News: Myanmar, Eddie Cibrian, Coldplay, Hung, Shia LaBeouf

Dutch gay couple have been foster parents to over 100 children.

Even though the death toll could exceed that of the southeast Asian tsunami, the Myanmar government has refused U.S. aid: "The junta not only wouldn't allow U.S. aid planes to fly in badly needed supplies, they also continued to refuse visas to United Nations relief teams trying to get in to make sure the aid gets to the victims. Despite the military clampdown, reports of the horrendous toll the storm was taking on Myanmar's people began trickling out."

Sick: Kardashian sisters make a joke out of Myanmar/Burma situation, record PSA while trying on closet of dresses.

Is Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" single stolen from French pop starlet Alizée? Listen and you be the judge.

Alexander Payne signs on to direct HBO dark comedy Hung, about a man with a huge endowment: "'Hung' revolves around a well-endowed man who is plodding along in middle age as a struggling father and high school coach. The character was once a high school sports legend, and his luck returns when he figures out a way to use his best asset. 'Think of him like Spider-Man,' Burson told Daily Variety last month. 'He's an average guy who gets in touch with his innate superpowers.'"

Turkey's gay magazine Kaos GL just published its 100th edition.

Washington University students, PFLAG in uproar over school's decision to award anti-gay, anti-feminist crusader Phyllis Schlafly an honorary doctorate at May 16 commencement.

Queercents has 10 money questions for DNC Treasurer Andrew Tobias. On political contributions: "Politics is tacky and all the awful things it is — but you can’t have democracy without politics, and politics requires money. That said, it’s wonderful how the balance of power is shifting away from the $500,000 and $5 million contributions (now illegal) — and even the $28,500 contributions (the current annual max to a federal political party like the DNC) — to the potential for millions of $10 and 25 and $100 and $250 contributions over the Internet."

Porn police pair on patrol at Seattle gay bars: "'We have judges, attorneys, police officers, who all come in here because it's a safe place for them,' said [Seattle Eagle manager Keith] Christiansen. 'This kind of attention [from the police] has cut my business in half.' Back in 1998, Christiansen says he went before the liquor board and asked for permission to display his posters. In spite of the law, he says, they let him do it. But because of an increase in enforcement in the area and, Christiansen says, the fact that O'Neill and Gallagher are new to the neighborhood, that era of tacit acceptance has ended. 'This is a whole new breed of people,' he said. 'They don't understand what the Hill is about.'"

Eddie Cibrian on Ugly Betty: hey, coach.

Four openly gay candidates seek seats in Georgia General Assembly.

Isaiah Washington pissed that ABC is using his photo in Grey's Anatomy promotion. Rep: "Isaiah has no plans to go back to Grey's Anatomy ... That being said, we were more than a little surprised that ABC used his likeness in a promo for the show, and indeed advanced his character's storyline. Mr. Washington's attorney has contacted the Screen Actors Guild and ABC as to the appropriateness of that action."

Shia LaBeouf and Andy Samberg play in the bushes.

Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute announces massive grant to fund gay leaders: "The David Bohnett Foundation has teamed with the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute (GLLI) to help the organization sponsor lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender public officials in attending one of the nation’s most prestigious mid-career executive development programs — the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The program, to be named the David Bohnett Gay & Lesbian Leadership Fellows, is being funded by a $500,000 grant to GLLI."

Time's 100 most influential honored.

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Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey to Eat John Waters' Fruitcake

Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey have signed on for John Waters' Christmas movie Fruitcake, says The Hollywood Reporter:

"The plot is officially under wraps but is said to center on the title character, a boy named after his favorite dessert. He runs away from home during the holidays after he and his parents are caught shoplifting meat, then meets up with a runaway girl raised by two gay men and searching for her birth mother. This Is That Prods. and Killer Films are producing "Fruitcake," which once was set up at New Line. ThinkFilm is said to be in talks to come aboard."

Of course, it'll be hard to top the best John Waters Christmas clip ever.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

That's Divine, of course, in Female Trouble...

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First Look: Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as The First Couple

Here is the first shot of Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks as George and Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's upcoming film W.

It's ok. The arrogant smirk's not bad.

If you remember, I posted the first pages of the script back in April which feature the members of Bush's team trying to come up with the name "Axis of Evil" and a flashback to a drunken frat party at Yale.

Previously

Oliver Stone's Bush Flick: Fade in on Turdblossom, Frat Hazing [tr]

(image via justjared)

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First Look: Sean Penn in Gus van Sant's Milk

The first official production photo for Gus van Sant's Milk has been released and shows Sean Penn as Harvey Milk celebrating his 1977 election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which made him the first openly gay man to be elected to office in a major U.S. city.

