...a five-part miniseries airing in Britain on November 9.

London Spy is the story of a chance romance between two people from very different worlds, one from the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the other from a world of clubbing and youthful excess.

Whishaw plays Danny – gregarious, hedonistic, romantic and adrift, who falls for the anti-social enigmatic and brilliant Alex (played by [Edward] Holcroft). Just as the two of them realise that they’re perfect for each other, Alex is found dead. Danny, utterly ill-equipped to take on the complex and codified world of British espionage, must decide whether he’s prepared to fight for the truth.

Directed by Xavier Dolan

...has publicly responded to the news that James Franco is producing a film - King Cobra - based on the 2007 murder of his former boss, gay porn producer Bryan Kocis.

The adult actor, who is set to be portayed by former Disney star Garrett Clayton in the upcoming gay porn drama, took to Facebook to reveal that he refused an offer to be involved in the film, and will instead be releasing a book based on his own recollection of events.

Now...that's a book destined for the bin.

Here's the trailer...

...in cinemas 17 December...

Where's the gay robot?!?

Patrick Haggerty grew up the son of a dairy farmer in rural Dry Creek, Washington, during the 1950s. As a teenager, Pat began to understand he was gay—something he thought he was hiding well. But one day, after performing at a school assembly, Pat learned that his father could see him much more clearly than he realized.

"The Saint of Dry Creek" online release is presented in partnership with the It Gets Better Project (http://www.itgetsbetter.org/)

Yes...he's at it again...doin' that gay thang!!!

This time...Bryan Kocis, porn producer and murderer gets the Franco treatment...with Christian Slater playing Kocis.

Thankfully, Sean Paul Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) will not be playing himself - that task has been given to a former Disney actor: Garrett Clayton

Justin (I am Michael) Kelly will direct...

...is baffled.

“With gay characters being played by straight people, straight characters being played by gay people… come on, we’re actors! I do not understand what the problem is. Actors play all sorts of things. I’ve played murderers, journalists and kings – I’m not any of them.

Ellen Page...Did you hear that?

The words of a RADA trained actor.

...can you please shut the f**k up!!!

Matt Damon said...“Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality......”

Here's what she had to say about that...

“He doesn’t have a point because he related it to sexuality. Heterosexual actors and actresses do not have to go to great lengths to hide their sexuality. Yes, of course, keep your private life private. Protect yourself. Have boundaries. When you’re a public person, you need to think about your safety. But if it’s in relation to sexuality, then no — that’s an unfair double standard. Heterosexual people walk down the red carpet with their partners all the time, they talk about their children…”

Actors...very few have achieved a standard of education that would make them vocally important!!!

As for child stars...the less said, the better.

If motion pictures present stories that will affect lives for the better, they can become the most powerful force for the improvement of mankind

A Code to Govern the Making of Talking, Synchronized and Silent Motion Pictures. Formulated and formally adopted by The Association of Motion Picture Producers, Inc. and The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc. in March 1930.

Motion picture producers recognize the high trust and confidence which have been placed in them by the people of the world and which have made motion pictures a universal form of entertainment.

They recognize their responsibility to the public because of this trust and because entertainment and art are important influences in the life of a nation.

Hence, though regarding motion pictures primarily as entertainment without any explicit purpose of teaching or propaganda, they know that the motion picture within its own field of entertainment may be directly responsible for spiritual or moral progress, for higher types of social life, and for much correct thinking.

During the rapid transition from silent to talking pictures they have realized the necessity and the opportunity of subscribing to a Code to govern the production of talking pictures and of re-acknowledging this responsibility.

On their part, they ask from the public and from public leaders a sympathetic understanding of their purposes and problems and a spirit of cooperation that will allow them the freedom and opportunity necessary to bring the motion picture to a still higher level of wholesome entertainment for all the people.

General Principles

1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.

Particular Applications

1. Crimes Against the Law
   These shall never be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.
2. Murder
3. The technique of murder must be presented in a way that will not inspire imitation.
4. Brutal killings are not to be presented in detail.
5. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified.
6. Methods of Crime should not be explicitly presented.
7. Theft, robbery, safe-cracking, and dynamiting of trains, mines, buildings, etc., should not be detailed in method.
8. Arson must subject to the same safeguards.
9. The use of firearms should be restricted to the essentials.
10. Methods of smuggling should not be presented.
11. Illegal drug traffic must never be presented.
12. The use of liquor in American life, when not required by the plot or for proper characterization, will not be shown.
13. Sex
    The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld. Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing.
14. Adultery, sometimes necessary plot material, must not be explicitly treated, or justified, or presented attractively.
15. Scenes of Passion
16. They should not be introduced when not essential to the plot.
17. Excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown.
18. In general passion should so be treated that these scenes do not stimulate the lower and baser element.
19. Seduction or Rape
20. They should never be more than suggested, and only when essential for the plot, and even then never shown by explicit method.
21. They are never the proper subject for comedy.
22. Sex perversion or any inference to it is forbidden.
23. White slavery shall not be treated.
24. Miscegenation (sex relationships between the white and black races) is forbidden.
25. Sex hygiene and venereal diseases are not subjects for motion pictures.
26. Scenes of actual child birth, in fact or in silhouette, are never to be presented.
27. Children's sex organs are never to be exposed.

