Category: Entertainment

Posted on

Daytime Emmy Noms Show Big Love For LGBTQ Series ‘After Forever’ & ‘Eastsiders’

Mitchell Anderson & Kevin Spirtas in ‘After Forever;’ the cast of ‘Eastsiders’ (images via Instagram)
The nominees for the 47th Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards were announced on Thursday with some big love to LGBTQ-themed work and artists. The Netflix dark comedy Eastsiders scored 8 nominations including Outstanding Digital Drama Series, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Willam Belli and Leith M. Burke each got a nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor Digital Series; Lin Shaye for Outstanding Guest Performer Digital Series; Outstanding Writing Team Digital Series; Outstanding Casting; Outstanding Costume Design; and Outstanding Makeup. While RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Willam isn’t the first drag queen to receive an Emmy nod, I believe this is the first time a drag performer has received a nomination in an acting category.

The acclaimed Amazon Video digital series After Forever was honored with 6 nominations including Outstanding Digital Drama Series; Cady Huffman for Outstanding Lead Actress Digital Series; Lenny Wolpe for Outstanding Supporting Actor Digital Series; Mary Beth Peil for Outstanding Guest Performer Digital Series; Outstanding Writing Team Digital Series and Outstanding Art/Set Direction/Scenic Design. This was the second season of the acclaimed Amazon series. Two years ago, After Forever received 8 nominations and won 5 including Best Digital Drama Series. Additionally, series creator Kevin Spirtas scored for Best Actor Digital Series and Best Writing Team.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Mary Beth Peil on joining the cast of AFTER FOREVER in Season 2: “I think the series is quite impressive, not just the story that they are telling but every one of us can relate to losing people,” she added. “It establishes a tone that is very unique and hard to describe. It allows everything to unfold naturally.” Read all about it in @digitaljournal & catch up on the series available on Amazon. #lgbtcommunity #lgbtpride #awardwinning #lgbt #laindiefilmfest #iawtvawards #outonfilmatlanta #outonfilm #accoladecompetition #loveandloss #gay #gaypride #watchnow #bingewatching #bingewatch #gsff2019 #daytimeemmys #indieseriesawards #emmys #emmywinner #afterforevertheseries #amazonprime #bingenetworks #kevinspirtas #mitchellanderson #filmnyc #nyc #marybethpeil

A post shared by After Forever (@afterforevertheseries) on

Afternoon talkfest The Ellen DeGeneres Show added to its long list of Emmy honors with 5 nominations including Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show, Outstanding Writing for a Special Class Series, Outstanding Directing for Talk/Entertainment/Morning Program, Outstanding Sound Mixing, Outstanding Art/Set/Scenic Design. And the innovative lip-sync documentary Stonewall Outloud, which utilized rare recordings of people who experienced the Stonewall uprising in 1969, received a nod for Outstanding Direction – Special Class.

The honors will be presented in a two-hour special on Friday, June 26 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Since 1974, the Daytime Emmy® Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in daytime television programming. The awards are presented to individuals and programs broadcast between 2:00 am and 6:00 pm, as well as certain categories of digital and syndicated programming of similar content. This year’s nominations were culled from more than 2,700 submissions and judged by a pool of 1,000 peer professionals from across the television industry. Awards will be presented in leading categories during the telecast, with recipients and other special guests appearing from home in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find the full list of nominees at TheEmmys.tv. In case you missed it, you can check out my exclusive interview with the Emmy Award-winning co-creators of After Forever, Michael Slade & Kevin Spirtas, below.

Posted on

LGBTQ Film: The Mystery Of The Missing Sex Scenes

Earlier this week,  the director of the acclaimed 2017 film, God’s Own Country, took to Twitter asking viewers to refrain from watching his gay love story on Amazon saying the intimate sex scenes had been deleted. The film, which depicts a sensitive love story between a UK sheep farmer (Josh O’Connor) and a Romanian migrant worker (Alec Secăreanu), was praised by critics for “combining gritty realism with poignancy” resulting in a film that is “exceptionally moving.” The film scored the World Cinema Directing Award at Sundance 2017 in addition to awards at such prestigious film festivals like the Chicago International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. At the British Independent Film Awards in December 2017, the film took home honors for Best British independent film, Best Actor for Josh O’Connor, and Best Debut Screenwriter for Francis Lee, who also directed. Additionally, God’s Own Country also scored a nod for Best British Film at the BAFTA Awards in January 2019. On the film site Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a rating of “98% Fresh.” But on Tuesday, Lee was understandably upset at learning his efforts had been censored. “Dear Friends in USA,” tweeted director Francis Lee on Tuesday. “God’s Own Country appears to have been censored on Amazon Prime. Until this is investigated please do not rent or buy on Amazon Prime. It is not the film I intended or made. I will report back.”