Producer Dan Jinks told EW: "[Sean] is playing a guy who's not at all like him, way beyond the sexuality of the character. Harvey was this guy who wants everybody to love him, and he loves everybody else. Sean just completely became that guy. It's a real transformation.''

You may have missed...
James Franco Rates Sean Penn His 'Top' Onscreen Love Interest [tr]
Harvey Milk Bust to Sit Atop Staircase in SF City Hall Rotunda [tr]
The SF Chronicle: Recreating History with Milk [tr]
Sean Penn Directed His Own 'Mighty Real' Man-on-Man Kiss [tr]
Gus van Sant's Milk Finishes up in San Francisco [tr]

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News: Polaroid, McGreevey Trial, Banksy, Van Hansis

Anti-gay evangelical preacher stabbed to death in Perth, Australia.

Photographers, artists bitter over Polaroid's demise: "'Now what the hell am I supposed to do?' asks John Waters, who’s shot a Polaroid of each person who’s come into his apartment since 1992—friends, interviewers, deliverymen, everyone. 'Digital isn’t instant gratification, and those cameras don’t make that sexy sound.'"

Self-described 'YouTube Superstar' Tricia Walsh-Smith may join The Real Housewives of New York City.

Is Jake Gyllenhaal getting Nailed?

Till death: McGreevey divorce trial begins Tuesday. "Legal analysts expect New Jersey's former first couple will approach new lows, even for divorce court. 'I'm not going to tell you this is going to be the worst case ever in the history of New Jersey divorces,' said Charles Abut, a matrimonial lawyer who operates the New Jersey Family Law blog. 'But I think if you asked longtime matrimonial lawyers, 'Give me the your top 10 worst,' this one is going to appear on everyone's list.' The proceedings, which are expected to last up to six weeks in Elizabeth's Union County Courthouse, have been divided into three sections. Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy has said she will rule separately on each part: Custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Jacqueline; the amount of child support and alimony McGreevey must pay Matos McGreevey; and, finally, Matos McGreevey's claim McGreevey defrauded her, tricking her into a marriage of political convenience even though he knew he was gay."

In March I posted about the appointment of Yale music professor and singer Richard Lalli to Yale residential college master, one of the school's highest recognitions. Now the Hartford Courant has profiled Lalli.

Frank Rich wonders why the media is ignoring John Hagee...

Indiewire talks to gay filmmaker Arthur Dong: "As a gay Asian American filmmaker I'd be naive to think that anti-gay bigotry and racism has not affected the opportunities or lack thereof in terms of my work. But the way I confront it is to first acknowledge whatever factors I think might be there, and then forge ahead anyway with that knowledge. We all have thrust upon us unwanted external forces that we have no control over, whoever we are, and if we allow them to be barriers (excuses?) to our goals, then we may as well give it up because perseverance, passion, and stamina is a must for independent filmmakers."

Inside Banksy's CANS Exhibit.

John Mayer asks for hair Haikus.

T.R. Knight and Mark Cornelsen already planning for children. Knight: “I wouldn’t rule [adoption] out at all. I think it would be adopting versus any other route. But yeah. I mean, there are a lot of kids who need homes.”

FOX News radio host John Gibson mocks MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, lesbians.

As the World Turns' Van Hansis reportedly dating fellow actor Tyler Hanes.

Australian Capitol Territory forced to back down on civil partnerships: "The ACT decision comes as the deeply religious Mr Rudd faces growing attack from Christian groups over his Government's decision to remove discrimination against gays from all other federal laws. Mr Corbell yesterday accused the Rudd Government of breaking a commitment to the states and territories to allow them to legislate as they saw fit. The legislation, which was quashed by the Howard government in 2006, would have allowed gay couples to have their relationships recognised in a legally binding ceremony."

Gay powerlifter Chris Morgan reaches World Championships.

Israeli court denies restraining order against gay man's former partner because nation's family and domestic violence laws do not apply to gay partnerships: "The complainant told the court that the former lover, a younger man who had lived in his Ramat Gan home with him for two years, was abusing him psychologically. He argued that as common-law partner he was entitled to the protection of the family court."

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Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor Have Windblown, Key West Romance

Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor (who's now a strawberry-blonde) were spotted have a windblown moment off the Florida Keys while shooting their film, I Love you Phillip Morris. In the film, Carrey stars as Steven Russell, a married father/conman who finds himself in the Texas prison system where he falls in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris, played by McGregor. The romance prompted four escape attempts and a lifetime jail sentence for Russell.

According to Metro UK, "In this scene, the two stars are filmed during a fumbling man on man moment aboard their dinghy, bobbing off Florida Keys. Carrey was left with his legs sprawled in the air and his pants around his ankles, as McGregor looks on suspiciously."

