Indie Drama ‘Moonlight’ Looks at What It’s Like to Grow Up Black and Gay in America – TRAILER

The first trailer for the highly-anticipated indie film Moonlight, a story about a young gay black man coming to terms with his sexuality in 80s America, has just debuted. And it’s mesmerizing.

The film is set to show at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

IndieWire reports: 

Based on the play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the film tells the life story of a young man named Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) via three defining chapters of his life. Set in the 1980’s Miami during the height of Reagan’s War on Drugs, “Moonlight” follows Chiron as he comes of age, falls in love and discovers his own sexuality, all while learning to embrace his own vision of masculinity as characters float in and out of his life. The ensemble cast includes Naomie Harris (“Spectre”), André Holland (“The Knick”), Mahershala Ali (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), Edson Jean (“War Dogs”), and soul/R&B singer Janelle Monaé in her debut film performance.

Moonlight breaks Chiron’s story into three chapters, perhaps inspiring this key art from studio A24.

The LA Times adds: 

“Moonlight” is the long-awaited second feature from Jenkins, whose his first film was 2008’s “Medicine For Melancholy,” which went on to receive three Independent Spirit Award nominations.

With Brad Pitt on board as executive producer and Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner producing, “Moonlight” comes with an impressive team behind it.

Watch the trailer, below.

The post Indie Drama ‘Moonlight’ Looks at What It’s Like to Grow Up Black and Gay in America – TRAILER appeared first on Towleroad.

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HRC Mourns Erykah Tijerina, Trans Woman Found Dead in El Paso

HRC is saddened to learn that Erykah Tijerina, a transgender woman, was found dead on Monday in her El Paso apartment. KFOX14 reports that police observed “obvious signs of foul play.”

Tijerina was 36. In an interview with KFOX14, her sisters described her as “funny, giving and unapologetic about the person she was.” Friends in El Paso’s transgender community expressed shock and sorrow over Tijerina’s death.

Tijerina is at least the 16th transgender person murdered in the U.S. since January. Over 80 percent of those killed have been women and about 20 percent, including Tijerina, have been Latinas.

Addressing Anti-Transgender Violence, released in 2015 by HRC and the Trans People of Color Coalition, calls on policymakers, advocates and allies to address the crisis of violence against transgender people.

A Saturday night vigil for Tijerina is planned at El Paso’s EDGE nightclub. HRC expresses our sincere condolences to Ms. Tijerina’s family and friends.

To learn more about HRC’s work to address the safety and well-being of transgender people, visit www.hrc.org/transgender.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-erykah-tijerina-trans-woman-found-dead-in-el-paso?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Roy Moore Puts Politics Above Law

This post originally appeared on MontgomeryAdvertiser.com

Post submitted by HRC Alabama State Manager Eva Kendrick

We elected Roy Moore to be a Supreme Court justice, not a pastor. Yet, since 2001, when he was first elected to the Alabama Supreme Court bench, Moore has aggressively and consistently used his position of power to push his own personal religious beliefs. Now, after his year-plus, unethical crusade against the LGBTQ community, it is time for him to be removed from office.

Moore’s ethical troubles began more than a decade ago, when he secretively erected a monument of the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court in 2003, leading to subsequent ethics charges and his removal from the bench – not to mention national, negative media attention for our state. Now, after being re-elected to serve on the Supreme Court, he has found himself in another ethical firestorm in which he put his own politics above the law.

Since January 2015 when Judge Callie Granade struck down Alabama’s marriage ban, Chief Justice Moore has used his position on the state Supreme Court to block marriage equality in Alabama at every possible juncture. Following the ruling that found Alabama’s marriage ban unlawful, Moore wrote a letter to Governor Bentley requesting that the ruling be ignored as non-binding “judicial tyranny,” and informing the state’s probate judges that they could ignore the ruling. Since then, Moore has faced ethics charges for his behavior, all stemming from his actions taken against marriage equality for more than a year.

