boys living in rural B.C. are nearly twice as likely to have attempted suicide and been physically sexually harassed in the past year than their peers in urban centres."

Paul McCartney talks of 14-minute unreleased 1967 Beatle epic "Carnival of Light".

South Korea reviewing ban on gays in the military: "The ban has been under review since a local military court asked the upper tribunal in August to determine whether the existing military criminal code banning homosexuality among soldiers is constitutional. The code stipulates that soldiers be jailed for up to one year for engaging in homosexual acts or sexual harassment while in service."

PETA protestor targets Lindsay Lohan with flour bomb outside Paris hotel.

Queens couple first gays to wed in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Researchers identify possible fossilized velociraptor egg nest.

Recession stops neo-gay enclave of Asbury Park, New Jersey in its tracks: "Various big residential plans came and went, but, partly because of an influx of gay men and lesbians looking for cheaper alternatives to places like Fire Island, it began coming back around 2000. The residential revival helped bring back downtown, now quite alive with shops and restaurants. Then came the beachfront development, beginning around 2005. From 2007 to 2008, the number of daily beach-access badges sold during the summer increased to 52,000 from 38,000. Live Nation, the concert promoter, signed an agreement to promote music at various locations. After all those years of going nowhere, Asbury Park was clearly going somewhere. And then, boom — the bottom fell out of the economy."

Karl Rove will never repudiate George W. Bush.

Sphere: Related Content

Vigil Held Outside L.A. Milk Premiere

Demonstrators held a vigil across the street from last night's L.A. premiere of Milk. Activist Cleve Jones, who's portrayed by Emile Hirsch in the film, and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black earlier today announced Seven Weeks to Equality, a sustained seven week campaign to secure equal rights for LGBT Americans.

Watch a clip of Black and some other Milk personalities on the L.A. red carpet, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sphere: Related Content

Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran on Little Ashes One-Sheet

Here's the official one-sheet for Little Ashes starring Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran, which details the intimate relationship between Spanish artist Salvador Dalí and poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

Last November, the Guardian wrote: "Described by its producers as 'racy' and 'sexy', the film will show Dalí and Lorca's feelings deepen into a love affair which the sexually repressed artist tries and fails to consummate. As a substitute, Lorca sleeps with a female friend, with Dalí present as a voyeur. The interpretation, by British screenwriter Philippa Goslett, is likely to cause controversy among biographers and historians. Although a physically intimate relationship between the men has long been rumoured, Dali told interviewers more than once that he rejected the homosexual Lorca's attempts to seduce him."

Here are some of the first shots from the film.

Sphere: Related Content

Jake Gyllenhaal's Massive Fantasy

ET visits Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of his Prince of Persia movie. He takes a few moments to talk about the film, but more importantly, his physique.

"For all of the people who are massively interested out there, I've probably put on five pounds of muscle. [After the movie] I'm gonna get fat and I'm gonna be happy."

And for those of you who don't recall what those five pounds look like, here's a refresher.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sphere: Related Content

Sacha Baron-Cohen's 'Bruno' Plays Voyeur at a Gay Orgy

NYDN's Rush & Molloy report that Sacha Baron-Cohen's 'Bruno' film has turned to the gay adult film biz for one of its scenes:

"Cohen turned to a couple of pros for a sex scene in his forthcoming 'Bruno' in which he plays a flamboyant Austrian fashion journalist.Looking for actors who were willing to do full-frontal nudity, Cohen and director Dan Mazer called on David Forest, the go-to guy for gay adult stars. 'We auditioned about 10 actors,' says Forest. They finally settled on triple-X stars Paul Barba (usually billed as 'Tony Capucci') and John Martel (known to fans as 'Tyler Saint'). Cohen summoned Barba and Martel to the Aramano Hotel in Burbank. 'There's a scene where Bruno comes to the hotel with some guys,' Forest tells us. 'They're all trying to get Bruno to come upstairs for an orgy. Five guys are there. Two of them are my guys. Bruno apparently doesn't want to join the party, but he watches through the window. I'm told it's hilarious.' This isn't the first time Cohen has turned to Forest, who provided Borat with his "son" - a porn star known as Stonie, who's seen naked in photos with his 'dad.' Forest, who used to run one of the top Hollywood escort services, now gets so many calls from mainstream movie productions that his new agency, ForestCasting, is focusing on providing talent for scenes that less liberated actors won't do."

