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: Larry Craig, Big Bird, Al Sharpton, Gun Ruling, Vogue

No joke: Larry Craig and David Vitter key sponsors of Marriage Protection Amendment.

Never-before-seen photos of David Bowie revealed.

Guy "Richie" stands to gain $100 million:
No pre-nup in Madonna marriage.

Al Sharpton told Gay City News that his statement about sin to Anderson Cooper earlier this week was not aimed at Anderson but was hypothetical: "I have no idea of his sexuality. I was not talking about him as an individual anyway. It could have been anybody...I support same-sex marriage and have been lambasted by the right for it."

HIV cases "skyrocket" among young gay men: "A new report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that between 2001 and 2006 gay male sex was the largest HIV transmission category in the U.S. and also the only one which recorded an increasing number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses. The most affected are gay boys and men between the ages of 13 and 24 years, with minorities even more. The findings were released in this week's issue of the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Other factors such as genital herpes could actually double a person’s risk for contracting HIV."

Beckham blogs about bulge.

NewNowNext covers New York's HX Awards.

Prince Harry discovers source of global warming at County Fair.

Miami lesbian suing South Florida hospital because she wasn't allowed to see her partner who had suffered a stroke. Her partner later died: "Janice Langbehn, Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children planned a cruise in February 2007 to celebrate the couple's 18 years together. But Pond suffered a massive stroke before the ship left port and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Hospital workers refused to let Langbehn into Pond's hospital room - even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital -- because they were not legally related. Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit in Miami on Wednesday charging hospital employees with negligence and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000. Pond was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to the trauma center. Langbehn said she was only allowed in to see her partner for a few minutes when a priest gave Pond the last rites."

Bishop Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen to make joint appearance at screening of For the Bible Tells Me So in London...

Gay creator of Big Bird costume, Kermit Love, dies at 91.

More from the set of Gossip Girl...

Log Cabin Republicans applaud Supreme Court gun ruling.

Juice: The background on bigot Bolthouse and Bolthouse farms.

London police hunt "thug" after homophobic attack: "Sahin Rahman is one of four thugs sentenced this week following the attack at Hackney-road, Bethnal Green, in London's East End, two years ago. Police say Rahman (pictured), who had been living in Mckenzie-road in Holloway, north London, is currently at large after failing to appear at Snaresbrook crown court on June 16 and remains wanted. His accomplices, all from Holloway, have appeared in court."

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi will reportedly be married at Palm Springs' Riviera Resort and Spa in October.

Real Vogue interns tell New York magazine that their internships were nothing like New York Ranger Sean Avery's: "Sean Avery eats enormous lunches in the cafeteria and gets away with spilling them on people. Elizabeth: 'I never got lunch. I didn't get lunch breaks. We had to eat in the closet.' Ashley: 'I was able to get lunch. It was like, very quick, go down get your lunch, eat it, and come back up. There was a sense of having to get permission for a lot of things. I don't remember if we had to tell them we were going to the bathroom, but that could've been possible.'"

Self-described YouTube superstar Tricia Walsh-Smith and estranged husband Phillip Smith meet in court: "I will cut your balls off and have them for breakfast."

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News: Ian McKellen, Cher, The Onion, Larry Sinclair, Gay Androids

Supreme Court rules in favor of right to bear arms.

Sir Ian McKellen made a Companion of Honour by the Queen.

Cher has a stalker who tried to grab her by the wrist in Nashville.

Obama-accuser Larry Sinclair, who was arrested last week when his criminal record caught up with him following an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., is being defended by some as a "political prisoner".

Remember Britain's Got Talent's angelic bullied choirboy Andrew Johnston? He didn't win, but he did just get a £1 million deal with Simon Cowell's record label.

Houston-area homes and vehicles targeted by spray paint vandals using racial and homophobic slurs: "Fort Bend County Sheriff's detectives are investigating more than a dozen incidents of theft and vandalism involving racist and obscene words spray painted on homes and vehicles. The incidents were reported about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in the New Territory development, said sheriff's spokeswoman Terriann Carlson. 'It appears that white spray paint was used on all of the vehicles and the residences and racial and derogatory slurs such as the swastika symbol, and male body parts,' Carlson said. The slurs also targeted homosexuals, she said."

HRC President Joe Solmonese on the first congressional hearings to educate members about gender identity issues. More on the hearings from Pam.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: HIV/AIDS infection rates for drug users, prostitutes and gay men around the globe are on the rise. "'HIV is a long-term and complex disaster on many levels ... For marginalized groups across the world — injecting drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men — rates are on the increase,' said the Geneva-based humanitarian agency. Those groups, living on the fringes of society in many countries and especially in the developing world, 'often face stigma, criminalization and little, if any, access to prevention and treatment services,' it added."