III. Vulgarity
The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience.

1. Obscenity
   Obscenity in word, gesture, reference, song, joke, or by suggestion (even when likely to be understood only by part of the audience) is forbidden.
2. Profanity
   Pointed profanity (this includes the words, God, Lord, Jesus, Christ - unless used reverently - Hell, S.O.B., damn, Gawd), or every other profane or vulgar expression however used, is forbidden.
3. Costume
   1. Complete nudity is never permitted. This includes nudity in fact or in silhouette, or any lecherous or licentious notice thereof by other characters in the picture.
4. Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot.
5. Indecent or undue exposure is forbidden.
6. Dancing or costumes intended to permit undue exposure or indecent movements in the dance are forbidden.

VII. Dances
1. Dances suggesting or representing sexual actions or indecent passions are forbidden.

2. Dances which emphasize indecent movements are to be regarded as obscene.

VIII. Religion
1. No film or episode may throw ridicule on any religious faith.

2. Ministers of religion in their character as ministers of religion should not be used as comic characters or as villains.
3. Ceremonies of any definite religion should be carefully and respectfully handled.
4. Locations
   The treatment of bedrooms must be governed by good taste and delicacy.
5. National Feelings
   1. The use of the Flag shall be consistently respectful.
6. The history, institutions, prominent people and citizenry of other nations shall be represented fairly.
7. Titles
   Salacious, indecent, or obscene titles shall not be used.

XII. Repellent Subjects
The following subjects must be treated within the careful limits of good taste:
1. Actual hangings or electrocutions as legal punishments for crime.
2. Third degree methods.
3. Brutality and possible gruesomeness.
4. Branding of people or animals.
5. Apparent cruelty to children or animals.
6. The sale of women, or a woman selling her virtue.
7. Surgical operations.

Reasons Supporting the Preamble of the Code

1. Theatrical motion pictures, that is, pictures intended for the theatre as distinct from pictures intended for churches, schools, lecture halls, educational movements, social reform movements, etc., are primarily to be regarded as ENTERTAINMENT.

Mankind has always recognized the importance of entertainment and its value in rebuilding the bodies and souls of human beings.

But it has always recognized that entertainment can be a character either HELPFUL or HARMFUL to the human race, and in consequence has clearly distinguished between:

1. Entertainment which tends to improve the race, or at least to re-create and rebuild human beings exhausted with the realities of life; and
2. Entertainment which tends to degrade human beings, or to lower their standards of life and living.

Hence the MORAL IMPORTANCE of entertainment is something which has been universally recognized. It enters intimately into the lives of men and women and affects them closely; it occupies their minds and affections during leisure hours; and ultimately touches the whole of their lives. A man may be judged by his standard of entertainment as easily as by the standard of his work.

So correct entertainment raises the whole standard of a nation.

Wrong entertainment lowers the whole living conditions and moral ideals of a race.

Note, for example, the healthy reactions to healthful sports, like baseball, golf; the unhealthy reactions to sports like cockfighting, bullfighting, bear baiting, etc.

Note, too, the effect on ancient nations of gladiatorial combats, the obscene plays of Roman times, etc.

1. Motion pictures are very important as ART.

Though a new art, possibly a combination art, it has the same object as the other arts, the presentation of human thought, emotion, and experience, in terms of an appeal to the soul through the senses.

Here, as in entertainment,

Art enters intimately into the lives of human beings.

Art can be morally good, lifting men to higher levels. This has been done through good music, great painting, authentic fiction, poetry, drama.

Art can be morally evil it its effects. This is the case clearly enough with unclean art, indecent books, suggestive drama. The effect on the lives of men and women are obvious.

Note: It has often been argued that art itself is unmoral, neither good nor bad. This is true of the THING which is music, painting, poetry, etc. But the THING is the PRODUCT of some person's mind, and the intention of that mind was either good or bad morally when it produced the thing. Besides, the thing has its EFFECT upon those who come into contact with it. In both these ways, that is, as a product of a mind and as the cause of definite effects, it has a deep moral significance and unmistakable moral quality.

Hence: The motion pictures, which are the most popular of modern arts for the masses, have their moral quality from the intention of the minds which produce them and from their effects on the moral lives and reactions of their audiences. This gives them a most important morality.

1. They reproduce the morality of the men who use the pictures as a medium for the expression of their ideas and ideals.
2. They affect the moral standards of those who, through the screen, take in these ideas and ideals.

In the case of motion pictures, the effect may be particularly emphasized because no art has so quick and so widespread an appeal to the masses. It has become in an incredibly short period the art of the multitudes.