Sacha Baron Cohen, masquerading as Bruno, crashed fashion shows earlier this year in Paris and Milan, caused havoc at a cage fighting event in Arkansas, go-go danced in the middle of a Wichita airport terminal, and duped Ben Affleck as well as a former Israeli spy into doing serious interviews with him, and crashed a "Proposition 8" rally two days before the election where he was photographed and caught on film by another media outlet.

Sphere: Related Content

News: Mars, Brokeback Opera, Arson, Louis Vuitton, Mormons

Michelangelo Signorile talks to a Mormon from Texas who donated to 'Yes on 8'. This is what we're up against.

Brokeback Mountain opera shelved.

Now we know who can play 'Joe the Plumber' in the McCain biopic.

Australian LGBT youth suicides at disturbingly high levels: "Open Doors surveyed 164 LGB students across the state, and 37 per cent of respondents said they had attempted suicide in the last 12 months, with 82 per cent considering taking their own life. The report also revealed a general attitude of fear among LGB students, with 81 per cent saying they had experienced bullying based on their sexuality."

Anti-gay graffiti discovered at torched home near Charlotte, North Carolina: "Fire investigators declared the home a total loss and sent samples from a bedroom to an SBI lab for testing. Meanwhile, sheriff's Maj. Coy Reid said detectives have one suspect in the case after conducting interviews. Found on a back wall of the house were graffiti of slang words referring to homosexuality. 'We're trying to figure out where that came from and if that is tied in with the fire,' Bump said."

Mayer in training.

Madonna to be the next face of Louis Vuitton? "According to tipsters, the Material Divorcée will be the face of Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2009 campaign and has already been shot by photo wonder duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott."

Holocaust survivors to Mormons: stop Baptisms of dead Jews.

Fear in Florida that the state could become home to immigrant population of five-inch Madagascar hissing cockroaches. In related news, Kentucky man moving to Florida.

Stevens vs. Begich: 90,000 more votes to be counted tomorrow in Alaska Senate race.

Mission over for Mars Lander: "Engineers have not heard from the craft since Sunday 2 November when it made a brief communication with Earth. Phoenix, which landed on the planet's northern plains in May, had been struggling in the increasing cold and dark of an advancing winter. The US space agency says it will continue to try to contact the craft but does not expect to hear from it."

McCaskill being discussed as DNC Chair Howard Dean's replacement when he steps down in January: "In sheer political terms, the choice really wasn’t Dean’s to make. Indeed, any decision on who will serve as the next DNC chair will come with directives from Obama and his aides. And a name being floated around as a possible Dean replacement is one of the president-elect’s closest allies: Claire McCaskill, the junior Senator from Missouri and a national co-chair of the Obama campaign."

CG Animated Wizard of Oz in the works: "The English-language adaptation maintains the tale's main characters and settings. Unlike the MGM classic, however, it's not a musical."

Levi's presents the "People's Premiere" of Milk. Blogger Joe.My.God attended it and has photos.

Naked Boys Singing and ACLU sues the city of Milwaukee for shutting down their show three years ago: "The city temporarily shut down performances of 'Naked Boys Singing!' in August 2005 while it considered the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center's application for a theater permit. The group later received a permit and reopened the show. Larry Dupuis, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, which is handling the case, said the city's enforcement seemed unusually zealous, even given the musical's content."

Brad Pitt roughed up by his own security detail?

Study on the failure rates of mobile phones.

Georgia GOP congressman calls Obama Marxist, warns of dictatorship.

Vancouver to rally against Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, which continues its crusade against The Laramie Project.

