As we head into the season finals of the ABC juggernaut Dancing with the Stars, speculation is already under way regarding which celebrities will take the Paso Doble plunge next season. Out judge and choreographer Bruno Tonioli (left) thinks it's time for an openly gay personality to hit the dance floor. "It would be great, it would be welcomed," he tells AfterElton.com, while stopping short of giving up his wish list of would-be contenders. When the name of a certain stage veteran who stars on TV's Torchwood is tossed out as a possibility, Bruno gets excited, "John Barrowman is too good! He’ll win. John Barrowman is a good friend.
He’s amazing, but he’s too good because he’s done 27,000 musicals."The judge also welcomes the idea of same-sex couples on DWTS, but believes that at this point, such a coupling would overshadow the competition. "That would be fantastic, but I think that they should do – they should do a special. It would be great to do a special, because it would probably be unfair with the others. They’d probably be fantastic. They’d probably get so much attention, but it would be great to do like a special, boy/boy and girl/girl. Can you imagine?"
From a small provincial town in Italy where he was teased for being too "pretty" to an in-demand dancer and choreographer in the UK, Australia and South Africa, Bruno really opens up in what has to be one of his most revealing and personal interviews he's done stateside, where he is the only out judge on a network competition show.
To read Michael Jensen's interview with Bruno, check out AfterElton.com. The story about how he ended up in that little sling of a bathing suit for the Elton John video I'm Still Standing (below) is priceless.
As the World Turns' unscripted casting series InTurn, which airs online at CBS.com, recently featured guest judges Van Hansis (Luke) and Jake Silbermann (Noah), who are collectively Nuke on the soap. The remaining six contestants, three men and three women, prepare for their screen test in Episode 7 which involves their first on-screen kiss. Van and Jake now have some experience when it comes to on-screen kissing, and only one pairing for the screen test is male-female. 
While two-time Emmy nominee Van is not heard here giving his advice on how he makes the Nuke scenes so magical, we know the secret: "Eyes, mouth, eyes, mouth" -- something contestant Peyton (far left) needs to learn fast if he has any hope of staying in this competition!Enjoy the episode here:
At the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday night, The DL Chronicles walked away with the award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Anthology. In the wake of this win, The Daily Voice (a mainstream Black news site) carried an article written by the creators of the program, Deondray Gossett and Quincy LeNear.Deondray states that this "small, gay-themed TV show about the sexually duplicitous lives of African American men is rapidly becoming the cornerstone for dialogue and enlightenment about an otherwise obscure and taboo subject in the African American community," and talks about the kinds of conversations it is prompting people to have:
The show has become the hot topic at the barber shops and beauty salons, and having been eavesdropping on some of these discussions, I have found many of the conversations to be devoid of scandalous and sensational rhetoric, but rather full of questions, introspection, and people who are sincerely seeking clarity and understanding on a topic that is rarely openly discussed in a healthy and non-homophobic manner.
Quincy speaks about the difficulty of taking an artistic idea and making it a reality:
But what is the value of an idea when you assume that you are not in a position of power, nor armed with a surplus of cash?
We were just two starving artists, beating the pavement, and working day jobs to survive. We were also two young, black males from inner city communities who also happened to be gay. What did we have? What were our advantages? We certainly had many believed disadvantages; however, we refused to submit to defeat. [...] The DL Chronicles represents the ingenuity and resourcefulness that is abundant to us all and is a reminder of the tenacity and creativity of our community. Claim your power as an artist. We don't serve ourselves by thinking small but we serve the world by thinking big.
To read the full article, click here.
"The opportunity is there for you to make a killing
telling our stories."
At the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday, actress Jennifer Beals presented The L Word creator/producer Ilene Chaiken with the Davidson/Valentini Award, a GLAAD honor given to an openly LGBT
individual who has made a significant impact in promoting equality. Chaiken's powerful words — or her "rant," as she called it — challenges television executives to do a better job in telling our stories. It wouldn't do Chaiken (right, with GLAAD President Neil Giuliano) justice to merely excerpt her words, so here is the complete text of her powerful speech.
