News: Tom DeLay, Public Option, UFOs, Madonna, Provincetown

Obama administration to drop "public option" on health care: "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is 'not the essential element' of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory." Re-branding?

Actor Colton Haynes to play 17-year-old a-hole in Look.

Former House Majority leader Tom DeLay to join new season of Dancing with the Stars. Full cast here.

Mumbai celebrates Gay Pride following Indian ruling decriminalizing gay sex.

Britain's Ministry of Defence releases new batch of UFO files: "The 14 files released today by the National Archives include more than 800 sightings reported between 1993 and 1996, and contain more than 4,000 pages of material dating back to 1981."

Here's a profile on the judge hearing the federal court case challenging Proposition 8. L.A. Times agrees with Equality California's decision to battle Prop 8 in 2012 rather than 2010. Groups split...

Kate Winslet signs on for Todd Haynes miniseries adaptation of Mildred Pierce.

Robert Downey Jr. to take on the role of Vampire Lestat?

Madonna spends 51st birthday with  her children — Lourdes, David, Mercy, and Jesus.

Anchorage mayor to decide fate of anti-discrimination ordinance...

Transgender woman sexually assaulted, beaten, in Trinidad, Colorado: "According to the police report obtained by the Chieftain, the attacker saw the woman in the lobby of the hotel and followed her back to her room. She did not let him in, but he later returned and forced his way in, sexually assaulted her, then tried to drown her in the bathtub and electrocute her by dropping a hair dryer into the bathtub. The victim reported that the attacker used anti-gay slurs as he attacked her."

Gay Boston news anchor Randy Price to lead Provincetown Carnival parade.

Be Marilyn Monroe's dead neighbor.

Male model fix: Gabriel Zadok Everett.

In honor of Madonna's 51st birthday, Film Experience takes a look at Madge's work on the silver screen.

Jezebel editor blames gay men for fashion industry woes: "I think that gay men are actually the most to blame for many of the problems in the fashion industry, like the absence of womanly curves on the runway, and the hideous, figure-assaulting trend that is the tent dress, which no women who have tits, and no straight men who have an appreciation for tits, have any use for."

Broward County Deputee, who targeted Hispanic men in order to sexually abuse them, had a history of complaints which were ignored.

Michael Medved: 'There's Not a Seething, Bubbling Hunger to See Straight Stars Impersonating Homosexuals'

The NY Post today resurrected a February rumor from tabloid News of the World that Guy Ritchie has put a gay spin (that they warn could possibly backfire) on the relationship between Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock) and Jude Law (Watson) in his update of Sherlock Holmes.

While everything so far shows a stronger physicality in Downey's portrayal as well as some Odd Couple style co-habitation dialogue ("When do I complain about you practicing the violin at 3 in the morning. Or your mess? Or your general lack of hygiene, or the fact that you steal my clothes?")

So there's nothing really new here except a weigh-in from former Post movie critic Michael Medved (whose discomfort with gays is certainly nothing new) saying audiences just wouldn't want to see that:

"There's not a seething, bubbling hunger to see straight stars impersonating homosexuals. I think they're just trying to generate controversy . . . They know that making Holmes and Watson homosexual will take away two-thirds of their box office. Who is going to want to see Downey Jr. and Law make out? I don't think it would be appealing to women. Straight men don't want to see it."

Previously...
In the NBA Locker Room with Michael Medved [tr

Robert Downey Jr. in Nude Bondage in Sherlock Holmes

The full trailer for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law is out and looks like it has something for just about everyone, including the scene reported by viewers at Showest (above)

 

Ritchie lives up to his promise of a Holmes with more physicality. There's plenty of skin here. No sign in the trailer of reports that Holmes and Watson are portrayed in a "gay" way (Watson and Holmes were reported to share a bed in the film), although there is this bit in the trailer of bickering couple-style from Watson:

"When do I complain about you practicing the violin at 3 in the morning. Or your mess? Or your general lack of hygiene, or the fact that you steal my clothes?"

In any case, the film looks like a winner and Downey Jr. is in fine form. Watch the trailer,
AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Santa Barbara, Outrage, Sacha Baron Cohen, Prop 8

Prop 8 boycott target Doug Manchester trying to make amends with LGBT community: "His plan – which his people warned this newspaper against publishing, even after a Hyatt representative discussed it – is to give $25,000 to a national organization that promotes civil unions and domestic partnerships. Manchester also is considering offering $100,000 in hotel credit to local gay and lesbian organizations so they can use the Grand Hyatt for events such as fundraisers. The $125,000 total matches what he gave to Proposition 8."

Sacha Baron Cohen bleached his nether regions for Bruno, but things went terribly wrong.

Towleroad's Corey Johnson profiled in Bay Windows, 10 years after making headlines by coming out to his high school football team.

