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Trans-focused documentary part of South Side Film Festival
The documentary Mama Gloria—which features Chicago transgender icon Gloria Allen—was part of the South Side Film Festival line-up on Nov. 28. Born in 1945, Allen grew up amid the celebrated Black "sissy" balls on Chicago's South ...
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SHOWBIZ Netflix, Kal Penn, Dennis Rodman, 'The Voice,' 'Euphoria'
Video below
Terra Field—one of the Netflix employees who organized the walkout around Dave Chappelle's comedy special The Closer—has resigned from the streamer, Deadline reported. Field, along with B. Pagels-Minor, organized an ...
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SHOWBIZ '9-1-1,' Billie Jean King, Lena Waithe, singer Mary Lambert, White Party
Actor Rockmond Dunbar left the Fox show 9-1-1 after four seasons over a vaccine mandate, Deadline noted. His gay character, Michael Grant, was abruptly written off in the Nov. 15 episode, leaving fans of the first-responder ...
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Activist projects names of trans dead on Netflix HQ
--From a press release
LOS GATOS — On the Trans Day of Remembrance, the names of trans people who died this year were projected onto Netflix's Silicon Valley headquarters. The words of light were visible from Winchester Boulevard, over the ...
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MOVIES 'Dante and Beatrice in Florence' Nov. 28-Dec. 5
Porchlight Music Theatre is partnering with Hershey Felder Presents: Live from Florence and its second season of productions. The launch of this new season from Hershey Felder is the new musical film Dante and Beatrice in ...
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SHOWBIZ Theater items, Lady Gaga, 'Justice League Queer,' Tom of Finland
Eighteen months after he died of COVID, the life of playwright Terrence McNally was celebrated in a packed house Nov. 1 at the Schoenfeld Theatre, Gay City News noted. Tributes poured in from theater artists, while ...
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Actor Kal Penn discusses coming out, acting journey, systemic racism during tour
Following the publishing of actor Kal Penn's memoir You Can't Be Serious, he stopped in Chicago on Nov. 6 to discuss his Hollywood and White House careers—and the news of his coming out. Co-founder of Vice ...
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Billy Masters
"Of course I have. I'm an actor, for f**k's sake!"—Tom Hardy, when asked if he's had sex with men. Good to know. Sherri Shepherd is having a busy fall. She kicked off October by returning to ...
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SHOWBIZ Gay men's chorus, upcoming films, 'Tiger King,' Mariah Carey
Video below
The New York City Gay Men's Chorus announced its return to the rehearsal room, per a press release. On Nov. 1, 51 members gathered at P.S. 11 in Chelsea, Manhattan, to sing for the first time ...
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MOVIES 'Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol' Nov. 26-Jan. 3
Chicago's interdisciplinary performance collective Manual Cinema is ready to virtually broadcast Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, its inventive mixed-media adaptation of the most famous holiday tale of all time. Tickets, on ...
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Actress Kristen Stewart announces engagement
Actress Kristen Stewart announced she and actress/screenwriter Dylan Meyer are engaged in an interview with Howard Stern, CNN.com noted. "We're marrying, we're totally gonna do it," Stewart said. "I wanted to be proposed to, so I ...
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Black Harvest awards to go to directors of 'Dionne Warwick,' 'Reopening'
The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago announced the 2021 winners of the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Black Harvest Film Festival Prize—a cash award given to both the ...
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Trans Netflix employees file labor suit
Two transgender Netflix employees have filed labor charges against the streaming giant in the wake of the Dave Chappelle controversy concerning his special The Closer, alleging the company retaliated against them for speaking out against the ...
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Actor Kal Penn announces engagement to boyfriend
Actor Kal Penn (TV's House and Clarice; the Harold & Kumar films) revealed to People that he is engaged to marry his longtime partner, Josh, The Hollywood Reporter noted. The couple, who have been together for ...
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SHOWBIZ Non-binary actor, holiday TV specials, John Waters, Grammys
Video below
Non-binary actor E.R. Fightmaster (TV's Shrill and Work in Progress) is joining the cast of ABC's long-running medical drama series Grey's Anatomy as a recurring member: Dr. Kai Bartley, the show's first non-binary doctor, out.com. ...
