marchi 2QQÛ ? Jm t Mit, 2 5
Coventry
Everett talked about a lot of other things
during the interview, but this is what stuck
with me: That an openly gay actor who claims
not to be overly political (isn’t being out politi
cal in and of itself?) would consider his latest
project a success if it paves the way for more
movies with gay characters.
Although there are many activists who stri
dently oppose the mainstreaming of the gay
community, 1 personally like the idea that a
gay-themed film could be widely marketed and
enjoyed by everyone— heaven knows we’ve all
watched plenty of movies with nothing but
straight characters. I, too, hope The Nest Best
Cycle (v W orks
Thing is wildly successful and Hollywood catch
es on that gay is good, because gay rights orga
nizations can’t buy the kind of PR and out
reach that happens to people eating popcorn in
the dark.
■ T he N ext B est T hing , stoning Rupert
Everett and Madonna and directed by John
Schlesinger, opens March 3 nationwide.
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"My tutasy far (Ms film has always been that if avery gay and
lesbian perssn came tn this mavis it would be mere successful than
,
^ ^ ^ ^ T tta n lc ,and if that happened there
1^.
would be so many movies
I
coming out with gay and
J
a
lesbian characters,
H
\
because all Hollywood
CHARMING ALAMEDA $205,000 3 bedroom/2 bath
1927 bungalow with formal dining room, large kitchen, tile
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S properties
N e x t w o r s t th in g
F
ilm critic Mark J. Huisman of the Village
Voice has started a campaign to boycott
The Next Best Thing, since, as he put it in
his e-mail: “Paramount Entertainment, which
recently gave hate monger Or. Laura Sch-
lessinger her own T V show, is currently
spending a fortune to market its upcoming
gay-themed film.”
Rupert Everett was asked about the appar
ent conflict during the press junket.
While Schlessinger’s show was
news to him, he offered his
thoughts on the media access
given to the conservative, homo-
phobic right wing.
“It’s this kind of issue that
makes me really happy not to
®
be American,” he remarked.
“Coming to this country and hear
ing Jerry Falwell saying you’re like a junkie or
alcoholic is depressing after a while and does
n’t happen anywhere else, certainly not in
Europe, in the same way. Totally scary I
think.”
Since then, officials from the Gay and Les-
bian Alliance Against Defamation have met
with representatives of Paramount to discuss
Schlessinger’s show, which will air beginning
this fall. In a joint statement, G L A A D and
Paramount described the meeting as a “posi
tive exchange of differing perspectives” and
said they expected the dialogue to continue
«BW
Üi
Paramount’s people discussed the format
of the television show, which they claim will
vary from Dr. Laura’s successful radio show, in
that there will be many points of view
derived from a variety of sources, guests and a
studio audience.
T o w a r d so m e th in g b e t te r
O
n a more positive note, the Inter
net site PopcomQ has started the
m _
Queer First Weekend Club, a
movernent to encourage attendance at
queer-themed films during their opening
weekends.
m
Simply buy a ticket and attend a queer
film the first weekend it runs in your city.
By doing so you are casting a vote for the
future, club organizers say, and demonstrating
that there is an audience for gay and lesbian
films and that they should be allowed to
remain in theaters longer. Every ticket
counts, and women should consider turning
out for guy movies and vice versa.
PopcomQ is the national facilitator for
the club. Local gay, lesbian, bi and trans film
festivals are the chapters of the club and are
using e-mail to get out the word about
upcoming first weekends.
S o go see a fun queer film this weekend
and vote with your wallet for more of the
same.
NM
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