Earlier this week, Carrey and Rodrigo Santoro were spotted shooting a scene in Miami Beach. The three actors were seen the week before at a popular gay 'martini' night at Halo Lounge in South Beach doing research.

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Demetri Martin to Star in Ang Lee Film About Gay Woodstock Figure

Last week I posted about Ang Lee's next project, Taking Woodstock, about gay interior decorator, hotel manager, and Bethel, NY Chamber of Commerce head Elliot Tiber and his role in facilitating the legendary rock festival in upstate New York.

Today, Variety reports that comedian Demetri Martin is in negotiations to star in the feature:

"Martin is best known for his "Trendspotting" segment on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Film is based on Elliot Tiber's memoir, which is being adapted by Focus topper James Schamus. Tiber wrote the book -- which was published last year -- with Tom Monte. Martin will star as Tiber, an in-the-closet gay man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills, who inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969. Focus is eyeing a late August start date. Martin's upcoming films include Fox Atomic's The Rocker and Universal's Kids in America. He also wrote and is attached to star in DreamWorks' Will, which Jon Stewart is exec producing."

AFTER THE JUMP, Martin in one of his stand-up routines. More on the Woodstock film here.

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News: Ling Ling, Jake Gyllenhaal, MIT, Reichen, Kathy Griffin

Smith College students protest, defeat Ryan Sorba, author of The Born Gay Hoax.

One of Tokyo's most famous is dead at 22 (that's 70 in human years).

MIT takes no action against student who threatened LGBT group after receiving an email about the group's end-of-semester celebration. Said the student's email: "If you fucking fags send me something like that once again or contact me in any other way, I swear you won’t be able to study at Sloan for some time because you will spend it at resuscitation department. If this is what you want, go ahead." (email and response)

A new Nike ad directed by Guy Ritchie.

Anglican school council in Australia formally endorses ban on bringing same-sex partners to the school formal: "Up to eight students had wanted to take boyfriends and raised the issue with a senior staff member, who passed the request to Churchie headmaster Jonathan Hensman. At the time Mr Hensman said it was not appropriate for students to take a same-sex partner because escorting a young woman to a formal was part of the boys' education. But after reports in The Courier-Mail Mr Hensman referred the matter to the school council. A brief statement posted on the Churchie website yesterday said the council 'strongly supported the headmaster's position on the school's education programs in social settings'."

Reichen Lehmkuhl splits with model boyfriend Ryan Barry, writes up list of Hollywood dating tips.

Viral campaign for The Dark Knight issues 35 mm film trailers to 12 winners of its contest, each one individually defaced by The Joker.

Presbyterian church court issues conflicted ruling in same-sex union case: "A San Rafael minister who presided over several same-sex ceremonies didn't violate Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) rules, because same-sex marriages don't exist in the church, a church court ruled Tuesday. At the same time, the Permanent Judicial Council's ruling affirmed the right of same-sex couples to have unions, a ceremony that would theoretically have a distinct liturgy. The ambivalent ruling - affirming the rights of gays and lesbians to have their relationships sanctioned by the church but not considering them equal to those of heterosexual couples - is likely to disappoint both sides in the debate."

Tenant who lived in Austrian incest house heard knocking from the basement for 12 years but did nothing: "I wish to God that I could turn back the clock. The signs were all there but it was impossible for me to recognise them. Who would ever believe something so terrible was going on right under my feet? It is a regret I will have to live with for the rest of my life."

Street artist targeting NYC subway ads.

Kathy Griffin was fired from Hannah Montana because she told Jesus to suck it.

Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick is somewhere under the rainbow.

Gay books: Publishing Triangle awards handed out.

Hometown boy makes good: Portland paper profiles Chad White.

Jake Gyllenhaal is opening a restaurant: "The so-called ‘closet chef’ is said to be in the development stages of an organic restaurant project, for which he plans to travel throughout Italy collecting ideas...The actor has always said he planned to open a high-end dining venue by the time he was thirty (he has three years left), as long as his acting career had put him in a position that would make that possible."

Dusty Springfield to be played by...Nicole Kidman?

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Land of the Lost: Return of the Sleestaks

I was a total sucker for Land of the Lost and its really bad effects when I was a kid (although at the time I thought they were totally amazing), so I'm interested to see what they'll do with the remake. Universal has just released the first image of the Sleestaks from the upcoming film (above).

