My Udo My Udo What Have Ye Done

JA from MNPP here. Have you read this phenomenally odd and delightful interview with the actor Udo Kier at The AV Club? Odd and delightful are the two words I'd always use whenever mentioning Mr. Kier, but he really brings it this time around.

Over at MNPP  I picked out my fifteen favorite quotes from the interview, but I'm so oddly delighted in this chat's wake I've got to just keep on thinking about Udo, and what better way to do that then to mercilessly pick apart the work he's done over the years with a completely frivolous list. He's worked so much in such a vast array of projects that there are dozens of his performances that I've missed (I don't know how this is possible but it appears I've never seen any of the films he's done with Fassbinder, for example), but out of the many I have seen here are my five favorite performances of his.

5 Favorites



Lee Meyers, My Son My Son What Have Ye Done - I don't think it's often that Udo gets picked to play a straight man to somebody else's nuttery, but when stacked up against a way out there Michael Shannon it's not only possible, it's enthralling.

NSFW image after the jump

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Link a Virgin

<-- Boy Culture Madonna in Interview, interviewed by auteur Gus Van Sant. They even discuss movies and Milk? Can't wait to read the whole thing
Vanity Fair Oscar winning moms and their offspring. Photo Gallery
/Film Does Disney have eyes on stage musicals based on Romy & Michelle, Coyote Ugly, Shakespeare in Love and more?
MNPP even horror buffs are hating this Human Centipede movie
Deadline Hollywood Roman Polanski breaks his silence. This is the whole statement. I find this whole tawdry decades old story so sad but the public reaction even more disturbing. Whether or not one thinks Polanski should come to the US and be sentenced it is very clear reading the comments on virtually any site/blog discussing this that for a huge swath of people nothing short of a death sentence would ever satiate them
NY Post Johnny Depp heroics. "straighten up your life"
30 Ninjas meaty interview with Jake Gyllenhaal on both Prince of Persia and Duncan Jones's Source Code
Movie Insider Green Lantern production imagery?
E.T. Steven Spielberg has chosen War Horse as his next film. That means he'll have two pictures coming out for 2011 (TinTin is also on the way). Isn't it strange how Spielberg always seems to be either completely absent or doubling up? Other two picture years: 1989, 1993 (what a year that was!), 1997 and 2002

We Can't Wait: WHAT'S WRONG WITH VIRGINIA

Craig here with the next "We Can't Wait. Summer and Beyond" post.

What's Wrong with Virginia
Directed by: Dustin Lance Black
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Emma Roberts, Amy Madigan

Jennifer Connelly on set in Michigan

Synopsis: A drama in which a psychologically disturbed woman (Connelly) who has engaged in a 20-year illicit love affair with a sheriff (Harris), who is running for the state senate, is tested when her son begins a relationship with his daughter (Roberts).
Brought to you by: Killer Films and TicTock Studios (producers Scott J. Brooks, Hopwood DePree and Christine Vachon)
Expected release date: TBA (late 2010)

Director/Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black working out Virginia's problems

Dustin Lance Black, who last year won an Original Screenplay Oscar for Gus Van Sant's Milk, directs his second feature, which stars Connelly and Harris - who are here appearing in their fourth film together, after Waking the Dead, Pollock and A Beautiful Mind. Connelly may just be on target for her second Oscar nomination next year (and possible win?), that is if it gets a timely release; its credentials (see above) suggest Oscar could well be all over it. And it's apparently being prepped for a premiere at this year's Cannes, too. Van Sant is exec-producing with none other than Lisa Simpson! (Yeardley Smith, who also has a supporting role). Killer Films' Vachon (Far from Heaven, Boys Don't Cry, I Shot Andy Warhol and a whole host of other superb, leftfield gems) has the edgy smarts to make this drama an unmissable awards contender. This all sounds like a bit of an eclectic team all told - and if it's as intriguing and tantalising as it promises, then I'll be excited to see if it all goes right for Virginia.

So, who wants to know what's wrong with Virginia?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.

Directors of the Decade: Gus Van Sant

Robert here, continuing my series of the directors that shaped the past 10 years. Most of the directors I’ve written about have been either newcomers or have taken their earlier success and continued it into the aughts. Not many have reinvented themselves for this decade. But today’s man did: Gus Van Sant

Number of Films: Six
Modern Masterpieces: Oh who’s to say. I don’t expect this to be echoed but I’m going with Gerry.
Total Disasters: No. Psycho was last decade.
Better than you remember: All three entries in the death trilogy have gotten somewhat of a bad rep.
Awards: Nominated for Best Director for Milk and the Palme D’or for Elephant
Box Office: With over 51 mil, Finding Forrester understandably tops the more experimental fare.
Critical Consensus: With a Rotten Tomatoes score over 90%, Milk understandably tops the more experimental fare.
Favorite Actor: Matt Damon in two movies (even though one was a cameo)

Let’s talk about:
Death. Not that anyone wants to talk about death. But Gus Van Sant directed the “death trilogy” this decade so we don’t have much of a choice. But first we should dispense of Finding Forrester. Forrester is a fine movie but as a part of Van Sant's filmography it's mostly a leftover from the late 90's. Mostly it suggested that Van Sant was headed toward prestige picture hell, destined for a career in predictable Oscar-bait despite his early art house hits. Luckily for all of us, Van Sant quickly decided it was time to turn a corner. Van Sant’s desired a return to the simplicity of film making (both financially and narratively). Naturally, it lead him to minimalism.

