BREAKING: North Carolina Now Has Marriage Equality
Same-sex couples in the state began marrying shortly after a federal judge struck down the state’s ban about 5:30 p.m. today.
Trudy Ring
Lashes Off! Behind the Scenes With Bob the Drag Queen (VIDEO)
Lashes Off! Behind the Scenes With Bob the Drag Queen (VIDEO)
In a new Web series I sit down to chat with notable drag queen personalities. In this clip I interview Bob the Drag Queen.
WATCH:
Follow Bob the Drag Queen on Twitter @bobthedragqueen.
Marriage Momentum
Oops! James Franco Accidentally Posted A Dick Pic
Oops! James Franco Accidentally Posted A Dick Pic
Or did he? That’s the question that’s burning on the minds of Queerty’s editorial staff. Please reserve your judgements for the comments section, but hey, if you made it this far, that means you’re curious just like us.
This tip (just the tip) came via Gawker, where the diligent staff takes a much-needed closer look at one of the pictures James put up on his Instagram last weekend:
Not convinced? Gawker’s art director worked some magic to give you a clearer look:
There’s definitely something resting on James’ thigh, and we’re really on the fence here whether or not he’s flashing some peen.
Ever the investigative sleuths, Gawker went a step further to imagine the position he’d have to be in to achieve the shot:
What do you think? Is James showing off his franco or is it just time for us all to clock out for the weekend?
Dan Tracer
A Closer, Gayer Look at Oscar's Foreign Film Race
A Closer, Gayer Look at Oscar's Foreign Film Race
French stars Louis Garrell and Gaspard Ulliel have a dangerous liaison in “Saint Laurent”
As you may have heard last night AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) announced that a record 83 films will compete for favor in this year’s BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM showdown. This Oscar category has long been a specialty of mine and a couple of years back I even had the opportunity to speak about it on CNNi. The number of competing films and the media interest seem to grow each year. A dozen or so years ago when Oscar blogging first began to flourish, I was the only writer giving it a lot of attention and now virtually every movie outlet covers it, at least in list or press release format. The growing interest is somewhat odd since it becomes harder and harder for subtitled pictures to find audiences or get decent theatrical releases in the States.
Some movies with early heat in this category include Poland’s Ida, an amazing black and white drama about a nun discovering her family history is a must see (it’s available on DVD), Argentina’s Wild Tales, a raucuous crowd-pleasing collection of outre comedic stories that’s produced (but not directed) by Pedro Almodovar which is due in US theaters early next year, Belgium’s Two Days One Night, a socioeconomic drama starring Marion Cotillard in yet another incredible performance which opens on December 24th. And…. No, no. We’re getting sidetracked. Let’s stop there.
There are so many movies worth loving.
For now let’s look at movies (and their trailers) with something specific for LGBT audiences
AFTER THE JUMP…
Xavier Dolan, the Queer Canadian prodigy, at Cannes with “Mommy”
Canada’s Mommy
Multi-hyphenate wonder boy Xavier Dolan is only 25 and “Mommy” is his fifth feature. Three of his films are now available on Netflix Instant Watch which is a relief because he’s one of the most lauded international directors but has had a terrible time getting theatrical distribution in the US. Almost all of his movies have one some prize or another at Cannes. Mommy is his first feature without obvious queer content but the appeal is there from its BIG actress star turns to the volatile teen sociopath of indeterminate sexuality who causes all the drama. I am in love with this movie but it skews young and wild and AMPAS voters might be thrown by it. We’ll see. Mommy will supposedly be released in January in the US by Roadshow Attractions but it’s already a hit in Canada.
Finland’s Concrete Night
This is another entry without gay content but the director Pirjo Honkasalo and writer Pirkko Saissio are a famous lesbian filmmaking couple in Finland. The story is about two brothers with an undependable mother who, left to their own devices, turn to lives of crime.
Brazil’s The Way He Looks
This charming drama about a blind gay teenager falling in love is already a big favorite of gay audiences from its frequent festival appearances. (This feature was reviewed earlier here at Towleroad). Brazil hasn’t been nominated in the category since the classic Central Station (1998) though.