USA Today writes: "Director Brad Silberling (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) says he fought to keep the human shape of the Sleestak from Sid & Marty Krofft's original production (right), and not give into the urge to render them as spindly computerized beings. In the '70s TV show, they were guys in lime-green pajamas — and looked it. The Sleestak are much sleeker now, but the film is largely a comedy, so the guy-in-a-suit look has its charms, Silberling says. 'There is a sense of humor that I loved from the original show that can only come from an actor trying to negotiate the suit. If it became CG, they'd be too perfect. For the Sleestak to remain in people's memories, it tells you that it was about who was in the suit.' One difference: Instead of toting crossbows, the Sleestak draw quills from their spines and fire them like arrows. Marty Krofft says nostalgia is a major part of the movie's appeal: 'I think they'll cheer when they see the Sleestaks.'

AFTER THE JUMP, the TV show's opening credits...

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Jim Carrey and Rodrigo Santoro Play Gay in I Love You Phillip Morris

Last week I reported that Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, and Rodrigo Santoro had been spotted doing some "research" at Edison Farrow's popular gay Martini Tuesdays at Halo Lounge in Miami Beach.

Here's your first look at Carrey and Santoro flaunting their Versace in the film I Love You Phillip Morris, which just began shooting in Miami.

In the film, an adaptation of the Steve McVicker novel I Love You Philip Morris, Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell, a married father/conman who finds himself in the Texas prison system where he falls in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris. The romance prompted four escape attempts and a lifetime jail sentence for Russell. McGregor plays Morris, and I don't have the details on Santoro's role.

Those Versace fashions really up the cheese factor. Let's hope they don't Chuck & Larry it.

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News: Heath Ledger, North Carolina, Op, Michael Cunningham

Michelle Williams says she's been visited by the ghost of Heath Ledger: "The first time, she was woken at night after hearing furniture move. In another 'visitation', she said he apologised to her for not being there to help raise their two-year-old daughter, Matilda. Williams claimed the hauntings helped her grieve."

Remember 'Op' surfwear? It's making a comeback.

Who is Gossip Girl's gay character going to get caught making out with? (SPOILER WARNING)

Pinkberry comes clean on ingredients.

Paper: Mood of 'deep pessimism' pervades AIDS vaccine scientists.

North Carolina adds new rule to Patents' bill of rights ensuring that same-sex partners will get visitation rights: "The rule adds a provision to the Patients’ Bill of Rights, stating: “A patient has the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient’s immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient.” The right applies to hospitals statewide. 'We know how important it is that patients have their loved ones by their sides, but all too often same-sex partners have been turned away when their partner is hospitalized.' said Ian Palmquist, Executive Director of Equality NC Foundation. 'The new policy will ensure that the patient’s wishes are respected. This is a victory not just for same-sex couples, but for unmarried opposite-sex couples, caregivers, and other loved ones whom the state does not legally recognize.'" Medical decisions are not covered under the new rule.

HUNG: HBO developing series about a guy with a big dick?

Town administrator of Easton, Massachusetts, outside Boston, to marry: "Tomorrow, Easton Town Administrator David Colton will marry his longtime partner, Brian Khoo, an interior designer from Malaysia. It will be a black-tie event. The five Easton selectmen will attend. So will state Senator Brian A. Joyce, a legislative supporter of gay marriage who will deliver a speech on the subject. In a perfect world, Colton said, there would be no need for such a speech at his wedding. And becoming the first gay town administrator in the state to get married would not deserve particular note. But, for now, Colton said, he sees his marriage as a validation of a fight for equality - of his work to become a successful town administrator, regardless of his sexual orientation."

Cristian de la Fuente: stogie daddy.

Check out the trailer for Will Smith's summer superhero movie Hancock.

Game show looking for real-life Will & Grace.

New York theater figure Joe Cino honored with plaque to be mounted on site of historic cafe: "Fifty years ago Joe Cino rented a storefront in New York City’s Greenwich Village in order to open a coffee house, which eventually morphed into what is now regarded as the birthplace of the Off Off Broadway movement and the American Gay Theatre Movement."

Michael Cunningham's The Hours to become an opera?

Variety previews the GLAAD media awards in L.A.: "On occasion, the specifics resonate far beyond the same-sex world and into the mainstream, as when Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' dominated conversations two years ago or Ellen DeGeneres came out on her eponymous TV show a decade earlier. But not every year can be a banner one, and the work of 2007 being celebrated at this year's ceremonies seems to honor steady progress more than milestone moments."

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Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey Gay it Up at South Beach Lounge

Ewan McGregor, Jim Carrey, and Rodrigo Santoro reportedly caused a stir when they popped in to South Beach's Halo Lounge off Lincoln Road for Edison Farrow's Martini Tuesdays this week.

While none of them drank martinis, (McGregor drank Champagne, Carrey drank water, according to the Miami Herald), they apparently used the visit to do research for their upcoming film I Love You Phillip Morris, a true story about a married father/conman who finds himself in the Texas prison system where he falls in love with his cellmate.