When taken separately, the films that make up the "death trilogy", Gerry, Elephant and Last Days are unique, ponderous and fascinating movies. When taken together as a trilogy, you’ll find even more layers. Remember those basic conflicts you learned in school? Man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. himself? Well Van Sant presents us with minimalist, unbiased death in three ways: lost in the desert, at the hands of murderers and suicide. Nature, man, himself; Gerry, Elephant, Last Days. And what does it mean? It all fits in perfectly with Van Sant’s career-long exploration of youths out of place in the world. We watch them wander and die… too young. But if they’d lived full lives would they have ever done more than wander and die?

Gus Van Sant

However, the trilogy isn’t just a thematic statement. Van Sant is making a cinematic statement about amount of context needed to frame these characters and their lives (and deaths). There’s little in the form of written scripts here. Yet where there’s no text there’s usually plenty of subtext. Van Sant is demonstrating that the camera, lighting and aesthetics can tell us all we need to know about the characters’ lives in order to contextualize their deaths. And he credits the work of John Cassavetes and Bela Tarr with bringing him to this new understanding.

Now we’re up to Paranoid Park, a film that shares much in common with the preceding three but also has a more direct narrative. It continues Van Sant’s interest in the young and death plays a big role indeed, but there may be something else going on. Some have suggested that the film is a metaphor for a young man’s first gay experience (an interpretation that Van Sant has not rejected). But more so it seems to encompass the entirety of the confusion, ambivalence and guilt that comes with being a teenager.

And after all that we come to T.S. Eliot. "the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” Gus Van Sant returned to prestige pictures with Milk and his time spent wandering in the desert, studying at school and channeling his inner conflict allowed him to create one of the most thoughtful, honest biopics of the current biopic craze. And chances are Van Sant’s films will continue to benefit from the experiences he gained by returning to indie-dom in the aughts. His next (as yet untitled) film is described on IMDb with one sentence “A tale of a two young people who share a preoccupation with mortality.” Fantastic, where do I buy my ticket?
*

The Best Auteur-Made Experimental Improvised Independent Film of 2002

Rob here, looking back at 2002. At the end of each year, if you're like me, you assess. Best Overall Film? Best Comedy? Best Documentary? and of course Best Auteur-Made Experimental Improvised Independent Film. Now each year that last category could have dozens of possibilities. But in 2002, the clear winner was Gerry

Gerry was the first film in Gus Van Sant's Death Trilogy and follows two friends named Gerry (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) lost in the desert as they wander around and around.

No one is going to accuse Gerry of being the best film of 2002. It lacks a certain... gravitas that most people require for that distinction. Even though I must say as time passes those who've seen it seem to like it more and more. Best or not, Gerry is just so damn interesting, and rather charming. Among other things it's interesting how Van Sant can make the sound of rocks and sand under walking feet go from a rather pleasant ambient-noise to a slow harbinger of doom. Among other things it's charming how Damon and Affleck can pull off dialogue like that "I crows-nested up here to scout about the ravine when you Gerried the rendezvous" to explain how Affleck finds himself on the top of a huge rock formation.

In fact the more I think about Gerry, the more I ask myself things like "why shouldn't it be a contender for the best of the year?" (also "why can't I use my name as a verb?"). Heck it's enough to make me suggest that when it came to respect, recognition and accolades in 2002, Gerry got downright Robbed.
*

Out, Rich and Powerful. Envy Them!

I can't resist a list. I try to resist, I do. Out Magazine just released their list of the 50 most powerful gays in the world. They've judged them on

1. political clout
   
2. cultural resonance
   
3. individual wealth
   
4. personal profile... whatever that means

I don't know why they couldn't have made it a Top 51 so that I could appear. I mean have they forgotten

1. How I campaigned for Meryl Streep's birthday to be a Federal Holiday and for her face to be carved into Mount Rushmore and both things came to pass? [shut up!]
   
2. How I invented* actressexuality and the blogosphere totally uses the word now?
   
3. HA HA HAhaha haha... um, this is not funny. Disqualified!
4. I didn't understand what 'personal profile' meant anyway.
   

