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By William Horn
Assistant Entertainment Media Director, GLAAD MTV Announces Shepard TV Movie
MTV recently announced plans to create original made-for-television movies, the first slated to air at the end of the year. One of films currently in pre-production for the year 2000 is Anatomy of a Hate Crime, the story of slain Wyoming gay college student Matthew Shepard .
MTV described the murder as "a wake-up call for all of us," and the movie as the "riveting story of a hate crime in America." Anatomy of a Hate Crime will run in conjunction with MTV's ongoing campaign, Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Violence. In other MTV news, the network's new original series Undressed, which is about relationships, love and of course sex, recently included an explicit gay one-night stand. Each Undressed episode focuses on three fictional couples and what happens in their most intimate moments. The cast is essentially a revolving door, as the show focuses on different relationships for approximately three or four nights. During the first week of August Evan, a handsome gay college student, tried desperately to work "the last nerve" of his new straight roommate, Cliff, in order to get the room to himself.
GLAAD has learned that Evan will not be the last lesbian or gay character featured on the show. For more on the show visit www.mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/undressed/ . Teaching Mr. Williamson
Bus-riders and film stars Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek), Barry Watson (7th Heaven), Marisa Coughlan, Molly Ringwald and Lesley Ann Warren also attended the post-premiere party, but did not dine on champagne and caviar. Instead, everyone was handed a brown-bag lunch (we get it -- it's a high school movie!) which included the film's CD soundtrack and an apple. Prior to showtime, Williamson told the audience that the students-get-their-revenge theme that drives Teaching Mrs. Tingle is his own revenge of sorts. "This was the very first thing I ever wrote," he said, "because I had a teacher in high school who told me I would never, ever be a writer. Well, guess what? She was wrong." John, Aida Blasting Ahead
 In his first performance since being fitted with a heart pacemaker in July, Elton John gave a private concert Saturday, August 14 in Orlando, Florida. John - whose emergency pacemaker fitting forced him to cancel his performance at the wedding of soccer star David Beckham and "Posh Spice" Victoria Adams - played a full set for an audience of 3500. The singer will give his first public concert since the surgery on August 29 in England.
In related news, the long-delayed Elton John/Tim Rice musical follow-up to The Lion King is scheduled to open on Broadway next spring. Aida, inspired by the Verdi opera, is expected to open March 23, 2000 at the Palace Theater (previews begin February 23) after a two-month run at Chicago's Palace Theater (November 12, 1999 - January 9, 2000). Aida tells the story of an enslaved princess (Heather Headley in the title role) who vies with Amneris (Sherie Rene Scott) for the affections of Radames (Adam Pascal, replacing Hank Stratton, who originated the role last fall at Atlanta's Alliance Theater). The musical's concept album, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, featuring performances by John, Headley, Scott, Tina Turner, Sting, the Spice Girls and many others, was released in March, spawning the hit John/LeeAnn Rimes duet "Written in the Stars." Take Note: Can I Get That in a Brandyfrost Wine?: The cast of Will & Grace have chosen the colors of those $100,000 Porshes that NBC gifted them. The boys (Eric McCormack and Sean Hayes) chose silver and the girls (Debra Messing and Megan Mullally) went with basic black. Will the Awards Never End?: Will & Grace received the Founder's Award at the 15th annual Viewers for Quality Television Award ceremony last week. VQT founder Dorothy Swanson called the hit sitcom a "quality comedy." Other series winners included The Practice and Everybody Loves Raymond. At the Teen Choice Awards, put together by FOX and Seventeen Magazine, gay inclusive television and film projects were honored, including Dawson's Creek, Friends, Cruel Intentions and Big Daddy.
… Etheridge Celebrates 20 Year Ruining: Rocker Melissa Etheridge celebrated her 20-year high school reunion last month with 100 of her former classmates from the Leavenworth (Kansas) High School Class of '79. Etheridge, who attended solo, had one unwelcome surprise. Vehement homophobe Fred Phelps tried unsuccessfully to crash the event according to the Kansas City Star. Isn't Phelps in a class of his own?
A "Bitter" Ndegeocello? After a hiatus of more than three years, out-and-proud singer/songwriter Me'Shell NdegeOcello's new album for Maverick Records, Bitter, hits music stores Tuesday, August 24. Moving away from the sharp social observations that infused her 1995 album, Peace Beyond Passion (and its GLAAD Media Award-winning single, "Leviticus: Faggot"), Bitter finds NdegeOcello moving through a more personal landscape of emotions. Fans of richly textured, lyrical pop music owe themselves another visit to the potent, poetic world of Me'Shell NdegeOcello.
VCR Alert: Monday, August 23: A new episode of Beyond Chance, hosted by Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge (Lifetime, 8:00PM ET/PT). Tuesday, August 24: Kevin Williamson, director of Teaching Mrs. Tingle and creator of Wasteland and Dawson's Creek, is scheduled to appear on Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher (ABC, 11:35PM ET/PT) Wednesday, August 25: A new episode of the pansexual series Oz (HBO, 10:00PM ET/PT). Wednesday, August 25: GLAAD Media Award winner Me'Shell NdegeOcello is a scheduled guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35PM ET/PT) Sunday, August 29: "Believe" it! - Cher: Live in Concert from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO, 9:00PM, ET/PT) |
Scene from Kevin Williamson's Teaching Mrs. Tingle 
Cybill and Bruce in Moonlighting
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