Before I begin ranting – because that’s what I’m going to do tonight; I’m going to rant a little – let me just take a moment to catch my breath. Jennifer Beals is breathtaking, right? But not just for the obvious reasons. Rather, for the reason that her talent and her intelligence and her convictions all at once run so deep; and I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of working closely with her these last six years, of calling her my friend, and of having been represented by her – not as the writer and producer of The L Word, but as a gay woman who never before saw herself, or anyone very like herself, portrayed in such a complex, powerful, uplifting, intriguing, ongoing way in the popular media.
Now for the rant…
I had imagined that when we announced that The L Word was coming to an end there would be another show – or maybe another two or three shows – poised to take up where we’re leaving off. I thought maybe we would have our lesbian cop show on CBS. You know, a latter day Cagney & Lacey in which the prettier cop is a svelte, stylish lezzie and her ostensibly straight partner is one of those big-boned, handsome, vaguely homophobic gals…? Or, I don’t know, where’s our doctor show in which Patrick Dempsey stars – stars being the operative concept – as the egotistical head of surgery with a slew of boyfriend problems but no issues about being comfortably and demonstratively out of the closet? And while we’re at it, give me a comic book superhero movie in which the pithy one-liners and snarky asides are believably uttered by a homosexual billionaire industrialist who likes to fight evil while showing off his exquisite muscles in a tight-fitting costume. As an aside, I’m willing to bet you that if that movie were to be made with the same skill and resources and budget of, say, Ironman, it would be no less successful at the box office. I know… far-flung. We’re not there yet. But we need to get there. Because the same old stories are getting old and tired, and we’ve got a lot of great, moving, entertaining, powerful stories to tell that haven’t yet been told.
So it’s not okay that when The L Word goes off the air sometime in 2009, we stand to be cast back into the desert in terms of primary representation of our lives and our stories in mainstream popular media. We’re hardly better represented right now than we were ten, even twenty years ago, and, bizarrely and inexplicably, less well represented than we were just a few years back when at least we had Will & Grace and Queer Eye and Queer As Folk. We’re relegated, once again, to minor roles as recurring secondary characters, or cute but oddly asexual best friends, and sometimes on procedurals we get to be murder victims. And it’s not enough.
It’s not enough when GLAAD – and don’t get me wrong; I’m a devotee of GLAAD; without GLAAD there would be no accountability and no presence and no mindful, vigilant advocacy on behalf of LGBT visibility and fair and accurate representation – but it’s not enough when GLAAD has to honor programs among the media awards nominees that don’t even feature any LGBT characters as series regulars.
It’s not enough that on broadcast television, we still have to wait until the third year of some popular ensemble drama for the introduction of a gay or lesbian storyline that was originally intended for one of the series leads but, after reconsideration, was relegated to a less beloved minor and more dispensable character.
It’s not enough that three years ago [fellow GLAAD honoree] James Schamus [right] produced a
big budget Hollywood movie that should have won the Academy Award for
best picture, and that no major motion picture since then has featured
gay themes or a gay character in any significant way until the intrepid
Mr. Schamus brings us Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.
It’s not enough that Showtime is the only mainstream network ever to have produced and aired and supported a scripted drama series about LGBT characters. Twice. And, by the way, aren’t they being touted as the best, hottest network on television?
It’s really not enough that LGBT people historically have written and directed and produced so many of the world’s greatest movies and television shows while hiding behind veiled portrayals of our real, true selves. We’ve given it up, given away our gifts to the dominant heterosexual culture – and we’ll keep on doing it for them because we’re that generous and talented and prolific – but I’d like to think that we won’t do it any longer at the expense of seeing our own selves fully visible and gloriously, complexly, glamorously and heroically represented right alongside of them.
