Gay genre: "Brokeback Mountain", "Milk", etc.

"Oscar Night 2006 feels like a million years ago. You remember – it's the night that Brokeback Mountain, although being shamelessly robbed of its deserved Best Picture statuette, still managed to take home three awards. It's the night that Philip Seymour Hoffman's gay novelist squeaked past Heath Ledger's gay cowboy in the Best Actor race. Felicity Huffman was up for Best Actress for playing an MTF in Transamerica. And at the previous day's Independent Spirit Awards, pioneering queer filmmaker Gregg Araki was basking in multiple nominations for "Mysterious Skin", a film considered to be a high watermark in an already remarkable career.Yes, the success of Brokeback lifted long-gestating projects like The Mayor of Castro Street, The Front Runner, Stone Butch Blues, and The Dreyfus Affair out of development limbo, but as of today none of them have a firm shooting date set. And independent cinema, where queer voices have been breaking the rules of cinema and exciting audiences with new possibilities for at least the past few decades, seems content to make one toothless genre picture (lesbian romantic comedies! gay thrillers!) after another. [...]

“Filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, or Tom Kalin [Swoon] don't come along every day”, says critic David Ehrenstein. “Gus did several mainstream films [Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester] with no gay content whatsoever. Now he's back to the avant-garde [Elephant, Last Days], with complex conceptual works and plenty of boys smooching. Todd was always too cool for school; I await his Bob Dylan fandango I'm Not There with great anticipation. As for Tom, it's taken all this time for him to get his second feature, Savage Grace, made.”Industry observers say that the Brokeback phenomenon – Olson describes it as “not so much a blip as a solar eclipse; we get one every ten years” – was never necessarily going to change the game for queer movies in the marketplace.

“There have been some moderate, small gay films that studio specialty divisions have been taking out to a good deal of success, like Notes on a Scandal and The History Boys,” observes Hu. “But Brokeback was still a low budget – $14 million – film that was still developed and distributed by a [Universal Studios] specialty division. The fact that it struck a chord with audiences globally doesn't mean it's going to create shockwaves with the studios hurrying to create the next gay blockbuster.” Source: www.afterelton.com

"Years before the recent California Proposition 8, there was California Proposition 6: an initiative to ban – or fire – homosexual teachers from public schools. Fighting that proposition was one of the many causes championed by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be voted into a major public office in America.

[...] Depending on where you stand on gay rights is likely to determine whether or not you’ll see Milk. As the director of a cause movie, Van Sant is likely to only preach to the choir. If you’re on the fence about seeing it, there’s a big reason to go: the acting, particularly Sean Penn’s. The guy once famous for beating up photographers is totally believable as Harvey Milk. Penn’s Milk is gentle, he’s effeminate, he’s slight, he’s not that sure of himself early on – and he’s totally believable. The supporting cast is made up of some actors who are on considerable rolls. Emile Hirsch (Into The Wild) is a young Milk supporter who goes from skeptic to reliable lieutenant. Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, W) is Milk’s frustrated fellow city supervisor, who probably deserves to be in the movie a little more. And the biggest surprise is James Franco as Milk’s supportive but frustrated boyfriend – who earlier this year was a hysterical stoner in Pineapple Express. Between the two roles, he’s having a breakout year". Source: www.moviejungle.com


See a new featurette from Focus Features' "Milk", Academy Award® nominee of eight awards including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay (written directly for the screen).MoviesOnline: Is Sean a good kisser?

JAMES FRANCO: He’s…I don’t know what to say. He’s okay. What did Diego say that it was dry? That’s what he told somebody else. It was fine. Yeah, it was fine. Top 30.

