Chuck Holmes, the San Francisco-based entrepreneur who created gay porn mecca Falcon Studios, not only changed our lives by bringing porn home (he was among the first to put his films on videocassette — remember those!?), but by directing the fortune he made towards HIV/AIDS outreach as well as various other philanthropic causes; Falcon’s films became the gift that kept on giving. Michael Stabile, the filmmaker who created the docu Smut Capital of America, about San Francisco’s role in the sexual revolution, is raising funds for a new docu about Holmes, brilliantly titled Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story. Stabile has a Kickstarter page to raise funds to finish the film, and has until Monday to get to $25,000 or everything pledged so far is lost. Toss some cash his way let’s ensure that Holmes, who passed away in 2000 from AIDS-related causes, is remembered for what his porn empire allowed him to give back to the gay community.
MOVIES
Gay Porn Revolutionary
Corman’s World
How did the man behind Teenage Cave Man and Attack of the Giant Leeches win an lifetime-achievement Academy Award? How did a master of exploitation cinema launch the careers of Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Robert DeNiro, Peter Bogdanovich, Pam Grier, and Martin Scorsese? Find out in Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (opens December 16), Alex Stapleton’s deliriously entertaining documentary about the schlockmeister who revolutionized American cinema. Loaded with gloriously grindhouse-y film clips and interviews with dozens of Hollywood legends who got their first jobs working on Corman’s notoriously low-budget movies, Corman’s World explores how creativity and fearlessness can go a long way in the treacherous world of Hollywood.
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Basic Instincts
One thrilling staple of live theatre is watching civilized people reduced to their base nature; exposing their hypocrisy, humanity or combinations thereof (favorite examples being Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Six Degrees of Separation). Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning play God of Carnage – adapted by the playwright and director Roman Polanski for the film Carnage (opens December 16 in NYC and L.A.)– is an awkward summit between Brooklyn parents after a fight occurs between their young sons. As the meeting wears on, the couples – played by John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster, and Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet – let down their masks, exposing the foibles and prejudices underneath. On stage, it’s a rollicking comedy. On film – in a more naturalistic setting – the humor bubbles to the surface while its protagonists turn into emotional road-kill. Yet however you slice it, this Carnage is delicious.
Michael Fassbender’s penis makes its first appearance three minutes into the NC-17-rated Shame (opening Friday) then reappears liberally throughout its 99-minute running time. Now that that’s out of the way, we can concentrate on the fearless depiction of sex addiction that is Brit director Steve McQueen’s sophomore feature. New Yorker Brandon spends his days in thrall to sex – he pays for hookers, jerks off to online porn, sneaks off at work for quick relief in the men’s room, and effortlessly picks up women during happy hour (for him, every hour is happy hour). When Brandon’s troubled sibling Sissy (Carey Mulligan) crashes at his apartment indefinitely, the delicate balance of his life spirals out of control. Yet Fassbender and McQueen never lose sight of their sensual, melancholy, incomparable film, even when Brandon’s compulsion deposits him in the dingy backrooms of an underground gay sex club. No shame in that, we say.
The Silent Artist
It’s a ballsy move to attempt a modern, black-and-white, silent film – but that’s exactly what French writer/director Michel Hazanavicius has done with The Artist (opens Friday in NYC and L.A.). Set in 1920s Hollywood, this very meta movie follows silent-film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) as the arrival of talkies is sending his career into ruin, while a beautiful, wide-eyed extra (Bérénice Bejo) he once mentored is becoming a star. A tale of fame and love and Hollywood itself, the film is visually rich and layered with symbolism, with life frequently imitating art imitating life. But all this self-consciousness doesn’t keep the audience at arm’s length: Dujardin charms and aches so brilliantly without words that Cannes gave him a Best Actor award. And if that’s not enough, keep an eye out for Uggy, the scene-stealing dog.
Field of “Eames”
We all know about Charles and Ray Eames’ chairs. But that only begins to the scratch the surface. Fittingly narrated by another multi-hyphenate, James Franco, the new documentary Eames: The Architect and the Painter (opens tomorrow in NYC and L.A. and more cities follow; also on DVD December 13) from filmmakers Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey, tells the full story of this powerhouse couple, from their innovations in furniture design to their humanizing ad campaigns for IBM to the US-propaganda film they screened for Cold War Russia to their Google-esque creative workshop, “The Eamery.” In many ways, the Eames’ led an enviable existence, where work and life were interchangeable and full of beauty and invention. But it wasn’t without its dramas, including issues of credit, the era’s sexism pushing Ray to the background, and Charles’ wandering eye.