I am hopeful right now as we find ourselves in a relatively progressive political moment, with (technically still two) imperfect but educable Democratic candidates who embrace most of our LGBT issues. Two candidates, both of whom stand a better-than-fighting chance of routing this morally bankrupt and socially backward Republican regime that’s desiccated our world these last eight years. And I’m proud, very proud, of the role that many of the artists and activists here in this room tonight have played in moving forward that progressive change. I envision a moment in the not too distant future when my kids are going to say to me, “What? You mean there used to be a time when gay people couldn’t get married to one another? That’s crazy, mama.”
It’s just as crazy to me that at sometime in the very near future we might look around at our movie and TV screens and find ourselves all but invisible again. I’m baffled and perturbed by the way in which our Hollywood entertainment culture seems to lag behind the culture at large. When I first pitched The L Word to Showtime – back in the dark ages – I went out on a limb and said to them, If you let me make a smart, sexy TV show about lesbians and you give me as much money and support as you give to any other aspiring prime time drama (and you let me cast Jennifer Beals in the lead), I’m willing to bet you it will be a hit. I’ll put that same bet on the table again right now – to every network, every studio, every production company and every creative artist. It’s no riskier than any other risk you take.
The opportunity is there for you to make a killing telling our stories. And for those of us in the LGBT community, I say, if history is indeed written by the victors, let’s make ourselves victorious by writing our own history… and directing it and producing it and starring in it.
At the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday, actress Jennifer Beals presented The L Word creator/producer Ilene Chaiken with the Davidson/Valentini Award, a GLAAD honor given to an openly LGBT
individual who has made a significant impact in promoting equality. Chaiken's powerful words — or her "rant," as she called it — challenges television executives to do a better job in telling our stories. It wouldn't do Chaiken (right, with GLAAD President Neil Giuliano) justice to merely excerpt her words, so here is the complete text of her powerful speech.Before I begin ranting – because that’s what I’m going to do tonight; I’m going to rant a little – let me just take a moment to catch my breath. Jennifer Beals is breathtaking, right? But not just for the obvious reasons. Rather, for the reason that her talent and her intelligence and her convictions all at once run so deep; and I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of working closely with her these last six years, of calling her my friend, and of having been represented by her – not as the writer and producer of The L Word, but as a gay woman who never before saw herself, or anyone very like herself, portrayed in such a complex, powerful, uplifting, intriguing, ongoing way in the popular media.
Now for the rant…
I had imagined that when we announced that The L Word was coming to an end there would be another show – or maybe another two or three shows – poised to take up where we’re leaving off. I thought maybe we would have our lesbian cop show on CBS. You know, a latter day Cagney & Lacey in which the prettier cop is a svelte, stylish lezzie and her ostensibly straight partner is one of those big-boned, handsome, vaguely homophobic gals…? Or, I don’t know, where’s our doctor show in which Patrick Dempsey stars – stars being the operative concept – as the egotistical head of surgery with a slew of boyfriend problems but no issues about being comfortably and demonstratively out of the closet? And while we’re at it, give me a comic book superhero movie in which the pithy one-liners and snarky asides are believably uttered by a homosexual billionaire industrialist who likes to fight evil while showing off his exquisite muscles in a tight-fitting costume. As an aside, I’m willing to bet you that if that movie were to be made with the same skill and resources and budget of, say, Ironman, it would be no less successful at the box office. I know… far-flung. We’re not there yet. But we need to get there. Because the same old stories are getting old and tired, and we’ve got a lot of great, moving, entertaining, powerful stories to tell that haven’t yet been told.
So it’s not okay that when The L Word goes off the air sometime in 2009, we stand to be cast back into the desert in terms of primary representation of our lives and our stories in mainstream popular media. We’re hardly better represented right now than we were ten, even twenty years ago, and, bizarrely and inexplicably, less well represented than we were just a few years back when at least we had Will & Grace and Queer Eye and Queer As Folk. We’re relegated, once again, to minor roles as recurring secondary characters, or cute but oddly asexual best friends, and sometimes on procedurals we get to be murder victims. And it’s not enough.
It’s not enough when GLAAD – and don’t get me wrong; I’m a devotee of GLAAD; without GLAAD there would be no accountability and no presence and no mindful, vigilant advocacy on behalf of LGBT visibility and fair and accurate representation – but it’s not enough when GLAAD has to honor programs among the media awards nominees that don’t even feature any LGBT characters as series regulars.
