"Django wasn't the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead. The other character was the lead!"—Will Smith explains why he passed on Django Unchained—his part wasn't big enough! Apparently Jamie Foxx has no concerns about the size of his part—and he showed off every inch of it in the film (and on our website).
One morning last week, I woke up to the following headline: "Collins Invited To Lead Gay Pride Parade." My first thought once again illustrates how out of touch I am: "Joan Collins is going to be in a gay pride parade?" I knew that wouldn't happen—La Collins hasn't seen direct sunlight since 1902. Maybe they meant Jackie Collins—you know, the one with all of that hair. Or maybe I was thinking of her because I just watched the Kentucky Derby.
I was wrong on both counts. They were talking about Jason Collins—the first male athlete to come out while still participating in a professional sport. (The basketball star was with the Washington Wizards, but is currently a free agent.) His historic coming-out was via an essay in Sports Illustrated. "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." Jason reveals one of the things that inspired his revelation: "I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn't even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator." This led to the invitation to be grand marshal of the 2013 Boston Gay Pride Parade. So far, Jason hasn't responded, but I believe both of the Collins girls are available.
Last week, the Tony nominations came out and I must congratulate a few special friends. Not surprisingly, Kinky Boots got the most nominations (13), including my dear Jerry Mitchell as Best Director of a Musical. The brilliant Holland Taylor got a Best Actress nod for her work in Ann (which just extended through the summer). And, of course, Andrea Martin will walk away with her Best Featured Tony for Pippin. Congrats!!!
The nominations also delivered a few surprising snubs. OK, I'm sure nobody really expected Scarlett Johansson to get a nomination (the first "Maggie" on Broadway to not get one). And despite some champions, no one really expected Jessica Chastain or Katie Holmes to even be invited as seat-fillers. Then there's Bette Midler, who got love letters from the critics for her portrayal of Sue Mengers in I'll Eat You Last. I don't know how to explain it, except that maybe some people on the nominating committee still see her as a replacement "Tzeitel!" Even more shocking was the omission of Alan Cumming for his solo take on Macbeth. But Alan's having the last laugh and has already lined up his next Broadway project—a revival of his Tony-winning turn as the Emcee in Cabaret. Someone who will not be starring alongside him is Anne Hathaway, who many outlets said was being pursued to play Sally Bowles. In fact, Emma Stone is the frontrunner for the part.
Moving on to television, this week also brought the Daytime Emmy nominations. Yes, they still hold the Daytime Emmys—except now they're on HLN (airing live June 16). Since the daytime field has really thinned out, it was a pretty predictable bunch. But we were happy to see Katherine Kelly Lang get her first nod after playing Brooke Logan for 26 years on The Bold and the Beautiful. Of course, my fondness for KKL might be encouraged by my fondness for her 23-year-old son, Jeremy Skott Snider. Although he previously worked with his mom on the soap, Jeremy has moved on to greener pastures—gay porn. OK, he only did it once. Well, twice. While his solo work is pleasant enough, his (alleged) "first time" bottoming scene has attracted scores of fans from the first time I ran it. Since it's come up yet again, I see no harm in sharing with you again—at BillyMasters.com .
We have a theater-related "Ask Billy" question. Roger in Connecticut writes: "I was looking at your photos on Facebook and was wondering if anyone has ever said that you look like Tony Goldwyn? My partner claims he saw Goldwyn naked in a play, but I've never heard about that. Is it true?"
You are not the first person to note my resemblance to Tony Goldwyn. It started after he did Ghost—back then, we also had similar hair. Needless to say, I take the comparison as a huge compliment. As to your second question, your partner is correct—Goldwyn did indeed appear nude in the 2006 off-Broadway production of The Water's Edge (written by Theresa Rebeck). As he undresses to take a bath, he not only exhibited an impressive physique (better than mine ever was) but also a substantial penis—which dangled and everything! We've unearthed some very explicit footage of this scene, which you can watch on BillyMasters.com .
When I'm attracted to my own doppelganger, it's definitely time to end yet another column. There's one last story to mention. Way back in 2000, when Miss Ross mounted her kinda "Supremes" reunion without Mary and Cindy, biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli said to me, "The only person who could ever keep those two in line was Berry Gordy. If he wanted to, he could sit them down in a room and resolve everything." But that never happened ... until recently.
The new Broadway show Motown: The Musical depicts Gordy's rise to fame—including his romance with Diana. On opening night, both former Supremes were in attendance. As the press descended on Berry after the show, they found him positioned between Diane and Mary—talk about a Kodak moment! The photos and footage are priceless—but, then again, so is everything at www.BillyMasters.com, the site that's worth its weight in gold. While you don't need to send me gold, I do encourage you to continue to ask your questions (for the column, or just between us). So send an e-mail to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Mary Wilson auditions to play Miss Ross in the national tour of Motown: The Musical! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