West Hollywood's historic 'Tara' mansion may get new life as a same-sex wedding location.

The Onion celebrates Gay Pride.

Lesbians in Vancouver claim comedian crossed homophobic line during routine: "Ms. Pardy alleges that she and her same-sex partner were subjected to a tirade of homophobic and sexist comments by Mr. Earle. Mr. Earle denies that he discriminated, while admitting that his interactions with Ms. Pardy and her partner were heated."

A Cristiano Ronaldo fix for you.

18-year-old gay Boston drop-out Alex Quince triumphs with perfect score on the GED reading test: "A quiet teenager making A's and B's, he ran away from home, dropped out of school, and tried everything from marijuana to heroin. He struggled with his sexual orientation. When his mother called his cellphone, sick with worry, he responded with a text message. 'I'm gay,' it said. 'I'm not coming home.'"

Hugh Jackman has left the beaches of Sydney and is now stunning onlookers in St. Tropez.

Does everyone in the world have a sex tape?

A police force of 2,000 guarded today's gay pride parade in Jerusalem. If numbers are correct, that's one officer for every person who took part.

Gays in Oregon question commitment of Senator Gordon Smith. HRC's David M. Smith: "Our view of Gordon Smith is, he has been a leader on a number of our issues. His record is strong and he is very clear about it, and we appreciate everything he's done and continues to do. [But] we will not be endorsing him."

With Wall-E on the verge of release, Radar posts a brief history of gay androids.

ABC: Barack and Michelle Obama putting mark on the fashion world.

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Sir Ian McKellen to Battle for Openly Gay Bishop Gene Robinson

Last week I reported that although openly gay Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson has been shut out of the Anglicans' annual Lambeth Conference, he would still be attending and had signed up Sir Ian McKellen to help create a stir.

The Telegraph has more details about what that event will be:

"In an act of solidarity with the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, the Church's first openly homosexual bishop, the celebrated actor intends to read out a sermon written by the prelate, who has been barred from the landmark Lambeth Conference this summer that is seeking to prevent a schism over the issue. Standing alongside the bishop, who will remain silent throughout, the star of The Lord of the Rings will deliver a broadside against the Church's attitude to homosexuals with the kind of passion and force normally reserved for his performances on the stage."

We can't wait.

Last week...
Ian McKellen to Join Gay Bishop Gene Robinson at Anglican Confab [tr]

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News: Poland, Magnum P.I., Arizona, Howard Dean, The Joker

Arizona ballot measure to constitutionally ban same-sex marriages appears defeated: "The House gave preliminary approval Thursday by a 28-27 vote to put the question on the November ballot. But that OK came only after Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, lined up enough votes to tack on a provision to grant certain rights to unmarried couples living together, whether gay or straight. That move effectively tied the two issues together as a single ballot question, meaning voters who want to make same-sex weddings unconstitutional would be voting for some constitutional rights for gay couples. A spokesman for House Speaker Jim Weiers, sponsor of HCR 2065, said that is unacceptable and that the Phoenix Republican will now kill his proposal."

Magnum P.U.: Matthew McConaughey to take Tom Selleck role to the big screen?

Naomi Campbell a free supermodel after getting arrested for assaulting and spitting on a cop.

Poland passes EU Charter but gets around gay requirements: "This week Prime Minister Donald Tusk reached a deal with the opposition, inserting a clause in the rights bill guaranteeing Poland's sovereignty within the union. The cause is seen as a means where the government can opt out of EU LGBT rights protections. Kaczynski has said he will sign the revised bill."

Perez Hilton says he made out with John Mayer. But is it Pop Fiction?

Redwood City, California man faces hate crime charges for attack on gay neighbors: "Herbert Santos-Coy, 30, remained behind bars Wednesday on one count of felony assault for hate crime purposes, two counts of felony commission of a hate crime and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in state prison. 'There’s nothing the victims did that would have provoked this. It’s an outrage,' Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Santos-Coy and his wife lived next door to the couple on Buckeye Street. On Sunday, the victims were working on their car when Santos-Coy approached them and began hurling anti-gay epithets, Wagstaffe said. Santos-Coy then allegedly struck one man in the face repeatedly before picking up a wrought iron table and swinging it at the couple. Santos-Coy had been drinking but prosecutors do not believe he was drunk at the time of the incident, Wagstaffe said."

