Icons: Harvey Milk

Following from my last we remember piece about the film Milk, I thought it was only right that the next Icons piece should look at the man who inspired the film, Harvey Milk.

Milk is one of the pioneers for gay men and women in politics after he became the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California. After leading a very interesting, successful and complicated life over his 48 years Milk was sadly shot dead in 1978. But what we have to remember is what this man did for us and how he gave gay people a voice in one of the most important institutions in the world, politics.

Milk didn’t actually become involved in the world of politics until he was in his 40s after experiencing much of the gay counter culture of the 1960s and very early 1970s, and had previously been quiet about his homosexuality. But when he did get involved he stood up what he believed in, wasn’t afraid to let his voice be heard or his sexuality known as he helped pave the way for many gay men to make their ways in the world.

After being born in Woodmere, New York, Milk majored in mathematics at the New York State College for Teachers before beginning a career in the Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. From the mid 1950s up until the late 1960s Milk embarked on several failed relationships with a number of men and worked a number of different jobs such as a teacher and a researcher, before finally relocating to San Francisco in the late 1960s with his then partner. After the relationship broke up, Milk drifted from different places such as New York and Texas before finally moving back to San Francisco with his then partner Scott Smith, where they opened a camera store. Then the politics began.

Milk’s political career began in 1973 when he became enraged after a state bureaucrat attempted to make him pay a $100 deposit against state sales tax, then again over government priorities. Milk soon began his attempt to run for city supervisor. After coming 10^th out of 32 candidates in 1973, Milk sadly failed to be elected but did not let this deter him. After gaining the nickname The Mayor of Castro Street because of his tireless campaigning to make things better, he finally won the election in 1977 against 16 other candidates with 30% of the votes making him the first openly gay man in the United Stats to win an election for public office and cementing himself firmly into the history books.

Sadly 10 months after being elected Milk was shot and killed by Dan White, in what is probably one of the saddest moments for gay people in politics. This assassination, which saw the killer walk free sparked the White Night riots, showing just how loved and influential this man was. His drive and determination have made sure that Harvey Milk’s name has lived on for the past thirty years allowing generation after generation to learn about what a great man he was and what he did for gay people around the world. His final campaign manager Anne Kroenber said of him, "What set Harvey apart from you or me was that he was a visionary. He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it for real, for all of us.”

And that is exactly why he is a true gay icon.

What's your "magic" number?

I recently saw a story about knowing the number of sexual partners your boyfriend or girlfriend had before you, and this got me thinking about do you really want to know?

Whether the number is one, ten or a thousand we all have a “magic” number at the end of the day so why do we need to know what our partner’s number is? I can understand that it is probably a common thought amongst people about what it is as everyone has some sort of curiosity and if you are like me then you’re just pretty nosey and want to know everything about everyone.

But just think about it, do you really want to know everything about your partner? After all everyone has a past and have certain things they don’t want anyone to know. So if you are going to ask just think about whether you really want to know the answer, because once they tell you there’s no going back, and you may not like what you hear, and do you really want to put the pressure of dealing with that into a relationship? I know it’s not the end of the world but couples have broken up over knowing things like this. I don’t know anyone personally who this has happened to but I read it in an article so therefore it must be true, right?

If you do ask the question and they tell you then just remember, that is all in the past and I’m pretty sure the majority of them would have been one night stands, (because if they have slept with a thousand people I pretty much doubt they were all serious relationships) and as we all know one night stands are about sex and sex only, most people have had them and you’ll know they’re just meaningless no strings fun.

The most important thing to remember is, no matter what the number is they’re with you now and no one else so it shouldn’t matter at all how many people they’ve slept with.

But, what I did hear once was that if you don’t want you partner to know your “magic” number then just remember, you become a born again virgin when you enter a new relationship. So technically there’s not been anyone else.

We remember: Milk

Originally posted on www.differentscene.co.uk

This week for Different Scene’s We Remember section I’m going to be looking at a film that was released just a few years ago but has already had a significant impact on the gay community, and that film is Milk.

The 2008 film was directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black and was quite a critical and commercial hit. It grossed $54 million at the box office and won two Academy Awards, including best actor for Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.

