The Feb 12/19, 2010 Special Double Issue of Entertainment Weekly has an article in it where Bruce Vilanch gives us a behind the scenes look at some Oscar moments like Madonna’s quivery performance of “Sooner or Later,” Bjork on her cell phone, Letterman bombing, the nototious Snow White disaster, and other tasty tidbits. So pick up a copy today….

Love, Mister D

Restore Equality 2010: Call To Action TODAY
by: Louise
Sat Feb 06, 2010 at 10:00:00 AM EST

From the mailbag:

A Statewide Day of Action is being held tomorrow, February 6th across California. Volunteers at over 20 locations all across the state will come together in an attempt to collect over 100,000 signatures to repeal Prop 8 in a single day. For a list of a location near you click here.

Restore Equality 2010’s (RE2010) campaign to repeal Proposition 8 is gaining momentum. Our netroots are taking off and we are building coalitions. This week we were joined by groups representing over 280,000 members on Facebook alone.

And Celebrities are lining up to do what is right, announcing their support for the grassroots campaign in 2010. Including Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Patty Duke, Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch, Emmy Award winner Carol Kane, actress Suzanne Whang (host of House Hunters, the #1 rated show on the Home & Garden Television Network), award winning recording artist Deborah (Debbie) Gibson, just to name a few.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Re…

We will be rolling out even more aggressive statewide field programs next week. But we can’t do this alone. We need your help. Please stand with us in making history and taking back Equality by making a contribution today.

By standing and working together we will Restore Equality in 2010.

–
“The time is always right to do what is right.”–Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

OY VEY! MY SON IS GAY! movie trailer

A romantic comedy featuring a Jewish family who struggles coming to terms with their son’s non-Jewish and gay boyfriend. When the gay couple adopts a child and it makes headline news, their families come to defend them and realize how much they love them.

Starring: Lainie Kazan, Saul Rubinek, Vincent Pastore, John Lloyd Young, Jai Rodriguez, Bruce Vilanch, Shelly Burch, Slava Medvedenko and Carmen Electra.

Director: Evgeny Afineevsky

Duration : 0:2:23

BWW Reviews: The 2010 Nightlife Awards
by Jena Tesse Fox

It’s a highlight of every winter, a celebration of the best entertainment in New York’s nightlife scene. Combining jazz, comedy and cabaret, the annual Nightlife Awards famously eschew acceptance speeches in favor of performances, becoming a sampler of numerous artforms and introducing new artists to fans of different genres. Last Monday, some of the most gifted entertainers in all of these different subsets of nightlife took to the Town Hall stage for the seventh annual Nightlife Awards, with winners both past and present (and some other assorted guests) making some amazing music.

Directed by Scott Thompson and music directed by Tedd Firth, the evening was not as intense as other Nightlife Awards have been, and with as many performances by presenters as winners, the more than three-hour program didn’t fly by as it has in years past.

But still, there is always plenty to love about the Nightlife Awards, and this year was no different. Given that each of the performers was selected by entertainment writers (including-full disclosure-yours truly), it can be taken for granted that each of them sang (and played, and joked) wonderfully. Here, in no particular order, are just a few of the notable highlights of the evening (and believe me, there were many more, but this recap is weeks overdue as it is!):

* Bruce Vilanch served as an affable and amiable host for the second time, telling ribald jokes and ripping on the audience. (”This crowd looks like Mabel Mercer’s Facebook page!”) On the other hand, his anecdotes made the long evening even longer, and didn’t always land as well as they had two years ago.
* Ebersole x 2: Christine Ebersole, who won Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist in a Major Engagement, opened and closed the show with two songs-”I’ve Got Five Dollars” and “The Music That Makes Me Dance,” respectively.
* Two brilliant husband-and-wife duos sang songs that they’ve reinvented and made fresh and
exciting. Jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and Jessica “I thought about changing my name when I got married, but decided it would be a lateral move” Molaskey sang first a sweet “Dream Your Troubles Away” and then their signature mash-up (remember when they were called medleys?) of “Sometimes I’m Happy” and “I Want to Be Happy.” (Violinist Aaron Weinstein did some beautiful backing work, and earned a quip from Vilanch: “They picked Aaron Weinstein up at the Tavern on the Green auction.”) Later on, Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano, who won for Outstanding Cabaret Duo, sang their signature duet, “As Long as I Live,” flirting adorably throughout.
* Kurt Elling, winner for Outstanding Jazz Vicalist in a Major Engagement, began his song selection a cappella, without even a grace note to give him a hint. Fearlessly leaping into a wonderfully Sinatra-esque “When Somebody Loves You,”he conjured the days of singers who could truly croon a song without letting it sound shmaltzy.

