The Gayest Thing You'll See This Week

Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra

It's been a while since I've done a "Gayest Thing" post, but I think this movie warrants one. 

I'm still not sure how I feel about HBO's upcoming film Behind the Candelabra. When I was kid in the 60's and 70's (I keep telling you I'm old), Liberace was a huge star, as famous for his diamond-encrusted pianos and feathered capes as he was for his prodigious talent as a pianist. He loved performing and loved his fans, most of whom were middle-aged straight ladies who imagined the fairly attractive son of Polish immigrants could be theirs for the asking. Liberace was so popular, he even appeared on "Batman" as concert pianist Chandell and his evil twin, Harry who goaded Chandell into becoming the villain "Fingers." In real life, Liberace was born with a twin brother who didn't survive and parodies of him often refer to his brother 'George.' His flamboyant life of excess came to an end in 1987 when he died of AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 67. Though he was sued for palimony by former chauffeur and alleged lover Scott Thorson in 1982, Liberace denied his homosexuality up until his death. Thorson settled out of court for $95K. At one time the highest paid performer in the world, Liberace supposedly made Thorson have cosmetic surgery in order to make him look like a younger version of himself. 

Director Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike; Contagion) and HBO have teamed up to bring us Behind the Candelabra, screenwriter Richard LaGravense's take on the tumultuous three-year relationship between Lee (as Liberace's friends knew him) and Thorson. Michael Douglas plays Liberace and Matt Damon is Thorson. As seen in the trailer below, Douglas went out of his way to study and emulate Liberace's iconic vocal patterns, while Damon obviously buffed up to play the flamboyant entertainer's boy-toy:

Rob Lowe; Dan Ackroyd; Cheyenne Jackson; Debbie Reynolds; Scott Bakula and Paul Reiser all have supporting roles (all of whom may well prove far more interesting to see than Douglas and Damon) in what promises to be an exploitative and over-the-top movie from one of the most innovative directors in Hollywood. Uncle P is actually considering subscribing to HBO just to see this film, though in all honestly, I'll probably wait until it's on Netflix or available on DVD. 

Honestly, does it get any gayer than this?

More, anon.
Prospero

A Star is Gone

Stunning

I usually don't go online on the weekend until later in the evening, so you can imagine my shock when just about everyone I know on Facebook was posting about the death of Whitney Houston. Much like the death of Michael Jackson, I said to myself "What? No, that can't be right." I immediately went to CNN.com where the site's headline confirmed what I'd read on Facebook: "Whitney Houston Dead at 48."

There is nothing sadder to me than seeing a star fall. In the 80's and 90's, the beautiful Ms Houston had it all. She was a 'star' in every sense of the word. Her voice was nothing less than amazing and while she would never win an Oscar, she could act, too. Her cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" from the movie The Bodyguard was inescapable in 1992. Her marriage to Bobby Brown that same year would lead to her addiction to drugs and eventual downfall.

She played the Fairy Godmother is Disney's 1997 remake of Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" and appeared on "Gimme a Break," "Silver Spoons" and "Boston Public." Lately the subject of ridicule on "SNL" and "The Soup," as late as yesterday she was criticized on Joan River's "Fashion Police" for wearing outdated clothing while out with her most recent boyfriend, rapper Ray-J. With seven albums; four films (Sparkle is scheduled for release this coming August) and a record total of 415 career awards, Houston's sad decline seemed about to take a turn for the better, despite an apparently disastrous European tour last year.

Houston was a talent unlike any who came before and will probably remain unlike any who come after. Her performance of the National Anthem at the 1991 Superbowl is undoubtedly the best performance of the infamously difficult-to-sing song, ever. 

Goodbye, Whitney. You will be missed.

More, anon.
Prospero

Goodbye, 2011

There are less than 18 days left in 2011. And honestly, for every good thing that happened this year, there were 3 bad things. 