MoviesOnline: A lot of gay characters are either very flamboyant or they tone them down so they’re acceptable to an audience. In this movie, you’ve got a vast array of different personalities. Was that something that Gus wanted or was that in the script? JAMES FRANCO: Right. I think…I can’t speak for the other actors, but I think from what I see and read into it that all the characterizations are kind of based on the real people because they are all real people and some of them are still around, you know? So Emile had the real Cleve Jones there all the time and Lucas had the real Danny Nicoletta there. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, if somebody was playing me, I’d probably want myself to be portrayed in a certain way and so, to have Cleve Jones over my shoulder the whole time might be weird. I don’t know. But I think like Emile’s characterization is based on what the young Cleve Jones was like and so with me, you know, I got that interview with Scott Smith so that combined with what everybody told me about Scott. He wasn’t that flamboyant, you know? He was just…I guess what do you say? Kind of butch or something? He was definitely like…he dressed like there’s a way of dressing that a lot of people did at the time called the Castro clone. So they wore like plaid shirts and jeans and construction boots and Scott certainly dressed that way and I actually liked the clothes. I would wear those clothes, but my characterization is just based on what I think the real Scott behaved like. The same with Sean, you know? That’s kind of how Harvey was so I think it wasn’t like oh, we need a flamboyant around here, we need this here. It was just based on the real people. Source: www.moviesonline.ca

Realistic gay romance

"The most romantic movies are about the subtle gestures, the moments in between intimacy, and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain captures them against a vibrant Alberta landscape. Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger are amazing as ranch hands who fall in love".

A list of movies that don't create unrealistic expectations of love:
Source: www.calgaryherald.com

Soundscapes video - by Ace Norton

Sylvia Plath is one of my favourite poetresses, she really defied the conventions of her time ("the blood jet is poetry, there is not stopping it" is reallyone of the most shocking verses I've read, they belong to her poem "Kindness"). I recommend you (if you hasn't done yet) reading "Ariel: The Restored Text" (her masterpiece in poetry / she also wrote prose as "The Bell Jar") which contains her best poems.

As example, this is one of her cool poems:

THE HANGING MAN

"By the roots of my hair some god got hold of me.
I sizzled in his blue volts like a desert prophet.
The nights snapped out of sight like a lizard's eyelid :
A world of bald white days in a shadeless socket.
A vulturous boredom pinned me in this tree.
If he were I, he would do what I did." (by Sylvia Plath)

Another advantaged visual poet, whom I admire, is Ace Norton, son of B.W.L. Norton, director of "More American Graffiti" and "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend". Take a look at some of his more recent videos at www.commondeer.com


Soundscapes - by Ace Norton

"Alpha Dog" movie

SUMMARY OF "ALPHA DOG" PLOT AND SPOILERS!! FROM ALPHA DOG'S FACEBOOK GROUP:

Set in November 1999, (the real events took place in 2000) Alpha Dog tells the story of Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), a young drug dealer in his hometown of Claremont, California. Despite being only 19 years old, Johnny owns his own house and car. Johnny has a circle of loyal friends, including Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake) Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy), the latter of whom does household chores for Johnny to pay his debt to him, but is constantly ridiculed by Johnny and Frankie for being spineless. Johnny's father, Sonny Truelove (Bruce Willis), supplies his son with the marijuana which he makes a lot of money selling.

Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), one of Johnny's friends and part-time distributors, is shown interrupting dinner to ask his father for money to pay a drug debt ($800). After being denied by his father and stepmother, his younger, 15-year-old half-brother Zach (Anton Yelchin) asks to come along with Jake, which Jake doesn't allow. Later, at one of his many parties, Johnny meets with Jake Mazursky. When Jake fails to collect a drug debt for Johnny, they fight over the money which culminates in Johnny pulling a pistol on Jake and kicking him out of his house after Mazursky gets the upper hand in the brawl. Johnny decides to continue the fight by getting Jake fired from his job. As an ex-con, Jake's opportunity to find another job is slim, and he becomes incessantly angry with Johnny. In retaliation, Jake and several armed friends break into and trash Johnny's house, as well as steal his television. Although armed, Johnny does not confront them, instead hiding until they leave.