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Chicago International Film Festival screens messages of diversity, inclusion at 57
The International Film Festival turned 57 in 2021. While it was scaled down from previous years, much of the festivities seemed just like old times. On Oct. 13-24, North Americans longest-running competitive film festival held screenings ...
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SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Haring/Ortiz mural, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billy Porter
Dancing the foxtrot alongside partner Jenna Johnson to Olivia Newton John's "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" for Dancing with the Stars' Grease night, 18-year-old social-media star JoJo Siwa received the season's first perfec ...
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MOVIES 'Bolshoi Ballet' series to start locally Nov. 7
The "2021-2022 Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema" series is set to begin Sunday, Nov. 7 with Bolshoi Ballet: Spartacus—LIVE. Spartacus is considered a ballet tour de force, set to Aram Khachaturian's score. Bolshoi Ballet: Spartacus—LIVE is set t ...
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Reeling: Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Fest names winners
--From a press release
CHICAGO, Illinois — The 39th Reeling: Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival today announced the winning films from its 2021 program, which included 33 feature films and 54 short films curated in nine programs. This year's submissions ...
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'Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets' LGBTQ+ Representation in the Media' panel Nov. 4
--From a press release
In recent years LGBTQ+ people have increasingly seen representations of themselves, celebrations of their lives and stories, and coverage of LGBTQ+ issues across media channels. This has led to a worldwide rise in understanding, cultural acceptance, ...
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Black Alphabet returns to host annual film festival in November
By Cris Villalonga-Vivoni
The Black Alphabet Film Festival (BAFF) is returning to Chicago after the pandemic forced the organization to cancel last year's event. On Nov. 5-7, BAFF will showcase 21 films and shorts about the Black queer experience ...
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SHOWBIZ Superman, TheWrap, Oscar Wilde, Billy Porter, Cher, 'Dragula'
The ongoing comic Superman: Son of Kal-El, by writer Tom Taylor and artist John Timms, launched in July and saw Jon Kent officially take up the mantle of the Man of Steel now that his father, ...
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Wizard World Comic Con returns to Chicago
After being canceled last year because of the COVID pandemic, Wizard World Comic Con Chicago returned to Rosemont's Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on Oct. 15-17—and thousands of people attended. People ranging from attendees to vendors ...
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CIFF, featuring LGBTQ+ films, running through Oct. 24
North America's longest-running competitive film festival, this year's event expands throughout Chicago with presentations at venues across the city, including at AMC River East 21; the Music Box Theatre; the Gene Siskel Film Center; special drive ...
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MOVIES Holiday comedy short centers on Muslim family and BIPOC queer relationship
The short film The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night follows Noor, a Muslim queer woman, and her experience with bringing her Puerto Rican partner home to meet her family for the first time. When Noor's ...
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THEATER 'A Rocky Horror Picture Party' at The Den on Oct. 30-31
Haven is presenting Science Fiction / Double Feature: A Rocky Horror Picture Party—an immersive Halloween experience that brings to life in vivid technicolor the world of the cult-classic film—directed by ...
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Madonna's latest concert film, Madame X, now out
The concept film to Madonna's acclaimed Madame X Tour has debuted in the United States Latin America, Australia, the Nordics and Canada exclusively on Paramount+, the streaming service from ViacomCBS. Fans outside these markets can watch ...
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MOVIES Colman Domingo to star in Bayard Rustin biopic
LGBTQ+ actor Colman Domingo—who has been in movies such as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Candyman, and TV shows ranging from Fear the Walking Dead to The Big Gay Sketch Show—has landed the lead role the ...
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Filmmakers Bennett Singer, Patrick Sammon talk new documentary Cured
Producer-directors Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon have created a new LGBTQ documentary: Cured. The film tells the story of the LGBTQ activists, allies and events surrounding the American Psychiatric Association's ...
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Sisters in Cinema, DocuClub providing consulting opportunities to filmmakers
Sisters in Cinema—a Chicago-based 501(C)3 that aims to center and celebrate Black girls, women and gender non-conforming media makers—and DocuClub, a work-in-progress screening series, have entered into a strategic partnership ...