I'm not sure what that has to do with drinking martinis with a bunch of South Beach gays, but if McGregor walked into my bar I surely wouldn't have a problem with it.

More on the film here.

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James Franco Rates Sean Penn His 'Top' Onscreen Love Interest

Entertainment Weekly asks actor and fragrance spokesmodel James Franco how Sean Penn rates as an onscreen love interest compared to the actresses he's played opposite — Kirsten Dunst, Neve Campbell, and Catherine Keener.

Says Franco, who plays Penn's lover Scott Smith in the upcoming Milk: "The top! He's a little hairier than those other ones, but oh well..."

Of Milk in general, Franco says: "It's hard to think of a director or actor who I regard more highly than [Gus van Sant and Sean]. Gus has been a hero of mine since Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho. And of course Sean is probably the best actor around. It was great. Surprisingly kind of comfortable and easy. Gus has a very soft-spoken, soft-handed approach, so he just brings everybody together, the right elements together, and then he doesn't really have to do much. It just kind of happens. At least that's how it feels...I know the two main questions I'm going to be asked in the next year are (referring to his role in Judd Apatow's Pineapple Express) 'How much pot did you smoke?' and 'What was it like to kiss Sean Penn?'

You may have missed...
Sean Penn and James Franco as Lovers in Milk [tr]

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Amanda Lepore the Face of the Cannes Film Festival?

Gilles Jacob (left), president of the 61st Cannes Film Festival, and Thierry Fremaux (right), revealed hot tranny mess Amanda Lepore (warning: site NSFW) to be the new face of the Cannes Film Festival yesterday.

Actually, it's not Amanda, but why not? The poster was shot by David Lynch and designed by film one-sheet artist Pierre Collier.

Check it out, as well as the line-up for this year's festival, which goes from May 14-25,
AFTER THE JUMP...

CANNES LINE-UP (via Variety)

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL photo MOTORINA IN COMPETITION Competition list revealed
"24 City," China, Jia Zhangke
"Adoration," Canada, Atom Egoyan
"Changeling," U.S., Clint Eastwood
"Che," Spain, Steven Soderbergh
"Un Conte de noel," France, Arnaud Desplechin
"Daydreams," Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
"Delta," Hungary, Kornel Mundruczo
"Il Divo," Paolo Sorrentino, Italy
"Gomorra," Italy, Matteo Garrone
"La Frontiere de l'aube," France, Philippe Garrel
"Leonera," Argentina, Pablo Trapero
"Linha de Passe," Brazil, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas
"La mujer sin cabeza," Argentina, Lucrecia Martel
"My Magic," Singapore, Eric Khoo
"The Palermo Shooting," Germany, Wim Wenders
"Serbis," Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
"The Silence of Lorna," Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
"Synecdoche, New York," U.S., Charlie Kaufman
"Waltz With Bashir," Israel, Ari Folman

OUT OF COMPETITION
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," U.S., Steven Spielberg
"Kung Fu Panda," U.S., Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
"The Good, the Bad, the Weird," South Korea, Kim Jee-woon
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona," U.S., Spain, Woody Allen

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
“Maradona,” Spain-France, Emir Kusturica
“Surveillance,” U.S., Jennifer Lynch
“The Chaser,” South Korea, Na Hong-jin

SPECIAL SCREENNGS
“Ashes of Time Redux,” Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai
“Of Time and the City,” U.K., Terence Davies
"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," U.S.-U.K., Marina Zenovich
"Sangue Pazzo" (Crazy Blood), Italy-France, Marco Tullio Giordana

SCREENING OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE JURY
“The Third Wave,” U.S., Alison Thompson

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Ang Lee to Make Film About Gay Woodstock Figure Elliot Tiber

Ang Lee has set up another film with Focus Features, the studio behind Brokeback Mountain, this one based on the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber, with Tom Monte.

Taking Woodstock tells the story of Tiber (right, today), a gay interior designer, part-time Catskills hotel manager and head of the Bethel, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce, and his role in facilitating the Woodstock Festival, providing the permit that made the Festival possible, as well as the eventual location on his milkman Max Yasgur's farm.

According to MSNBC, "The project is set up at Focus Features, and will be adapted by the studio's CEO, James Schamus. Lee and Schamus' most recent collaboration was Focus' Chinese-language drama "Lust, Caution," which earned $66 million worldwide."

