Three 'behind the scenes' pictures are posted on the Street Time Photo Archive at the Showtime site:

Robert Hall, the bassist for the Hal Sparks band and writer/director of the movie "Lightning Bug" in which Hal plays Deputy Dale, posted to Hal's Lair last night having just returned from a Popshots/Hal's birthday gig (he turned 34 yesterday). Rob says the group played for Hal's friends and co-workers, and it was a great show. It was the first time they've played together since the Viper Room, and they are actually headed back there this Saturday (Sept. 27) for a live performance at 9pm (one last gig before Hal heads back to Toronto, I guess). Fans in LA are invited to come down and check 'em out. More good news... post production on the movie is now finished!

The ebay auction for the Brian Kinney bomber jacket now features a picture of the item, with Gale's autograph on the back.

QAF celebrity sightings:

Randy Harrison has coffee on the go in New York City recently. The actor spent most of his summer in the Big Apple.

Bobby Gant chatted with Kyan Douglas ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy") at Entertainment Weekly's 1st Annual Pre-Emmy Party on September 20th at White Lotus (dim sum) in Los Angeles, California.

New clips are up on Showtime for next week's STREET TIME episode, "Get Up Stand Up". The one called "Help" features Gale.

Randy Harrison

"Al Milgrom tackles Toronto’s film festival" is a new article from Pulse of the Twin Cities (pulsetc.com). The author writes, "The l0-day annual celebration of the Seventh Art ending little more than a week ago claimed more than l00,000 visitors viewing some 340 films on 22 screens, racking up l,000 presentations, with more than 700 journalists registered worldwide." He talks about Canadian film, and in the same breath mentions that "First feature director Aaron Woodley (nephew of filmmaker David Cronenberg) took the "discovery" award for a U.S.-produced, nightmarish romance, "Rhinoceros Eyes," set in a prop shop among gorilla costumes."

Shinan Govani of the National Post suggests that Moses Znaimer might be starting a film company, pointing out that the former Citytv Zeus was all over the film fest party circuit recently, doing the 'schmooze' thing. In 1998, QAF director Bruce McDonald combined forces with Znaimer and directed the first live-to-air Canadian drama in three decades, American Whiskey Bar, which proved to be a controversial success for CityTV. Znaimer also starred in McDonald's most recent short film, The Interview. Perhaps we'll see yet another collaboration in the not-too-distant future?

As reported earlier, Bobby Gant will appear at a Garden Party benefit hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing Program in Los Angeles on October 12, 2003. Bobby talked to SAGE about LGBT aging in a recent interview featured on his website. He believes that "ageism is the most important thing we have to focus on as a culture at the moment" and explains his dedication to the cause:

"In my life, in my process of self-realization, I look most at the things that I'm afraid of -- and I think as a community, getting old is the thing were perhaps most afraid of. And I'm the kind of person who just wants to take a look at that ... to get to the core, and figure out how we can do something about it. It's my nature. And I think especially because so little had already been done, it made it all the more appealing because I think the need seems to be the greatest. I'm thrilled there's such amazing groundwork laid by SAGE and all of its offshoots.... I'm grateful to get to play a part in tackling the issue."

The producers of QAF have donated a rust-colored, leather bomber jacket worn by Brian in episode 209 to an ebay auction benefitting the American Civil LIberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California. The jacket is autographed by Gale Harold, includes a wardrobe tag and a poloroid of Gale holding the jacket.

On Screen and Stage:
- Fab Filippo participating in Much More Music's Listed: "Canada's Best 20 From The Last 20 Years"
- Gale Harold and Carlo Rota on Showtime's Street Time: "Gone" (Sept. 24) and "Get Up Stand Up" (Oct. 1)
- Randy Harrison in Showtime's "Bang Bang You're Dead"
- interesting note: Stephen King's classic thriller, "Misery," adapted for the stage in 1992 by Simon Moore, will be performed by the Mineral Area College Little Theatre Guild in Missouri, from October 1-4. The play was originally performed at the Criterion Theatre in London on Dec. 17, 1992. Sharon Gless played the role of Annie Wilkes, while Bill Paterson played that part of the novelist.

