The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) articles from May 2003

The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) archives from May 2003

Folks on folk. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 13, 2003... I must comment on "The Queer Report" [April 15] regarding "masculine homosexuals." I am one of a handful of gay writers who planted the seeds of what I see flowering in shows like Queer as Folk and Will & Grace. Those two shows, by the way, are...

Reader comments from www.advocate.com. (The Advocate Poll).(poll of readers on boycotting products advertised during anti-gay television shows such as Savage Nation)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... * "The tactic of boycotting advertisers and companies has been used by right-wingers for decades. It's time to give these bigots a taste of their own medicine." * "Boycotting as a whole is overrated. If you do not like a product, don't buy...

Hear no evil. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 13, 2003... When are we going to start helping ourselves and stop harping on the neoconservatives as to what they are saying about us ["Mustn't-See TV?" April 15]. Their agenda is to attack anyone who doesn't hold their views. This is a free nation;...

Like to watch. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 13, 2003... Has Norah Vincent actually seen an issue of On Our Backs recently [Last Word, April 15]? I would be happy to send her one. I like Queer as Folk too. And I love gay porn. All the dykes I know love gay porn. Hello, it's hot! But I certainly don't...

Voices carry. (my perspective).(Column)
May 13, 2003... Four years ago, when the time came for me to lead my first concert as artistic director of Gay Gotham Chorus, I was excited about making my New York City conducting debut. Then I had another thought: For the first time in my life I am going to...

Rants & raves.(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... "I'm sorry that I wasn't here sooner. Seriously." --Rosie O'Donnell, upon accepting the Vito Russo Award for fighting homophobia, at the 14th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York, April 7 "So you want to hear that we are sleeping...

A gay-friendly tango: with fund-raising dollars at stake, Democratic hopefuls try to prove they would be pro-gay presidents. (Politics).(Howard Dean, Joseph Lieberman vie for gay vote)
May 13, 2003... Call it the politics of "family values." In early April, well-known Anne Klein designer Charles Nolan quit his day job to work on Howard Dean's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Nolan just happens to be the partner of Andrew...

No appeal on Senate's nod. (Court).(Senate approves appointment of Timothy Tymkovich to appeals court)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... He argued in favor of Colorado's anti-gay Amendment 2 before the U.S. Supreme Court, and now Timothy Tymkovich is sitting on the bench himself. The U.S. Senate confirmed the former Colorado solicitor general's nomination to the 10th circuit...

Forced outing. (Education).(gay student persecuted by teachers, Little Rock, Arkansas)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... A 14-year-old gay student in Little Rock, Ark., says a teacher called him "abnormal" and "unnatural." But if a lawsuit filed April 8 on behalf on the student is correct, those words might better describe school officials' actions. In the...

Foreman at the task force. (Activism).(Matt Foreman appointed director of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Upon the announcement that Matt Foreman had been appointed as the new executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Washington, D.C.-based group received a hefty $1.1 million gift from an anonymous donor--a warm welcome...

Passing judgment. (Education).(court defers ruling on rights of lesbian teacher)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Utah law requires that teachers be moral models for their students, but the Utah supreme court refused on April 4 to say if a lesbian high school teacher from Spanish Fork fits the bill. Wendy Weaver has battled parents' attempts to get her...

For peace or pride? (Switzerland).(rainbow flag flies for peace)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... The rainbow flag has become the de facto antiwar protest emblem in Switzerland. By the end of March the Zurich-based Gruppe Schweiz Ohne Armee (Group for Switzerland Without an Army) had sold more than 2.5 million of the flags, which have seven...

Across the nation. (The Advocate Report).(gay and lesbian rights)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Grand Junction, Colo. A sixth-grader was suspended from middle school for two days beginning April 2 after he called a student referee's call "gay" during a playground game of softball. Boston, Mass. A Boston Globe--WBZ-TV poll of...