Maybe if they had a Top 1,000,001 powerful gays and lesbians list, I'd make that one ??? I'm losing the thread. Oh yes, power. And those who have it. Like many a website that thrives on "page views" Out has made the list hard to navigate so that you have to click on 50 different pages to read it. So I've done the work for you. Here are the ranks useful to our purposes here at the Film Experience i.e. people that are involved in movies and/or narrative television. It's not a list of out actors (like that list I made some time ago) but of the very successful / powerful and mostly offscreen movers and shakers.

• #10 David Geffen, the G in Dreamworks SKG. Remember that hilarious rumor in the 90s that he was married to Keanu Reeves. HA! The internet is so weird sometimes.
  
• #14 Gus Van Sant, Milk delivery man. I hope he gets another shot at Oscar. It's quite an interesting filmography and singular too, despite all the borrowing from Bela Tarr.
  
• #18 Scott Rudin, Oscar Lust in Humanoid Form. See also: Julie & Julia, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men, Notes on a Scandal, The Queen, The Hours, Closer, Iris...
• #25 Dustin Lance Black, screenwriter/Oscar winner/ridiculously young looking 35 year old. I'm curious as to how he'll follow Milk up (I'm talking features... not MTV telefilms)
• #26 Bryan Lourd & Kevin Huvane, CAA partners. If someone made a movie about CAA it'd probably be as crazy / shady as SD-6 on Alias or possibly the Dollhouse, don't you think?

Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible and with his actor boyfriend David Burtka (who was excellent in Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby some years back Off Broadway). Burtka is from Michigan like myself and one of my best friends from high school even knows him *gag* [/name dropping]. Blah blah blah... In short, if NPH were a movie star, I would probably never stop talking about him. You've been spared!

• #28 Neil Patrick Harris, TV star. I love NPH but mostly because he sings so beautifully and happens to be hilarious. That said, I haven't seen How I Met Your Mother. I can't do laugh track shows anymore. I honestly can't and I have tried. Even the funny ones make me cringe. 30 Rock, Sex & the City and Arrested Development among others have spoiled me forever. I will laugh when I damn well please, thank you very much, TV suits.
  
• #29 Michael Patrick King, Sex & the City svengali
  
• #35 Wanda Sykes. Hilarious diva. Also moonlights as cartoon animals with alarming frequency.
  

Unprolific Jodie: Only three lead roles this entire decade?
Prolific Greg: 1 movie, 6 tv series this decade alone. Writing/producing Green Lantern

• #36 Jodie Foster. I'm a smidge annoyed that the gay media keeps saying she's out because she mentioned her partner Cydney once at an industry function. That's technically "out" but if you adjust for the proportional scale of being a household name and one of the most famous respected celebrities on the planet, Jodie is still a stealth lesbian. I also find it hilarious that the article mentions her Leni Riefenstahl biopic. Like that's ever going to happen. That's becoming as funny / fantastical as every new casting announcement for Flora Plum. It's too bad really that she never gets anything off the ground because I'm confident that both those movies would be way more fascinating than the next thriller she'll inevitably agree to star in next.
  
• #38 Tom Ford, He Who Whispers in Naked Keira's Ear. His debut feature as a writer/director A Single Man starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore is due this year. But there's always that fashion icon thang for a safety net. What a safety net, huh?
  
• #47 Greg Berlanti TV man. I once hated him (long story but it involved The Broken Hearts Club) I have since learned the error of my ways and am completely addicted to Brothers & Sisters. He's totally gorgeous and talented. So in a sense, yes, I still hate him.
• #49 Simon Halls and Stephen Huvane of PMK/HBH. Their PR firm represents Jennifer Aniston, Julianne Moore, Uma Thurman, Anne Hathaway and Neil Patrick Harris. (4 out of 5 ain't bad!)
  

Now that I'm done sharing this information I've realized I have no idea what these lists are for. To make mere civilians jealous?

* Technically speaking George Cukor invented it. Or maybe Warren Beatty. But they didn't name it, did they?!

The Top Dozen Films of the Year

Year in Review Part 5 of 5

And we've finally come to it...

Generally the making of a top ten list is cause for Sophie's Choice style agony but drafting 2008's list was unusually pleasant. Which is to say that the best films this year weren't as aggressively audacious or as eager to thrown down artistic and technical gauntlets as There Will Be Blood and No Country were last year (with the possible exception of Steve McQueen's prison drama Hunger which opted not to open in New York, thus making it ineligible for my list). Perhaps filmmakers were ahead of the curve and foresaw the wave of cautious optimism that was about to start rolling around the world. Consider the turn about from the following filmmakers who are no strangers to dour moods: Mike Leigh opted for cheer and generosity of spirit, Woody Allen made his sunniest film (quite literally) in years, and Gus Van Sant understood that "you gotta give them hope".