Massive archive of gay and lesbian historical items at New York Public Library gets digital gallery and will be organized under new donor committee: "It is a newly organized... committee called LGBT@NYPL; for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Carey Maloney and Hermes Mallea, the cochairmen, are also partners in M (Group), a design company. The goal, Mr. Maloney said, is “to get everything cataloged and digitized and to get an endowment” for the care and maintenance of the collections. Mr. Maloney is to announce at a party at the library this evening that the committee has raised $1.5 million so far. Time Warner has pledged $300,000. The MAC AIDS Fund has pledged $150,000 to improve public access to materials dealing with HIV and AIDS. Estée Lauder Companies has pledged $30,000."

Apparently, gays in London love renting cars.

Tom Brady makes 100 Unsexiest Men of 2008 list: "an overexposed, supermodel-dating, out-of-wedlock-fathering, big-game-losing metrosexual -- with a bowl haircut."

New Heath Ledger Dark Knight photos show The Joker disguised as a nurse.

Sir Ian McKellen speaks at Stonewall Equality Dinner in London: "The Lord of the Rings star spoke about the need to change society and not just the law, and lamented that many who are brave enough to be out on the gay scene still live closeted lives and careers. Sir Ian criticised religious intolerance and said he had wanted Mehdi Kazemi to be his date for the Equality dinner, but he is still in custody in Holland."

Howard Dean tells crowd at University of Wisconsin Madison that he doesn't get gay Republicans: "'They can't become more diverse. Who in their right mind, if they were African-America or Hispanic or Asian-American, if they were gay or lesbian, would join the Republican Party?' Patrick Sammon, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, called Dean's statement "callous" and said that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should publicly state what they think of it."

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News: Botox, Life Before Death, Shelter, Aladygma

An update on yesterday's post. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reversed decision and allowed Tammy Baldwin's partner Lauren Azar to travel on congressional trip after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intervened.

Soul departed: "Life Before Death" photographic portrait project shows in London.

Like Ryan Seacrest, Madonna and Guy Ritchie sleep with their BlackBerries.

Thailand Public Health Ministry bans castration: "The Medical Council of Thailand last week also warned that castration is a health risk. Providing the operation for young boys was unethical and could damage hormone growth and physical development, it said. The warning came after Natee Teerarojjanapongs, the leader of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, called on the council to take action against clinics performing castrations on young ladyboys. Castration is a step towards a sex-change but is also a standard treatment for some kinds of cancer. Mr Natee said many parents of young boys keen to have their testes removed had complained about the influence of advertisements on the internet that say the surgery is inexpensive and the result similar to a sex-change operation."

ALADYGMA: Viral campaign suspected to be sequel to Cloverfield begins.

NYT on gay surf romance Shelter: "Coming out has rarely looked so pretty."

Arts Council England asks applicants for grants about their sexuality: "Individuals and arts bodies applying for money are invited to state if they or their board members are bisexual, gay, straight, lesbian or 'unknown'. Arts Council England insisted last night that the voluntary request would never be used to decide whether an artist or organisation should receive money for projects. A spokesman also denied reports that artists would have to answer the question for the rest of the grant application form to be valid." Sir Ian McKellen: "It sounds extraordinary, It shouldn't be on a form. It's quite inappropriate."

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List: Heroes star Hayden Panettiere to star in movie about gay boy love triangle.

Still recovering from cancer-related surgery, film critic Roger Ebert will begin writing reviews again. Ebert cannot currently speak: "But I still have all my other abilities, including the love of viewing movies and writing about them."

American Idol contestant David Cook hospitalized and released after heart palpitations.

Lab tests warn one form of botulinum toxin can move from the face to the brain: "Scientists injected rats' whisker muscles with botulism toxin. Tests of the rodents' brain tissue found that botulism had been transported to the brain stems, the researchers said in the Journal of Neuroscience published April 2." Human issues unknown.

The Collin County Commissioners Court scraps plans to discuss "job status" of City Council candidate Justin Nichol's employment as coordinator of the county’s teen court that were scheduled after revelations that he is openly gay: "Mr. Nichols, who is running for council against Pat Miner, said he hoped the matter would soon be resolved. 'I look forward to getting back to teen court and bringing my message back to the voters of Plano,' said Mr. Nichols, 23. The brouhaha started last month after the Dallas Voice, a weekly gay and lesbian newspaper, ran a story about Mr. Nichols’s candidacy that mentioned his sexual orientation. Though Mr. Nichols was openly gay before the article’s publication, he said the story and subsequent attention it drew spurred the request to discuss his job."

Gay-themed children's books pulled from British school concerned over "lack of consultation" with parents: "One of the library books was a fairytale about a king who couldn’t find a woman to love and eventually married a prince. This was for children aged five to read. The issue should have been, how do we stop bullying in general, and teaching about homosexuality can be a part of that. This was completely one-sided. Homosexuality is not a priority to parents, but academic achievement is. This just makes parents think 'What the heck is my child being taught at school?’"