Late in the evening Zach visits Jake, who is with his girlfriend. Zach drinks with them, smokes pot, and tells of his frustration caused by his parents, who treat him like a small child. Zach's mother, upset, phones and tells Zach to come home. Jake drives a drunken, high Zach home, much to the anger of his parents. The following day, Zach's mother finds a bong in Zach's room, causing Zach and his parents to argue. Zach sneaks out of the house shortly after.

Johnny and his friends want to take revenge on Jake, but he is not home. They see Zach and kidnap him, hoping to use him as leverage to make Jake pay his debt. Zach is restrained at first, but soon this is undone, because it is unnecessary: Zach starts enjoying the situation. He is then taken to Frankie's house in Palm Springs, California and begins to feel he is amongst friends and enjoys the break from home life with his over-protective mother. He is given alcohol and drugs and loses his virginity in a threesome. He is confident that Jake will soon pay his debt, and that he will then be released.

Johnny, worried about the legal problems kidnapping poses, calls his father's lawyer. Johnny is told that they can get life sentences for the kidnapping. Johnny asks Frankie to kill Zach. Frankie rejects the offer($2500), after which Johnny claims that it was just a joke. However, Frankie suspects that it was serious and talks about it to one of the girls while they are hanging out at his dad's house. The girl tries to warn her mother but she is on ecstacy and having sex with her husband at the time having no time to listen.

Johnny offers Elvis a way to pay back his debt: murder Zach. Elvis agrees and Frankie supplies shovels and duct tape, but refuses to help Elvis dig a grave. Elvis takes Frankie's friend Keith Stratten (Chris Marquette) along, pretending to give him a ride home. Reluctantly, Keith cooperates. While this is happening, Frankie offers Zach an opportunity to escape, but without explaining his concern. Zach does not feel in danger, and stays.

Sonny Truelove and family friend Cosmo (Harry Dean Stanton) show up at Johnny's girlfriend's house in an attempt to stop the situation from escalating. They urge Johnny to release Zach and that they will work to get him a short sentence, a prospect Johnny finds unbearable.

Later that night, Elvis, Frankie and Keith take Zach in a car, pretending that they are taking him home but instead drive him to the shallow grave. Upon arriving at the site, two hikers walk past the group and Keith hugs Zach and goes to wait in the car. When they reach the grave site Zach becomes more concerned but Frankie promises him that everything will be okay. As his mouth is wrapped with tape Zach gets more and more worried but Frankie gives him constant assurances that he will be fine. Suddenly, Elvis hits the back of Zach's head with a shovel, then proceeds to kill him with automatic fire from a sub-machine gun.

The epilogue shows the after-effects of the crime. Zach's mother Olivia (Sharon Stone) is interviewed; she talks about her wrong suicide attempts and the loss that she has experienced from her son's murder. All of the gang members are currently serving time, with Elvis on death row. Also Johnny Truelove was on America's Most Wanted List for 5 years being the youngest ever before he was caught and sent to California for trial.

Hot scenes and worst kissers

"With that pesky, couples-oriented, Hallmark holiday just around the corner we thought we'd help our readers get into the spirit with a fun little exercise we like to call, "Best Sex Scenes in Movies." It's certainly no secret that sex sells and the opportunist in us couldn't pass on the chance to plug it. After hours of exhaustive but thoroughly entertaining research, we compiled a list of the top ten scenes that fit our bill. From those that inspire the heart, to those that arouse the senses, we feel confident there will be something for everyone in our collection.

The May-Irwin Kiss video:

The Best First Kiss Scene in a film has to be the groundbreaking smooch heard around the world between John C. Rice and May Irwin in The Kiss. While the scene is only a few seconds long and strikingly demure by twenty-first century standards, it was the first kiss ever publicly shown on film.Moving on to our favorite category, Best Male Nude Scene, we have to give kudos to Mark Wahlberg as Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights whose performance answers the age-old question, "Is that a prosthetic penis in your pants or are you just happy to see me?" While we didn't want to cave into the most obvious of sexually exploitative of films, we couldn't gloss over the very memorable scene at the end that reveals all of Diggler's talents. Some may say that size doesn't matter, but in this scene size goes a very, very long way.