Moore was suspended from the Supreme Court in May 2016 when the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) leveled judicial ethics charges against him. Now, the Court of the Judiciary (COJ) have the final say on whether to make his suspension permanent. He had a hearing on Aug. 8, and another is scheduled for late September to decide Moore’s fate.

Chief Justice Moore is being represented by Mat Staver, of the Liberty Counsel – an organization that has been designated an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Most recently, the Liberty Counsel represented Kim Davis, the infamous Kentucky County Clerk who flouted the law by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The group also supports anti-LGBTQ efforts around the country.

Moore has been blatantly anti-LGBTQ at every turn of this ordeal: from his flagrant obstruction of marriage equality in Alabama to the counsel he sought out to appeal the charges leveled against him. And, again, he turned the glare of the national spotlight on our state.

For these reasons, the Human Rights Campaign purchased a billboard in Montgomery to call for the removal of Moore from office. We hope it serves as a reminder for Alabamians in Montgomery that Moore is unfit for office, and that his hateful rhetoric and dangerous behavior has no place in a court of law. Moore’s negative rhetoric only serves to empower those who wish harm upon the LGBTQ community, and he should not be allowed that platform.

It’s important to note that Moore’s actions don’t just go against the law; they go against a foundational principle of America. A key function of the judiciary is protecting the rights of the minority. When our founders envisioned an independent third branch of the government that would serve as a check on the power of a voting majority, they imagined judges who would serve as a check on political actions that would infringe upon the rights of citizens. Moore, as the highest judicial authority in Alabama, should take his role seriously as a protector of the rights of all – including LGBTQ Alabamians.

Moore was elected to enforce the law and protect the rights of all Alabamians; he swore to follow the laws and constitutions of Alabama and the United States – the latter of which expressly prevents state recognition of religion. Instead, he has chosen to use obstructionist legal tactics and discriminate against LGBTQ people from his position of power. Moore’s behavior goes directly against the ethical and legal requirements of his position, and it is time, once and for all, for him to be removed from our state’s high court.

www.hrc.org/blog/roy-moore-puts-politics-above-law?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Openly Transgender Athletes Notably Absent from Olympic Roster

While there are many talented and successful transgender athletes around the globe, there are no openly transgender athletes competing in the Olympic Games in Rio.

It was only earlier this year that the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decided to allow transgender athletes to compete without gender affirming surgery. Previously, transgender athletes were required to undergo surgery and wait two years after before competing.

While the IOC decision was a step forward, there are still competition conditions on transgender women. According to The Guardian, while transgender men can compete “without restriction,” transgender women are required to demonstrate that their testosterone levels have been below a certain threshold for at least a year.

Though there are no openly transgender Olympians in Rio, Rolling Stone reports that there are two athletes competing at the Olympics who are transgender.

“The new IOC regulations opened the 2016 Summer Games to transgender athletes, and according to IOC meeting records, two closeted transgender athletes will be competing in August,” Rolling Stone said. “The nationalities of the transgender athletes were not revealed.”

Though qualified transgender athletes exist and are even competing, there is a discouraging lack of visibility. However, Nike, in a groundbreaking ad aired during the Olympics, is featuring Chris Mosier, a transgender man and world class duathlete. The ad ended with two powerful words: Unlimited Courage. While Mosier made Team USA for the World Championships, the duatholon is currently not an Olympic sport, so Mosier is not competing in the Olympic Games.

“So when I made that decision to be out, to be public, it was very much in the idea that I didn’t see any other guys competing at a high level after a medical transition. I thought people should see that,” Mosier told ESPN. “And by people seeing me, that will impact their ability or their confidence to continue to play sports.”

