MD News Desk: Now Tweeting

For the past few months, the MD News Desk has been bringing you all the latest scoop on what's happening in the entertainment world a couple times of week. Well, in order to bring you the news as soon as it happens (or at least as soon as we hear about it), as of today the News Desk is moving ... to the Official Movie Dearest Twitter page!

There you'll find all the same stories and links as the MD News Desk usually provides (conveniently organized by MD department, from Cinematic Crushes to Women We Love, Out in Film to Videodrone), but in a more timely and efficient manner.

There are several ways to keep up-to-date on all of our informative "tweets". If you have your own account on Twitter, all you have to do is follow us, or you can also receive updates automatically by friending us on the Official Movie Dearest MySpace page. Or you can simply refer to the MD News Desk on Twitter widget located in the upper left hand sidebar of each page right here on Movie Dearest.

Memo from MD: Twitterpated

Well, we resisted long enough: we are now on Twitter and Facebook.

You can follow Movie Dearest on Twitter here, as well as our sister blog, The QuOD - The Queer Online Database, here. All of the regular blog posts will be "tweeted", as well as any breaking news and/or random ramblings.

You can also visit my personal Facebook page here and be a friend or a fan if you so choose. You can find all of the links to the social networking sites we're on listed in the upper left hand sidebar as well.

Introducing: The MD News Desk

In order to keep up with all the latest in entertainment news of interest to our readers, today we are introducing a new regular feature: the MD News Desk. These posts will provide links to news stories from our various departments, ranging from what our Cinematic Crushes and Women We Love are up to lately to the latest in Movie Music to what films will be Coming Soon to a theater near you. Enjoy!

And the List Goes On:
- Premiere.com presents the 40 Most Handsome Hollywood Men (Right Now). Their top five: James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman and Josh Duhamel.
- Vote now for AfterElton.com's 50 Greatest Gay Movies (polls close this Friday).

RIP:
- Author and investigative journalist Dominick Dunne (who also produced the films The Boys in the Band and The Panic in Needle Park) passed away yesterday at the age 83.

Awards Watch:
- The nominations for the 2009 Alma Awards (which honor the achievements of Latinos in film, TV and music) have been announced, including multiple nods for Lost, Star Trek, Ugly Betty and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Coming Soon:
- Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (starring Leonardo DiCaprio) has been pushed to next February. Adjust your Oscar predictions accordingly.
- Remake This: Excalibur, Outland and Yellow Submarine.
- A gay porn studio is making a movie titled Whorrey Potter and the Sorcerer’s Balls (NSFW). That's right, it's a parody of Harry Potter (what took them so long?) and will also feature characters named Himmione, Ron Sleazely and Voldemorecock (played by Matthew Rush, naturally).


From Screen to Stage:
- First look: Daniel Craig (porn 'stache and all) and Hugh Jackman in Broadway's A Steady Rain.
- Last call to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway and The First Wives Club in San Diego.
- Obie Award winning puppeteer Basil Twist has joined the creative team of the Broadway-bound musical The Addams Family, most likely to bring Thing to life.
- The documentary film of the Tony-winning musical Passing Strange is now available On Demand as part of "Sundance Selects."
- Find out about the three new songs that Tony winner Maury Yeston penned for the film version of Nine.
- Rachel York (best known as Broadway's Norma Cassidy) will play Cruella de Vil in the new national touring production of The 101 Dalmatians Musical.
- See the legendary chariot race recreated in front of your eyes in the new arena spectacle Ben Hur Live (where's the exclamation point?).
- Broadway will have a White Christmas once again this year.
- Rent alum Jesse L. Martin steps into Sidney Poitier's shoes for the new play based on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
- Speaking of Rent, the musical's stage and screen stars Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal will continue their "seasons of love" tour through January.
- Beware the Gay Bride of Frankenstein.

Hands Off the Merchandise:
- Smells like Bill Shatner: Star Trek cologne now on sale.