Released on the cusp of the Californian voter referendum on Proposition 8, that sought to ban gay marriage, the film couldn’t have come at a better time as Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California, demonstrating how back in the 1970s people were willing to have a gay man in office. It begins on his 40^th birthday and follows him as he settles in San Francisco and begins his journey into city politics were he waged various battles for gay rights and equality in the Castro neighbourhood and throughout San Francisco, it also looks at the political campaigns that sought to limit gay rights during the late 1970s that Milk also battled against.

As the film progresses it explores Milk’s romantic relationship with Scott Smith, which is truly touching in the movie and was played impeccably by both Sean Penn as Milk and James Franco as Smith. The film ultimately ends with the untimely tragic death of Harvey Milk who was murdered by Dan White.

The film itself is shot amazingly and the screenplay and acting is brilliant, as it flips through real life footage from the 1970s back to the present day film acting you can’t help but get engrossed. This film brought the name of a hugely influential, courageous and forward thinking man back into the mainstream, because lets face it Harvey Milk was remembered amongst a lot of people in the gay community, but there were people from a younger generation and people from the straight community who wouldn’t have known who he was, but this film brought him back to life, and for those who haven’t seen footage of the real Harvey Milk go and watch it because you will be stunned at how realistic the film is when compared.

This is why this film is in the We Remember section this week, because not only did it put gay characters back on the big screen and show that films with gay characters can and do perform well at the box office and at award shows, but it also allowed Harvey Milk’s name to live on once again, and show what great things he did for our community.

Review: Setup

Originally posted on www.moviemuser.co.uk

Bruce Willis, Ryan Phillippe and Curtis ’50 cent’ Jackson come together in this new heist movie that sees the crime of a lifetime go wrong for two friends, when one (Phillippe) turns on the other and takes off with the haul. Feeling betrayed and wanting revenge, Sonny (Jackson) goes on a personal mission to seek out his ex-friend for payback. Enlisting the help of a dangerous local mob boss (Willis), Sonny is faced with a series of life changing decisions on his personal quest.

From the synopsis the film does sound interesting and if it was written and directed differently then the makers could have been on to a winner here. However they completely miss the mark. Setup has many implausible moments, such as a man named the Butcher (who helps process some very unethical meat) not being explained at all, and a car not noticing it's being followed for about three hours. If I’d have stumbled into this film without knowing what it was about, then at certain points I would have thought it was a bad heist comedy, as there are a number of almost funny moments that take away from what the film is trying to do. The action itself is quite intense in a few parts, so they do deserve credit for that, but the majority of it, including a very important chase scene, are a little lacklustre at best.

Some of the actors are a little hammy, especially one actress who, after crying for five minutes, failed to even smudge her eye makeup. I feel that Jackson could definitely do with some more acting lessons, as he feels totally unbelievable. As for Phillippe, he was cast in the wrong part as a ‘wannabe’ gangster. If Curtis and Phillippe switched roles, then maybe it would have been a bit more believable – that’s still highly unlikely, but maybe.

The only thing this film really had going for it was how weird it was in certain parts, which made you think ‘what am I watching?’. Apart from that it’s a letdown.

Overall Verdict: It definitely one won’t be garnering any Oscar nominations. Unless your ideal film is one with flawed plot lines, hammy acting and a few snooze fest moments, I’d stay away from this one.

Icons: Rock Hudson

Originally posted on www.differentscene.co.uk

This week we are looking at Rock Hudson, another true gay icon, and although he may just seem like another star of the Hollywood golden age, he truly did have a huge impact on gay life, as we know it now.

With a career that spanned over four decades Hudson truly was one of the greatest stars that ever lived, he appeared in over 70 films and made appearances on numerous television shows. He is probably most well known for a number of romantic comedies he made during the 50s and 60s with Hollywood sweetheart Doris Day.

As the years have gone by many things have been written about Hudson that have concentrated on his personal life. The man was a closeted homosexual during a time when homosexuality was still illegal throughout the world and considered to be a mental disability. But where as he may have seemed closeted to the outside world, due to the media not publicising it during the height of his fame, even though they tried, Hudson was in fact very comfortable with who he was and it was apparently known throughout the inner workings of Hollywood that he was in fact gay.

The only problem today is people only tend to remember him because of this, but the fact of the matter is he really was a great actor, I mean he was a gay man pretending to be straight and in a number of his films he was a gay man playing a straight actor who would then play gay to get a woman in a film, sounds confusing right? Well imagine how difficult it was for him. He also had three Golden Globes under his belt along with numerous other acting awards and even has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. These achievements however seem to be overlooked due to what happened at the end of his life.

