April 16, 2007 Documenting a Musical Outsider is a new article from AfterElton.com, in which Stephen Kijak and Gale Harold talk about their film "Scott Walker: 30 Century man." In the interview, Gale describes artists and queers as sharing an outsider sensibility, which is why he isn't surprised that gay audiences and artists are drawn to Walker. "There's a very strong feeling of alienation in a lot of Scott's work. For anyone growing up with a strong need to create, to express yourself artistically, you experience that same sense of being alienated. If you're a gay man but you don't fit into the Abercrombie and Fitch model, or if you're a straight man who doesn't fit in with the NASCAR model — and that will be the culmination of everything wrong with American culture, the day Abercrombie and Fitch sponsors a NASCAR team — you feel that sense of alienation, of being an outsider." [read more] April 14, 2007 The Lifetime Movie Network is airing Gale's movie "Fathers and Sons" later this month. You can catch the three interconnected tales of father-son relationships set in the same neighborhood on Monday, April 30th at 11:42 pm, and Tuesday, May 1st at 10:57 am. Variety talks to Wendy Walker, Larry King's senior executive producer of 14 years, about booking high-profile guests, sometimes at the very last minute. There is no typical day for King's bookers, according to the article. It's a seven-day-a-week job. Up-to-the-minute news always takes priority. "Larry is great during breaking news," Walker says. "He loves the adrenaline, the rock-and-rolling. It's 2 p.m. as I am talking right now. If something happened, we could change the program pretty much until the show ... and even during the show." Walker recalls the time she had the cast of "Queer as Folk" in remote studios all over the country: "There were like seven people ready to go. And I got a call. It must have been 10 minutes to airtime. The police were about to go down and arrest William Blake. I changed the entire show right then. We got Blake's lawyer on the phone as he was driving to wherever Blake was, and that's how we started -- with a phoner. We started booking and continued to book during the show." [Revisit the Larry King interview with the cast] Sharon Gless has posted in her blog on the Cagney & Lacey website. She talks about her recent trips to Toronto and London, and her husband's new book, about the legendary C&L series, which is behing honored by the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills on April 30th. According to Miami Today news, Twentieth Century Fox will spend a half-million dollars setting up shop at the Coconut Grove Convention Center to produce an 11-episode series for cable-television channel USA Network. Fox plans to build interior sets for the series, "Burn Notice," slated to premiere on USA in June. The show will star Jeffery Donovan as a former government spy, veteran character actor Bruce Campbell and former "Cagney & Lacey" co-star Sharon Gless. Terry Miller, unit production manager for the series, explains that there are relatively few real sound stages in South Florida, so the crew is converting the convention ceter to a sound stage without essentials like soundproofing. The City of Miami is going to benefit from a good deal of the expenditures for such things as set-construction materials, wardrobes and hotel rooms for visiting directors and guest stars. Curt Holman interviewed Del Shores (one of the writers for QAF) as he was walking through an alligator habitat in Sanibel, Florida, on the way back from breakfast one morning. Born in rural Texas, Shores became a writer for theater and television, but also became a cult figure by directing and adapting his play Sordid Lives as a campy Southern indie comedy (with Delta Burke and Leslie Jordan), which has become an enormous word-of-mouth hit on DVD. This year, Shores plans to direct a film of Southern Baptist Sissies, reuniting with Burke and Jordan, and to develop a prequel series of Sordid Lives for the Logo network. Holman says, "You were one of the writers of the U.S. version of 'Queer as Folk,' and Leslie Jordan had a recurring role on 'Will and Grace,' two landmark gay shows that have gone off the air. What's next for gay television?" Shores replies, "'Sordid Lives.' (Laughs) I really believe we should be mainstream. It's important, and I hope the networks create more shows. 'The L Word' is still on Showtime, and 'Brothers and Sisters' has a nice gay arc. Even if you don't have a 'Queer as Folk' or 'Will and Grace,' those shows still knocked down doors for gay characters. The great thing is that we're not just seeing the funny sidekick stereotype any more. 'Queer as Folk' was the first show showing real characters living real lives. And having sex." [read the entire interview] West Virginia University's last Mountain Stage of the semester will finish the year out with a bang with performances by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Elvis Perkins, Dale Ann Bradley, The Holmes Brothers and Howie Beck. The show will take place at the Creative Arts Center this Sunday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Canadian songwriter Howie Beck has found success in the United States through television shows like ''One Tree Hill'' and ''Queer as Folk.'' Q Magazine calls him a ''quiet treasure.'' Beck's first U.S. release combines all the elements of songwriting in a beautiful collection of songs. See the WVU website for more information. From Broadway World: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey opens its newly extended 2007 season a month earlier than in the past with William Shakespeare’s epic Henry V, which has not been seen at The Shakespeare Theatre in a decade. The celebration is continued later in the season with Blood & Roses: Shakespeare’s Henry VI. Adapted by Brian B. Crowe, this extraordinary production of Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3, condensed into one evening, begins