A NEW LOOK FOR AFTERELLEN.COM
We’re very pleased to announce that we’ll be relaunching the site next week, and it will look a little something like this:
The site will be easier to navigate, with streamlined navigation bar items, drop down menus and a rotating marquee on the homepage that will constantly feature our top stories. Of course we’ll still have all the same features you’ve grown accustomed to over the years, including the ability to comment on articles and access to the forums.
We want to make sure that you have the best possible experience on the site, so we’ll set up a forum page where you can post comments about bugs or questions about the design. We will continue rolling out new features in the coming months. Please let us know what you think of the new and improved AfterEllen.com when we relaunch on Wednesday morning, July 14. We hope you like the new look as much as we do!
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
Skins, The Real L Word and the LeBron James bra – all of these topics and more were Tweeted about by out women in entertainment this week.
If you come across tweets that you think we should feature in “Tweets of the Week” or if you find (verified) Twitter accounts for out lesbian/bi women in entertainment who you think we should follow, please send us that info at [email protected].
THIS JUST IN: FILMMAKER ANNA MARGARITA ALBELO EXPLAINS WHY MONEY DOESN’T MATTER
Cuban-American artist, filmmaker, journalist and cultural activist Anna Margarita Albelo is currently making the rounds with her new “docu-comedy,” Hooters, which follows the making of another movie, Cheryl Dunye‘s The Owls (described as “the story of four disillusioned, middle-aged celesbians, who kill a baby dyke, cover it up, and pay the price”).
The Owls was coaxed into existence by some of Albelo’s friends, including Dunye, Guinivere Turner, Lisa Gornick, VS Brodie, Deak Evgenikos, Skyler Cooper, writer Sarah Schulman and others (together referred to as The Parliament Collective). Albelo witnessed the “collective” creation of Dunye’s feature and the provocative discussions it inspired about sexuality, identity and lesbian culture. Most importantly, she captured all of it in her film, which has been described as “riveting,” “funny” and “brutally honest.”
Hooters premiered at Frameline last month in San Francisco and will debut next weekend in Los Angeles at Outfest. We recently talked to Albelo about lesbian culture, making films without money and her upcoming project with Whitney Mixter (The Real L Word), and she shared with us some clips from Hooters (see below).
AfterEllen.com: How did you get involved with documenting The Owls?
Anna Margarita Albelo: Cheryl Dunye told me last year at Outfest that she wanted to make the film and was really excited about it. The only problems were she had no money or a full script to do it. One month later, the Parliament Collective was born and she was making her movie with so many brilliant people!
I was raving about it, so Cheryl asked me if I’d like to do a film documenting their adventure. Despite the fact that I had no money or a job, I said yes and, in the process, became their first offspring by making my own collaborative film.
AE: Did the subject matter of The Owls hold a particular appeal for you?
AMA: Hooters was a chance for me to explore two of my favorite subjects: lesbian culture and filmmaking. I knew from the beginning that my film would not be a simple, “making-of.” I wanted to make a standalone piece that inspired people to know more about our complicated yet fascinating culture, as well as, demystify the process of making a film with no budget.
My hope is that people – especially lesbians – see the film and say, “If they can do it, we can, too!” I’d love to see tons more “lesbian made films” and I feel both, The Owls and Hooters show you that money is not a real issue if you’re determined and have some good friends.
AE: Can you tell us a bit about The Parliament Collective?
AMA: The Parliament Collective begins with one of the producers, Ernesto Foronda, who decided to reconnect a bunch of queer filmmakers last year in order to make more truly, independent films. Cheryl was the first to propose a project. Candi Gutierres and Alex Juhasz (who produced Cheryl’s Watermelon Woman) joined in as producers and so it began.
Throughout the shoot, I would ask everyone how they came to the film and saw the connections like a family tree. People like actors, Lisa Gornick and VS Brodie flew in from Europe, screenwriter, Sarah Schulman came from New York, I mean, people just came from all over and brought in friends and colleagues to help. It was amazing to see!
One would think that the collaborative process, where everyone has a say, would be a dysfunctional, crazy mess – and it was sometimes! But the chance to hear everyone express themselves about the story, the characters, the messages and points of views of the film was truly a chance! I feel lucky that I could share their voices in my film.
AE: What do you think it means to be an “Older Wiser Lesbian” these days?
AMA:I believe this is the perfect time in lesbian culture to have two films like The Owls and Hooters directly discussing where we are as lesbians today. We can be older and wiser at 13 than we were at 12 – age is not the point. What makes us wiser is having more understanding and information than we did before. So, I wonder if we as lesbians see our culture as a true culture or as just a period in time we go through when we’re coming out?
I often ask, “Is lesbian culture disappearing?” It’s only been 30 or 40 years since lesbian-made culture started to grow, and i fear that with our move towards equality and assimilation, women won’t feel such a need for it in the future. I hope that Hooters piques the interest in it – not only wanting to know more about our culture and history, but also excite lesbians to make and support it.
AE: What’s next for you?
AMA: I started a project with Whitney Mixter from the cast of The Real L Word, exploring her experiences and impressions (now that the show is on the air). Since the cast only saw the first two episodes before the premiere, they will only discover their storylines along with the rest of the world, week by week.
I say, “with” Whitney because I wanted her to have an equal say in how our film would be made and not put her back in the same position as with reality TV (or even documentaries, for that matter), where other people are creating their image of you.