In July 1985 after appearing to be extremely unwell after an appearance on a show hosted by Doris Day the media exploded with rumours about what was wrong with Hudson. He had in fact been diagnosed with the HIV virus back in 1984 and had been telling people he had incurable liver cancer, no doubt he lied due to the scrutiny that still surrounded homosexuals and the HIV virus. However after the appearance with Doris Day and after receiving treatment in Paris it was announced to the public that Hudson was dying of AIDS.

This shocking and saddening announcement made Hudson the first high profile person known to be suffering from the virus and helped to bring it to a much higher platform in order for it to be tackled. Comedienne Joan Rivers said about it 1985, “Two years ago, when I hosted a benefit for AIDS, I couldn’t get one major star to turn out. … Rock’s admission is a horrendous way to bring AIDS to the attention of the American public, but by doing so, Rock, in his life, has helped millions in the process. What Rock has done takes true courage.”

She was right it took a lot of courage for Hudson to announce that he was dying of this horrific illness and because of that he opened doors for people to research the disease in order to help the millions who have suffered and are suffering from it now. Thanks to Rock Hudson there is hope for people suffering from HIV and AIDS and hopefully one day there will be a cure, and that is why he is a true Gay Icon.

Review: The Ward

Originally posted on www.moviemuser.co.uk

Master of horror John Carpenter returns to his directorial roots as he heads behind the camera for the first time in a decade to take on this new film, The Ward.

The film takes place in a mysterious 1960s mental institution where we find the troubled Kristen (Heard), who finds herself on the ward with no recollection of her life previous to this. She begins to fear for her life as mysterious things begin to happen around the institution. The other equally as disturbed girls on the ward start to disappear with no answers and secrets fly around with no answers. Kristen realises she needs to break herself out any way she can.

At first it does sound very intriguing and with the likes of Carpenter behind it you get a little excited about the potential psychological horror thrills that will follow. Considering his track record includes films such as Halloween and The Thing, you’ve got to hope The Ward will be worth a watch. Indeed, much of the film is pretty good and kept me guessing what was going to happen, but I found the ending very anti-climactic and was a little disappointed with what happened. It felt as though they had combined Sucker Punch, Shutter Island and Girl Interrupted into one and in the process lost the majority of the originality they could have kept with this film. Even the setting looked as though they had just gone and filmed on the Girl Interrupted set.

The actors were good and all pulled off their characters very well. The character of Emily (Mamie Gummer) cracked me up and was a nice bit of comic relief in some of the heavier sequences.

The Ward does contain a number of scenes that will make you squirm in your seat and a particular one that I personally couldn’t watch, so if that’s your kind of thing then you will enjoy this film. However, for people like me who were expecting something a little more jumpy and intense, much like Carpenter’s earlier hits, then sadly you’re going to be left disappointed as there are only a few squirmy scenes like this, and even they seem to have been thrown in for a little bit of a cheap thrill.

Overall Verdict: With a combination of decent acting and parts of the storyline being well executed and quite compelling, the film is watchable and certainly isn’t the worse movie I’ve ever seen. But due to the loss of its potential originality and the cheap thrills, this film is definitely not one of Carpenter’s better efforts. It’s a bit disappointing considering we’ve waited so long for a new film from the ‘master of horror.’

Review: Dirty Projectors + Bjork - Mount Wittenberg Orca

Originally posted on www.soundblab.com

In 2009 Icelandic music sensation Bjork teamed up with experimental rock band Dirty Projectors for a charity concert of seven songs. A year later they stepped into the studio to record it and the result was the Mount Wittenberg Orca EP. Initially released in June of last year, four days after it was announced the collaborators finally decided to release the EP in its physical form.

When the album first started, I must admit I was little sceptical as the speakers began blurting out some sort of vocal harmonising with no music. "Here we go," I thought, "Another one Bjork's crazy ideas, the swan dress being her craziest". However, as it began to play through I realised that this was in fact the beauty of the EP and strangely enough it works.

The record is a mix of minimal music, with the odd guitar and symbol coming in now and again, with vocal harmonising being the main form of backing music. Yes, it is very experimental and to be quite honest I don't think I've ever heard a record which focuses so heavily on the vocal harmonies as the main form of backing music, but it works so well, everyone involved must be applauded for that originality.

