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Keith Olbermann's Prop 8 special comment:
Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.
Some parameters, as preface. This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.
And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics.
This is about the... human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.
If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not... understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want -- a chance to be a little less alone in the world.
Only now you are saying to them -- no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights -- even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?
Source: Keith Olbermann's Prop 8 Special Comment: It's "About The Human Heart" (VIDEO)
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 285 of 285Civil rights for GLBTs is not far from being on the books, in my humble view.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
Gay marriage foes to try again in Illinois
Proponents of an Illinois constitutional amendment to restrict marriage to heterosexuals, buoyed by voter approval in three states on Nov. 4, say they’re gearing up to try again in 2010.
A group called Protect Marriage Illinois fell short of collecting the needed 270,000 signatures, which is 8 percent of the number of people who voted for governor during the last election, in time to get an advisory measure on Illinois’ fall ballot. The proposal called for amending the state’s constitution to declare “the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.” The General Assembly would have to vote to place the amendment itself on the ballot.
Illinois law already prohibits same-sex marriage, but amendment advocates say that’s not enough. Ralph Rivera, a lobbyist for the Illinois Family Institute, said Wednesday getting the required number of signatures would send a message to lawmakers about their constituents’ values. “There’s a real threat, and it’s because you have activist courts that find things in the constitution that don’t exist,” Rivera said of judges’ rulings in other states that have legalized gay marriage.
“If we’re to protect traditional marriage here and not have the state forcing companies and churches to accept hiring and benefits for same-sex couples, then you have to have some protection from the courts.”
The Illinois Family Institute and organizations such as the Constitution Party of Illinois, Republican Young Professionals and Family Taxpayers Network are listed on the Protect Marriage Illinois Web site, www.protectmarriageillinois.org, as supporting the constitutional amendment effort.
Last week, voters in Florida, Arizona and California supported gay-marriage bans by 62, 56 and 52 percent, respectively, adding to the 27 states that already have such laws on the books. Since May, when courts in California legalized same-sex marriage, thousands of homosexual couples there have wed.
Rick Garcia of Equality Illinois, which objects to a marriage amendment, said he thinks Protect Marriage Illinois’ two failed attempts to ban same-sex marriage — the group also tried in 2006 — is proof enough that Illinois voters don’t want such a change in the Illinois Constitution. “I’m not saying I’m worried, but I’m not dismissing it,” Garcia said of the Protec Marriage’s vow to try again in 2010. “They weren’t able to do it in the past, and they aren’t going to be able to do it in the future because Illinois is the Land of Lincoln, the heart of the heartland, and Illinois doesn’t take well to hate-mongers and bigots.”
Garcia said past polling, along with voters’ rejection Nov. 4 of a constitutional convention, indicates most residents don’t want changes made in state marriage law. “That’s why I don’t think their move has legs,” Garcia said.
Rivera disagrees. “If we don’t prohibit it, a marriage in another state will be accepted in Illinois,” he said. “It’s very important, because the people of religious belief in this state do not want their government to sanction an immoral activity and immoral behavior. “Then it’s up to the people to vote whether to accept or reject it.”
http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1772950620/Gay-marriage-foes-to-try-again-in-Illinois
“There’s a real threat, and it’s because you have activist courts that find things in the constitution that don’t exist,” Rivera said of judges’ rulings in other states that have legalized gay marriage.
LOL
Ask the Flying Monkey (November 18, 2008)
Q: Okay, Monkey Man, the tent scene in Brokeback Mountain…it was hot, but, uh, not exactly realistic, if you know what I mean. So that got me wondering, since you kind of have to be gay to know how gay sex is really done, how do non-gay actors and movie directors do gay sex on screen? Do they hire a consultant? No, seriously, I want to know! – Jared, Bloomington, IN
A: The Flying Monkey knows exactly what you mean, and not just about Brokeback Mountain (2005). Then again, heterosexual love scenes in movies aren’t very realistic either (or so the Monkey has heard — this may be the one thing that the Monkey doesn’t know).
But what of Brokeback’s infamous tent scene?
“We didn't hire anyone,” producer James Schamus tells the Monkey, “but [director] Ang [Lee] is not shy about his research on everything, from what kind of jeans shepherds wore back then to what the sex would be. I know he just talked to a lot of his friends and a lot of folks he met along the way until he was satisfied.”
Schamus is now co-president at Focus Features, which produced Milk (2008), a movie that also includes its share of gay sex. Of this film, Schamus says, “I wasn't actually involved in day to day of Milk, but I have a feeling [director] Gus [Van Sant, who is gay] didn't need to hire a consultant!”
http://www.afterelton.com/askmonkey/11-18-08
Gay sex consultant? What a dream job!
and here's to all the women who are writing gay porn. . . .
any gay men reading this?
or whut?
inquiring minds want to know!
gay critique of Anne P's sex scenes, please. . .