France’s Saint Laurent
This über stylish fashion biopic looks at Saint Laurent in all his addictive glory: the clothes, the dangerous sex, the drugs. I had mixed feelings about it but it’s beautiful to look at and the actors are all quite good. Will Oscar love it? They enjoy a biopic but its inarguably gay, almost confrontationally so, with its frequent full frontal nudity and even a gay orgy. It will be released by Sony Pictures Classics next year… though they’ll probably have to chop it up to get passed the MPAA unless they go NC-17 or Unrated.
Portugal’s What Now? Remind Me
and Switzerland’s The Circle
Oscar rarely nominates documentaries in this category. In fact they’ve only done it twice (both recently so maybe they’re warming to them?) with Waltz With Bashir and The Missing Picture. Portugal’s doc is an incredibly intimate nearly 3 hour film in which the filmmaker records his experience with experimental AIDS treatments. Switzerland’s entry is set in the 1950s and looks at one of the first gay liberation movements. It appears to be a hybrid of doc and narrative feature though as the scenes are acted.
Any others?
I’d have to see more of the entries to know if there is any more LGBT content or characters. But here are a few more films that might be of interest in a less direct way.
Masculinity as subject matter and internal struggle plays a role in Colombia’s Mateo as well as Sweden’s Force Majeure. In the latter film, the husband of a young family on a ski trip disappoints his wife with his reaction to a frightening avalanche on the second day of their five day vacation. The film becomes a brutally funny dissection of male ego, and marital strife. It’s one of the strongest films in competition (I fell crazy in love with it in Toronto) but whether or not Oscar warms to its chilly precision and cerebral comedy is still to be seen. Meanwhile in Mateo, which I have not seen, the titular character is a 16 year-old who joins a theater troupe at the request of his crime boss uncle who seeks incriminating evidence against the actors. In an early scene the boy refuses to do the touch-heavy “trust” exercizes among the troupe because “it’s for faggots” but as you can see from the movie poster (pictured below), he eventually embraces those tactile pleasures.
Gender studies enthusiasts should note that there are a lot of pictures, mostly from Middle Eastern and African countries with narratives that take on religious extremism, the subjugation of women, and sexual oppression: Ethiopia’s Difret and Pakistan’s Dukthar both feature women chafing against arranged marriages, in one case violently; Afghanistan’s A Few Cubic Meters of Love, Egypt’s Factory Girl, and South Africa’s Elelwani feature forbidden or impossible love stories given their social / religious climate; Nepal’s Jhola is a period drama about a widow who is to be burned alive because her husband has died and such is the custom; and, finally, Mauritania’s Timbuktu, their first submission ever, is about a violent Jihadist takeover of a desert village. It’s winning nearly universal raves and copious tears whenever it screens. It would not be surprising to see it among the nominees early next year. (It has a distributor for the US but no announced release date yet)
Finally, for those who love eye candy there are a number of period costume dramas: Hong Kong’s The Golden Era is a 3 hour biopic about a writer starring Tang Wei of 3 hour epic fame (her debut was Ang Lee’s incredible Lust Caution); Germany’s Beloved Sisters (pictured above) looks at an unconventional decades-spanning romance between two sisters and the poet they both love. He’s super hot in that very specific sickly poet way so if you were into Ben Whishaw in Bright Star, commence your drooling. It’s good but three hours long as well and opens in limited release on December 24th; Venezuela’s The Liberator, a historical epic about a war hero stars Edgar Ramirez (Carlos, Zero Dark Thirty) who qualifies as eye candy all by himself. A sad note, though. Venezuela’s selection of The Liberator, by some accounts a stodgy Oscar Bait choice, prevented one of the year’s best LGBT films from being sumbitted. The runner up in Venezuela’s voting at home was a film called Bad Hair (previously reviewed here at Towleroad) about a young biracial boy in the projects who is obsessed with getting his hair straightened and wearing fancy clothing. His mother, terrified that he might be gay, makes all sorts of questionable decisions to extinguish that flame. It’s an absolute must-see should you ever have the opportunity. (There are some indications that it will have a limited run in the US but specifics are hard to come by at this point)
We’ve only just scratched the surface, really, name-checking about a fourth of the lineup in this article. If you’d like to read more details, here is a handy chart/guide for all 83 films. This list will be narrowed to a finalist list of 9 films in a few months from which 5 will be Oscar-nominated. The 87th Academy Awards will be held on February 22nd, 2015 so start planning your parties.