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Int'l Film Fest to premiere queer Muslim film directed by Chicagoan Fawzia Mirza
--From a press release
LOS ANGELES CA - THE SYED FAMILY XMAS EVE GAME NIGHT will have its U.S. premiere at the 57th edition of the Chicago International Film Festival running October 13 - 24, 2021. This comes on the ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Queer/Art,' sports items, Kevin Bacon, Indya Moore
Queer|Art—New York City's home for the creative and professional development of LGBTQ+ artists—announced the fall season of Queer|Art|Film, returning in person through Dec. 13, a press release noted. The line-up ...
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WORLD Movie items, tennis survey, German politics, Thai court
Kenya's Film Censorship Board (KFCB) banned I Am Samuel, claiming the documentary—which has a gay protagonist—contravenes Kenyan values, Human Rights Watch noted. In a statement, the KFCB denounced the film ...
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Pritzker Military Museum, Library to screen TransMilitary doc, Q&A with special guests
--From a press release
CHICAGO, IL (September 27, 2021) On Thursday, Sept. 30, at 5:30 p.m., the Pritzker Military Museum & Library will host the screening of the 2018 SXSW Audience Award Winner for Best Documentary TransMilitary. The program will ...
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SHOWBIZ Transgender Talent, celebrity deaths, film festival, Whitney Houston
Transgender Talent—the trans-owned and operated management and production company—is looking to help Hollywood get better at portraying transgender and non-binary characters on screen with the launch of a new consulting ...
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MOVIES 24-hour horror marathon at Music Box on Oct. 23-24
"The Music Box of Horrors," sponsored by CreepyCo., will return to the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., from noon on Saturday, Oct. 23 through noon on Sunday, Oct. 24. The event will include special ...
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'Firebird' opens Reeling Chicago LGBTQ+ Internat'l Film Fest tonight
--From a press release
CHICAGO, Illinois — Tonight, the 39th annual Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival invites audiences to enjoy an in-person pre-party and theater screening of 'Firebird' for Opening Night at the Music Box Theater. Director P ...
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REVIEWS: Movies of Reeling 2021
Reeling: The 39th Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival will take place Friday, Sept. 23-Thursday, Oct. 7. After a virtual edition in 2020, Reeling returns with in-person screenings this year, kicking off with the Estonian romantic drama ...
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MOVIES 'Shang-Chi' actor in anti-gay controversy
Actor Simu Liu—the star of the latest Marvel action movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings—is embroiled in controversy over alleged Reddit comments he made about how pedophilia is "no different from being gay," ...
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FILM REVIEW Chastain mesmerizes in 'Tammy Faye,' but bio offers few surprises
Televangelists featured in some of the of the most spectacular falls from grace in the '80s. Television preachers who'd spent the better part of the '70s and the '80s insinuating themselves into pocketbooks, not to mention ...
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8th Annual Black Alphabet Film Festival on Nov. 5-7
The 8th Annual Black Alphabet Film Festival (BAFF) will take place Nov. 5-7 at the University of Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. One of the longest running Black ...
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Brittany Devon meets a 'Platonic Girlfriend'
Queer, genderfluid actor Brittany Devon has created a brand new project to explore with Platonic Girlfriend. It is the story of a relationship between straight woman Alice and a queer, nonbinary person named Dev. Devon stars ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Boy Meets Boy,' Jennifer Hudson, 'SVU,' tennis honor, ABBA
Ariztical Entertainment is releasing the German movie Boy Meets Boy on DVD and VOD on Oct. 26. According to a press release, the plot of the 70-minute movie is as follows: "Harry has been partying for ...
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MOVES Talking about 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'
The new movie Everybody's Talking About Jamie tells the inspiring story of Jamie New, a young drag artist who overcomes hardship and homophobia in Sheffield, England. Out actor Max Harwood stars as New, who gets by ...
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Survivor shares the story of trauma and thriving in 'Untold'
WARNING: This article contains material of a graphic nature. Gina M. Garcia is finally sharing her story of thriving after trauma in her new docu-drama biography, Untold: This is My Story, which premieres Sept. 6 at ...
