Tune in to TCM: Luise Rainer

Tonight, Turner Classic Movies will celebrate the 101st birthday of legendary screen actress Luise Rainer. The first person to win back-to-back Academy Awards (as Best Actress for her performances in The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth), Rainer will be feted with the world premiere telecast of Luise Rainer: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival. The special features TCM host Robert Osborne's interview, which was taped at the premiere TCM Film Festival last year in Hollywood (our own Chris Carpenter attended the event; read his report here).

TCM will round out the birthday festivities this evening with presentations of Rainer's two Oscar-winning performances, as well as her memorable roles in The Great Waltz and Dramatic School.

Tune in to TCM: Liza Minnelli

Premiering tonight on Turner Classic Movies, Liza Minnelli joins host Robert Osborne to discuss her career and the work of her father Vincente Minnelli and mother Judy Garland in an all-new edition of TCM's Private Screenings interview series.

In addition to the new special (which will be re-aired on December 14), TCM will screen representative films from the Minnelli family library, including Meet Me in St. Louis, the film in which Judy and Vincente met and fell in love; Vincente's Academy Award-winning musicals An American in Paris and Gigi; and Liza's star-making, Oscar-winning turn in Cabaret.

Tune in to TCM: Moguls & Movie Stars

With their brand new documentary series Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood, Turner Classic Movies lives up to its sterling reputation as the finest purveyor of all things grandly cinematic. Whether you’re a seasoned cinephile or a film novice who doesn’t know a Griffith from a Goldwyn, this epic, seven-part series (premiering this Monday, November 1, on TCM) will offer plenty of insight on how the movies were born and evolved over the past century.

Divided into one-hour episodes covering roughly each decade, from the 1900s to the 1960s, Moguls & Movie Stars presents a rich history of the art — and business — of moviemaking. Along the way, one discovers that this is also the story of America, as such historical touchstones as the Great Depression, World War II and the age of television drastically affected the players involved… and the movies they made.

And what a cast of characters, from the immigrants who rose from poverty to create and control their own Hollywood “Dream Factories” to the actors and actresses who, defying the odds, ascended the ranks to become “American royalty”, a.k.a. “movie stars”. A veritable “Who’s Who” of the Hollywood elite can be seen (both in clips from their screen classics and in rare behind-the-scenes footage), including Pickford, Gish, Chaplin, Valentino, Keaton, Garbo, Cagney, Davis, Gable, Hepburn, Grant, Stewart, Crawford, Bogart, Astaire, Garland, Rooney, Wayne, Brando, Dean, Monroe… and the list goes on.

Narrated by Christopher Plummer, the series features commentary by a host of film experts, historians and critics, including Peter Bogdonovich, Sidney Lumet, Leonard Maltin, Molly Haskell, David Thomson, Gore Vidal and (naturally) TCM host Robert Osborne. Also on hand to provide personal reminiscences are several descendants of the great movie moguls of the past, such as Richard Zanuck and Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.

Each new episode of Moguls & Movie Stars will air Mondays through December 13, with encore presentations the following Wednesday.  A brief panel discussion, hosted by Osborne, will be presented after each of the Wednesday repeats as well.

In conjunction with Moguls & Movie Stars, TCM will also screen several hard to see classic films each Monday night throughout the run of the series. Rare titles scheduled to air include Traffic in Souls, Within Our Gates, The Poor Little Rich Girl, The Squaw Man, Sunrise, Four Horseman of the Apocalypse and Show People, as well as collections of short film from the likes of Thomas Edison, D.W. Griffith and Georges Méliès.

UPDATE: Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood is now available on DVD from Amazon.com.

Reverend’s Report: A Gay Old Time at the TCM Classic Film Fest

The just completed, first-ever TCM Classic Film Festival, which ran April 22-25 in Hollywood, was a class act all the way. From hosted, top-shelf cocktails at the fest’s opening night party — held in a ballroom of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel that had been converted into the lavish “Club TCM” — through three full days of celebrity appearances, filmmaker panels and, of course, screenings of classic movies in historic venues, both attendees (a number of whom were gay) and organizers exhibited an almost-religious reverence not usually found at contemporary, indie film festivals.

This may have been related to what I experienced within myself while watching childhood favorites like Bride of Frankenstein, the 1933 King Kong and The Good Earth on a movie screen for the first time rather than on TV. On one hand, I felt older than I ever have before but, on the other, I realized these classic films are a part of me to a quasi-physical degree. I felt the movies I watched in a way I hadn’t previously. They are in my blood, and clearly in the blood of many other people, who attended the festival from all across the nation and even some foreign countries, as well.