Win “J. Edgar” Swag
The long-awaited bio-pic J. Edgar, Clint Eastwood‘s film about the life and career of FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover, starring Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured above right with Armie Hammer), finally opens this week. With a script by Milk Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black, and between the was-he or wasn’t-he-gay/bi/closeted speculation about J. Edgar himself as well as uncertainty as to how that would be depicted in the film (we’ve seen it and, while we don’t want to give anything away, for something that has no historical record at all it’s conveyed in a satisfying and clear way) this one’s been on our radar for a while. To mark the film’s premiere (it opens in NYC and L.A. tomorrow, everywhere else on Friday), we’ve got a few prizes to give away to our readers, including a leather briefcase and some baseball caps and posters. To enter, email us at contest@moderntonic.com and include your name and mailing address. Contest details and prizes listed after jump.
Holiday 2011 Film Preview
Finally – we’ve reached the season of thoughtful movies (read: Oscar bait), and this year’s batch doesn’t disappoint. With our top picks to watch for, lose yourself in past eras of cinema, iconic women, the joys and perils of parenthood, gender-bending in the 1800′s and a little sex – both damaging and blossoming – for good measure.
My Week with Marilyn (November 23) Michelle Williams (above, with Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller) vamps and coos as screen icon Marilyn Monroe, dipping into her behind-the-scenes life while she romances a young British assistant – played with aching admiration by Eddie Redmayne – on the English set of The Prince and the Showgirl, in a film that also stars Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench
Shame (December 2) In a striking portrayal that won him the Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award, Michael Fassbinder plays a sex addict whose regular routine of anonymous and empty encounters is disrupted by a visit from his equally damaged sister, played by Carey Mulligan.
The Artist (November 23) An epic tale of love, fame, and betrayal that takes place during the silent film era is told in the cinematic language of the day – a black-and-white silent film – in a daring move by writer/director Michel Hazanavicius that won his male lead Jean Dujardin the Best Actor Award at Cannes and proven an audience favorite at major film festivals.
We Need To Talk About Kevin (December 11, NY, L.A./February TBA, national) This eerie adaptation of Lionel Shriver‘s award-winning novel brings every parents’ biggest nightmare to life as Eva (Tilda Swinton) explores what about her parenting could have led to her teenage son committing a mass murder à la Columbine.
Carnage (December 16) Roman Polanski co-adapted Yasmina Reza‘s Tony Award-winning play to direct this comedy of manners about two sets of parents who meet to discuss an altercation between their sons, which devolves into a hilariously chaotic squabble between adults, featuring an all-star cast of Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly.
The Iron Lady (December 16) Meryl Streep breaks the glass ceiling as a pitch-perfect (just watch the brilliant trailer) Margaret Thatcher in this insightful portrait about the former UK Prime Minister’s life and the price she paid for power.
Albert Nobbs (December 21, limited; January 27, national)
This film that was shepherded to the screen by Glenn Close features the actress in a surprising turn as Albert Nobbs, a woman who is living as a man in 19th Century Ireland so that she may find independence and live life as she chooses, alongside affecting performances by Mia Wasikowska, as the maid that Nobbs awkwardly woos, and Janet McTeer, who also harbors a secret.
Pariah (December 28) Winner of the Excellence in Cinematography Award at Sundance, Pariah‘s story is as rich its visuals, following a 17-year-old African-American girl who’s an aspiring poet from Brooklyn as she – and her family – come to grips with her burgeoning homosexuality.
The Man in the Muppet
Although we can’t wait to see Kermit reunite with the gang on the big screen for the first time in 12 years(!), there’s a more intimate movie that’s capturing our Muppet nostalgia at the moment. Being Elmo (opens in NYC this Friday, elsewhere throughout November), a documentary directed by Constance Marks and narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, tells the story of Kevin Clash, an aspiring puppeteer who withstood the jeers of his siblings and schoolmates (“Do you sleep with your dolls?”) to follow his dream of working with Jim Henson. His perseverance led him all the way to Sesame Street, where he imbued Elmo with the spirit of his loving, supportive parents. Clash’s tale is a triumph for all who dare to be true to themselves, their passion and imagination – even when it’s not easy being green.
If you missed the powerful drama The Green during its run on the gay film festival circuit this summer, it’s available on demand today and on DVD November 22. Cheyenne Jackson and Jason Butler Harner star as a gay couple who have recently relocated from Manhattan to Connecticut, but the verdant suburbs wind up being a lot less peaceful after Harner’s high-school teacher gets accused of touching one of his students in the bathing-suit area. Suddenly, their neighbors’ veneer of polite tolerance starts to crumble as the couple discovers who their real friends really are. Featuring a top-flight cast — including Julia Ormond, Illeana Douglas, Karen Young, and Bill Sage — and a powerful screenplay by Paul Marcarelli (the artist formerly known as Verizon’s “Can you hear me now?” guy), The Green marks an impressive feature debut for director Steven Williford.