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MOVIES Fall films harvest famous names for LGBTQ+ stories
The film industry is featuring world-renowned names like Lady Gaga, Truman Capote and Tammy Faye on the big screen this fall season. Award-winning musicals, true-life stories and far-out fiction are all part of the fun in ...
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MOVIES 'On Broadway' to open Sept. 10 in Highland Park
As theatergoers prepare for the return of Broadway after an unprecedented absence of 18 months, Kino Lorber is releasing Academy Award nominee Oren Jacoby's documentary On Broadway. The tribute to one of the most vibrant ...
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SHOWBIZ Billy Porter, 'Death Drop,' Brandi Carlile, vintage films, Gaga
Billy Porter will direct a queer teen comedy feature titled To Be Real for Amazon Studios, which is being helmed by Gabrielle Union's I'll Have Another Productions, NME.com noted. Porter, who is currently working on his ...
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EVENTS Celebrity attendees named for Wizard World Chicago
William Shatner (Star Trek; TV's Boston Legal), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy, TV's The Walking Dead), Matthew Lewis (All Creatures Great and Small), James Marsters (TV series Buffy the ...
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TV Netflix animated series 'Chicago Party Aunt' debuts Sept. 17
The LGBTQ-inclusive series Chicago Party Aunt will debut on Netflix on Friday, Sept. 17. Inspired by the popular Twitter account Chicago Party Aunt, this eight-episode adult animated comedy follows Diane Dunbrowski and nephew Daniel as they ...
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Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival announces full slate
--From a press release
CHICAGO, Illinois — Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival today announced the full slate of programming for 2021, opening September 23, 2021 at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.) and running September 24 ...
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MOVIES 'Mr. SOUL!' looks at groundbreaking '60s show and Black, gay host
Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Nikki Giovanni, James Baldwin, Cicely Tyson, Harry Belafonte, Muhammad Ali, The Last Poets, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sidney Poitier, Mavis Staples and even a teenaged Arsenio Hall were ...
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SHOWBIZ RuPaul, GALECA toast, Elliot Page, 'Chippendales,' bi model
RuPaul revealed a new wax figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, a press release noted. The all-new Rainbow Runway experience invites guests to "meet" and take cues from the most commercially successful drag queen of all ...
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MOVIES Candyman 'Say It. I Dare You' challenge Aug. 21-22 in Chicago
The Candyman "Say it. I Dare You!" challenge—an interactive pop-up experience—will take place Aug. 21-22, 12-8 p.m., at Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan Ave. Guests are invited to enter a dark room where they are challenged ...
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FACETS to reopen to the public Sept. 17
--From a press release
CHICAGO—FACETS has announced it will return to presenting in-person programming on Friday, September 17 while simultaneously screening virtual cinema. At an invitation-only Industry / Press Open House on Tuesday, August ...
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SHOWBIZ Ben Platt, Billie Jean King, Megan Thee Stallion, 'Horror Stories' series
Queer Grammy, Tony and Emmy-winning artist Ben Platt has dropped his new album, Reverie, via Atlantic Records, per a press release. Platt will mark the arrival of Reverie with his biggest North American headline tour to ...
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SHOWBIZ Frank Ocean, NPH, Playboy-era film, Vogue model
Miranda Lambert video below
Frank Ocean will headline Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2023—three years after he was originally supposed to, according to co-founder Paul Tollett, Billboard noted. The Goldenvoice CEO broke the news in an interview with ...
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Aug. 12 dance film to explore gender, queerness in South Asian arts
Ashwaty Chennat, a Chicago Dancemakers 2021 Digital Dance grantee, has continued her collaboration with Abhijeet Rane to explore gender, queerness and the body in South Asian arts and traditions. An excerpt of Chennai and Rane's ...
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Matt Damon responds to anti-gay controversy
Actor Matt Damon is insisting that he has never used the anti-gay "f-word" following backlash from a recent interview, Variety reported. In an article posted by the U.K.'s Sunday Times, the star was quoted saying he had stopped ...