Chris with friends Mark and Kelly at Club TCM
The opening night premiere of a newly restored print of the 1954, George Cukor version of A Star is Born (it will be released June 22 on DVD and, for the first time, Blu-Ray) drew an impressive array of Oscar winners and nominees, including Cher, Alec Baldwin, Anjelica Huston, Martin Landau and a dapper Eli Wallach as well as a younger generation represented by Ben McKenzie, Chris Klein and out actor Wilson Cruz. Director Peter Bogdanovich was there, as well as TCM’s resident film host-critics Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz.

While the sound system in Grauman’s Chinese Theatre didn’t sound well-balanced on opening night, resulting in loud but tinny-sounding musical numbers and sometimes hard-to-hear dialogue, repeat viewings of A Star is Born confirm that it remains one of Judy Garland’s best vehicles as well as contains one of James Mason’s best performances (both were Oscar-nominated for their work here).

The following morning found me back at Grauman’s Chinese and in line for King Kong with a cute, chatty USC film student named David. As critic Leonard Maltin noted during his introductory remarks, we were in the same theatre where Kong had its world premiere nearly 80 years ago for the world premiere of a new, digitally restored print that included the film’s long-lost overture by Max Steiner. While I was surprised to discover the movie more graphically violent (for 1933) than I remembered it, with close-up shots of Kong’s giant foot squashing villagers into the ground, it remains one of the most gripping and mythical of all big-screen adventures.

During the afternoon of day 2, I took in two films I’d never seen: the caustic, Manhattan-set morality tale Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and Douglas Sirk’s tear-jerking account of interior racial conflict, Imitation of Life (1959). Tony Curtis, who gives a memorable performance in Sweet Smell of Success as ambitious press agent Sidney Falco alongside Burt Lancaster as vicious columnist J.J. Hunsecker, made an odd appearance prior to the screening.

Making his entrance and exit in a wheelchair (the actor has apparently suffered a stroke) and wearing shorts, a T-shirt and a cowboy hat, Curtis rambled on about his “hazardous experience” growing up in New York and his opinions on acting. Most disturbingly, he uttered the word “lesbos” at one point while referring to women who appeared less than feminine to his observation, and he recounted his efforts at “making sure some guy wasn’t trying to grope me” while watching movies as a kid in a darkened theater.

Fortunately, my festival experience regained its classy aura once Curtis was out and Sweet Smell of Success began. The script, by Ernest Lehman and blacklisted playwright Clifford Odets, holds up remarkably well in its study of journalistic ethics and power. Lancaster and Curtis give blistering studies in contempt, and a handsome young Martin (billed here as “Marty”) Milner is great as the young musician who dares to challenge them. The film also boasts excellent direction by Alexander Mackendrick and photography by the legendary James Wong Howe, and a fine jazz score by Elmer Bernstein.

The Oscar-nominated co-stars of Imitation of Life, Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner, appeared following the screening of what they both admitted was their finest achievement as actors. Moore, who will turn 100 this year, doesn’t have the best memory but looks great. Kohner spoke more fondly of her role as mother to contemporary directors Chris and Paul Weitz than she did of her brief career in Hollywood. Still, both actresses and most audience members were pleased with Sirk’s then-controversial final film that ultimately focuses on a light-skinned black girl desperately trying to pass herself off as white. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during the finale.

Sunday afternoon’s screening of the excellent 1937 film The Good Earth, adapted from Pearl S. Buck’s China-set novel, was remarkable for a rare appearance by its Oscar-winning star, Luise Rainer. Now 100 and living in England, Rainer braved ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland as well as the loss of her hearing aid to be at the TCM festival. The still-lovely Rainer walked down the aisle of Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre to the stage with only the help of a cane and quickly revealed a still-razor sharp mind and memory.

The audience and interviewer Robert Osborne, who had to write his questions for Rainer down so she could read them, listened with rapt delight as she spoke about the making of The Good Earth (good-naturedly dissing co-star Paul Muni and MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer in the process) as well as about her two marriages (her first, which ended in divorce, was to the aforementioned Clifford Odets) and her admiration for fellow actresses Greta Garbo and Julia Roberts. As TCM Channel’s production chief accurately announced after Rainer’s appearance, “This was the biggest event of the year in Hollywood.”