Speaking of Carlo Rota (Gardner Vance on QAF)... some clips of the actor from the Great Canadian Food Show are available on his message board site. He is hilarious... singing, dancing, dressing up and generally having a good time as he travels the country... he's the polar opposite of Gardner Vance!!

The Media Project SHINE (Sexual Health in Entertainment) Awards are held to honor writers and producers who do an outstanding job of incorporating accurate and honest portrayals of sexuality into their entertainment programming. The nominees for the 2003 SHINE Awards include episodes from a broad spectrum of television shows, including Sex in the City, Queer as Folk, and Law and Order: SVU. QAF is nominated in the Series Storyline category for "A Hustler's Tale". The awards will be presented at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, CA on October 18, 2003.

The New York Daily News reporter Donna Petrozzello writes about Gay parents joining the TV family this fall. She says, "With series such as Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," HBO's "Six Feet Under," Showtime's "Queer as Folk" and NBC's long-running "Will & Grace," ... viewers have been primed to accept a wide variety of gay characters on TV."

The 76th Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 29, 2004, three weeks earlier than usual next year. The following week, Sunday March 7, is the anticipated premiere date for Season 4 of QAF on Showtime. This is good news for those who were disappointed last year when the big Awards night meant one week without a new QAF episode before the new season was even a month old (although I'm sure there will still be interruptions at some point... that's par for the course!). As some of you may know, the Vanity Fair shoot that the cast did last week was intended to be part of a larger, gay-themed cover story for one of the early 2004 issues of the magazine; if the Oscars (being early) nabs the February cover, that could mean a January cover for the TV shows, or perhaps just an inside feature. We'll have to wait to find out more!

Jim Slotek of the Toronto Sun has written a column "Cheers to Woody" in which we learn that Woody Harrelson was coming off a 40-day fast while preparing for his directorial debut in Toronto (yikes). He writes, "In This Is Our Youth, alpha male Warren (Fab Filippo) spends a night alternating between bullying his confused friend Dennis (Cabezas) and looking for drugs. Dennis, meanwhile, hooks up with Jessica, who despairs for a future where activism is dead and nothing matters."

Tom Shales of the Washington Post talks about the upcoming TV season in "The Tame Old Thing?". He says, "Showtime, which won over legions of gay viewers with its "Queer as Folk" series, is supplementing that with a new show, a sort of arty soap opera called "The 'L' Word," the L standing for "Lesbian." Pam Grier and Jennifer Beals head the cast."

"Can you dig it?" Check out the Showtime Screening Room for a clip of Gale Harold in next week's episode of Street Time entitled, "Gone." If you cannot access the Showtime site, pfyre has made the video available for download here. It's a 2.1MB RealVideo file - zipped. Username is "Visitor" and the password is "yes" (both case sensitive).

More news on This Is Our Youth, directed by Woody Harrelson and featuring Fab Filippo, from playbill.com. The stage is set for tonight in Toronto.

A new drama series set in Swansea could make the city a household name throughout the television world, says the star of the new show, Griff Rhys Jones. The Welsh comic plays a taxi driver who suddenly becomes rich in the new ITV1 series penned by Swansea-born writer Russell T Davies, whose production company Red were busy filming the drama near Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles yesterday. [Read the full story].

In "Gay Clubbing for Success", an article in today's Cornell Daily Sun, Matthew Streib asks readers if they've ever wondered if the gay scene in QAF is true to life. He offers a "foolproof guide to clubbing in Pittsburgh, PA, home of ordinary America and the setting of the Queer As Folk experience. Simply follow this straightforward route on your night out and you are guaranteed the true gay experience and reputational success." Okay, Matt... give it your best shot! [Read the full story].

Robert Gant is the honorary chair for the Indiana Benefit of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national organization working toward achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people. The Fund will honor its award recipients at the Indiana Benefit on Thursday, September 18, at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott. The event includes a silent auction, which begins along with cocktail hour at 5:30 pm, followed by dinner and the awards presentation and keynote speech at 7 pm. For more information visit the website.