Honorable Mentions / Runners Up

Moodily stalking this year's top ten films, is a lonely Swedish girl who reluctantly goes by the name of "Eli". She's 12 years old. She's been 12 years old for a very very long time. She's both the love interest and the monster in the haunting horror flick Let the Right One In. Director Tomas Alfredson obviously has filmmaking in his blood (his dad, brother and girlfriend are also in the business) and his breakout hit pulses with memorable creepy imagery and smart directorial choices, especially in its first half...

READ THE REST
for thoughts on Burn After Reading, A Christmas Tale, The Class, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Let the Right One In, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Reprise, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler and an adorable Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth Class (also known as WALL•E)

Milk, Finally Spilled

the trailer



Sean Penn looks and sounds pretty great, right? Oscar Nom #5 coming right up. But between this and W., is Josh Brolin planning to be the most despicable person alive this fall (onscreen I mean)? Perhaps he got jealous of Javier Bardem's malevolent awards spree last year.
*

Kelly @ the Beach

Kelly Lynch sprawled out on the sand for a photoshoot back in 1989. She was 30 years old.


Does anyone else remember her? 1989 was an important year in her career. She was getting attention for her sparkplug part in Drugstore Cowboy (a fine rental choice if you haven't seen it). Gus Van Sant handed her the funniest line in the movie, delivered to her always high boyfriend Matt Dillon

You never fuck me and I always have to drive.

Like many young actresses A list opportunities didn't really pan out (the competition is insane. Not for the faint of heart these acting careers) but in the right roles she was a keeper. I loved her butch lesbian in Three of Hearts, too.

Time capsule: While Kelly was stretched on the beach, The Little Mermaid was beaching herself and restoring Disney to its former animated hit-machine glory (retrospective). Tim Burton's Batman was the toast of mainstream moviegoers and an archeologist named Indiana Jones was also back in theaters ... again. Franchises made up nearly the entire top ten of 1989. The past nineteen years have noticeably altered many Hollywood careers but they haven't altered moviegoing tastes much. It's still Indy, Batman, franchises and animated films that pack movie houses.


The only thing you'd never see today: Driving Miss Daisy was in that year's top ten grossers. Oscar bait and/or period films rarely rock the multiplex anymore. The audience for them apparently never leaves their TV sets now. I hate to sound supportive of something like Miss Daisy (yeesh, someone hand me some soap. I feel dirty) but here's to variety. It would help the cinema a lot if audiences still wanted a little bit o' that and a little bit o' this on their movie menu. Man cannot live on superheroes and franchises alone. Man will try. Man will eventually get hungry for something else. Maybe in nineteen more years. Here's to 2027!

Paranoid Park

My memories of Paranoid Park, the latest high school head trip from Gus Van Sant (Last Days) are fuzzy at best. But rather than skip a review because I saw the movie months ago at the New York Film Festival, why not acknowledge that Van Sant's recent forays into art cinema sometimes feel fuzzy even as you're watching them. So discuss it I shall. Pardon the haze.

Gus Van Sant began his career making fringe films like Mala Noche (1985) and quickly began attracting name stars and wide acclaim for films like Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and My Own Private Idaho (1991) --both are must sees if you haven't had the pleasure. After the mainstream Oscar breakthrough that was Good Will Hunting (1997) it became harder to spot the auteur in him. Hunting, for its charms, could have been made by a number of people. And try drawing a line between Hunting and Psycho (1998) through Finding Forrester (2000). When you end up in the desert in Gerry (2003), you will feel completely lost. But maybe Van Sant had to lose himself this way to find the auteur within again...

Full Review @ Zoom-In
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We Can't Wait #4 Milk

Directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Gerry, Elephant, Psycho, My Own Private Idaho, etcetera)
Starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, Emile Hirsch and many more
Photos on this page from Towleroad which has been doing a smashing job documenting this film
Synopsis a biopic on the life and times of slain gay activist Harvey Milk, the Mayor of Castro Street. If you're young you're forgiven for not knowing much about him but by all means rent the Oscar winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. You won't forget it.
Brought to you by Focus Features (who still haven't won the Best Picture Oscar for all they've done for the cinema. Argh!)
Expected Release Date November 2008

Nathaniel: Hollywood has made roughly 278 biopics in the past 8 years and I'm done. I'm so tired of them. And then... lo and behold, someone (in this case Gus Van Sant) decides to make one about someone ( in this case Harvey Milk) who actually deserves one and whose life matters in ways that aren't already dusty with history --no offense to anyone but do the Elizabeth movies really tell us anything we need to know about our lives now? And what more is there to be learned from tales of famous musicians who are also drug addicts?

So I cautiously await the most high profile gay film since Brokeback Mountain. Are you feeling the same or have you thrown caution to the wind and find yourself expecting a miracle movie?

