Broadway World
VITO to Open OUTFEST: 30th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, 7/12-22
by BWW News Desk 

 

Outfest – the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media – announced today that Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary “Vito” has been selected as the Opening Night gala of the 30th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. “Vito” chronicles the story of Vito Russo, founding father of the gay liberation movement, author of “The Celluloid Closet,” and vociferous AIDS activist in the 1980s. The film features Lily Tomlin, Armistead Maupin, Bruce Vilanch, Richard Berkowitz and Larry Kramer.

Outfest will also present its 16th annual Achievement Award to filmmaker, author and artist John Waters. The Achievement Award is Outfest’s highest honor and is presented in recognition of a body of work that has made a significant contribution to LGBT film and media. John Waters is a filmmaker, visual artist, author, comedian, and essayist. With films ranging from the taboo-pushing PINK FLAMINGOS to the teen-dance spectacular HAIRSPRAY, Waters and his work have been unapologetically queer, championing outside values and personal expression in a world that rarely appreciates difference. The Achievement Award will be presented to Waters prior to the Opening Night Gala screening of “Vito” on Thursday, July 12 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.

“Honoring two legendary figures Vito Russo and John Waters is the perfect way to launch Outfest’s 30th anniversary,” said Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer. “Over that past three decades, Outfest has had a global impact on LGBT lives by promoting understanding, launching world-class talent and preserving our filmed history for generations to come.”

The nation’s leading LGBT film festival, and the oldest film festival in the city of Los Angeles, will be held July 12 – 22, 2012.

Waters will also be performing his show “This Filthy World: Gayer and Filthier” on July 11th in the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever. Focusing in on Waters’ early negative artistic influences and his fascination with true crime, exploitation films, fashion lunacy, and the extremes of the contemporary art world, this joyously devious monologue elevates all that is trashy in life into a call to arms to “filth followers” everywhere. Tickets for this screening are available at HollywoodForever.ticketfly.com.

As part of its 30th anniversary year, Outfest will celebrate this milestone across all of its programs by producing the best film festival to date, premiering its most significant feature film restoration and debuting an impressive youth filmmaking project, among many innovative and expanded initiatives.

· 30 YEARS OF OUTFEST: THE FILMS THAT SPARKED A CULTURAL REVOLUTION

A series of seminal LGBT films from the 1960’s to the 2000’s including a recreation of the first festival in 1982: QUEEN OF SHEBA MEETS THE ATOM MAN (1963-4), MAKING LOVE (Hill, 1982) and TAXI ZUM KLO (Ripploh, 1981). This series is supported by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

· DOWNTOWN 30

A monthly screening series taking place at the Downtown Independent Theatre, presenting new and classic films of interest to LGBT audiences.

· “DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS” RESTORATION

The Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation, a partnership with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, will unveil its most significant restoration to date, arguably the earliest surviving cinematic work made explicitly about LGBT people .Thispeople. This restoration is partially funded by a grant from the Andrew J. Kuehn, Jr. Foundation.

· 30 YEARS OF IMPACT: CHANGING HISTORY ONE STORY AT A TIME

Stories of Outfest filmmakers, volunteers and members from the last thirty years whose lives and careers have been deeply impacted by Outfest will be posted weekly on our website. Filmmakers and audiences will also have the opportunity to post their own story of how Outfest changed their lives by uploading a video to the site.

Outfest celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2012 with a year-longyearlong celebration honoring the organization’s rich film history, innovative filmmakers and cultural legacy. The anniversary celebration includes the signature film festival, a major film restoration, a new logo, a new monthly screening series and a comprehensive social media campaign. Founded by volunteers on the campus of UCLA in 1982, Outfest has grown into an internationally recognized organization that works to promote LGBT equality through the arts. For three decades Outfest has brought together film lovers, artists, celebrities and entertainment industry professionals to create a world-class forum for stories that reflect and often transform LGBT lives. Outfest has showcased over 5,600 films to audiences, reaching close to one million people, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers and protected over 18,000 stories and images through the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation, the only program of its kind in the world.

