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

Nimona (based on the graphic novel by nonbinary writer ND Stevenson) leads all films with nine nominations for the 51st Annie Awards, which celebrate accomplishments in animation, per Out. Nimona follows a knight named Ballister who is falsely accused of murdering the queen and must go on the run to try to prove his innocence; he later meets Nimona, a shapeshifting teen girl who's also genderfluid. Three other films got seven nominations each—Across the Spider-Verse, The Boy and the Heron, and Suzume; Blue Eye Samurai leads all TV nominees with seven nods. The 51st annual Annie Awards will be held Saturday, Feb. 17, at UCLA's Royce Hall.

The White Lotus co-star Lukas Gage is set to star opposite Aladdin's Naomi Scott in an upcoming sequel to the box-office hit Smile, which became the number-one horror movie of 2022, Out noted. This comes on the heels of the out actor starring as Lars Olmstead in the fifth season of FX's award-winning drama Fargo and 2023's Down Low, a dark comedy with Zachary Quinto. Also, Gage is starring in the upcoming Amazon remake of the Patrick Swayze classic Road House, the Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives and the sci-fi thriller Companion.

Lil Nas X offered an explanation and apology to those offended by his new song "J CHRIST," Billboard noted. "I know I messed up really bad this time. I can act unbothered all I want, but it's definitely taken a mental toll on me," Lil Nas X said on Instagram. "I'm not some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody's values and stuff like that. That's not me." Among other things, the rapper was criticized for his use of religious iconography, with people claiming that he was "mocking" and "disrespecting" Christianity. The three-minute music video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCrQeUaXkLo.

Two-Spirit actor Lily Gladstone—who recently became the first Indigenous individual to win a Golden Globe, for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon—responded to queer First Nations actress Devery Jacobs' (TV shows American Gods and Echo) criticisms about the movie, Deadline noted. Jacobs previously tweeted that watching the Martin Scorsese drama brought forth deep emotions based on its "unrelenting and unnecessarily graphic" portrayals of the 1920s murders of Osage people. Gladstone told Rolling Stone that Jacobs' "reaction is a response to a lot of trauma" that Native women endure. … I had a lot of time acclimating myself to the script. The Osage people have had their lives to understand this history."

American Cinema Editors (ACE) will honor openly gay director John Waters with the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award, recognizing an artist who exemplifies distinguished achievement in the art and business of film, a press release noted. "John Waters isn't just a filmmaking icon," stated ACE president Kevin Tent, ACE, "He's a punk rock poet of the picture palace." Past recipients of the Golden Eddie include Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Guillermo del Toro, Vince Gilligan, J.J. Abrams, Nancy Meyers and Martin Scorsese, among others. Nominations for the 74th Annual ACE Eddie Awards will be announced Jan. 25.

The Bear's Ayo Edebiri was one of the few LGBTQ+ winners at The 29th Annual Critics' Choice Awards that took place Jan. 14 that Chelsea Handler hosted. Edebiri won for Best Actress in a Comedy. Also, Fellow Travelers' Jonathan Bailey won for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television. Oppenheimer led all films with eight wins, including Best Picture and Best Acting Ensemble, while Barbie scored six; on the TV side, FX's The Bear and Netflix's Beef tied with four wins each, while HBO's Succession had three.

The latest addition to the cast of season two of the hit sci-fi series The Last of Us is Isabela Merced, who has been cast as Dina, a young woman who becomes romantic partners with the main character, Ellie (portrayed by non binary actor Bella Ramsey), Out noted. Dina and Ellie start out as friends in the video game The Last of Us Part II, with the bisexual Dina being with a man named Jesse; however, at a dance, the two kiss and decide to try dating. In 2024, Merced will be in the films Madame Web, Turtles All the Way Down and the latest sequel to Alien.

Out Emmy winner Nathan Lane has joined Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story—the second installment of Ryan Murphy's true-crime anthology series for Netflix, Deadline noted. Lane will play writer/investigative journalist Dominick Dunne, who covered the Menendez brothers trial for Vanity Fair. Dunne is also known for his coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial—the subject of Murphy's Emmy-winning The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Lane played "Dream Team" member F. Lee Bailey in the series.

The lineup for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (or just Coachella) has been announced, with the event taking place April 12-14 and 19-21. Headliners will include a reunited No Doubt (with Gwen Stefani); Lana Del Rey; Tyler, the Creator; and Doja Cat. Just a few of the other musicians slated to perform include J Balvin, Peso Pluma, Ice spice, Kevin Abstract, Doja Cat, The Japanese House, Grimes, Victoria Monet and DJ Snake. See www.coachella.com .

Actor Gael Garcia Bernal talked with Deadline about portraying the openly gay title subject in the Prime Video movie Cassandro. He said, in part, "I strongly disagree with someone's sexual orientation defining what characters [actors] can play or not. This is a very deep and complex conversation and I will one day write everything I have been thinking. … Whatever mask you put on you can tell something that has a lot of truth and it doesn't matter who's behind the mask. Therefore, you start to deconstruct gender as well. We are so transgender in the world of acting. … I grew up in a family of theater actors. The theater is a tender place to explore your sexuality. Growing up, I felt like I could explore whatever."