But the next day, Lee returned to Twitter having discovered the edited version of his film was the work of the U.S. distributor Goldwyn Films. Apparently, due to the film’s graphic sex scenes, the distributor had excised those without consulting its creator for viewers on Amazon Prime Video Direct. Lee noted the full, uncensored version was still available for rent on Amazon. “Dear USA friends, after investigation God’s Own Country was not censored by Prime Video but by the US distributor Goldwyn Films, who butchered the streaming version without consultation to get more ‘revenue.’ Prime Video were incredibly supportive in rectifying.”

The popular thinking seems to be the graphic sex scenes might have led Amazon to raise the age rating of viewers, which would have reduced the viewership of the movie. Fans of the film noted on social media two scenes had been cut. In one, the two lead characters Johnny and Gheorghe engage in oral sex after wrestling on the ground; and in the second, the duo has sex in a cattle trailer. The censored version on Prime Video Direct is no longer available. “The rental version of God’s Own Country on Prime Video is the correct version of my film,” added Lee in a subsequent tweet. “I would like to thank Amazon Prime for being supportive and I would caution any filmmaker of working with the aforementioned ‘distributor’. Thank you EVERYONE for all your support.” In 2018, I named God’s Own Country the Top LGBTQ Movie of the 2010s. And in December 2019, The Advocate celebrated the film as one of the Top 30 LGBTQ Films of the Decade. “The film is a beautiful, visceral, and at times violent depiction of how self-hate, societal stigma, and prejudice can complicate queer love,” wrote the editors. “Its themes resonate profoundly in a world where fear is threatening to close borders and reject outsiders.” If you haven’t seen God’s Own Country, you should. The official synopsis for the film reads:

Johnny Saxby works long hours in brutal isolation on his family’s remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking at the local pub and casual sex. When a handsome Romanian migrant worker arrives to take up temporary work on the family farm, Johnny suddenly finds himself having to deal with emotions he has never felt before. An intense relationship forms between the two which could change Johnny’s life forever.

Check out the original trailer below.

Posted on

New Music: All Singer/Songwriter Clinton John Wants To Do Is “Cry”

Out recording artist Clinton John drops the music video for his single "Cry"

Clinton John (photo: Acacia Evans)
Out singer/songwriter Clinton John’s synth-pop single, “Cry,” offers his take on the internal push/pull of letting go of a past relationship. The downtempo earworm pairs top-shelf, pure-pop production with candid lyrics that capture the realization you haven’t moved on from a former love as much as you’d hoped. I recently chatted with the handsome Nashville-based artist about the single and a few other things. The Randy Report: Congrats on the new single. What inspired the track? Clinton John: “Cry” came about from the classic struggle of trying to get over someone. I had tried everything that I thought would help. I partied, hooked up with other people, basically used anything to distract myself from the feeling. After months passed, I saw that person again and all the emotion came flooding back and I was so frustrated that I had made no progress in getting over them. It was that type of frustration that makes you so mad you just want to cry and scream. And that is when I wrote the song.
Clinton John (photo: Acacia Evans)
TRR: What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? CJ: The best advice I have ever been given is “no one cares what you do.” It doesn’t really sound like great advice per se, but as an artist creating music it’s so easy to get in your head and the worry that people might not liking what you create holds you back from making something authentic or special. Also, as coming out as a gay artist I had years of built-up fear of what people thought of me that giving myself the freedom to just live authentically and care about what people think. TRR: What’s next on the musical horizon? CJ: I have a collaboration with another LGBT artist named Stasney Mav, a song called “SOLO.” After that, I have another single lined up for the beginning of June, and many other tracks in the works to release throughout the rest of the year! Check out Clinton John’s “Cry” below. The single is available on digital download sites here, and you can follow him on Instagram here.

