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Sen. John Fetterman checked into Walter Reed on Wednesday night for clinical depression, his office announced on Thursday.

The first-term senator from Pennsylvania’s trip to Walter Reed comes a week after he was discharged from George Washington Hospital after he began feeling ill on a Senate Democratic retreat. It also comes after countless other lawmakers have checked into and out of hospitals to receive treatment for a variety of medical conditions.

“While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,...

Cate Blanchett has received a symphony of praise from critics for her starring role in Todd Fields’ “Tar”and as a strong-willed orchestra conductor. Lydia Tar speaks her mind whether making a fool out of a conducting student at Juilliard or threatening a young girl bullying her daughter at school. But Tar’s diva-tude has nothing on the Sir Alfred de Carter (Rex Harrison) the famed conductor with an ego as big as the Ritz in writer/director/producer Preston Sturges’ hilarious dark 1948 comedy “Unfaithfully Yours.”

Sturges had had an incredible run at Paramount with his brilliant comedies: 1940’s “The Great McGinty,” for which he won the original screenplay Oscar and “Christmas in July”; 1941’s “The Lady Eve” and “Sullivan’s Travels”; 1942’s “The Palm Beach Story”; and 1944’s “The Miracle at Morgan’s Creek” and “Hail the Conquering Hero.” But then came many clashes with Paramount executives, the 1944 critical...

They’ve hit us with three remakes of this one, one about another actress and two about music stars — maybe the next will be about a TikTok star. Thanks to an unexpected full digital restoration from original Technicolor elements, this 1937 original once again plays like a winner. Silent legend Janet Gaynor is Esther Blodgett, soon to become the famous Vicki Lester. Fredric March gives one of his best performances as a matinee idol running his career into the ground with drink. David O. Selznick’s classy production takes some cynical jabs at The Biz yet characterizes Adolph Menjou’s producer as an all-wise, all-forgiving saint. The Wac adds great extras in full HD — a swing musical short and a sarcastic Merrie Melodie cartoon that spoofs the main feature.

A Star is Born (1937)

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99

Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...

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“Tomorrow’S News Today!”

By Raymond Benson

One wonders if Bond villain Elliot Carver ever saw the 1944 comedy-fantasy, It Happened Tomorrow. Carver’s evil plot involved making bad news happen so that his newspapers could scoop the headlines before other media outlets even learned about the events. “Tomorrow’s News Today!” was his slogan.

In the fanciful and entertaining It Happened Tomorrow, a newspaper man receives tomorrow’s news today, allowing him to write the piece and get it ready to go to the presses before the incident occurs.

French filmmaker René Clair had come to Hollywood in the early 1940s after working for a time in the U.K. He made a handful of pictures for different studios, namely I Married a Witch (1942) and And Then There Were None (1945). In-between those notable titles came It Happened Tomorrow, which was based on an...

It Happened Tomorrow

Blu ray

Kino Lorber

1944 / 1.33:1 / 85 min.

Starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie

Cinematography by Archie Stout, Eugen Schüfftan

Directed by René Clair

René Clair takes a trip through The Twilight Zone in It Happened Tomorrow, the story of a reporter’s perilous adventure with a different kind of time machine. Like Clair’s I Married a Witch and The Ghost Goes West, this 1944 fantasy is lighter than air but its feet are planted firmly on the ground. Dick Powell plays Larry Stevens, a struggling journalist with a literal dead end job—he writes obituaries for The Evening News. Linda Darnell is Sylvia Smith, a stage performer who predicts fortunes with the help of Oscar Cigolini, né Smith, her showboating uncle played by Jack Oakie. Sylvia isn’t the only one with insight into the future, Larry gets in on the act when he’s handed a...

MGM’s glamour factory hit heights of grandeur with this nostalgic disaster spectacle, which retains its power even as its pious sentimentality runs amuck. We don’t believe the characters but we believe the Stars: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald and Spencer Tracy succeed with sheer personality. Best of all are the sensational special effects featuring the highly cinematic earthquake montage by Slavko Vorkapich and John Hoffman.

San Francisco

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1936 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date February 16, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross, Edgar Kennedy, Warren Hymer, Gertrude Astor, Vince Barnett, Tom Dugan, D.W. Griffith, James Murray, Robert J. Wilke.

Montages: Slavko Vorkapich, John Hoffman

Special Effects: James Basevi, Russell A. Cully, A. Arnold Gillespie, Loyal Griggs

Film Editor: Tom Held

Songs: Bronislau Kaper & Walter Jurmann (music), Gus Kahn (lyrics), Nacio Herb Brown

Written...

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“Melodrama, Music, And Mayhem”

By Raymond Benson

The 1936 Hollywood extravaganza, San Francisco, is a near-epic that attempts to place a melodramatic love triangle (or is it four-sided?—it seems to want to be that) in the context of the catastrophic 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco; thus, making the film a melodrama-disaster movie. Oh, but it has singing and dancing, too!—the flick spawned the title number that became one of the city’s official songs.

