Lucas Entertainment, headed by gay actor/director/entrepreneur Michael Lucas, won its court battle against the supposed owner of the Federico Fellini film, according to a press release. In February 2007, International Media Films ( IMF ) filed a lawsuit against Lucas Entertainment, Inc., alleging that Lucas Entertainment's pornographic film, Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita, violated IMF's claimed copyright in Fellini's movie and associated trademarks. However, Judge John G. Judge Koeltl of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan said, among other things, that IMF lacked credible documentation of its chain of title.
The National Youth Advocacy Coalition ( NYAC ) has accused the hit TV show GLEE of being transphobic. During the April 13 episode, Sue Sylvester ( portrayed by lesbian actress Jane Lynch ) used the word "she-male" to punish a non-gender-conforming student as she cut his ponytail. NYAC Executive Director Gregory Varnum, in a statement, said that even though " [ t ] he program has set an ambitious goal of showing youth that being different is okay ... I would like them to use their talents to come up with a way to portray Coach Sylvester's character that does not revolve around her use of racist, homophobic and transphobic commentary. That strategy has been recycled many times already and frankly, it's getting old."
Actress Lynn Redgrave, the daughter of Sir Michael Redgrave and the sister of Vanessa Redgrave, has passed away at the age of 67, according to the New York Times. In a statement, the Redgrave family wrote: "Our beloved mother Lynn Rachel passed away peacefully after a seven year journey with breast cancer. She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives. Among Lynn Redgrave's movies are Gods and Monsters, Georgy Girl and Kinsey.
Openly gay performers Sean Hayes and Levi Kreis have scored Tony nominations for, respectively, Promises, Promises and Million Dollar Quartet, according to Advocate.com . Also, the Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles tied the musical Fela! ( helmed by out choreographer/director Bill T. Jones ) with 11 nominations and, in an intriguing faceoff, Broadway legends Angela Lansbury and Barbara Cook are both nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. ( Other nominees include Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Laura Linney and Scarlett Johansson. ) The nominations for the 64th annual Tony Awards were announced May 4; the actual ceremony will air June 13 on CBS from Radio City Music Hall.
Officials in Egypt have banned Sir Elton John from playing there later this month because of comments he made about Jesus being gay, according to Advocate.com . Mounir al-Wasimi, the head of Egypt's Musician Union, reportedly would not allow "a homosexual who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa ( Jesus ) was gay and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom" to have a concert there. John was slated to perform May 18.
Lindsay Lohan will portray the late porn star Linda Lovelace in the movie Inferno, according to the Montreal Gazette. Producer Wali Razaqi told the Los Angeles Times that an official announcement will be made at the Cannes Film Festival. Lovelace—who died in a car accident almost two decades ago at the age of 53—starred in the 1972 X-rated movie Deep Throat before undergoing a religious awakening and crusading against porn.
Chaz Bono, the transgender son of Cher and the late congressman Sonny Bono, has legally changed his name and gender, according to Advocate.com . The son, born Chastity Sun Bono in 1969, petitioned to legally alter his gender and change his name to Chaz Salvatore. The Transgender Law Center represented Chaz Bono in court.
In her memoir, Like Me, newly out country singer Chely Wright wrote that country star John Rich asked her a decade ago if she were gay—but he now says that she took that question out of context, according to Advocate.com . Rich ( of the country duo Big & Rich ) —who claimed that he is not angry at Wright—said that he asked her that simply because of his attraction to her. Incidentally, Wright's response back then was "no," to which Rich allegedly responded, "Thank God."
The Cannes Film Festival will have its first gay-themed award this year, according to Pink News. Inspired by such awards as the Venice Film Festival's Queer Lion, an independent group is establishing the Queer Palm, an unofficial award that will recognize movies for their handling of LGBT issues. The Queer Palm winner will be selected from Cannes sections Official Selection, Critics' Week, Un Certain Regard and Director's Fortnight.
Joel Grey, who has won a Tony and an Oscar, will direct a staged reading of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart May 17, Advocate.com reported. The reading, which will benefit the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, will feature Lisa Kudrow, Dylan Walsh, Jon Tenney, Clark Gregg and Alec Mapa, among others. The Normal Heart marks its 25th anniversary this year.
In an ESPN poll of Major League Baseball players, players were asked how they would react to having a gay teammate, according to Outsports.com . On a scale of one to 10 ( with 1 being no big deal and 10 being a really big deal ) , the average was 5.1. One player said that "there'd be a few outliers who would have a strong reaction, maybe a few homophobes. But overall, not a big deal — I'd say a 2 or a 3."
Actor David Duchovny has joked that he'd like to have sex with several men, according to MusicRooms.net . Duchovny—best known for his series The X-Files and Californication—said that Twilight stars Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson are at the top of his list, but that he also thought "Woody Allen is very attractive." Duchovny, 49, is married to actress Tea Leoni.
Michael Jackson was not gay—at least that's what his father, Joe, says. According to TMZ.com, Joe was attempting to clear up reports issued by Michael's friend and dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein as well as Klein's office assistant, Jason Pfeiffer. Klein told the TV show Extra that Michael was gay and that Pfeiffer was "the love of his life." Since those claims were publicized, Klein and Pfeiffer have reportedly received death threats.
Gay fave Kirstie Alley's new show, Kirstie Alley's Big Life, features a theme song, "Picture Perfect"—which was written by Carlos Bertonatti, a rising musician who is awaiting trial on charges of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter, according to the Miami New Times. On Jan. 17, Bertonatti allegedly slammed into cyclist Christophe Le Canne, killing him; Bertonatti reportedly had a blood-alcohol level almost twice the legal limit. A&E spokesman Barry Rosenberg did not comment when asked if Bertonatti ( who is the subject of the Facebook page Cyclists against Carlos Bertonatti ) receives royalties from the show, which runs a version of the song sung by Yogi Lonich.
Newsweek writer Ramin Setoodeh has defended his recent article, "Straight Jacket," that criticized certain gay actors for their believability ( or lack thereof ) in hetero roles, according to Advocate.com . Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth was among those who went after Setoodeh for criticizing actors such as Promises, Promises co-star Sean Hayes; the actress called the gay journalist's article "horrendously homophobic." Setoodeh responded, in part, by saying, "I meant to open a debate — why is that? And what does it say about our notions about sexuality? For all the talk about progress in the gay community in Hollywood, has enough really changed? The answer seems obvious to me: no, it has not."