Posted on

Out Music: Project Moses “He’s Not Staying”

Project Moses (right) in his music video ‘He’s Not Staying’
The new single, “He’s Not Staying,” from out artist Project Moses, explores the quiet turmoil of living with mental illness. The music video for the song, directed by Zach Adam (who also wrote and produced the track) was shot in on Fire Island during the quiet, cold weeks of November. Somber and reclusive, Project Moses says it was “the perfect setting for the dark subject matter of this single.” The story-telling for the video is artful and delicate as the artist reflects on the pensive journey of the song. Project Moses’s evocative vocals are clear and sure, never veering to hyper-emotional, letting the listener take the ride for themselves. Project Moses admits he was drawn to the song but had to do some self-exploration to understand his connection. “It took me a while to recognize what was going on in my head and the reason why none of my relationships with friends, family, or lovers lasted,” explains the artist. Over the years, he came to grips with the rejection he felt from his family after revealing he was gay. “For whatever reason, the feeling of abandonment cut deep into my heart,” he adds. “While my family and I are in a much better place today, the scars from our past remain.”
Project Moses (promotional photo)
Scars aside, playing the track for his mom proved to be a cathartic moment for both mother and son. “My mom cried when I played the song for her,” shares the handsome artist from his home in New York City. “It was the first time she realized how close I came to ending it all.” But just as the song evolves from a gloomy, melancholy sound to a more progressive, light at the end of the tunnel vibe, Project Moses says that he too has “transformed.” “He’s Not Staying,” from the upcoming album Better Man, is available now on all digital download sites. Check out the moody, wistful music video below. Follow Project Moses on Instagram here.

Posted on

News Round-Up: May 18, 2020

RuPaul (left) raised $100K for Planned Parenthood on ‘The Price Is Right’
Some news items you might have missed: • Billboard: Emmy Award winner RuPaul (above) raised nearly $100,000 for Planned Parenthood during a special nighttime edition of the long-running game show, The Price Is Right. • Reuters: Albania’s leading psychologists’ organization has prohibited members from practicing so-called “conversion therapy” which aims to make gay people straight. Albania joins Germany and Malta as the third country in the EU to ban the practice. • PBS News Hour: The venerable news outlet interviewed 74 former staffers for Joe Biden in regard to Tara Reade’s allegations that the former vice president sexually assaulted her in 1993. None of the people interviewed said that they had experienced sexual harassment, assault or misconduct by Biden. All said they never heard any rumors or allegations of Biden engaging in sexual misconduct, until the recent assault allegation made by Reade. • The Advocate: As a huge fan of the 1970s sci-fi series The Bionic Woman, I found this article, exploring why the show resonates so deeply with feminist and LGBTQ audiences, fascinating. • HuffPost: Taking a page from his dad’s playbook, Eric Trump insisted in an interview that COVID-19 will “magically” disappear — after Election Day. He claimed that the coronavirus that has killed 312,000 people around the globe — including nearly 90,000 Americans — is a ploy cooked-up by the Democrats to stop Donald Trump from rallying his supporters at campaign events. • New Music: Eurovision’s 2018 champion Netta is back with her new song “Cuckoo”, a devastating heartbreaker of a ballad that feels eerily poignant given the state of the world currently. The song debuted as a part of Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light which aired in 46 countries and included this touching video of Netta performing the track with a custom-made music box. The studio recording of the single is also available now. The track is a noticeable departure for the Israeli artist/composer/songwriter who has become famous garnering over 1 billion streams globally for her bombastic, colorful, and high-adrenaline pop songs like “Toy” which led to her win at the Eurovision competition.

Posted on

Out Music: Drake Jensen Wants To ‘Burn The Floor’

Drake Jensen (center) in his music video ‘Burn the Floor’ (screen capture)
Out country artist Drake Jensen’s latest music video, “Burn The Floor,” is an upbeat, infectious, country/dance confection. “‘Burn the Floor’ was the result of country music imagined in a different way,” Jensen shared with The Advocate. “I really feel this is my strongest offering to date, and I created it with the ideology that I have had for years since starting my musical journey: that country music is for everyone. As long as there was a voice to send the message.” The music video for the new single, filmed at the Kinki Lounge & Kitchen in Ottawa, Canada, is a celebration of LGBTQ diversity featuring a wide-ranging spectrum of community members all celebrating as one. In a statement, Jensen said the inclusivity of the video was part of the message:

“There has been a lot of divisiveness within our community as we tend to sub-categorize each other. My answer to this was to create a song that would be completely inclusive and then invite the gay community of Canada’s capital to film the video. The result was an outburst of fun with so many different members of our community, all of who help make up our beautiful rainbow, where we all party the night away together as one.”