III. The motion picture, because of its importance as entertainment and because of the trust placed in it by the peoples of the world, has special MORAL OBLIGATIONS:

1. Most arts appeal to the mature. This art appeals at once to every class, mature, immature, developed, undeveloped, law abiding, criminal. Music has its grades for different classes; so has literature and drama. This art of the motion picture, combining as it does the two fundamental appeals of looking at a picture and listening to a story, at once reaches every class of society.
2. By reason of the mobility of film and the ease of picture distribution, and because the possibility of duplicating positives in large quantities, this art reaches places unpenetrated by other forms of art.
3. Because of these two facts, it is difficult to produce films intended for only certain classes of people. The exhibitors' theatres are built for the masses, for the cultivated and the rude, the mature and the immature, the self-respecting and the criminal. Films, unlike books and music, can with difficulty be confined to certain selected groups.
4. The latitude given to film material cannot, in consequence, be as wide as the latitude given to book material. In addition:
5. A book describes; a film vividly presents. One presents on a cold page; the other by apparently living people.
6. A book reaches the mind through words merely; a film reaches the eyes and ears through the reproduction of actual events.
7. The reaction of a reader to a book depends largely on the keenness of the reader's imagination; the reaction to a film depends on the vividness of presentation.

Hence many things which might be described or suggested in a book could not possibly be presented in a film.

1. This is also true when comparing the film with the newspaper.
2. Newspapers present by description, films by actual presentation.
3. Newspapers are after the fact and present things as having taken place; the film gives the events in the process of enactment and with apparent reality of life.
4. Everything possible in a play is not possible in a film:
5. Because of the larger audience of the film, and its consequential mixed character. Psychologically, the larger the audience, the lower the moral mass resistance to suggestion.
6. Because through light, enlargement of character, presentation, scenic emphasis, etc., the screen story is brought closer to the audience than the play.
7. The enthusiasm for and interest in the film actors and actresses, developed beyond anything of the sort in history, makes the audience largely sympathetic toward the characters they portray and the stories in which they figure. Hence the audience is more ready to confuse actor and actress and the characters they portray, and it is most receptive of the emotions and ideals presented by the favorite stars.
8. Small communities, remote from sophistication and from the hardening process which often takes place in the ethical and moral standards of larger cities, are easily and readily reached by any sort of film.
9. The grandeur of mass settings, large action, spectacular features, etc., affects and arouses more intensely the emotional side of the audience.

In general, the mobility, popularity, accessibility, emotional appeal, vividness, straightforward presentation of fact in the film make for more intimate contact with a larger audience and for greater emotional appeal.

Hence the larger moral responsibilities of the motion pictures.

Reasons Underlying the General Principles

1. No picture shall be produced which will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrong-doing, evil or sin.

This is done:

1. When evil is made to appear attractive and alluring, and good is made to appear unattractive.
2. When the sympathy of the audience is thrown on the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil, sin. The same is true of a film that would thrown sympathy against goodness, honor, innocence, purity or honesty.

Note: Sympathy with a person who sins is not the same as sympathy with the sin or crime of which he is guilty. We may feel sorry for the plight of the murderer or even understand the circumstances which led him to his crime: we may not feel sympathy with the wrong which he has done. The presentation of evil is often essential for art or fiction or drama. This in itself is not wrong provided:

1. That evil is not presented alluringly. Even if later in the film the evil is condemned or punished, it must not be allowed to appear so attractive that the audience's emotions are drawn to desire or approve so strongly that later the condemnation is forgotten and only the apparent joy of sin is remembered.
2. That throughout, the audience feels sure that evil is wrong and good is right.
3. Correct standards of life shall, as far as possible, be presented.

A wide knowledge of life and of living is made possible through the film. When right standards are consistently presented, the motion picture exercises the most powerful influences. It builds character, develops right ideals, inculcates correct principles, and all this in attractive story form.

If motion pictures consistently hold up for admiration high types of characters and present stories that will affect lives for the better, they can become the most powerful force for the improvement of mankind.

III. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.

By natural law is understood the law which is written in the hearts of all mankind, the greater underlying principles of right and justice dictated by conscience.

By human law is understood the law written by civilized nations.

1. The presentation of crimes against the law is often necessary for the carrying out of the plot. But the presentation must not throw sympathy with the crime as against the law nor with the criminal as against those who punish him.
2. The courts of the land should not be presented as unjust. This does not mean that a single court may not be presented as unjust, much less that a single court official must not be presented this way. But the court system of the country must not suffer as a result of this presentation.

Reasons Underlying the Particular Applications

1. Sin and evil enter into the story of human beings and hence in themselves are valid dramatic material.
2. In the use of this material, it must be distinguished between sin which repels by it very nature, and sins which often attract.
3. In the first class come murder, most theft, many legal crimes, lying, hypocrisy, cruelty, etc.
4. In the second class come sex sins, sins and crimes of apparent heroism, such as banditry, daring thefts, leadership in evil, organized crime, revenge, etc.

The first class needs less care in treatment, as sins and crimes of this class are naturally unattractive. The audience instinctively condemns all such and is repelled.

Hence the important objective must be to avoid the hardening of the audience, especially of those who are young and impressionable, to the thought and fact of crime. People can become accustomed even to murder, cruelty, brutality, and repellent crimes, if these are too frequently repeated.

The second class needs great care in handling, as the response of human nature to their appeal is obvious. This is treated more fully below.

III. A careful distinction can be made between films intended for general distribution, and films intended for use in theatres restricted to a limited audience. Themes and plots quite appropriate for the latter would be altogether out of place and dangerous in the former.

Note: The practice of using a general theatre and limiting its patronage to "Adults Only" is not completely satisfactory and is only partially effective.

However, maturer minds may easily understand and accept without harm subject matter in plots which do younger people positive harm.

