Movies: Michael, Matt, Gore and Bette

NATHANIEL ROGERS

Nathaniel Rogers hopes you'll dress up as a movie character for Halloween. He blogs daily at the Film Experience.

YOUR FEATURE PRESENTATION

This Is... not the weekend for new releases. Horror films Paranormal Activity and Saw XI topped the box office last weekend and should continue doing well over the holiday with no new scary movies going wide. Unless you count This Is It, which brings Michael Jackson back from the beyond for his next concert tour. And yes, he does perform the zombie dance from Thriller. I'm not trying to make a joke here, it's just that reel commerce on the heels of real tragedy is scary for some of us. Others will undoubtedly love seeing the legend back in action.

Opening in limited release: The House of the Devil, Gentlemen Broncos, and The Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day.

BONUS FEATURES

Coming Soon: School Ties 2!

I'm kidding but that's all I could think of when I saw this new frame of Matt Damon. (Damon lost that weight from The Informant quickly, no?).

MORE, AFTER THE JUMP...

Watch: Matt Damon Plays Beefy Rugby Player in Invictus

Rugby fans might want to be on the look-out for Clint Eastwood's Invictus, which tells the story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) and the captain of South Africa's rugby team Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) became allies to help unite the nation in the run-up to the 1995 World Cup.

Here's Damon's brief Dieux du Stade moment from the trailer.

Watch the trailer, AFTER THE JUMP...

 

News: India, Mary Travers, Provincetown, Kellan Lutz, Outfest

University of Alaska Fairbanks hosting "ex-gay" evangelist Ernie Delgado: "His visit is being promoted by Campus Bible Ministries as an example of someone who escaped a gay lifestyle, and how others can do the same. Some students and faculty are offended by the visit. A few students silently protested outside 1 of this week's lectures."

Who is that masked man?

Indian government defers taking stand on High Court decriminalization of gay sex ruling.

Outfest to honor Alan Poul and Clear Channel.

Gay ministry candidate in Scotland pulls out for fear of splitting church: "Dmitri Ross, who was put forward as a candidate for the ministry by the Presbytery of Hamilton, said he believed his withdrawal was in the best interests of the Church. If ordained, he would have been the first Church of Scotland minister in a civil partnership to be approved since a two-year moratorium on gay appointments was agreed at the General Assembly in May."

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary dies at 72.

Coach store manager accused of gay harassment over Hershey Kiss puns.

363 swimmers Swim for Life in Provincetown AIDS fundraiser.

Executive Director of Equality Federation Toni Broaddus criticizes Cleve Jones over his remarks that a state-by-state strategy for the gay rights movement is a "failed" strategy: "So let me make a very public request of you, Cleve. Could you please stop saying that the state strategy is a failed strategy? Instead, could you acknowledge that we have achieved key victories for equality in the states? I understand that you believe the time has come for a federal strategy, and I'm not challenging that opinion here or suggesting that you modify your views. I am, however, asking that you get your facts straight."

Taunton, UK man assaulted in homophobic attack.

GLBT Atlanta's gentle reminder: Atlanta Eagle still open.

$100,000 more pledged for Cleveland, Ohio's Gay Games bid.

Twilight's Kellan Lutz checks himself out at a gym in Vancouver.

Matt Damon on gaining 30 pounds for The Informant: “You know, I liked parading around the house with my belly hanging out. I would do like kind of the sexy walk, but I clearly shouldn’t have been doing that type of thing."

VIDEO: Chris Brown begins community service for beating Rihanna.

Calgary, Canada judge rules letter to the editor calling gays "immoral" is free speech: "In 2002, Reverend Stephen Boissoin sent a letter to the Red Deer Advocate which claimed that 'homosexual rights activists and those who defend them are just as immoral as pedophiles, drug dealers, and pimps who plague our communities.'"

News: Neil Patrick Harris, 2010 Census, True Blood, Stolen Warhols

Washington state to appeal judge's ruling keeping names of donors to R-71 private.

Neil Patrick Harris touches up New York magazine.

Ed Westwick wants Zac Efron's body.

Eye-popping: Hundreds of thousands expected to report they are same-sex spouses in 2010 Census.

NYT: Pass ENDA. "People who believe in workplace fairness should lobby senators to get on board. It is unacceptable that in a nation committed to equality people can still be fired in more than half the states for being gay."

Taylor Swift speaks out about Kanye West incident: "Well, I was standing on stage because I was really excited because I had just won the award. And then I was really excited because Kanye West was on stage. And then I wasn’t so excited anymore after that...”

Egale Canada, a gay rights group, writes to Jason Kenney, minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, asking that eight homophobic dancehall singers be barred entry to Canada.

Madonna and Janet Jackson pay tribute to MJ at the VMAs.

$1 million offered for trove of stolen Warhol works in L.A.

UK footballer Trevor Morley says gay rumors nearly ruined his career: "The rumours about me being gay killed me for a while. I’ve got nothing against gays – I now have friends who are gay – but it’s not nice to be called a homosexual when you aren’t one. How many times does Robbie Williams have to come out and tell the world he isn’t gay. The more you say it, the more people start to believe it’s true… It ruined my football for a while. I’d go out onto the field and hide. I didn’t want to be there."