Check out my podcast interview with Jensen and fellow out Canadian country artist Patrick Masse chatting on their duet, “Go Your Own Way,” an empowering anti-bullying anthem for young LGBTQs.

Posted on

Out Music: Dance Loud Asks ‘Why Lie?’

L-R Desereé Fawn Zimmerman, Kristin Sanchez
Chicago-based electronic duo Dance Loud (Desereé Fawn Zimmerman & Kristin Sanchez) release their hypnotic new music video, “Why Lie,” asking the eternal question: why do some people choose dishonesty in relationships? The chill soundscape seems more like a ‘journey’ than an episode as the ebb and flow of the moody downtempo track feels soothing and tranquil. I especially like the extended rhythmic passage at the end. The Chicago Tribune raved about the real-life couple’s live performances: “The tandem’s live performances are a joy to behold. Sanchez’s beats build and build on the dance floor like any good house music set, then Zimmerman joins the production, adding layers of intricate drum rhythms that both complement and contrast with the synths.” I covered the duo’s euphoric single “Hollow” back in March. Both tracks are from their upcoming indie album The Moment due out June 5. You can Instagram the duo here.

Posted on

Music Video: Matt Zarley & Jeb Havens Honor Class Of 2020 ‘Stronger’

Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer Matt Zarley teams up with critically acclaimed indie artist Jeb Havens to honor the educators and students of the class of 2020 with a reimagined rendition of the Kelly Clarkson hit, “Stronger.” The GLEE-tastic music video, featuring a cast of 50+ students and parents from Canoga Park High School in California, was shot on location at the school two weeks before the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. “If we had to delay shooting a week, we probably wouldn’t have been able to complete this,” says Zarley. “I can’t imagine being a high school senior and not getting to experience those special end of school year moments that you’ve been looking forward to for the past 4 years,” he adds. “I feel so bad for these kids. This entire situation is just awful.” As Havens and Zarley take on multiple roles as teachers, coaches, janitors, and cafeteria workers, the video tells the tale of a new student at school who finds his way to tryouts for the dance team.  In a short time, he goes from misunderstood (#QuackIsWhack) to ‘rad’ (#FunkADuck). The duo’s soulful pop vocals are a perfect match for the soaring self-empowerment anthem.

I’ve shared music from both Zarley and Havens over the years, but just in case you missed it… Zarley made his theatrical debut at 17-years-old in the national touring company of CATS, at that time the youngest to ever perform in the mega-blockbuster. His career continued with roles on Broadway in A Chorus Line, The Who’s Tommy, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as well as TV appearances in Disney’s Cinderella (w/ Whitney Houston), Geppetto (w/ Drew Carey) & Annie (w/ Kathy Bates), The Drew Carey Show, Fame, The Tonight Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and Smash, among others. An award-winning, 4-time Billboard charting recording artist, his albums include Debut, Here I Am (2008 Billboard Critics Top Ten and American Idol Top 20 Songwriter), and Change Begins With Me (2012 OUTMusic Award for Album & Single Of The Year). He was also the first openly gay man featured in People Magazine’s ‘Hottest Bachelors’ annual issue. He added filmmaker to his resume when he released hopefulROMANTIC, an award-winning musical short film he wrote, produced and starred in which played dozens of international film festivals including Cannes, Mumbai, Montreal, and as well as numerous stateside festivals.

L-R Matt Zarley, Jeb Havens
Jeb Havens is an international recording artist and songwriter whose music is a blend of catchy pop and raw emotional therapy. He became a viral sensation when he began recording original and cover songs in his closet (good sound) and shared them on YouTube. One of his earliest “Closet Covers” was his emotional, moving take of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views. As it spread across the internet, his performance grabbed the attention of mainstream entertainment media outlets like Buzzfeed which raved, “Seriously, someone get this guy a record deal already.” His debut solo album “Home Base” was named one of the Top 5 in LGBT Music for 2016. The woofy duo has collaborated several times over the years on projects ranging from music videos to live performances in the U.S. and abroad including their ‘Works of Heart’ concerts. You can find my posts on Jeb Havens’s music here, and my previous coverage of Matt Zarley here.