Helmed by the even-handed W. S. Van Dyke, one of the Golden Age’s most dependable directors, San Francisco reaches to be too many things. Granted, it is a motion picture that has its fans, especially a devoted following in its titular town. It was indeed nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award of its year; Van Dyke was also up for Best Director, and Spencer Tracy was...

Movies to watch when you’re staying in for a while, featuring recommendations from Dana Gould, Daniel Waters, Scott Alexander, and Allison Anders.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Destroy All Monsters (1969)

Planet Of The Apes (1968)

Beneath The Planet of the Apes (1970)

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)

Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972)

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)

Suparpie

The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

Hello Down There (1969)

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Thirteen Days (2000)

Stalker (1979)

Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

No Exit (1962)

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Sleeper (1973)

The Tenant (1976)

Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)

La classe américaine (1993)

The Sex Adventures of a Single Man a.k.a. The 24 Hour Lover (1968)

The Omega Man (1971)

Soylent Green (1973)

Knives Out (2019)

The Hunt (2020)

Banana Split (2020)

The Cocoanuts (1929)

Animal Crackers (1930)

Monkey Business (1931)

Horse Feathers (1932)

Duck Soup (1933)

A Night At The Opera (1935)

The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971)

Susan Slade (1961)

My Blood Runs Cold...

Do you miss the Stooges? Miss Edgar Kennedy? Here’s a bizarre bill of goods for committed film fans in search of retro fun. Will Ryan and Nick Santa Maria perform as a madcap ’30s comedy team in a series of imaginatively re-created broad short subjects, all designed to fit the style of the era. It works like gangbusters for those who relish their vintage slapstick laughs.

The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster!

DVD

Kino Lorber

2013-2016 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 131 min. cumulative (or nimbus) / Street Date May 22, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Nick Santa Maria, Will Ryan.

Cinematography: Douglas Knapp

Film Editor and more: Bill Bryn Russell

Produced by Michael Demeritt

Written-Produced-Directed by Michael Schlesinger

It takes about three minutes to fall under the peculiar spell woven by The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster!, a collection of new short subjects. Biffle and Shooster are a mythical comedy...

Aaron Sorkin’s gambling drama “Molly’s Game,” Brie Larson’s directorial debut “Unicorn Store,” Louis C.K.’s “I Love You, Daddy,” Lynn Shelton’s “Outside In” and John Curran’s Edward Kennedy dramatization “Chappaquiddick” are among the more than 100 new films that have been added to the Toronto International Film Festival lineup, Tiff organizers announced on Tuesday. Stars of the new films include Jessica Chastain, Nicole Kidman, Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Helen Mirren, Jason Clarke and Willem Dafoe. Tuesday’s announcement covered the Masters, Contemporary World Cinema, Primetime and Wavelengths sections, as well as additions to the Galas and Special Screenings programs.

A showdown’s a’ comin’! Not on the main street of Dodge City, but at the multiplex once again. The final throw down between the hero and villain has been a staple of cinema since its earliest days, mainly in action films and primarily the western. There have been countless screen versions of that infamous incident , the gunfight at the O.K. Corral (the most famous being the Kirk Douglas/Burt Lancaster 1950’s classic) . This most likely inspired many other “oaters”, the most celebrated being the iconic 1952 High Noon (which garnered an Oscar for star Gary Cooper). It’s set in real-time as the clock ticks to 12, while Will Kane readies himself for the arrival of the Miller gang. We’ve seen this plot used in many other genres, providing extra excitement to the final acts of every movie hero’s exploits from Rocky to Bond to Batman. But it...

Hitler's Madman, a WWII propaganda film, had a complex origin story: filmed shortly after the real events it depicts (the assassination of senior Nazi Reinhard Heydrich and the subsequent massacre of the Czech town of Lidice in reprisal), the appearance of Fritz Lang's similarly-themed Hangmen Also Die! caused its release to be delayed and it also suffered a title change from the catchier Hitler's Hangman. On the plus side, the tiny independent production, shot in just a week, was acquired by MGM and given a bigger budget for re-shoots to enhance its production values. But Sirk ruefully admitted the new scenes actually weakened the film's Poverty Row sensibility, which gave it a slight documentary flavor which was useful.The Lang film is, I think, superior all round, but the two make interesting companions and Sirk's is tougher, in a way. Lang's movie, originally written by Brecht, attempts to build in a small victory,...