Regular: Palin to have rummage sale?

Sphere: Related Content

Robert Pattinson Doesn't Bite

The bloodsucking boy with the curious (and filthy) hair does one of three Entertainment Weekly covers this week.

Previously
How Robert Pattinson Nurtures That Incredible Hair [tr]
First Look: Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran in Little Ashes [tr]
Twilight Men Bare Their Fangs for VMan [tr]

Sphere: Related Content

I Saw Gus van Sant's Milk Last Night

I had the chance to see Milk last night. I'm not going to review it, but here are a few thoughts. I didn't think anything could live up to the 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk but this does. It's a powerful, classy, elegant film.

James Franco and Diego Luna, who both act as romantic foils to Penn's Milk, are funny, authentic, and completely believable. Many deliver what I'd consider Oscar-worthy acting nods. Sean Penn will get a Best Actor nomination. Emile Hirsch lingers with me in his role as activist Cleve Jones.

Gus van Sant has done Harvey Milk's story justice, and then some. His mixture of real vintage footage and fictional footage is seamless and brilliant.

The timing of this movie with what's happening right now in California is amazing, the parallels uncanny. Thirty years later we are still facing much of the same discrimination that Milk fought against. Many people ask, could the release of this movie have had an effect on the passage of Proposition 8? I don't believe it would have, simply because we live in a reactionary society.

People are more likely to take action as a result of something happening (such as Prop 8 passing) rather than as a strategy to plan against it. That is why we see what is happening now all around California. I do believe that what is going on right now will give the movie a much more powerful resonance to those who go see it and also increase its chances for success come awards season.

Here's a new short clip from the film that was just released, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sphere: Related Content

Cam Gigandet Gives Good Sweater

Cam Gigandet, who's part of the Vampire brat pack in the upcoming Twilight film, attempts to look as cute (and as much like David Beckham) as possible in this new Gap ad. Of course, to some of you, it may be a lot cuter if you remember what's underneath that Argyle.
AFTER THE JUMP...

More where that came from HERE...

Sphere: Related Content

Jude Law Handles Case of Robert Downey Jr.'s Firecrotch

News of an incendiary incident on the set of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. Some ash that fell from Downey's pipe apparently ignited his trousers:

A source said: "Robert leaped from his armchair and jumped up and down, slapping his crotch and howling, 'Oh God, I'm on fire!' Robert had placed the pipe on a plate on the arm of the chair, but it overbalanced and plopped into his lap, scattering lit tobacco all over his pants.' Luckily, Robert's co-star Jude Law - who plays Holmes' sidekick Dr. Watson in the movie - was on hand to extinguish the flames and save the star from singeing his privates. The source added: 'While Robert was screaming and swatting his pants, quick-thinking Jude saved the day by flinging water from a flower vase at Robert's naughty area.' Robert emerged unscathed from the incident, but production was halted while the wardrobe department found him a new pair of trousers to wear."

Law's looking quite good as Watson, don't you think?

Sphere: Related Content

How Brandon Routh Decided to Go Gay

Director Kevin Smith talks to the L.A. Times about how it came about that the actor who played Superman agreed to play the "hen-pecked" lover to Justin Long's flamboyant gay porn star in Smith's new film Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Says Smith: "On paper, it’s a thankless role. He’s the straight man, the set-up guy...He’s a straight man playing a gay guy who’s pretending to be a straight guy in that weird ‘Victor Victoria’ way. But Brandon found a way to play him like a hen-pecked husband in a gay marriage who’s still not quite living out loud. He’s so funny. He found a way to make it more comedic than it was on the page without changing a word.”

According to the L.A. Times, Smith surmised that Routh used the role to upend his public persona –- and also take a poke at all those rumors about his sexual orientation that apparently came from having worked with Singer, who is openly gay."

Adds Smith: "I think he saw this as the chance to make fun of the fact that people assume he must be gay because he worked with Bryan Singer or something like that. He embraced it. He ran with it."