It’s not enough that on broadcast television, we still have to wait until the third year of some popular ensemble drama for the introduction of a gay or lesbian storyline that was originally intended for one of the series leads but, after reconsideration, was relegated to a less beloved minor and more dispensable character.
It’s not enough that three years ago [fellow GLAAD honoree] James Schamus [right] produced a
big budget Hollywood movie that should have won the Academy Award for
best picture, and that no major motion picture since then has featured
gay themes or a gay character in any significant way until the intrepid
Mr. Schamus brings us Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.
It’s not enough that Showtime is the only mainstream network ever to have produced and aired and supported a scripted drama series about LGBT characters. Twice. And, by the way, aren’t they being touted as the best, hottest network on television?
It’s really not enough that LGBT people historically have written and directed and produced so many of the world’s greatest movies and television shows while hiding behind veiled portrayals of our real, true selves. We’ve given it up, given away our gifts to the dominant heterosexual culture – and we’ll keep on doing it for them because we’re that generous and talented and prolific – but I’d like to think that we won’t do it any longer at the expense of seeing our own selves fully visible and gloriously, complexly, glamorously and heroically represented right alongside of them.
I am hopeful right now as we find ourselves in a relatively progressive political moment, with (technically still two) imperfect but educable Democratic candidates who embrace most of our LGBT issues. Two candidates, both of whom stand a better-than-fighting chance of routing this morally bankrupt and socially backward Republican regime that’s desiccated our world these last eight years. And I’m proud, very proud, of the role that many of the artists and activists here in this room tonight have played in moving forward that progressive change. I envision a moment in the not too distant future when my kids are going to say to me, “What? You mean there used to be a time when gay people couldn’t get married to one another? That’s crazy, mama.”
It’s just as crazy to me that at sometime in the very near future we might look around at our movie and TV screens and find ourselves all but invisible again. I’m baffled and perturbed by the way in which our Hollywood entertainment culture seems to lag behind the culture at large. When I first pitched The L Word to Showtime – back in the dark ages – I went out on a limb and said to them, If you let me make a smart, sexy TV show about lesbians and you give me as much money and support as you give to any other aspiring prime time drama (and you let me cast Jennifer Beals in the lead), I’m willing to bet you it will be a hit. I’ll put that same bet on the table again right now – to every network, every studio, every production company and every creative artist. It’s no riskier than any other risk you take.
The opportunity is there for you to make a killing telling our stories. And for those of us in the LGBT community, I say, if history is indeed written by the victors, let’s make ourselves victorious by writing our own history… and directing it and producing it and starring in it.
An estimated 12 million viewers will tune in tonight for the season finale of ABC's Brothers & Sisters and witness the wedding of Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty (Luke Macfarlane) in the presence of their family and friends. For fans, this is a natural progression for the couple whose relationship spans the past two years. But what’s historic is that this is the first wedding of its kind. The first.
There have been a handful of gay guest characters married in “very special episodes” over the past two decades, as well as a couple of weddings on pay cable. But this is a first for series regular characters on network television and is cause to celebrate.
Once the vows are spoken, however, there will be no ink to dry on a legal
marriage license because Kevin and Scotty reside in
Millions of gay Americans are being denied the legal
protection their unions deserve, and anti-gay initiatives are currently under way
in
This being television, and Brothers & Sisters a family drama that thrives on obstacles, there is no doubt that in coming seasons Kevin and Scotty will face their own challenges. But they will deal with them while being treated like all other couples on the show. And isn’t that all we’re asking for in real life as well?
The May 8th episode of Grey's Anatomy featured a heartwrenching story of a gay U.S. Army soldier preparing for experimental and life-threatening brain surgery. What is notable is that the story also weaved in the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy as well as reaction from the soldier's disapproving father.