Obviously, Bjork's incredible vocal stands out even more than usual considering the lack of actual musical instruments or synths etc, but I must say the lead singer of Dirty Projectors stole the whole album. His alternative rock voice really envelopes you and draws you into this album and in my opinion his voice is the best and most surprising part.

Although the album can be applauded for its individuality and great vocal performances, it must be said that the harmonies in the background, though good, do get a little annoying at times, especially during 'On and Ever Onward' as they drown out Bjork's main vocal and leave you feeling as though you are missing something great. Some of the songs do begin to blend at points but with the combination of the male and female lead vocals throughout the tracks you can forgive them due to the great vocal performances.

All in all, the entire album was very good and a surprisingly interesting treat.

Icons: Truman Capote

Originally posted on www.differentscene.co.uk

This week in DS Icons section we are going to be taking a look at someone you may or may not have heard of; Truman Capote. Who I hear you ask?  Capote was an American author who wrote many short stories, nonfiction and plays during his 40-year career.

He spent much of his childhood moving around different places and was raised by a number of his family members. Capote began writing from a young age and said that it was something he would do when he finished school, so where as some children would have sport or the piano he had writing, and it’s a good job too he made a pretty good career out of it.

Truman Capote is also the inspiration behind the character of Dill in what is possibly one of the most famous books of all time, To Kill a mockingbird? This is due to his friendship with author Harper Lee at a very early age when they lived in the same neighborhood. You have to admit, that’s pretty remarkable that two extremely talented people were living in one place, and on top of that they were friends.

Capote shot to fame during the 1940s as he began to carve out a career for himself as a short story writer, and after one story caught the eye of a publisher it resulted in his first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms. Which contains many underlying themes towards coming of age and homosexuality and is also semi-autobiographical as it shows Capotes coming to terms with his own homosexuality. Which does classify him as a gay icon. This book subsequently launched him to fame and the book went on to spend nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He was partly launched to fame due to the controversy that surrounded the photo on the back of the book, which was interpreted in many ways. However the effect was lasting and Capote had finally made it in the world he was so keen to break into.

Fast-forward a few years into his career and we come to the book that was an inspiration for a movie that everyone will know; Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Yes the Audrey Hepburn starring movie of the 1960s was based on a novella written by this incredible author and was a complete turning point in his career, but greater success was yet to come. In 1966 he released the book Cold Blood, which he had spent six years working on, he even enlisted the help of friend Harper Lee. The book gained him a great deal of praise for the literary community, even though certain aspects were questioned. The book is considered to be his greatest work.

As a openly homosexual man who claimed to have had numerous sexual encounters with heterosexual men, you have to admire the boldness of Capote, considering this was long before homosexuality was accepted or even legal, also for putting the underlying themes in his written work that touches on homosexuality, this is why Truman Capote is certainly a modern day gay icon. Even more so if you’re not quite into big musical divas such as Barbra Streisand.

Capote sadly died of liver cancer in 1984, but he has had a number of posthumous releases. Following his death the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism in Memory of Newton Arvin was established and was to be funded by the revenues of his written work. The award also paid homage to his friend Newton Arvin, who was fired from his job after he was exposed as a homosexual.

And that is why he truly is not only a literary icon, but a gay icon too.

More Film News ...

Originally posted on www.thefancarpet.com

Details On Zoolander Sequel Revealed

New details have surfaced giving some new insight into the Zoolander sequel.

Not long ago comedy actor Ben Stiller revealed some details on the new project, saying, “Where it’s at is we’ve completed the script, Justin Theroux and I, and handed it into the studio. Now the studio has the script and we’re at that point where we’re waiting to see what they want to do.”

The actor later added, “It’s ten years later and most of it is set in Europe. I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s basically Derek and Hansel ten years later – though the last movie ended on a happy note a lot of things have happened in the meantime. 

“Their lives have changed and they’re not really relevant anymore. It’s a new world for them. Will Ferrell is written into the script and he’s expressed interest in doing it. I think Mugatu is an integral part of the Zoolander story, so yes, he features in a big way.”