The Miami Herald recently interviewed Tiber and Monte about the memoir as Tiber was screening his "docu-comedy" Woodstock: Ticket to Freedom (watch a clip, AFTER THE JUMP) in South Florida:

"The result was a sprawling 575-page manuscript Tiber tried for years to condense. 'I just couldn't do it,' [Tiber] says. So he worked with Tom Monte, an author best known for books on healing. In an odd way, it was a perfect pairing. Monte kept the focus on Woodstock and on Tiber. 'My work was about finding the heroic in Elliot and putting that on the page,' Monte says. It wasn't hard. The Tiber of Woodstock days 'had an amazing amount of energy. He worked so hard and he was an incredibly creative man doing everything he could think of to keep his parents out of the poorhouse and keep that hotel alive. He was also really smart,' says Monte. 'Bethel was not the great metropolis -- it was pretty sleepy, pretty backward. It wasn't doing anything for itself. Elliot brought the great spaceship Woodstock to Bethel. If it were not for Elliot, it would not have happened.'"

AFTER THE JUMP, watch a clip of Tiber's docu-comedy Woodstock: Ticket to Freedom.

Ang Lee, Focus trek to 'Woodstock' [hollywood reporter]
Ang Lee to make gay Woodstock film [msnbc]
The man who brought us Woodstock: Elliot Tiber [miami herald]
(image: jared lazarus, miami herald)

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Channing Tatum Suits Up for G.I. Joe

Character shots for the upcoming G.I. Joe movie have been released, and here's Channing Tatum well-armored (maybe a little too well-armored for some) as Duke.

Two more AFTER THE JUMP...

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News: Taxes, Ken Livingstone, Titanic, Milo Ventimiglia, Scientology

On tax day, a reminder of how the U.S. inflicts extra financial burden on gay citizens.

The last meal on the Titanic, which went down 96 years ago today. Researchers have a new theory behind the sinking — rivets.

ABC's Jake Tapper calls attention to the "Compassion Forum" appearance of Clinton and Obama at Messiah College, which I posted about last week. One of his readers asks, ""Shouldn't Democratic presidential candidates, both of whom are explicitly on the record as being in favor of gay rights, avoid schools like this as assiduously as previous generations of politicians were urged to avoid Bob Jones University? How can politicians appear at a college that espouses these ideas and then turn around and court the gay community at the same time? How can the two leading Democratic candidates appear on stage at this college and not be questioned by the press about the hypocrisy of appearing there?"

Kentucky GOP Rep. Geoff Davis on Obama: "I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country." Davis apologizes...

The gay Navy lieutenant from Melrose Place, Jason Beghe, escaped the clutches of Scientology and now he's speaking out on video: "It’s very, very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution. I think it stunts your evolution. If Scientology is real, then something’s fucked up."

Lack of support from London Mayor Ken Livingstone leaves 2008 International Gay & Lesbian Football Association World Championship with a funding shortfall: "Peter Tatchell of Outrage! described as 'scandalous' the lack of any funding or support from City Hall. 'Ken Livingstone is organising billions of pounds for corporate mega events like the 2012 Olympics but can’t give a few thousand pounds to help host the gay football world championship.'"

A really mean box of jelly beans, which I'm actually really curious to taste.

Project Runway is getting not one but two spin-offs on Lifetime: "The first of them doesn't have a title yet, but Weinstein said it will look at the Project Runway world through the eyes of the show's models. The second, dubbed Project Pygmalion, is a makeover series that will turn its winner into a high-society socialite."

Somebody got carried away at the tattoo parlor.

Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World wins big at Italian animation festival: "Cult hit half-hour show about three gay couples in the fictional 'gay ghetto' of West Lahunga Beach took the Pulcinella nod for TV series of the year. The Pulcinella for TV series for all ages went to RAI Fiction’s 'Acqua in bocca' (Water and Bubbles), about two fish in a tank and their interaction with an Italian family, from helmer Guido Manuli."

Milo Ventimiglia dreamt of being a fighter pilot.

GYM bar in NYC to open up its locker room.

Queerty talks to author Scott Heim about his new novel We Disappear: "There were all these different disappearances in the book–including Scott Heim the writer disappearing into Scott the character—I liked this idea of readers not knowing where one starts and the others begin. There are a lot of things in the book that are total fiction. The danger of doing this blurring is when people do read this as a memoir."

Tom Cruise and David Beckham to buy a soccer team together?

A townhouse in New York's West Village transformed, part of New York magazine's excellent new occasional real estate section, Vu.

Fight to allow gay blood donors heats up in Scotland.

Judicial Watch calls on FEC to investigate Elton John's Hillary Clinton benefit concert: "Recent news reports suggest that Hillary Clinton and Hillary Clinton for President have accepted an in-kind contribution from a foreign national, Sir Elton John, in contravention of federal electon laws. On behalf of Judicial Watch and its supporters, I hereby request that the FEC investigate this matter."

