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June 23, 2005 Jennifer Elster has posted a new entry to her blog on the Particles of Truth website: "pot dvd will be available via block buster, circuit city, amazon.com etc... as of july 26th. there are some extras on it; in particular gale and i did an audio commentary in one sitting. no editing. just ran through and rattled out some very random things." There are quotes and reviews of Life on the Ledge (following its screening at Tribeca) in the news section of the LOTL website. In "Know Your Truth", an article in the current issue of Xtra magazine, Lisa Foad writes about rocker Carole Pope: "The iconic status of Ms Pope is undeniable. Unapologetically pushing borders, she's been a pioneer in the world of radical music-making since her emergence in the early 1970s punk scene and the new wave movement of the '80s. It's hard not to be roused and provoked by Pope. Her autobiography, Anti-Diva (from Random House in 2000), dishes on- and off-stage gossip and politics told with Pope's clever blend of raunch and wit. In 2001, she guested in the Toronto production of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues at the New Yorker Theatre. And her music has been snatched up by the likes of The L-Word and Queer As Folk." [read more]In celebration of Gay Pride Week 2005, Backstage takes a look at the burgeoning world of grassroots LGBT-themed indie cinema. Included in the piece is TLA, which stands for Theatre of the Living Arts, an experimental theatre group in Philadelphia founded by André Gregory in the early 1960s. Upon the group's demise in the late '60s, its theatre was turned into an art film house, which was run by TLA Entertainment Group, founded by Raymond Murray, film historian and author of "Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video." In 1985, the company opened a video store next door to the theatre.Today it owns and operates six stores in Philadelphia and New York City, selling videos of all persuasions on-site, through direct mail, and over the Internet at www.tlavideo.com. But it wasn't until 2001 that TLA Releasing was formed and the company began releasing films theatrically and on DVD, with a primary focus on LGBT-themed work. Just recently it moved into producing as well, with three properties currently in production: Todd Stephens' "Porky's"-style comedy "Another Gay Movie," Christian Calson's romance "Flirting With Anthony," and Richard Bell's street-kid drama "Eighteen," starring Alan Cumming, "Queer as Folk" 's Thea Gill (playing Hannah), and the voice of Sir Ian McKellen. [read the full article]The Showtime ebay auctions have been updated with several new items: one of Debbie's t-shirts and some of her porcelain poodles (too cute!), a Justin sweatshirt, a lamp from Brian's loft, and signs from Woody's.From Yahoo Biz: Pop star Cyndi Lauper will perform aboard the R Family Vacation's second annual cruise on the Norwegian Dawn, which sets sail from New York on July 10, with Ports-of-Call to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Provincetown, Boston and Martha's Vineyard. A number of other celebrities are slated to perform on the cruiseline, which seeks to "provide a vacation option where everyone is welcome-gay and lesbian travelers, their families (kids included) and their friends."Rosie O'Donnell, who had a 3-episode guest stint on QAF this season, along with partner Kelli O'Donnell and travel entrepreneur Gregg Kaminsky, have announced that award-winning furniture designer Mitchell Gold will sponsor Lauper's concert. Sharon Gless (Debbie) and O'Donnell will host a Q&A following a screening of QAF, cooking lessons will be offered from Oprah's chef, and yoga and fitness classes will be given by the renowned exercise guru, Susan Powter; other surprises will also be in store for passengers.