What sex scenes? There are about 3 and a half sentences about sex :)
Okay, Monkey Man, the tent scene in Brokeback Mountain…it was hot, but, uh, not exactly realistic, if you know what I mean.
There is a whole thread on DC forum dedicated to this issue :)
Link please.
Can't go to the forum now, will post it later.
inquiring minds want to know!
"After Elton" comments:
Clueless
In what way was the tent scene in Brokeback Mountain unrealistic? (FYI: I'm a lesbian, so this is not my territory.)
---
well it depends on who you ask
but there's a minimal amount of, um, lubrication. I think that's what the reader meant.
---
See, I don't think that's unrealistic. Painful-looking, yeah, but how is Ennis, a 19-year-old drunken virgin ("you may be a sinner, but I ain't had the opportunity") supposed to know how much spit to use? And it's not like they could have any other kind of lube to work with...also, did you notice that for the rest of that day, though Jack crouches down or lies down, he never sits? It's supposed to be sort of rough and painful and inexperienced.
Page Six
ANNE'S NEW GUY
THE last thing actress Anne Hathaway needs now is another social climber. Her last beau, blue-blood wannabe Raffaello Follieri, is behind bars, and so she's moved on to Adam Shulman, an actor she's been spotted vacationing with in New Orleans. "Adam is known as an opportunist," an insider told Page Six. "When he was at Brown [University], he went after all the heiresses. It's like Anne is addicted to losers." A rep for Shulman had no comment.
Page Six
OBAMA'S OK AFTER ALL!
STEPHEN Baldwin was just kidding about the promise he made on Fox News to leave the country if Barack Obama was elected president. "The liberal Democrats who didn't get that I was joking need to lighten up," the born-again Christian told Page Six. "Obama is obviously talented and intelligent, and I have great respect for the man. He's got my full support, and I'm gonna be praying for him and his administration." Baldwin, who hosts tomorrow's fund-raiser for 146 Love, a charity that seeks to end Asia's child-sex trade, still won't support gay marriage: "If they legalize gay marriage in all 50 states in my lifetime, I'll get a Billy Ray Cyrus tattoo on my butt to go with the Hannah Montana one."
E!
"Smitten Fan's" Ledger-Drug Suit Gets Go-Ahead
A freelancer's decision to hang with Heath Ledger, rather than report on him, has earned her the right to sue with him in mind. A Los Angeles judge on Monday greenlighted a revised lawsuit brought by an unidentified woman who claims that she was caught on tape by two paparazzi as they secretly shot Ledger.
"She was acting like a star-struck fan rather than as a celebrity reporter," L.A. Superior Court Judge John Shepard Wiley said in his ruling. "This is real Hollywood socializing." Getting to meet Ledger was, for the plaintiff, a "smitten fan's dream come true. She's going to hang out with a movie star like any other fan of this star might think was a good thing to do."
Apparently the plaintiff, who referred to herself solely as "Jane Doe" in her complaint, was right in emphasizing her role as an innocent partyer as opposed to a scoop-seeking reporter when she refiled her complaint Sept. 18—after Wiley had thrown out 11 of 12 counts at defendant Splash News' behest. The agency had argued that the only privacy possibly violated was Ledger's, and that the woman had no standing to make the claim herself.
The woman alleges that two Splash News photographers, one of whom she was dating at the time, bought cocaine in advance of meeting up Jan. 29, 2006 with Ledger at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood during a SAG Awards afterparty. The photogs then invited the Brokeback Mountain star up to a room reserved by the plaintiff and secretly filmed the actor, she claims. The tape, which was sold to Entertainment Tonight and The Insider but never aired in light of Ledger's death by accidental overdose, showed him drinking a beer and talking about drugs, but it wasn't clear whether he actually used cocaine.
According to the lawsuit, the shutterbugs promised to throw away the tape after an angry Ledger found out what they were up to, but instead put it in their car and proceeded to disseminate the footage—a possible case of fraud, according to the judge. Wiley—who previously had doubted the plaintiff's expectation of privacy in such a situation—stated that Jane Doe's expectations of privacy as a fan, rather than as a reporter, were "different, very different" from what he had determined before.
"We were, as expected, completely victorious," her attorney, Neville L. Johnson, told reporters. "Any reasonable jury will be shocked at the [defendants'] conduct." As it stands, the lawsuit alleges fraud and deceit, intrusion, violation of common-law right of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks unspecified damages.
E! Online
Happy Birthday Jodie Foster!
Citing "several" anonymous people close to Hillary Clinton, Politico reported the Democratic senator is still weighing whether to accept the job of Secretary of State, should it be offered. That contradicts a report in yesterday's Guardian that Clinton planned to accept such an offer from Barack Obama offer once the president-elect's team was done vetting her husband, the former president.