Women We Love:
- Susan Sarandon may play Shia LaBeouf’s mother in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.
- Spend An Evening with Liza Minnelli at the Hollywood Bowl.
- Kate Winslet takes on Joan Crawford's most iconic role in a TV mini-series remake of the classic Mildred Pierce, to be written and directed by Todd Haynes.
- West End diva Elaine Paige's Australian concert tour will be filmed for an upcoming DVD release.
- Bette Midler will be on hand as the Academy celebrates the 30th anniversary of The Rose.
- The Ali Forney Center, NYC's homeless shelter for GLBT youth, is naming one of their residences for the late Golden Girl Beatrice Arthur.

Out in Film:
- Gus Van Sant is feeling a little Restless with his next film.
- Cheyenne Jackson and Michael Feinstein hit the studio to record an album version of The Power of Two, their hit cabaret show from earlier this year.
- Adam Lambert will croon a power ballad for Roland Emmerich's latest disaster flick, 2012.
- In addition to the aforementioned Excalibur redo, Bryan Singer is attached to a(nother) Battlestar Galactica reboot as well.
- Congratulations to The Young and The Restless' Thom Bierdz, who will receive the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award.

Stay tuned for a second edition of the MD News Desk later today.

Introducing: The Actor Factor!

Today is a special day here at Movie Dearest, as we welcome James Jaeger into the fold as our newest contributor!

James is a Los Angeles based actor who has appeared in many theatrical productions across the country and several local LA stage productions. He is the author of The Peter Putnam Mystery Novels: The Ghost at Patriots Rest and The Wildman on Wandering Wolf Trail. He also appears in Leola Productions' upcoming release of the film The Real Deal.

Our latest "Man on Film" is also a self-confessed obsessive about all things TV, and his column — titled The Actor Factor: A View from Both Sides of the Camera — will tap into his vast knowledge of both classic and contemporary television, beginning with a review of the long-awaited DVD debut of The Lucy Show later today. Jim's future contributions will include more Lucy, as well as looks at some more legendary ladies of the small screen ... think of the desperate, designing and bewitching kind!

Memo from Movie Dearest: Rate This Post!

Blogger has added a nifty new feature that allows readers to rate the individual posts of their favorite blogs, so we here at Movie Dearest HQ have decided to set ourselves up for public scrutiny by adding it on. But of course, we have given it the ol' Movie Dearest spin.

As you can see at the bottom of this (and every) post, you can record your own rating on a scale of 4 to 1 as follows:


4 = "Practically perfect in every way."



3 = "Hello, gorgeous!"



2 = "What a dump."



1 = "Bring me the axe!"


So go ahead and start judging us ... I mean rate the posts ... to your heart's content.

Also, for those of you who leave comments (which are always welcome, by the by), you'll notice that Blogger has spruced those up as well by allowing them to be embedded at the end of each post's permalink page. In other words, you won't be taken to that generic comment page when you click on "add a comment", but to the post's separate page so that you can still see the full post while you're leaving a comment. Like I said, some pretty spiffy stuff, so rate and comment away!

Movie Dearest MySpace Friend of the Week: Rocketboy

Since launching our own MySpace page several months ago, Movie Dearest has had the pleasure of "meeting" many new friends -- almost 2,000 to date. Ranging from MD readers and fan-hosted "star pages" to fictional characters and movie/TV/theater fansites to actual celebrities and (go figure) porn stars, we have, to say the least, a very diverse set of acquaintances over at our second online home.

So to spotlight some of our "best" friends, we are introducing today a new weekly feature right here at MD (and "simulcast" on our MySpace blog): the MySpace Friend of the Week. (Our first idea was "Friend of the Month", but with 1,941 pals and counting, we'd never get through 'em all.) The purpose of this is, like the song goes, to "thank you for being a friend", and also to introduce these fine folks to possible new friends who like what they see. We sure do.

The criterion for being named FOTW is simple: standing out from the crowd. This may be through creativity in design and content of their pages, a certain level of humor about the whole "MySpace thing" (which, let's face it, is kind of silly when you get right down to it) and a true sense of friendship by way of comments and interactivity. That or they have a real hot picture.

Our first FOTW is Rocketboy, and he has all those qualities ... and a killer set of abs to boot (check out his peek-a-boo costume). Out of all the hotties that we discovered through our coverage of Comic-Con, he is definitely the hottiest. But he's more then just a pretty face and a rockin' bod, he's a superhero. Star of his own eponymous comic book (set to debut this October), Robby fights the Forces of Evil in his hometown of San Francisco. His rogues gallery includes his own mommie dearest, would-be Ruler of the Universe Queen Cherry, and the enigmatic GoGoBot (whose weapons include laser nipples and a hypnotic hip thrust). Of his many heroic deeds, likely his bravest was when he saved Christina Crawford from a runaway shopping cart. And that, my friend, truly makes you super in our book.