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News: Elizabeth Taylor, Old Trees, Heatherette, 'Ex-Gay' Protests

Protest as hundreds gather in Mountain View, California to 'pray the gay away': " A traveling national conference billed as an event 'to provide help for those struggling - and those whose loved ones struggle - with unwanted same-sex attractions,' drew about 700 people to a Mountain View church on Saturday. The gathering at the evangelical Christian church, Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, also drew a small protest by members of the Bay Area's gay and lesbian community incensed by the conference topic, the longstanding controversy on whether gays can be 'converted' - or turned into so-called 'ex-gays' through a Christian 'step out' program."

Details beats up Ashton Kutcher.

Marilyn Monroe sex tape unearthed, sold for $1.5 million.

Hundreds protest marriage equality in Norway: "The protesters included immigrants and native Norwegians, and they came from the villages and the cities. All were firmly against marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples."

Royal blackmailers Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan head to court to face charges.

Search on for Hollywood actor to play first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong.

Gay fashion duo Heatherette out of business. "The demise of Heatherette has been months in the making. The label actually canceled their fashion week show in February, though founder Traver Rains claimed at the time that he and partner Richie Rich were simply reorganizing the company and would be back in time for next fashion week. The reorganization was supposed to involve finding a new financial backer after Rich and Rains burned through the $6 million given to them by the Weisfeld Group, owner of urban streetwear outfit FUBU; a source tells Radar that the duo's efforts were unsuccessful, and that Rains and Travers have now amicably parted ways."

Have scientists found the oldest living trees?

With opening of Chaps II, leather scene returning to San Francisco's SoMA district: "On Friday, David Morgan threw open the doors to Chaps II, the most recent indication that leather is making a comeback in SoMa. 'There's a resurgence happening,' said Morgan, 39. 'A lot of people have been saying the leather scene was dead, but there just wasn't a place for people to meet up. ... Gearing up in leather and going to a bar where you're the only one dressed is kind of like a woman going to a bar in a ball gown while everyone else is in T-shirts.' Chaps II, at 1225 Folsom St., is named for Chaps, a bar that operated from 1983-85 on 11th Street, where the DNA Lounge is now located. Appropriately enough, Chaps II hosted a meet-and-greet to open the 30th anniversary Mr. San Francisco Leather contest, which concluded Sunday. Next year, one of the contest's events might take place at another leather bar, Hole in the Wall, which Morgan says plans to reopen soon."

Suicidal Tendencies or homosexual ones?

Orlando Bloom loves New York.

Elizabeth Taylor recently O.D.ed on prescription drugs and booze.

Lesbian couple told to "act straight" in UK pub: “We were told to make our sexuality less obvious. The landlord said there were complaints that the pub had too many dykes.”

POLL: Parents find men kissing more offensive than severed heads in video games.

Gay man arrested for using gay slur towards a police officer: "A gay man has been accused of homophobic breach of the peace - for allegedly calling an ex-police officer a p**f. Marc Sneddon, 38, clashed with former detective Stephen Whelehan while walking their dogs. He was charged and his partner Graham Spence - a police IT worker - was later arrested over claims he also shouted homophobic abuse on another occasion. The couple deny the claims and say neighbour Whelehan and his parents, James and Bridget, launched a vendetta of malicious complaints about them. Graham, 40, said: 'His dog attacked ours. Marc asked him to put it on a lead and got a torrent of abuse. Whelehan started calling him a 'wee f*****g p*****r'. Marc was provoked and asked whether he had a problem with his sexuality and did his wife know he was in the closet. Marc reported it to police but we were stunned when HE was charged."

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Oliver Stone's Bush Flick: Fade in on Turdblossom, Frat Hazing

The Hollywood Reporter has published the opening scenes to Oliver Stone's W flick which you can read above, and AFTER THE JUMP.

As we fade in, a couple of speechwriters as well as Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rice's assistant Stephen Hadley, and Karl Rove attempt to come up with the "Axis of Evil" moniker. The scene then shifts to Bush at a drunken frat party at Yale.

Says the Reporter: "According to four Bush scholars who read a draft of the script, the tale has elements that are unquestionably accurate (like when George Jr. comes home drunk and nearly gets into a fistfight with his father) and elements that are just plain made-up (like when the president and his advisers discuss high-level policy in a casual, even frat-house, sort of manner)."

No doubt. But with lines like "Don't get cute, Turdblossom," I can't wait to see it.

Josh Brolin as Elizabeth Banks have been cast as the first couple. Check out pages two and three of the script, AFTER THE JUMP...

First Showing has a rundown of the cast so far.

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Emile Hirsch Strips Down for David LaChapelle in Hawaii

Emile Hirsch, who is starring in the upcoming Speed Racer as well as Gus van Sant's Milk later this year, got natural for David LaChapelle in Hawaii in this month's Flaunt magazine.