Hence: If there should be created a special type of theatre, catering exclusively to an adult audience, for plays of this character (plays with problem themes, difficult discussions and maturer treatment) it would seem to afford an outlet, which does not now exist, for pictures unsuitable for general distribution but permissible for exhibitions to a restricted audience.

1. Crimes Against the Law
   The treatment of crimes against the law must not:
2. Teach methods of crime.
   2. Inspire potential criminals with a desire for imitation.
   3. Make criminals seem heroic and justified.

Revenge in modern times shall not be justified. In lands and ages of less developed civilization and moral principles, revenge may sometimes be presented. This would be the case especially in places where no law exists to cover the crime because of which revenge is committed.

Because of its evil consequences, the drug traffic should not be presented in any form. The existence of the trade should not be brought to the attention of audiences.

The use of liquor should never be excessively presented. In scenes from American life, the necessities of plot and proper characterization alone justify its use. And in this case, it should be shown with moderation.

1. Sex
   Out of a regard for the sanctity of marriage and the home, the triangle, that is, the love of a third party for one already married, needs careful handling. The treatment should not throw sympathy against marriage as an institution.

Scenes of passion must be treated with an honest acknowledgement of human nature and its normal reactions. Many scenes cannot be presented without arousing dangerous emotions on the part of the immature, the young or the criminal classes.

Even within the limits of pure love, certain facts have been universally regarded by lawmakers as outside the limits of safe presentation.

In the case of impure love, the love which society has always regarded as wrong and which has been banned by divine law, the following are important:

1. Impure love must not be presented as attractive and beautiful.
2. It must not be the subject of comedy or farce, or treated as material for laughter.
3. It must not be presented in such a way to arouse passion or morbid curiosity on the part of the audience.
4. It must not be made to seem right and permissible.
5. It general, it must not be detailed in method and manner.

III. Vulgarity; IV. Obscenity; V. Profanity; hardly need further explanation than is contained in the Code.

1. Costume
   General Principles:
2. The effect of nudity or semi-nudity upon the normal man or woman, and much more upon the young and upon immature persons, has been honestly recognized by all lawmakers and moralists.
3. Hence the fact that the nude or semi-nude body may be beautiful does not make its use in the films moral. For, in addition to its beauty, the effect of the nude or semi-nude body on the normal individual must be taken into consideration.
4. Nudity or semi-nudity used simply to put a "punch" into a picture comes under the head of immoral actions. It is immoral in its effect on the average audience.
5. Nudity can never be permitted as being necessary for the plot. Semi-nudity must not result in undue or indecent exposures.
6. Transparent or translucent materials and silhouette are frequently more suggestive than actual exposure.

VII. Dances
Dancing in general is recognized as an art and as a beautiful form of expressing human emotions.

But dances which suggest or represent sexual actions, whether performed solo or with two or more; dances intended to excite the emotional reaction of an audience; dances with movement of the breasts, excessive body movements while the feet are stationary, violate decency and are wrong.

VIII. Religion
The reason why ministers of religion may not be comic characters or villains is simply because the attitude taken toward them may easily become the attitude taken toward religion in general. Religion is lowered in the minds of the audience because of the lowering of the audience's respect for a minister.

1. Locations
   Certain places are so closely and thoroughly associated with sexual life or with sexual sin that their use must be carefully limited.
2. National Feelings
   The just rights, history, and feelings of any nation are entitled to most careful consideration and respectful treatment.
3. Titles
   As the title of a picture is the brand on that particular type of goods, it must conform to the ethical practices of all such honest business.

XII. Repellent Subjects
Such subjects are occasionally necessary for the plot. Their treatment must never offend good taste nor injure the sensibilities of an audience.

Cardiff’s International LGBT Short Film Prize supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation...awards £30,000 to the best short film...

     Vessels, by US filmmaker Arkasha Stevenson - 2015 Iris Prize

     Closets, directed by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan - Best UK Short

     Fourth Man Out directed by Andrew Nackman - Best feature

BBC2 have said that they are more than up for green-lighting a second run...of:

Boy Meets Girl

Keep your fingers crossed that it'll happen.

Let us hope that this will be the end of that long-running idiotic argument/debate...

Trans actors playing trans character...

To understand how ridiculous this argument has been...all we need to to is extrapolate a little...and, we mean a little...

Serial killers playing serial killers...

Disabled actors playing disabled characters...oh no, there goes that Oscar nomination!!!

They are actors...!

It does not matter what they have or have not got between their legs...can they play the part with conviction?!?

Can they act...?

Eastenders has set the ball rolling...let us hope that it's not a publicity stunt...

Riley Carter Millington...will be a British Soap’s first major transgender character played by a transgender actor.

Eighty-one countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards®.  Paraguay is a first-time entrant.

We have counted ONLY 6 LGBT films...not exactly inspiring!

