Articles in TV/radio/movies
“Milk” screening Sunday benefits One Anchorage
Come out Sunday, January 22nd for a screening of Gus Van Sant’s Milk, starring Sean Penn in his Oscar–winning performance as openly gay politician Harvey Milk. Suggested donations of $5 will benefit One Anchorage in its campaign to gain passage of the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative.
“An Ordinary Family” and “Weekend” — two gay films showing in Anchorage this week
Two films featuring gay male characters are playing this week in Anchorage: An Ordinary Family with two screenings on Wednesday and Thursday, December 7—8 (part of the Anchorage International Film Festival), and Weekend on Monday, December 12.
Open Projector Night 4, this Saturday night at Out North
The time has come for Open Projector Night, the Alaska independent filmmakers’ open mic, presented by the Alaska Film Forum and Out North Contemporary Art House, on Saturday, November 26 at Out North.
Bring a short film or clip of something longer on DVD, BluRay, or digital format ( h.264/m4v, 720p). Projector slots will be given out on a first-come first-serve basis.
For filmmakers, this is a great opportunity to meet other people working in town and have your films screened for an audience. For everyone else, this is your chance to see the awesome work that the local filmmaking scene is putting out, and to show your support for independent filmmakers and filmmaking.
Schedule for the evening:
5pm – Media drop off begins at Out North
8pm – Doors open for socializing/networking time
9pm – Screening begins
- Date/time: Saturday, November 26, 8:00 to 11:30 PM
- Location: Out North Contemporary Art House, 3800 Debarr, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Age restriction: This event is 21+. IDs will be checked at the door.
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Want to know more about Open Projector Night? Read Ben Anderson’s July 2011 story in the Alaska Dispatch. Or, check out the video:
Open Projector Night 4 from Tri-Seven Pictures on Vimeo.
Alaska Film Forum and Borderline Productions helped to put this piece together to talk more about the creation of OPN and its role in the Alaska Film Community.
Alaska favorite “I Can’t Think Straight” to become a web series — with your help
Last October, two films by independent lesbian filmmakers Shamim Sarif and Hanan Kattan were screened in Alaska, accompanied by Sheetal Sheth, costar of both films. Now one of those films, “I Can’t Think Straight,” based on the true story of Shamim’s and Hanan’s meeting, is set to become a web series — with your help. [Update: The project is on hiatus.]
“Out in the Silence” showing a successful event for Anchorage-area GSAs
Out in the Silence was shown two nights ago (Sunday, Nov. 6th) at Out North. It was an excellent turnout of students, families, allies, and friends to address the issue of bullying of our teens that is brought up in the video.
Wanda Sykes, comedian and actor (LGBT History Month)
Wanda Sykes is an Emmy Award-winning comedian and actor praised for being one of the most entertaining women of her generation. She was the first African-American and first openly gay master of ceremonies for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Bent Alaska presents her story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Wanda Sykes
“They pissed off the wrong group of people. Instead of having gay marriage in California, we’re going to get it across the country.”
Wanda Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an Emmy Award-winning comedian and actor praised for being one of the most entertaining women of her generation. She was the first African-American and first openly gay master of ceremonies for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and raised in the Washington, D.C., area. Her father, an Army colonel, worked in the Pentagon; her mother worked as a bank manager. At a young age, Sykes discovered her passion for making people laugh. She was outspoken and entertaining in high school. In 1986, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Hampton University and began working for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Sykes’s stand-up career began spontaneously at a talent showcase. She quickly made close friends in the comedy world, including rising star Chris Rock. She was a performer and writer for “The Chris Rock Show” and won the 1999 Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety, music or comedy special. In 2002, Sykes won her second Emmy for her work on “Inside the NFL.”
In 2003, Sykes launched her first television show, “Wanda at Large.” On the show, she played Wanda Hawkins, an unsuccessful stand-up comic hired to be a correspondent on a political talk show. Sykes acknowledged, “Wanda Hawkins is basically me personified. We have the same attitude, the same point of view—pointing out hypocrisies in the way we see the world.”
Sykes has starred in “Wanda Does It,” “The Wanda Sykes Show” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” HBO has produced two Wanda Sykes comedy specials, “Sick & Tired” (2006) and “I’ma Be Me” (2009).
In 2008, Sykes came out when she announced her own marriage while speaking at a rally for same-sex marriage. In a March 2009 interview, she told The Advocate tells the story of how she met and married her wife:
In 2006, Sykes went on a weeklong, end-of-summer vacation with friends to Cherry Grove, one of two predominantly gay communities on New York’s Fire Island. (“I’m not making that Pines money,” she says of the neighboring, ritzier enclave, Fire Island Pines. “But it’s so nice over at the Pines. Nice coffee shops, gourmet foods, and all that crap over there.”) It was a nasty, rainy day, but on the ferry ride to the island Sykes spotted an intriguing woman. “She had on this black trench coat and was carrying a computer bag,” she says. “I was like, We’re going to Fire Island — what the hell is she doing with her laptop?”
