Just out., June 17, 2011, Page 55, Image 55

OREGON'S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
JUNE 17. 2011
pridefiles
glad I went hack when I did and had that
family time. And now I get to have this dykey
haircut.”
Eventually the allure of Portland brought
Brooks back. “I desperately missed walking
around Portland streets in the summer smell­
ing people’s front yard gardens,” she says.
Brooks considers herself primarily a com­
municator: “My job has been and will always
be expressing ideas using media.”
55
(VarcetteXV ¿Presents The 2011 IntemationaC
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She started writing in the fourth grade; her
favorite authors include Flannery O ’Connor,
Lorrie Moore and Philip Roth. “My teacher
plucked a few of us out of class to produce a
school paper and I was hooked,” Brooks
shares. “My first piece of arts criticism was a
review of the movie Meatballs (thumbs up!),
which is still one of my faves.”
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— W aynf . B und
From Idol to Portland
Justin Buckles brings reality to
Red Cap/Boxxes
production assistant,” Buckles
says. “I quickly moved to pro­
duction coordinator, eventually
If you’ve spent any amount of time near production manager. I was daily in the heart
the Red Cap/Boxxes compound, you’ve prob­ of the show. I dealt with [host Ryan] Seacrest
ably noticed Justin Buckles. As the manager and the judges regularly. At the end of the
o f both clubs, Buckles is a Stark Street staple, day, I was one of just a few people responsible
and not simply because he runs a tight ship for putting every single live show together.”
W riting the 357-page book hasn’t come
and is easy on the eyes. H e’s helped hatch
some of the venues’ more successful ventures, without struggle. According to Buckles, his
like Portland Idol, and coordinates weekly non-disclosure agreements have expired, but
fundraisers for resources including Q_Center. the backlash hasn’t. “I’ve gotten tons o f flack
He also adds some Hollywood flair to Port­ from former coworkers on the show,” Buck­
land’s nightlife—yes, Buckles arrived here by les claims. “I have had threats o f lawsuits,
way of Tinseltown, where he had an intrigu­ other threats o f ‘tracking me down and tak­
ing care o f me.’ I’m simply sharing my per­
ing career in reality programming.
Buckles made his trek down south after sonal experiences while working on the
growing up in Coos Bay, Ore. “I was driven show. No one owns those but me.” And to
to move to L.A. after having some success find out exactly what it was like working
with a screenplay that I wrote while in high with Paula, Simon and company— from
school,” he explains. “It drew interest from Buckles’perspective, at least—one need only
Flower Films [Drew Barrymore’s produc­ make a quick jaunt to Amazon.com.
tion company] and Harpo Films. I was close
— D aniel B orgen
to closing a deal with another production
company, but it fell through. This, though,
inspired me to move.” Shortly after arriving
in Los Angeles, E! Entertainm ent hired
Buckles, which led to a gig on American Idol.
After Idol, he worked on both So You Think
You Can Dance and Gene Simmons' Family
Jewels.
Idol, though, prompted Buckles’ most in­
tense creative endeavor—American Idol E x­
posed, a behind-the-scenes tell-all of the
smash series. In February 2011 he published
the scathing, personal account of his life dur­
ing seasons two through five. “I was hired as a
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