The 2015 submissions are:

Afghanistan, "Utopia," Hassan Nazer, director;

Albania, "Bota," Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci, directors;

Algeria, "Twilight of Shadows," Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina, director;

Argentina, "The Clan," Pablo Trapero, director;

Australia, "Arrows of the Thunder Dragon," Greg Sneddon, director;

Austria, "Goodnight Mommy," Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, directors;

Bangladesh, "Jalal’s Story," Abu Shahed Emon, director;

Belgium, "The Brand New Testament," Jaco Van Dormael, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Our Everyday Story," Ines Tanović, director;

Brazil, "The Second Mother," Anna Muylaert, director;

Bulgaria, "The Judgment," Stephan Komandarev, director;

Cambodia, "The Last Reel," Sotho Kulikar, director;

Canada, "Félix and Meira," Maxime Giroux, director;

Chile, "The Club," Pablo Larraín, director;

China, "Go Away Mr. Tumor," Han Yan, director;

Colombia, "Embrace of the Serpent," Ciro Guerra, director;

Costa Rica, "Imprisoned," Esteban Ramírez, director;

Croatia, "The High Sun," Dalibor Matanić, director;

Czech Republic, "Home Care," Slavek Horak, director;

Denmark, "A War," Tobias Lindholm, director;

Dominican Republic, "Sand Dollars," Laura Amelia Guzmán, Israel Cárdenas, directors;

Estonia, "1944," Elmo Nüganen, director;

Ethiopia, "Lamb," Yared Zeleke, director;

Finland, "The Fencer," Klaus Härö, director;

France, "Mustang," Deniz Gamze Ergüven, director;

Georgia, "Moira," Levan Tutberidze, director;

Germany, "Labyrinth of Lies," Giulio Ricciarelli, director;

Greece, "Xenia," Panos H. Koutras, director;

Guatemala, "Ixcanul," Jayro Bustamante, director;

Hong Kong, "To the Fore," Dante Lam, director;

Hungary, "Son of Saul," László Nemes, director;

Iceland, "Rams," Grímur Hákonarson, director;

India, "Court," Chaitanya Tamhane, director;

Iran, "Muhammad: The Messenger of God," Majid Majidi, director;

Iraq, "Memories on Stone," Shawkat Amin Korki, director;

Ireland, "Viva," Paddy Breathnach, director;

Israel, "Baba Joon," Yuval Delshad, director;

Italy, "Don't Be Bad," Claudio Caligari, director;

Ivory Coast, "Run," Philippe Lacôte, director;

Japan, "100 Yen Love," Masaharu Take, director;

Jordan, "Theeb," Naji Abu Nowar, director;

Kazakhstan, "Stranger," Yermek Tursunov, director;

Kosovo, "Babai," Visar Morina, director;

Kyrgyzstan, "Heavenly Nomadic," Mirlan Abdykalykov, director;

Latvia, "Modris," Juris Kursietis, director;

Lebanon, "Void," Naji Bechara, Jad Beyrouthy, Zeina Makki, Tarek Korkomaz, Christelle

Ighniades, Maria Abdel Karim, Salim Haber, directors;

Lithuania, "The Summer of Sangaile," Alanté Kavaïté, director;

Luxembourg, "Baby (A)lone," Donato Rotunno, director;

Macedonia, "Honey Night," Ivo Trajkov, director;

Malaysia, "Men Who Save the World," Liew Seng Tat, director;

Mexico, "600 Miles," Gabriel Ripstein, director;

Montenegro, "You Carry Me," Ivona Juka, director;

Morocco, "Aida," Driss Mrini, director;

Nepal, "Talakjung vs Tulke," Basnet Nischal, director;

Netherlands, "The Paradise Suite," Joost van Ginkel, director;

Norway, "The Wave," Roar Uthaug, director;

Pakistan, "Moor," Jami, director;

Palestine, "The Wanted 18," Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan, directors;

Paraguay, "Cloudy Times," Arami Ullón, director;

Peru, "NN," Héctor Gálvez, director;

Philippines, "Heneral Luna," Jerrold Tarog, director;

Poland, "11 Minutes," Jerzy Skolimowski, director;

Portugal, "Arabian Nights – Volume 2, The Desolate One," Miguel Gomes, director;

Romania, "Aferim!" Radu Jude, director;

Russia, "Sunstroke," Nikita Mikhalkov, director;

Serbia, "Enclave," Goran Radovanović, director;

Singapore, "7 Letters," Royston Tan, Kelvin Tong, Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin,

Boo Junfeng, K. Rajagopal, directors;

Slovakia, "Goat," Ivan Ostrochovský, director;

Slovenia, "The Tree," Sonja Prosenc, director;

South Africa, "The Two of Us," Ernest Nkosi, director;

South Korea, "The Throne," Lee Joon-ik, director;

Spain, "Flowers," Jon Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga, directors;

Sweden, "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence," Roy Andersson, director;

Switzerland, "Iraqi Odyssey," Samir, director;

Taiwan, "The Assassin," Hou Hsiao-hsien, director;

Thailand, "How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)," Josh Kim, director;

Turkey, "Sivas," Kaan Müjdeci, director;

United Kingdom, "Under Milk Wood," Kevin Allen, director;

Uruguay, "A Moonless Night," Germán Tejeira, director;

Venezuela, "Gone with the River," Mario Crespo, director;

Vietnam, "Jackpot," Dustin Nguyen, director.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars^® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre^® at Hollywood & Highland Center^® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

With great, great sadness...

Chantal Akerman took her own life on 5 October 2015.

Victoria A. Brownworth @ Curve has written a fine and fitting tribute...