Gabriel: The studio clearly has Brokeback: The Next Generation as its model, doesn't it? Leaking photos to gay blogs, inviting Perez Hilton to the set...the "community" is definitely being courted. It's too early to know, of course, whether the film will be great -- or whether it will have a watershed critical moment, like Brokeback Mountain had at the Venice Film Festival when its awards momentum really took off.

But for anyone who knows the Harvey Milk story (or who sees the excellent documentary, The Times Of Harvey Milk), you know that there's an epic tale to be told here, replete with cinema-friendly metaphors, heroics, tragedies, and spirit. I'm excited about Milk for its overflowing potential more than anything. It could, realistically, be a classic for the ages. I'm not sure I can say that about the new Harry Potter flick.

<-- Josh Brolin as Dan White, Milk's killer

Glenn: Unlike the others, I am anticipating the arthouse skater boys of Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park more, with Milk place just behind it (literally, one place after it). I have affection of Van Sant's more mainstream fare (I even like Psycho), and Milk seems like it's going to play itself right down the middle. A potentially Oscar-buzzing biopic of an important political and social figure, but playing right into the queer sensibilities that Van Sant is obviously fond of exploring but usually with more intimate filmmaking.

The initial images to leak from the set are comforting, unabashed homosexuality (and between Sean Penn and James Franco no less. yum) is always great to see from a film of this matter and it will be interesting to see how tradition audiences take yet again to the "queering up" of a very old-fashioned genre. A Beautiful Mind this ain't (or at least it doesn't appear to be at this stage), which is about as good a thing as I possibly hope.

Sean Penn and James Franco as lovers

Gabriel:

I agree that James Franco making out with a boy is super yummy. Even if it has to be Sean Penn. But can't Taye Diggs have a cameo or something?

Joe: I don't think it's a stretch to say that this film will be getting the most coverage, scrutiny, expectation, and enthusiasm around the blogs I frequent. As it should be -- when gay subject matter goes mainstream, it's a big deal as to how it's received. Just as Ang Lee ended up being the perfect director for Brokeback, I think Van Sant fits perfectly with the more political Milk story. It's the politics of it that makes me think Milk will end up being a tougher sell than Brokeback as far as the general population is concerned (on that level, I suppose Sean Penn doesn't help much either), but I have reason to hope that Van Sant has it in him to dazzle with the artistry and then bring the politics home in a way that can't be denied. So, yeah, my hopes are already super inflated.

Emile Hirsch with 70s fro --->

MaryAnn: Ah, the queer agenda: human rights, freedom, happiness. You commies, you. Why do you hate America? :->

Seriously, any movie that rattles the mainstream like Brokeback Mountain did is catnip to me, and this director and this cast have some major potential to do just that. I'm all over the place with Van Sant -- I hated Elephant but loved Gerry, loved Good Will Hunting but hated Finding Forrester -- but I think he's probably one of the few directors who can find a middle ground between appealing to the mainstream while rocking their world at the same time. We'll see.

Nathaniel: Yes we will. And on opening night no less (if not sooner)

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the countdown
#1 Synecdoche, New York / #2 Burn After Reading / #3 Australia / #4 Milk / #5 Blindness / # 6 Doubt / #7 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button / #8 Revolutionary Road / #9 The Dark Knight / #10 Sex & The City: The Movie / #11 The Lovely Bones / #12 Wall-E / #13 Stop-Loss / #14 The Women / #15 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince / Introduction / Orphans
*

Harvey Milk Casting: Gayer and Gayer

I'm starting to feel delinquent about my lack of posts in regards to competing Harvey Milk film projects, either of which could be the big gay drama we've hoped for in the tumbleweed quiet after Brokeback Mountain. Though I've never written about it, The Times of Harvey Milk (which won the documentary Oscar for 1984) is one of my favorites. I hope you'll all consider renting it before either of the Milk biopics arrive sometime in 2008/2009.

Towleroad, everyone's favorite online gay news source, has some exciting news regarding the Gus Van Sant version of the Harvey Milk film. As you probably know Sean Penn has the Oscar bait lead role of the slain gay activist and Mayor of Castro Street, Milk himself. More casting has been announced and we're talking Victor Garber (Alias) and TONY winners Stephen Spinella (Angels in America) and Denis O'Hare (Michael Clayton) in supporting roles. It's nice to see that Van Sant and his team (casting by Francine Maisler) are casting out gay actors for some of the roles. Previously announced cast members include bigger names like Josh Brolin (yes!), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) and James Franco (Spider-Man) who will play Milk's main man.


The Gus Van Sant film, a Focus Features production, is currently in pre-production but the competing Bryan Singer version of the story is on hold due to the WGA Strike. Either way it's heartening to see backing happening for two competing gay themed dramas both of which are being helmed by famous and out directors. Progress!