"Any reasonable jury will be shocked at the [defendants'] conduct."
Yeah, right.
PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive
G’day! Hugh Jackman is new Sexiest Man Alive
A romantic in a hard body, the Aussie star leaves women saying ‘Oh my’
He's a triple threat: a star who can sing, dance and wield a weapon.
At 6-foot-2, all scruff and biceps, Hugh Jackman looms large in the epic “Australia,” which he says kept him “dirty 95 percent of the time” and left people stammering, “Oh ... my ... God,” according to costar Nicole Kidman, who adds, "Women's jaws drop when Hugh walks into a room."
Jackman's wife of 12 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, calls his perfect form “the Body of Doom — but I like what's inside”: a romantic who sings ballads at home and makes pancakes for Oscar, 8, and Ava, 3. A hard body with a soft center — 2008's Sexiest Man Alive sat down with PEOPLE to reveal most of his secrets.
“You turned 40 Oct. 12 and now you're the Sexiest Man Alive. What was your wife's response?”
God bless her, she said, “I could've told them that years ago!” And then she said, “Obviously, Brad wasn't available this year.” And I said, “That was a joke, right?”
“Your marriage is a success story.”
In my early 20s, I didn't have a regular girlfriend. I was single and really happy about it. And then when I was 26, I met Deb on (the Australian TV show) “Correlli.” She was my leading lady. It was just undeniable. I started planning to propose to her at about three months. We are happy. Deb and my kids have been the best things that have ever happened to me, without a doubt.
“How do you keep the passion alive?”
It's easy with my wife. She loves the idea of me coming home in costume because it makes her feel like she's having an affair in a good way. When we met, I was cast as a prisoner with tattoos and she'd say, “Don't take your tattoos off tonight!” and I'd be like, “All right!” But what works best with her is the stockbroker look. She also says, “Do your sexy dance for me,” (an '80s-like, hip-swiveling number) and that works for me.
“Are you self-conscious about any body part?”
When I was younger, I had chicken legs. My nickname was Sticks.
“What part do people like best?”
My smile. Lately my pecs. I'm being honest!
“What do you wear to bed?”
I didn't wear anything until my daughter was born and we had a night nanny because I was working. I walked out stark naked, and she was reading a book. Now I like boxer briefs.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27800751/
^^Oh G*d!!! :) I'm so looking forward to seeing Australia!
I agree, Anon. 6:40 - those were my impressions about Ennis and Jack's first encounter as well. Rough and inexperience, maybe, but affected them for their whole lives, beautiful. :)
Wow, actors' partners are lucky - it would be incredibly hot for him or her to come home in character looking different, but still him or her, every so often. Can't wait to see Nic and Hugh. ;)
I agree, Anon. 8:28, as she's a reporter and probably was there to intrude on Heath's privacy too - but if this benefits Heath too, I'm glad. :)
What do you mean, how could this court case be good for Heath?
More pr bs. Isn't Jackman supposedly involved with his "business" partner?
It's People magazine, PR is implied.
Isn't Jackman supposedly involved with his "business" partner?
Yes, John Palermo, guy in the dark jeans. Hugh is wearing a wedding band on each hand.
http://www.fadedyouthblog.com/56247/hugh-jackman-celebrates-the-big-4-0/
The Onion
California Passes Anti-Gay Marriage Legislation
Proposition 8, the California measure that bans same-sex marriage, passed by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin. What reasons did people give for voting for it?
17% Always vote yes to everything
5% Proposition was a lot of reading
11% Thought it would be last good opportunity to deny someone civil rights
2% Unhappily married gay people too lazy to get a divorce
4% Still trying to prove not gay after that one night with Sean
16% Marriages are already gay enough
.001% Love and support their son Frederick, but didn't want to see him make a mistake by marrying that good-for-nothing Manuel
http://www.theonion.com/content/infograph/california_passes_anti_gay
Queerty
Hugh Jackman Named 'Sexiest Man Alive', Still Not Gay
People Magazine's named Australian triple-threat Hugh Jackman 2008's 'Sexiest Man Alive' and you won't hear us arguing. Usually, we don't care about this sort of thing, but while most of the questions people ask about Jackman are things like "What do you wear to bed" (nothing/since scaring the nanny: boxer briefs), the market rag asks Jackman to address the persistent gay rumors:
“Gay, gay and gay…. When I played [flamboyant Australian entertainer] Peter Allen [on Broadway in ‘The Boy from Oz’], Deb saw the show about 50 times. She said the most infuriating times would be in the bathroom because all she’d hear is, ‘Is he or isn’t he gay?’ And she used to call out from the stall, ‘He’s not gay! I’m telling you he’s not!’ And there would be silence until someone said, ‘I think that’s his wife!’ ”
Actually, the interview makes us want to live through Mrs. Jackman vicariously, especially when Hugh admits that she really likes to play dress up with him He tells People:
"She loves the idea of me coming home in costume because it makes her feel like she’s having an affair in a good way. When we met, I was cast as a prisoner with tattoos and she’d say, ‘Don’t take your tattoos off tonight!’… But what works best with her is the stockbroker."