McDonald's settles Louisville "faggots" case: "McDonald’s restaurant has agreed to pay $2,000 each to two Indianapolis men who complained they were subjected to anti-gay slurs and discrimination when they visited a McDonald’s restaurant on East Market Street last year."

NYT: Outrage review. LAT: Kirby Dick interview.

Grand jury indicts inmate for 2002 hate crime killing in Cincinnati: "A man already behind bars is now facing charges for allegedly killing a gay man in a hate crime six years ago. Gregory Beauchamp was shot and killed in Over-the-Rhine on New Year's Eve 2002 at the intersection of Vine Street and West Liberty. According to witnesses, a man yelled anti-gay slurs at three men wearing women's clothing, then opened fire. Beauchamp was 21-years-old when he was killed. Until now, the identity of the shooter has remained a mystery."

Robert Downey Jr.  is in a hole.

Dudes surf as Santa Barbara burns. Pool party!

ABC picks up sitcom featuring gay family: "Twentieth Century Fox TV is behind the show, which follows the lives of three American families, as seen through the eyes of a filmmaker. One home centers on a traditional nuclear family, another is a gay couple with a newly adopted Vietnamese child; and the third consists of an older man who has just married a younger Latina wife.

Hugh Jackman on Ellen.

Mario Cantone on NY Governor David Paterson: "You know, a lot of people don’t like him, but I think he’s a little tough bitch. I think he’s tough. I think he’s like, ‘I don’t care if you don’t like me, I’m going to do what I want."

Undersea volcano near Guam has massive cone.

Randy Blue actor appeals suspension from Christian college.

RuPaul's Drag Race 2 casting...

Gosling gets a shiner.

John Cameron Mitchell chats with Tilda Swinton.

Texas city council candidate admits using gay slur against opponent's supporters outside polling place.

Meet Millionaire Matchmaker's gay millionaire, Kevin Grainger.

ABC News: Gay advocates eye Supreme Court. Victory Fund's Dennis Dison: "There have been 110 Supreme Court judges and 106 of them have been straight, white men. So it's high time to look outside those institutions that produced Supreme Court justices in the past and find someone with different life experiences and different perspectives."

Police academy cadet in Peru fights dismissal over gay rumors.

Same-sex couples find difficulties in getting health insurance: " Even if the relationship is formalized with the state in a marriage or union, that does not always obligate the employer to cover a same-sex spouse. For one thing, self-insured employers are not regulated by the states. And other benefit-providing employers that choose not to offer such coverage can sometimes use the Defense of Marriage Act — a law that forbids the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage — to trump state laws, said Ilse de Veer, a principal with Mercer"

Sherlock Holmes Features Robert Downey Jr. Nude Bondage Scene

A report from ShoWest where some footage from Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes was screened:

"There was a quick-cut montage of more action scenes before a scene where a maid walks into a room and screams, dropping the tray she was carrying. We cut to Downey chained to a bed naked except for a pillow covering his genitals, and he asks her to remain calm and that under the pillow is the 'key to his release' and the shocked woman runs out screaming."

A British tabloid reported in February that Holmes shares a bed with Watson in the film.

Director Tells How Robert Downey, Jr. Got Mike Tyson to Gay Bash Him

BlackBook talked to director James Toback about Tyson, his new documentary on the heavyweight boxer. During the interview they also talk about Toback's 1999 film Black and White about a documentary filmmaker played by Brooke Shields who follows a group of white kids as they try to fit in with Harlem's black Hip-Hop crowd.

Toback discusses an impromptu scene between Robert Downey, Jr. and Mike Tyson:

"When Mike got out of prison, I told him I was starting this movie called Black and White, which I was going to collaborate with the Wu-Tang Clan. He got all excited and wanted to do it. Downey had also just gotten out of rehab or jail. My intuition is that interesting people are more interesting right after they have suffered. It opens them up even further. I felt that both of them would be very good in the movie and good together. I asked Downey what he wanted to play, and he said, 'Why don’t I play the gay husband of Brooke Shields?' I said, 'Good. Why don’t you play the gay husband of Brooke Shields who hits on Mike Tyson?' It only occurred to Downey at the last minute to ask whether I had told Mike that he was going to hit on him. I said, 'No.' Downey said, 'What if he gets angry?' I said, 'I would assume he would.' He said, 'How far do you want me to take it?' I said, 'Take it until he responds in the extreme.' Downey responded, 'What if he kills me?' I said, 'Well, I haven’t thought about that. I think it’s unlikely—no better than a 5% chance. But, at the rate you’re going, you’re going to end up dying in the parking lot of a motel in Culver City. So what would be better ... that or dying like this?' Downey cracked up and proceeded to provoke Mike at great lengths to smack him, choke him, slam him on the ground, and call him a 'cum drinker.'"

I've dug up the scene. You can watch it, as well as the trailer for Tyson, AFTER THE JUMP...