Twenty-five years of leather: as the International Mr. Leather contest turns 25, its first-ever winner describes why cowhide means so much to gay people. (Behind the Headlines).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... David Kloss was named International Mr. Leather in 1979 before a crowd of about 400 who had gathered in Chicago for the first IML contest. Since then IML has evolved into the premier leather event, drawing thousands of gay men and lesbians from...

Lesbian assist. (Sports).(Lesbian bar sponsors women's football team, Franklin Park, Illinois)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Lesbians may love women's sports, but the affection hasn't always been mutual. So when Chicago's brand-new professional tackle football team, the Chicago Force, announced that it had signed up a lesbian bar as its main sponsor, it wasn't just a...

Barred by the archbishop. (Catholic).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Harry. Flynn, the Catholic archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, has taken a stand against noted gay minister Mel White, essentially barring him from ever speaking at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis. Flynn's action came without...

Transitions. (The Advocate Report).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... APPOINTED: Alan Van Capelle, as executive director of New York's Empire State Pride Agenda, April 2. Van Capelle had been the deputy political director of the Service Employees International Union. LAUNCHED: A domestic-partner registry in...

This week on Advocate.com. (On the Web).
May 13, 2003... BREAKING NEWS: Visit www.advocate.com for the latest news, entertainment, and health headlines, updated twice a day. COMMENTARY The lost language of camp Does it matter that younger gays can't compare and contrast the three...

Gays and rock--between the lines: April 7, 1976. (From the Advocate Archives).
May 13, 2003... April 7, 1976 As the cover article in this issue shows, Robbie Williams courts gay audiences with homoerotic allusions. Twenty-seven years ago, The Advocate's Randy Shilts explored the peekaboo nature of gay talk in rock. He cited the...

No such thing as a stupid question. (On the Web).(sexual orientation of pop stars)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Want to know what team your favorite pop star bats for? You're not alone. The sexual orientation of celebrities is one of the most popular queries on Internet search engines, say officials at Overture. corn, a company that tracks the specifics...

GLAAD to alert you. (On the Web).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Taking Internet activism to a new level, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has launched a new GLAAD. org. The Web site features improved multimedia capabilities, an "Eye on the Media" section highlighting weekly stories to watch,...

Gay directors bring home the bacon. (the Buzz).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... WITH THE continuing success of Bringing Down the House, out director Adam Shankman joins six other openly gay directors on the list of the 250 all-time top-grossing films in the United States. (Joel Schumacher actually has three films on the...

Pulitzer surprise. (the Buzz).(Nilo Cruz for play Anna in the Tropics)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... "LAST SUNDAY the clocks changed. The next day time changed for me," says Nilo Cruz, who on the day after daylight saving time began received a coveted Pulitzer Prize for his play Anna in the Tropics, so far produced only in Coral Gables, Fla....

Mariah's gay adventure. (the Buzz).(Mariah Carey)(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... LOOK, UNDER THE MIRROR BALL! It's a bird, it's a butterfly, it's Mariah Carey! Gay Londoners are still buzzing about the sultry songbird's recent surprise 3 A.M. performance at the Soho neighborhood hot spot G.A.Y. According to witnesses,...

"I object": openly gay marine Stephen Funk comes out as the war's first conscientious objector. (Military).
May 13, 2003... When his Marine reserve unit was called to active duty in February, 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk did not report. The Marines classified him as a deserter. But on April 1, after having been AWOL for 47 days, Funk turned himself in,...

Brothers in arms: American soldiers fight side by side with openly gay British troops--punching holes in the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
May 13, 2003... In touting the benefits of a military victory over Saddam Hussein's regime, President Bush has cited such things as the potential for democracy in the Middle East and the elimination of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. But there is...

Cracks in "don't ask": some military officials are dragging their feet when it comes to discharging openly gay service members. (Military).
May 13, 2003... When Army Reserves sergeant Scott A. Osborn, a native of Herndon, Va., came out of the closet in a letter to his military superiors in December, it looked like he might end up an exception to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. "The...