Please...read it...a voice has been lost.

Our wee Scottish pixie is developing a series about gay New York restaurateur, Florent Morelle.

‘Inspired by the true story of Morellet, who in the early ’80s opened a restaurant in NY’s wild and woolly Meatpacking District, Florent will explore the light and dark of that time, as well as the craziness of a place that become a destination for everyone from NY’s literati to the neighborhood hookers and hustlers, the NYPD, and the burgeoning LGBT community — all through the eyes of Florent, played by Cumming (with advice from the real restaurateur himself). Morellet ran his idiosyncratic French diner for 23 years, until his landlord drastically increased his rent.’

Published in 1978, Andrew Holleran's novel - finally - gets a film adaptation.

Alan Poul - producer of Armistead Maupin's Tales... & Six Feet Under - is set to direct.

Shooting doesn't start until summer 2016...

So, we'll have to wait until 2017...to see Anthony Malone & Andrew Sutherland's shenanigans.

Or, you can read the book...whet that appetite...published by Harper Perennial.

THE WINNERS ARE...

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Niecy Nash, Getting On

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Episodes, “Episode 409,” David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik
Louie, “Bobby’s House,” Louis C.K.
Silicon Valley, “Two Days of the Condor,” Alec Berg
The Last Man on Earth, “Alive in Tucson (Pilot),” Will Forte
Transparent, “Pilot,” Jill Soloway
Veep, “Election Night,” Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Adam Driver, Girls
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Louie, “Sleepover,” Louis C.K.
Silicon Valley, “Sand Hill Shuffle,” Mike Judge
The Last Man on Earth, “Alive in Tucson (Pilot),” Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Transparent, “Best New Girl,” Jill Soloway
Veep, “Testimony,” Armando Iannucci

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Louis C.K., Louie
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
William H. Macy, Shameless
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

More like battle of the films...or, the names...

In case you don't know anything about this...there's the 2013 documentary about the squalid event...you can read our review:

Two projects are being planned:

HBO...with Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti

Fox Searchlight...with Brie Larson as King and Steve Carell as Riggs.

The vile Bobby Riggs is going to make money out of these...doubly so.

He may not have won the match...but, he's laughing...!

NBC are developing an idea...

Re-making Hart to Hart...with...wait for it...a gay couple!!!

WHAT?!?

Just change their f**king names and it wouldn't be a re-make...or, is it the intention to churn out all the old scripts?!?

Is Max going to be an old gnarled drag queen, puffing on 100-a-day, suffering from emphysema? Freeway becomes a coiffured Shih Tzu!!!

A bad idea...is so many ways.

Where has all the originality gone?!?

There was the short story, the film, the [awful] opera...and now...

Flog that dead horse...why dontcha!

aka The Krays...

These delectable characters get numerous makeovers in 2015...in no less than 3 films made about their devilish ways...

Hopefully, we'll never see their ugly mugs and minds - on film - again. A subject well and truly exhausted.

Graeme Coleman from the LGBT site Daily Xtra - quite rightly - made to feel like a knob!!!

We think...Tom was very polite.

Ed Koch - once, when asked the same question - replied: It's none of your f**king business.

The editorial team @ Daily Xtra have defended Mr Coleman...really, think about it, is it any of your f**king business?

Categorically, NO.

And, let's be truthful, it was a fantasticallly stupid question!

In recent months, some [LGBT] 'journalists' (for want of a better word) have tried to scoop-the-outing of many a celebrity...give it a rest!

Unless a person is a humongous hypocrite...their sexuality is no f**king business of ours.

Desde Allá by Lorenzo Vigas

You can read our review here

Set in Caracas, Desde Alla tells the story of a rich 50-year-old gay man who begins an affair with a 17-year-old gang leader.

Tom Hooper for The Danish Girl.

You can read our review here

The trailer est arrivé...

American Horror Story: Hotel airs in the US October 7 on FX

and the LGBT films are...

About Ray

Directed by Gaby Dellal - USA

Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon and Elle Fanning star in this funny and touching story about a NYC teenager struggling with gender identity.

Benjamin

Directed by Sherren Lee – Canada

When a dually-pregnant lesbian couple loses one of the babies in utero, the grieving mothers break their surrogacy arrangement with another gay couple — their closest friends — in order to keep the remaining baby. Driven by stellar performances, Benjamin traverses complex emotional terrain as it redefines the classic family drama.

Closet Monster

Directed by Stephen Dunn - Canada

An East Coast teenager and aspiring special-effects makeup artist (Connor Jessup, Blackbird) struggles with both his sexuality and his fear of his macho father, in this imaginative twist on the coming-of-age tale from first-time feature director Stephen Dunn.

Desde Allá

Directed by Lorenzo Vigas - Venezuela/Mexico

Newcomer Lorenzo Vigas’ first feature explores issues of social stratification through the story of a wealthy man who pays young men to endure a kind of contact-free abuse, only to find unexpected intimacy with one of his companions.

Downriver

Directed by Grant Scicluna - Australia

A young ex-con encounters secrets from the past and danger in the present when he returns to the rural Australian community to discover the truth behind a crime he supposedly committed when he was a child.