The North American premiere of a recently discovered, nearly complete cut of Fritz Lang’s science fiction masterpiece Metropolis (1927) served as the TCM fest’s grand finale. I had never seen Metropolis all the way through in any of its previously incomplete incarnations, and it was a thrill to do so with a very enthusiastic crowd of devotees in Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The silent film was provided with extraordinary musical and sound-effects accompaniment by a live ensemble, the three-man Alloy Orchestra, performing the original score.

Prior to the Metropolis screening, Osborne announced to a roar of approval from attendees that the first TCM Classic Film Festival was such a success that another will be held next spring. While dates are yet to be announced, fans of Hollywood classics — GLBT and otherwise — should start planning now to attend. After all, these movies are in our blood.

Report by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Reverend’s Preview: The First-Ever TCM Film Fest

Several of the best-regarded movies, filmmakers and stars of all time will be reunited during the first-ever TCM Classic Film Festival. It will run April 22-25 at historic venues throughout Hollywood, including Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is best known as a cable channel showcasing both prominent and more obscure achievements from the film industry’s earlier decades. Mogul Ted Turner launched the network in 1994, and it has grown incredibly popular among both cinephiles and casual viewers alike.

There will be plenty of films and events of GLBT-interest during the festival’s four days. In fact, the TCM Fest will kick off with one of the greatest gay icons of them all: Judy Garland. A newly restored version of the 1954 musical version of A Star is Born, starring Garland and James Mason and directed by the gay-but-closeted George Cukor, will have its world premiere the night of April 22 at the Chinese Theatre. This marks the first major restoration of the film since 1983, and it will feature better picture quality and richer color than ever before.

Two other significant, restored movies that will be included in the festival are Jean-Luc Godard’s sexy, French-New Wave classic Breathless (1960), starring Jean-Paul Belmondo (who is scheduled to appear) and Jean Seberg, and Fritz Lang's German sci-fi epic Metropolis (1927). The latter will include 30 minutes of recently discovered footage that hasn’t been seen since the film’s 1927 premiere. This North American premiere of the nearly complete Metropolis will be accompanied by a live musical ensemble performing the original score.

Prior to 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, perhaps the grittiest, best-regarded cinematic saga of two men in a mutually caring, tragically doomed relationship was Midnight Cowboy (1969). The first X-rated film to be nominated for, yet alone win, the Academy Award for Best Picture, it stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight as two hustlers in New York City who dream of a better life…together. Gay director John Schlesinger — who won an Oscar for his fine work here — later helmed such GLBT-themed productions as Sunday, Bloody Sunday and The Next Best Thing. Voight will be on hand to discuss the TCM Festival’s screening of Midnight Cowboy.

The excellent 1937 film The Good Earth will receive a rare big-screen presentation during the fest. Star Luise Rainer, who plays a Chinese woman struggling to preserve her home despite numerous obstacles, won the second of two consecutive Best Actress Academy Awards for her memorable work here. Rainer recently turned 100 years old, and she is scheduled to appear in conjunction with the screening.

Director Douglas Sirk — whose lush, melodramatic style was imitated to perfection by gay filmmaker Todd Haynes in 2002’s Far from Heaven — will be represented at the TCM Fest by his classic, racially charged Imitation of Life (1959). The late Lana Turner headlines the movie, but her Oscar-nominated co-stars Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner will be in attendance.

No classic film festival (or gay-themed film festival, for that matter) would be complete without an appearance by “Mommie Dearest” herself, Joan Crawford. The actress’s rarely screened 1941 film A Woman’s Face, directed by the previously mentioned George Cukor, will be shown and will be introduced by Casey LaLonde, Crawford’s grandson.

And, of course, a Hollywood-based celebration of unforgettable movies couldn’t neglect Sunset Boulevard (1950), Billy Wilder’s dark comedy that introduced the world to faded, questionably-sane silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). William Holden co-stars as her assistant/boy toy, and the movie was later musicalized by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I’ll be very surprised if the screening audience is able to suppress the inclination to recite Desmond’s final, classic line: “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up!”

Funny man Mel Brooks will also be honored during the TCM Festival. He will screen his hilarious 1968 Oscar-winner The Producers (which was itself adapted into a successful stage musical), as well as receive a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. No word yet on whether The Producers’ over-the-top gay duo, Roger DeBris and Carmen Ghia, will be present as well.