Which is exactly what we would do if we had an animate life-size Hugh Jackman doll in our house, too.
http://www.queerty.com/hugh-jackman-named-sexiest-man-alive-still-not-gay-20081119/
^^ :)
10:06, my understanding is that if they paps are sued and found guilty, they may not be able to exploit the situation in the future by airing the tape. The tapes might be seized?
^^especially where it's a private individual involved and not a celebrity.
It makes sense to me, but I don't know much about the law.
Me either. ;)
Dlisted
The rest of People's list includes some of the usual suspects:
Daniel Craig - I give this pick two dildo claps!
Jon Hamm - See above and add an extra clap!
Zac Efron - No, but he's a shoo-in for the sexiest pretty princess award!
Robert Buckley - Stop trying to make "Lipstick Jungle" happen!
Blair Underwood - Fuck, fuck yes.
Ed Westwick - See above and add two extra fucks.
Michael Phelps - No. The body is sexy, but the face didn't get the memo.
Blake Shelton - Who?!
Lang Lang - See above and add an extra question mark.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar - Is it 1990 again?
Javier Bardem - My no-no approves!
Robert Pattinson - His magical hair has hypnotized me into approving.
Joshua Jackson - Ew! Gross! Barf!
David Beckham - We get it, Becks is hot. Time to move on....
Daniel Craig - I give this pick two dildo claps!
LOL
Group wants gay marriage legal around New England
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The group that helped legalize gay marriage in two New England states wants to do the same in the other four by the year 2012. GLAD - which stands for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders - announced the campaign Tuesday, the fifth anniversary of the key court decision legalizing gay marriage in Massachusetts. GLAD also backed the case that led Connecticut to start allowing gay couples to marry this month.
Executive Director Lee Swislow says that by using know-how and experience from those fights, it wants to bring around Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island by 2012.
GLAD says it will work in the courts and with groups that support gay marriage in each of those states.
http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=9372225
^^ :)
Yay! We in New England already have a regional climate control coalition to reduce greenhouse emissions for global warming, here's hoping we can have a regional haven for gay civil rights as well!
^^until such time as theh right to marry and the right to safety is available in every state in the US, and Federally mandated. :)
The group that helped legalize gay marriage in two New England states wants to do the same in the other four by the year 2012.
Sounds like a good, clear, achievable goal :)
Prop 8
California Supreme Court Likely To Rule on Prop. 8 Today
There's heavy expectation that the Supreme Court will rule on whether to accept the lawsuits that seek to overturn Proposition 8 this afternoon. The court is reviewing the briefs filed by marriage-equality advocates that argue that the Proposition failed to follow the correct process for submitting an amendment that would effectively deny the established rights of a minority. [OnTop]
Seven gay officials named to Obama transition team: "Three of the seven gays named to the transition panels — businessman Fred P. Hochberg, former San Francisco Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg, and labor attorney Elaine Kaplan — held high-level positions in the Clinton administration. The Obama officials also named President Bush’s former ambassador to Romania, Michael Guest, to a transition panel assigned to review issues pertaining to the State Department. Guest became the nation’s second openly gay ambassador when Bush appointed him to the Romania post for a term lasting from 2001 to 2003." The others are Rick Stamberger, president and CEO of online publisher SmartBrief, Inc., Brad Kiley, of American Progress, and Thomas Soto, co-founder of Craton Equity Partners, a 'clean techonology' investment fund.
http://www.cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?lang=en&documentID=87999
Scandinavian giant Nordisk Film has signed a five-year output deal with the independent Hollywood major Relativity Media for all its upcoming films, including Lasse Hallström’s Dear John.
The deal was closed in connection with the American Film Market in Los Angeles, which ended last Wednesday. Other films to be distributed by Nordisk for the theatrical, DVD and TV market in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland include Barry Levinson’s thriller Brilliant, starring Scarlet Johansson, and Jim Sheridan’s Brothers.
Release dates
USA 2009
Denmark 27 February 2009
UK 27 February 2009
France 4 March 2009
California Supreme Court Likely To Rule on Prop. 8 Today
Thx for the info! This is just to decide whether to consider the lawsuit, not whether to accept or reject prop 8, right?
Now I'll go and be nervous for a while ...
This is just to decide whether to consider the lawsuit, not whether to accept or reject prop 8, right?
"The California Supreme Court may decide today wheter it is to review a challenge to Proposition 8 – the Constitutional amendment that forbids gay marriage in the state – or dismiss it."
http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=2748&MediaType=1&Category=26
Brothers Release dates: France 4 March 2009
The Festival de Cannes 2009 will be held from May, 13th to May, 24th.