Looks like QAF is being used as a springboard for new programming, as evidenced by this tidbit from Yahoo news: WEEDS, a single-camera comedy starring Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk exposes the dirty little secrets that lie behind the pristine lawns and shiny closed doors of homes in the fictional town of Agrestic, California. It will enjoy a special "sneak preview" at 11 PM on Sunday, August 7, immediately following the QUEER AS FOLK one-hour series finale to give it maximum sampling. Pridesource.com brings us the article, "'Queer' Folks' 'Unseen' movie": Now that "Queer as Folk" is coming to a close, it'll be interesting to watch the cast of one-time newcomers branch out into the world of "straight" roles. So in a cool bit of casting-against-type news, "Queer" stars Gale Harold and Michelle Clunie are playing heterosexual lovers in a new indie film, "The Unseen." Written and directed by Lisa France, "Unseen" stars Steve Harris ("Diary of a Mad Black Woman") as Roy, a man returning to his rural Southern town to bury his father. There he encounters a scruffily bearded redneck named Harold (and played by "QAF"'s Harold) and his girlfriend, Kathleen (Clunie). Harold's a cruel sort, keeping his brother Sammy (flamboyant Hollywood fashion stylist Philip Bloch in his first film role) locked up in the house, and problems arise when Roy and Sammy form a potentially liberating bond - but probably not the kind of bond you've see on "QAF." Look to see "Unseen" later this year."Driven To Act: Your Move, Counselor" is an article about real-life lawyers acting up on the small screen, written by Lauren Horwitch for Backstage.com. In the article, she talks about Robert Gant (Ben), and how his road to success on the small screen drove him from acting to law, then back to acting. She writes: "The chiseled, blond-haired, blue-eyed actor was best-known as a litigator for one of the most powerful law firms in the world before he scored his role as Ben Bruckner on Showtime's nighttime soap Queer As Folk. Although acting was his lifelong passion--he turned pro in the fifth grade, appeared in commercials for breakfast cereals, and garnered a SAG card by age 10--he felt forced to give it up for a more financially secure future after college graduation. 'I was trying to find a way to marry my desire for performing with what I considered to be a more legitimate career,' he explains. 'I was terrified at the prospect of waiting tables all of my life.' He decided that life as a lawyer would come with the promise of economic certainty as well as the chance to occasionally 'act' in a courtroom. Horwitch writes, "Pursuing an acting career is always daunting, but when you've just spent $80,000 on law school it can be downright traumatic. Fortunately, Gant recognizes that his time and money spent studying law, which emphasizes the Socratic Method, was the perfect preparation for the acting process. 'The ability to see a scenario from any angle and defend it rigorously was enormously helpful, because I was able to rip apart a character and not just judge him,' he says. 'If you're going to defend a case, it really is about stepping into the shoes of the plaintiff or the defendant and determining why he did what he did, and that's absolutely what we do with a character.' " [read more]On June 18th, 2005, Robert Gant will present an award to Lambda Legal at the Human Rights Campaign banquet to be held at the Beverly Hilton, 9876 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, CA. Robert will guest star on the new TNT series "The Closer," starring Kyra Sedgwick. His episode is set to air sometime in August of 2005. And as if that wasn't enough, Robert is also featured in this month's issue of People magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors, as one of the 12 Sexy Men of the Moment. "These 12 sexy stars are in the spotlight-and out of this galaxy!" reads the headline. The article mentions that Robert is 36 years old, plays Ben Bruckner on QAF, and that he and two partners are lining up projects for their production company, mythgarden. Now that he's moved into a new place in the Hollywood Hills, he says, "I bought a whole set of pots and pans because I'm dying to learn how to cook. It would be fun to do it with a boyfriend." The actor is planning to get a chocolate Lab. "I'm going to do the whole puppy thing. I love cats, but I'm allergic to them. I guess I could get shots, though, so cats wouldn't be a deal breaker if somebody had them."Randy Harrison and Gale Harold are both mentioned in "ATLANTAboy: An Insider's Guide to Gay Atlanta," the city's first gay travel book written by two friends who grew up together. They give "insider tips" on exploring the city in which they've spent 20 years of their lives, including the fact that "The two lead stars of Queer As Folk -- Gale Harold (Brian Kinney) and Randy Harrison (Justin Taylor) -- are both from Atlanta." [read more]Ray Richmond was not impressed with " Fathers and Sons," Gale Harold's Showtime movie which premiered last Sunday evening. In the Hollywood Reporter, the reviewer writes, "Bottom