Bruce Vilanch Headlines Shawn Pelofsky’s Bathhouse Show!
Sat May 19 2012 at 08:00 pm
Venue : The World Famous Comedy Store, Los Angeles
Created By : Shawn Pelofsky

Saturday, May 19th! It’s time to throw it back to the good ol’ days! Atlantis Cruises sweetheart and The Queen of Queens, Shawn Pelofsky presents “THE BATHHOUSE SHOW”, a monthly show full of some of the best gay and gay-friendly comedic talent in Los Angeles. Located in the heart of West Hollywood at the world famous Comedy Store is a show that is sure to put the “fabulous” in one of the most heterosexual clubs in the world.

Enjoy a “full facial” of stand-up comedy and cabaret with the fabulous, Shawn Pelofsky (Chelsea Lately, NBC’s “Community”, Showtime) and laugh it up with the comedic stylings of Daniel Leary (The Ellen Degeneres Show, LOGO), Retta (Parks & Recreation), and special guest headliner, Bruce Vilanch. Also featuring the hilarious singing duo, The BooFont Sisters (America’s Got Talent), Jeff Scott and The Bathhouse Babe Dancers.

The Comedy Store/ Original Room, 8443 W. Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA. Doors open at 7:15 pm. Showtime is at 8 pm.

Online Tickets available here on LaughStub.com or www.TheBathHouseShow.com . If seats are still available, $15 cash cover at the door.

This show WILL SELL OUT Limited seating, so get your tickets now!

$5 Svedka Cosmopolitan Special. 2 drink min.

ATV Today UK
 May 07 2012 

Casper Andreas film Going Down in LA-LA Land is set to be released on DVD in the UK by Peccadillo Pictures in July.

“An excellent, slick, and sexy comedy. The perfect film to watch with your friends, your date, your dog, but certainly not your parents” – SoSoGay.org

Going Down in LA-LA Land is based on the novel by Andy Zeffer as see’s cult gay director Casper Andreas present the reverting and uncensored look at the stars and studios of Hollywood and its seedy neighbour; the porn industry.

‘Wide-eyed, hunky upstart Adam arrives in Los Angeles from New York, brimming with hope for a career in the movie business. He shacks up with best friend Candy, who is also desperate to get a foot in the Hollywood door. Together they hit the red carpets and cocktail parties to network and score roles. Adam’s drop dead gorgeous body and chiselled looks prove a rich picking to the needy and seedy agents, directors and studio executives of Hollywood Boulevard, and he begins almost instantly to climb the ladder of fame – or so it seems.’

Starring Matthew Ludwinski, Allison Lane, Michael Medico & Casper Andreas with cameo appearances by Perez Hilton, Alec Mapa, Judy Tenuta  and Bruce Vilanch.

Going Down in LA-LA Land: Released on July 23rd in the UK by Peccadillo Pictures.

[Written by Ian Westhead]

Bruce Vilanch to Star in 'Oy Vey, My Son Is Gay' by hollywoodtv

HuffPost
Gay Writers Give Birth to a ‘Child of the ‘70s’
05/ 3/2012

 

For any of us who came of age during the 1970s, the era was a pop smorgasbord of fashion, art, culture, and music. From the iconic John Travolta inSaturday Night Fever, to the music of ABBA, to classic TV series such as All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Carol Burnett Show, such references have not only helped define my generation but inspired in others an ongoing love for all things ‘70s.

Actor/singer Michael Vaccaro is attempting to capture that spirit in a new Web series, Child of the ‘70s, which is currently fundraising at Indiegogo. An indie actor in such movies as Todd Verow’s Deleted Scenes and The Endless Possibility of Sky, Michael also won a MAC award for Outstanding Musical Comedy Performer and has recorded two CDs, Archangel and Wait for Him.

To create Child of the ‘70s, he has joined with friend and collaborator Terrence Moss as co-writers. Terrence is an independent writer based in Los Angeles who operates a website for long-form content, terrencemoss.com, consisting of articles, commentaries, reaction pieces, essays, actor/actress profiles, and an ongoing short fiction series.

The two recently met with me to discuss this shared love of the ‘70s and how it helped inspire their new series.

Kergan Edwards-Stout: Michael, what is it about the 1970s that entices you? Is it the music? The TV shows? Something more?

Michael Vaccaro: All of those—and more. It was a magical era. Look at TV alone. It was the best TV ever! I mean, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Cloris Leachman, Valerie Harper, Carol Burnett, Bea Arthur, and Esther Rolle—and so many more. Back then TV was interesting, smart, and funny—and unafraid, just like the people who were coming of age then.

Edwards-Stout: That was your time, huh?