Douglas Sirk's first American movie came out so well that Prc sold it to MGM, earning Sirk a promotion out of the Poverty Row studios. John Carradine is excellent - and underplays! -- as the Hangman of Prague who moonlights as a depraved sex criminal. But the context in this wartime propaganda movie is serious -- it commemorates the Nazi murder of an entire Czech town. Hitler's Madman DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1943 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 84 min. / Street Date December 1, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 18.95 Starring Patricia Morrison, John Carradine, Alan Curtis, Howard Freeman, Ralph Morgan, Ludwig Stössel, Edgar Kennedy, Al Shean, Elizabeth Russell, Jimmy Conlin, Ava Gardner, Natalie Draper, Victor Kilian, Otto Reichow, Peter van Eyck, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Blanch Yurka. Cinematography (Eugen Schüfftan, credited as Technical Advisor), Jack Greenhalgh Film Editor Dan Milner Second unit and uncredited production designer Edgar G. Ulmer Original Music...

Summer may be over, but with this year marking the 35th anniversary of Friday the 13th, it's never too late to visit the lake. Ahead of the event's November 4th start date, the folks behind the Denver Film Festival have announced the first wave of programming, including a special November 13th 35mm screening of Sean S. Cunningham's monumental slasher film.

Press Release: October 9, 2015 (Denver, Colo.) - The Denver Film Festival (Dff), produced by Denver Film Society (Dfs), announced its first wave of programming. Recognized as the Rocky Mountain Region's premier film event, the festival will feature a focus on Polish Cinema, sidebars for CinemaQ, CineLatino, Late Night and Women+Film, as well as robust Shorts Packages and Music Spotlight programming.

"In keeping with our long and rich tradition of presenting the best in Eastern European cinema, we at the Denver Film Festival are proud to announce that this year's...

Viewers expecting to see a lighthearted  'Cisco Kid' swashbuckler got a surprise with William Wellman's movie: it's a tragedy about a genuine historical California bandit who may have been an outlaw terrorist, avenging murderous discrimination against Mexican-Americans in the Gold Rush days. Hangings, rape and massacres -- not your average popcorn matinee fare for 1936. The Robin Hood of El Dorado DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1936 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date May 26, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 18.49  Starring Warner Baxter, Ann Loring, Bruce Cabot, Margo, J. Carrol Naish, Soledad Jimenez, Carlos De Valdez, Eric Linden, Edgar Kennedy, Charles Trowbridge, Harvey Stephens, Marc Lawrence. Cinematography Chester Lyons Film Editor Robert J. Kern Original Music Herbert Stothart Written by William A. Wellman, Joseph Calleia, Melvin Levy, from a book by Walter Noble Burns Produced by John W. Considine Jr. Directed by William A. Wellman

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I'm always...

Groucho Marx in 'Duck Soup.' Groucho Marx movies: 'Duck Soup,' 'The Story of Mankind' and romancing Margaret Dumont on TCM Grouch Marx, the bespectacled, (painted) mustached, cigar-chomping Marx brother, is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 14, '15. Marx Brothers fans will be delighted, as TCM is presenting no less than 11 of their comedies, in addition to a brotherly reunion in the 1957 all-star fantasy The Story of Mankind. Non-Marx Brothers fans should be delighted as well – as long as they're fans of Kay Francis, Thelma Todd, Ann Miller, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Allan Jones, affectionate, long-tongued giraffes, and/or that great, scene-stealing dowager, Margaret Dumont. Right now, TCM is showing Robert Florey and Joseph Santley's The Cocoanuts (1929), an early talkie notable as the first movie featuring the four Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo. Based on their hit Broadway...

Charles Grodin was passed over for the lead in "The Graduate," but gets to play a similar role here as Peter Pan syndrome sufferer Lenny Kantrow, who falls for shiksa goddess Cybill Shepherd days after marrying his annoying wife Jeannie Berlin. Both films share similiar endings as well, but Elaine May’s comic take is darker and edgier. As Shepherd’s banker dad Eddie Albert channels Edgar Kennedy’s slow burn into an Oscar nomination. Remade to little avail in 2007.

A man was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly broke into the Kennedy compound in Barnstable, Mass. When officers asked the intruder what he was doing at the home, he replied he was "looking for Katy Perry." Police responded to a call around 9:30 p.m. from Edward Kennedy Jr., who was in Connecticut when he phoned his home in Hyannis Port to check his son—and an unknown individual answered. When officers arrived at the home, they observed an adult male sitting on the couch reading a book, who identified himself as James M. Lacroix, of Mashpee. According to officials, Lacroix, 53, told officers he was at the home to see Katy Perry and John F. Kennedy, adding that he had a gift to give the...

Birthday shoutouts go to Gabriel Mann (above), who is 42, Olly Murs is 30, Miranda Cosgrove is 21, and Cate Blanchett is 45.

Bryan Singer comes out as bisexual. “In the last five years, I’ve had two girlfriends — one for two years, one for eight months.”

The latest episode of Roger That is up, with celebrity designer Roger Hazard and his husband Chris Stout-Hazard helping to refresh a rec room. It’s enough to make us forget those, well, I can’t say because they’re banned from the Briefs.