* Likewise, Martin Vidnovic crooned the Sinatra standard “It Was a Very Good Year,” singing it directly to the song’s composer, Ervin Drake, who was in the audience.
* David Rasche sang a twistedly hilarious “I Wish I Was Married to Your Wife,” nicely mixing barely-controlled mania with the darkest of comedy.
* Gretchen Reinhagen, winner for Outstanding Cabaret Comedy or Characterization, sang a very funny and dryly witty “I’m Here” that commented nicely on the modern world and the state of the arts.
* In a somewhat surprising turn, young singer (and Theatre World Award winner for her turn in the 2006 Threepenny Opera revival) Nellie McKay sang “Toto Dies” from her debut album. The song didn’t really fit the rest of the evening, but McKay’s quips before she sang were quite refreshing: “I’ve had a bad week. My boyfriend left me. For his wife. Because she has health insurance.”
* Cheyenne Jackson, winner (with Michael Feinstein) for Outstanding Cabaret Duo, sang a
soulful and poignant “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” You never knew that song had so much emotion in it, did you?
* Noah Racey and the New York Tap Ensemble hoofed their way through an amazingly fierce (there’s just no other word for it) “Sunny Side of the Street.” Why is this group not on every TV special and stage in the country? Seriously.
* Tovah Feldshuh started to sing a lovely “Lucky to be Me”… and then launched into a borscht-belt nightclub act as Golda Meir. It was either avant-garde or just plain weird, and there’s always a thin line between the two. In any case, it was certainly memorable…
* Eric Slovin and Leo Allen, otherwise known as the duo Slovin And Allen, winners for Outstanding Comic Duo or Group, pretended to read from both Hillary Clinton’s It Takes a Village and President Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope. Y’know, I didn’t realize until the guys started reading just how often our commander-in-chief uses the words “audacity” and “hope,” but apparently, he does…
* Jim Caruso started to croon a delightfully old-school “Side by Side” before being interrupted by Miranda Sings, who offered him her own unique brand of vocal coaching. The gag might have gone over better if more than 25% of the audience knew who Miranda is and got her style of comedy. (I’m convinced at least half the crowd thought she was serious.) Ah, well. We’ll always have Cast Party…and After Party…and YouTube…

* Jay Leonhart sang one of his most popular numbers-”Me and Lennie”-with equal measures of wit and poignancy, aurally recreating a cherished memory and sharing its emotion with the audience.

LGBT Center’s Annual Party at Rincon Hill’s Terra Gallery
By jamie
Wednesday February 3, 2010

The LGBT Community Center’s big annual birthday bash comes back to the Rincon Hill neighborhood’s Terra Gallery at 511 Harrison Street on Saturday, April 10th from 7pm until 11pm. Buy your tickets online today!

Join us for Soireé 8, celebrating the San Francisco LGBT Community Center’s eighth Anniversary! Indulge yourself in an evening of Earthly delights fit for the gods and goddesses. Enjoy mythically-inspired performances by San Francisco’s leading queer artists and performers. Rub elbows and brush wings with roaming Cupids, while enjoying decadent gourmet morsels and libations from San Francisco’s best restaurants.

This year’s event’s Honorary Co-Hosts are Theresa Sparks and David Campos. Enjoy a main stage M.C.’ed by special guests Jackie Beat and Bruce Vilanch! Later in the evening, Soireé 8 shifts into party mode, paying tribute to San Francisco’s queer nightlife. Local celebrity DJs will provide a late-night, high-energy soundtrack. Guests can also bid on dozens of unique items in both silent and live auctions, including vacations, works of art and dining packages.

NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted. All tickets are will-call.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie annoyed by last year`s Oscars `nostril-cam`
Posted by contributor001 in Celebrities, Hollywood, Other News, Specials, gossip

It has come to light that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were more annoyed by a ‘nostril-cam’ than Jennifer Aniston at last year’s Oscars than over Jennifer Aniston’s appearing onstage, comedy writer Bruce Vilanch said.

Vilanch who helps in the writing of the Oscars script had intimated the couple about the camera just minutes before Pitt’s ex-wife Aniston took to the stage. Producers used the camera to cut instantly to a smiling Jolie.

Vilanch who was in NY to host the Nightlife Awards told the New York Post that, “I went to Brad and Angelina, who were sitting in the front row, and warned them they had the nostril cam planted on the floor underneath them, looking up”.
‘Mostly, they were not delighted about the angle, because nobody looks great from there. They knew there would be reaction shots of them, and they knew Aniston was going to be on.

He also revealed that Brad intended to break the cam and said, “They were more bothered about the nostril cam. Brad asked me, ‘Any chance we could kick it and break it?” “If everybody at the Oscars was worried about some ex appearing onstage, there would be nobody in the audience,” Vilanch added.