This is but a small sampling of the unique delights in store for festival attendees, GLBT and otherwise. For complete information about the TCM Classic Film Festival and to purchase tickets or passes, please visit its official website.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

MD News Desk: F is for Furry

Keep up to date with all the latest from the entertainment world with the MD News Desk:

Cinematic Crushes:
- Fuzzy-wuzzy Jake Gyllenhaal to visit Sesame Street. Other celebs stopping by this season include Christina Applegate, Matthew Fox, Hugh Jackman, Eva Longoria-Parker, Paul Rudd and Jake's sis Maggie.
- If Taylor Lautner won't take off his shirt in future movies, there's another Twilight hunk willing to fill the void: fellow New Moon werewolf Alex Meraz.
- Can James Franco save daytime TV?
- Dancing with the Stars hunk Maksim Chmerkovskiy will re-join Broadway's Burn the Floor along with another DWTS pro, the perky Kym Johnson.
- Matt Damon beefs it up as a South African rugby player in the trailer for Clint Eastwood's Invictus.


The Princess and the Frog:
- While Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen land in Disneyland ...
- Ne-Yo releases his end credit pop ballad from the movie, "Never Knew I Needed".

Awards Watch:
- Hugh Jackman doesn't want to be Oscar host two years in a row, but wouldn't mind being named the first back-to-back "Sexiest Man Alive".
- Three of this year's big Oscar bait movies — A Single Man, Nine and Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire — are directed by out gay men — Tom Ford, Rob Marshall and Lee Daniels, respectively.
- GLAAD announces the winners of their first awards for GLBT-inclusive advertising.
- Could Tennessee Williams win his first Academy Award ... 27 years after his death?


Coming Soon:
- First Look: the new A-Team.
- Sequel Watch: Men in Black 3 gets a screenwriter, Charlize Theron joins Mad Max: Fury Road, and Robert Zemeckis has some good news about the long-in-the-works Roger Rabbit follow-up.
- Adam Sandler to play both Jack and Jill.
- Milk It While You Can: Twilight to return to theaters for one day only.
- Anthony Hopkins will be Odin, King of Asgard and daddy to Thor.
- Top Guns: Tony Scott to direct a biopic of Chippendales creator Steve Banerjee.

Tune in to TCM:
- The Oscar winning composer of "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe", "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses" is spotlighted in the new documentary Johnny Mercer: The Dream's On Me, premiering Wednesday.
- Thursday kicks off a month long 80th birthday tribute to screen legend Grace Kelly. Every movie she ever appeared in will be screened throughout November.

From Screen to Stage:
- Cate Blanchett is Blanche DuBois in Kennedy Center's A Streetcar Named Desire.
- Recently filmed with its original cast, Shrek the Musical will be released on DVD.
- A Christmas Story, The Musical! aims for Broadway.
- Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin, will play Helen Keller in the upcoming Broadway revival of The Miracle Worker.
- Xanadu to hit the road in a new US tour.
- The new stage version of Robin and the 7 Hoods will have its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe next summer.

GLBT Entertainment:
- Funny lady Liz Feldman is developing a female buddy comedy with a lesbian lead for NBC.
- That's Gay: sassy Bryan Safi on the whole "ex-gay" thing.
- Casting Notices: Yes, you too could be one of Bravo's Real Gay Housewives of San Francisco, while MTV's True Life wants you if you're an out athlete.
- 90210 unzips their lesbian storyline.
- The Advocate chats with Christine Woods on the recent coming out of her FlashForward character.

Women We Love:
- Cover Story: Chelsea Handler does Playboy.
- Casting About: Amy Adams in the dramedy Town House, Becki Newton (and her hunky hubby Chris Diamantopoulos) in Encores' Girl Crazy, Kelly Lynch on 90210 and Reese Witherspoon in the drama Rule #1.
- Angela Lansbury to be celebrated by the Drama League.
- Sharon Gless on being a lesbian in Hannah Free.
- Kathy Griffin has Balls of Steel in her new stand-up special, debuting tomorrow night on Bravo.

Glee:
- Album Notes: While the cast will promote Volume 1(out tomorrow) with in-store appearances in NYC and LA, Volume 2gets a release date: December 8. The track list includes such upcoming musical treats as "True Colors", "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" and "Don't Rain on My Parade".
- More Music News: star Matthew Morrison announces a solo disc.
- Glee gets its first award!
- Watch This: The cast, led by Amber Riley (Mercedes), sings the National Anthem at the World Series.