Vaccaro: Yeah, I was young and really cute, and I could get into clubs and drink and have sex with hot bartenders! You could dance and go home with strangers, and everybody was doing it, and no one cared or judged. It was before we all started dying, and I remember such a sense of freedom and abandon.

Edwards-Stout: So you associate it with freedom…

Vaccaro: Exactly. There was a sense of achieving whatever dream you had. Take cinema—also the greatest decade. Actors and directors and writers were unafraid, fearless, raw. It’s all pretty much sucked since. And music? No one can tell me there’s a greater album, an album that better captured the feelings of an entire generation of people, than Saturday Night Fever.

Edwards-Stout: With your new Web series, Child of the ‘70s, you’re hoping to capture some of that?

Vaccaro: I wanted to do something really fun that brought back many of the actors that I loved from that time. I’m casting a few of my absolute favorites, though I can’t talk about who just yet. So many deserving of attention. Look at the amazing resurgence of Betty White! I want to do that for a few of the people who helped make my childhood happy!

Edwards-Stout: Terrence, how did you become involved in writing the project with Michael?

Terrence Moss: Michael knew of the short story series I write for my website, as well as the pieces I had written about the Bitter Bartender Web series, and asked if I’d help him write Child of the ‘70s. We met once a week for five consecutive weeks and wrote one episode each week.

Edwards-Stout: What about the Web series intrigued you?

Moss: Even though I only caught the very tail end of it, I feel a special affinity for the 1970s—the music, the TV shows, some of the movies, the social change. I liked the concept. And on a personal note, I liked that Michael was taking this part of his career into his own hands. I wanted to help with that.

Edwards-Stout: Is the tone reminiscent of those classic TV shows, such as Laverne & Shirley orWelcome Back, Kotter?

Vaccaro: I’m interested in capturing the feeling of Love, American Style. There’s a “look” from the ‘70s that I adore: dark, grainy, saturated with earth tones. I’m trying to recapture that look. HD is so very clear and clean and bright, so I’m actually using older cameras.

Edwards-Stout: That sounds cool.

Vaccaro: I also love sarcasm, and it seems to me that everybody on television in the ‘70s was sarcastic. Rhoda, Maude, Phyllis… I love that, and we’ve made our lead character, Carlo, pretty sarcastic, but also smart, lovable, and, again, unafraid. He’s also gay, and I wanted to mix that ‘70s sensibility with a gay sensibility, which is what Heaven will be like for me.

Edwards-Stout: The series follows Carlo, who uproots his New York life to move to Los Angeles, as the personal assistant to his favorite ‘70s TV star, played by Ann Walker, who was so memorable in Sordid Lives.

Vaccaro: Yes, Carlo has quite a few eerie similarities to the character of Rhoda Morgenstern. He was born and raised in the Bronx, he has a sister named Brenda, and two overbearing parents, except his are Italian. He moved out of the house when he was 24. He meets and falls in love with a man named Joe.

Edwards-Stout: Now, a lot of that sounds like you!

Vaccaro: Yes, I can tell you that I, Michael Vaccaro, also grew up in the Bronx, moved out of the house when I was 24, and fell in love with a Joe. And a few years later, I took a job as a personal assistant to a movie star, which I did for a couple of years, so I have lots of stories!

Edwards-Stout: Now, I know that aside from your creative work, you also once worked for Broadway and film legend Lainie Kazan. Any stories you can tell us?

Vaccaro: Hmm… plenty of stories. None that I can actually tell. She is fantastic. Lainie’s funny, interesting, gregarious, and very generous. She truly does light up a room. I’m hoping she’ll be in the series. I have something really juicy in mind for her.

Edwards-Stout: You’ve assembled a great cast, including funny man Bruce Vilanch. What character does he play, and how did he become involved in the project?

Vaccaro: I’ve known Bruce for years. He’s a great friend, and he’s brilliantly funny and smart. I don’t know anyone who gives more of his time to different causes. He appears at absolutely every charity event! So I just called him and asked if he’d do it, and he said yes. His character will become a major part of Carlo’s life in Los Angeles.

Edwards-Stout: I went to college with another of your stars, the multi-talented Duane Boutte. Prior to this he starred in such films as Stonewall and Brother to Brother. What led him to Child of the ‘70s?

Vaccaro: Duane is an incredibly talented man, and I’ve wanted to work with him as an actor since the day we met. He plays a character modeled after “Lionel Jefferson” on The Jeffersons, who was played by Michael Evans, who I had such a big crush on when I was a kid.