Take a peek at some pictures of Hal Sparks and his four-legged friends at the "4 Paws for a Cure Dogwalk to Fun Childhood Cancer Foundation" on wireimage.com.

From this week's La Dolce Musto: Getting his turn at kinking up the airwaves, Queer as Folk's Peter Paige was a gay riot on Pyramid last week. In the course of the normally innocuous game-playing, he made a masturbation joke, did Cher impressions, and when he had to make his partner say "Birkenstocks," he clued him with, "These are the ugly sandals lesbians wear." The guy got it. (Take note, Ellen.)

The Definitive Collector's Edition DVD of QAF UK is out now, with unseen footage and commentary from the stars and producers. Writing in the introduction to the DVD, Russell T. Davies says the success of the show surprised him to such an extent that it felt like "the world went mad". "We thought that the programme - suddenly shunted back in the schedules from 10pm to 10.30pm by a cautious Channel 4 - would be a late-night curio, watched by insomniacs and closeted husbands," he says. [Read the full story].

Rumor has it that in addition to its already busy lineup of screenings this Fall (Wichita, Austin and Fort Lauderdale), Particles of Truth may also be shown at the Deep Ellum Festival in Texas, October 22 to 30. The final list of accepted films is still to come on the official site, so stay tuned.

He's a man of few words...
"Wow," exclaimed Toronto filmmaker Aaron Woodley simply, upon receiving the festival's Discovery Award. Selected by the accredited press corps, the prize was presented to the filmmaker for his debut feature film, "Rhinoceros Eyes." The movie, a U.S. production from a Canadian filmmaker, stars Michael Pitt and Gale Harold. Madstone produced the film through its directors program. [Read the full story]

Richard Ouzounian, theatre critic for the Toronto Star, interviewed Fabrizio Filippo, Marcello Cabezas and Marya Delver, the actors starring in Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth, which begins previews at the Berkeley St. Theatre in Toronto this Thursday. Fab is described in the article as "the hottest one — in looks as well as temperament — with emotions at flash point beneath the seemingly placid surface." Fab has this to say about the story: "I think this is about people who are trying to learn who they are and are putting themselves up against the world. My character, Dennis, may seem tough, but he has this amazing speech I can't get out of my head." The cast can't say enough about director Woody Harrelson's work dynamic. Fab appreciates the fact that "he lets you bring what you've worked on to the table. He actually directs in the purest sense of the word in that he asks 'What's comin' at me? Where am I gonna put it?'" Of the play itself, he says, "We believe we're going to come up with a great product, but the best part is that it's really been an electric process as well." Read the full story.

RUN--don't walk--to read the fabulous article 'Transmission was madness. Honestly' from The Guardian about Russell T. Davies, creator of Queer As Folk (UK). The writer talks about how unprepared he was for the passion - and the fury - that QAF provoked. After some time, however, he has found peace with it. Of the North American series, he says, "It's theirs, to do what they like. At last, I'm a viewer - I don't know what stories they're playing until I get the tapes (I'm very worried about Ted). And sometimes, when it's a pissy day and I'm writing like a twat and everything's late and stupid, I can sit here late at night and think that someone, somewhere, is filming Queer As Folk, right... now."

More on the Toronto Film Festival Awards from Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, and the Toronto Sun at canoe.ca: "Even the Discovery Award, which is voted on by the 750 media who attend the festival from around the world, went to a Canadian -- Aaron Woodley for his surreal Rhinoceros Eyes. Woodley, a young first-time feature director, is David Cronenberg's nephew. Some critics think he has out-weirded his famous uncle. Rhinoceros Eyes is an American production so it was not eligible for the Canadian-only awards."

The Photo Gallery for Rhinoceros Eyes at the IMDb now features the After Party pictures from the Toronto Film Festival, by James Devaney (click on the thumbnails for the full-size images).