It wasn’t so much the trench coat or the laptop, though, that sparked Sykes’s attention. “She just caught my eye,” she says. And that’s when something happened that she’d never experienced before. “It was like a voice inside me saying, See? That’s what you need, Wanda. That’s what you need.” Sykes’s eyes well up with tears as she tells the story. “She’s beautiful, but there was just this aura about her. We’ve been inseparable since.” Inseparable and protective: Sykes, walking a tightrope, will not say what her wife does for a living. In fact, she tells the whole story of their meeting without once uttering her wife’s name. Later Sykes decided to give us her first name, Alexandra, for the article. “She’s not in show business. I want her to have as much of her private life as she can.”
Two years later, emboldened by the California supreme court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality, she and Alexandra decided to make it official. “This was it,” Sykes explains. “We’re in love and we want to spend the rest of our lives together. That’s why you get married.” So they rented a small hotel in Palm Springs and were married in a simple ceremony before about 40 friends and family members. “We had an amazing weekend. I don’t like to talk about it. It was a very special moment for us, for our friends. I like to keep that.” Sykes is happy—and obviously sentimental: “Even looking at the pictures, I just go back to that moment and get all teary-eyed.”
She lives in California with her wife, Alex, and their twins, Lucas and Olivia.
In her “I’ma Be Me” comedy on HBO in 2009, Wanda Sykes talked about what it would be like if you had to come out black. Watch:
For more about Wanda Sykes, visit her website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Wanda Sykes at a Marriage Equality Now rally in Sacramento, 16 February 2009. Photo by Elijah Nouvelage (wanderinghome on Flickr); used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
Ryan Murphy, writer, director, & producer (LGBT History Month)
Ryan Murphy is an award-winning film and television director, writer and producer. He is best known for creating the television series “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee.” Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Ryan Murphy
“I dealt with my sexuality at a very early age. I didn’t have a struggle, and I know so many people who were terrified of dealing with it.”
Ryan Murphy (born November 30, 1965 ) is an award-winning film and television director, writer and producer. He is best known for creating the television series “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee.”
Murphy grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, in an Irish Catholic family. His mother was a writer. His father was a newspaper circulation director. At 15, after coming out to his parents, Murphy saw a therapist, who said he was just “too precocious for his own good.”
At Indiana University in Bloomington, Murphy worked on the school newspaper and performed with the “Singing Hoosiers,” the university’s show choir.
Starting out as a journalist, Murphy worked for the Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly. He began scriptwriting in the late 1990’s. In 1999, he made his first foray into television, creating the teen comedy series “Popular”
Murphy serves on the National Advisory Board of the Young Storytellers Foundation, a Los Angeles area educational program that brings entertainment professionals into the classroom.
Murphy lives in Los Angeles.
In October 2010, Mediaweek talked with Ryan Murphy about Glee‘s impact on its gay viewers, and his own commitment to gay kids. Watch:
For more about Ryan Murphy, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Ryan Murphy at at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego, 25 July 2010. Photo by Gage Skidmore; used in accordance with Creative Commons license.
Neil Patrick Harris, actor (LGBT History Month)
Neil Patrick Harris is an award-winning television, film and stage actor. Starting at age 16, he has forged an enduring career as a performer in Hollywood and on Broadway. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Neil Patrick Harris
“I am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest.”
Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an award-winning television, film and stage actor. Starting at age 16, he has forged an enduring career as a performer in Hollywood and on Broadway.
Harris grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, the son of two lawyers who ran a restaurant. He took up acting in the fourth grade, playing the role of Toto in “The Wizard of Oz.” When Harris was 15, the family moved to Albuquerque. That same year, he made his feature film debut in “Clara’s Heart,” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
In 1997, Harris accepted the role of Mark in the Los Angeles production of “Rent” and received a Drama League Award for his performance. He made his Broadway debut in 2002 opposite Anne Heche in “Proof.” Thereafter, he appeared as the Emcee in “Cabaret” and as Lee Harvey Oswald in Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Assassins.”
Harris came out publicly in 2006, telling People magazine,
The public eye has always been kind to me, and until recently I have been able to live a pretty normal life. Now it seems there is speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.
So, rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love.
In 2010, he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine. Later that year, Harris and his long-term partner, David Burtka, had twins, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace. Harris and his family live in Los Angeles.