No Cannes for Brothers?
Yes, 3:29. I'm going to be nervous until I hear! :)
Tony Curtis: The Gay Interview
As the legendary actor prepares to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Castro Theatre Tuesday, he reflects on his career, the "gay" roles, and his friendships with Rock Hudson and James Dean.
Interviewing Tony Curtis, the hunky heartthrob of the 50's and 60's, who Elvis modeled his hair after, whose image was splashed on the "Sgt. Pepper" album cover, and who even inspired a Flintstones character -- Stoney Curtis, was admittedly one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my career.
While I knew that the iconic actor was comfortable playing gay (or close to it) on screen, I wasn't sure how asking an 83-year-old straight man gay questions would play out.
Let's not forget that only a couple years ago Curtis, an Academy member, told Fox News that he would not even see the film "Brokeback Mountain" before voting against it, because it "diminished" cowboys as iconic figures in movies. "This picture is not as important as we make it," Curtis said in the interview. "It's nothing unique. The only thing unique about it is they put it on the screen. And they make 'em [gay] cowboys."
It's not that it's so much easier to ask these questions of heterosexuals 60 years his junior, who in a way, might still feel that they have more to prove when it comes to their masculinity. Still, through greater exposure today they are perhaps more tolerant of alternate sexualities than previous generations. As we know, it wasn't the youngins that voted Prop 8 in... it was the elderly. Just like it wasn't the younger Academy voters who hindered "Brokeback Mountain"'s Best Picture win, but the older ones.
But in other ways, the grandfatherly man with the Brooklyn accent was ahead of his time and even ahead of ours, in that he didn't consider homosexuality a sin nor something to sensationalize. He saw and sees it as a fact of life, and over the course of a 140-film career, he's worked his hardest to imbue it with the dignity that it deserves in movies like "The Defiant Ones," "Some Like It Hot," opposite Marilyn Monroe (whom he briefly dated) and "Spartacus" -- years before a film like "Brokeback Mountain" reignited the conversation of gays on film.
For this and his other achievements on celluloid, on Tuesday Nov. 18, the actor will be honored with "A Tribute To Tony Curtis" at the Castro Theatre, where he will be presented with the Mill Valley Film Festival Lifetime Award. He will also be interviewed by KRON's Jan Wahl, following the program which includes a screening of "Some Like It Hot," closing the week-long "Curtis at the Castro" series. Finally, Curtis will sign copies of his new autobiography "American Prince - A Memoir" at the end of the evening.
Gay.com's Josh Rotter was excited (albeit nervous) to chat with Curtis about finally getting his due recognition as an actor, his own oppression that like Spartacus he had to rise up against, his classic hunky roles, and playing gay in Hollywood's golden age.
Q: Hi Tony, you once said that you didn't feel as recognized as you should have been for your film work. Now you're getting the Mill Valley Film Festival award for your lifetime achievement in cinema. How exciting is that?
A: It's wonderful to be alive to get a lifetime achievement award. Any award I get for work is always pleasurable and meaningful to me. I never thought of it as much more, but as time goes on, I feel very rewarded by my profession and for being treated this way.
Q: You have a new autobiography out. What will people learn about you from the "American Prince" memoir?
A: I would think that they'd learn a lot. You'd understand perhaps my behavior, the personality I've got, and learn a lot about what it's been like, and all you had to do to become whatever you are. So the first chance you get, you should go out and get it.
Q: OK, one of the topics you address in the book is the experience of being a Jewish immigrant in the first half of the 20th Century named Bernard Schwartz. Talk to me about that experience.
A: Well, inadvertently, not because I sought it out, my parents would take me to Jewish experiences, going to Shul, special dinners and things like that, that they would go to. I would go with my father during the high holy days even though I did not have too much knowledge. I didn't speak the language, but he would tap me on the shoulder, and point to where I should read from the prayer book. But like most Jewish boys, we were not too good at it; we were clumsy, but we did it because our parents liked to do it. So my life was not particularly Jewish, but I would kill to maintain my Jewishness.
Q: I imagine, though, that it wasn't all culturally enriching. You must have also experienced anti-Semitism during that era.
A: You have to understand that I had no idea of what it meant to be a Jew; I enjoyed it, but did not have much more knowledge. As I got older and was in different, anti-Semitic environments, where I was riled upon and abused and thought badly of, I started to protect myself. If you told everybody that you weren't Jewish, then you'd have no trouble. But I didn't think that it was fair that I had to abnegate from my family tradition, so every chance I had, I spoke out. I sought it out, even when it was rather likely that the aggression was to come to the point of blows... because it was a way of defending my Jewish faith.