But now Owen Wilson has revealed that Hansel’s modelling career has been seriously affected after suffering a disfiguring injury. Sounds extreme but I’m sure these comedy geniuses will be able to turn an injury into something hilarious.

The Fly Sequel Ready To Go

The sequel to the hit film The Fly is all ready to be made into a film, now it’s just up to the studio.

David Cronenberg has written the sequel to the Jeff Goldbloom classic and is now waiting to see if Fox is willing to make it.

The news came after Cronenberg was asked about rumours of a remake about the classicfilm, he said, “The Fly is not exactly a remake, it’s sort of a sequel, kinda.”

“Yeah, that was a thing. I’ve written a script of that, and I don’t know if that’s going to really happen, but that has to do with Fox.”

With all things considered this could go one of two ways for the new Fly movie. Either they’ll make the sequel, which would technically be The Fly 3, and lets be honest there is a high chance that they will considering all the remakes, reboots and sequels that the film studios are churning out at the moment. Or considering the negative reaction to the first sequel The Fly 2 they may just choose not to turn words into reality.

Its future is unsure at the moment but I’m guessing they’ll go for the first option.

Aronofsky Gets A Deal

Darren Aronofsky has struck a deal with Paramount for his new film project Noah.

The $130 million dollar project has been in development since 2007 and has been shopped around and received interest from a number of film studios, including Fox, before Aronofsky finally struck a deal with Paramount.

Recently Aronofsky told Empire the film would be "the traditional Noah story, but told in a serious way... more the sci-fi version than comedy...” and that is all that is known at the moment. Sounds quite interesting to say the least, I wonder how certain people would view a sci-fi-esque biblical story?

John Logan has signed up to help tidy the script up, and Aronofsky will be directing and producing alongside Scott Franklin.

No cast is currently confirmed but with the film now on fast track you can look forward to seeing this film around the Spring of next year, so it shouldn’t be long before the cast members names start springing up.

More Film News ...

Originally posted on www.thefancarpet.com

Kline Joins Frank or Francis

Actor Kevin Kline has signed on to star in Frank or Francis, in not one but two roles.

Kline will be staring alongside Nicholas Cage, Jack Black and Steve Carell in Charlie Kaufman’s musical satire of Hollywood.

The film itself will see Black star as a blogger who continually undermines Frank, played by Carell, a film making cheat. Hmmm does Black sound a little like a certain well-known Internet blogger?

Kline will be playing the character Richard Weller, who is a screenwriter and the brother to Jonathan Waller, who is yet to cast, but has been described as the most successful filmmaker of all time. However for his second character he will be playing Richard’s head, a disembodied animatronic head that helps Jonathan make films. Sounds a little bizarre if you ask me.

Nicholas Cage will be playing the role of Emcee, described as a famous actor.

Shooting for the film will begin in January.

Foundation Gets a New Writer

Roland Emmerich’s adaptation of Issac Asimov’s Foundation has got itself a new writer, in the shape of Dante Harper.

Harper will be taking over from Robert Rodat, who recently passed up the opportunity to write the film.

The books that the film will based on focuses on mathematician Hari Seldon as he works out the future through the use of some extremely complex mathematical formulas, and finds that the outcome doesn’t look too great. Basically he predicts the fall of the Galactic Empire and begins to set up a plan for prevention.

The sci-fi series itself is made up of seven volumes, and contains quite a few themes so Harper definitely has his work cut out for him. Harper is already quite well known after writing Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and All You Need is Kill.

So we just have to sit back and wait and hope that he turns this into something special.

Dolphin Tale Dethrones Lion King

True life story Dolphin Tale has topped the US box office, knocking Disney’s The Lion King off the top spot.

The film that stars Harry Connick Jr and Morgan Freeman and Winter the Dolphin, in a tale about a Dolphin who is rescued and looses her tail, soared into the number one spot taking $14.2 million over the weekend, after coming in third place last weekend.

Moneyball, staring Brad Pitt, stayed in the number two spot this week, it seems Mr Pitt just can’t catch a break against adorable animals, real and animated. The film took $12.5 million.

Last week’s number one The Lion King fell into third place with $11 million, still not bad for a film that was originally released 17 years ago.

Coming in fourth place was new cancer comedy 50/50 which took $8.9 million this weekend and rolling in at fifth place was the Christian drama Courageous taking $8.9 million. Quite a poor showing from the new release this week it seems.