One of the most prominent selections to be screened, 54: The Director’s Cut:. Taking place on Thursday, July 16 at Hollywood Forever Cem-
etery, Mark Christopher’s 1998 historical drama is about New York City’s famed nightclub Studio 54. The film underwent extensive re-editing prior to its original release to remove virtually all of its gay and bisexual content. Fortunately, the director was finally allowed last year to restore his original vision and add 36 minutes to the film, which stars the studly Ryan Phillippe, as a bartender with dreams of fame and Mike Myers (yes, Austin Powers himself), in a rare dramatic role, as club owner Steve Rubell.
Here’s a small preview of 2015’s Outfest selections:
Eisenstein in Guanajuato Auteur/provocateur Peter Greenaway (The Cook, The Thief, His
Wife & Her Lover; The Pillow Book) returns with this explicit examina- tion of the relationship between acclaimed Russian filmmaker Sergio Eisenstein and Palomino, the man who served as his guide during Eisenstein’s trip to Mexico in the 1930s. I found Greenaway’s treatment here of both men a little too broad and cartoonish but their true love story remains appealing. The film will screen in the International Centerpiece slot at the Director’s Guild of America on Monday, July 13.
Those People An affecting coming-of-age tale, set in the Big Apple, of a young
artist fixated on his non-committal best friend, who also happens to be the socially-despised son of a Bernie Madoff-ish swindler. Writer-director Joey Kuhn gets extra credit for incorporating numerous Gilbert & Sullivan tunes on the soundtrack. Screening Saturday, July 18.
Drown A winner of several awards at May’s FilmOut San Diego, this is a
OUTFEST 2015
CREATING CHANGE, ONE STORY AT A TIME by chris carpenter
Despite the resignations this past year of two promi- nent leaders (Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer and Director of Programming Kristin Pepe) as well as the temporary loss of the Ford Theatre, which is undergoing a long-overdue renova- tion, Outfest is still going strong. The 33rd Annual Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival runs Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 19 at both traditional and new venues throughout the Los Angeles/Hollywood area. Actor-writer-director John Cameron Mitchell, best known for the boundary-pushingHedwig and the Angry Inch andShortbus, will be honored with the 2015 Outfest Achievement Award during the opening night gala on Thusday, July 9. Christopher Racster, Outfest’s interim executive director
and Long Beach resident Lucy Mukerjee-Brown, the fest’s new director of programming, promise that the films being show- cased this year “increase our visibility.” They went on to say, “sharing them strengthens understanding and in turn, creates meaningful change.”
26 RAGE monthly | JULY 2015
For a full Outfest festival schedule of films and
events, or to purchase weekend passes and
tickets, go
tooutfest.org.
time-tripping exploration of an Australian lifeguard’s conflicted feelings for his new, gay teammate. It is a dark film focusing on the awful toll repression can take, but the finale isn’t as depressing as one may fear initially. There is also plentiful eye candy thanks to its hot, Speedo-clad
cast.Screening Sunday, July 12.
Everlasting Love (Aore Eterno) Okay, this one was too dark for me and I’m hardly a Pollyanna.
A teacher begins an illicit affair with a gay student, whom he en- counters while cruising in the woods one day. The student doesn’t take it very well, however, when his teacher decides to end their relationship. Spanish director Marçal Forés’ bad romance is being termed Hitchcockian but pushes the envelope a bit too far. More adventurous Outfest-goers might consider it just fine. Screening Tuesday, July 14.
Do I Sound Gay? Filmmaker and primary subject David Thorpe set out to discover if
there really is a “gay voice” and if so, how did it develop. Entertaining if frequently self-indulgent, this documentary presents such dispa- rate suspects as Hollywood golden age actor Clifton Webb (Laura, 1953’sTitanic), gay comedians Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly, and The Lion King’s villainous Scar as all at least partly responsible for making the majority of gay men sound alike, depending upon which generation, we came of
age.Screening Monday, July 13.
Seed Money A compelling documentary about Chuck Holmes, the unassum-
ing Midwest farm boy who founded Falcon Studios in the late 1970’s and watched it become “the MGM of gay porn.” Director Michael Stabile captures Holmes’ difficulties during the 1980’s particularly well, when the pornographer found himself at the uncomfortable center of the convergence of AIDS, politics and economics. Screening Monday, July 13.
Beautiful Something This thoughtful, very sexy drama is the best offering I was able
to see in advance of Outfest. Writer-director Joseph Graham (Strapped) follows several gay men of different generations living in Philadelphia during one life-altering night. Alternately funny and heartbreaking, it is also one of the few American films seen to feature an ethnically-diverse cast. I strongly recommend this one. Screening Thursday, July 16.
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