Edwards-Stout: Another familiar name in your cast is Natalie Toro, who starred on Broadway inLes Miserables, among other shows.

Vaccaro: Natalie and I have been best friends since the fourth grade! She is my family, my sister, and in the show she’s playing the role of Brenda, Carlo’s sister, who is a real Snooki type!

Edwards-Stout: You’re currently raising funds for Child of the ‘70s through Indiegogo, and I love that for the highest-level donation, someone can not only be an Associate Producer on the series—
Moss: It’s an easy way to get some Hollywood credits!

Edwards-Stout: —But they also get a role on the show. Would they simply be Waiter #2, or would you write them a funny bit?

Vaccaro: No, I would definitely want to write something very cool for someone who helps us out in that way. I’d want it to be something really fun!

Edwards-Stout: Now, you are both out and proud gay men, so I’ve got to ask: Aside from the general ‘70s theme and your very gay and gay-friendly cast, any other hot homo moments in Child of the ‘70s?

Moss: I cameo in the first episode as a co-worker of Carlo’s at a phone sex company. I don’t know if any of what I said will be heard onscreen, but if anyone can read lips, it’s very… well… it should get me a lot of dates.

Vaccaro: And, we do have someone incredibly hot playing Joe, the love interest, and if I have anything to say about it—which I do, as I’m the star, co-writer and producer—there will be lots of skin!

Moss: I imagine the real hot and heavy homo moments will occur in season two and beyond. We’ll do the reverse of Queer as Folk by toning up the hot homo stuff as the series progresses.

Edwards-Stout: What plans do you have as for the character as the series goes forward?

Vaccaro: When Carlo changes his life and moves to Los Angeles, he’s a real fish out of water, and we get to explore L.A.’s very specific quirks. We have a terrific scene about his first car accident, and the very special ‘70s guest star who he crashes into! We already have a group of amazing actors lined up, including Jonathan Slavin—
Moss: From Better Off Ted.

Vaccaro: —and Jonah Blechman, who was in Another Gay Movie.

Moss: They’ll play his new L.A. best friends. It’ll turn into a little West Coast gay Sex and the City.

Edwards-Stout: OK, one last question for you lovers of the ‘70s! Terrence, we’ll start with you. If you could be any character or real person from the 1970s, who would it be, and why?

Moss: Well, I’m assuming Michael is going to say Rhoda Morgenstern—
Vaccaro: Oooh, don’t steal mine!

Moss: —So I’ll say Clifton Curtis from That’s My Mama, because afros were out of style by the ‘90s, and even if they came back in style, I can no longer grow enough hair to produce one.

Edwards-Stout: So, Michael, are you going with Rhoda?

Vaccaro: So many possibilities… I might choose Stockard Channing’s stewardess in The Big Bus, so I could ride a nuclear-powered bus from New York City to Denver.

Edwards-Stout: I loved that movie!

Vaccaro: But my ultimate choice would have to be Esther Hoffman Howard, so I could fall in love and have sex with John Norman Howard. I mean, was there ever a sexier guy than Kris Kristofferson in A Star Is Born?

* * * * *For more information about Child of the ‘70s, please visit the Indiegogo page.

This piece originally appeared on KerganEdwards-Stout.com and The Bilerico Project.

New York Times
April 19, 2012
MOVIE REVIEW
New in Los Angeles, and Willing to Do Anything for Money
By DANIEL M. GOLD

“Going Down in La-La Land” is a familiar enough story of a young and beautiful person hoping to make it big in Hollywood only to attain disillusionment. Here the new arrival is Adam (Matthew Ludwinski), a gay would-be actor who rooms with Candy (Allison Lane), a friend-girl from New York who’s also looking for her big break — or sugar daddy — while explaining the dos and don’ts of networking in Los Angeles. After Adam scrambles for work of any sort, low-level connections lead to gay pornography and its apparent sideline, escort servicing.

Based on a novel by Andy Zeffer and directed by Casper Andreas, “Going Down” falls well short of compelling, either as a coming-of-age film, a satire or a romance. When called on to do more than take off his shirt or bat his eyes, the hunky Mr. Ludwinski is impressively limited in his emotional range. Ms. Lane is just barely adequate as the designated comedy relief. Mr. Andreas (who also plays Nick, Adam’s guide into the adult industry) has more success framing and lighting this unrated film’s R-rated bedroom scenes.