When the patient kissed his boyfriend, also a member of the military, it was one of network television's still-rare male-male kisses. But more importantly, it was a natural, organic response given the story, so kudos to Grey's and ABC for realistically presenting a scene between two men who knew this may be the last time they would be able to touch and see each other alive. Dr. Grey's reaction to them kissing was not a stock television look of surprise or shock, but one of sympathy she would give to any couple going through this emotional moment. And regular viewers know she also looked at them with regret, envious of the love that she currently does not have in her own life.
While the ending regrettably did not leave the door open for the story to continue, it was a worthy effort.
When the patient kissed his boyfriend, also a member of the military, it was one of network television's still-rare male-male kisses. But more importantly, it was a natural, organic response given the story, so kudos to Grey's and ABC for realistically presenting a scene between two men who knew this may be the last time they would be able to touch and see each other alive. Dr. Grey's reaction to them kissing was not a stock television look of surprise or shock, but one of sympathy she would give to any couple going through this emotional moment. And regular viewers know she also looked at them with regret, envious of the love that she currently does not have in her own life.
While the ending regrettably did not leave the door open for the story to continue, it was a worthy effort.
As we look forward to Sunday's commitment ceremony between Scotty and Kevin on Brothers & Sisters, it is fitting to look back and consider just how far we have come. In 1989, on ABC's thirtysomething, two men were shown next to each other in bed - not even touching - and just that hint of physicality between the men caused sponsors to pull advertising and the network to pull that episode from the rerun schedule. Now, on the same network, Brothers & Sisters' Kevin has repeatedly been provided with the same degree of romantic physical interactions as the straight characters, and it has happened without controversy.David Marshall Grant (one of the actors in the aforementioned thirtysomething scene, and a story editor and writer for Brothers & Sisters) and Ken Olin (actor on thirtysomething and co-creator, executive producer, occasional director and sometimes actor on Brothers & Sisters) have seen this transition up-close. The two men spoke with AfterElton.com, reflecting on how things have changed for gay representations in the television industry.
In the excerpt below, David Marshall Grant discusses how the changes are beyond the physicality of same-sex relationships, exemplified in the more universal issues being dealt with by gay characters.
“There’s a huge difference,” David Marshall Grant says, comparing his stint on thirtysomething to his time with Brothers & Sisters. “It goes seismic, and it involves everything about the experience, from the crew, to the executives at ABC, to the writers, to the actors. The world has changed. I think what we’re doing, strangely enough, would have been impossible back then. What I’m so proud of is how completely matter-of-factly we deal with Kevin’s sexuality.“Ironically, that normalcy is what was so impossible when we were doing thirtysomething,” Grant continues. “When I was brought on [thirtysomething], the character had to deal with coming out, he had to deal with HIV. Now these are very important topics, and I was proud of the show, but Kevin’s journey [on Brothers & Sisters] is much more a universal human journey, and I don’t think that was possible before. He’s treated just like everyone else. Which is, of course, the finish line in terms of how I wanted gays to be treated on television: just like everybody else. That’s all anybody wanted, and I’m so proud to have a small part in it.”
For the full article, click here.
POWER UP, the only nonprofit gay studio announced its 2008 list of the "10 Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz."
The award recognizes gay women who are working, creating and changing lives as they continue their way up the ladder of success.
And here they are, listed alphabetically:
Michaline Babich, Writer/Director/Executive Producer
Gaye Ann Bruno, Director, Photography, CBS Television Network
Cheryl Dunye, Writer/Director
Karen Flischel, Executive Vice President & General Manager, here!
Jenny Fulle, Executive Vice President & Executive Producer, Sony
Barbara Gaines, executive producer of The Late Show with David Letterman
Nancylee Myatt, Writer/Producer/Director, Film Fatale Productions
Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President, Logo
Samantha Sprecher, Vice President of Development, Face Productions
Suzanne Westenhoefer, Comedian
The recipients will receive their award at the 8th Annual Power Premiere Celebrity Gala November 9, 2008 in Los Angeles. Congratulations to all!
The award recognizes gay women who are working, creating and changing lives as they continue their way up the ladder of success.