Buried alive in Egypt: Egyptian gay men are still being entrapped and jailed by the hundreds. One imprisoned man and his American partner tell their story. (World).
May 13, 2003... For four months a dank Cairo cell measuring just 8 by 14 feet has been home to Wissam Toufic Abyad, 26. The only daylight he gets comes through a small window so near the ceiling that it's impossible to see out. The concrete cell has no running...

The mayor is gay (and that's a good thing): Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit has come from obscurity to prominence in just two years, and now he is one of the most famous openly gay politicians in the world. (Germany).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... It took Klaus Wowereit 47 years to come out of the closet. But now he wants all the world--and especially gay and lesbian Americans--to know that he is gay and that his city, Berlin, is a premier gay capital of Europe. For many Berliners,...

Berlin stories: watch history happen in this European capital. (Germany).(Brief Article)
May 13, 2003... Germany may fall into the category of "old Europe" in Donald Rumsfeld's view of the world. But Berlin is anything but. Political tumult--whether it be Napoleon's occupation, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, the Cold War, or the fall of the...

The second coming of Robbie Williams: riding a wave of gossip, the British hunk and former boy band idol surfs back into America. (The Music Issue) (Cover Story).(Interview)(Cover Story)
May 13, 2003... At a time when the public wants--in fact, demands--its pop stars in tidy, clearly defined boxes, Robbie Williams is a wild card who aggressively rejects categorization. Rather, he revels in confounding his audience and the media, cultivating a...

Gay hip-hop comes out; with a brand-new record deal, Brooklyn rapper Caushun is gay hip-hop's first mainstream hope--but he doesn't speak for the movement, thanks. (The Music Issue).
May 13, 2003... Is hip-hop ready for a gay rap superstar? That's a big question, and here's a bigger one: Are we? For a generation of gays and lesbians raised on disco, hip-hop is foreign territory distinguished mostly by the homophobic trash talk of its...

Not just idol chatter: American Idol's Kelly Clarkson tells Jim Verraros that everyone from gay men to girls of every size should just be themselves. (The Music Issue).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... To see Kelly Clarkson greet her American Idol classmate Jim Verraros is like watching high school kids reunite at the end of the summer--they hug, they lift each other off their feet, they clap for each other and say, "Yea!" The Advocate sent...

An Idol for gays? We envision a queer future for many of this year's American Idol finalists. (The Music Issue).(Column)
May 13, 2003... When fuchsia-haired Midleresque spitfire Vanessa Olivarez, 21, became the first American Idol season 2 finalist to be eliminated, gay fans the country over were overcome with both outrage ("Why is Julia DeMato still on? They booted the wrong...

Laura's tough love: singer-songwriter Laura Love shares the anger and wit she poured into her new antiwar CD. (The Music Issue).(Biography)
May 13, 2003... If you've been making music for as long as singer-songwriter Laura Love has, releasing your eighth album may seem routine. But she still finds reasons to get excited. "I'm thrilled about this record, Welcome to Pagan Place, because it combines...

Unsigned, they deliver: in this corporate climate, having a record deal is way overrated. These six independent CDs are worth your time. (The Music Issue).(Bibliography)
May 13, 2003... The music Industry's free fall continues. CD sales in the United States were down mere than 10% in 2002, prompting another round of corporate hemorrhaging at the five major record labels. Sony Music jettisoned some 1,000 employees, or 10% of...

Emergency preparedness. (don't get me started).
May 13, 2003... First, a few disclaimers: I love my country. I hate what's happening. I'm for peace. Since when did saying you are for peace get translated into "I think I'll have that darling Saddam over for dinner"? Is that a French translation? I support...

