Gay Today: Entertainment

Hollywood Hot Sheet

By William Horn
GLAAD Assistant Entertainment Media Director

Debbie Reynolds

The Unsinkable Debbie ReynoldsA parade of special guest stars will appear on NBC's Will & Grace this year, including legend Debbie Reynolds. GLAAD was on set last December for the show's taping in which Reynolds portrays Grace's (Debra Messing) critical, over the top, poker-playing mother, Bobbie Adler. The episode, entitled "The Unsinkable Bobbie Adler" (a nod to Reynolds' classic film The Unsinkable Molly Brown), had the normally enthusiastic studio audience in a down right frenzy.

Besides a lengthy discussion by Jack (Sean Hayes), Will (Eric McCormick) and Grace about whether Star Wars robot C3-PO was gay, the self proclaimed "Mother of Princess Leia" told the audience she was excited to be involved with such a fun and "provocative" show - "things I'm not." Look for Reynolds to diva-handle Jack's backside.

Gay Nominees a Go-Go On Sunday, January 24 expect a very lesbian, gay and bisexual oriented 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The star-studded event, third in award ceremony ratings to the Oscars and Grammys, makes numerous nods to lesbian, gay and bisexual inclusive films and character portrayals. The "buzz" in Hollywood is that the compelling Gods & Monsters and its star, Sir Ian McKellen, are very likely to walk away with trophies. Here's the short list of nominated gay-themed films, TV shows and specials, and some actors acknowledged for their roles in gay-themed projects.

Sir Ian McKellan

Motion Pictures:

Drama: Gods and Monsters
Actor, Drama: Stephen Fry, Wilde and Ian McKellen , Gods and Monsters
Actress, comedy: Christina Ricci, The Opposite of Sex
Supporting actress: Kathy Bates, Primary Colors and Lynn Redgrave, Gods and Monsters

Television:

Miniseries or made-for-TV movie: Gia
Actress, miniseries or made-for-TV movie: Angelina Jolie, Gia
Supporting actress, series, miniseries or made-for-TV movie: Faye Dunaway, Gia

In other award news, Ally Sheedy was recently named best actress by the National Society of Film Critics for her portrayal of a lesbian in High Art.

Mona & Sandy Burn Up Manhattan
As the Hotsheet reported last year, the beautiful, tall, buff and black drag diva Mona Foot recently wrapped production on Flawless, a Joel Schumacher film starring Robert DeNiro. She recently told GLAAD that the experience was "amazing" and that working with DeNiro and especially Schumacher was "fantastic."

Look for Mona in and out of drag in the film. Late last month, at New York's Booth Theater ingenue Sandra Bernhard had some scathing words for her now-closed Broadway show's producers, whom she blamed for not being able to keep her show running.

Related Articles from the GayToday Archive:
1998 Hollywood Year in Review

GLAAD's Hollywood Hotsheet

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Related Sites:
GLAAD
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Before stripping to just a pair of high heels and panties, she told the audience she never ventures to the often traffic-snarled theater district. And the next time Clinton entertains a Chinese dignitary, she theorized, he probably won't be bringing them downtown to her favorite lesbian bar the Cubby Hole. Bernhard has a new book and CD in stores now.

Take Note:
The Advocate promises that a cover story hitting newsstands nationwide January 19 will feature the coming out of a "major star of stage, TV and film." While this revelation may not be a huge surprise to many in the lgbt community, his reasons for coming out now promise to be heart warming. In other lgbt gay publication news, Genre is reporting a 30% increase in newsstand sales for the magazine's October '98 issue compared to its September '98 issue. The concert industry magazine Pollstar has recently crowned Elton John the top concert draw of 1998, with reported ticket sales of $46.2 million. Variety recently reported that Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, a gay version of Adam and Eve, is scheduled to move from its current home at the NY Theater Workshop to an Off Broadway venue.

Movin' On Up
It's official, Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche have moved out of Los Angeles' exclusive Hancock Park area, placing their refurbished 1920's home on the market for $3.5 million. The Spanish-style, three-bedroom home with a pool was purchased by the couple just one year ago.

Anne and Ellen have moved north to the Santa Barbara area of California. While they plan on taking some time away from Hollywood, the "year off" that was widely reported last year seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. Meanwhile, in the trendy hills of Aspen, Colorado, tennis legend Martina Navratilova has placed her 100-acre ranch on the market for almost $8 million dollars.

The home, custom built for her ten years ago, includes floor-to-ceiling glass walls, a new horse barn, a library and a gym. Navratilova, who is spending more time in Europe lately, saying she does not need all that space. Finally, one woman who's staying put is Madonna .

She had originally agreed to sell her Miami home to gal-pal Rosie O'Donnell for $6--a deal the two media divas brokered themselves. But after spending some quality days and nights there during the recent holiday season she changed her mind. Rosie is said to now be looking in the Palm Beach area of Florida. Representatives for both Madonna and Rosie say there is no bad blood over the botched deal. The two women met while filming A League Their Own in 1991. Madonna purchased the home after she rented the estate for a photo shoot included in her infamous, omni-sexual Sex book.

Independent Spirit Nominees Announced
The 14th Annual Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced last week, and lgbt-themed independent films account for a number of those singled out. Best feature nominees include Gods and Monsters and Velvet Goldmine, while Don Roos' The Opposite of Sex and the highly acclaimed High Art both were named in the best first feature category. Other notable nominees include:

The Opposite of Sex: Gay-themed film earns honors

Best Director: Todd Haynes for Velvet Goldmine
Best Screenplay: Don Roos for Opposite and Bill Condon for Gods
Female Lead: Christina Ricci for Opposite and Ally Sheedy for High Art
Male lead: Sir Ian McKellen in Gods
Female Supporting: Patricia Clarkson in High Art, Lisa Kudrow in Opposite and Lynn Redgrave in Gods
Truer Than Fiction: Dear Jesse

The award ceremony will take place March 20 in Santa Monica, California. In other award news, what would you say are the hottest award ceremonies around? The Oscars? The Emmys? The Golden Globes? No, the 10th Annual GLAAD Media Awards (not that we're biased), which honor the very best in the media's representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Numerous nominating committees have viewed hundreds of hours of television and film, and read article after article about the community from the 1998 calendar year. Check out GLAAD Online next week when the nominees will be announced. This year the three ceremonies will take place be in New York City on March 28, in Los Angeles on April 17 and in Washington, D.C. on May 8. The Hotsheet will keep you up to date on the upcoming events and the special honorees.

VCR Alert:
Monday, January 11: On L.A. Doctors, Sarah (Sheryl Lee) helps a girl who is taking steroids in anticipation of a sex-change operation when she is of age (CBS, 10:00 PM EST/PST).