Russia Proposes ‘Voice Of Eurasia’ Competition After Conchita Wurst Sweeps Eurovision

Jane Lynch talks about coming out in Episode One of “It Got Better.”

How Michael Sam Inspired the Great Facebook Kiss-In. But …

News lady walks off set because she can’t handle Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend, and … he doesn’t think of the children … and he’s shoving things down her throat.

Darren Criss and Lea Michelle attend the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s 19th Annual ‘A Taste For A Cure’ at The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel

Birthday shoutouts go to Ann Margret, who is 73, Jenna Ushkowitz is 28, Jessica Alba is 33, and Penelope Cruz is 40.

After the success of NBC’s Sound Of Music, it was inevitable that more live productions would follow. NBC has already announced Peter Pan, and now Fox has announced they will air a live, three-hour production of Grease next year.

Out Actor Maulik Pancholy Named To White House Commission

Conchita Wurst will represent Austria at Eurovision … and some countries are pissed. You can guess which ones.

Donald Sterling gets animated.

Here’s the full trailer for HBO’s The Leftovers, which is slightly Nsfw for butt shots, but it also features possible same-sex pairings? (Ed Kennedy and I were debating it last night. It’s hard to...

Here is last week’s caption pic winner. This week’s caption pic is at the bottom of the page.

“Who thought it was a good idea to let David DeCoteau direct a sequel to Donnie Darko?”

Thanks to joeyhegele for this week’s winning caption!

Weekend Birthdays! Daniel Sharman (above) is 28, Carol Burnett is 81, Michael Damian is 52, Tom Welling is 37, and Sheena Easton is 55. And a special birthday shoutout to Tbl reader CCWayne!

Dan Savage on the “Gay Mafia.”

Uganda’s Tallest Peak Now Topped With Rainbow Flag

Fox is developing the “event” series Nazareth, which will look at the formative years of Jesus.

These 7 careers are allegedly no longer available to Christians thanks to the gays

You have to watch this Colbert vid to the end, as Stephen … deepthroats a burrito … with a hot beardo.

Coming soon to Ed Kennedy‘s neighborhood.

Here’s the international trailer for Snowpiercer,...

Birthday shoutouts go to Anton Yelchin (above), who is 25, Johnny Knoxville is 43, Christopher Rice is 36, Alex Kingston is 51, and the Queen Of German Punk Rock Nina Hagen is 59. Worship!

Sex Box! The British reality show is being adapted for We TV. “In Sex Box, real couples whose relationships are on the rocks enter a soundproof box to have sex and, upon exit, immediately address their issues with a panel of experts.” Okay, Brit readers, what’s your verdict (and don’t tell me you haven’t watched). And have they ever had same sex couples?

Out actor Ben Daniels will star in the Starz! ballet drama Flesh & Bone. Hmmm … I see a ShoutOUT in his future.

Linda Hamilton will star in the Syfy Original Movie Bermuda Testicles on April 12th. “Hamilton’s character is heading a rescue team sent to find the president after Air Force One goes down over the Bermuda Triangle.

James Franco attends “FrancoFest”

Birthday shoutouts go to Mary Wilson, who is 70, Rob Reiner is 67, and Kiki Dee is 67.

Johnny Weir Allegedly Bit Husband Victor Weir-Voronov In Domestic Dispute

I was wondering how long this was going to take. Post-apocalyptic video game The Last Of Us (which I reviewed last year) is making its way to the big screen. They better not screw this one up.

Adam Lambert and Queen have released the dates for their upcoming North American Summer Tour. It will start on 6/19 in Chicago and finish up on 7/20 in D.C.

Steve Grand talks about the enormous success of his Kickstarter campaign to fund his first album.

Billy Porter talks about his new album, which will include a duet with Cyndi Lauper of “Happy Days/Get Happy,” made famous by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland.

The nominees for the MTV Movie Awards have been announced, and it...

We’re embarking on a bit of an experiment with Meme beginning today. The format hasn’t changed much since I started writing this column three years ago– one giant post with snippets of information for you about pop culture, politics, my fear of cats (and why you too should fear them), cute animal stories, and the occasional Nsfw tidbit that I was afraid to print anywhere else.

This week we’re going to try breaking this unweildy behemoth up a bit, literally. In addition to a (shorter) grab bag morning post you’ll be getting several stories each day tagged as “Meme” — each as a standalone post.

The benefits to readers, I think, are we can be much more timely with news, provide more context when required, be more searchable, and allow you to share, say, a call to action about a protest with your mother, who may be gay supportive,...

Editor’s Note: Ed Kennedy is a bit under the weather, so we’re asking for help crowdsourcing today’s edition! Got a link, hot news item, Instagram pic etc. you think other readers would enjoy? As long as it’s P.G. rated and safe for work, please share in the comments. Here’s a few items to get the ball rolling…

Pop Quiz, Hotshot! What was the #1 song this week in 1983? Here’s your hint – “Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.” Answer at the bottom.