Will the Academy fall for the charms of Brazil’s “The Way He Looks” ?
Nathaniel Rogers would live in the movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience. Follow him on Twitter @nathanielr.
Nathaniel_R
www.towleroad.com/2014/10/a-closer-gayer-look-at-oscars-foreign-film-race.html
PHOTOS: Meet West Virginia's Newlyweds
PHOTOS: Meet West Virginia's Newlyweds
On Thursday, West Virginia became the 25th state in the U.S. to allow same-sex couples the freedom to marry.
Sunnivie Brydum
www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/10/10/photos-meet-west-virginias-newlyweds
Cardinal Raymond Burke Takes Break From Vatican Synod To Say Ugly Things About Gay Relationships
Cardinal Raymond Burke Takes Break From Vatican Synod To Say Ugly Things About Gay Relationships
Vatican court head Cardinal Raymond Burke took his opposition to gay marriage to a new low in an interview with LifeSite News on Wednesday, calling same-sex relations “intrinsically disordered” and dangerous for children to be exposed to:
“We wouldn’t, if it were another kind of relationship — something that was profoundly disordered and harmful — we wouldn’t expose our children to that relationship, to the direct experience of it. And neither should we do it in the context of a family member who not only suffers from same-sex attraction, but who has chosen to live out that attraction, to act upon it, committing acts which are always and everywhere wrong, evil.”
The cardinal is currently engaged in the Vatican’s Synod on the Family, at which a handful of couples and families were invited to present questions and arguments to the assembled bishops as they assess the Catholic Church’s stance on various family-related issues.
Ron and Mavis Pirola, former members of the Pontifical Council for the Family, delivered comments to the synod on Monday encouraging parishes to welcome gay couples. The Pirolas shared the example of a couple in their community, who struggled over whether to invite their son’s same-sex partner to a Christmas celebration, which they ultimately decided to do.
“They fully believed in the Church’s teachings and they knew their grandchildren would see them welcome the son and his partner into the family,” the Pirolas said, adding, “What a model of evangelization for parishes as they respond to similar situations in their neighborhood!”
Cardinal Burke did not agree, however, and told LifeSite:
“If homosexual relations are intrinsically disordered, which indeed they are — reason teaches us that and also our faith — then, what would it mean to grandchildren to have present at a family gathering a family member who is living in a disordered relationship with another person?”
Burke, along with German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller and three other conservative cardinals, released a book just days before the synod convened entitled “Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church.” The book challenged apparent moves by more moderate Catholic voices to reassess church teachings on gay marriage, divorce and other key family-related topics.
In February Burke also warned against the “false praise” of those who read too much into Pope Francis’ iconic words, “Who am I to judge?”, when it comes to the church’s stance on gay relationships.
In response to Burke’s declaration that gay relationships are “intrinsically disordered,” National Catholic Reporters’ Michael Sean Winters called the cardinal “tone deaf” and said such statements “make the Church look foolish and mean-spirited.”
“This man’s inability to speak with even a whiff of human compassion is intrinsically disordered if you ask me,” Winters said.
Read more from RNS:
VATICAN CITY (RNS) From questions of welcoming a gay son home for Christmas to denying the sacraments for the children of gay and lesbian parents, an ongoing debate on the Catholic Church’s approach to homosexuality has raised the hopes of some LGBT advocates and provoked the ire of the church’s right wing.
At the two-week Synod on the Family convened by Pope Francis here, the issue of homosexuality is competing for air time with similar questions of denying Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics or how to respond to couples that live together outside of marriage.
But with a rapidly shifting legal landscape, and a pope who famously asked “Who am I to judge?”, the debate over homosexuality is eliciting personal and charged reactions from all corners of the church.
The controversial debate was unwittingly fired up by Australians Ron and Mavis Pirola, the parents of four and delegates to the church family summit.
The Sydney couple told nearly 200 bishops about friends who had invited their gay son and his partner home for Christmas.
