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April 29, 2005 This Sunday, May 1st, 2005, Harris Allan's band Square9 is scheduled to perform at Youthquest, in downtown Vancouver. The concert is free! The band is set to go on at 2:20 PM. The Prism Awards honor accurate depiction of drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse in TV, film, music and comics. For the second year in a row, QAF and Scott Lowell were nominated. The awards were presented last night, and while Scott did not take home the trophy in his category, QAF tied with the show "Lost" to win the award for TV Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline (episodes 401 and 402). Congratulations, QAF and Scott!Scott will be presenting an award at the 16th Annual GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles tomorrow (Saturday) April 30, as will Robert Gant and Harris Allan. QAF is nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series award. 2005 marks the first time that the GLAAD Media Awards will be televised. MTV Networks' new cable channel, LOGO, is set to air the GLAAD Media Awards telecast in the Fall.Here's an excerpt from an article in The Triangle newspaper of Drexel University (PA) about Matt Blank's visit, where the Showtime Chairman discussed the content and future of television, and made mention of Queer As Folk:Blank claimed that initially, much of Showtime's programming was meant for niche audiences and cited the example of the highly popular and highly controversial "Queer as Folk," a series drama featuring the relationships of a number of gay men. Blank feels that "Queer as Folk" helped bring about social change and acceptance. "Without 'Queer as Folk' we wouldn't have 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' either." Blank argued. Today, Showtime has gained a broader audience and Blank finds it "compelling in business terms." and the network is catering to its customer's wants. While still host to many controversial shows, Showtime is also home to "Fat Actress" and "Brotherhood," which are more traditional and far-reaching in their target audiences. Visit the Drexel University newspaper's website to read the full article and see pictures of Blank's visit.
From the futon critic: Josh Stamberg ("A Lot Like Love"), Sharon Gless ("Queer as Folk"), Amy Halloran ("Surviving Christmas") and Chris Parnell ("Saturday Night Live") have all joined the cast of the comedy pilot THICK & THIN (NBC) about an obese woman (Jessica Capshow) who turns thin and struggles in her relationships with her still-large family and friends. Details on their respective roles however were not specified. Martin Mull also stars in the NBC Universal Television/Broadway Video-based project, which comes from executive producers Paula Pell, Lorne Michaels and Joann Alfano. In addition, Stamberg has booked a guest starring role on the CBS drama pilot "Love Monkey." No details were given about his role on that project either. From SuperheroHype.com: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Bravo's three-part special "Ultimate Super Heroes, Ultimate Super Villains, Ultimate Super Vixens." The series premieres Thursday, May 26 (10-11 p.m. EST) and will air the same bat time, same bat channel for three consecutive nights. With a combination of cutting edge graphics, film clips, celebrity and expert interviews, Bravo's "Ultimate Super Heroes" specials look at the popularity and longevity of each list topper. Exclusive interviews include actress Vivica A. Fox (Batman & Robin, Kill Bill: Vol. 1"), comic book writer Stan Lee ("X-Men," "Spider-Man," "Fantastic Four"), actor Hal Sparks (Spider-Man 2), director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2), actor Bill Mumy ("Twilight Zone," "Babylon 5"), comic book writer Todd McFarlane ("Spawn"), actor Mark Hamill ("Star Wars"), actor Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) and Chairman/CEO Marvel Studios Avi Arad (X-Men, Daredevil, Elektra).