And here they are, listed alphabetically:
Michaline Babich, Writer/Director/Executive Producer
Gaye Ann Bruno, Director, Photography, CBS Television Network
Cheryl Dunye, Writer/Director
Karen Flischel, Executive Vice President & General Manager, here!
Jenny Fulle, Executive Vice President & Executive Producer, Sony
Barbara Gaines, executive producer of The Late Show with David Letterman
Nancylee Myatt, Writer/Producer/Director, Film Fatale Productions
Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President, Logo
Samantha Sprecher, Vice President of Development, Face Productions
Suzanne Westenhoefer, Comedian
The recipients will receive their award at the 8th Annual Power Premiere Celebrity Gala November 9, 2008 in Los Angeles. Congratulations to all!
On Sunday night around 10:55 PM, I'm sure I wasn't the only one watching the GLAAD Media Award winning Brothers & Sisters while sobbing tears of joy. Kevin's proposal to Scotty was heartfelt, incredibly sweet and a genuine gesture of love. (Who knew eco-friendly lightbulbs could inspire such romance?)As we count down the days to their wedding in the season finale on May 11 -- historic as the first U.S. network television show to have gay series regulars wed -- we look back at the short list of other gay couples who have gotten married on TV:
TIMELINE OF WEDDINGS OF GAY COUPLES ON BROADCAST NETWORKS:
Roc -- “Can’t Help Loving That Man”
October 20, 1991
Roc’s uncle Russell married his partner
Northern Exposure -- “I Feel The Earth Move”
May 2, 1994
B&B owners Ron and Erick get married
December 12, 1995
Roseanne's boss, Leon, marries his partner Scott
Friends -- “The One with the Lesbian Wedding”
January 18, 1996
Ross’ ex-wife Carol marries Susan
Spin City -- “Grand Illusion”
October 22, 1996
Carter stages a mock straight wedding in protest of the Mayor's stance against marriage for gay couples
May 24, 2000
Javier and Samuel have a wedding
Will & Grace — “Coffee & Commitment”
January 4, 2001
Will and Grace attend the commitment ceremony of their friends, Joe and Larry
Whoopi -- “Don’t Hide Love”
March 23, 2004
Mavis hosts her lesbian cousin's wedding in her hotel
February 20, 2005Patty comes out by announcing her plans to marry her girlfriend Veronica
Brothers & Sisters -- “Prior Commitments”
May 11, 2008
Kevin and Scotty wed
TIMELINE OF WEDDINGS OF GAY COUPLES ON CABLE TELEVISION:
Queer as Folk -- “Episode 211” (pictured)
March 31, 2002
Lindsay and Melanie get married, marking the first time gay series regular characters wed on cable
Queer as Folk -- “Episode 413”
July 11, 2004
Ben asks Michael to marry him in Canada where it’s legal
Degrassi: The Next Generation -- “Voices Carry (2)”
Ashley’s dad marries his partner in Canada
Six Feet Under -- “Everyone’s Waiting”
August 21, 2005
We see into the future that David and Keith get married
The L Word -- “Legend in the Making”
January 7, 2007
Shane jilts Carmen at the altar
To view the timeline in its own page, please click here.
The new batch of listings is up! This week's programming includes...
- Today's on demand premiere (on the here! network) of Kiss Me Deadly.
- Saturday brings episode two of Graham Norton's third season.
- Sunday is a big night for ABC: Bob and Lee make an all-too-rare appearance on Desperate Housewives, then on Brothers & Sisters Saul (seen at right) makes a confession and Kevin and Scotty share a life-changing moment.
- On Monday, we FINALLY find out who the gay character is on Gossip Girl. Speculation has swirled for weeks, and the network has confirmed that this is indeed the episode where we find out.
- Thursday night, we look forward to seeing what comes of the school girl giggles between Callie and Hahn on Grey's Anatomy. Addison, in a brief return this past week, voiced a gaydar alert that we can only hope comes true!
- On Friday, catch TV's All-Time Funniest for interviews with comedic icons including out actor David Hyde Pierce.
Click here for complete listings!
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