You can learn more about the adventures of Rocketboy (and his creators, Scotty Mullen and Michael Troy) at his official website, RocketboyWorld.com, and can befriend him right here at his MySpace page. While you're over there, stop by the official MD page and check out the latest weekly recap; in addition to the top ten stories of the past seven days, you can view exclusive MySpace-only pictures, such as more Comic-Con hunks and the Mamma Mia! boys gone wild.

And don't forget to become a friend of MD yourself, if you're not already. Who knows? You may find yourself the next Movie Dearest Friend of the Week!

Legends of the FAIL, Take 1

I just discovered (by way of Joe.My.God.) this great internet time waster: The FAIL Blog. A collection of random acts of stupidity caught on camera or film and posted online for our amusement, you'll be LOLing till you cry.

The above "Movie Lineup Fail" reminded me of something I saw long ago on Real People (and if you remember that show, you're my new best friend) where one of the hosts (probably Skip Stephenson) showed a picture of a similar theater marquee: Alien Meatballs Escape from Alcatraz. I don't think they would have shown this one though ...

If I come across any other movie-themed "FAILs", I'll be sure to pass them along here.

Costume Dramas: Audrey Hepburn Edition

Welcome to Costume Dramas, an occasional feature spotlighting memorable movie costumes. And who better to spotlight first then the best dressed woman in cinematic history, Audrey Hepburn.

Has there ever been, before or since, an actress that was as effortlessly glamorous as Audrey? From the legendary black dress of her Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's to the flower girl gone upper crust stylings of her Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, her classic look has made her a fashion icon for the ages. No wonder the Gap used her Funny Face image to hawk their unworthy wares in an infamous commercial. Heck, she even made a habit look good in The Nun's Story.

Of course, Audrey merely wore the clothes; but the designers behind them were amply rewarded beyond that honor: six of her films were nominated for Best Costume Design, with three ultimately winning the Oscar.

Giving Props: Baby Jane Hudson Doll

This post starts off an occasional feature spotlighting memorable movie props.

What could be more creepier then a life size "Bette Davis Jr." doll? How about if it is being toted around by a life size Bette Davis?

As seen in the classic thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the Baby Jane Hudson doll was surely modeled after actual Shirley Temple dolls. Again, not sure which is creepier.

Introducing: The MD Awards

Here we are at the end of 2007, and Movie Dearest celebrates its first calendar year with the first of what will be an annual tradition here: the Movie Dearest Awards!

Honoring the best in film, television and the stage as covered here on MD, the awards are like the Oscars, the Emmys and the Tonys all rolled into one. Now all the MD Awards need is a nifty nickname like them; how about ... the "Emdies"? The "Dearies"? Or (dare I suggest it) the "Kirbys"???

Cast your vote on this all-important decision in the special MD Poll below, and enjoy this year's winners in six categories in the posts that follow.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

On Location: The Christmas Story House

This post starts off an occasional feature spotlighting famous movie locations.

If A Christmas Story is your favorite Christmas movie too, then you and I will get along just fine. Which means Brian Jones and I would probably be BFFs, since he took his love of the droll comedy beyond an annual Christmas Eve viewing: he bought Ralphie's house. Not only that, he restored the three-story, wood-frame house in Cleveland to its appearance in the movie and opened it up for all to enjoy about a year ago.

Not only can fans take a tour of the actual house used during filming, but you can even visit the Higbee's Department Store ("I like Santa") and the Chinese restaurant ("fa-ra-ra-ra-ra"), where Peking duck is always on the menu. And of course, you can purchase your very own "major award" at the gift shop. And if you don't know what that is, then you sir, are no friend of mine.

Click here to buy A Christmas Storyon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com, CBSNews.com, AChristmasStoryHouse.com and YouTube.com.

Pink is the New Out

Let's face it: we talk about a lot of gay celebrities here at Movie Dearest, from Ian and Ellen to Rosie and Cheyenne, we love 'em all. We love them for their talents, and love them some more for being out and proud in this crazy world we live in today.

