John Barrowman Shows His Ass for NOH8

John Barrowman Bares Some Below-The-Belt Skin In New NOH8 Campaign Picture (PHOTO).|Huffington Post Gay Voices

original

John Barrowman shows his ass. For a good cause, of course!

No one does bloody cheek like Barrowman. The video below is a perhaps unexpected eloquent case for marriage equality. It’s snarky and campy and deeply human and touching, just like the man himself.

Gay Science Kid Saves the World — How Cool is That?

Jack-the-Maker

Jack Andraka in the lab. He began working on his experiments when he was 13 years old. |Image: LGBTQ Nation

Awesome story about an awesome kid.

Meet Jack Andraka, a 16-year-old inventor, scientist, and cancer researcher who, in 2012, was awarded the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair’s prestigious “Gordon E. Moore Award” for his invention that detects an increase of a protein that indicates the presence of pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer during early stages when there is a higher likelihood of a cure.

… Jack is also openly gay, and says that his family and a few close friends had known for about three years, and are very accepting.

 He says he used to worry that there were few gay role models in the science field, or that he would be perceived as “that weird gay kid.” But now he hopes he can help inspire other LGBT youth to get involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Meet Jack: Scientist, inventor, kayaking enthusiast, ‘Glee’ fan, likes boys, … and is only 16 – LGBTQ Nation.

Steve Grand Would Like You to ‘Stay’

a2710561184_2

The cover image from Grand’s latest independent release.

You can download the song at Bandcamp and set your own price. I think it’s a nice follow-up to “All-American Boy” but it’s always hard to get momentum on a sophomore release, so if you like this guy, you really should throw a couple of bucks his way. I think he’s well on his way to proving that out talent and indie talent are going to be essential components of our new entertainment mix. In case you haven’t seen the video for the song, I’ve embedded the YouTube link below. Enjoy.

Will and Sonny Scare the Mormons

Days of our Lives - Season 46

Days of our Lives’ ongoing front-burner gay storyline featuring Will and Sonny (Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith, far right couple) is the reason that some have alleged that KSL-TV in Utah has moved the program to an overnight timeslot.

from Huffington Post Gay Voices

“Days Of Our Lives” fans in the Salt Lake City area won’t be able to watch their daytime soap during the day anymore. KSL, NBC’s Salt Lake City affiliate, has announced it will move the long-running soap from 2 p.m. to 1:05 a.m.

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, KSL won’t say why it’s moved “Days” to late night — or why it airs “Dr. Phil” twice — but it could be because of the show’s ongoing gay storyline.

KSL is owned by the Mormon Church. In the past, they’ve refused to air many network shows.

The Next Tenant at 221B Baker Street: Sir Ian McKellen

ian-mckellen-uk-premiere-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-01

Sir Ian McKellen at the U.K. premiere of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” |Image via aceshowbiz.com.

My old pal, Sir Ian McKellen, also known as Sir Patrick Stewart’s BFF/X Men nemesis/fellow  waiter for Godot — also Gandalf — is slated to be the next actor to carry the mantle of Sherlock Holmes at the movies. Sorry, the cinema.

The 74-year-old McKellen will play a retired Sherlock who decides to have a crack at one last case. Sir Ian, one of the top actors in the world, is also a cracking nice chap. At least that’s my experience.

No word if there’ll be any Cumberbatch cameos!

Damon Intrabartolo, “Bare” Composer, Dead at 39

from Broadway World:

Damon Intrabartolo, composer of the hit off-Broadway musical Bare and a variety of film scores, died on August 13 in Phoenix, AZ. No cause of death has been reported. Intrabartolo was 39 years old.

89110018.jpg.pagespeed.ce.u5gwXVTVLr

Jon Hartmere, Jr. (l), and Intrabartolo at an opening of “Bare.” |Image via broadwayworld.com

Intrabartolo wrote Bare, a musical about two gay Catholic school students grappling with their forbidden relationship, with co-book writer and lyricist Jon Hartmere. The musical originally premiered at the Hudson Theater in Los Angeles, CA, on October 14, 2000. It ran through February 25, 2001, before transferring to the American Theatre of Actors in New York City in the spring of 2004. A new, revamped version of the musical premiered at off-Broadway’s New World Stages on December 9, 2012, where it played through February 3, 2013.

A frequent collaborator with John Ottman, Intrabartolo was the orchestrator and conductor for many film scores, including In Good Company, American Dreamz, Bubble Boy, Pumpkin, Lake Placid, Halloween H20, Hide and Seek, Fantastic Four, Superman Returns, Eight Legged Freaks, X2: X-Men United, Gothika and Cellular. Intrabartolo also orchestrated and conducted the Dreamgirlsunderscore composed by Stephen Trask.