Ron Cowen wrote Summertree (his first play) when he was 22 years old. "The play is both a joyous expression of the good things in life and a powerful indictment of war and the senseless waste which it can bring," says DPS. It was originally performed at the O'Neill Playwrights' Conference, and was subsequently produced by the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center in New York and starred Blythe Danner and David Birney, where it won the Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. It was revived off-Broadway and also made into a film by Columbia Pictures starring Michael Douglas.

Also in the catalogue are some older favorites like Austin Pendleton's "Uncle Bob" (which Gale Harold performed with George Morfogen in 2001), Edward Albee's "The Play About The Baby" (one that had a great impact on Gale as an artist), and "A Letter From Ethel Kennedy" (a May, 2002 run in NYC featured Randy Harrison as Casey).

To order your own catalogue, individual plays or manuscripts, or to simply view the list online, visit the Dramatists website.

"On a series the curtain goes back up every week, and you do another play from where that left off. It's very exciting to watch your characters change as you change." --Ron Cowen

Christa has generously offered to share her photos of Gale at the Toronto Film Festival with other fans, and JenR has graciously offered to host them. Take a look!.

Bobby Gant will appear at a Garden Party benefit hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing Program in Los Angeles on October 12, 2003.

Robert Hall, the writer and director of Lightning Bug has been answering questions about the movie on the Hal's Lair message forum. Check the Movies thread for his posts.

According to the Tallgrass Film Festival Program Schedule, Particles Of Truth will be shown on Sunday, October 5 at 7:30pm at the Teall Theater. This remarkable independent feature, shot in and around Manhattan's Tribeca district, chronicles the lives of eight connected New Yorkers over an intensely emotional 48-hour period as they deal with self-doubt, emotional dishonesty, familial ties, and the potential for love. The central figure is Lilli Black (Jennifer Elster), a skeptical young artist gearing up for the opening night of her first major exhibition. Struggling to move beyond her painful family history, she finds herself forced to confront her dying father – and pursued by a reclusive, obsessive-compulsive young writer (Gale Harold of Queer as Folk) who works out of his SUV, carting around a heavy load of his own family baggage. [read more]

Director Steve Shainberg is working with Minnesota playwright Jeffrey Hatcher on a film adaptation of JT Leroy's "SARAH". The narrator in the story, a 12-year-old boy, has renamed himself Sarah after his whorish mother because he has learned from her example that "Most anything you want in this world is easier when you're a pretty girl." Shainberg's remarkable independent film SECRETARY (starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal) won a special jury prize at Sundance 2002 for Originality. Another adaptation (from Leroy's novel "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things") is currently in production with Gus Van Sant, who made My Own Private Idaho and Good Will Hunting among others, as director. Any possibility that Randy Harrison might be interested in playing a role in Sarah, given his support and admiration for Leroy's work? Stay tuned!

From iPOP at the Toronto International Film Festival (Part 4): Cuties Michael Pitt and Gale Harold in Toronto for their feature "Rhinoceros Eyes" by Aaron Woodley looking stylish at the party for the film (Michael flew up to Toronto for the screening). Outfest head Stephen Gutwillig, Mike Krueger and Carl Spence, the new programmer for the Palm Springs International Film Festival were hanging at the Rhino party as well. [Photo: Brian Brooks/ © indieWIRE

The movie trailer for Lightning Bug has been posted to the official site. In the clip, Deputy Dale (played by Hal Sparks) asks the troubled Green (played by Bret Harrison), "Why don't you just confess?". [Thanks to Mikou for the heads up!]

Although Rhinoceros Eyes has been described by several reviwers as "darK", there is no question that Aaron Woodley's fantastical tale will also make you laugh. He tells CBC News that he considers it a comedy. In one scene, for instance, a detective (played by Gale Harold) visits the prop house where Chep (Michael Pitt) lives and works. The cop questions Chep's boss about the strange habits of his employee. The boss, played by Matt Servitto, explains that Chep never ventures outside because he's an idiot savant. "I only hire idiot savants," he deadpans. Read the full story.

Australians who have made travel arrangements for the Queer As Fans 2004 convention through Travel Impressions should read the latest update/advisory on the news page.