My life as a Victorian dyke: Tipping the Velvet star Rachael Stirling reveals how she negotiated the nude scenes and strap-ons--and what her mom, Diana Rigg, thinks of it all. (television).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... Thanks to the unfortunate Oscar Wilde, we know plenty about gay male life in late-Victorian London. But the equally frisky lesbian culture of that era did not get its propers until the turn of the 21st century, when out former academic Sarah...

Taking Velvet public: author Sarah Waters reflects on the sensation she started by writing Tipping the Velvet, the novel that became a smash U.K. miniseries that's now set to conquer America. (arts & entertainment).
May 13, 2003... For any writer, the prospect of having a book adapted for television is terrifically exciting but also alarming. For me, there were extra levels of anxiety, as my exhilaration at the thought of getting Tipping the Velvet's lesbian high jinks...

Run through the jungle: a lesbian couple hikes, bikes, and rafts as half of an all-gay team for the Eco-Challenge Fiji adventure race. (television).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... Pamela Fletcher and Susan Murphy don't take their vacations like most other couples do. When they leave their home in Southern California, it is likely that they will soon be climbing icy mountains in Colorado or slogging through the mud of a...

Michael Jeter: though he was small in stature, Michael Jeter is remembered as an acting giant by his costars. (in memoriam).(Obituary)
May 13, 2003... Slight of stature and nebbishy in appearance, beloved character actor Michael Jeter faced death numerous times through his work--as a condemned mouse-loving killer in The Green Mile (1999), a show tunes-belting homeless man with AIDS in The...

Leslie Cheung: actor-singer Leslie Cheung did something harder than coming out in Hollywood--he came out in Hong Kong. (arts & entertainment).(Obituary)
May 13, 2003... Known affectionately as "Gorgor," Leslie Cheung, 46, committed suicide on April 1 by jumping from the 24th floor of Central Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental hotel in the early evening. Perpetually boyish in looks but able to embrace roles ranging...

And for his next Trick ... how Jim Fall, the out director of the sexy gay comedy Trick, went to work for Disney to make the family-friendly Lizzie McGuire Movie. (film).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... At first, Disney's decision to hire out director Jim Fall to helm The Lizzie McGuire Movie might seem a bit unusual. The PG-rated film, opening May 2, crowns a three-season run of the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, which follows the...

Mother and child reunion: lesbian mom and playwright Kate Moira Ryan talks about transforming Dorothy Allison's Cavedweller from page to stage. (theater).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... When Kate Moira Ryan was 18, she came out to her parents and announced her arrival as a talented new dramatist in a single stroke. The occasion was the premiere of Windhover, her play about two girls falling in love, at New York City's Young...

Seth speaks: comic, writer, and accompanist to Broadway divas, Seth Rudetsky talks about his journey from high school "fag boy" to star of his own one-man show. (theater).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... All Seth Rudetsky has held on to longer than his grudge against a homophobic humiliation in high school is his collection of Broadway original cast albums. As he recalls growing up gay in Nassau County, N.Y.--an experience that forms the basis...

Tell Tchaikovsky the news: choreographer Boris Eifman talks about Tchaikovsky: the Mystery of Life and Death, his ballet about the composer's tortured sexuality. (dance).(Interview)
May 13, 2003... The evidence that Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky was gay has long been recognized among musicologists. But even though, nearly 110 years after his death, Tchaikovsky's ballets are more popular than ever--Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The...

The problem with "passing". (last word).(reaching out to gay youth, fighting homophobia)(Column)
May 13, 2003... "I could have just tumbled out of bed, my hair's a mess, and I've hardly brushed my teeth," Queer as Folk's Peter Paige said at a recent GenderPAC reception. "But when people see me on the street, they always say how much better I look in...

War bonds. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 27, 2003... Finally the news story I've been craving comes out ["Family Life During Wartime," April 29]. I have cringed at every news story featuring the words "leaves a wife and children behind," knowing that silenced gay and lesbian military personnel...