Out in Film:
- Cheyenne Jackson Watch: First look at him in 30 Rock, and he catches up with The Advocate.
- Director Anthony Fabian finds parallels to the gay experience in his new film Skin.
- David Marshall Grant gets a promotion at Brothers & Sisters.
- Watch These: Chaz Bono on Entertainment Tonight; a video preview of Arias With a Twist starring Joey Arias and Basil Twist.
- Housewives honcho Marc Cherry signs a Desperate deal.
- Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Doug Wright to pen a George Gershwin biopic, produced by music man Michael Feinstein.
- AKA director Duncan Roy joins Dr. Drew's Sex Rehab.
- Author Bret Easton Ellis adapts The Follower for HBO.
- Legendary director James Whale to be celebrated at NYC's Film Forum next month.

MD News Desk: One Single Sensation

Keep up to date with all the latest from the entertainment world with the MD News Desk:

Cinematic Crushes:
- Gaze upon the angelic beauty of A Single Man's Nicholas Hoult in this photo spread by his director Tom Ford ... and try to forget that he was the kid in About a Boy. Out Magazine chats with the Single duo in separate interviews here and here.
- James Franco talks about being a stoner icon, what he did with his fake Milk penis, and buying the film rights to the Hart Crane poem The Broken Tower.

Off the Shelf:
- Attention Vintage Beefcake Connoisseurs: David L. Chapman’s American Hunksexplores "The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture", including such stars as Charles Atlas, Johnny Weissmuller and ... Anthony Perkins?! Check out the (slightly NSFW) slideshow at Out.com.


The Latest on TV:
- "Toon" in to Cartoon Network this Friday for the special musical episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold guest-starring Neil Patrick Harris.
- Miss True Blood? Disappointed by The Vampire Diaries? Than be sure to catch all six first season episodes of Being Human this Sunday on BBC America, followed by the special Being Human Unearthed. This excellent British series stars Russell Tovey as a werewolf who shares a flat with a hunky vampire and a girl ghost.

Tune in to TCM:
- On Saturday you'll find a marathon of movies based on the works of author W. Somerset Maugham, including the Bette Davis classic The Letter.

Awards Watch:
- And the Oscars go to: Hairspray director Adam Shankman and Pandemonium Films' Bill Mechanic named the producers of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. The Los Angeles Times chimes in on the announcement.
- Star Trek, Twilight and True Blood among the winners of Spike TV's "Scream 2009" Awards, to be broadcast October 27.

From Screen to Stage:
- In more Adam Shankman news: he'll bring the Tony Award nominated 1980s rock musical spoof Rock of Ages to the screen.
- Another out director, Lee Daniels (who's current Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire was a fest fave and is gaining strong Oscar buzz), is working on the film adaptation of the Tony winning musical Miss Saigon for producer Cameron Mackintosh.
- The Terrence McNally/Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty musical A Man of No Importance (recently named one of the top "screen to stage" shows of all time by our own Chris Carpenter) will make its London debut next month.
- Could the notorious, the infamous, the one and only Carrie: The Musical (recently named one the worst "screen to stage" shows of all time by our own Neil Cohen) actually be headed back to Broadway?
- The Off-Broadway musical hit The Toxic Avenger is now sliming Toronto.
- The Beatles film Backbeat to get a UK stage version next year.


Out in Film:
- Eating Out: All You Can Eat’s Leslie Jordan dishes out quite a mouthful about wise elders, closeted actors, his out co-stars (such as the hunkalicious Rick D'Agostino) and his prized gay-for-pay poodles.
- The Big Gay Sketch Show's Julie Goldman on her big gay romantic comedy Nicest Thing.
- Lance Bass butches it up as a beefy boxer.
- Looks like Thom Bierdz' (and Phillip Chancellor III's) return to The Young and the Restless will be short-lived after all.
- Reality TV star Ryan Brown on his Flipping Out ex Jeff Lewis.
- Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry reveals he will be killing off a character (or two ... or three ...) in the series' mid-season cliffhanger.
- Kelly Osbourne and her Dancing with the Stars partner Louis Van Amstel visited Chelsea Lately recently ... and brought his cute boyfriend along too.