Dean Armstrong (Blake on QAF) plays fictional NASCAR driver Scotty Redfield in "The Checkered Flag", an episode of Doc (a PAX TV medical drama featuring Billy Ray Cyrus), which re-airs on Wednesday, September 17.

Interested in a little celebrity gossip? Want to know where Scott Speedman (Felicity) buys his underwear, or where Robert Downey Jr. has his private hair sessions while in Toronto? Shinan Govani is the National Post's "resident snoop, town-crier and people-watcher." His column, Scene, has been filled with delicious tidbits from the Toronto International Film Fest this week. Take a peek!

The cover story in the latest issue of Liberty Press Online is about the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kansas. The inaugural festival is being touted as "a widely supported and recognized weekend of films, with guest filmmakers attending many showings and several celebrity parties throughout the festival." Kristi Parker, editor, writes, "even though the subject matter in Particles of Truth has nothing to do with the gay and lesbian community, it stars Gale Harold - Brian from Showtime's Queer As Folk. Harold is scheduled to appear along with Particles director Jennifer Elster at a closing night gala at the Wichita Art Museum."

[courtesy of Jennifer Elster]:

The Festival Daily (in pdf format) is a newsletter from the Toronto Film Festival, and this past Saturday's edition features an article titled, "Aaron Woodley’s film obsessions" by Michelle McCree. Here is an excerpt: "[Film has] all the things that I love: music and visuals and lighting." If he is obsessed, he comes by it honestly – some might even say genetically. The nephew of David Cronenberg, Woodley grew up visiting his uncle’s movie sets and knew from an early age he wanted to enter the profession. "I visited the set of The Brood; in fact, I was one of the brood," recalls the 32-year old filmmaker. "I played dead, basically, because I wouldn’t put the mask on. I cried because it was very scary. But visiting his sets was always very inspiring. I thought, ‘What a great job, and what a fantastic world. Look at all these adults playing make-believe and having fun.’" Years later, Woodley inevitably learned the other side of filmmaking. "I was surprised by how much work it was. It was something else." [Note: To read the entire .pdf file, you will require Adobe® Acrobat® Reader. Acrobat® Reader, which can be downloaded from the Adobe website.]

Madstone Films has updated their website, with new information on the Directors Program and press coverage of Rhinoceros Eyes at the T.I.F.F. (check out the new movie poster featuring Michael Pitt).

Particles of Truth will be screened at the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, Kansas, which runs from October 2 to October 5 this year. Executive Director of The Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts (WAMPA), Timothy Gruver, says that the main purpose of the event is to "introduce film as an art form for the Midwest region." The Festival is open to the public and tickets will go on sale September 15. Be sure to check out the FAQ (frequently asked questions) for the answer to "What if I see a major celebrity walking around Old Town?" LOL!!

The Toronto Film Festival today announced its Guest Line-up. Gale and his Rhinoceros Eyes co-stars Paige Turco and Michael Pitt will be in attendance, along with director Aaron Woodley. Also in attendance will be Fab Filippo and his Hollywood North director Peter O'Brian. The complete list of attendees is available on the official site.

Jason Anderson gives Rhinoceros Eyes an impressive four-star rating in his review of the film for "Best of the Fest" on eye.net:
"An original black comedy about a delusional young man who'd get along just fine with Donnie Darko, Rhinoceros Eyes is an audacious debut for Toronto filmmaker Aaron Woodley. Chep (Michael Pitt) is a reclusive clerk in a movie prop house who falls for an art director (Paige Turco) who has very unique requests. As he struggles to fill them and win her heart, Chep's fantasy world collides with a real world that often seems just as absurd. The delightful animations and twisted humour recall Tim Burton's early works and the hallucinatory power and overheated sexuality of the climactic sequence confirms that Woodley has learned some lessons from his uncle, David Cronenberg. And the fact that Chep spends much of the film wearing a Tor Johnson mask makes Rhinoceros Eyes just that much cooler."