Queer actor Noah Schnapp (TV's Stranger Things) addressed online backlash to his position on the Israel-Hamas War, saying that his "thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued," Variety reported. On TikTok, Schnapp said, in part, "I've had many open discussions with friends from Palestine standing in background, and I think those are very important conversations to have and I've learned a lot. One of the takeaways I've had is that we all hope for the same things, that being those innocent people still being held hostage in Gaza to be returned to their families and equally hope for an end to the loss of innocent life in Palestine—so many of those people being women and children, and it's horrible to see."

Bob The Drag Queen has started the fashion label House of Bob, which is gender-inclusive. Talking with INTO, Bob said, "If House of Bob were a department store, there would be no women's and men's sections. There's just clothing, and you just shop for clothes." The drag personality—who also has cosmetics company BOMO Beauty with bestie Monet X Change—also said that the label is hoping to release swimwear this summer

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired Close to You, an indie drama produced by and starring Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy) that premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, Deadline noted. The film, co-starring Hillary Baack (Sound of Metal), follows Sam (Page), who moved to Toronto from his small town on Lake Ontario, Canada and finally decides to return home to visit his family for his dad's birthday; he has a chance encounter with a friend from high school (Baack) that sparks old feelings. It is on this trip that Sam can finally confront long-buried feelings, a first love that was never properly resolved, his relationship with his family, and a newfound love and confidence in himself.

The cast for season three of The White Lotus has expanded once again. Per Variety, Walton Goggins (TV's Justified and The Shield), Sarah Catherine Hook (TV's Impeachment: American Crime Story), Sam Nivola (Maestro), Patrick Schwarzenegger (TV's Gen V), and Aimee Lou Wood (TV's Sex Education) have all joined. They join previously announced new cast members Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Tayme Thapthimthong, among others.

The Asia Society will hold the Asia Entertainment Summit + Game Changer Awards on Feb. 20 at The Skirball Cultural Center in LA, per a press release. Among those who will be honored and/or featured are pansexual actress/musician Rina Sawayama, Emmy winner Lee Sung Jin, Grammy winner Anderson.Paak, the filmmakers of Godzilla Minus One and Tetris CEO Maya Rogers, among others.

Actor/comedian Pauly Shore will play fitness icon Richard Simmons in a new biopic, according to Variety. The biopic follows an unrelated short film about Simmons from director and writer Jake Lewis. That film, "The Court Jester," premiered at Sundance on Jan. 19 and also stars Shore as Simmons, as well as Tamra Brown as Ellen DeGeneres and Jesse Heiman as David, a television producer who lost 160 pounds thanks to Simmons. However,The Hollywood Reporter noted that a message was later posted on Simmons' verified Facebook page that read, "You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don't believe everything you read." Shore did not claim that Simmons was involved.

At The Hollywood Reporter's recent Actor's Roundtable, queer British actor Andrew Scott said he wants to get rid of the term "openly gay," Out noted. "Why do we put 'openly' in front of that adjective? You know, we don't say you're 'openly Irish,' we don't say you're 'openly left handed' or whatever the hell it is. Because it's two steps away from 'shamelessly.' There's something in it that's a little near [the word] shamelessly."

Grammy-winning multi-platinum artist, producer, actor, LGBTQ+ ally and director Kid Cudi has released his ninth studio album, Insano, via Republic Records, per a press release. It's the hip-hop artist's first full-length offering since 2022's Entergalactic and features Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Lil Yachty and DJ Drama as well as the late XXXTentacion.

Also, Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and international superstar Ariana Grande released the single "yes, and?" Via Republic Records, a press release noted. Recorded in New York City, the new single was written and produced by Grande, Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh. The official video—which is directed by Christian Breslauer and which may have some thinking of the Paula Abdul's classic "Cold Hearted" video—is at www.youtube.com/watch. Grande's seventh full-length album, eternal sunshine, will be released on March 8 via Republic Records.

And multi-platinum soul singer, Grammy winner and Academy Award nominee Andra Day has released the new slow-burning R&B love song "Where Do We Go" via Warner Records, per a press release. The song introduces Day's long-awaited third album, Cassandra, which will arrive this spring. "Where Do We Go" is the first new music from Day since the release of the soundtrack to The United States vs. Billie Holiday in 2021. This year will feature Day with new music, new movies and an upcoming appearance at Super Bowl LVIII, where she will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Nonbinary, bisexual actor Sara Ramirez was reportedly fired from Max's And Just Like That..., a spinoff continuation of the hit HBO series Sex and the City—but the reasons are varied and conflicting, Out noted. Ramirez shared posts on their Instagram Stories suggesting that they've been fired from And Just Like That... due to their pro-Palestine social-media posts. However, alleged insiders who spoke to the Daily Mail stated that Ramirez had already been cut out of the series because their character of Che wasn't well-received by fans.