Videodrone:
- Call Wallace and Gromit! The 30 Second Bunnies do The Wolf Man.
- Gerard Butler ends DADT in Sparta.
- Homer Simpson goes gay for Halloween.
- Here it is: Adam Lambert's 2012 music video. (In related news, the glam rocker and Lady GaGa are collaborating on what will no doubt be the gayest song ever made.)

Kish:
- One Life to Live’s fabulous Tika Sumpter on Layla’s men.

RIP:
- Joseph Wiseman, who played the very first James Bond movie villain as the title character of Dr. No, passed away Monday at the age of 91.
- Vic Mizzy, composer of the iconic theme songs to The Addams Family and Green Acres, died Saturday at the age of 93.

GLBT Entertainment:
- Ugly Betty’s Marc, played by Michael Urie, will get a new Bahama boyfriend.
- Spoiler Alert! A certain Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character (played by a certain actor) will (finally) come out of the closet.
- 8: The Mormon Proposition is a new documentary (narrated by Dustin Lance Black) about the Mormon Church's involvement in the passage of California's Proposition 8. Watch the trailer here.

Glee:
- Model Behavior: Cory Monteith (Finn) is the face of Five Four’s Fall/Winter 2009 Collection.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog creator Joss Whedon will be directing a future episode.
- Spring Awakening reunion: Jonathan Groff will join the show for a few episodes as a(nother) love interest for Lea Michele's Rachel.
- More Michele: she sings "Out Here on My Own" at the HRC National Dinner.
- Dressed for Success: an interview with Glee's costume designer Lou Eyrich, wherein you'll find out her favorite character to dress.
- And forget the Thanksgiving parade: the Glee cast will sing at the World Series!

MD News Desk: Tooth & Nails

Keep up to date with all the latest from the entertainment world with the MD News Desk:

Videodrone:
- Trailer Park: The new A Nightmare on Elm Street (starring Watchmen's Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger), Duane Johnson is the Tooth Fairy and Bradley Cooper and Eric "McSteamy" Dane go gay in Valentine's Day.
- Dancing with the Stars Watch: Debi Mazar and Maksim Chmerkovskiy do the "El Tango de Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge!, Kathy Ireland and Tony Dovolani perform to "Shall We Dance" from The King and I and Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff (with special guests) take on ... "The Muppet Show Theme"?

Tune in to TCM:
This week's star spotlights on Turner Classic Movies: Leslie Caron (Monday), Esther Williams (Tuesday), Goldie Hawn (Wednesday) and Paul Muni (Saturday).

Cinematic Crushes:
- Casting About: Leonardo DiCaprio in the mystery The Deep Blue Goodbye, Josh Brolin replaces Sean Penn in the drama Cartel and Hugh Jackman in the futuristic boxing flick Real Steel.
- Speaking of Jackman, here he is with Daniel Craig in Broadway's A Steady Rain. And if you're planning to see it, remember to turn off your cel phones ... our he'll go Wolverine on your ass.
- Surprise of the Week: James Franco will be visiting Port Charles for an extended guest stint on the daytime soap General Hospital starting next month.

Coming Soon:
- Sequel Watch: The Dark Crystal 2, Kill Bill 3, Transformers 3 and, following all the recent headlines, the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.
- And in Remake News, Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins joins the cast of the Americanized Let the Right One In.
- Sex and the City 2 Watch: Liza to perform Beyoncé’s "Single Ladies" at the gay wedding.


From Screen to Stage:
- Priscilla Queen of the Desert will strut to Broadway in early 2011.
- David Ogden Stiers is among the new cast of the Broadway return of Irving Berlin's White Christmas.
- Shrek the Musical adds "I'm a Believer" to its score.
- Hairspray Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman to pen the score for a new stage version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- Prior to Broadway, Douglas Hodge will reprise his Olivier Award-winning performance of Albin/Zaza in London's La Cage aux Folles.
- Tony winner Ann Reinking will choreograph the Time After Time musical.

Hands Off the Merchandise:
- Hello, gorgeous! Mattel releasing a Barbra Streisand Barbie. The "little plastic diva is ready to sing on The Ed Sullivan Show, direct The Prince of Tides or blog furiously about her political beliefs". Pre-order now from EntertainmentEarth.com.

