Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Billy Masters
by Billy Masters
2014-06-04

This article shared 3664 times since Wed Jun 4, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


"I would be thrilled if it's embraced by drag queens. I think we all share a love of this kind of costume."—Angelina Jolie shares her opinion on playing Maleficent. Something tells me we'll be seeing a gaggle of Maleficents on Halloween!

I never went to a prom. Don't cry for me, dear readers. I've made up for it by meeting presidents, royalty and even Oprah. But, no prom for Billy. One of my closest friends promised she'd go with me, and then at the last minute changed her mind—not that I'm holding a grudge. Whether you go to them or not, proms are part of our lives.

I remember years ago covering a story about a gay boy who was named prom queen by his class as a joke. We've come a long way, because last week, a 17-year-old Connecticut boy was named prom queen ... and he campaigned for the title! Nasir Fleming of Danbury was nominated for both prom king and queen. He decided the only title he wanted was prom queen. Fleming has a long history of being bullied for being openly gay since sixth grade. He says he's not sure if his nominations in either category were meant as a compliment or a joke. Regardless, he decided being prom queen was "fabulous." And so it goes ( as the late Linda Ellerbee used to say ).

This week brought quite a bit of good news to HBO. The first night The Normal Heart aired, 1.4 million viewers watched it, making it the fifth most watched HBO premiere since 2010. That said, it was still significantly lower than the 2.4 million people who watched Behind the Candelabra, the gay-themed movie HBO debuted the same weekend last year. Let's put it in perspective—Lifetime's Petals on the Wind debuted last week and was seen by 3.4 million, as opposed to Flowers in the Attic, which was seen by 6.1 million people.

By the way, The Normal Heart will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray Aug. 26. As luck would have it, that's the day after the Primetime Emmys, where the film is predicted to garner many wins for HBO.

Here's something I don't get to do very often—write a nice story about Justin Bieber. Actually, I almost never write about Bieber because, eh, why bother? But this is different. Last week, Justin was at the annual American Foundation for AIDS Research "Cinema Against AIDS" gala in Cannes when he found himself eyeing a stunning aquamarine-and-diamond Bulgari necklace which was being modeled by the former first lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. It was valued at more than $200,000. Within moments, Bieber found himself in a bidding war for the bauble with Leonardo DiCaprio. They went back and forth until Leo's last bid of $476,000. Just as DiCaprio thought he'd won, Bieber bid $545K and snagged the gem. Justin later said he wanted to buy the necklace for his mom, and also felt inspired to donate to such a good cause. Way to go, Biebs.

You may not believe it, but I can keep a secret. Have I told you who "You're So Vain" is about? How about who really killed Kennedy? Or for whom the bell tolls? Nope. I had been sworn to secrecy about the role my dear friend John Wesley Shipp will play in the upcoming Flash reboot ... until now. He'll be playing The Flash's father. Executive producer Greg Berlanti said, "Given his history with The Flash, [we] could only think of one person we wanted to play Barry's father and that was John Wesley Shipp. ... Also, personally, it was just wonderful to work with him again since my days at Dawson's Creek. He's a great actor and a great guy." He is, indeed.

For the first time in history, NBC has given a 12-episode order to a sitcom it is producing with Half-Core Entertainment and Shaw Media. That may not sound historic to you, but Half-Core and Shaw are Canadian broadcasters. So this isn't like Once Upon a Time being filmed up in Vancouver by a U.S. crew—this is a true collaboration between the United States and Canada to make a sitcom.

The show, Working the Engels, is about a family in crisis who must work together. But what it is really about is giving my friend Andrea Martin, perhaps the most talented woman on the planet, a job where she can shine for years to come. Actually, the real lead of the show is Kacey Rohl, who plays the most normal sibling—which is ironic since most of last season she was a murder victim on Hannibal, and this season she came back missing an ear! Look: I said she was normal; I didn't say she had all her body parts! Although it has already aired in Canada, NBC is launching the show this summer. It will air Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. and will debut July 10. I'm begging you—WATCH!

Our "Ask Billy" question this week comes from Victor in Pennsylvania: "Did I actually see a hot naked guy walk by in the beginning of The Normal Heart? Did guys walk around naked on Fire Island? I don't remember that in Longtime Companion. Could you track down who owns that gorgeous body and enormous penis?"

