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Showing posts from February, 2007

Televisionista: Brothers & Sisters

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ABC's Brothers and Sisters has begun casting the role of Todd McAllister, Senator McAllister's (Rob Lowe) younger gay brother who will be Kevin Walker's (Matthew Rhys) significant romantic interest in the upcoming episodes. The script describes Todd as a baby-faced man in his late 30s, charmingly rumpled and wry. Kevin's sister Kitty (Calista Flockhart) who has already learned about Todd in an earlier episode, meets him at the Senator's office and tries to set him up with her brother Kevin. Todd will be introduced in episode #19 and Kevin's current boyfriend Chad (Jason Lewis) is supposed to make his final appearance on the show in episode #18. Both episodes are supposed to air in April. If you have been following spoilers for the drama you may have read that Kevin and Chad's relationship will hit the rocks once bloggers get hold of their intimate pictures and Chad's career of a soap star is in jeopardy. Thanks to Kong Chang of LukeMacFarlaneFans websit

More Mark

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This came over the web today and Datalounge was buzzing about it: Mark Wahlberg is glad filmmaker Ang Lee passed over him when he cast Brokeback Mountain , because the Oscar nominee was "a little creeped out" at the prospect of having to play a gay cowboy. The Departed star reveals he and pal Joaquin Phoenix were originally considered for the roles of Ennis Del Mar and Jack twist in the 2005 film - but both felt uncomfortable about sex act scenes in a tent. Wahlberg explains, "I met with Ang Lee on that movie, I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out. It was very graphic, descriptive - the spitting on the hand, getting ready to do the thing. "I told Ang Lee, 'I like you, you're a talented guy, if you want to talk about it more...' Thankfully, he didn't." The parts eventually went to Jake Gyllenhaaal and Heath Ledger and, though Wahlberg feels it's a film he must see, he has yet to watch Brokeback Mountain. He adds, "

The Tuesday De-Briefing: Mr. Wahlberg

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The seemingly invincible Mark Wahlberg did not win the award he richly deserved last night, but he most assuredly contributed to the top honour accorded the film he was part of. Mark did the briefing as a transition into respectability. Who'd have known? It seems that powerful de-briefing happens when some effort is put into it and when some muscle backs it up. Okay, Wahlberg can back it up. It matters when a working class boy makes it out of the working class by getting back to his roots so to speak -- see the scan we lifted from Rolling Stone. We like the muscle that Mark has always exhibited and can't wait for the next exhibition.

Brothers & Sisters: Televisionista II

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All hell breaks loose on ABC's Brothers & Sisters when bloggers attack. When a compromising image of resident hunk Kevin Walker and his hot lover Chad (Jason Lewis) hits the Internet Kevin threatens to file a lawsuit. Chad's manager Donnie will meet Kevin to discuss his intentions with Chad and warn the hot-blooded lawyer about the consequences if his client come out. The drama that begs to differ will therefore tap into the entertainment industry's forbidden territory - the Hollywood closet. Former star of HBO's Sex and the City , who recently appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show to talk about his new role, leads a much more relaxed lifestyle. The actor was photographed last night enjoying the Armani pre-Oscar bash. Televisionista does one of the best BLOGs for television viewing. Check it out .

Brothers & Sisters: Televisionista I

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Housewives lead-out series Brothers & Sisters (which is rumored to be moving to Tuesdays at 10pm next season replacing Boston Legal ) will also repeat a very special episode in March. The two-parter "Mistakes Were Made" airs March 11 and 18 and flashes back to September 11. The flashback features Tom Skerritt as the Walker family's deceased patriarch William and Rob Lowe makes his first appearance as Senator McAllister.

Song Of the Week: La Springfield

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It is Dusty Springfield who is posthumously selling those diamonds in an ad spot. She recorded the song in 1970. What resurfaced in 1994 and what was remixed for public release was the tenth take. Ever the perfectionist, it took her a while before she was happy with the results. In this case it took 24 years. Speaking of perfection, we raided Exercise For Men Only 's March issue. It seems the only reason it's kept in the men's section as opposed to the alternative life style section, is the full page ad on the back page with the girl snapping her bra strap, something that might appeal to the late great Dusty Springfield, but, hazarding an educated guess not the readership of the magazine. Gratitude is in order for the shots here. One does wonder who does get to share the rest of their lives. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life (Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Michel Legrand) What are you doing the rest of your life? North and south and east and west of your life I hav