“They fully believed in the church’s teachings and they knew their grandchildren would see them welcome the son and his partner into the family,” the couple told those assembled in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall. “Their response could be summed up in three words: ‘He’s our son.’”
American hard-liner Cardinal Raymond Burke shot back on Thursday (Oct. 9) that children should be protected from “exposure” to gay relationships, which he rejected as “evil.”
“If it were another kind of relationship — something that was profoundly disordered and harmful — we wouldn’t expose our children to that relationship, to the direct experience of it,” Burke, who oversees the Vatican court system, told LifeSiteNews.
“And neither should we do it in the context of a family member who not only suffers from same-sex attraction, but who has chosen to live out that attraction, to act upon it, committing acts which are always and everywhere wrong, evil.”
But that’s exactly the approach that sends gay and lesbian Catholics — and members of their extended families — running away from the church, said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of the largest Catholic gay and lesbian rights group, DignityUSA.
“It is clear this ‘love the sinner’ but ‘hate the sin’ approach does not work,” she said from Boston. “It is inappropriate in dealing with gay people.”
In a Vatican briefing Friday, church leaders said the bishops and other delegates were considering the children who bear the “heavy burdens” caused by divorce or other “irregular situations” — code words for nontraditional families headed by unmarried parents, or gay and lesbian parents.
The synod has also been discussing ways of offering the sacraments to the children of gay couples, something Duddy-Burke said has been used as a “political weapon.” Though not widespread, some gay Catholics have reported obstacles in seeking baptism for their children, or enrolling them in Catholic schools.
“It is absolutely wrong for the church to use its sacraments as a political weapon,” she said. “It is happening with baptisms, weddings and funerals. I have two kids. Our kids should be full members of the church like their parents.”
Francis has said the church must be more compassionate toward the gay community, although he has never argued for changing church teaching that homosexuality is “objectively disordered” or suddenly moved to allow gay marriage.
Nonetheless, the change in tone that Francis has called for — and which seems to be finding support at the synod — has given LGBT advocates reason for hope.
“People are angry that the bishops take the side of discrimination rather than equality,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of Maryland-based New Ways Ministry, a gay Catholic group that has long been at odds with the American hierarchy.
“(But) they think Francis sees them as brothers and sisters. They don’t feel they are outsiders anymore. Francis has changed the language, and in this synod we are seeing bishops calling for change in pastoral practice.”
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest at America magazine and author of “Jesus: A Pilgrimage,” said he, too, is encouraged.
“It is a huge step forward that the synod is hearing from people speaking warmly about LGBT people. And it’s a big step that many bishops now advocate a more pastoral stance to the community,” he said from New York. “Even better would be if the bishops heard from an LGBT person sharing his or her own experiences of being Catholic.”
Tom Daly for NCOD
Matt Barber Claims That By 'Blessing Sin' SCOTUS Will Incur 'The Wrath Of God': LISTEN
Matt Barber Claims That By 'Blessing Sin' SCOTUS Will Incur 'The Wrath Of God': LISTEN
Following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear appeals of lower court rulings on same-sex marriage, many conservative pundits have taken to the airwaves to express their unceasing frustration. Matt Barber and Mat Staver from Liberty Counsel have been particularly peeved, warning Americans that we are “tempting the wrath of God” in a segment of their “Faith and Freedom” program.
Right Wing Watch reports:
On an episode set to run on Tuesday, Barber warns that “homosexual conduct is demonstrably and explicitly, throughout the Old and New Testament, called sin. And when you have a sin-centered redefinition of marriage and the government puts its official stamp on sin, you have the government blessing sin, well, sin cannot be blessed, it cannot be sanctified.”
By trying to do so, Barber said, America is “tempting the wrath of God.”
Thanks, SCOTUS, for recognizing how beautiful and equal our “sin” can be!
Listen to the audio, AFTER THE JUMP…
Joseph Ehrman-Dupre
Windy City Times: LGBT-Friendly Town Hall Senior Apts Open 10-10-2014
Windy City Times: LGBT-Friendly Town Hall Senior Apts Open 10-10-2014
Heartland Housing and Center on Halsted Oct. 10, 2014 joined with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowsky, State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, Ald. Tom…
