News: Pope Hate, Ben Affleck, Touchscreen iPod?

BOOK: Arnold Schwarzenegger was reportedly enraged in his early years as a bodybuilder when he discovered that footage of his competitions had been used in gay porn films.

John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus screens at Toronto International Film Festival with Mitchell performing. Film finds international distribution: "People are ready for change. There is a thirst for something different. What pissed me off was that it was ... generically identified of as porn. We are not trying to do anything salacious here. That is just the language which we speak. Porn is really to arouse. This film explores the other areas of sex."

George Bush a fan of pin-up Matt Lauer..

Gay Miami man David Bromstad wins HGTV Design Star competition.

Cameraphone photo raises possibility that video touchscreen iPod is on the menu for Apple's big event tomorrow.

Canadian Bishops were scolded by Pope Benedict XVI when they made a visit to the Vatican on Friday. The Pope lashed out at Canada's stance on gay marriage and abortion: "In the name of ‘tolerance' your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse, and in the name of ‘freedom of choice' it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children. When the Creator's divine plan is ignored the truth of human nature is lost."

Venice Film Festival winners: Jia Zhang-Ke's Still Life, Helen Mirren as The Queen, Ben Affleck for Hollywoodland...

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John Cameron Mitchell and Shortbus

John Cameron Mitchell presents the full-length trailer for his new film Shortbus, which opens October 4th.

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On the Shortbus: Gay Filmmakers at Cannes

John Cameron Mitchell's steamy exploration of character through sexual behavior, Shortbus, is long on buzz. Mitchell: "I actually like pornography, but I don't consider this film pornographic. I define — and most people do — pornography as devoid of artistic intent. The purpose of pornography is to arouse. I don't think anyone got [sexually aroused] watching this film. There is a certain provocation we had in mind with this film, but more important than that, we wanted to use sex as a metaphor for things that were, perhaps, universal, themes like connection and love and fear. We just thought the language of sex could be used the way the language of music could be used in a musical."

Dreamgirls cast glams it up on the terrace of the Martinez hotel...

As Elton John was presenting the Chopard Trophy to Transamerica's Kevin Zegers, a photographer interrupted and touched off Elton's short fuse: "If you saw 'Transamerica' ... I'm talking ... you fuckwit, fucking photographers you should be shot, you should be all shot. Thank you."

Ian McKellen says the Catholic church should welcome The Da Vinci Code: "I am only too happy to believe that Jesus was married. I know that the Catholic Church has problems with gay people and I thought this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay."

Pedro Almodóvar's Volver "has captured the hearts of everyone at Cannes": "I went into a light and very agreeable trance watching this movie, which Almodóvar unfolds with a master's confidence: its ingenuities and contrivances float out of the screen. The cinematography and art direction by José Luis Alcaine and Salvador Parra give everything a gorgeous intensity that has the look of a Douglas Sirk film - and Almodóvar has something of Sirk's passionate empathy with women, mixed with a playful, gay sensibility."

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