The future for transgender athletes is promising.  Chloe Psyche Anderson will play women’s volleyball at a D-III school in the NCAA in the fall. Schuyler Bailar is a transgender swimmer at Harvard. These transgender athletes inspire younger trans athletes, like Matt Dawkins, a high school runner in New Jersey.

www.hrc.org/blog/openly-transgender-athletes-notably-absent-from-olympic-roster?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Daily Beast's Grindr-Baiting Is the Worst Invasion of Privacy

A straight man’s foray into gay hookup apps at the Olympic Village is a violation of journalistic integrity and a risk for closeted athletes.

www.advocate.com/media/2016/8/11/daily-beasts-grindr-baiting-worst-invasion-privacy

Latina Trans Woman Found Murdered in Her Home in Texas

Erykah Tijerina was found dead in her apartment on Monday. Police are investigating her death as a homicide; she is the 18th trans woman reported murdered in 2016. 

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/8/11/latina-trans-woman-found-murdered-her-home-texas

ISIS Murders Another 'Gay' Man in Mosul

Members of the terrorist group say victim had been found “guilty” of “corruption of thought” and “homosexual acts.”

www.advocate.com/world/2016/8/11/isis-murders-another-gay-man-mosul

Comedian Eric Andre: The Gay Interview

EXCLUSIVE interview with Eric Andre of Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show. Towleroad’s Mark Allen asks about the star’s LGBT fan base, his timely brand of comedy, and the question, “Is Eric Andre bisexual?”

You’ve probably seen Eric Andre’s face lately on posters for the new fourth season of The Eric Andre Show (pictured in a destroyed television studio), or Instagram photos of him lapping his tongue under the “Ranch Fountain” at his newly-opened Ranch Dressing Dispensary on Rivington Street in NYC, or perhaps being derided on Fox News and Brietbart.com for posing as a right-wing correspondent and crashing Alex Jones’ press booth at the 2016 Republican National Convention (where he got kicked out).

Or, you also may have seen more than his face, because Eric Andre loves going full frontal.

If you’ve never seen The Eric Andre Show before, brace yourself. Each episode begins with him violently destroying the studio set (often nude, and involving food, weapons, and fornication), then getting into fist fights with the cameramen and house band before exhaustedly plopping down behind a newly wheeled-out desk to treat his confused celebrity guests in horrible ways (who often storm out mid-interview).

 

It’s The Phil Donahue Show meets Salò.

 

It’s a fascinating train wreck of a television talk show. Is The Eric Andre Show the brave new future of entertainment? Is it yet another modern comedy excursion into the darker corners of surrealism? One thing’s for sure: you can’t look away. It’s The Phil Donahue Show meets Salò.

I thought I was alone in my appreciation of Eric Andre’s talents, but when I mentioned him to other gay friends, the reaction was always the same, “You’re a fan too? I thought I was the only one!” Turns out Eric has a sizable gay following. Why? Well, he’s sexy as hell, loves to get naked, and appears to have no boundaries. Queer people are naturally going to be curious.

Taboo-smashing female comics like Joan Rivers, Bette Midler and Amy Sedaris embraced queer sensibilities in their acts at the beginning of their careers while courting a mainstream audience, and counted gays as their initial fans.

Genre-breaking male comics like Andy Kaufmann, Lenny Bruce, and even Howard Stern all employed a more street-wise approach to queer subject matter, and inevitably attracted a sizable (if controversial) queer cult following, mostly because their mocking of society’s hang-ups branded them as outsiders.

 

he’s sexy as hell, loves to get naked, and appears to have no boundaries

 

The same can’t be said for male comedians like Andrew Dice Clay, whose one-dimensional jabs at “others” alienated them, and eventually his entire audience. The history of edgy male comics and gay subject matter is too complicated to map out here (Eddie Murphy anyone? Sam Kinison? How about Benny Hill?) So how do gay fans navigate it all?

Thirty years ago gays were some of the first to embrace the genius camp sensibility of Sandra Bernhard, but more recently, gays seemed almost late to the party appreciating Louis CK, long after his largely pro-gay stand-up routines were popular in hipster circles and already on television. Does the difference all boil down to gender?