In addition to Bare, Intrabartolo composed the musicals Plop andOdyssey of the Bulimic Orphans. He was in the process of composing a new musical called Ride… a pop fable before his death.

——

tn-500_bks_jp

Jonah Platt and Payson Lewis star in the new Los Angeles production of “Bare,” set to open just after Labor Day 2013. |Promotional Image/glory|struck productions.

I must say, I was quite shocked by this news. I discovered him, like so many others, through the marvel that is Bare. I was so captivated by the original score that when Stafford Arima and Jon Hartmere reimagined it late last year Off-Broadway, I jumped at the chance to see it. Sadly, I did not like it very much, but was still glad that I got to be a part of it. A new production of Intrabartolo’s original concept is set to open next week in Los Angeles.

Russell Tovey: The Unlikely Lad

Russell Tovey: the unlikely lad | Television & radio | The Guardian.

russell-tovey_1651850i

The lovely Russell Tovey, a terrific actor who’s never been compelled to be “in.” He’s playing his first ever gay role this year. |Image: The Telegraph.

“I had loads of spots, but I went in and said, look, I want to play this part. Dakin [in The History Boys] was meant to be the lead, lothario, sex object, and nobody was going to lust after me, this spotty, pasty, big-eared thing. But Alan Bennett really liked me and he thought, well, he obviously wants a bigger part, so he wrote up the part of Rudge for me.” Tovey’s skin problem almost led to him quitting the production. “My skin was so bad, I thought, I just want to leave. It was really affecting me psychologically. You go into makeup and they’d paint each spot. It was self-esteem-crushing. Horrible.”

Great article in The Guardian.

I’ve loved Tovey since he was in the movie version of The History Boys. He’s done loads of movies and TV shows in the U.K. primarily since then. He’s signed on for HBO’s gay-themed dramedy Looking opposite another out actor, Jonathan Groff. The series, Tovey’s first major U.S. role, is set to begin shooting in the San Francisco area shortly.

Interview: Filmmaker Adam Goldman on “Whatever This Is,” “The Outs,” and Crowd-Funding

Interview: Filmmaker Adam Goldman on “Whatever This Is,” “The Outs,” and Making Crowd-Funded Series | Tribeca.

AG: And that allowed us to finish up the show. But with Whatever This Is, you know I talk about this a lot. We don’t purport to take any responsibility for this but if you look for the release schedule for The Outs, it turns pretty clearly with the way that people have evolved the way that they watch television online. And when we started The Outs the first episode is 12 minutes and people said “fuck you, nobody is going to want to watch something that is 12 minutes long online.” And I had to sort of say you know I bet they will if it’s good. And then by our last episode they sort of grew and grew and the last one is 43 minutes and by the time out last episode was out, House of Cards was out and Netflix has been so huge in that arena.

This is a great interview with Adam Goldman and, if you’re interested in this sort of thing, it’s well worth the read.

img-the-outs_144428604539

(l-r) Hunter Canning, Sasha Winters and Adam Goldman star in the exceptional Web series, The Outs. Winters and Canning are back in front of the camera in the latest Goldman-penned series, Whatever This Is. Photo: Interview/Unusually Fine Photography

What he says above is not sui generis, people absolutely will watch something long online AS LONG AS IT’S GOOD. This nonsense about not watching anything longer than a 2 or 3 minute YouTube video online is lunacy. It flies in the face of all conventional wisdom we know about motion pictures and television viewing. Now, with online viewing patterns changing, we know that not only will someone watch an hour of House of Cards on their laptop, they’ll watch a whole damn season in one sitting!

Anyhow, Goldman and his Rascal Department are possessed of significant talent. I am so looking forward to the next episode(s) of Whatever This Is and am ecstatic that I was able to contribute to this project and help it get off the ground.

Will and Sonny: A Love Story In Pictures (with Funny Captions)

Will & Sonny: A Love Story In Pictures – thebacklot.com.

You just have to click around on this if you are a WilSon fan. Not only is it well put together, but the snark is off-the-charts — and dead on it to boot. I’ve certainly said several of these things or thought several of these thoughts!

dool1

“I understand now, Will, and I accept the fact that … it’s not about me. Oh, and that you’re gay. That, too. But mostly the me thing.”
— “Sami,” on The Backlot’s slide deck featuring images and hilarious commentary on the WilSon storyline on “Days of our Lives.” Chandler Massey, the two-time Emmy winner, was dismissed on Aug. 23.

Recent DAYS news and other posts