where Henry V ends -- with the death of King Henry V -- and continues with the rise of the 'child king' King Henry VI and the spectacular War of the Roses that ensues under his blind leadership. Jack Wetherall ("Queer as Folk," Canada's Stratford Festival) takes on the role of Chorus, whose famous lines "Oh for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention…" begins the play. Also featured in the cast is Kate Baldwin as Princess Katherine – King Henry’s future French bride. Baldwin, making her Shakespeare Theatre debut, appeared on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty and Wonderful Town as well as several productions of the Encores! Series at City Center. Performances are Tuesday through Sundays at The Theatre’s Main Stage – the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison. Regular ticket prices are $28-$52. For tickets or more information, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org. Hal Sparks (Michael, QAF) will emcee "The Kiss and Tell Party and Charity event" at the Playboy Mansion, April 21, 2007. This star-studded, once-in-a-lifetime party will be attended by Snoop Dogg, Latin sex symbol Vida Guerra, numerous adult entertainment industry superstars, Playboy Playmates, NFL athletes, with a special performance by the legendary Lil Jon. This is the first-ever Playboy Mansion event to offer access to the general public through online ticket reseller, StubHub. For more information, visit the Kiss and Tell Party website. April 10, 2007 From The Oxford Press: According to the 2007 College Rankings by the Princeton Review, Miami University ranks fifteenth in the country where an alternative lifestyle is not an alternative. To combat the negative campus climate, the student LGBT group Spectrum is holding "Awareness Week 2007" with prominent artists, activists and campus leaders. Robert Gant (Ben, QAF) will headline the week with his presentation at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the MacMillan Hall Great Room. His lecture will focus on growing up and coming out in Hollywood. On April 15th, Robert and his Mythgarden partner Chad Allen, as well as two actors from the TV series "Dante's Cove" will be among the panelists at the 2007 Queer Media and Entertainment Conference, also known as Q-Me Con, in Los Angeles. The topic of their seminar, which will be held on Sunday afternoon between 3:45 and 5pm, is "Private Dicks and Sexy Tricks: The Men of here! Speak Out." Panelists will share stories about being gay men in Hollywood, talk about their experiences with stereotyping and "lavender ceilings" and discuss the impact that making and starring in queer content has among gay male viewers. The April Q&A is up at scottlowell.com. Scott has taped another episode of "American Dad" and is currently shooting a small indie film called "Ping Pong Playa" in which he plays Peter Paige's henchman (he's the villain of the film). "It's essentially a glorified cameo that Peter asked me to do and I liked the script so much that I was happy to say 'Yes'." Other than that, Scott's been auditioning, writing, and walking his dog. According to the Compass Newspaper Online, the Lake State Theatre Company (Sault Sainte Marie, MI) performed Shakespeare's Macbeth from March 29 to April 1. Although they only did four shows, it was not an easy production. Dr.Gary Balfantz was the director, and at one point he brought in Jack Wetherall (Vic Grassi, QAF) who has appeared on Broadway and who spent several years in Stratford as a Shakespearian actor. Jack worked with Justin Wright (Macbeth) and E.C. Solomon (Lady Macbeth) over Christmas break and came back to lead a weeklong workshop with the rest of the cast two months later. Jack coached the actors in their roles and taught methods of preparing for a performance, including thorough voice and body warm-ups. More on the Cagney & Lacey phenomenon from Barry Rosenzweig, husband to Sharon Gless (Debbie, QAF) in this weekend's Toronto Star. Dean Armstrong (Blake, QAF) appeared in this week's episode of 'Til Death Do Us Part (Court TV). Blake stars in the true tale of a former football hero whose rocky relationship with his wife leads to murder. Hal Sparks (Michael, QAF) will be one of the celebrity judges on Nick at Nite's "America's Funniest Mom 3." The show is being hosted by Roseanne Barr and premieres April 10, 2007 at 9PM ET. Also judging will be Kim Cole, who gained fame on "Living Single" and VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club." April 2, 2007 Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, of which Gale is an associate producer, has its Canadian premiere at the Hot Docs: Canadian International Documentary Festival next month in Toronto. The film will screen first on Saturday, April 21stSunday, April 22ndScott Walker doc page on the hotdocs website. More pictures from the film's first festival tour, and more reviews from SXSW will be posted to the official website soon. Theatrical dates for the UK are listed on the distributor's page. Thursday, June 28 is the debut of "Burn Notice" on USA Network, starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless. The drama series revolves around secret agent Michael Weston (Donovan) who gets the "burn notice," which is how a spy gets fired and taken out of the game. Unfortunately, Weston has no idea why he's suddenly an untouchable, and trying to get to the bottom of the mystery is rather difficult and dangerous without being able to use his previous resources and contacts. The Scott Lowell website has been updated. There's a beautiful new headshot of Scott in the Gallery, with other photos by Kevyn Major Howard. The producers of Scott's horror anthology film, Trapped Ashes, have signed a distribution deal with Lionsgate Films for Canada and the U.S. No release date has been set but look for it to come out later this year. Visit the official Trapped Ashes website on MySpace.

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