Values to guide Republican Bob Vander Plaats Iowa gubernatorial campaign: “Marriage is one man, one woman, period.”

Charles Darwin film can't find U.S. distributor.

David Beckham adjusts himself.

True Blood: What's coming next season - spoilers...

Matt Damon was responsible for the Venice Film Festival gay stripper-gram George Clooney received, and Clooney says he's out for revenge.

Inside New York's new Boom Boom Room.

Big spending predicted in Michigan by bigots hoping to block Kalamazoo's anti-discrimination ordinance: "Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, says Hoadley is a hired political gun who has the ability to raise a quarter-million dollars and deliver a cadre of national volunteers..."

Oscar buzz for...Mariah Carey movie?

Bud Light Lime is like anal sex, apparently.

Iran to allow transsexual marriage? "The woman, named only as Shaghayegh, told Tehran's family court she wanted to marry a school friend who had recently had a sex-change operation to become a man, but was unable to obtain her father's blessing, as legally required. Her father was summoned to court and agreed to the union on condition that the male partner, Ardashir, who was previously a woman called Negar, underwent a medical examination to prove it would be a proper male-female relationship."

Michael Douglas and Matt Damon to Play Lovers in Liberace Biopic

A year ago I posted about plans for a Liberace biopic directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Michael Douglas as the ivory-tickler. Now, there are rumblings that Matt Damon has been cast as Liberace's lover Scott Thorson.

SunMedia reports: "Douglas confirms the duo will team for a Liberace biopic helmed by Steven Soderbergh, who co-produced Douglas’s latest, Solitary Man, and directed Damon in Friday’s whistleblower comedy The Informant! Douglas will portray the flamboyant piano-playing entertainer while Damon will play Scott Thorson, who sued Liberace for palimony even though the superstar insisted he wasn’t gay.  'Matt’s going to be my young lover,' Douglas tells Sun Media. 'Why not? God bless Matt. Hey, it’s easy for me - he’s in his prime. I said to him, ‘Matt, I love you, man. Boy, that Bourne (series) must really be going strong.’ But good for him. He’s right taking chances. All those young guys - (George) Clooney - they’re taking risks … It’s smart trying to mix it up a bit and maintain those franchises and still get to do a picture that turns you on.'"

Why do I have the sinking feeling we're in for a plethora of "icky gay kiss" jokes in the months to come?

News: Charlotte, Carrie Prejean, San Diego Kiss-In, AIDS in Africa

STUDY: Gay men in Africa ignored with regard to AIDS.

San Diego: Mass kiss-in planned for Wednesday night at Mormon Temple.

Radiologist turns CT scans into psychedelic art.

Worst ending to a movie ever, or the best?

The Awl talks to Michael K of Dlisted.

Former Senator Bob Packwood voices support for Employment Non-Disrimination Act (ENDA): "After three decades, isn't it time we conclude this chapter by ending this discrimination and urge Congress to make all workplaces equally accepting of Americans who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? It's never too late to do the right thing."

Channing Tatum does shirtless Dirty Dancing parody.

Homophobic ministry planning to bring Jesus to Charlotte, North Carolina Pride this weekend on July 25. And not in a good way.

Victory Fund endorses 12 new candidates from across the nation.

Britney Spears converting to Judaism?

Theoretical cloud project would make ice cream fall like snow.

Matt Damon looking fine in NYC.

Jimmy Carter leaves Southern Baptist Church over church leadership's position on women: “It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices…”

Chexydecimal remembers poet Hart Crane on what would have been his 110th birthday.

Simon Rex series gets a trailer.

When Harry met Ron.

Hugo Boss model Joshua Walter arrested for crime spree.

Indian man murders father's gay lover: "Upset over his father’s gay relationship, son of deputy chief medical officer Dr Krishna Dev Raj Srivastava, allegedly murdered the 38-year-old partner of his father. The incident was reported from Pashupatinagar area under the Naubasta police station late on Sunday night."

Protect Marriage Washington using paid signature gatherers: $1 per signature.

Five seconds: yes it really is a tease.

Baptist Messenger newspaper forges signatures of Governor Henry and Secretary of State Savage to make it look like they support Rep. Sally Kern's nutty 'Proclamation for Morality'.

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean gets a book deal: "Carrie Prejean will publish a memoir called Still Standing. Conservative book house Regnery Publishing said Monday that it will release the book. Prejean believes her crown was taken because she said she opposed gay marriage.... Prejean was replaced by the Miss California pageant's first runner-up, Tami Farrell. Farrell has also said she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman."

UK Christian doctor removed from Northamptonshire County Council over views on gay adoption: "The paediatrician had asked to be allowed to abstain from voting in cases involving same-sex couples. But that led to her being barred from the panel altogether. The married mother of one said she had been 'made to pay for being honest and upholding my personal integrity. I don't feel that placing children for adoption with same-sex couples is the best place for them,' said the 50-year-old doctor."