The Godfather
Vito Russo wrote the book on gay cinema. Literally. He mined decades of film history, unearthing a previously unseen (or at least unspoken) world of cinematic gays, lesbians and transvestites in his seminal book The Celluloid Closet, exposing decades of representational repression. But as Jeffrey Schwarz’s new documentary Vito (world premiere tonight at the New York Film Festival) proves, Russo’s contributions to the fledgling gay community went well beyond academia. “I’ll always be an activist,” Vito (and the doc at large) attests. “There’s always too many things wrong.” Through interviews, newsreels and visceral firsthand video from the front lines of the gay rights movement, the film traces his prolific history as one of the first members and organizers of the Gay Activists Alliance, protesting everything from Harper’s magazine to a homophobic city clerk (inviting everyone to his gay wedding at the clerk’s office) and organizing gay movie nights to wrangle all those wallflowers too timid to demonstrate. The Friend of Dorothy par excellence was also a friend of Bette, Lily Tomlin, a journalist, a founding member of GLAAD and an inspiration to virtually every gay rights activist of the ’60s and ’70s, all of whom gratefully and humbly genuflect throughout the film at the feet of a true godfather of the movement. Show some class and kiss the ring.
Vito will play at various LGBT film festivals and air on HBO in 2012.
“Krewes” Control
With gay counterparts to almost every facet of society today – bars, cable networks, mobile “dating” apps - it’s easy to forget that pre-Stonewall, gays weren’t even allowed to legally gather — except at New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. For one gloriously gay day a year, gays (or anyone else) could assemble “krewes” to welcome Lent with parades, drinks and even drag - provided it was removed by sundown and contain at least one visible article of male clothing. The Sons of Tennessee Williams (opens Friday in NYC, October 14 in Los Angeles) gathers these pioneers to share their Mardi Gras history, from their youth (when some of their parents dressed them in Scarlett O’Hara drag) to their silent adolescences to ducking into unofficial gay watering hole Miss Dixie’s to the first gay krewes in the late 50′s that served as the only honest-to-gayness social outlet for some – and also served as the first means of courting gay votes for progressive politicians. The film intercuts all of this with the exhaustive preparations for a contemporary gay krewe’s 40th anniversary ball, the sequin-studded event of the season and a garish reminder of just how far we’ve come.
King of Clubs
Anyone who indulged in the New York club scene from the early ’80s to the mid ’90s probably did so at the hands of Peter Gatien. A determined businessman with unprecedented staying power who intimidated with his trademark eyepatch, Gatien lorded over the megaclubs Limelight, Palladium, Club USA and Tunnel, bringing together celebrities, ravers, drag queens, gay club kids, Long Island guidos and hip hop moguls before Mayor Giuliani pulled the plug on nightlife. The new documentary Limelight (opens Friday in NYC) directed by Billy Corben and peppered with commentary from the likes of Moby, club promoters, DEA agents and the man himself, paints a vivid portrait of Gatien and his empire, celebrating the evolution of popular music, style, and nightlife culture in the Big Apple while exposing an underbelly of sex, drugs, murder and government corruption.
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Serge Gainsbourg Bio-Pic
Gainsbourg: Vie Héroïque (Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life) has nearly everything you could want in a bio-pic: music, adultery, drunken tirades, Nazis, endless provocation and, well, puppets. In his astonishing feature debut (opening in NYC August 31, more cities here), graphic novelist Joann Sfar treats the French icon Serge Gainsbourg (Eric Elmosnino, in a César-winning performance) with the same scandalous, irreverent wit his subject brought to the art of French songwriting. Born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928 – he changed his name not to escape the Nazi collusion in France, but because he liked the sound of it – Gainsbourg became an unlikely star – an unattractive schlub who willed himself into a womanizing letch bedding beautiful ’60s actress/singers like Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin without breaking a sweat. Now that’s heroic.
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Circumstantial Evidence
Teenage girls. They want to hang out, shop, gossip, and sneak into clubs. For the dark-eyed beauties at the center of Circumstance (opens Friday on NYC and L.A.)– Atafeh (Nikohl Bosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) – this would be easy if they didn’t live in Iran. Add a growing Sapphic attachment and Atafeh’s religious zealot of a brother Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai) and you’ve got a stunning, sensual, and thrilling feature debut from Maryam Keshavarz. Gays are personae non gratae in Iran which, according to its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, doesn’t have any. (The film had to be shot in Beirut; its script altered to mask any references to homosexuality.) There are no rainbows in this movie. The affair, though doomed, is both tragic and triumphant. Yet love is love, we’re shown, and that’s one circumstance even religious fanaticism cannot alter.
Trailer after jump. [Read more...]