You cheated. You got caught. Get over it. And your song sucks.

Oscar winner Maximilian Schell has died at the age of 83. He won Best Actor for Judgment At Nuremberg, and was nominated twice more.

Producers are allegedly wooing Madonna for the role of Broadway diva Helen Lawson in the remake of Valley of The Dolls. No word on Neely,...

Editor’s Note: Ed Kennedy is taking a much needed vacation, so we’re asking for help crowdsourcing today’s edition! Got a link, hot news item, Instagram pic etc. you think other readers would enjoy? As long as it’s P.G. rated and safe for work, please share in the comments. Here’s a few items to get the ball rolling…

Sweet indie gay film G.B.F. (read our review here) was given an R rating by the MPAA, and director Darren Stein is not happy about that: “I always thought of G.B.F. as a PG-13 movie, but we were given an R “For Sexual References” while not having a single F-bomb, hint of nudity or violence in the film. Perhaps the ratings box should more accurately read ‘For Homosexual References’ or ‘Too Many Scenes of Gay Teens Kissing.’ I look forward to a world where queer teens can...

Editor’s Note: Ed Kennedy is taking a much needed vacation, so we’re asking for help crowdsourcing today’s edition! Got a link, hot news item, Instagram pic etc. you think other readers would enjoy? As long as it’s P.G. rated and safe for work, please share in the comments. Here’s a few items to get the ball rolling…

Shia Labeouf just can’t seem to avoid unflattering press these days. Yesterday he was caught on tape headbutting somebody in a scuffle outside a London Pub. In the fuzzy video he keeps barking out, “What did you just say? What did you just say? What did you just say?” Might be a step forward since this time he’s only repeating his own words.

A new British study finds that gay couples are, on the whole, happier but less affectionate than heterosexual couples. Just hazarding a guess,...

Actor Daniel Cosgrove has joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in the mysterious new role of Aiden. He began filming in September, and his character will debut at the end of January.

They will have to release info on the character soon, and I’m sure it’ll turn out that he’s some lost Horton, or involved with con artist Jordan, or something equally dull, but … what if … what if … he’s actually the Will & Sonny interloper they’ve been teasing for months?

If you recall, Tptb wanted a new Will in place before they started a new “love triangle” storyline, and the timing does seem right.

While we wait official word that he’s actually some lost Brady or something equally stultifying, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of Daniel Cosgrove as the new WilSon blocker.

Pros:

He’s gorgeous.

He released...

I’ve had the privilege of working with my colleague Ed Kennedy for well, many years, and he’s an integral part of our success. He writes an occasional post, but of course he’s best known for his Daily Meme, which is the most viewed and most well-known feature of TheBacklot.

Today is Ed’s birthday, so let’s pay tribute with five reasons why we all love and appreciate him!

1. He’s willing to stand up and fight for what he believes in.

(source)

2. He has the patience of a saint dealing with the annoying

(source)

3. He takes care of his body better than anyone I know

(source)

4. He’s always on the lookout for Meme material

(source)

5. He floats! Seriously, I’ve seen it myself

(source)

Happy Birthday, Ed! It’s been a pleasure.

The post Five Cat Gifs In Honor Of Ed Kennedy’s Birthday appeared first on thebacklot.

We first became aware of Russell Tovey with his performance in The History Boys, and his memorable guest turn in Doctor Who (it was so memorable Russell Davies suggested him as a future Doctor).

But it was his role as adorable werewolf George in Being Human that clinched our affection. We can’t wait to see what he brings to the much-anticipated HBO series Looking next year, but we know he’ll bring his usual sincerity to the role.

Today is his 32nd birthday (aka Ed Kennedy‘s favorite holiday), so let’s pay tribute to Russell and his … trademark protuberance.

The post 32 Pics Of Birthday Boy Russell Tovey appeared first on thebacklot.com.

Birthday shoutouts go to Matthew McConaughey (above) who is 44, Kathy Griffin is 53, Markie Post is 63, and Ralph Macchio is 52.

Samuel L. Jackson has been cast in the film adaptation of Stephen King‘s Cell (which has been in the planning stages since the novel debuted back in 2006). My colleague Brian Juergens informs me that the character Sam is playing, Tom McCourt, is gay in the book, so it’ll be interesting to see if they keep it, or de-gay him (but hey, if he needs tips on playing a de-gayed character, he can just ask his co-star John Cusack, who’s done it twice in his career). But I really hope they don’t, because it’s been far too long since I’ve heard a gay character say “motherf*ckin.”

A few months ago I posted Man Vs. Blur: The Ten Hottest Bear Grylls Pixelations, and lamented the fact...