Saturday Beefcake: Dave Lieberman in the Soup

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His style is quite down to earth, straightforward and uncomplicated not to mention that Dave Lieberman is quite a morsel himself. In direct contrast to his style we present four sturdy young men from the pages of Blue+66 and Men's Workout . Dave's recipe presented here with a variation or two for Roasted Red Pepper Soup is for four people. The mind expands thinking of young Dave cooking for these guys and it is obvious that Dave cooks . Visit his website , buy his books, watch his show and do some cooking yourself, but don't forget to cool down. Roasted Red Pepper Soup Roasted Red Peppers, 6, peeled and seeded Leek, one cleaned, medium size Butter, unsalted, 4 tablespoons Garlic, 3 cloves, thinly sliced Broth, one litre, vegetable or chicken Sea Salt Freshly Ground Pepper Balsamic Vinegar, 3 tablespoons Chives, for garnish 1. Dave calls for roasting peppers on the stove top -- an old fashioned way that most immigrant families from Southern Italy are very familiar with. Th

Speaking of Soap Operas

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Here's a critique from the past of la creme de la creme, Ryan's Hope Critical Condition Writing 101: Hope Writers Enroll Soap Opera Weekly, December 19, 2000 by P.K. Waddle Soapnet isn't The Learning Channel, but there is a soap-writing class being broadcast right now: Ryan's Hope . Watch just one scene of this legendary Claire Labine/Paul Mayer creation and you immediately see why this show won a shocking number of writing Emmys and Writers Guild awards, even during its first few years. What is so compelling - and why every soap writer (and wannabe) in existence needs to watch - is not necessarily what this show is, but what it is not. Witness a bit of "current" story synopsis: Siobhan, the free spirit of the five Ryan children, has recently arrived. She fights constantly with more grounded sister Mary, whose marriage to Jack has problems because Mary is spending so much time on brother Frank's run for the Senate. Frank is having an affair with his campa
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From today's New York Daily News from the omnipresent, omniscient and omnivorous Carolyn Hinsey. Re-printed here because it involves two ongoing favourites, the dashing Thorsten Kaye and the divine Alicia Minshew. 'AMC' Digs Up a Grave & Unearths the Truth Kendall and Zach dig up his "dead" father's grave today on All My Children , and are shocked to find it empty. "They find a note that his father wrote right after he found out that Zach was alive," says Alicia Minshew, who plays Kendall. "It says Zach is going to pay for faking his death and making his father suffer all those years thinking his favorite son was dead." Fans know that Zach's father, Alexander Cambias Sr., was a monster and that Zach - real name Alexander Cambias Jr. - faked his death, changed his name to Zach Slater and moved to Las Vegas to start a new life as a successful casino owner. "Zach faked his death to escape his father because he was evil and abusive

For Michael Medved

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HETEROSEXUAL QUESTIONNAIRE (©1972, Martin Rochlin, Ph.D. Reprinted with permission from the author.) This questionnaire is for self-avowed heterosexuals only. If you are not openly heterosexual, pass it on to a friend who is. Please try to answer the questions as candidly as possible. Your responses will be held in strict confidence and your anonymity fully protected. 1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality? 2. When and how did you first decide you were a heterosexual? 3. Is it possible your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of? 4. Could it be that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex? 5. If you've never slept with a person of the same sex, how can you be sure you wouldn't prefer that? 6. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexual tendencies? How did they react? 7. Why do heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into their lifestyle? 8. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be

Christopher Meloni in DNA Magazine

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Christopher Meloni plays tough guys on Law And Order: SVU and OZ . He’s also not afraid to piss in front of a TV crew or stand up for gay rights, reports Steven Gregor. If you’re a Christopher Meloni fan (and if you’re gay, then surely you are), you’re no doubt spending the start of each week indoors. With both Law And Order: SVU and Oz airing on Network Ten and SBS respectively, your sofa is the best place to be on Monday night. [in Australia] Meloni, 45, lives in New York with his wife and two children and is best known for his portrayal of straight-laced but explosive Manhattan detective Elliot Stabler on NBC’s crime drama Law And Order: SVU (watched by 14 million Americans each week). Earlier this year, in his seventh season of SVU, Meloni received his first Emmy nomination (in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series) for his work on the show. But Meloni’s gay appeal originated back in 1998, a year before starting SVU, when he was cast in HBO’s gritty prison drama

The Tuesday De-Briefing: Rex Balsom or Someone He Used To Be

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This is not the ordinary de-briefing of an actor, which means that perhaps the young man should be seen more than he is. This is the de-briefing of a character. One Life to Live in its auspicious past as noted here had no problem in relating the coming out story of Billy as portrayed by Ryan Phillipe. During the regime of Gary Tomlin, out Gay Executive Producer of the show, when the character of Rex Balsom was created, he was intended be gay, but gay of another stripe -- a flawed, manipulative gay teenager with a dysfunctional upbringing. Somehow that didn't happen. The pious gay viewer may guess at the circumstances of the sudden change in the sexual orientation of the character. The good news is that Rex Balsom was created by a very talented young actor, John Paul Lavoisier. JP can take Rex to a lot of places. Unfortunately the powers that be did not permit the character to speak the love that dare not speak its name. While All My Children seems to be going all over the map wit

New TV Show Buzz from Televisionista

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NBC's new drama The Black Donnellys from Oscar winner Paul Haggis begins next Monday night after an all-new Heroes (10:03 PM ET/PT), but for those of you eager to see the pilot, Yahoo! TV is already streaming the first episode. The drama created by Crash writers Haggis and Bobby Moresco tells the story of four young working-class Irish-American brothers who live by the motto "family first" despite their involvement with organized crime in New York City. The Black Donnellys will have the benefit of airing following two very exciting episodes of Heroes and opposite CSI: Miami reruns in March. If the drama does better than Studio 60 , the network will probably keep it in the timeslot until the end of the season.