Taking sides. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 27, 2003... Andrew Sullivan's attempt to make us feel guilty for opposing the war in Iraq by suggesting that we are ending the persecution of gays in Iraq is rubbish [Last Word, April 29]. The Bush administration does not give a rat's ass about the fate of...

The Advocate poll. (reader forum).(readers polled on whether gay soldiers' involvement in Iraq War will affect change in government policy on gays in military)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... Reader comments from www.advocate.com * "It would be logical to say that gays' serving successfully in Iraq disproves the idea that homosexuality and military service are incompatible, But since when has any branch of the U.S....

When you're hot. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 27, 2003... In your April 29 issue [The Buzz], you describe the taping of Rupert Everett's new show, Mr. Ambassador, and how the women in the audience went nuts when he took his shirt off. The reporter makes an assumption that the women in the audience...

Lesbian mystique. (reader forum).(Letter to the Editor)
May 27, 2003... X2's character Mystique, played by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, has more relevance to gays than was touched on in your article ["X Woman," April 29]. In the comics, along with being birth mother to Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), she was a foster mother...

From tragedy to comedy. (my perspective).(author tells story of being kicked out of Air Force for being lesbian)
May 27, 2003... I was kicked out of the Air Force on December 27, 1990, for being gay, just weeks before our last war in Iraq began. They had a hard time proving that I was gay, as I wasn't really sure myself. I even had a boyfriend at the time. But someone...

Rants & raves.(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... "People ask, are we gay? Absolutely not. We have to be straight, or we wouldn't enjoy pleasuring all these females." --Chippendales dancer Kevin Cornell, as quoted by syndicated columnist Cindy Adams, April 8 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Should SARS scare you? And do people with HIV have more trouble fighting this new virus? (Health).
May 27, 2003... Severe acute respiratory syndrome is raging through parts of Asia and in Toronto, with about 4,400 people diagnosed with the disease and 250 deaths reported as of late April. But there have been only about 40 "probable" cases, as health...

Storm over Santorum. (Politics).(reaction to Senator Rick Santorum's views on homosexuality)
May 27, 2003... The reaction was fast and furious. After Rick Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, compared homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest, and adultery in an interview published April 21, Democratic political leaders competed...

When is it hate? (Murder).(murder of bisexual man)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... People in Salinas, Calif., may soon be asking themselves, What constitutes a hate crime? Two men, one of whom is part of a white supremacist group, and a woman are charged with killing 30-year-old Robert Maricle; police believe Maricle was...

Across the nation.(gay and lesbian rights issues)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... Colorado Springs, Colo The city council on April 22 withdrew benefits extended to the same-sex partners of city employees in December. Councilman Richard Skorman, the sole member to vote for keeping the benefits, offered to contribute his...

Egypt feels the heat. (The World).(European Union reacts to discrimination against gays in Egypt)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... The Egyptian parliament's speaker accused the European parliament of unwarranted meddling April 18 after it passed a resolution accusing Egypt's government of persecuting gays. "No one has the right to give lessons to the other," Ahmed...

Streetwise and searching for clues: Philadelphia activists launch their own investigation into December's murder of transgendered performer Nizah Morris. (Behind the Headlines).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... Ever since Nizah Morris died on Christmas Eve, gay and lesbian activists in Philadelphia have questioned the police department's handling of the case. Morris, a 47-year-old transgendered woman who worked as a performer at the bar Bob &...

Does testing come at the expense of prevention? (HIV/AIDS).
May 27, 2003... Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, HIV testing has been a critical way to encourage people at high risk to determine their status. But some AIDS activists fear a new push for widespread testing could be coming at the expense of even...

Focusing on his own family. (Far Right).(John Paulk leaves Focus on the Family)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... "Ex-gay" poster boy John Paulk, who has led a campaign to "cure" gay people of their homosexuality for the antigay organization Focus on the Family, left his post May 6. Paulk, who used to go by the drag name "Candi," said he quit to move from...