The best moments — there aren’t many — recall bits from “Boogie Nights,” which chronicled similar adventures in California’s heterosexual skin trade in the 1970s and ‘80s. (There’s even a shout-out to William H. Macy, one of its stars.) Bruce Vilanch has an amusing cameo as the director of Adam’s first porn flick, and Michael Medico is appealingly believable as the closeted leading man of a popular sitcom who becomes Adam’s romantic interest after a couple of “dates.” Despite its lurid subject “Going Down” is quite old-school, at its core a conventional uninspired fantasy of love conquering all.

Variety
Going Down in La-La Land: Film Review
2:19 PM PDT 4/19/2012 by Frank Scheck
Director Casper Andreas’ gay drama centers on a young acting hopeful who finds that Hollywood is a rough town.

With a title like Going Down in La-La Land, it doesn’t seem likely that Casper Andreas’ film is going to be marked by restraint. But restrained it is, at least compared to such previous gay-themed efforts by the filmmaker as Slutty Summer and The Big Gay Musical. While this tale of a young man who finds himself shocked—shocked!—to discover that sleaze is prevalent in Hollywood doesn’t exactly break any new dramatic ground, it, um, goes down easily enough.
The protagonist of this latest variation on an all-too-familiar theme is Adam (Matthew Ludwinski), a young actor has just arrived in L.A. to pursue his dreams. Rooming with his best friend Candy (Allison Lane)—also an aspiring actor, though one more interested in landing a rich man than a good part—he discovers that, despite his hunky good looks and all-American appeal, the town isn’t immediately ready to fall at his feet.

After dutifully networking at the gym, he lands an office job at “Jet Set Men” which turns out to be, you guessed it, a gay porn outfit. It isn’t long before the financially strapped Adam agrees to his boss’ arguments that his talents would be better showcased in front of the camera, which leads to his moonlighting as a male escort and a relationship with a client (Michael Medico) who is the closeted star of a hit sitcom.

Veering uneasily at times into melodrama—especially with a subplot involving a drug-addicted co-worker (played by director Andreas) who attacks Adam with a knife—La-La Land is more grim than its title would suggest. But it does depict its West Hollywood milieu with a comic, insider’s knowingness, and the cameo appearances by such figures as Bruce Vilanch, comedian Judy Tenuta and actor Alec Mapa (playing himself, dishing out bitchy insults about fellow patrons at a bar) only add to the atmosphere.

Ludwinski, who frequently bares his gym-toned body, is certainly up to the physical demands of his role. And he’s appealing enough to make you cheer for his character in the film’s fairy tale-style ending.

Opens: Friday, April 20 (Embrem Entertainment)
Production: La-La Land Films
Cast: Matthew Ludwinski, Allison Lane, Michael Medico, Casper Andreas, John Schile
Director-producer: Casper Andreas
Screenwriters: Casper Andreas, Andy Zeffer
Executive producers: Bryan Guarnieri, Simon Jorna, Linda Larson, Mich Lyon, George M. Taninatz
Director of photography: Timothy Naylor
Editor: Alexander Hammer
Production designer: Shannon Lee Fitzgerald
Costume designer: Sarah Jeanne Mgeni
Music: Michael W. Barry
No rating, 104 minutes

TheaterMania
Bryan Batt, Bruce Vilanch to Star in Standing on Ceremony:
The Gay Marriage Plays
By Dan Bacalzo • Apr 17, 2012 

 

Bryan Batt and Bruce Vilanch will headline the South Florida premiere of Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, to be presented at in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, June 21-24. John Manzelli will direct.

Conceived by Brian Shnipper, the work features short plays on the subject of marriage equality written by Emmy Award winner Mo Gaffney, Heideman Award winner Jordan Harrison, Edgar Award winner Jeffrey Hatcher, Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony Award nominee Neil LaBute, Sundance Jury Prize winner Wendy MacLeod, Obie Award winner José Rivera, Obie and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Paul Rudnick, Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright.

City Theatre and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts are presenting this run. The cast will also feature Steve Trovillion, Elizabeth Dimon and Elena Garcia. The performance includes a post-show wedding reception complete with music and wedding cake.

A portion of all proceeds will be donated to Equality Florida, the largest civil rights organization in Florida dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Click here for more information and Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays tickets.