Angelina Jolie and Elizabeth Mitchell in "Gia":

The Best Female Nude Scene in recent years doesn't belong to a single scene, but a series of nude scenes in the film Gia, starring the world's most in-demand woman, Angelina Jolie. If you played a drinking game to this film where every minute of nudity called for a shot, you'd be toasted in no time.This brings us to another in-demand actor whose recent violent outbursts have populated the headlines of publications left and right. The Best Self-Sex Scene goes to Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. This may be an odd choice given the number of films with masturbation scenes, but this scene is so self-involved and over-the-top chauvenistic, you can't help but chuckle. As Bateman engages in sexual acts with two prostitutes, he's so engrossed with his appearance in the mirror that he finds himself more pleasurable than his present company. His calculated poses and constant flexing only add to the "get over yourself" factor.

Isabella Rosellini and Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet":

Anyone who has ever watched a David Lynch film has likely come out scarred in one way or another and Blue Velvet is no exception. The Best Uncomfortable Sex Scene that comes to mind and still haunts us to this day involves Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) and Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) engaging in oral sex in a dark room. Unsettling, disturbing and highly unusual, this is a scene that is hard to swallow (no pun intended) no matter how you view it.

John Cusack and Ione Skye in "Say Anything":

Another memorable scene in a movie that will stick with us forever comes from eighties cult classic, Say Anything. Starring John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler and Ione Skye as Diane Court, Say Anything follows all the ups and downs of the awkward stages between adolescence and adulthood, including first loves and inevitable first broken hearts. While the boom box scene is unquestionably romantic, the scene that we love and that takes the cake for the Best Teenage Sex Scene involves Lloyd and his lady love Diane in the back of a car on a cold, starry night. It's an emotional, touching scene that captures the essence of innocence lost.
Of course we can't write about best sex in films and not include Brokeback Mountain, with a lover's tent serenade that's so shockingly believable it easily deserves the title of Best Gay Sex Scene. The late Heath Ledger plays the quiet, introspective Ennis Del Mar who is the object of affection for outspoken Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal). Tension builds as these two handsome leading men are forced to work together over one summer in the wilderness, and it all culminates into a unexpected sexual explosion that's not often seen on the silver screen. Two thumbs up for the cinematography and superb acting in this one as well.
Sex, by nature, can be unintentionally funny, but with Team America: World Police, funny is how the directors aimed to please. The Best Comedic Sex Scene comes from the hilariously creative minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone and includes a snapshot of scenes between two puppets making love. The irony here is that the puppets have no genitals, though that doesn't seem to stop them from experimenting with wacky positions. The ridiculous dialogue and sound effects in this scene up the comedic ante making this scene very deserving of its title".