Television coverage of T.I.F.F begins today on Rogers Cable. Check your local listings for air times of the following Festival-themed shows:

• "Real to Reel" -- a daily show featuring interviews with actors, producers and directors at the Festival
• "Festival Films" -- previews of films featured
• "Rewind 2002" -- several daily press conferences with the filmmakers
• "The Dream Makers" -- featuring six past and present T.I.F.F. directors
• "Film Festival Rushes" -- red-carpet highlights, actor profiles and film previews

Canadians, set your VCRs!

Read the transcript, view screen captures, and listen to audio clips of Gale and Eva's interview from last year.

ConventionAdventures, Inc., along with the charity Casey House and sponsor Showcase, would like to extend an invitation to the fans to come join in the fun of celebrating all that is "QAF" at the Queer As Fans 2004 convention January 16, 17 & 18, 2004 in Toronto. For more information, visit their website at queerasfans.com.

Dating Games is a light-hearted evening of short plays revolving around the Manhattan dating scene. The five one-act comedies are directed by Laura Josepher, and written by Garth Wingfield, who was the main scribe for QAF episodes 115, 119 & 121. You can catch the show between October 1 and October 18, 2003, at the Elephant Space of the Lillian Theatre, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, California.

Journalist Suzanne C. Ryan talks about a groundbreaking television channel in a recent article for the Boston Globe: "After a year or so of industry talk about the concept of a gay-themed TV channel, DirecTV has taken the plunge, launching the United States' first channel aimed exclusively at the gay and lesbian market, similar to PrideVision TV in Canada. Here! Pay Per View is a movies-only channel available to subscribers of DirecTV, a digital satellite-television service, who can use their remote controls to select from a rotating list of four to six new films a month. Last year, MTV and Showtime -- both owned by Viacom -- announced plans to collaborate on a gay-themed channel. The timetable for that plan has since been slowed due to the economic climate, Showtime said. "The potential here is exponential," said Scott Seomin, a spokesman for GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. "The channel could decide to do a block of gay and lesbian reality shows. It could have an hourlong talk show about the transgender community. It could start to produce its own sitcoms and dramas. Television is such a copycat medium. We hope that not only is here! successful but that others will copy its success."

Rhinoceros Eyes has completed post production and was viewed last Thursday, August 28, 2003 by the crew. One of the Production Assistants I spoke with said he found the film to be "most interesting, although a little dark." If you'd like to see Gale playing a singing detective, the film premieres on Saturday, September 6, 2003 at the Toronto Film Festival, and again on Tuesday, September 9. The Toronto Star asked 28 experts to give them their three top picks for the titles to look out for at the festival. Piers Handling, the festival director, chose Rhinoceros Eyes as one of his three. "Being David Cronenberg's nephew doesn't hurt but this first feature, centring on a youth who works in a prop shop and which mixes fantasy and horror, sounds more than intriguing," he said. Check the schedule page for more information. Tickets are in high demand, so act quickly or you will miss out!

Also being screened at the Festival, in the Perspective Canada programme, is Hollywood North, Peter O'Brian's comedy about the trials and tribulations of making a film in Canada. Fabrizio Filippo (formerly "Ethan" on QAF) plays an "up-and-comer" in the movie.

For those who have been asking for clarification, please note that Particles of Truth WILL be screened at the Woodstock Film Festival. The information I posted earlier was based on an outdated web page. Speaking of which, please note that the title on the schedule page for the features reads 2002, not 2003, although it is for the current year. For more information on this entry, visit the features page at the official site.

The article Mahoney and Harold become "Fathers" is written by Romeo San Vicente for Deep Inside Hollywood, August 20, 2003. It reads: "Gay faves John Mahoney (cranky Martin Crane of "Frasier") and Gale Harold (slutty Brian Kinney of "Queer as Folk") are taking on the new movie "Fathers and Sons." The two actors, along with Bradley Whitford, Samantha Mathis and Kathy Baker, are among the cast of the independent feature about a trio of L.A. families who all live on the same street. The film was shot in three parts by three different directors; Mahoney plays dad to redheaded hottie Ron Eldard in one segment, while Harold portrays a prodigal son in another. Shooting wrapped in August, but there's no word yet on a premiere date."