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Ian McKellen to Join Gay Bishop Gene Robinson at Anglican Confab

Openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson tells The Guardian: "I wish people could see me for a bishop. It is tiring, I must say. On the one hand I would like to be known as Bishop Gene Robinson but it's an accident of history that I'm the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican communion. I've learned to live with that."

The paper reports that although Robinson has been shut out of the annual Anglican Lambeth conference, he's still going and will likely be the conference's star attraction. Robinson has events planned, one of which is a reading by Sir Ian McKellen.

Robinson, whose openness about his sexuality has divided the Anglican church, is the only bishop out of 880 to be disinvited from the conference.

"His official exclusion came as a blow to Robinson, who told a spring gathering of the US Episcopal church house of bishops that he felt abandoned by Williams. He wept during the address. "It was the hardest time I've had since my consecration," he said, driving along interstate 93. He suggested it was not his consecration or homosexuality that was tearing apart the Anglican communion, but a failure of the leadership. 'I don't know if it was Rowan's intention to divide the US house of bishops but he's done the very thing he was trying to avoid through his action or lack of action. It mystifies me that he has never commented on statements Akinola [the Archbishop of Nigeria] has made about homosexuality,' he said."

Robinson is publishing a book this summer called In the Eye of the Storm and says that he's also going to be in GQ: "I am probably the only bishop to feature in a 10,000-word article. I was expecting Armani and George Clooney but they wanted me to wear my robes."

Gay bishop's mission to unite [the guardian]

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Ian McKellen Witnessed No Evidence of Gay Hobbits on LOTR

In a new 'E Post' on his website, Ian McKellen answers a question from a Lord of the Rings fan regarding rumored gay goings-on between the young actors on the sets of those films. The fan asks, "Basically, I'm just curious to hear if you find it upsetting or bothersome that so many actors (that you know) now are 'in the closet' just to boost their careers because they feel their female fans would not like them anymore if they ever came out (which I personally disagree with)."

Says McKellen: "This gossip is all news to me. Elijah, Dominic and Orlando introduced me to their girlfriends during shooting. I didn't ever meet Viggo's partner although his son visited a a few times. It would seem that none of my friends can be accused of hypocrisy. Probably the fevered imagination of slashers is to blame. Hiding homosexuality is a long-tested shame in Hollywood and no doubt continues even in these days of gay marriage and gay civil partnerships. I agree that audiences are much less perturbed than producers allow, by a performer's sexuality. How else to explain the continuing popularity of George Michael, Elton John, Rupert Everett, Ellen de Generes and, excuse me, also the gay actor who played Gandalf?"

The Lord of the Rings [ian mckellen]
(image source)

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News: David Hernandez, Syphilis, Hulk, James Dobson, Greece

Provincetown acting police chief Warren Tobias retiring. Town decides not to appoint him permanently, which is a good thing, considering the department's poor record on hate crime incidents.

Stripper from Dick's out on American Idol.

If you're into Edward Norton and roided out green men who tear their shirts off, you may like this trailer.

Syphilis rates surge, especially among gay and bisexual men: "Since 2000, when the national syphilis rate sank to a low of 2.1 per 100,000 people after a decade of progress in the 1990s, the rate has soared by 76 percent, the CDC reported. Homosexual and bisexual men accounted for 64 percent of syphilis cases in 2007, up from about 5 percent in 1999. CDC officials expressed concern not only because the recent increases in this bacterial sexually transmitted disease follows years of declines, but also because syphilis can elevate a person's risk of being infected with the AIDS virus and the odds of giving it to someone else."

NYT: Sex diseases in gay men escaping detection because people are ignoring regular testing. "Dr. Kristen Mahle’s study found that among gay men who showed no symptoms of gonorrhea, more than a third of rectal infections with the disease, and more than a quarter of throat infections, were missed because many were not tested at all anatomical sites of recent exposure. Dr. Eric Tai’s study surveyed non-H.I.V.-positive gay men in 15 cities from 2003 to 2005 and found that only 39 percent reported having been tested for syphilis, and only 36 percent for gonorrhea."

Tranny hot mess: The next Ugly Betty guest star?

Focus on the Family's James Dobson worried that all the Christian bigots are dying out.