Source: laist.com

"We’ve already heard enough stars insisting that those sex scenes we find either major turn-ons (Mickey Rourke force-feeding Kim Basinger strawberries on the kitchen floor in 9 1/2 Weeks) or majorly eye-scarring (Heather Graham faking her way through grainy limo thrusts in Boogie Nights) are totally perfunctory while filming. With the massive crew surrounding them, the sudden lighting checks, and simple fact that they’ve gotta feign spontaneous heat take after take, we’ve leaned towards taking their word for it. And as it turns out, no matter how big the star or legendary their prowess in the bedroom, even simple kissing scenes with the most gorgeous A-listers around range from “awkward and sweaty” to “slightly icky and sort of wet.”
Harrison Ford, Outed by Helen Mirren: "She considered him 'the nicest, sweetest guy you could want to meet. But he can't kiss - he finds it impossible to kiss on screen.' Then, she added: 'He's probably not very good off screen either. It's not just me - other actresses agree. Whenever we get chatting off screen and we get around to talking, we come to the same conclusion.'"Jason Segal, Outed by Alyson Hannigan: "Alyson refused to kiss him or do any romantic scenes with him, because he smelled like smoke. He thanks her for forcing him to do that because now he not only smells better, he feels better as well."Orlando Bloom, Outed by Keira Knightley: "Keira Knightley claims Johnny Depp is a better kisser than Orlando Bloom...When quizzed on who she thought was the best kisser out of the two actors, she told InStyle magazine: 'Johnny Depp certainly wasn't bad.' Despite Orlando's gushing praise for Keira's kissing technique, he did admit he found it 'peculiar.'"Steve Carell, Outed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: "I just see Steve Carell's lips. 'So the bottom of a cat's paw - the soft supple part underneath - that's what Steve Carell's lips are like. But his tongue is like kitty cat litter. That's the physical experience.'"
Woody Allen, Outed by Helena Bonham Carter: "He tells you up front certain ways of kissing he does not want. No exchange of liquid is permitted. It can be a bit offensive because he makes no effort at all."Angelina Jolie, Outed by James McAvoy: "I can tell you what it was like to kiss her on a film set: It was awkward, sweaty and not very nice."Tom Cruise, Outed by Thandie Newton: "Kissing Tom Cruise was slightly icky and sort of wet. I'd really go home at the end of the day actually moaning about how hot it was and how many times we had to do it."
Victoria Beckham, Outed by Corey Haim: "She does this little grr gnaw thing that felt like a girl gnawing on your lip."
Sienna Miller, Outed by James Franco: "The British beauty's toothache made filming a nightmare. Franco admits filming the scene was far from enjoyable and had to be cut short when his co-star complained. He says, 'I think we kissed once in that film and it wasn't at all intense - there was no rolling around or anything. Sienna's molar was giving her pain so she called the dentist!'"
Leonardo DiCaprio, Outed by Virginie Ledoyen: "I think Leonardo is a nice guy. But I don't want him as a lover. There [was] no honest passion. No real sensitivity in our love scenes. In our underwater love scenes all I could think of was not drowning. I can't even remember his kiss."
Source: defamer.com

Jake and Reese's London Let

LESSEES: Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon
LOCATION: Notting Hill, London
PRICE: £4,000 per week
SIZE: 1,996 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: A simply beautiful period house which has undergone a comprehensive and exacting refurbishment programme. Benefiting from wonderful entertaining space over two floors and sumptuous bedroom accommodation this stunning property also boasts a charming private terrace. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, reception, kitchen/dining room, terrace.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Over the weekend Your Mama received a kindly communique from a helpful Briton we'll call Glenn Givesitup who generously hooked us over to a recent article from the Homes and Property section of the Evening Standard in which a dee-lishusly loose lipped estate estate agent revealed that American super stars Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have leased a London love nest to the tune of £4,000. That's four thousand bloody British Pounds per week children.According to the wonderfully indiscreet estate agent–who reportedly represents the property which is listed for sale at £2,795,000–the owner of the Victorian era house in the natty Knotting Hill area was thrilled when the well paid American actors turned up waving wads of dollar bills shouting, "Gimme, gimme, gimme."
The lower floor has an excessively glossy, almost mirror-like floor that looks reflective enough to expose the naughty bits of skirted ladees and gentlemen. The decently sized dining area is being aesthetically abused by a glass topped table, eight dining room chairs being choked by white slip covers and a little little fixture stuck to the ceiling that is both too small for the room and, rather upsettingly, not located over the center of the table. The dining area is open to the sleek and efficient looking kitchen which features a narrow work island, some shiny white cabinets that match the glimmering floor, and a breakfast area with a barely there round glass table surrounded a set of four Philippe Starck Victoria Ghost Chairs. This all looks rather sexy (if a bit 1970s), but Your Mama would not want to be navigating that part of the house in the dim light of dawn after a long night of gin and tonics with divalicious drag star Lily Savage because we would surely be injured by that transparent arrangement of glass and plastic masquerading as a dinette set.The private quarters include a full floor master suite which stretches the entire length of the house from front to back and includes a clean lined en suite with beautiful wood accents, and large, lovely and, thankfully, frosted arched window and some sort of fancy square terlit that we're sure cost nearly as much as a Mini Cooper. The top floor is accessed by a claustrophobic's nightmare of a staircase and features a windowless bedroom and en suite that are both, thankfully, ventilated and lit by several skylights.