Hirsch also recently spoke out about Milk for the first time. Said the actor, who plays gay activist (and eventual NAMES Quilt creator) Cleve Jones in the film: "I just did this film called ‘Milk’ with Sean Penn and Gus Van Sant about Harvey Milk. I think it’s going to be a really good film. I don’t want to give anything away by telling you a timeline, but it’s not really giving anything away, because it’s historical fact. Milk represented change for a lot of people, and was a catalyst to that. And his eventual assassination similarly mirrored Martin Luther King."

Check out a little behind-the-scenes shirtless waterfall action on LaChapelle's shoot,
AFTER THE JUMP...

>

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Larry Craig Will Be First in Line When This Hits Boise

A new film called Tearoom that screened recently at the Whitney Biennial reflects on the Larry Craigs of the 1960's:

"For two weeks in the summer of 1962, using a two-way mirror, police in the central Ohio town of Mansfield secretly filmed the activity in a public men's room in the town square. The surveillance recorded dozens of men having sex, resulting in more than 30 prosecutions for sodomy, with at least a year in prison time for each. Decades later, acclaimed filmmaker William E. Jones -- his Massillon is an autobiographical documentary about growing up in a nearby town -- acquired the Mansfield footage while working on another project. The images so fascinated him that he's been screening it, unaltered by further editing, as the 56-minute Tearoom. Shot without sound, in grainy color 16 mm, it's a stunning document. The men range in age from their 20s to their 60s. They are white and black, fat and thin, in a banker's suit or name-patched mechanic's uniform. Faces humorless, eyes on the door, they masturbate, give handjobs and blowjobs, and perform anal sex; a few exchange money. Michael Sicinski, in Cinema Scope magazine, called Tearoom 'one of the most soberingly revelatory political films of recent years' and "a cinematic document of vital importance to the history of gay culture in the United States."

And in a roundabout way, of the U.S. Senate.

There's a book available as well.

Tearoom [pittsburgh city paper]
Tearoom [william e jones]
Tearoom [book]

related
A Holiday Visit to the Larry Craig Men's Room [tr]

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Zac Efron Wanted for Gay Warhol Twins Movie

Page Six reports that a movie is being made based on the New York magazine article "Factory Boys" which detailed Andy Warhol's relationship with the Dupont twins, Richard and Robert. The movie is being directed by Steven Klein and the twins want Zac Efron to play them.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Robert: We always said no when Andy asked to film us having sex or pose naked. “You’ll be famous,” he always said. “You’ll be a star. We’ll make a movie.”

Richard: There’s one afternoon in 1979 I’ll never forget. It was winter, and Andy’s “Shadows” paintings were up. He, Rupert, Robert, and I went to lunch on Canal Street, and this short man came and joined us. After lunch, it felt like I’d had six drinks instead of one. I must have been drugged.

Robert: Me too.

Richard: We went to this loft with high windows.

Robert: It was all white and very sterile.

Richard: And there was a bed. Somebody started to unbutton my clothes. And there was a video camera there. The short man wanted Robert and me to do it together. Andy was watching.

Richard: I was like, What the hell? What’s the scene, Dean? I said, “No! This is freaky!” And I just stormed out. Andy followed. Two blocks away, Andy went into a store and bought me a down coat from Japan.

Robert: He felt guilty and he bought us something.

***

If he's looking to dump "squeaky clean" for his list of descriptors, this is the way!

Factory Boys [new york magazine]
WE HEAR . . . [ny post]

Twink Who May or May Not Be Zac Efron 'Busted' in Gay Kiss Photo [tr]
'Bulletproof' Zac Efron Can Handle Suggestions He's Gay [tr]
Zac Efron and Elijah Kelley Make a Dapper Pair [tr]

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News: Charlton Heston, Rickroll, Woody Harrelson, Singapore

Canadian PM Stephen Harper urged to repudiate gay slur by Saskatchewan MP Thomas Lukiwski: "The prime minister needs to deal with this issue directly and try to put it behind him as soon as possible. I think the prime minister has to personally say, 'I don't accept these comments, I repudiate them and it's not part of the party or the government or where its mind is at on a lot of these issues right now."

New book Uncle Bobby's Wedding teaches children about same-sex marriage: "Cute guinea pigs stand in for humans in this sensitive story in which Chloe is not concerned that her favorite uncle is marrying another male, only about how it will affect her close relationship with Uncle Bobby. When he assures her that they can still have fun together, she relaxes and gets into her role as flower girl. Sarah S. Brannen takes a calm, straightforward approach to this hot-button issue, as when Chloe asks her mother, 'How can Uncle Bobby get married?' Mama answers, 'When grown-up people l