Pair of lesbians in Greece hope to become first same-sex marriage there by exploiting a legal loophole: "The two will try to tie the knot under a 1982 law that does not specify that a civil union must involve a man and a woman, said Evanguelia Vlami of Greece's main homosexual association, Olke. The ceremony is to take place in the Kessariani quarter of Athens by a mayor who belongs to the radical left-wing Syriza party, Vlami said. 'I have no objection to celebrating this union so long as the law is respected,' the mayor, Spyros Tzokas, told the Ta Nea daily."

Adam Sandler kicks sand in a bear's face at the beach.

Chace Crawford: fresh as a country lane after a spring shower.

Washington governor Chris Gregoire signs bill expanding domestic partner benefits: "The measure adds domestic partners to sections of laws where previously only spouses were mentioned, including areas referring to probate and trusts, community property and homestead exemptions, and guardianship and powers of attorney. 'This bill is about protecting and helping Washington families,' Gregoire said before signing the bill. 'It simply gives these families the same rights as everybody else. It's the right thing to do.'"

Catholic bishop alleges 'gay conspiracy' against the Church, longs for the good old days when gays were thrown in the clink: The Bishop of Motherwell, Joseph Devine, says a 'homosexual lobby' has aligned itself with minority groups, including Holocaust survivors, to gain persecuted status. He said there was a 'huge and well orchestrated conspiracy' taking place in the 'gay movement', which the Catholic Church neglected 'at our peril'...In an attack on openly gay actor Sir Ian McKellen the bishop said: 'I saw actor Ian McKellen being honoured for his work on behalf of homosexuals, when a century ago Oscar Wilde was locked up and put in jail.' He made the comments during a lecture on 'Christian faith and inconvenient questions' in Glasgow on Tuesday and has since stood by them, 'These groups are defending their position, I am defending mine', he said. 'It is all about a lifestyle alien to the Christian tradition. There is a giant conspiracy against Christian values, an agenda here.'"

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Brad Renfro Once "Freaked Out" Over River Phoenix Death Photo

Filmmakers and actors who worked with the late Brad Renfro have been posting tributes on their blogs, notably Sir Ian McKellen and filmmaker Bruce LA Bruce.

Ian McKellen recalled working with him in Apt Pupil (pictured above, with director Bryan Singer): " In Hollywood he was a teenage charmer, chaperoned by his beloved grandmother and by his admirers who protected him as best they could from the dangers of being a child in a careless adult's world. On set, he was blusteringly confident although it was obvious he would have benefitted from training as an actor. Yet, as Todd, the disturbed teenager in Apt Pupil, he tapped into an inner demonic world and carried the film on his young shoulders. Off the set he played football, played his guitar and one magical evening I shall never forget, invited me to his home in the Hollywood Hills. We chatted a bit about acting and his dreams to direct films, to write music and to return to Tennessee. When he heard a dog barking wildly across the valley, he mimicked the animal and the dog replied; a kid at play but capable of growing into someone special. He longed to belong in the alien world which perhaps in the end overwhelmed him. He was only 25 and it is dreadful we shan't see all that he might have achieved."

AFTER THE JUMP, an excerpt of an article from Canada's Exclaim magazine in which director Bruce LaBruce relates the story of an evening he spent with 17-year-old Brad Renfro and actress Dominique Swain, which ends with a bit of sad foreshadowing:

***BEGIN EXCERPT***

Here and there I hear snips of the young stars' stories. Brad was discovered at the tender age of ten to appear in Joel Schumaker's The Client , shot in and around Brad's hometown of Knoxville. His parents have a shady past, something about the illicit selling of milk and cookies and birthday cake and ice cream. There's a bizarre story about one of his relatives putting out a contract on the life of his little sister and his grandmother, of both being shot and both surviving. There's the fact that he has to go back to Tennessee to face charges of grand theft auto and possession of cocaine and marijuana, which I only mention because it's already all over the internet. He's such a sweet boy though. He adopts me as his Aunt Bruce ("you must admit you're pretty effeminate, and you should be proud of it," he learns me), probably because he's used to being adopted by gay director types (Joel Schumaker, whom he's stayed with; Bryan Singer). He promises his grandmother he won't leave the hotel again tonight.

We're on the way to the jacuzzi. Four of us have made it this far; Robin Fuckin' Black has gone missing. Fro brings his guitar and Dominique brings the cigarettes, Mark and I bring our tattoos but the stolen Jägermeister has gone missing. We hit the jacuzzi in our underwear as several middle-aged men ride stationary bikes and run on tread mills on the other side of the room. The lights of the city lay before us in the darkened morning. Dominique surfaces and smiles.