As lesbians, we’re still very critical about our representation and I knew that The Real L Word would have a similar commotion around it as The L Word. I wanted a chance to follow this phenomenon from the personal perspective of someone who chose to to put her life out there, knowing full well all that would follow.
How does Whitney feel about her portrayal? How will her personal and public life change from week to week? This film will be a chance to hear the true(r) voice of a person who decided to “represent,” and what happens after making that decision.
Hooters July 16 and 18 at Outfest in Los Angeles. For more information, check out Albelo’s Facebook page or the Hooters Facebook page.
– by Karman Kregloe
WORKING THE POLL: AND THE NOMINEES ARE …
This week the Emmy nominations were announced, and we were pleasantly surprised to see some of our favorites in each category – especially the out performers and the women who play lesbian/bi on TV.
As far as out women go, Jane Lynch is a contender in Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her role in Glee (as well as for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Two and a Half Men); Lily Tomlin was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role on Damages; and Wendy and Lisa could win Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for Nurse Jackie.
Then there is Archie Panjabi, nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role as Kalinda, the bisexual temptress on The Good Wife and Toni Collette for her multiple roles (including butch-esque Buck) on United States of Tara.
So who has the best chance of winning the statue in their category?
<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/3448430/”>Who has the best chance of winning the Emmy in their category?</a><span style=”font-size:9px;”><a href=”http://polldaddy.com/features-surveys/”>customer surveys</a></span>
In our poll last week, we asked who your favorite Canadian was. Your answer: Ellen Page.
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VIDEO OF THE WEEK: BEHIND THE SCENES WITH SIA
We get a peek at Sia in the studio as she records “Be Good to Me,” accosts a large yellow moose/reindeer and makes her own contributions to the German language.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
The hardcover edition of Detective Comics #854-#860, Batwoman Elegy, was released this week. Heather Hogan tells us that it proves once and for all that “Boobs aren’t the only female superpower.”
GLAAD announced that NBC has agreed to change the rules of the Today Show‘s “Modern Wedding Contest” to allow same-sex couples to apply.
Samantha Ronson recently told The Times, “I’m not gay. I’m an equal opportunity player.”
Canadian cop drama The Bridge will debut on CBS this weekend. it stars Inga Cadranell as bisexual officer named Jill. We even get a glimpse of her interest in women in the first episode. But don’t get too excited. A CBS publicist told us that the character’s bisexuality does not come up again in the series – ever.
Lesbian housemate Shabby left the UK Big Brother. She wanted to leave with her crush in the house, Caoimhe Guilfoyle, who she “hopes to have turned.” Caoimhe, however, decided to stick around. Shabby told The Sun, “I just really wanted to be able to say to her, ‘I’m falling in love with you… and if you don’t feel the same, if you really don’t, I’d rather you just tell me.'”
The 2010 Viscera Film Festival, screening new short horror films directed by women, will take place on July 17, 2010 at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. Amber Benson will be one of the presenters, and appearing at the festival will be Guinevere Turner, Stacie Ponder, Mary Lambert, Christopher Atkins, Kevin Sorbo, and Allison Anders (among others). For more info, check out the official website.
Our beloved out comic Fortune Feimster got the boot on this week’s episode of Last Comic Standing.
Have you heard of the sci-fi film Kaboom? It premiered at Cannes this spring where it won the Queer Palms award, the first ever LGBT Award given at the fest. It stars French actress Roxane Mesquida as a lesbian witch who has a romance with Haley Bennett. It was acquired by IFC Films and looks like it’ll be available for Video on Demand from the channel soon.
Sarah Waters was named Writer of the Year by Glamour magazine in their Women of the Year Awards.
The Kids Are All Right, starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as lesbian moms, opens today. Check out our exclusive behind the scenes video and check back soon for our review.
Melissa Etheridge filed a Petition for Dissolution of Domestic Partnership citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the end of her relationship with Tammy Lynn Michaels. Michaels has counterfiled and is filing for full custody of their twins, while Etheridge is seeking joint custody.
Lesbian producer Christine Vachon talked with T Magazine about her new film, Mildred Pierce.
Have you seen the new webseries That’s What She Said? It’s about five friends navigating the lesbian scene in Los Angeles. Is it as “real” as The Real L Word? You be the judge!
Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail this week after being found guilty of violating the terms of her probation from a 2007 DUI case. She’ll begin serving time at the Los Angeles County Jail later this month.
This month’s issue of Diva magazine features an interview with Jennifer Beals by Rachel Shelley.
Be sure to check out the epic pride edition of our N.Y. Scene column by Grace Chu. We don’t know how she got through it, but we’re glad she did! Speaking of Ms. Chu, technology permitting she’ll be live blogging the Lady Gaga show tonight from Madison Square Garden on gracethespot.com. Look for the post around 6:15 pm EST.
In partnership with OneMoreLesbian.com, AfterEllen.com will be livestreaming the Gay Games from Cologne July 31 through August 7. Hosting the livestream will be comedian Bridget McManus (can you say color commentary?), and she’ll be sending us live reports from competitions including in-line skating, volleyball, basketball, handball, soccer and wrestling, as well as some of the scheduled social events.
Real housewife Danielle Staub told MSN that being with “girlfriend” Lori Michaels is just really “natural and organic.”
Hot In Cleveland was full of lesbionic goodness this week. Do we have out writer Liz Feldman to thank for those particular jokes?
That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.