line: A well-constructed but achingly bleak film trilogy that celebrates Father's Day by illustrating the bonding struggle of dad and son. Somebody at Showtime appears to believe that Father's Day should be a time of wrenching depression over what is and might have been. This, at least, could explain the decision to air the relentlessly gloomy original telepic "Fathers and Sons" on Sunday evening, presenting as it does a trilogy of stories that leave us convinced that a vast emotional gulf between dads and their male offspring must be the norm." He goes on to say, "Jared Rappaport wrote and directed the final installment, which finds Nick's childhood friend Elliot (Gale Harold), now a lawyer, returning home out of duty to visit his boorish father Noah (Joe Bologna) as he lies terminally ill. Elliot's emotional disconnect from his entire family is a source of immense frustration to his mother Ruth (Barbara Barrie) and sister Irene (Lisa Edelstein). But the visit to dad's deathbed takes an unexpectedly positive turn when he meets a women (Vinessa Shaw) who turns on the light that's been missing from his dark existence. It concludes with something of a positive message, though it's an ordeal getting there."From Digital Producer: Blink Digital founder Jeff Stabenau and Metropolis DVD founder David Anthony have teamed up to launch a new company, Giant Interactive. Giant will offer design and authoring for DVDs and similar creative services for a range of emerging media applications including interactive television, wireless platforms and “next-generation” DVD formats. Stabenau was also the founder of Crush Digital, one of the pioneers of the DVD authoring business, in 1996. Under Stabenau’s leadership Crush Digital authored more than 1000 DVD titles for clients that included major film studios and record companies. One of their key projects was the QAF series for Showtime Networks.Peter Paige's movie "Say Uncle" will be screened in LA on Sunday, July 10 at 6:30 pm at the DGA as part of OutFest in LA. On Thursday, July 14, it will be screened at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Fest. Scott Lowell was a presenter at Cable Positive's 4th annual POP (Positively Outstanding Programming) Awards Ceremony held at the Hudson Theater at The Millennium Broadway in midtown Manhattan on Monday, June 20. Cable Positive, the cable industry's AIDS action organization, honored outstanding programming that has helped educate Americans about HIV and AIDS. Queer As Folk was nominated in the Outstanding Original Series category and Showtime, along with MTVN and BET, was nominated as Network of the Year. Keep an eye on Cable Positive's news page for the winners to be posted. There are new photos from the QAF season 5 premiere party and the QAF premiere after party at Avalon in the Event Photos Gallery on Scott's site.Pioneering gay series drawing to a close" is an article written by Rick Bird for the Cincinnati post about the final season of QAF. "Cincinnati was my first idea. We wanted some second-tier Midwestern city. We didn't want San Francisco," Ron Cowen said. "We didn't want them to be in the big city glam or entertainment industries. We have shopkeepers, lawyers, accountants -regular people. They were in their 20s dancing, partying, having sex. We wanted to show these guys had a busy sex life, like any guy in his 20s, instead of the way (gays) are usual portrayed as being asexual." QAF will go down as the first gay drama series and the first TV show to graphically depict homosexual sex." But Cowen sees the series as groundbreaking in another sense: It was the first to immerse viewers in a gay culture that shows gays have the same hopes and dreams - and yes, hormones - as straights. While gay characters have popped up everywhere on television, they are usually portrayed as the comic foil or the AIDS victim. "These are guys now getting married, having children. They are concerned about their jobs, buying homes," Cowen said about his characters. "We took these guys on a journey from their 20s to 30s. I think for most men of any sexual persuasion, they undergo a huge change at that age." Cowen says he's been able to take a novelist's approach to the series, always knowing he had a five-year deal and that would be it. He says the ending won't be nice and neat, just as life isn't: "Nothing really ends. I feel it's an honest and satisfying ending. I don't think it's melodramatic. Lives go on."June 12, 2005 A video from the red carpet at the QAF premiere in Los Angeles is available at Out of the Closet. Interviewed are: Peter Paige, Ron Cowan, Randy Harrison, Michelle Clunie, Sharon Gless, Scott Lowell and Hal Sparks. Showtime is holding Season 5 Queer As Folk charity auctions on ebay. Bid now on items from the final season of Queer As Folk — new auctions every week! Check out the Showtime website for new phone ringtones, trivia, and an interview with Peter Paige and Scott Lowell.Listen to QAF music 24 hours a day at live365.com.Harris Allan has a new email where fans can write to him: harrisfriendmail@gmail.com. He posted on his message board this