Back to Dominique's room for some mini-bar candy. We decide to head to my apartment because we can't get beer from room service until 11 a.m. and it's only seven-ish. Brad puts on his pyjamas and his parka and his black oxford shoes. He looks like an eight-year-old kid who's just come back from the drive-in. He plays and sings his guitar, bluegrass, for me and Mark and Dominique and the cabby in the umpteenth cab of the night. He's in love with Dominique; she fends off his charming barrage of sweet-talk like a seasoned pro.

At my apartment the morning sun pours in through the windows. We head for the kitchen and the beers. Brad freaks out at the photo montage of River Phoenix that hangs over my kitchen sink, which includes the photo published in the National Enquirer of River in his casket. You see, people often compare Fro to the late, great Phoenix. Fro tells me I'm morbid, then shakes it off.

***END OF EXCERPT***

LaBruce recently posted a remembrance on his blog as well.

An autopsy is planned for today to try and determine what caused the actor's young, tragic death.

(source)

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News: American Gladiator, Bush and America, Giorgio Armani

Sir Ian McKellen named a Companion of Honour, a Commonwealth Order given to Britains who have made outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion. Said the outspoken actor: "Coming out, coming out, coming out. That's the only thing I've ever done, really. That's what it can say on the gravestone. That will be the obituary."

Woof: Ptown Doberman pinscher earns spot in Westminster Kennel Club show in February.

Neptune, New Jersey to swear in gay mayor: "Bishop, who will be sworn in at noon Tuesday for his second three-year term on the committee, is also expected later in the afternoon to be picked as mayor for 2008. When that happens, Bishop will be one of two openly gay mayors serving this year in New Jersey, and one of only three in the state's history. But Bishop, who owns the Melrose Inn in Ocean Grove, doesn't want his sexuality to be the focus of his tenure as mayor. 'It really is a small piece of what makes me who I am. It's as much a piece of me as owning my own business, or having spent years in corporate America. Is it true that probably my experience influences how I approach problem solving? Yes, but they all play into that, and they all make me into who I am.'"

The year in Pink: 2007's celebrity gossip in a flash.

Producers "in discussions" with network about American Gladiator Alex Castro's porn past.

Giorgio Armani struts his white-Speedoed stuff in the Caribbean.

Blistering NYT editorial on Bush and the state of America: "Out of panic and ideology [after 9/11], President Bush squandered America’s position of moral and political leadership, swept aside international institutions and treaties, sullied America’s global image, and trampled on the constitutional pillars that have supported our democracy through the most terrifying and challenging times. These policies have fed the world’s anger and alienation and have not made any of us safer... The White House used the fear of terrorism and the sense of national unity to ram laws through Congress that gave law-enforcement agencies far more power than they truly needed to respond to the threat — and at the same time fulfilled the imperial fantasies of Vice President Dick Cheney and others determined to use the tragedy of 9/11 to arrogate as much power as they could."

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Sir Ian McKellen Thinks Justin Timberlake Should Play Him on Film

Via Monsters and Critics:

"Sir Ian McKellen wants Justin Timberlake to play him in a musical about his life. The 'Lord of the Rings' star is keen to see his eventful life played out on stage and thinks the pop heartthrob would be the perfect person to portray him. He said: 'Justin vaguely resembles people in my family, and I think he is really talented.'"

According to his former N'Sync bandmate, Justin has expressed an interest in playing a gay role.

McKellen also reportedly scolded movie studios for encouraging actors to stay in the closet: "With all that liberal attitude in Hollywood, you have a local industry which is saying to local people who live in the area, 'When you come to work, you are not gay.' And I think to myself, 'Can people whose minds work like that make good films? And if at the heart of Hollywood there is that lie, how many other lies are there?' And it's the producers who have this problem - God knows what sort of people they are - who think that it's impossible for you and me to fancy the same person. Well, what dull lives they must have."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #191

BILL MAHER: Andrew Sullivan, General Wesley Clark, and Martina Navratilova appear on the show to talk about Bush, ruling through fear, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama's gospel tour. And Part Two, on being scared of the wrong things...

IAN MCKELLEN: His recent appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

DUMBLEDORE: The right-wing flip-out. It's going to cause young boys to come down with STDs.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here!

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News: Heath Ledger, King Lear, Thailand, Jodie Foster, Beefeater

New York magazine talks to Keith Olbermann, who believes Elizabeth Edwards should be our next president.

As the historic Hawthorne School of Art risks death by development, artists are fighting for their way of life in Provincetown: "Generations of artists flocked there each summer to study with Hawthorne and the artists who later taught in his hilltop barn, including the influential modernist painter Hans Hofmann. Illustrator Norman Rockwell and abstract expressionists Franz Kline and Lee Krasner were among those shaped by lessons in the blazing light of the dunes."