Fire Song

Directed by Adam Garnet Jones - Canada

One of the first films by a First Nations director to deal with two-spirited people, the thoughtful and moving debut feature by Adam Garnet Jones focuses on a young Anishinaabe man who is forced to choose between staying in his community or exploring the expanded possibilities of the world outside.

Freeheld

Directed by Peter Sollett - USA

Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Steve Carell and Michael Shannon star in this true story about terminally ill New Jersey police officer Laurel Hester, whose 2005 legal battle to pass on her pension benefits to her domestic partner became a flashpoint for LGBT activism.

Girls Lost

Directed by Alexandra-Therese Keining - Sweden

Three outcast teenage girls get a new perspective on high-school life when they are mysteriously transformed into boys, in this skillfully crafted tale of sexual confusion with a supernatural twist.

The Guy From Work

Directed by Jean-François Leblanc - Canada

Raynald has worked at the same tire plant for over thirty years without incident — until a long-held secret compels him to break the unspoken rules of his workplace’s raucous fraternity.

In Jackson Heights

Directed by Frederick Wiseman - USA

Legendary documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman (At Berkeley, National Gallery) explores the culture, politics and daily life of the Queens, NYC district of Jackson Heights, which lays claim to being the most diverse neighbourhood in the world.

Never Steady, Never Still

Directed by Kathleen Hepburn – Canada

A troubled young man is driven back to his childhood home by a horrible mistake — and discovers that he is not alone in his struggle. Never Steady, Never Still is a thundering whisper that beautifully captures the solace of family and home.

One Last Night

Directed by Kerem Blumberg - Israel

In this tough and tender punk-rock romance, Noa and Orr have just one more night to spend together in Tel Aviv before Orr leaves for Berlin. But, as is so often the case, the passions and ideals of youth may be imperilled by adulthood's tough emotional truths and knotty ethical dilemmas.

Peacock

Directed by Ondrej Hudecek - Czech Republic

A writer named Ladislav terrorizes a nineteenth-century Bohemian village with his mischief, until war breaks out and he is forced to hide in a monastery where he unexpectedly discovers his hidden desires. Peacock is at once a historical picture book, a queer literary encyclopedia, and a black comedy based on a true story about revered Czech writer Ladislav Stroupeznický.

She Stoops To Conquer

Directed by Zack Russell - Canada

A struggling talent-show performer wanders into a nightclub disguised in a mask, and is inexplicably attracted to the real-life doppelgänger of her masked character. She Stoops to Conquer is a fantastical oddity that celebrates those who defy the status quo in their search for self-expression.

The Society

Directed by Osama Rasheed - Iraq/Germany

Lovers Muhamad and Ahmed live in a society that not only rejects homosexuality but actively and insistently pressures its young men into marriage and fatherhood. In this frank look at a strictly religious and traditional society, filmmaker Osama Rasheed delivers a raw and starkly honest statement about the experience of being gay in Iraq.

Stonewall

Directed by Roland Emmerich - USA

Roland Emmerich (Anonymous) directs this drama about the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, which became a milestone in the LGBTQ rights movement in North America.

Summertime

Directed by Catherine Corsini - France

In 1971 France, a young girl from a rural family moves to Paris and begins a life-changing affair with a feminist activist.

Te Prometo Anarquía

Directed by Julio Hernández Cordón - Mexico/Germany

The daring new feature from Mexico’s Julio Hernandez follows two teenage lovers in Mexico City who become embroiled in the city’s illegal, narco-run blood trade.

Women He's Undressed

Directed by Gillian Armstrong - Australia

Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career, Little Women) directs this documentary tribute to legendary Hollywood costume designer Orry-Kelly, who won multiple Academy Awards for his work on such classics as An American in Paris and Some Like It Hot.

...for the Responsibility Index of LGBT Characters on TV.

Reach for the tissues...the Network Responsibility Index’s job is done!

It will be replaced by the Where We Are On TV Report...the cheering is deafening! Calm yourselves.

This report will be more about the diversity of LGBT representation than the quantity.

Sounds utterly compelling.

...for a Theatrical Release

For the first time, Chinese censors have approved the theatrical release of an LGBT film without demanding any cuts. Seek McCartney, a Chinese-French production, stars pop star Han Geng alongside actor Jérémie Elkaïm, and recieved the greenlight after a year of deliberation. 

El Rey de la Habana (2015) Spain

Director: Agustí Villaronga

Freeheld (2015) USA

Director: Peter Sollett

Barash (2015) Israel

Director: Michal Vinik

El Club (2015) Chile

Director: Pablo Larraín

Desde Allá (2015)

Director: Lorenzo Vigas

Butterfly (2015) Argentina

Director: Marco Berger

Seriously...does anyone really care?

No.

Moscow Premiere has been cancelled...just a little bit too gay - for a state-funded festival.

In its place, the snappily entitled: Youth Festival of Life Affirming Film

The reportage stated that this was Russia's only LGBT film festival. WRONG!!!

Saint Petersburg has its very own LGBT festival...Side by Side International Film Festival.

Reporters...do your research before you commit to paper...use Google!!!

Shoddy decision. Shoddy reporting.

Here's the trailer for the final series...

Will Thomas Barrow have a happy ending?