Short notice, but for those in North Carolina, the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem is screening Fathers and Sons tonight at 6pm at the Stevens Center. Admission is $10. The film will be shown again on Saturday at 1pm. Read the review from journalnow.com which mentions Gale (but gets his last name wrong, unfortunately). For more information, visit www.riverrunfilm.com
The schedule for May 23 on the Showcase site shows the first episode of Season 5 being aired at 10pm ET (thanks Drew!) New pictures have been posted to the photography section of the Showtime Press Online site. For those who don't like to be spoiled, please note that these pictures are from the first couple of episodes of Season 5. To view the photos, you must enter the user name "pressonline" and the password "showtime". The Life on the Ledge site is finally up and running. Check out the trailer and cast page to see Gale Harold in action as Chaz. There's also a news page and a blog for all the latest on the film.From PRNewswire: Rosie O'Donnell, along with her partner Kelli O'Donnell and travel entrepreneur Gregg Kaminsky are the principals of R Family Vacations, the first travel company devoted to gay and lesbian family vacations. Following the success of its first cruise, R Family Vacations second cruise will set sail on the Norwegian Dawn with a completely customized itinerary departing from New York City on July 10th 2005, with Ports-of-Call to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Provincetown, Boston, and Martha's Vineyard. On this summer's cruise, Rosie will host the opening night ceremonies and will be at all of the shows. She will also host the World premiere of "All Aboard: Rosie's Family Cruise," the HBO documentary that was filmed on last summer's cruise. Cyndi Lauper will perform a concert on-board the ship. Judy Gold will host a comedy showcase featuring the newest in comedy talent. Additionally, Rosie will screen "Queer As Folk" with a Q&A with Sharon Gless. Many Broadway and pop performers will showcase their talents, some include, Liz Calloway, John Tartaglia, Suzanne Buiray, Gavin Creel, Orfeh, the Kinsey Sicks, and Michael Arden. Susan Powter, a fitness guru will be offering yoga and fitness classes throughout the week. Esera Tuaolo a pro NFL player will give a motivational speech. Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Art Smith will be offering an exclusive cooking class on board. Themed parties, cabaret shows, dance parties, and many more extravaganzas will take place. [full story]
Peter Paige's movie "Childstar" will be shown at the Independent Film Festival of Boston 2005. Screening #1 takes place at 9pm, Friday April 22 and Screening #2 takes place at 7pm, Sunday April 24. Showtime has published a new press release regarding the Ancient Babylon Tour 2005. Click here to read more. Tour information can be found via the interactive website at www.ancientbabylontour.com.In the TV section of OUT Magazine (May issue) is an article titled "Queer Matters" ( Kissing Queer Goodbye) which discusses how QAF has changed the way gays and lesbians are seen on TV, and features some of the cast members' favourite moments. Robert Gant shares that his favorite scene for Ben "happens toward the end of [this season], when Ben is pushed to behave in a way that is about as un-Ben-like as possible. I love that his life circumstances lead him to such an unpredictable and contradictory place." Scott Lowell's favorite scenes was Ted's speech to Emmett in Season 1 about God loving us all. He says that he thinks that speech sums up what the whole show stood for and that he's very proud of it.In a new poll, OUT invites readers to vote on the gay celeb they most want to hook up with in "Spring Flings" -- a photo of Robert Gant is featured, and he is one of the choices in the poll.
The trailer for Life on the Ledge (in which Gale Harold plays Chaz) is now up at 75films.com. Photo stills have been added to the listing at IMDb.com. Particles of Truth airs on the Sundance channel throughout April (15th 2:45pm, 16th 5:15am, 20th 9:30am and 7:15pm, 25th 8:30am, 26th 5:45am, 30th 9pm and May 1st 4:45am). The Houston Voice reported on the HRC Gala attended by Sharon Gless: "The annual gala staged Saturday night by the Human Rights Campaign’s Houston chapter will go down as the most successful yet, according to the three chair-persons for the event. In addition to drawing more than 1,000 guests, the event grossed more than $220,000, with $93,000 of that coming from the silent and live auctions. The theme for the 2005 gala, held at the downtown Hilton Americas Hotel, was 'Masquerade.' The featured guest was actress Sharon Gless, who plays Debbie Novotny on Showtime’s ‘Queer as Folk.’ Gless, who was presented with the Humanitarian Award, chatted with guests and posed for photographs prior to the start of the dinner."In another edition of the Houston Voice, interviewer Tyler Steele talks to Cyndi Lauper (who guest stars in an episode of QAF this season) about her new CD, Divas Live and her support of gay marriage:HOVO: One of the many reasons you are so endeared in the gay community is your constant declaration that people accept who they are and relish their uniqueness. Well, that and taking your husband on double dates with gay couples! LAUPER: Well, Patti (LaBelle) is the Godmother of my son, but she shares that with a few of my gay and lesbian friends. My son has a lot of gay people in his life, and I’m so happy that he’s able to experience these people and not see them as different. HOVO: What’s your feeling on gay marriage? LAUPER: I don’t get why people are up in arms over it. Who the heck is it hurting? Do we really need this to distract us from what’s going on in the world? I know a lot of gay parents who are better parents and more caring about their families than some heterosexual families. Rosie O'Donnell, who also guest stars on QAF this season, has a blog of her own. Keep an eye on her posts... perhaps she will talk about her time on the show. It has been confirmed that Showcase will air the premiere of Season 5 on May 23rd, one night after the show airs on Showtime. No word on whether both episodes one and two will be shown together.Tour dates/cities have been announced for the Ancient Babylon Tour. A review of the DVDs: Queer As Folk – The Complete Fourth Season, 5-disk Set: What made this idea daring was not that the sex was more explicit than on, say, “Melrose Place”; it was, but after all, this was pay-as-you-go-go TV, where lots of skin and buff bodies, entwined and nicely lighted, was a spicy, sexy tradition. What made this idea daring was not that the show was adapted from a successful Brit series of the same name; after all, American TV series had been “repurposing” what our British brethren were watching since at least as far back as “All in the Family.” What made this idea daring was not even that the show was set in Pittsburgh, a handsome river-front city, to be sure, but theretofore hardly known as the glamour capital of the world, though treating “fabulous Pittsburgh” as anything other than an oxymoron seems, in retrospect, daring enough. No, what made this a daring landmark in the history of television was that the folks at Showtime had the audacity to make “Queer As Folk” a glamorous, gauzy, sexy soap about GAY people, who were shown to be in all their finery and foibles (Gasp!) just as messed up as the straights. From Playbill.com: The star-studded cast of the upcoming benefit reading of "Casablanca" — May 1 at California's Pantages Theatre — has changed again. Hal Sparks — of "Queer as Folk" fame — will replace the previously announced Neil Patrick Harris in the role of Jan Brandel. Rene Auberjonois and Bruce Davison have also joined the company, reading the roles of, respectively, Berger and Emil.