Q: Another emotional outlet for you, I'd imagine, is painting. I read that you've been painting since the early 80's and even have art at the MoMa and The Met, in New York. What is the experience of painting like for you and how is that different from acting?
A: Let me explain it to you. It comes from the inner self where a lot of dialogue occurs; since I'm well aware of my background, when I paint, it comes forward; not the experience, but the form and sense of it. All of a sudden, there's a guideline, and it's abstract and surrealist, and I work my way through the signs with color and styles that are practical to get at what I'm after -- thoughts, memories and attitudes of feelings about whatever I'm doing. But it's not easy to read what I'm painting. You have to have a psychiatrist there or have me saying what a shot of blue on top of red on top of a hat means.
Q: How is that different than acting?
A: The thing that makes it possible is that painting is not a physical experience, just a mental experience. Being mental, you get to it quicker. When I use a brush, colors, and charcoal, every stroke is pertaining to what I'm thinking about. And that's the way it comes together.
Q: You've said that acting no longer charms you in the same way. Why is that?
A: Acting, it hasn't really. I've made over 140 films and in making them, I explored in many ways to find the secret of what acting was, and did quite well; and still a lot has to be examined, but you can't do it when you're not working. Until I have another project, I won't be thinking about it. But I know when it does, I'll have a fix on it.
Q: In "The Defiant Ones," where you and acting legend Sidney Poitier play escaped convicts manacled together, there's a scene where you lay on him as he sings, which would never be done, at least in a straight scene, on film today. You've even described the film as having a homoerotic subtext in previous interviews.
A: It is. How could it not be? You have two men chained together, running for their lives, going to the bathroom together, one sleeping while the other one is awake, a very powerful pair; and how did they handle the fact that they were lying together in the middle of the mud and dirt? So what prevented them from finding esoteric ways? It wasn't explained, but it's the important part. For me it was easy to play, because I had a lot of that in my life.
Q: Released at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement, how groundbreaking would you say the film was from a racial standpoint?
A: It helped people who were on the fringe about black and white relationships, because they all of a sudden saw it, in its pure hatred and love, so they could make their own decision while watching the film rather than have someone else making it for them.
Q: In "Some Like It Hot," you and Jack Lemmon pose as female musicians Josephine and Daphne to hide from the mob. Everyone remembers that final scene where the Osgood Fielding character says to Jack Lemmon's Daphne character "Nobody's perfect" when he discovers that she's male -- which was very overt for the time. Years later you even went on to play Osgood Fielding in the musical. What appealed to you about that story?
A: I found it a very appealing experience. I wanted to know more about it. There I was dressed as a girl. But all three films, 'Some Like It Hot,' 'The Defiant Ones,' and 'Spartacus' had sexual connotations. I liked them for that, because I liked the idea of breaking the rules. I feel those three pictures did in succession what they were meant to do. If you examine them, you found that they came in the proper order to realize and examine, and to understand better, so we're not making foolish and stupid considerations.
Q: People continue to talk about your homoerotic bathing scene in "Spartacus" opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Describe the experience of shooting that scene, and how do you feel about it now?
A: When I did it, it was the way I feel about it now. There's a reality in the scene. A man wanted to have me physically in his arms, his version of making love to me. That was the only purpose of the scene, and understanding that dilemma. I've experienced men wanting to be with me. I never explored it, but the feeling was always there. When I did the scene with Larry, I felt comfortable, because I had thought about it before. So I brought to the scene my own trepidations and feelings.
Q: From a historical perspective, what's important about that scene?
A: You've never seen a scene like that in a movie. Since 'Spartacus' it's never been done on that delicate level, using abstract terms to make people understand what the relationship was. I think I said, 'I love oysters,' and he said, 'I love oysters and snails,' and the meaning was quite evident. It was an articulate scene. I don't remember something like that in any film or theatrical production that ever came so close to explaining it.
Q: Why, when so many of your contemporaries, gay and straight, shied away from the topic of homosexuality, were you so quick to tackle it onscreen?
A: Simply because I was able to understand both ends of the dilemma. I was able to understand my brothers that were homosexuals and understand my brothers who were not. I could extend myself to both ends. I never flinched from it. I was able to touch both areas without acquiesing.
Q: You were friends with Rock Hudson, who certainly went through a difficult time since he couldn't address his own sexuality for most of his life.
A: It's difficult for any guy. For any guy who comes along who's important in one way and finds another section, his soul, could be his downfall. He's the perfect example of that, because he was tall, handsome and masculine, and yet his soul was the opposite of that. He became a very important symbol of that. Everybody could see the difference and understood it -- that a big, strong guy could succumb to another feeling. Homosexuals were seen as wimps who couldn't manage their lives, as feminine men incapable of handling their problems, which is not true. As a symbol, he proved to them that it was not true. But the sad part is that he had to die for it.