GLBT Entertainment:
- Thanks to such shows as Brothers & Sisters, Glee, Modern Family and Ugly Betty (whose season premiere, by the by, has been delayed a week), GLAAD reports that broadcast television now boasts the highest number of GLBT characters ever.
- Glenn Close to host a special pre-show for the world premieres of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.
- Stritchie herself, Nicol Paone, talks about the upcoming season of The Big Gay Sketch Show.
- Project Runway winner Christian Siriano set to star in his own reality series.
- The Real L Word is looking for lesbians while Bravo's Kept is looking for, well, kept boys (or those who really want to be).

Kish:
- Rumor Watch: Is One Life to Live on the verge of cancellation? And if so, is "Kish" moving to All My Children? The Advocate's Soapside tells you what you can do to help save it.

Out in Film:
- The Power of Two, the new duets CD featuring Cheyenne Jackson and Michael Feinstein, will hit stores November 3. (Click hereto pre-order from Amazon.com.)
- In more Cheyenne news: is the Broadway hunk joining 30 Rock?
- David Greenspan, currently starring in the Broadway revival of The Royal Family, fills out Playbill.com's Cue & A.
- Riot grrrl Carrie Brownstein turns to acting in the indie drama Some Days Are Better Than Others.
- Rufus Wainwright on his new concert movie, Milwaukee at Last!!!
- AfterElton.com interviews Sam and Dan McMillen, the gay brothers on the run on this season's Amazing Race.
- Carol Leifer is working on two upcoming sitcoms, one starring Marlee Matlin and Mario Cantone, the other about a pregnant woman, her ex-husband and her new girlfriend.
- Boy George to return to the Taboo stage for an Up Close and Personal concert.


Women We Love:
- Madonna raises her arms across the ages.
- Guest Star Watch: Kathy Najimy on Desperate Housewives and Shakira on Ugly Betty.
- Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams will star in yet another Stephen Sondheim revue, Sondheim on Sondheim.
- Character actress supreme Holland Taylor chats about her lesbian past with AfterEllen.com.

MD News Desk: Thrills & Chills

Keep up to date with all the latest from the entertainment world with the MD News Desk:

Women We Love:
- Off the wall Karen Black on Airport 1975, The Blue Tooth Virgin and playing transsexual.
- Xana-doll Kerry Butler on motherhood, Rock of Ages and Catch Me If You Can.
- Entourage moll Debi Mazar on Dancing with the Stars, Maks' butt and her gay fans.

Tune in to TCM:
- Turner Classic Movies kicks off their new series A Night at the Movies this Friday with "The Suspenseful World of Thrillers".

GLBT Entertainment:
- Visit the set of Otto; or, Up With Dead People's Bruce LaBruce's next gay zombie flick, L.A. Zombie, including run ins with porn superstars François Sagat and Francesco D'Macho.
- AfterEllen.com catches up with the cast of The L Word.
- OUTtv reality stars Chris Carter and John Simpson are returning to find "the next Halloween Superstar!" Didn't we already see this with The Search for the Next Elvira?
- Coming to Logo: The Gay Houseboys of New York, possibly featuring fashionista Marc Jacobs.

Coming Soon:
- Remake ... or sequel? The Hollywood Reporter says Warner is remaking The Hunger, but author Whitley Strieber's Imdb page says The Hunger 2 is in development.
- In more unnecessary WB remake news: the fourth (yes, fourth) version of A Star is Born (possibly starring Beyoncé Knowles) is finally moving forward.
- Instructions for the following: find a grain of salt, take it ... a Friends movie?

Out in Film:
- Nominees for the Stonewall Awards, which "celebrates people who have had a positive impact on the lives of British LGBT people", include Being Human's Russell Tovey and Milk's Dustin Lance Black.
- Broadway hottie Cheyenne Jackson rehearses Finian's Rainbow.
- Alan Cumming chats with The Advocate about his new solo album, I Bought a Blue Car Today.
- New York to name Tommy Tune a "Living Landmark".
- Recent Emmy winner Cherry Jones honored by the Point Foundation.


Videodrone:
- What if ... such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghostbusters and Forrest Gump were made during the classic era? These "pre-makes" on YouTube have the answer.
- That ain't right: The "extended" version of The Jetsons theme song.


From Screen to Stage:
- The national tour of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, starring original Broadway cast members Roger Bart and Shuler Hensley, begins tonight in Rhode Island.
- Forget about it: David Mamet's "dark and scary" version of The Diary of Anne Frank.
- The Stephen Schwartz opera based on Séance on a Wet Afternoon had its world premiere in Santa Barbara last week.