Hours before dawn on a chilly morning in March recently, the entire cast of Showtime’s Queer as Folk gathered on the set to watch the taping of a scene, the last scene in the five-year-old drama. “We all went in at 2 a.m. because we wanted to end it together,” says actress Sharon Gless, who plays Debbie Novotny. With the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s a wrap,” she says, the show was over. For more on the finale, and what's ahead for Sharon, visit the Houston Voice. Another great article about the ending of QAF, complete with pictures from the wrap party, is online at PlanetOut.com. The author, Charles Kaiser, spent a lot of time with Michelle Clunie and Thea Gill preparing for the group goodbyes, and capturing some poignant remarks about the entire experience from the cast and crew.Less than two years since launching as America's first television network appealing to gay and lesbian audiences, here! announced this week it is now available to 40 million households across the U.S. Premiering on the network in 2005 is a gay parenting series, a gothic horror series, a naval action drama, a sci-fi thriller and a detective series. These original productions feature such notable talent as Adrian Paul (Highlander), Mathew St. Patrick (Six Feet Under), Catherine Dent (The Shield, Taken); Matt Battaglia (Universal Soldier I & II, "Drew" on Queer as Folk); Anthony Sabato, Jr., Rae Dawn Chong; and Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) amongst others. The development slate also encompasses original series, movies and specials, including "Triple Threat," a series from writer Shawn Postoff (Queer as Folk) that revolves around three young men who start a theater company in New York and are entwined in a relationship. [read more]The QAF Season 4 DVD and VHS box sets were released April 5th. The five-disc set has all 14 episodes from year four, with the DVD extras focusing on some cast members' outside projects, including Peter Paige's film "Donut Hole" and Gale Harold and Michelle Clunie's movie "The Unseen."For Canadians: Starting April 12th under new ownership, PrideVision will launch a new digital cable channel called OUTtv. On that date, the current premium channel PrideVision will then be known as HARD on PrideVision and will see its hard core gay adult content expanded to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. OUTtv will not have any hard-core adult programming and will be a 24/7 GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) Category 1 lifestyle channel that will be included at no additional cost with other digital channels in bundles or theme packages or separately on an ‘a la carte’ basis. Read the press release for more information on the launch and programming highlights for OUTtv.Look for Patrick Antosh in an interview and photo spread in the April issue of abOUT magazine. There are photos of Patrick at the Set Sale this past weekend in the News section of his website, where he was interviewed by OUTtv. Look for coverage of the sale on the cable channel soon (more info on OUTtv in the paragraph above).It appears that Showtime will air the first two episodes of the new season (501 and 502) at 10pm and 11pm ET, respectively, on May 22, 2005. Episode 503 will air on May 29, first at 10pm and again at 11pm. Showcase has not yet announced the premiere date for Season 5, but with the series "Angels in America" beginning next Monday, April 11, the May 23, 10pm timeslot will be available. Let's keep our fingers crossed!Check out this auction for a Queer as Folk Season 5 Launch Screening & DVD Set, estimated at $1,000. "Experience the life of a hollywood celebrity - Showtime Networks will host a Queer as Folk Season 5 launch screening and reception on May 11, 2005 in Hollywood, CA. This private star studded event will have you walking down the red carpet, rubbing elbows with the stars of Queer as Folk and sipping martini's at the post premiere bash. Plans for this year's celebration include a re-creation of the famous "Babylon" nightclub that has been synonymous with the show for the past 5 years! Package also includes DVD box sets of Seasons 1-4 of Queer as Folk. This is a Limited Time Auction - final bidding closes on April 30th.
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