Well, Longtime Companion was made in 1989—something that really has been overlooked when discussing how long it took for The Normal Heart to make it to the big screen. As a theatrical release back then, you probably weren't gonna see a penis. But, I'm loath to call it "gratuitous nudity," knowing what a stickler for authenticity and detail Ryan Murphy is. To find the perfect specimen, I'm certain that he bent over backwards—or, at the very least, forward. I don't know who the nude guy is, but I'm happy to post every inch of him on BillyMasters.com .

When I'm still waiting to be invited to a prom, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Leave it to my readers to find the silver lining in a film about the AIDS epidemic. Still, that's what you'll find on www.BillyMasters.com—the site that's versatile. If you've got a question you'd like me to tackle, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before I book a trip to Fire Island! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.


This article shared 3664 times since Wed Jun 4, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical
2024-02-19
Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kelly Clarkson, Billy Porter and Luke Evans, 'All of Us,' 'Book of Mormon'
2024-01-05
Video below - At Kelly Clarkson's "Chemistry: An Intimate Evening" residency show in Las Vegas, two men got married with the help of the singer/talk-show host as a witness, EW.com noted. In an audience video from the show, fans ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The tea that got spilled in 2023
2023-12-26
"No offense, but you look like Billy Masters." —I don't know which part of this quip from a stranger insulted me more—that he didn't realize I am Billy Masters, or he thought someone would take offense ...


Gay News

MOVIES Bill Oliver reflects on a queer couple's custody fight in 'Our Son'
2023-12-21
In the compelling, intimate movie Our Son (in theaters and available via streaming), Luke Evans and Billy Porter portray a married couple in which one of them decides to file for divorce. However, this is no ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Barry Manilow really was just interested in the articles
2023-12-19
"I wouldn't be in it now if they gave me a million dollars. I'm never going to change my mind. They can just go you-know-what themselves." —Cher tells Kelly Clarkson her thoughts on being snubbed by ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ baseball executives announce cancer battles
2023-12-13
Openly gay Major League Baseball (MLB) executive Billy Bean announced he has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and that he needs a donor for a bone-marrow transplant, Gay City News noted. USA Today initially reported ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Fun messiness from the Ladies of the '80s
2023-12-12
"Everybody wants a bf like Timothée Chalamet...until it's time to change a tire." —Meghan McCain. OK, so she only retweeted it. But I'm filled with the spirit of giving. Alas, I suspect Timmy could only ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The icing on the cake at a gender-reveal party
2023-12-05
"To hell with this place!"—George Santos's parting comments after being ejected from Congress. He also said that Congress "is full of felons galore." At least, that's what I think he said. With his lisp, it sounded ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The Dolly Cowboy Cheerleaders
2023-11-28
Whoever intended to dumb down the citizens of America have done a FANTASTIC job. We are dumb as shit!"—Patti LuPone in an interview with broadcaster Tom Power prior to her touring show Don't Monkey with Broadway ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Billy Porter, queer novel, 'Tammy Faye,' queer DJ, Bella Ramsey
2023-11-24
Billy Porter released his long-awaited new album, Black Mona Lisa, via Island Records UK/Republic Records, and it's executive-produced by Justin Tranter, a press release noted. Porter said, "So many of the songs on my album have ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Was Kim Kardashian officiating your wedding worth it?
2023-11-20
I'd hoped to never again type the word "Jada" again. But this week, it's inevitable. It is being alleged that actor Duane Martin (don't feel bad—I had to look him up as well) slept with Will ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The times Streisand failed to make a splash
2023-11-13
"Fame is a hollow trophy. No matter who you are, you can only eat one pastrami sandwich at a time."—Wise words from Barbra Streisand. You all know that Barbra Streisand's book is out. And I ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Barbra's bio hits stores...but don't rain on Cher's parade either
2023-11-07
"I will be forced to be in a position where I will have to openly say how I feel about the film and go against you, my mother and this film publicly."—Lisa Marie Presley's e-mail to director Sofia Coppola after reading ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Britney spills the tea
2023-10-31
"Brad Pitt, I think, in 'Troy'. That's a beautiful man. There's no denying it."—Jacob Elordi tells Jimmy Fallon his first celebrity crush. (If you can't place Jacob, you'll soon see him playing Elvis Presley in Sofia ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Madonna sets her watch to Diva Time
2023-10-23
"It is truly obscene what they're charging for tickets to 'Merrily We Roll Along' on Broadway. $500 to $800. PLUS—$40 a ticket 'handling charge.'"—Kevin Chamberlin voices his outrage at the price of Broadway tickets. Imag ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.