The economy tanked even further, Japan experienced a major earthquake and tsunami, we lost Anne Francis; Jack LaLanne; Jane Russell; Michael Gough; Elizabeth Taylor; Sidney Lumet; Yvette Vickers; Jackie Cooper; Dana Wynter; Arthur Laurents; Delores Fuller; Jeff Conaway; Clarence Clemens; Peter Falk; Betty Ford; Amy Winehouse; Bubba Smith; Cliff Robertson; Andy Whitfield; Frances Bay; Charkes Napier; Steve Jobs; Andy Rooney; Joe Frazier; Ken Russell and Harry Morgan (among many others). We saw violence against peaceful protestors and the continued tragedy of teen suicides. Ignorance and hate still abound; the worst possible crop of Republican candidates dominate the news while more folks are jobless, homeless and completely ignored by an ineffective Congress that seems to think their petty differences matter more than the welfare of the country. Our men and women in the Armed Forces continue to die in two pointless wars; arsenic abounds in fruit juices and contaminated honey from China sits on our grocery store shelves. Big pharmas continue to reap profits from the suffering of millions; AIDS still ravages Third World countries; homophobia runs rampant and a beloved University football program was toppled by a pervert. Is it really surprising that a show about the Zombie Apocalypse is among the most popular on TV?

But the news wasn't all bad. New York State approved Same-Sex marriage; the US Military is finally being removed from Iraq; gas prices have started to drop and Good Samaritans continue to do nice things. And in the spirit of nice things, I thought I'd share the video clip below with all of you. 

You all know by now how much Uncle P loves a good flashmob. Sent to me by my co-worker Sue, here's the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management's official 'Christmas Card:'

There. Don't you feel better? I know I do.

More, anon.
Prospero

The Weirdest Thing You'll See This Week

So while it's technically Saturday, I haven't been to bed yet, so it's still Friday to me, hence the rare Saturday post here at The Revenge. 

So, the show has opened and I can kind of resume my usual Internet explorations at all my favorite sites. And among my most favorite is BoingBoing, where a young fiction sci-fi author and a couple of other science, art and crafting loons post about all things amazing; amusing; steampunk; cryptozoological; mechanical; theatrical and assorted ephemera-related. And it is where I found the video clip which I am about to share with you.

The clip is an extended promo for a Norwegian television program called "Gylne Tider (Golden Times)." I have no idea what kind of program "Gylne Tider" is, though I expect the three men who are seen flipping through the photo album are it's hosts. What astounds me is the completely random assortment of celebrities who agreed to lip-sync to "Let It Be" in front of a green-screen. I mean, did Glen Close know she was going to be in a music video with Malcolm Jamal Warner, Kelly McGillis, Peter Falk (!);* Pamela Anderson; Leslie Nielsen; Dee Snider and Tonya Harding of all people? 

This is one of the most peculiar things I've seen in a long time:

I mean, it's not me, right? That was just effing weird, right? And what he hell? *Peter Falk? Mr. Falk is reportedly in the throes of late stage dementia, poor fellow. Did he even know what he was doing? And let's not even get into Leslie Nielsen showing up in something new so soon after his passing. The closest I can come to describing that clip is "Norway's Got Talent: Celebrity Zombie Green-Screen Karaoke Edition." Got anything better?

Even more, anon.

Prospero

Redirected

I'm currently working full time, directing a play and trying to maintain 3 blogs. Yes, just further proof that Uncle P is off his ancient rocker (no, not Keith Richards).

That's the late, great Rue McClanahan as Madame Morrible in Wicked. I wish I could have seen her play that part - she was certainly perfect for it.

I'm tired, but if you want to read me quoting people about Rue (actually, they're from two of her "Sordid Lives" co-stars and quite lovely), then you can do so either by clicking here or on the James Tolin Memorial Fund Blog link to your left.

I am coming close to being Director Zombie, with more and focus on the show, than anything else (thank goodness the day job is slow this time of year).

The show isn't quite soup yet (nor should it be), but all the ingredients are prepared to dumped in the pot... Yum!

More, anon.
Prospero