Here’s Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible in Act 1 of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” (also featuring Felicia Day as Penny and Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer). Watch:
For more about Neil Patrick Harris, follow him on Twitter or visit his LGBT History Month page or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Neil Patrick Harris at a ceremony for Harris to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 15 Sep 2011. Photo by Angela George; used in accordance with a Creative Commons license.
Alan Cumming, actor (LGBT History Month)
Alan Cumming is an award-winning film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series, as well as major theatrical productions in London and on Broadway. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.
Alan Cumming
“We need to do everything we can to counteract hatred and shame and we need to be strong in this fight.”
Alan Cumming (born January 27, 1965) is an award-winning film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series, as well as major theatrical productions in London and on Broadway.
Cumming grew up on the east coast of Scotland, the son of a forester and a secretary. As a teenager, he began appearing in high school plays and local theater productions. In 1982, he enrolled at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he received a B.A. in dramatic studies.
After graduation, Cumming worked in Scottish theater and television before moving to London. In 1985, he married fellow acting student Hilary Lyon. The couple divorced eight years later.
In London, Cumming performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He received two Olivier Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical for playing the Emcee in “Cabaret.” In 1998, he reprised this role on Broadway, receiving a Tony Award and a New York Drama Critics award for his performance.
Cumming’s many film credits include “Golden Eye,” “Emma,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” “X2,” and “Burlesque.” On television, he has appeared on “Frasier,” “The L Word,” “Sex and the City,” Logo’s “Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World,” and on the hit series “The Good Wife” as conniving campaign manager Eli Gold.
In 1998, Entertainment Weekly named Cumming one of the 100 Most Creative People in the World. In 2008, he received the Trevor Hero Award from The Trevor Project for being “a true role model for gay and questioning youth through his spectacular and highly successful career.”
Cumming and his longtime partner, Grant Shaffer, entered into a civil partnership at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. Cumming and Shaffer live in New York City.
Alan Cumming as the Emcee and the cast of the Broadway revival of “Cabaret” peformed “Wilkommen” at the Tony Awards in 1998. Watch:
For more about Alan Cumming, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.
Photo credit: Alan Cumming during the 2011 New York Fashion Week, 11 Feb 2011. Photo by Christopher Macsurak (cropped from original); used in accordance with Creative Commons licensing.
Juneau Pride Chorus presents gay & lesbian film festival for National Coming Out Day
Juneau Pride Chorus — “a chorus of mothers, daughters, sisters, lovers and grandmothers bonded by love of singing and desire to celebrate diversity” — will celebrate National Coming Out Day this coming Tuesday, October 11, with a festival of gay and lesbian short films from some of the country’s top film festivals. The Pride Chorus will sing at intermission.
Admission is free, but donations are not only welcomed but encouraged: Pride Chorus is raising funds in hopes of going, for its first time ever, to the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) International Chorus Festival, which will be held in Denver in July 2012. GALA’s festival happens only once every four years.
National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an internationally observed civil awareness day observed by members of the LGBTQA communities on October 11 every year (or October 12 in the United Kingdom). Its date was chosen in commemoration of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, held on October 11, 1987. National Coming Out Day is also an important for another reason, the Juneau Empire reports: the Juneau Pride Chorus held its very first rehearsal on National Coming Out Day in 1997.
The Juneau Empire continues,
Pride Chorus lays claim to the title of Juneau’s only year-round chorus, not counting church choirs. It rehearses every Tuesday from 5:30–7 p.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church, open to the (female) public—to listen or to sing.
In fact, Pride Chorus prides itself, no pun intended, on its unrestrictive admission policy, which does not limit membership by audition, voice part or even sexual orientation.
“You don’t have to be LGBT to be a member of Pride Chorus, just supportive of our causes,” [Pride Chorus director Leslie] Wood said, who estimates that a third of the women in the chorus are lesbian, a third bisexual and a third, allies.
“You don’t have to be able to sing, either, but it helps.”
Juneau Pride Chorus holds an annual concert in April and also performs annually at Alaska Folk Festival and sometimes for World AIDS Day.
If you’re in Juneau, make time next Tuesday evening for some terrific films and terrific music. As one of Bent Alaska’s friends — a Pride Chorus member — wrote on our Facebook wall yesterday, “Come hear us sing — it will be a blast!” And don’t forget to chip in to help the Pride Chorus on its way to GALA 2012!
- Date/time: Tuesday, October 11, 6:30 to 9:30 PM
- Location: Gold Town Nickelodeon Theater, 171 Shattuck Way, Juneau, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: Admission is free; donations accepted and encouraged: this is a fundraiser for Juneau Pride Chorus.
- Further info: see Facebook events page