Brothers & Sisters

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This show has a vitality to it. Most prognosticators would have given it a very short shelf life given the many changes it absorbed from the onset. Watching it from the beginning and participating in its progression, it is to see how it it keeps growing and changing without losing its identity. Perhaps it is because of the powerful Scorpio nature of the creativity involved. There are at least four Scorpios involved in this show: Jon Robin Baitz, Sally Field, Matthew Rhys, and Callista Flockhart. Scorpio energy has much to do with regeneration and rebirth as well as daring-do and calculated risks. With the addition of Rob Lowe and since January the stories had taken on a lighter air up until last evening when a high dose of angst returned to the plot. What has been consistent is the way Kevin, the gay sibling is written and that may the calculated risk. There seems to be no compunction for the character to participate in full on kissing with his boyfriends as evidenced once again in the

Song of the Week: John Mayall

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Note to Isaiah Washington and Tim Hardaway , With all due respect to you and the unresolved irrational hate that lives within you: Gay People are not your oppressors. Direct your anger in the right direction now that it is the time of year when New Orleans comes to mind. It is more likely that most evolved gay people are there beside you in your oppression. I wouldn't worry so much about the gay people who work with you as people who may be working against you because you are black males. Maureen Dowd had this to say during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: When they were deaf for so long to the horrific misery and cries for help of the victims in New Orleans - most of them poor and black, like those stuck at the back of the evacuation line yesterday while 700 guests and employees of the Hyatt Hotel were bused out first - they shook the faith of all Americans in American ideals. And made us ashamed. Who are we if we can't take care of our own? It means something perhaps that

Saturday Beefcake: Gay is the New Black II

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As we approach Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Carnevale and all that, the city that comes to mind in the USA is New Orleans, still recovering from the neglect of the powers that be. It is accepted that racism and racism on the part of those in power played a large part in the neglect of the Big Easy. It is the multi-cultural city that also plays host to many a gay man's living out a fantasy or two. In honour of that and in honour of gay men and their fantasies here is a recipe for Jambalaya for two and some pictures worthy of a fantasy or two. Pancetta, 2 ounces Dry White Wine Onion, 1 small Red Bell Pepper, small Fresh Fennel, small bulb Tomato, 1 ripe, peeled, seeded and chopped Stock, Chicken or Vegetable -- 1/2 litre Cornmeal, 1 tablespoon, soaked in water for 5 minutes Dill, Dried Basil, Oregano Large Shrimp, 4 (raw, shelled, deveined) White Fish, about 3 ounces 1. Chop the onion, pepper and fennel together, put aside. 2. Chop the pancetta into very small bits and saute with a few s

Gay is the New Black

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Tim Hardaway's ignorant and hateful comments against gay people this week in the afterglow of John Amaeche's coming out party as a way to introduce his autobiography Man in the Middle on the eve of the NBA All Star festivities in Las Vegas came during Black History Month. There's poignancy in its timing. There's no excuse for what he said. No, there's no stroking him or complimenting him for being honest. Let all those who insist on reaffirming that knee jerk reaction, cease and desist. His honesty is thoroughly unnecessary. Gay people know that there are people who think that way. Many are currently in power and have been in power for centuries. The alleged scriptural foundation for that special brand of hatred is well known. It is time to remind people that slavery and racism were also based on Bible stories, that the racial inferiority of Black Africans came from being descended from Noah's son Ham, who saw his drunken father's nakedness. These beliefs

Judith's Light

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And speaking of Ugly Betty , it may not be the best show on television but it's damn close to being one of the most enjoyable not in small measure due to its wonderful cast. Judith Light is luminous and never misses a beat as the alcoholic, homicidal yet sympathetic matriarch. Those who appreciate her, of course, remember her run as the extremely flawed yet brimming with pathos, Karen Wolek on One Life to Live -- a landmark character full of noteworthy performances. Before she landed on Who's the Boss -- she made a pit stop on the best medical drama bar none, St. Elsewhere as an armed very pregnant woman who holds surgeons in an operating room hostage until the one who botched her husband's vasectomy is found. Given the opportunity, therefore, Judith Light is a consummate actor -- she enhances an already gifted ensemble. Good stuff. (Hey, any show who showcases a twelve year old boy enacting Hairspray in a New York City subway for his muy macho papi deserves all the prai