9 - 12 September 2015

Heading the jury is American writer Alonso Duralde, Programmer for L.A. Outfest, pre-screener for the Sundance Film Festival, former arts and entertainment editor at the Advocate, film reviews editor for TheWrap; the other jury members are Daniel N. Casagrande, Founder of Queer Lion Award, journalist, member of the National Union of Italian Film Critics, teacher of History of Cinematographic Language and Marco Busato, Founder member and General Delegate of cultural association CinemArte, translator, academic in Cinema history.

The Nominations...

The Danish Girl by Tom Hooper with Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander (Uk/Usa, 120’) Venezia 72

Copenhagen, early Twenties. The Danish artist Gerda Wegener paints a portrait of her husband Einer dressed up as a woman. The painting gains a huge success and Einar starts permanently assuming a female appearance, changing his name to Lili Elbe. Inspired by feminist ideals and supported by the wife, Elbe attempts the first-ever male to female sex reassignment surgery, deeply affecting his marriage and identity.

Desde allá by Lorenzo Vigas with Alfredo Castro, Luis Silva (Venezuela, 93’) Venezia 72

In the chaotic Caracas, Armando, owner of a dental prosthesis laboratory, lurks nearby bus stations, approaches young boys and offers them money to accompany him home. Armando also uses to spy an old man, the place where he lives and the ones where he goes. Perhaps there is something in the past that links both of them. One day Armando brings home with him the 18-year-old Elder, head of a small gang of vandals. It’s the start of a relationship that will change their lives forever.

Spotlight by Thomas McCarthy with Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton (Usa, 123’) Fuori Concorso

In 2001, the Boston Globe conducted a report that shook the foundation of the city and shocked the world. Spotlight tells the story of this investigation, led by the members of the Globe detective team Spotlight. They uncovered the strategic blanketing by the Archdiocese of Boston on sexual abuses against children by several priests. Spotlight casts a new light on the investigations of men and women working to denounce the scandal.

Janis by Amy Berg (Usa, 115’) Fuori Concorso

The documentary follows the main stages of Janis Joplin’s life, from her performance at Monterey Pop in 1967 to Woodstock in 1969 and Festival Express in 1970, including interviews with relatives, friends and rock stars of her time. The soundtrack features Janis Joplin’s hits, among which Cry Baby, Mercedes Benz and Piece of My Heart. Amy Berg shows the woman behind the myth, other than the rock&roll icon, unveils a gentle, innocent yet strong woman. Well known as rock icon, the personal story of Janis Joplin is very complex. Janis serves as a narrator, telling us her life through the letters she wrote to her friends, relatives and lovers, leading us in a journey that starts from her childhood.

La calle de la amargura by Arturo Ripstein with Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Nora Velázquez (Mexico/Spain, 99’) Fuori Concorso

Two old prostitutes go back to their hovels. One of them has problems with the teenage daughter and the husband devoted to cross-dressing. The other one lives completely alone, with no ties. However, that night they have an appointment to celebrate the in-ring victory of two midget wrestlers. The film is based on the true story of two wrestlers found dead in a Cuauhtemoc hotel in Mexico City, presumably poisoned by the two women.

Lama Azavtani by Hadar Morag with Muhammad Daas, Yuval Gurevich (Israel/France, 94’) Orizzonti

A rejected boy from the fringes of society discovers a distant, enigmatic man, a lone ranger who dominates the back alleys of a filthy city. Stubborn and tenacious, the boy instills himself under the man`s wing. In their struggle for self-control, their attempts to restrain themselves get out of hand.

Arianna by Carlo Lavagna with Ondina Quadri, Massimo Popolizio (Italy, 84’) 12. Giornate degli Autori

Arianna is nineteen, but she’s still waiting to get her first period. As the summer begins, her parents decide to renew their acquaintance with their country house on Lake Bolsena, where Arianna lived until she was three, and has never been back. As the family settle in for the summer, long-repressed memories start to re-emerge, and Arianna decides to stay on after her parents return to the city.

Two Men in Love - The Irrepressibles Taken from 'Nude'

...of your heart.

No matter what you think of Coke...this sends out a damn fine message to a massive demographic.

Jesus H. Christ...this man can't accept the fact that he made a dud drama...Looking

Admittedly, it did improve in the second series...but, too little, too late.

He moans about how the gay community turned off after the pilot...

Well, think about it Andrew...they didn't turn off Channel 4's Cucumber and Banana.

Get over yourself! Accept and...move on, there's a good boy.

The six-part sitcom, which will air on BBC2 later this year, stars Harry Hepple and trans actress Rebecca Root.

The series was created by Trans Comedy Award winner Elliott Kerrigan along with Simon Carlyle and Andrew Mettam.

The show also stars Denise Welch of Waterloo Road as Leo’s mother, Janine Duvitski of Benidorm, Nigel Betts of Emmerdale, Lizzie Roper of Hollyoaks and Jonny Dixon of Coronation Street.

BBC Commissioning Editor Kristian Smith said: “Boy Meets Girl is a heart-warming romantic comedy that draws on the glorious differences that shape all of us.

“It’s a brilliant thing to be able to support comedy that is not only funny, but can also promote affirming messages of humanity and acceptance.”

The show is the first major role for Root, who usually works as a specialist voice coach heping trans people with their speaking voice.