Transitions.(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... DIED: John Daverio, 49, gay music professor at Boston University, of drowning, Daverio had been missing since March 16, His body was found in the Charles River on April 14. DIED: Tom King, 39, gay Wall Street Journal reporter and David...

This week on Advocate.com. (On the Web).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... BREAKING NEWS: Visit www.advocate.com for the latest news, entertainment, and health headlines, updated twice a day. DVD REVIEWS Beautiful gay movies The 1996 film Beautiful Thing--about two high school boys who fall in...

Online care package. (On the Web).(Web site facilitates sending of photos to military personnel, Iraq War, 2003)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... Want to send photos to a military friend serving overseas? Now you have a new way to do so, via the Internet. As a show of support for U.S. troops in Iraq, life partners Mitch Goldstone and Carl Berman have launched OperationPhoto.com, an...

Left my heart dot-com. (On the Web).(Hank Donat creates Web site in celebration of San Francisco, California)(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... Hank Donat used to be an advertising executive--a job that required extensive travel. And every time he returned home to San Francisco, he found a piece of his beloved city was gone: an old restaurant here, a bar there. In a move both nostalgic...

February 1, 2000 Winchell's woman. (From the Advocate Archives).(transsexual girlfriend of murdered Pfc. Barry Winchell)(Brief Article)(Interview)
May 27, 2003... The new film A Soldier's Girl tells the painful story of transgendered performer Calpernia Sarah Addams, leading up to and following the murder of her boyfriend, Pfc. Barry Winchell, in July 1999. In an interview with The Advocate seven months...

Liza loves Hugh. (the Buzz).(Hugh Jackman stars in The Boy From Oz)(Brief Article)(Interview)
May 27, 2003... AUSTRALIAN HOTTIE Hugh Jackman will be making hearts and keyboards sizzle on Broadway when he takes the stage this October in The Boy From Oz, the musical based on the life of the late gay entertainer Peter Allen. Jackman describes the former...

Here come the brides. (the Buzz).(Melissa Etheridge to marry Tammy Lynn Michaels )(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... BUILDING ON HER REPUTATION as the most civil of gay civil-rights pioneers, Melissa Etheridge is planning an old-fashioned wedding with her sweetheart. "Two-time Grammy award winner, singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, 41, and Tammy Lynn...

All the clothes she shed. (the Buzz).(Brief Article)
May 27, 2003... YOU CAN'T ACCUSE TATU of not being wise to the ways of media manipulation. The Russian teen pop duo, who've so far made an incendiary little career for themselves by posing as lesbians and releasing a squalling anthem of girls-girl sexual...

Taking initiative: his family's business became ExxonMobil, and now this gay man has the stock and the standing to persuade the oil company to change its antigay ways. (Money).(Phillip Winston)(Interview)
May 27, 2003... Gay rights activists come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and colors. They can also be found at all socioeconomic levels. Just ask Phillip Winston. He's the 32-year-old gay great-grandson of Texas oil prospector Frank Sterling, whose Humble...

Silence, then violence: one day after taking part in the national Day of Silence, a 16-year-old is herself the victim of an apparent antigay attack. (People).(high school student and gay rights activist Caitlin Meuse)(Interview)
May 27, 2003... On Wednesday, April 9, 16-year-old Caitlin Meuse participated in the Day of Silence campaign, where students agree not to speak for a day in order to promote school safety for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students. That afternoon...

The president, the painter, and porn: actor-painter Jeff Griggs presented a portrait to President Bush in the White House. Then the tabloids discovered his gay-porn past. (People).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... One Thursday morning in December 2001, Los Angeles artist Jeff Griggs got a call from Washington, D.C.: "Jeff, the president would like to meet with you tomorrow morning at 11:40 in the Oval Office for a formal presentation." The invitation was...