Eric Andre employs adolescent-like mock violence, performance art hijinks, and cringe-inducing stunts to create what appears, on its surface, to be “bro comedy,” the type usually rife with groan-inducing racist, sexist and homophobic cliches. Yet Eric, who identifies as black and Jewish, seemingly pulls it off minus these tropes. Is a sequence of him getting fucked by Abe Lincoln homophobic? (he appears to be enjoying it). A few viewers might think so, but most probably won’t, especially considering Eric is the butt of the joke.

 

Is Eric Andre Bisexual?

 

I chatted with Eric via email about his unhinged approach to entertainment, his queer following, his sexuality, and what dangerous surprises are in store on the new season of The Eric Andre Show (Fridays at midnight on Adult Swim).

Mark Allen: Your show is apocalyptic and over the top, you humiliate unsuspecting people on the street and studio guests in crass ways. But it’s interesting because nothing on the show comes across as racist or phobic. Does this just happen?

Eric Andre: I think because it’s coming from a silly place, and not a hateful place. I’m also an elderly Jewish lesbian trapped in a 33 year old nerd’s body.

 

being overly PC actually backfires and doesn’t allow people to cope with tragedy.

 

Do you think “homophobic” jokes in the 1980s are different than ones that might be perceived so today? What’s changed?

EA: All motivation is defined by intention. If the intention is to hurt, divide, or belittle, it’s wrong; if it’s an attempt to cope with or make sense of tragedy, it’s something different. If it’s commenting on society’s flaws, versus adding to society’s flaws, I think the audience can tell.

With that said, I do think homophobia in the ’80s was more rampant and socially acceptable, like with Sam Kinison or Andrew Dice Clay. Those guys are fucking bigots. Sam Kinison was a sexist homophobic piece of shit and I’m glad he is dead. I want to jerk off on his tombstone.

Do you think certain comedians can get away with stuff? Like some say Sarah Silverman is Jewish so she’s allowed anti-Semitic jokes with a wink.

EA: That seems to be the rule. You can make fun of your own a lot easier than someone else’s. But really it’s all about intention. I think if the joke is in good taste — it’s a good joke. If there’s an intelligence behind the joke —- it’s a good joke. When I’m watching South Park I don’t think it’s written by neo-Nazis. They know exactly what they’re doing. I think that being overly PC actually backfires and doesn’t allow people to cope with tragedy. It makes people more tense. We have to laugh. Jeff Ross talks about comedy being medicine – you don’t want to water it down, because it will no longer be effective.

 

95% of rappers are macho and homophobic. Hahaha. And sexist as shit!

 

Okay, gay marriage is legal now, so let’s play Fuck/Marry/Murder. Eric, you have to pick three male celebrities or historical figures.

EA: I would Fuck Abe Lincoln. Marry Abe Lincoln. And Murder Abe Lincoln. And I would cuckold John Wilkes Booth while I did it!

Now there’s a Grindr headline. On your Instagram account you recently exposed and humiliated a follower who kept attacking you and your fans, using the word “faggot” a lot. You enlisted other followers to expose him. It’s not the first time you’ve done this. Is this part of the act or something else?

EA: I don’t think people know I actually read the comments on my IG.  Hence why dickheads come after me all the time.The best way to retaliate is to expose their bigotry. But all these assholes are brave on the internet. No one says that shit to my face.

You do have a gay following. I think it’s because you get naked a lot and seem to have no boundaries.

EA: Perhaps! I also frenched a cop on the show. So that helps. A hole is a hole has always been my motto.

I’ll try to get that chant going at next year’s pride parade.

EA: Yes!

That’s one of your most famous stunts from season two, running into a deli pursued by a cop and as he arrests you you both start making out. People’s reactions were hilarious! The cop was played by out comedian James Adomian. Why did you choose him?

EA: I needed the performer to commit and look like a cop. James Adomian fit the bill. Plus he is a good kisser.

So anyway, today people can take hormones and have surgery and become whatever gender they identify with, and everything in between. A complex sexual spectrum seems possible, and it’s kind of mind-blowing. Do you think “gay” even mean anything anymore?

EA: I think everyone is bi, right? There’s no such thing as sexual orientation, or race, or gender. Those are all obsolete man-made concepts. I’ll say it again, a hole is a hole.