National Coming Out Day: Queer Hollywood

Hollywood movies would be more dynamic --or at least more surprising --if there were more diversity in the faces, voices, genders and sexual orientations of the people in front of and behind the camera. We could use more people of color, women and GLBT talent willing to bring their own unique perspective to the movies. So today on National Coming Out Day we celebrate one of the underrepresented brave minorities of Hollywood.


Out Writers, Directors
[Links take you to to official sites or IMDB pages]
Pedro Almodovar -Spain's greatest living filmmaker and the man behind the kissable Volver, the Oscar winning Talk To Her the "fag noir" Bad Education and many other amazing films. I like him... a lot. OK, I lurve him
Jane Anderson Writer/director of The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio and the TV movies Normal and When Billie Beat Bobby
Gregg Araki -His most recent critical triumph was Mysterious Skin but he's got the Anna Faris stoner comedy Smiley Face awaiting release. Previous credits include The Doom Generation and The Living End
Alan Ball The creator of TV classic Six Feet Under. His current projects are Nothing is Private (awaiting release) and HBO's True Blood (a vampire series)
Clive Barker Horror novelist who also writes and directs his own adaptations including the famous Hellraiser which is getting a remake

Greg Berlanti He directed the popular gay film Broken Hearts Club but his real contribution is executive producing major television series including Everwood, Dirty Sexy Money and current favorite Brothers & Sisters (related B&S post)
Bill Condon The director of Dreamgirls and Kinsey. Oscar winning screenwriter of Gods and Monsters.
Lisa Cholodenko Director of Cavedweller, Laurel Canyon and the terrific, leztastic High Art with Oscar worthy performances from Ally Sheedy and Patty Clarkson (neither were nominated. grrrr)
Stephen Daldry Oscar friendly director of The Hours and Billy Elliott. He's got two promising films in the works: The Reader with Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes and the ambitious adaptation of Michael Chabon mammoth bestseller The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Er... good luck with that Stephen.
Marleen Gorris Dutch director of Antonia's Line, Mrs Dalloway and the upcoming Heaven and Earth

John Greyson Director of gay indies like Proteus and Lilies (please do see the latter --good stuff). Anyone know where he's gone to since Proteus?
Todd Haynes One of the greatest filmmakers in the world. He'll be expanding his fame and gathering more acclaim when I'm Not There, his Bob Dylan picture opens next month. He's already made at least two masterpieces: Far From Heaven and [safe]. Haynes posts
Nicholas Hytner Theater director who occassionally dabbles in the movies: History Boys, Center Stage, The Crucible among them
Dan Ireland Director of Passionada, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and Jolene
Miranda July The performance art charmer from Me and You and Everyone We Know is dating Mike Mills (Thumbsucker) but has been characterized as openly bisexual and "a queer woman" in many a profile
Tom Kalin He disappeared after Swoon his Leopold and Loeb queer indie but he's finally made another film: Savage Grace with Julianne Moore --coming soon.

Joe Mantello Broadway mover and shaker but no movies since Love! Valour! Compassion!
Rob Marshall Director of Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha and the upcoming musical Nine with Javier Bardem and Catherine Zeta-Jones
John Maybury Director of The Jacket and Love is the Devil... so you have him to thank for that shot of Daniel Craig naked in the bathtub (pre-Bond)
John Cameron Mitchell The multi-hyphenate artistic force behind neo classics Shortbus and Hedwig and the Angry Inch
François Ozon French auteur. He brought you the fabulous gallic divas of 8 Women. Past credits include Swimming Pool and Under the Sand. His new film starring Romola Garai is called Angel

Kimberly Peirce Director of Boys Don't Cry and the 2008 Iraq war soldier drama Stop Loss starring a who's who of young Hollywood including Ryan Phillipe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Victor Rasuk and Channing Tatum
Angela Robinson Director of Debs and Herbie: Fully Loaded
Don Roos Writer director of the highly watchable Happy Endings and The Opposite of Sex. His new project is called Love and Other Impossible Pursuits --JLo is currently set to star
Paul Rudnick Also known as columnist "Libby Gelman-Waxner" from Premier Magazine. His screenwriting credits include the brilliant Addams Family Values and the not so brilliant Stepford Wives remake. He's also a popular playwright
Adam Shankman This director had quite the summer with Hairspray. Previously directed other things best not mentioned now that he's made a really good film.
Joel Schumacher Oft-maligned director of The Number 23, Phantom of the Opera, Batman and Robin, and many more. But he'll always have bragging rights on Colin Farrell's Tigerland breakthrough