But, to be honest with you, it's tiring and gets redundant having to write and read "openly gay" next to so many names, not that I do it all that much anyway. See, I know my MD readers are smart and well read, and they know their gay celebs.

However, what about the ones that you may not be aware of? Through the course of writing this blog, I have come across a couple names that even I did not know were "one of the family", and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

So, as a service to my readers, and also as a means in furthering gay visibility here in cyberspaceland, I have come up with what I believe is a subtle yet effective way to distinguish all the famous GLBT people mentioned on this site. You may have noticed already that some names in recent posts are colored in a light shade of pink. Well, as you can surmise, pink is the new "out", at least here at MD. From here on out, every out GLBT celebrity named herein will be hued in pink. Furthermore, I am currently working my way back through all the past (350-plus!) posts to update those as well.

Now, some may think that pink is a stereotypical "gay color", but I say think of it along the lines of the "pink triangle", a symbol created to victimize us, but reclaimed by us to symbolize our pride. Besides, it would be really tedious to do everyone's name in rainbow colors.

In conclusion, here's where you come in. If a name happens to slip past me, let me know by shooting me an email (address in the sidebar to your right, below my profile) or just post a comment in the handy-dandy comment section at the bottom of each post. If possible, provide a link to a valid source (it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: MD does not traffic in unwanted outings or rumor mongering, and any such posts will be deleted). On the other hand, if I accidentally "pink" someone who is not an out GLBT person, let me know ASAP as well.

Link via Wikipedia.org.

Trivial Pursuits: An Introduction

The Many Faces of Dracula

Yes, another Movie Dearest section. This one will focus on all the film facts, movie minutiae and cinematic secrets we all crave. In other words: it's trivia time!

Therefore, in recognition of the Internet Movie Database's nifty new "Character Page" feature, this first installment of Trivial Pursuits will focus on movie characters, specifically horror movie characters, in keeping with this month's Halloween theme.

For example, did you know that:

• Count Dracula is the horror movie character most often portrayed onscreen, by such actors as Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, George Hamilton, Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler.
• In addition to the five Psycho feature films, Norman Bates appeared in a TV movie titled Bates Motel.
• Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray has been played by an actress on film at least twice.
• Shuler Hensley, who played the Frankenstein Monster in the movie Van Helsing, will play the character again in the upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.
• Jack Torrance's first name is actually John.
• Ruth Gordon reprised her Academy Award-winning role as Minnie Castevet in the TV movie sequel, Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby. Patty Duke Astin took over for Mia Farrow as Rosemary.
• King Kong was once portrayed by ... Dudley Moore?
• Five years before they battled each other on the big screen in Freddy vs. Jason, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees "guest-starred" together on an episode of The Simpsons.
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have been played by such actors as John Barrymore, Fredric March (who won the Oscar for his performance), Spencer Tracy, Jack Palance, Kirk Douglas, Anthony Perkins, Michael Cain, John Malkovich and ... David Hasselhoff.

Links via Imdb.com.

In the News: Boys Do Confess

In the News is a new Movie Dearest feature that will take a look at breaking stories wherein the reel world merges with the real world.

Marvin Nissen, one of the two men convicted of murdering Brandon Teena and two other people as depicted in the Academy Award-winning movie Boys Don't Cry, has recently changed his story of what happened fourteen years ago.

Nissen (portrayed by Brendan Sexton III as "Tom" Nissen in the film) now claims that he was the lone killer in the slayings. Nissen's previous testimony stated that it was John Lotter (played by Peter Sarsgaard) who fired the fatal shots at Teena and the others. Lotter is currently on death row in Nebraska, but with this confession, he has asked for a new trial. The Advocate has the full story here.

Hilary Swank won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as Teena, whose life was also recounted in the documentary The Brandon Teena Story.

Links via Imdb.com and Advocate.com.

Film Art: An Introduction

Not exactly poster art, this new section will feature film subjects as depicted via various forms of art, from paintings to drawings to sculptures and more.

The above image is of Pan from, of course, Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's haunting adult fairy tale.

Click here to purchase Pan's Labyrinthon DVD from Amazon.com.
Link via Imbd.com.