Smith recently told Newsweek about Routh's reaction to the request: "I asked him, 'Do you have some sort of morals clause in your contract, being that you play Superman?' And he said, 'What is this, 1940?'"

You may have missed...
Brandon Routh: Gay Relationships Just as Bitchy as Straight Ones [tr]<

Sphere: Related Content

The Lost High School Musical 3 Zac Efron Shower Scene

The all-important Zac Efron shower scene was somehow cut from High School Musical 3. It is Disney, after all. But some snaps of it have popped up on eBay.

It's either that or a commercial for a new AXE 'twink' shampoo.

Two more shots AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Zac Efron Attacked By Older Man; Hideous Wax Twin Left Alone [tr]
High School Metrosexual [tr]
Zac Efron Wanted for Gay Warhol Twins Movie [tr]
'Bulletproof' Zac Efron Can Handle Suggestions He's Gay [tr]

(source)

Sphere: Related Content

First Look: Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran in Little Ashes

Back in November 2007, I posted about a new film called Little Ashes that would detail the intimate relationship between Spanish artist Salvador Dalí and poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Harry Potter and soon-to-be-released Twilight actor Robert Pattinson had been signed up to play Dalí.

Javier Beltran was later signed up to play Lorca, and these are some of the first shots.

Last November, the Guardian wrote: "Described by its producers as 'racy' and 'sexy', the film will show Dalí and Lorca's feelings deepen into a love affair which the sexually repressed artist tries and fails to consummate. As a substitute, Lorca sleeps with a female friend, with Dalí present as a voyeur. The interpretation, by British screenwriter Philippa Goslett, is likely to cause controversy among biographers and historians. Although a physically intimate relationship between the men has long been rumoured, Dali told interviewers more than once that he rejected the homosexual Lorca's attempts to seduce him."

AFTER THE JUMP, one more shot of Matthew McNulty as filmmaker Luis Buñuel, and Beltran as Lorca.

(image source)

Sphere: Related Content

Gus van Sant's Milk Premieres in San Francisco

Sean Penn arrives to the Milk premiere at the Castro Theatre before a backdrop of "No on Prop 8" protestors. While Harvey Milk's story is political to its core, the film (trailer) could not have arrived at a more politically-charged moment in California's gay history, with marriage rights that have national implications hanging in the balance.

If anyone was there, feel free to give us a report in the comments section.

The SF Chronicle reports: "State Assemblyman Mark Leno, sporting a 'Harvey Milk for Assembly' button on his lapel, connected 'the exciting and tumultuous time' of Milk's gay rights activism to the 'ill-conceived measure facing voters on the ballot next week.' Mayor Gavin Newsom said he felt 'a tremendous amount of pride' to be attending the movie's premiere in San Francisco. Citing the changes seen from the 'anti-sodomy laws that were still on the books' in the 1970s to San Francisco today, he said, 'This story couldn't have happened anywhere else.' Supervisor Tom Ammiano (pictured/Brant Ward-SF Chronicle) was a friend of Milk's. 'This is about getting in touch with the grief process,' he said, then flashed an affectionately wistful smile. 'Harvey was a mensch. He could also be a diva. He would have loved knowing that Sean Penn would be playing him.'"

Donate to the "No on Prop 8" campaign HERE.

A larger selection of Milk premiere pics featuring Josh Brolin, James Franco, Diego Luna, Emile Hirsch, Dustin Lance Black, the producers, SF Mayor Gavin Newsom, and others,
AFTER THE JUMP...

James Franco who plays Milk's lover Scott Smith.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Gavin Newsom, and Focus Features CEO James Schamus, whose letter to the Hollywood Reporter I posted last night.

Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black

Actors Diego Luna and Emile Hirsch, who play Jack Lira and Cleve Jones, respectively.

Executive producer Michael London with producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen.

Josh Brolin and Diane Lane. A Sister of Perpetual Indulgence.

Robin Wright Penn and Sean Penn.