Lovers in a dangerous time: in the groundbreaking film Soldier's Girl, actors Troy Garity and Lee Pace take on the real-life romance between Pfc. Barry Winchell and transgendered entertainer Calpernia Addams--an affair that led to Winchell's brutal murder.(Interview)
May 27, 2003... It's a sultry summer evening on the Toronto set of Soldier's Girl, and the film's star, Troy Garity, is almost ready to talk about playing murdered soldier Barry Winchell. The keyword is almost. Garity has been a distant, looming presence...

Cinema, this summer: everything Advocate readers need to know about the gayest big-screen offerings for the hottest months. (Summer Movie Preview).
May 27, 2003... May [A] THE MATRIX RELOADED (Warner Bros.) WHEN May 15 WHO Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss WHAT The first of two sequels to The Matrix tells the story of a future in which computers have enslaved humans...

The look for Love: Down With Love costume designer Daniel Orlandi whirls us back to that 1960s neverland where Doris and Rock once played. (Summer Movie Preview).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... Ask Daniel Orlandi for dirt on Renee Zellweger, and you get nothing. When questioned whether the Academy Award-nominated actor, famous for her taste in vintage fashion, tried to walk off the set of Down With Love with the cotton-candy creations...

Cyber-scintillating: stage actor Eric Millegan makes his screen debut in the sexy Web-cam comedy On_Line. (Summer Movie Preview).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... On_Line is a cinematic first, according to actor Eric Millegan. Because of its tantalizing setting in the omnisexual cybersex world? Or its innovative split-screen sequences? Nope. Then why? "There's never been a sweet movie about people...

More devil in our angels: what do lesbians want from the Charlie's Angels sequel? (Summer Movie Preview).
May 27, 2003... Maybe you didn't ask for it, but you're getting it anyway. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is finally speeding toward a multiplex near you. In the first CA, the three Angels--Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu--crouched with tigers, hid...

Twisted family tree: the documentary Capturing the Friedmans traces how sexual secrets destroy one suburban family--except for its openly gay member. (Summer Movie Preview).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... "We were always dysfunctional," Howard Friedman quietly imparts as he describes his outwardly happy suburban family, featured in the enthralling new documentary film Capturing the Friedmans, opening in mid June. "It goes to prove you can never...

Top 15 identities to steal. (final cut).(Column)
May 27, 2003... With the star-studded summer movie season in full throttle, it's time for a game of what I call "identity theft"--my own entertainment-land version of a fantasy we've all conjured: "If I could be anyone in the world, who would I be?" It's not...

When Larry met Lawrence: Larry Kramer talks about adapting D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love--and how the infamous musical flop Lost Horizon helped create ACT UP. (video).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... Before ACT UP, before Gay Men's Health Crisis, before The Destiny of Me and The Normal Heart and even Faggots, Larry Kramer made movies. And while the legendary author and activist was nominated for an Academy Award for his screen adaptation of...

Electro boy: DJ Larry Tee on RuPaul, Lady Bunny, getting clean, the death of house music, and his new CD, The Electroclash Mix. (music).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... "We used to have stars," says an excited DJ Larry Tee. "We had Grace Jones; we had Divine. You were excited to see them. Now? It's these housewives singing 'I Am What I Am' over and over." He laughs as he disses the current state of house...

Flare for the dramatic: the varied interests of LD Beghtol, singer for Flare and the moth wranglers, are reflected in his eclectic music. (music).(Interview)
May 27, 2003... Wearing more hats than Bella Abzug, LD Beghtol pays the rent doing design for clients like The Village Voice and horror author Peter Straub. He's also a critic for Time Out New York. But foremost he is a very busy musician. A featured vocalist...

Great Scot: whether it's being open about his sexuality or experimenting with Celtic music, Ashley Maclsaac is anything but risk-averse.(Sound Recording Review)
May 27, 2003... Ashley MacIsaac * Ashley MacIsaac * Decca/Universal Classics In the landscape of out gay artists, Ashley Maclsaac is a rarity. He doesn't use his music as a forum for political statement, nor does he weave tales of coming out or dewey...