Bryan Singer Fanboy favorite director behind Superman Returns the two X-Men movies that are worth anything and The Usual Suspects. Next projects include Valkyrie with Tom Cruise and the mouthwatering possible greatness of The Mayor of Castro Street, a biopic on gay legend Harvey Milk. Please cast well Bryan. Please cast well
Rose Troche(Go Fish, Hung, The L Word)
Guinevere Turner This beautiful brunette acts in Go Fish, American Psycho, The L Word and she writes too. Screenwriting credits include Go Fish, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page
Christine Vachon The legendary producing force behind Killer Films. She's shepherded dozens of the most influential and important American indies of the past two decades onto the screen. She'll be in the history books. Past triumphs include Far From Heaven and Boys Don't Cry and the book A Killer Life.
Gus Van Sant Indie director (My Own Private Idaho) turned Hollywood Oscar force (Good Will Hunting) turned curiousity (Psycho) turned artfilm auteur (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, and the new film Paranoid Park)
Kevin Williamson Writer of the Scream films. Director of Teaching Mrs Tingle. Recently created the "Hidden Palms" TV series
John Waters American treasure. Credits include: A Dirty Shame, Hairspray, Cry Baby, Pink Flamingos and many more


Out Actors and Performers
Chad Allen Credits include Save Me, End of the Spear, Dr Quinn Medicine Woman and the recurring Donald Strachey Mystery movies on Here! television
John Barrowman Charismatic star of "Torchwood", abundant musical theater goodness, and the wonderful "Night and Day" sequence within De-Lovely
Jackie Beat Drag superstar. Films credits include: Adam & Steve, Flawless, and Grief
Simon Callow Beloved British stage star. Frequent film and television work including Phantom of the Opera, "Angels in America", "Rome", No Man's Land, Shakespeare in Love and of course A Room with a View
Craig Chester Indie film actor and best friend of Parker Posey. Starring roles include: Adam & Steve and Swoon

Allan Corduner Fine character actor. He was Sullivan to Broadbent's Gilbert in the fine Topsy Turvy and his many other credits include Vera Drake
Alan Cumming <--click away. His website is fun. Broadway superstar, cologne hawking cheeky celebrity, X2's Nightcrawler and frequent supporting player in films and television
Wilson Cruz TV supporting player. Seen most famously on My So Called Life. Recently: Noah's Arc and Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in all the World
Ben Daniels British theater actor. Film credits: Beautiful Thing, Passion in the Desert
Rupert Everett Enduring celebrity. His beloved supporting role in My Best Friends Wedding didn't bring the expected mainstream lead roles but he's a fine actor and can still get media tongues wagging. Most recently seen in Stardust. Also writes books (More Rupert scribblings)

Harvey Fierstein American treasure. Broadway legend and lifetime activist. Most famous film credits include Mrs Doubtfire and Torch Song Trilogy. Recent Broadway activity includes the smashing revival of Fiddler on the Roof and a TONY win for originated the Edna Turnblad role for the stage version of Hairspray (and yes, he runs rings around John Travolta)
Peter Frechette Theater actor with film and TV credits including Inside Man, Grease 2, and an Emmy win way back when for thirtysomething
Stephen Fry Most famous to movie awards fanatics as the frequent host of the BAFTAs. Also writes hilarious books and acts in films from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to Wilde
Robert Gant -From Showtime's Queer as Folk. He'll next be seen in Kiss Me Deadly with Shannen Doherty
Malcolm Gets Recently starred in the romantic comedy Adam & Steve, most famous for several seasons of TVs Caroline in the City
Jason Gould Son of Barbra Streisand. There's gotta be a movie in that, right?

Neil Patrick Harris "Doogie Howser" finally came out. Currently starring in How I Met Your Mother. And for my money the best part of the Broadway revival of Sondheim's Assassins (great singing voice) though he wasn't the one that got TONY attention.
Cheyenne Jackson United 93 ensemble player and Broadway über hunk: the star of All Shook Up and the colead of the current camp hit Xanadu (More on Cheyenne)
Derek Jacobi Highly acclaimed stage star and frequent film actor. Recent appearances include Underworld: Evolution, Nanny McPhee, Hamlet and Gosford Park. He was also Daniel Craig's keeper (the painter Francis Bacon) in Love is the Devil
T.R. Knight Series regular on Grey's Anatomy
Nathan Lane Broadway megastar. Most famous film roles: The Producers and The Birdcage
Eric Millegan Series regular on TV's Bones and lots of theater

Sir Ian McKellen Gandalf. Magneto. Superstar. Activist. Hero.
Denis O'Hare Broadway star. Recent film credits include Michael Clayton (now playing) and that cynical journalist in A Mighty Heart. Let's not talk about that hideous TV movie version of "Once Upon a Mattress"
Peter Paige Most famous for his series regular role on Queer as Folk but he's kept himself busy since with TV, stage, and indie film
David Hyde Pierce "Niles" on Frasier finally came out. It was about freaking time.
Anthony Rapp An original cast member of Rent. Other films include A Beautiful Mind and 80s guilty pleasure Adventures in Babysitting