The assassination of JFK and the conspiracy theories that followed have proved irresistible to writers and artists, from Oliver Stone to Stephen King

• Mark Lawson on the 10 best books inspired by JFK

The grassy knoll. The book depository. Any further description of the location is superfluous. We know where we are, and when. Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963: the scene of the assassination of President John F Kennedy. History assumes mythic proportions when its very familiarity requires no further explanation or scene-setting; when it provides instead a well-signposted point of departure for artistic creativity. The matter of Dallas has been as resonant in the fiction and film of the past half century as the story of the Trojan war was in the literature of classical antiquity. Only Hitler and the Nazis rival its influence on the modern imagination.

Yet the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination will not be marked by consensus.

Here at TheBacklot.com we spend a lot of time celebrating gay and bi men in the spotlight: actors, singers, dancers, sportsmen, and personalities are splashed across our pages like so much red paint at an all-fur fashion show. While we will never tire of the Neil Patrick Harrises and Chris Colfers of the world, we thought it was high time we paid due credit to some of the more unsung gay heroes: the guys behind the cameras of some of television’s best shows. In that light, we are proud to unveil TheBacklot 40, our celebration of 40 of the hardest-working and most influential out men working behind the scenes in TV.

These are the men who create and run some of our favorite shows, have written some of our most beloved gay characters, and have shepherded gay-inclusive stories to screen long before it was fashionable. Some will be familiar, but...

“Guess who?! Ha ha ha hah hah! Ha ha ha hah hah! Hahahahah!” Looks like another iconic cartoon character from Hollywood’s Golden Age is finally returning to the silver screen! He joins the ranks of Mickey Mouse in the theatrical short subject “Get a Horse’ that will be paired with Disney’s Frozen, the Loony Tunes Warner Brothers gang recently seen in the “I Tawt I Taw a Putty Tat” short preceeding Happy Feet 2, and Popeye the Sailor Man (technically a comic strip star) in his very own CGI feature from director Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania) in production at Sony Pictures. Why it’s that fine feathered frantic fury, Woody Woodpecker! Animation reporter and historian Jerry Beck reported over at the website Indiewire that animator Bill Kopp (TV’s “Eek the Cat” and “Dan Vs.” amongst many credits) has been signed to bring that red-headed rascal back to theatres...

Rex Harrison hat on TCM: ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘Anna and the King of Siam’ Rex Harrison is Turner Classic Movies’ final "Summer Under the Stars" star today, August 31, 2013. TCM is currently showing George Cukor’s lavish My Fair Lady (1964), an Academy Award-winning musical that has (in my humble opinion) unfairly lost quite a bit of its prestige in the last several decades. Rex Harrison, invariably a major ham whether playing Saladin, the King of Siam, Julius Caesar, the ghost of a dead sea captain, or Richard Burton’s lover, is for once flawlessly cast as Professor Henry Higgins, who on stage transformed Julie Andrews from cockney duckling to diction-master swan and who in the movie version does the same for Audrey Hepburn. Harrison, by the way, was the year’s Best Actor Oscar winner. (See also: "Audrey Hepburn vs. Julie Andrews: Biggest Oscar Snubs.") Following My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison...

Doris Day movies: TCM’s ‘Summer Under the Stars 2013′ lineup continues (photo: Doris Day in ‘Calamity Jane’ publicity shot) Doris Day, who turned 89 last April 3, is Turner Classic Movies’ 2013 “Summer Under the Stars” star on Friday, August 2. (Doris Day, by the way, still looks great. Check out "Doris Day Today.") Doris Day movies, of course, are frequently shown on TCM. Why? Well, TCM is owned by the megaconglomerate Time Warner, which also happens to own (among myriad other things) the Warner Bros. film library, which includes not only the Doris Day movies made at Warners from 1948 to 1955, but also Day’s MGM films as well (and the overwhelming majority of MGM releases up to 1986). My point: Don’t expect any Doris Day movie rarity on Friday — in fact, I don’t think such a thing exists. Doris Day is ‘Calamity Jane’ If you haven’t watched David Butler’s musical...

A few years ago, our own Ed Kennedy innocently remarked on a tweet that was sent by Sesame Street‘s Bert, and it caused a bit of a controversy, with Street eventually issuing a statement denouncing the decades-long speculation on the relationship between Bert and his felt fried Ernie.

Well, they may need to crank up the PR department again. This is the cover of the new issue of The New Yorker, commenting on the Scotus decisions.

What do you think? Funny? Inappropriate? Both?

The post “The New Yorker” Goes There With Bert and Ernie appeared first on thebacklot.com.

Tags: televisionTV newsGood Luck CharlieDisney ChannelWAPIMDb

Photo courtesy of Disney

When networks like ABC Family and Nickelodeon offer up dozens of Lgbt storylines every year, it's easy to forget that not all "family-friendly" TV-makers are comfortable with gay TV characters. Disney Channel, for example, has always been notoriously silent when it comes to gay stuff (even though the channel is owned by the same corporation that owns ABC Family, ABC, and SoapNet, three of the gay-friendliest places on TV). But there's encouraging news on the horizon. My buddy Ed Kennedy from our brother site, TheBacklot, emailed me last night to alert me to the news that Good Luck Charlie is adding a lesbian couple to its final season. The couple will be the first-ever scripted gay characters to make it to Mickey Mouse TV.