According to his official website, Dean Armstrong is spending six weeks coaching the lead actors on the Alliance Atlantis film Saint Ralph. He will also begin work on season 4 of QAF in a few weeks, although the exact number of episodes in which he will appear is yet to be determined. The site has some great new photos of Dean in the "Other" gallery, including ones of him with Barna Moricz ("Kip" from QAF, Season 1, episodes 113 and 114) singing karaoke and horsing around at the Poor Alex Theatre in Toronto where Dean celebrated his birthday.

Eden Lane, featuring Peter Paige, opened on August 17 at the La Jolla Playhouse. Reviewer Welton Jones (sandiego.com's Arts Critic) felt that the casting was one of the strengths of the show, and praised Peter's work, although he felt the character was written somewhat vaguely. (Read more).

Award-winning photographer Mark Seliger will be behind the camera on Thursday, September 18 in Los Angeles to shoot the cast of QAF for the upcoming Vanity Fair cover. The gang will then head back to Toronto, reporting for work the following Monday, September 22. I'm looking forward to seeing what Seliger will do with our motley crue, because he believes his role as a photographer is to "deliver the essence" of his subjects. Book reviewer Melanie J. Ross says, "Mark Seliger has captured some of the most famous faces in the world in innovative poses. He takes portrait photography to a new level by integrating clever environments and symbolism." Since 1993, as chief photographer for Rolling Stone and also photographer for US and Men's Journal, Seliger has taken over 100 covers and done hundreds of feature stories.

Speaking of photographs... PB&A has new site updates, including VCR alerts and some photos from Gale's Uncle Bob run in New York City.

A recent media announcement revealed that talk show host Mike Bullard is making the move from Canadian television network CTV to Global Television, which will allow him to contribute to CanWest's newspaper and online properties in addition to his hosting duties. Hal Sparks, who is a good friend of Bullard's and has made several appearances on his show in the past, indicated to fans at his recent Viper Room gig that he will be performing his music on the new latenight talk-variety show which premieres in the Fall (no date has been set, but as soon as I hear anything, I'll post it). And if you're wondering about his official site, www.halsparks.com, well....he's been a little busy, but hopes to update it soon!

What has been keeping Michael's alter-ego so darn busy? Well, he directed a few videos for his favorite band, King's X, and has been working on another film called The Lightning Bug. Robert Hall, who is the bass player for the Hal Sparks band, wrote and directed the movie, which is currently in post-production. It is the story of a young boy growing up poor and misunderstood in the rural South and dreams of escaping by becoming a special effects make-up artist in Hollywood. In it, Hal plays "Deputy Dale". As if that wasn't enough, Hal has a new, half-hour weekly commentary show on VH-1 called Popshot, similar to the pop culture commentary specials "I love the 70s" and "I love the 80s". He hopes to have about three episodes filmed before he and the rest of the cast are officially due back at work for QAF on September 22.

In a recent article for the Los Angeles Times entitled Where's TV's gay courtship leading?, Brian Lowry talks about the latest "infatuation" with homosexuals on television, and whether it benefits the gay community or exploits it. He says, "Ron Cowen -- an executive producer of Queer as Folk, the Showtime drama that capitalizes on pay TV's latitude to portray promiscuous gay characters unflinchingly -- said he finds it 'discouraging to see gay men presented as frivolous stereotypes . . . experts in how to wax your eyebrows, pick out a shirt and wallpaper a kitchen.' As for criticism directed at Queer as Folk, fellow producer Daniel Lipman says the series captures a slice of gay life -- albeit one less predigested for widespread consumption. 'Not everyone is in a monogamous relationship living in the suburbs,' he said, conceding that most viewers probably remain more comfortable with 'a safer, sanitized view of gay people.' " Read the full article here.

And last but not least... The biggest queer in Kansas is a charming piece written by Trent J. Koland, exclusively for Advocate.com and posted August 18, 2003. "When a Burger King cashier—at the drive-through, no less—starts a conversation about Queer as Folk, you know you’re the gayest guy around. But what starts as a feeling of isolation can turn unexpectedly into something very different."