past week that he worked on a movie called Final Destination 3 for a few days, and had another small part in a project called Masters Of Horror, directed by Dario Augusto, and starring Steven Weber. His band, Square9, has performed a couple of times in the Vancouver area. Keep an eye on the Hideaway for performance dates and other news. From Sparksfan.com: The name of the Hal Sparks Band has been changed to Zero 1. They will be playing the Viper Room on June 21st (doors open at 8:30pm). There is also a new webpage and an email discussion list for the band. Hal will be performing at Caroline's in NYC June 23-26 and at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco June 30-July 3. Lightning Bug is slated for release on DVD August 9th. Hal is currently hosting G4's new show Video Game Vixens which premiered June 7th. Look for more information and many more updates at sparksfan.com.From Chicago Pride: Showtime Networks, which has given consumers a place to watch quality lesbian and gay programming with the Showtime original series The L Word and Queer as Folk, will serve as a sponsor for numerous gay and lesbian festivals and events during the 2005 Pride season. Beginning now and running through November, Showtime Networks will participate in approximately 20 pride events and festivals across the nation, attended by over 4 million LGBT people. Showtime Networks has secured at least two booths at sponsored Pride festivals. Each booth will promote Queer as Folk as well as the return of The L Word for a third season. In many instances, Showtime Networks will partner with LOGO (MTV Networks' television network for gay and lesbian viewers) as well as local affiliates. A complete list of Pride events and dates can be found on the Showtime Networks website at www.sho.com/pride.Showtime is also partnering up with The Human Rights Campaign at Pride nationwide. Find out more on the Pride pages at sho.com.Photos of Gale Harold in the movie Fathers and Sons are available at the Showtime website. The movie begins airing on Showtime next weekend, premiering (appropriately enough) on Father's Day, June 19th , at 8:05 PM, and is repeated over the next few days at approximately the same time on Showtime Too and Showtime Showcase. Check your listings for exact times. The movie will be available on DVD on August 30, 2005. You can pre-order the DVD at the following online stores:Amazon.com bestprices.com cduniverse.com tlavideo.com
Another of Gale's films, Particles of Truth, will be released on Amazon.com bestprices.com cduniverse.com tlavideo.com From Out of the Closet with Queer as Folk: A sort of Sex in the City for (and with) gay men, Queer as Folk was controversial when it premiered on Showtime. Now, the ground-breaking show has begun its last season. [...] The show caused controversy for the topics it portrayed with a combination of ruthless realism and Hollywood plotlines. Right-wing groups were outraged at the show, which often depicts both fairly graphic homosexual encounters and loving homosexual relationships. Peter Paige, who portrays Emmett Honeycut and is one of the show's openly gay actors, feels conflicted about the show's ending. According to Zap2It, Paige has, "very mixed feelings about [ending the show]…On the one hand, I've been playing this for five years now, so I'm excited to put on someone else's leather pants. But on another level, when we lost the [2004 U.S. presidential] election, I thought, 'No. I want to come back and make more TV next year, because it's so important that something like this is on the air.' I hope that something comes along soon to take our place."From TheaterMania.Com: Queer As Folk star Randy Harrison will play Alan Strang in the Berkshire Theater Festival's upcoming production of Peter Shaffer's Equus, which will run July 12-23. His co-stars will be Victor Slezak as Dr. Martin Dysart and Roberta Maxwell -- who played Jill Mason in the original Broadway production -- as Hester Salamon. Scott Schwartz (Bat Boy) will direct. Equus concerns Alan Strang, a young man who inexplicably blinds six horses one night. In the mental hospital to which he is later confined, he meets Dr. Dysart, who tries to unravel the mystery behind this violent act. The original Broadway production of Equus won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Play. For tickets, visit the Berkshire Theatre site.
Jaki Madonia writes about QAF in Before You Watch "Queer as Folk": From ScottLowell.com: Scott has two upcoming appearances! On June 23, he will be the emcee at the New York City Council Pride, where he will be presenting awards to Fran Drescher, Laurel Holloman, The Queer Eye Fab 5, Robert Goulet, Kelly Osborne, Christian Campbell, Gary Beach and Christopher Sieber. This event will be held at 5:30 pm inside City Hall. On July 9, he will be a guest speaker at the HRC Chicago Gala Dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. He will be filling in for the previously-scheduled Peter Paige, who has a conflict. In other Scott news, the June Q&A has been posted to the website.
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