Posted on

Trailer: Award-Winning Movie Musical ‘Still Waiting in the Wings’

Guest post by Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. You can turn off its bright lights, lock up its stage doors, and silence the “Lullaby of Broadway,” but you’ll never take away a gay man’s dreams of being a musical theatre star! But while the rest of us wait for theatre marquees across America to light up again, we can follow Anthony on his journey in the new movie musical comedy, Still Waiting in the Wings is set for its worldwide release May 15, 2020, on DVD and all digital platforms, including Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play. Still Waiting in the Wings is a light-hearted musical tale following the triumphs and trials of actors dreaming of the Great White Way, mixing sweet aspirations with bitter drama. Our stars sing and dance while living the reality of slinging hash under the florescent lights at Times Square’s famed “Café Broadway.” There are truly no people like show people and there’s no telling what can happen when they’re pitted against each other. Sprinkled along the way are special appearances by Nick Adams, Ed Asner, Carole Cook, Lee Meriwether, Patricia Richardson, Chita Rivera, Seth Rudetsky, Sally Struthers, Bruce Vilanch, and Cindy Williams.

Jeffrey A. Johns and Chita Rivera in ‘Still Waiting in the Wings’
“Since theatres all over the country are closed right now, many of us are missing the arts in our life,” says star and co-writer Jeffrey A. Johns. “If this movie can bring the joy of musicals to people right now, I couldn’t be more thrilled. We could all use a smile and some laughter right now and hope the film can bring that to people during this difficult time.” Still Waiting in the Wings has screened at film festivals across the world and has won several top awards. Highlights include Q Cinema: Fort Worth (“Best of the Festival”), qFlix: Philadelphia (“Rising Star Award in Acting –Jeffrey A. Johns”), Garden State Film Festival (“Best Musical Feature”), FilmOut: San Diego (“Best Ensemble” and “Best Soundtrack”), California Independent Film Festival (“Best Feature Film”), qFlix: Worcester, New England’s LGBT Film Festival (“Audience Favorite”), Cinema Diverse: Palm Springs (“Festival Favorite”), and California Independent Film Festival (“Best Actress in a Feature Film – Rena Strober”). The movie is directed by Q. Allan Brocka and written by Jeffrey A. Johns and Arie Gonzalez. The cast includes Jeffrey A. Johns, Joe Abraham, Rena Strober, Adam Huss, Blake Peyrot, Harrison White, and Rebekah Kochan. Still Waiting in the Wings and CD soundtrack are currently available for pre-order at www.JJSpotlightProductions.com

  Lawrence Pfeil, Jr., is a freelance writer/playwright who has reviewed film and theatre, both on and off-Broadway, for media outlets including The Randy Report, the New York Blade, and Edge Publications. You can follow him at TheOUTfront.com.

Posted on

News Round-Up: May 14, 2020

The cast of Queer Eye heads to Philadelphia this June on Netflix
Some news items you might have missed: • Netflix: Who’s ready for the season of brotherly love? Grab your oars, a life vest, and an extremely absorbent box of tissues because Queer Eye Season 5 (above) is arriving in Philly, June 5th! • NewNowNext: A new queer-centric concert series: Outloud: Raising Voices, a 10-episode benefit show featuring livestreamed performances from LGBTQ and allied artists, will kick off May 26 with performances by Kesha, Betty Who and more. Funds raised during the epic five-week affair will benefit local Pride organizers impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. • OUT: Under the veil of secrecy, legislators have crafted and rushed through a new civil code for the island of Puerto Rico. Having passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the legislation is awaiting the signature of Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced. But, advocates warn that amendments to the bill made without public debate and adequate time for analyzing could roll back LGBTQ+ rights. • The Hill: Donald Trump went without a mask during a visit to a Pennsylvania medical equipment distribution center (again) even as other government officials in his party wore face coverings around the facility. • Yahoo News: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is being sued for her revised federal guidelines on how sexual assault allegations should be handled on college and K-12 campuses. Plaintiffs say (and they are right) the changes would “inflict significant harm” on victims and “dramatically undermine” their civil rights. • Fox News: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell admitted he lied when he said the Obama administration did not leave behind any “game plan” for responding to a pandemic.