The talkative estate agent did not reveal how long the Americans will be in residence. Given that the house remains for purchase, it can't be long. Presumably the property will not be shown while the panties and playthings of Oscar winning Ms. Witherspoon and Oscar nominated Mister Gyllenhaal could be peeped by the prying eyes of prospective buyers and aggressively nosy fans who think it might be cute to ring up the estate agent asking for a tour.Back in Tinseltown, Ms. Witherspoon–who is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood– and her two children live in a quietly posh guard gated community called Brentwood Circle in, you guessed it, Brentwood, and Mister Brokeback Mountain has long occupied a very private property above Woodrow Wilson Drive in the Hollywood Hills that Your Mama and several of our better connected sources think he leases as opposed to owns.

Source: realestalker.blospot.com

Scott Pilgrim won't be animated

"That picture above is the super cute as always Mary Elizabeth Winstead with her short black hair, which is part of her costume as Ramona Flowers in Edgar Wright’s upcoming adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It is not her in full costume and/or a shot from the movie, though. Just thought we should be clear on that.

That said, Winstead has been captured as part of Edgar Wright’s Myspace photo blogging experiment, where he has been posting a new image from his life every day".

Source: www.filmschoolrejects.com

Scott Pilgrim / Michael Cera.Ramona Flowers / Mary Elizabeth Winstead.Kim Pine / Alison Pill.Wallace Wells / Kieran Culkin.Stephen Stills / Mark Webber.

UPDATE - "Scott Pilgrim" creator Bryan Lee O'Malley spoke at the New York Comic-Con and revealed that NO part of SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD will be animated (there were reportedly tests done at one time but they were scrapped) and that Brandon Routh is making people upset with his misinformation...

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD is about to start filming in Canada and courtesy of one of the film's stars, we're finding out that Scott Pilgrim might not be entirely live-action. Brandon Routh, who plays one of the evil ex-boyfriends of Pilgrim's love interest Ramona, spoke to Collider yesterday and revealed that there will be some hand-drawn animated sequences in the film. Said Routh, "It's gonna be a great mix of real people and drawn animation," which reveals a side to the film that hadn't previously been revealed. Exactly what aspects of the film will be animated remains to be seen but I'd suspect that some of the battles with the ex-boyfriends will lapse into some type of stylized animation. Edgar Wright is directing the film in Toronto based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Coincidentally, Issue 5 of the graphic novels, "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe" hits comic shops today". Source: www.joblo.com

Leaving LAX airport

Jake departing from LAX Airport, on 8th February 8. Pictures courtesy of Iheartjakemedia.com

BAFTAs 2009 Winners

Kate Winslet.Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.Penélope Cruz.Gemma Arterton.

"Slumdog Millionaire" continued its winning ways at this year's BAFTA Awards, snagging seven honors including Best Picture and Director.

The underdog-turned-Oscar favorite also won awards for adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, sound and music, easily trouncing its competition. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which went into the awards ceremony with the same number of nominations as Slumdog (11), but took home only three awards, for production design, make-up/hair and visual effects. Those two films were the only movies to pick up more than one BAFTA award, with all other films winning only one trophy each.
Mickey Rourke received the Best Actor honor for The Wrestler, while Kate Winslet, a Best Actress nominee for both The Reader
and Revolutionary Road, won the award for The Reader. Supporting honors went to Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) and Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and the Outstanding British Film award went, in a bit of a surprise, to the documentary Man on Wire.

Other winners included In Bruges (original screenplay), The Duchess (costumes), WALL-E (animated film), and I've Loved You So Long (film not in the English language). 33 year-old Noel Clarke received the Orange Rising Star Award, the only award voted on by the public, and writer-director Steve McQueen (Hunger) won the Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer.
Penélope Cruz, Mickey Rourke and Kate Winslet.

Source: www.imdb.com/news