Good Luck Charlie is currently in the process of casting the lesbian couple, who will appear...

Here is last week’s caption pic winner. This week’s caption pic is at the bottom of the page.

Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner is …

“Ed Kennedy’s worst dreams come true – cats breed with the Cybermen and take over the world!”

Thanks to neo1194 for this week’s winning caption!

Weekend Birthdays! Alexandre Depatie (above) is 28, Liam Neeson is 61, Prince is 55, Joan Rivers is 80, Bonnie Tyler is 62, Johnny Depp is 50, Natalie Portman is 32, and Adamo Ruggiero is 27.

The Out List: Photos from Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s New HBO Documentary.

In ratings news, The USA debut of Graceland, with Broadway Babe Aaron Tveit opened strongly.

Behind-the-scenes of Season Four of The Walking Dead.

Congratulations!

Does Neil Patrick Harris want to host his own talk show?

Here’s the trailer for Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads, which premieres today on Here TV.

This made my day.

Via NewNowNext comes this Danish ad for Coke.

Tags: Lost Girlvideo gamesgamestelevisionTV newsIMDb

Yesterday morning, Syfy dropped a press release announcing their first ever mobile game: an iOS/Andoid-based app built around every lesbian's fae-vorite fantasy show, Lost Girl. Immediately, my buddy Ed Kennedy from The Backlot emailed to say, "Can we trust lesbians to not try naughty things with this?" To which I replied, "No. No, you cannot." In fact, in the time it took me to construct that four-word reply, my mind had already jumped from Skyrim to Mass Effect 3, catapulting me from the F!Dovahkiin/Aela the Huntress' wedding to FemShep/Liara's bed.

"Is that an Amulet of Mara in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Alas, Lost Girl: The Game isn't quite that accommodating — but it is pretty cool. For starters, you get to build your own character in the Lost Girl universe. You can choose between five different mythical beings: Succubus,...

Ed Kennedy is on his way home from the Glbt Journalism Conference in Philadelphia where he hung out with Cleve Jones, David Mixner and others. He'll be back to give you a Meme on Tuesday (and I'm sure will have some interesting stories to tell). But we know how you love Ed's brilliantly curated daily compilation of internet odds and ends, so we're asking for help crowdsourcing today's edition! Got a link, video, hot news item, etc. you think other readers would enjoy? As long as it's P.G. rated, please share in the comments!

We do have a few items to get the ball rolling...

Mark Twain in 1883... not too shabby!

Via openculture

According to the breathless fundraising email I got yesterday from Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Obama administration has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. I'm happy to chip in $25 for that,...

Ed Kennedy is wrapping up the Glbt Journalism Conference, but he'll be back to give you a Meme on Tuesday (and I'm sure will have some interesting stories to tell). But we know how you love Ed's brilliantly curated daily compilation of internet odds and ends, so we're asking for help crowdsourcing today's edition of the Meme! Got a link, video, hot news item, etc. you think other readers would enjoy? As long as it's P.G. rated, please share in the comments!

I do have a few items to get the ball rolling...

Today is Hollywood's big day, and I invite you to join me as I tweet the Oscar festivities on the Ae Twitter Account (and my personal account if Bad Snicks comes out). Please join us! (Just use @AfterElton and #Oscars).

Speaking of, here's a pretty desperate ad from ABC. So Guys will finally enjoy an Oscars?...

Here is last week's caption pic winner. This week's caption pic is at the bottom of the page.

Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner is ...

"Steven Spielberg. Director to the stars, Mohel to the aliens.".

Thanks to Paul for this week's winning caption!

From the March 7th episode of Glee. What will Blaine sing on a rooftop?

Weekend Birthdays! (Note: Birthday shoutouts are for out entertainers, allies, or for any celeb that seems to have a following on Ae). Drew Barrymore is 38, Thomas Jane is 44, Clinton Kelly is 44, Julie Walters is 63, Kyle MacLachlan is 54 ,and Lea Salonga is 42. My undying love to Dennis for filling in for me yesterday and doing such a great job. And thanks for all your well wishes. It made me smile in between the vomiting.James Van der Beek is jumping from Don't Tell The B to the CBS pilot Friends With Better Lives,...

We begin, as these things often do, at a cemetery. Seth and Curtis wait in a car. Seth is taking swigs from a bottle as he steels his resolve. Seth wonders, not whether they should go ahead with his plan, but what’s she’s going to say -- what he’s going to say -- when the deed is done.

You see, last week Seth stole a very special power; the power of resurrection… the dark gift of yanking back to life those who have previously schlepped off this mortal coil and have settled into their new existence as fertilizer. If I have to tell you this has terrible consequences, you haven’t been watching Misfits.