Christopher Sieber Star of TV's shortlived gay themed comedy It's all Relative. And you have to give him credit for playing straight man to the Olsen Twins in another one season TV flop Two of a Kind. Will be in next year's romantic ensemble drama See You in September
George Takei "Sulu" of TV's legendary Star Trek . Just got killed off on Heroes but not many people stay dead on that show. We'll see.
Rufus Wainwright this folkrock god has been paying homage to Judy Garland for so long now he's starting to feel like a real actress. Plus he's actually acting in films now including Heights and this year's Canadian Oscar submission L'age Des Tenebres (Rufus! Rufus! Rufus!)
Gedde Watanabe Still most famous for playing "Long Duk Dong" in Sixteen Candles but he's done lots of TV work including a few seasons of E.R.
BD Wong Eternally busy thespian and activist. Lots of Broadway (M Butterfly, Pacific Overtures), voice work, and TV under his belt including major lengthy stints on Oz and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Simon Woods Shy cutie Mr. Bingley in Pride & Prejudice and Octavian on HBO's Rome

Out Actresses and Performers
Alexis Arquette Sister of Patricia and Rosanna. America witnessed her journey towards the big snip on The Surreal Life. Past film credits include: Pulp Fiction, The Trip, Wigstock, and Threesome
Sandra Bernhard Legend. Without her you're nothing. Former comic superstardom
Saffron Burrows Eric Bana's delicious lady love in Troy also loves the ladies. Recurring character work on Boston Legal. Other credits include: Reign Over Me, Frida and Miss Julie. Dated her director Mike Figgis and also Alan Cumming (in the list of men above) but is now partnered with Fiona Shaw (The Black Dahlia) --scroll down for her
Ellen Degeneres Talk show megastar. Former leading sitcom lady
Sara Gilbert "Darlene" from Roseanne. Riding in Cars with Boys, 24, Twins
Jane Lynch Awesome comic supporting player: You'll remember her from For Your Consideration, Best in Show and seductively singing to The 40 Year Old Virgin

Cherry Jones Broadway goddess. Longtime activist. Sarah Paulson's girlfriend. Sometime film actor including: The Village and Cradle Will Rock. Meryl Streep snagged Jones's TONY winning Doubt role for the film version
Miriam Margoyles Wonderful character actress who you delighted in (even if you don't know her name in The Age of Innocence, Magnolia and Being Julia among many others
Heather Matarazzo Treated rather gruesomely in this year's Hostel Part 2. Previously seen in The Princess Diaries and abused in Welcome to the Dollhouse
Tammy Lynn Michaels Melissa Etheridge's partner. Television actress most famous for her role on the defunct series Popular. Recent credits include stints on Committed and The L Word
Cynthia Nixon Sex & the City's Miranda. Currently reprising the role for the film version. Also busy on the boards

Rosie O'Donnell Talk show troublemaker. Former comedic superstardom
Sarah Paulson Fresh off of a leading TV role in the cancelled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Previously rocked stylized period pieces like Down With Love and The Notorious Bettie Page whilst rocking Cherry Jones' world. Her next gig: joining the starry cast of The Spirit directed by Frank Miller
Portia de Rossi From the dearly departed Arrested Development. Formerly of Ally McBeal. Currently on Ellen DeGeneres' arm
Fiona Shaw Stole the show in last year's DePalma oddity The Black Dahlia. Terrorizes Harry Potter every couple of years for a few minutes as Aunt Petunia. Receives endless kudos for brilliant stage work. Next movie is The Other Side with Angelica Huston, Jim Broadbent, Jason Lee, Lili Taylor and many other famous faces. Dating Saffron Burrows
Lily Tomlin Legend. Recently of I Heart Huckabees. Eternally in Nashville. Came out officially in 2000. She's been living with her girlfriend and writing partner Jane Wagner (The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe) since the 1970s

For every A list actor/actress who repeatedly lies about it... For every gay casting director who refuses to consider gay actors for straight or gay roles (grrr and for shame) ... there are a ton of hardworking admirable professionals like these above who aren't afraid to speak their personal truth. They can say the G word with pride ...or at least a minimum of fuss or angst. More power to these brave and awesome entertainers.

Buy tickets to their movies. Watch their TV shows





If you're here for the first time: please check out the most recent postings. There's daily movie-loving hijinx here at the film experience.

Further Reading? If you want to see more complete lists there's also the Wikipedia pages for a MUCH longer list of famous GLBT people . You'll notice that the list you've just read above has more than its share of Brits: they tend to come out in greater numbers over the pond. Here's the pink list --a list of influential gay Britons published last year in The Independent