So Eric Andre, would you say you’re coming out as bisexual?

EA: I’ll fuck anything that moves.

Okay then! Um… you’re a more serious actor in other comedy series like CBS’s 2 Broke Girls and ABC’s Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23. Speaking of holes, I loved the “Scepter” episode of the FXX series Man Seeking Woman when your character Mike was the anal sex slave for the Trackanon alien. How did you loosen up for that role?

EA: I put a Freddy Kruger glove up my ass and watched Pink Flamingos.

Did you go to Stella Adler? Okay different subject, you have good taste in rap. You’ve turned me onto a lot of weird rap artists I’ve never heard of on your Instagram. Why don’t more gays like rap?

EA: Because 95% of rappers are macho and homophobic. Hahaha. And sexist as shit!

 

Okay, now comes the part of the interview where I try and offend you.

EA: Okay.

What would your drag name be?

EA: Sasha SW 13th Avenue.

I, uh… I mean a friend of mine says he thinks your queer appeal is because you seem like an art school guy who likes to experiment and if somebody got you high enough you might… do stuff. Does this make you feel objectified?

EA: Not objectified enough!

A friend, a different one, says he likes you because you have “blow job lips.” Do you think my friend is being being sexist?

EA: Not sexist enough!

Another friend (total freak) says he wants to sit on your face until he crushes your skull. Don’t you think my friend is weird?

EA: Not weird enough!

My friend will keep that in mind! You recently opened a “Ranch Dressing Dispensary” on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. You’re obsessed with ranch dressing. Do you think this might be a Freudian symbol of male ejaculation or bukkake?

EA: Ranch is in the eye of the beholder…

EA: I try to sexually assault basketball star Roy Hibbert during an interview. There’s tons of male nudity this season. Don’t know if that’s enticing for the L’s but definitely for the G’s… and B’s… and some of the T’s! Can’t forget the QQIP2AA#H$’s!

What does LGBTQQIP2SAA stand for and why is it so long? I don’t even know, and I’m gay.

EA: I think it’s actually an old Mortal Kombat code.

Do you think gays should carry guns?

EA: Bottled water is more important. Stay hydrated.

John Waters has said being gay “isn’t enough anymore” to be culturally adventurous. Now that gays are more accepted in society many feel they’ve forsaken their edge as underground innovators, and others have become the boundary-pushers.

EA: Any gay person that thinks that should hang out in Russia for five minutes. It fucking sucks over there.

Well, my friends and I loved the first episode of the new season. Especially the zombie in the floor, and rapper T.I. getting so mad at you. I can’t wait to see you throw live rats at Stacy Dash this week!

EA: I love you!!! Thank you!

 

Mark Allen is a writer, performer and filmmaker living in New York.

The post Comedian Eric Andre: The Gay Interview appeared first on Towleroad.

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New Trailer for ‘True Life: We Are Orlando’ Shows Pulse Survivors’ Struggles – WATCH

MTV has just released a new trailer for the special episode of its show True Life dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Orlando massacre.

As previously reported, True Life: We Are Orlando follows four survivors of the Pulse tragedy, the deadliest mass shooting in American history that left 49 people dead.

In this latest trailer we hear more heart-wrenching details about the struggles the survivors are enduring.

Said one survivor, “People think that I got released from the hospital that I’m okay. I’m not okay. I have a hole in my back.”

Another said he remains haunted by the events of that fateful night in June: “The memory of the gunshots and screams keep me up at night. And when I finally do go to sleep, the events of that night keep replaying over and over again.”

In addition to airing on MTV, True Life: We Are Orlando will also be available for free on the MTV app, MTV.com, MTV On Demand and on iTunes.

The episode will also include the song “Hands” which Britney Spears, Mary J Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Derulo, Pink, Selena Gomez and others released last month.

Watch the new trailer, below.

The post New Trailer for ‘True Life: We Are Orlando’ Shows Pulse Survivors’ Struggles – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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