Jim Rash is set to direct his script Miss You, Love You, a drama that will star Oscar winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya) and out actor Andrew Rannells, Deadline noted. In the film, Janney will play a widow. With her husband's funeral to plan and grieving to be done, she reaches out to her estranged son, who refuses to come home, choosing instead to send his personal assistant to help make the arrangements. The widow is forced to process her grief in the presence of a complete stranger.

The debut of Drag Race Espana All Stars will premiere Sunday, Feb. 4, followed by a weekly rollout every Sunday exclusively on WOW Presents Plus in the United States and select territories worldwide, a press release noted. The nine fSpanish queens competing for the title of Spain's ultimate Drag Superstar include Drag Sethlas (season 2), Hornella Góngora (S3), Juriji Der Klee (S2), Onyx Unleashed (S2), Pakita (S3), Pink Chadora (S3), Pupi Poisson (S1), Sagittaria (S1) and Samantha Ballentines (S2). Supremme de Luxe returns as host, joined by returning judges Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi and Ana Locking.

The Online Film Critics Society (announced nominees for its top film honors of 2023; winners will be announced in a news release on Monday, Jan. 22. Leading with a total of 12 nominations is Oppenheimer; other films earning multiple nominations include Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon (11) and Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things (11), while Greta Gerwig's Barbie (nine), Celine Song's Past Lives (five) and Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall (five) also earned multiple nods.

The Bear star Jeremy Allen White hit up an LGBTQ+-friendly bar in LA, per TMZ. White, who's in a relationship with singer Rosalia, stopped by Honey's, which is in the Los Feliz area. He just won the Golden Globe and Emmy for Best Performance by a Male Actor for The Bear, and also got a gig as the underwear model for Calvin Klein.

Grammy-nominated band Bush (with lead singer Gavin Rossdale) will celebrate its 30th anniversary with an extensive North American headline tour, per a press release. BUSH - Loaded: The Greatest Hits Tour will kick off on July 26 in Bend, Oregon and will include shows in Chicago, Denver, Toronto, Atlanta, Boston and Phoenix before wrapping things up in LA on Sept. 15. Special guests will include Jerry Cantrell and Candlebox.

After his recent assault conviction, actor Jonathan Majors will no longer be playing controversial basketball player Dennis Rodman in a film with the working title 48 Hours In Vegas, Variety noted. The film will document the true story of the NBA power forward's notorious trip to Las Vegas in the middle of the 1998 NBA finals. Majors was convicted on Dec. 18 of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault during a domestic dispute with his former partner, Grace Jabbari; he is set to be sentenced on Feb. 6 and faces up to a year in jail. Lionsgate is also no longer involved with "48 Hours," as the studio released it back to the producers to find a new partner.

A pilot for a Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series has been ordered at Disney Channel—and David Henrie and Selena Gomez will be involved, Variety noted. Original series star Henrie will star in and executive-produce the potential series, with original star Gomez set to guest-star in the pilot and executive-produce.

The Smashing Pumpkins revealed on Instagram that it has received more than 10,000 submissions for its open guitarist position, USA Today noted. This comes less than two weeks after Smashing Pumpkins announced it is searching for an additional guitarist to join the band. Last October, Jeff Schroeder, who joined Smashing Pumpkins as a guitarist in 2007, announced he was leaving the band.

During a press conference in Toronto, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Sean Strickland launched into a vicious anti-LGBTQ+ rant, Out noted. Strickland was asked about his past homophobic remarks, such as writing on Twitter (now X) in January 2022: "If I had a gay son[,] I would think I failed as a man to create such weakness." In response to the question, Strickland started to verbally attack MMA Fighting reporter Alexander Lee, saying, "You're a weak f*cking man, dude." And when questioned about transphobic statements he's made in the past, Strickland said, in part, "Here's the thing about Bud Light: Ten years ago, to be trans was a mental fucking illness. And now, all of a sudden, people like you have fucking weaseled your way in the world. You are an infection. You are the definition of weakness."

Actress Mia Goth has been sued for allegedly intentionally kicking a background actor in the head while filming MaXXXine, per Us Magazine. Actor James Hunter filed a lawsuit against Goth, claiming that he suffered a concussion in April 2023 while they were filming the A24 film. Hunter (who is also suing director Ti West) claimed that Goth's kick was meant to intentionally "punish" him for telling a crew member that she was "perilously close" to him in a prior take. MaXXXine is the last film in West's X trilogy; Goth will reprise her X and Pearl role of Maxine.

SAG-AFTRA confirmed to Variety that it's investigating the production of Vincent Gallo's new movie The Policeman, in which the controversial actor (The Brown Bunny) plays Golden State serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo. According to Rolling Stone, three female actors who auditioned for the film filed a formal complaint to SAG-AFTRA, alleging that Gallo was inappropriate with them. One of the complaints alleges that Gallo said he wanted the film environment on set to feel "fully improvised," and that he needed actresses who were open to having their "minds and bodies be 100 percent dominated by him" on set.