Q: Another gay icon that you befriended back then was James Dean. To put rumors to rest, in your opinion, was he bisexual?
A: There's no way you can determine that. A lot of men who are not homosexual will have these experiences to improve their position in life in whatever they're doing. They will do it because it helps them, and not for any other reason. If it has any other effect, and the man finds that that's the way he wants to be, that's another story; but sometimes it's nothing more than improving their lot. You cannot give it any more than that.
Q: What motivated you to discuss that golden era in Hollywood in the acclaimed Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman documentary "The Celluloid Closet"?
A: It was important to me because I wanted people to see the differences. The picture gave different feelings and a different understanding of the topic, and I wanted all my brothers to feel comfortable -- whatever they are.
Q: More recently you appeared as a guest on the popular UK chat show "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross" alongside another gay icon, Grace Jones. That must have been a trip.
A: It was a very interesting experience with Grace on it, particularly. She really expressed herself on the show. She even said at one point after we finished that if you're interested in me, then consider me a man. I said, 'I would, if you'd start wearing pants.'
Tony Curtis: The Gay Interview
!
Calif. Supreme Court to take up gay marriage ban
California's highest court has agreed to hear legal challenges to a new ban on gay marriage, but is refusing to allow gay couples to resume marrying until it rules.
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted three lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8. The amendment passed this month with 52 percent of the vote. The court did not elaborate on its decision.
All three cases claim the ban abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/19/state/n135549S84.DTL
Good news :)
Tony Curtis interview very interesting.
I wonder if he'll ever say more about BBMt - I never thot he didnt watch it because of homophobia -
Comment about Jas Dean esp. interesting.
How protective of one another's private lives are H'wood folks? Very, I would imagine.
I wonder if he'll ever say more about BBM
I wish he would. Tony is very cool about playing gay and his gay friends, he can't be a homophobe, can he?
^^^
No, watch Celluloid Closet to understand him better.
I might guess that Curtis thot BBMt a chick flick; Ang and Shamus said they marketed it as such.
In that case I owe him an apology - Sorry Tony!
Ironic that Tony Curtis is a homophobe considering he worked with a few closeted gay men and his daughter is Jamie Lee Curtis-who is close friends with Naomi and Jake's godmother.
Wait a second, we've just concluded that Tony is NOT a homophobe :)
He's not, to all indications, except that he dismissed BBMt. So did alot of GLBT people, and supporters, thinking it was romantic drivel. We do not hear from these people on Jake sites.
"Wait a second, we've just concluded that Tony is NOT a homophobe :)"
Who's "we"? You got a mouse in yr pocket? :)
"We" = 5:49 PM and 5:58 PM
I think I said, 'I love oysters,' and he said, 'I love oysters and snails,' and the meaning was quite evident.
Gays love oysters and snails? :)
Im not gay, but I love oysters and snails and puppy dog tails.
the meaning was quite evident
It was? Sex and snails? Eww... lol
Larry Olivier lov'd oysters and snails and Marlon Brando. . .
Okay oysters are kinda slimy and snails have a wrinkly protective membrane - I dunno this convo may turn me off sex altogether.
Yuck!
6:18 PM
Are you from France?
uncircumcized Roman soldiers' male members are kinda snaily . . .
Yay for the Jews! Yay for Tony Curtis, one of the most gorgeous men to ever hit the scree when young, everybody wanted to do him.
"6:18 PM
Are you from France?"
Mais oui! Comme meme!
I mean, you betcha!
Osgood: I called Mama. She was so happy she cried! She wants you to have her wedding gown. It's white lace.
Daphne: Yeah, Osgood. I can't get married in your mother's dress. Ha ha. That-she and I, we are not built the same way.
Osgood: We can have it altered.
Daphne: Oh no you don't! Osgood, I'm gonna level with you. We can't get married at all.
Osgood: Why not?
Daphne: Well, in the first place, I'm not a natural blonde.
Osgood: Doesn't matter.
Daphne: I smoke! I smoke all the time!
Osgood: I don't care.
Daphne: Well, I have a terrible past. For three years now, I've been living with a saxophone player.
Osgood: I forgive you.
Daphne: [Tragically] I can never have children!
Osgood: We can adopt some.
Daphne/Jerry: But you don't understand, Osgood! [Whips off his wig, exasperated, and changes to a manly voice.] Uhhh, I'm a man!
Osgood: [Looks at him then turns back, unperturbed]: Well, nobody's perfect!
Q: What motivated you to discuss that golden era in Hollywood in the acclaimed Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman documentary "The Celluloid Closet"?
A: It was important to me because I wanted people to see the differences. The picture gave different feelings and a different understanding of the topic, and I wanted all my brothers to feel comfortable -- whatever they are.
That was really nice of him.
Okay, Monkey Man, the tent scene in Brokeback Mountain…it was hot, but, uh, not exactly realistic, if you know what I mean.