Curtis tells him that perhaps a simple “hi” will do. Curtis makes Seth promise not to reveal to his very alive girlfriend, Kelly, that he’s doing this for him. With the terms settled,...

Valentine's Heartbreakers! week begins at Trailer from Hell with screenwriter Larry Karaszewski introducing "The Heartbreak Kid," starring Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepherd. Charles Grodin was passed over for the lead in The Graduate, but gets to play a similar role here as Peter Pan syndrome sufferer Lenny Kantrow, who falls for shiksa goddess Cybill Shepherd days after marrying his annoying wife Jeannie Berlin. Both films share similiar endings as well, but Elaine May's comic take is darker and edgier. As Shepherd's banker dad Eddie Albert channels Edgar Kennedy's slow burn into an Oscar nomination. Remade to little avail in 2007. The original film can be seen online here.

Avenue Q's Lucy the Slut (pictured with rumored past dalliances) to star in HIV PSA

The Tony Award-winning puppet musical Avenue Q is teaming up with our parent network Logo. They'll be partnering on a series national public service announcements to raise awareness for HIV and HIV prevention. Popular characters from the musical including Lucy the Slut, Rod and Ricky, will be featured in the PSAs, alternately known as "puppet service announcements." (Lucy in particular might speak with some authority on Std prevention, having been romantically linked to such notorious Hollywood lotharios as Rob Cordry and David Hasselhoff.)

Joking aside, this seems like a great partnership. Our resident Avenue Q nut Ed Kennedy is quite keen on this project.

Airing on Logo-tv, the first spot will debut during the 90-minute fifth season premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 9 Pm Et/Pt. Each on-air spot will be complimented...

A happy belated Birthday shoutout to Ae reader Runako, who is 38, and a very special 41st birthday shoutout to my colleague Ed Kennedy, who helps make Ae a great place to work. I couldn't find an embarrassing pic, so above you can see him about to be attacked by a giant legless hovering cat.I'm back, bitches!Gay Men, Queer Women, and the Cultural History of the Mustache. Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt appear as Batman in the upcoming Justice League and Man Of Steel films? His reps are saying no, but ... they probably have to say that.Congratulations to blogger Dan Pearce, who has come out as bisexual. (h/t Addison Dewitt) The Salvation Army voucher campaign is in full swing again.I swear I'm having palpitations. But what about Storm?

Bad Lip Reading presents: More Twilight

The Cleveland Browns have released a statement about that football guy. Below you can see his newest tweet,...

Birthday shoutouts go to Mark Ruffalo (above) who is 45, Scarlet Johansson is 28, Mariel Hemingway is 51 and Jamie Lee Curtis is 54.Like Ed Kennedy, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all Ae readers, as well as the remarkable colleagues I work with every day. They, and you, make this site a joy for me everyday. Unlike Ed Kennedy, I've never been named "best" of anything, except "Best Food Bringer" by my cats.Just a reminder to please join me on Sunday night at 9 Pm Et, when I Liveblog the Lifetime original movie Liz and Dick.Programming Note: Because of the holiday, Ae will have a very limited schedule tomorrow, but we will have a Meme and Briefs, as well as a Holiday Puzzler, and recap of Glee. Today's Briefs is going to be all positive. Starting with a teacher coming out to his students."And then a girl clapped her hands.

Birthday shoutouts go to Josh Duhamel, and above you can see Ed Kennedy's future ex-husband, and one of our favorite all-around great guys Russell Tovey, who is 31.If you haven't already, please take a look at our 2012 Hot In Hollywood post, and list your choices for nominees! You have until November 19th.Frequently nuded-up Tom Hardy is set to star in the film version of aged video game Splinter Cell. Salon has released their Sexiest Men List, and I can't argue with #1I can't stand Guy Fieri, so i find this quite awesome.In ratings news, Happy Endings was even with it's last airing, but if you're a fan of Don't Trust The B, there's cause for concern.How do you keep General Patreus scandals from happening in the military? Let The Daily Show explain.

Below you can see Nancy Pelosi spank little Luke Russert.

Below you can see...

Editor's Note - Ed Kennedy was our social media hero with the election results last night, and didn't get a chance to finish the Meme. We'll have a wrap-up of the history that was made, but in the meantime, enjoy these tidbits from Ed, and feel free to add your own! (but please keep it PG-13!).

Something that caught my eye was CBS News correspondent Mo Rocca, an out gay man. His tweet said "As a @CBSNews correspondent I can't tell you how I voted. So I'll show you..." He then tweeted this photo. Have we found a new gay Republican, or am I misinterpreting it?

I don't see how I could be missing the meaning here

 Harry Shum might want to try ProActive for that

 Alec Mapa made voting a family affair, since this election is about our families

 Zachary Quinto mans the voter issue line at the Obama campaign.