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SHOWBIZ Ruby Rose, Matt Ryan, Beyonce, The Dinah, Simone Biles
Ruby Rose (Batwoman; Orange Is the New Black) tearfully revealed that it took her hours to get accepted into an emergency room due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, EW.com revealed. Rose took to her Instagram Story ...
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Reeling 39th Chicago LGBTQ+ Internat'l Film Fest in-person, virtual in September
--From a press release
(July 28, 2021 — Chicago, IL) Chicago Filmmakers, Gilead and AARP present The 39th annual Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival. Founded in 1981, the festival is the second longest-running film festival of its kind, ...
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'Filmmaking on the South Side' on Aug. 21
On Aug. 21, 7-9:30 p.m., Chicago Humanities Festival and local partners from Sisters in Cinema, South Side Home Movie Project and the Chicago South Side Film Festival will host a conversation about the development of community-based ...
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SHOWBIZ Script contest, LGBTQ film, Lady Gaga, Showtime, out sprinter
GLAAD and The Black List—the writer-centric entity whose work includes its annual list, screenplay marketplace, writer labs, and film and television productions—announced plans for The 2021 GLAAD List, the third ...
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Chicago Filmmakers awards $100,000 to local social injustice digital media projects
--From a press release
(July 20, 2021 — Chicago, IL) Chicago Filmmakers is pleased to announce that the Chicago Digital Media Production Fund (CDMPF) has awarded a total of $100,000 in grants to eight Chicago artists for the production of ...
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Billy Masters
"No excuses—I messed up. I'm a big sports fan. I'm like the guy at the end of the game who misses a free throw or a kick."—Spike Lee explains why he prematurely announced the winner of ...
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SHOWBIZ Ben Whishaw, non-binary actor, Cardi B, Obama, 'Grease' prequel
Out actor Ben Whishaw stars in the film Surge, which will debut Sept. 24 and On Demand, a press release announced. Whishaw portrays Joseph, who is trapped in a soulless job, living a life devoid of ...
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GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index shows more LGBTQ character screen time, not so for trans
--From a press release
Los Angeles, CA - Thursday, July 15, 2021 - GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today released its ninth annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), a study that maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of ...
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MOVIES 'In the Heights' available as soon as July 30
The 2021 musical film In the Heights will arrive on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 31. However, it will arrive for Premium Digital Ownership at home on July 30. The film is directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) ...
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Local film about Latinx community and COVID to screen July 22
On Thursday, July 22, at 6 p.m., the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., will host a screening of the film Seguimos Aqui. This documentary tells four unique stories of the impact of COVID on ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Pray Away,' film contest, LGBTQ book, musicians, 'Star Trek'
The new Netflix Original Documentary Pray Away, from executive producers Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum, will make its global launch on the platform Aug. 3, a press release noted. In the film, former leaders of the ...
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AIDS ballet movie coming to Chicago on July 16
The movie Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters will open Friday, July 16, in virtual cinemas in Chicago at Gene Siskel Film Center and Music Box Theatre. "Can You Bring It"—co-directed by Rosalynde LeBlanc and ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Hedwig,' Oscars, Demi Lovato, GLAAD, Stevie Nicks
Following 2019's sold-out, three-night engagement at The Town Hall in New York City (and several postponements in 2020), Hedwig and the Angry Inch co-creators John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask are returning with a rock spectacle ...
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MOVIES 'Truman & Tennessee' opening July 2 at Music Box
The film Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation will open Friday, July 2, in physical and virtual theater in Chicago at Music Box Theatre. Actors Zachary Quinto and Jim Parsons make voiceover contributions in the film ...
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Sisters in Cinema presents Sister Outsider Juneteenth Celebration
--From a press release
CHICAGO, IL- Sisters in Cinema, a Chicago-based 501(c)3 recently in the news for breaking ground on their new Media Arts Center, Is inviting all to participate in their inaugural Sister Outsider: Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June ...
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Music Box showing LGBTQ movie 'Summer of '85' on June 25
Music Box Theatre & Music Box Films, 3733 N. Southport Ave., will present out gay writer/director Francois Ozon's French love story Summer of '85, theatrically in 35mm, on Friday, June 25. Adapted by Ozon from Aidan ...
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