There is a whole thread on DC forum dedicated to this issue :)
"The first tent scene: How realistic was it? Is it realistic for a straight man (who was most likely a virgin) to know exactly what to do the first time he has anal sex? (Sorry if this is naive!)
I notice that there's not ONE vote for the anal sex scene being the favorite in BBM! Is anal sex one of those things that straight people thinks happens all the time in the gay world, but in reality it's low on the list of what gay people do? (Sorry if this is naive!)"
DC Forum: MEMBERS ONLY - The Juicy Bits (Members Only) - Topic: Ignorant Straight Girl Wants Answers from Gay Men
---
"Go for it.
Ennis did."
DC Forum: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Scene-by-Scene - Topic: First Night in the Tent
"You know, to be very personal, it just hit me that my first time to bottom (as a scared teenager) we only used spit for lube (what did rural boys know about lube and condoms in the early eighties?) and everything was okay. So, I guess this is not that farfetched, especially considering it is 1963 during this scene. Spit and some precum work okay. My first time with that act also was not very tender or romantic, but much more like the tent scene. (Again, sorry if this is TMI, but we are going right there in this discussion, so I thought I'd offer some perspective.)"
Id rather have personal TMI than women slash writers fantacizing and fastideous gay men making generalizations.
Anal sex is common, "natural", and pleasurable.
We didn't hire anyone,” producer James Schamus tells the Monkey, “but [director] Ang [Lee] is not shy about his research on everything, from what kind of jeans shepherds wore back then to what the sex would be.
Good research Ang! :)
California's highest court has agreed to hear legal challenges to a new ban on gay marriage . . .
Thank G*d.
I thought both tent scenes in BBM were beautiful, for different reasons.
I liked FNIT best because it was still Annie's story. SNIT blew my mind, but mostly because Id never before seen male seduction and tenderness portrayed so beautifully. WOW!
DC Forum: MEMBERS ONLY - The Juicy Bits (Members Only) - Topic: Ignorant Straight Girl Wants Answers from Gay Men
"i do not have a case of ennis envy (sorry, couldnt resist). i think its so sad he never could follow his true feelings. however, my first gay relationship was so similar to that of jack and ennis. i do have so many regrets. we never spoke of our feelings...things just happened. sadly, he committed suicide and left me empty and confused. fortunately, i grew as a person from the experience and make an effort to live life completely and intensely. finding the good is every situation always helps. i think about mike almost daily, but try not to dwell on the sadness.....just how great the times were when we were together. life goes on. (i call this my "buck up lil camper speech".....and thats all i have to say to my friends when they are down)
the tent scene......was actually kinda realistic from my first experience.....except we were on the roof of a hotel in paris. we never talked about it...it just happened. today, for me, it doesnt happen that often...something i prefer to save for special, close relationships.
kissing guys was tough for me. i dont know why. i think i held it as a feminine thing. i even had weird feelings when other gay guys kissed in that friendly gay way and called each other "gurl". i think its my perception of what i like in men (beefy, manly men). im over that now....just took a while to get used to."
Id rather have personal TMI than women slash writers fantacizing and fastideous gay men making generalizations.
I'm greedy - I want them both :)
. . . except we were on the roof of a hotel in paris.
Well, that's gotta be right there with the most romantic things I've ever heard, gay or straight.
Can't have sex, IMO, without lotsa kissin'. ;)
DC Forum: MEMBERS ONLY - The Juicy Bits (Members Only) - Topic: Ignorant Straight Girl Wants Answers from Gay Men
"As for the straps-on etc., my neighbor used to work part time a very swank adult accessory shop. Really nice place. Caters largely to women, but pleasant guys were always welcome too (and unpleasant male customers faced the prospect of no small amount of humiliation at the hands of some women I certainly would never want to piss off).
Anyway, the store runs workshops on all things pleasant. Turns out that the women attending strap-on workshops were often 50+ percent straight (mostly married) women. Quite a few of them report that hubby has discovered something really quite wonderful and can get rather demanding about it at times. ;)"
Who cares about sex with demanding "hubbies" jeeeze this is more disgusting than snails and oysters.
cant people just go to DC to read this stuff?
I gathered from reading slash that "hubbies" just laid about on the sofa watching TVS. leaving the (whats the opposite of "hubby"?) free to write slash.
women that do strap-on are usually lesbian
the image of a "hubby" squealing O Isnt This Wonderful makes me ill.
some people!
It's not just lesbians who do that; it's popular enough that Dan Savage came, with the help of his readers, came up with a term for it: Pegging.
Who cares about sex with demanding "hubbies" jeeeze this is more disgusting than snails and oysters.
Oh my, and I thought I'd never see this day - WFT2 posters disgusted with (heterosexual) sex! lol
a term for it: Pegging
There's a Wikipedia article about it :)
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