Condom Nations: Some interesting findings from a recent Durex Global Sex Survey.

Nicole Kidman reveals to Vanity Fair that she miscarried Tom Cruise's baby when she was 23: "From the minute Tom and I were married, I wanted to have babies. And we lost a baby early on, so that was really very traumatic. And that's when it came that we would adopt Bella. There's a complicated background to that, given that I never speak much about many things. One day maybe that story will be told. My mother has an adopted sister, so it's been part of our family, and I knew it would probably play out somewhere in mine. I didn't think it would happen so early, but it did."

Ian McKellen brings his naked, buff King Lear to New York.

"Gay war" reportedly erupts in Pattaya, Thailand over sex trade: "Police arrested two young men after one bar was set ablaze and another was completely ransacked in the Thailand resort of Pattaya. Foreigners including British tourists fled the area, 100 miles east of Bangkok."

The oldest photograph ever taken of Tokyo, Japan.

Brokeback break-up: Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams find they can quit each other.

AmericaBlog's John Aravosis recently went visiting his family in Greece, and shot some fascinating footage of destruction from the recent fires that burned for miles and miles, threatening ancient ruins and creating smoke plumes that coule be seen from space.

Karl Rove advised Bush against picking Cheney as VP, new book reports: "The Washington Post reported Monday that in the book -- 'Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush' -- journalist Robert Draper reveals that Bush was intent on picking Cheney as his running mate, despite his warnings against it. 'Selecting Daddy's top foreign-policy guru ran counter to message. It was worse than a safe pick -- it was needy,' Draper quotes Rove as saying. Once he took office, the president 'saw no harm in giving his VP unprecedented run of the place,' Draper wrote."

22-year-old Indian man confesses to murder of gay partner and partner's grandmother: "Arun Prasad Dora, a resident of Dhenkal town and a Master's student at an institute in the city, told the police he killed his friend Debabrata Pani, 22, for forcing him into a homosexual relationship for the past one year. On Monday night Debabrata, who lived in the staff quarters of Orissa University Of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), tried to force Arun to sleep with him when Debabrata's parents were away. 'The youth protested and in a sudden rage stabbed Debabrata to death,' Inspector-in-charge of Khandagiri police station, S.P. Satpathy told IANS. Arun also killed Debabrata's grandmother, Suna Pani, 78, as she witnessed Debabrata's murder, Satpathy said."

First female Beefeater takes her spot at the Tower of London.

50 marchers wrap up Atlanta Black Gay Pride weekend with march from the King Center to the state Capitol: "People are here, and they are proud of who they are. It gives us a chance to show people what's happening with us."

Jodie Foster declines to respond to OUT magazine treatment on closeted celebrities to Entertainment Weekly: "Over the next two hours, there's only one subject that she firmly swats away. A recent Out magazine cover featured two models holding up pictures of her and Anderson Cooper's faces in front of their own, under the headline 'The Glass Closet: Why the Stars Won't Come Out and Play.' When asked if she has any response, Foster says, 'Was that the one with the Popsicle sticks?' Her thin lips tighten into a calm half smile of reproach: 'No, I have no response.'"

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Ian McKellen Creates Video Message to Gays in Singapore

Indignation, Singapore's LGBT Pride festival, has begun (not without controversy, as noted below) and has received words of support (above) from Sir Ian McKellen, who has been in the country performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company's world tour of Shakespeare's "King Lear" and Chekhov's "The Seagull". Since arriving in Singapore, McKellen has been vocal about the country's repressive laws criminalizing homosexuality.

On their website, organizers note that McKellen also got the taste of gay culture and nightlife he was looking for while visiting: "In his free time, he popped into Mox, a gay bar, and spent an evening at Powerhouse on its regular Sunday gay night. He also caught a matinee performance of Alfian Sa’at’s play “Asian Boys Vol 3 - Happy Endings”, staged by Wild Rice Theatre. Before he left, he took up People Like Us’ request to make a short video."

McKellen's message: "Hello, this is Ian McKellen. I’m speaking to you from Singapore where I’ve had the most wonderful time with the Royal Shakespeare Company working at the Esplanade Theatre for the Singapore Repertory Theatre. I knew very little about Singapore until I came here and I was immediately encaptured by the beauty of the place, the old buildings as well as the new, the old culture and the new, and the people, who were unfailingly friendly and helpful at every turn. And of course, being openly gay, I managed to meet a lot of gay people...

...And then we come to the one thing I don’t like about Singapore, which is 377A. You know that law. It’s a British law, and why the hell you’ve not got rid of it, I’m not quite sure. Well, I am sure, because it’s taken us a long time in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world to deal with these old problems, these ancient attitudes which need to be removed if we’re going to be part of the 21st Century. So it’s very important that gay people, wherever they are, should identify themselves, stick up for themselves, represent themselves, modestly and positively, so the rest of the world knows that we’re here and we’re not going to go away. And we’re happy to be here...

...And that’s why Indignation is so important. Have a wonderful time. I congratulate the organisers and I hope it’s a step, certainly in the right direction, but a positive step towards one day getting rid of 377A. And you know I’m on your side, and I send you all my love. Bye Bye."

In mid-July he spoke out on a radio show: "Just treat us with respect like we treat everybody else and the world will be a better place, I think. Coming to Singapore where unfortunately you've still got those dreadful laws that we British left behind... it's about time Singapore grew up, I think, and realised that gay people are here to stay."

Ian McKellen Takes Activism, with Theatre, to Singapore [tr]
Repressed Singapore Tells Ian McKellen: Don't Get Naked [tr]

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Repressed Singapore Tells Ian McKellen: Don't Get Naked

Ian McKellen, who has fully disrobed during performances of King Lear in Britain, has been asked to avoid the display while performing in Singapore.

McKellen told the Associated Foreign Press: "It is King Lear doing it, not Ian McKellen doing it, so I don't take particular offence if I'm told 'would you mind not doing it?' But what would happen, I wonder, if I did take all my clothes off and instead of my genitalia, I was wearing a pair of false genitalia. Would that be thought inappropriate? Call it censorship, call it advice, it gets in the way a little bit. I think it's a little bit silly. I'd say, on the whole, people who come to the theatre to see Shakespeare expect to have the whole of life revealed to them -- and if that means a glimpse of an actor's naked body, so be it."

McKellen quipped that he had a remedy for the situation: "I got a rather fetching pair of underpants ... they say on the back, 'Hello Singapore.'"

The actor also spoke out on a local radio show, urging the government to drop its laws against homosexuality before giving a more significant interview to Reuters on the issue.

Said McKellen: It would be impertinent of me to comment on Singapore society but this happens to be a law that I find personally offensive and I don't think it should be on the statute books because it inhibits my free behavior as an openly gay man. I feel free to comment on behalf of people who do have to suffer laws which the British empire invented and left behind...The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them. We are privileged that we have access to the media and our opinions sometimes are reported and I appreciate that. But I only speak on things that I am an expert on...You won't hear me talk about my politics, you won't hear me talk about my vegetarianism, you won't hear me comment on the Iraq war. You'll only hear me talk about being gay and being an actor. I am just public on those two issues."

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Ian McKellen Takes Activism, with Theatre, to Singapore

Ian McKellen, visiting Singapore with the Royal Shakespeare Company's world tour of Shakespeare's "King Lear" and Chekhov's "The Seagull", told a radio station there that Singapore should drop its laws against homosexuality.

McKellen told the Class 95 radio station: "Just treat us with respect like we treat everybody else and the world will be a better place, I think. Coming to Singapore where unfortunately you've still got those dreadful laws that we British left behind... it's about time Singapore grew up, I think, and realised that gay people are here to stay."

He also told Channel NewsAsia: "I have been looking for a gay bar (in Singapore) if there is such a thing... so that's what I have been looking for."

Over the weekend, hundreds attended an unprecedented forum in Singapore to debate the decriminalization of homosexual acts. According to Channel NewsAsia, "Most put up their hands in agreement when asked by the moderator of the forum, organised by theatre group W!ld Rice, if section 377A of the penal code which criminalises homosexual acts ought to be repealed."

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Jake Gyllenhaal, Sir Ian McKellen, a Jellyfish and the Queen

Madness at the BAFTAs.

In one of the strangest red carpet moments I've seen to date, Jake Gyllenhaal reenacts getting stung by a jellyfish and encourages Sir Ian McKellen to urinate on him. Soon the Queen arrives however, and decorum is demanded.

Can we get that Ruby Wax to interview for the Oscars?

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Jake Gyllenhaal on BAFTA's Red Carpet [tr]

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Scissor Sisters Wrap Up UK Tour

Scissor Sisters finished their UK tour (at which they've been setting attendance records) on the 26th at Wembley Arena in London. Kevin Tachman, the Sisters' tour photographer sent us a few shots from the festivities and the party afterwards, including this photo of Jake Shears getting cozy with a very happy Sir Ian McKellen.

Brit songstresses Sophie Ellis-Bextor (pictured here with Babydaddy) and Lily Allen also showed up at the post-concert soiree.

More shots of the concert after the jump...

Thanks to Kevin Tachman (website) for the great shots.

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