Do You Nomi?

This post started out as something else, altogether. I came across a clip on my daily visit to BoingBoing. It was of obscure, androgynous punk rocker Jobriath appearing on a show hosted by Gladys Knight. Jobriath was apparently the inspiration for the Jonathan Rhys Meyers character in the film Velvet Goldmine. The song is "I'maman."

Weird & 70's Bowie-esque (yes, I just made up a new term). Certainly interesting enough for me to do a post on androgyny in music and film. Then, while doing research for that post (yes, I actually do research - I have to know what the hell I'm talking about, though that doesn't seem to stop some bloggers - Hello? Bai Ling, anyone?), I came across something which sent me in a completely different direction ("Ooh, look! A bunny!"). And that direction was early 80's performance artist, Klaus Nomi.

I first saw Klaus in 1979 when he appeared as a back-up singer/performer for David Bowie on "Saturday Night Live. " Classically trained in opera with an exceptional vocal range and a completely, mad and original performance style, the German-born singer soon had all of Lower-Manhattan clamoring to be at one of his shows. He worked with drag impresario Robert Ludlam at Ludlam's infamous Ridiculous Theatre and then went on to create his own shows where he would often perform songs which punned on his name (including 'The Nomi Song'), in a bizarre, robotic style that caused one critic to coin a phrase about him: "He has come from Outer Space to save the Human race."

I was very lucky to have seen Klaus perform live in New York in 1981. It was a strange time - we all wore strange clothes and dyed out hair blue (I was a theatre major with lots of art major friends and it was the early 80's - leave me alone) and we hated pop music and disco and craved the avant garde. It may have been CBGB or some other iconic downtown club. It was hot and crowded and I was excited to be part of something that was so uniquely New York. Klaus came out and did his set and the crowd went wild before and after each song. I thought I had seen the future of music. Here is a clip of Klaus singing 'Total Eclipse,' live:

And here's fan-made tribute video, featuring Klaus' cover of a song you probably know better - the Leslie Gore hit, 'You Don't Own Me:'



Sadly, Klaus succumbed to AIDS-related disease in 1983. He is considered by many to be the first celebrity to die of AIDS, even though he was relatively obscure in most of the world (celebrated mostly in Manhattan and France - yep, he's the Jerry Lewis of "popera."). His distinctive face and makeup have become rather iconic. Even if you never saw Klaus perform, you've seen his image somewhere. Towards the end, he was writing his own opera and took to dressing as its main character, a sort of Elizabethan clown:

There's a terrific documentary about Klaus, The Nomi Song, which I happened to catch on Logo a few months ago. Nomi's "alien' persona is on full display, though interviews with his contemporaries like actress/singer Ann Magnuson (Making Mr. Right; "Anything But Love") paint a picture of a soft-spoken, though brilliant auteur.

Had he lived, Klaus could have been a major voice in music, art and film today. His 1983 death at the unfairly young age of 39, left the world tragically bereft of yet another original artistic voice. If you have some time and want to know more about the early 80's performing arts scene, Google Mr. Nomi. You won't be disappointed.

More, anon.
Prospero

PS - That Androgyny post will be coming soon...

What's In Your DVR?

I thought I was going to talk about movies or TV tonight, but it turns out I don't have a whole lot to say about either. I thought the TNG episode of "Family Guy" was really funny, but then "American Dad" went and had one of it's funniest, most surreal episodes ever. My DVR is filling up - I need to watch a million and four things before I can record anything else. I dumped a movie tonight to make room (OK - so it's a movie I've seen before. It's still a movie).

I have the whole season of "Nip/Tuck" on there, saved for when most of my favs are off-air. I have my usuals (I'm backed up on "Heroes" and "Saving Grace" though finally caught up on "Damages"). I still have last week's "Grey's;" "Private Practice;" "CSI," and something else. I have last night's "Desperate Housewives." and tonight's "Castle." Ack! I'm a TV junkie! Thank goodness the JTMF show is going to take me out that for a bit!

So what's stored on your DVR ta ht you can't bear to get rid of? How about Netflix? Has there been a DVD sitting by your TV, that just haven't brought yourself to watch? This, by the way, is the reason I quit Netflix and went back to in-store renting. Drop me a line. You know I love it!

More, anon.

Prospero

For Scott & Steven...

And anyone else who enjoys an outrageous laugh. First, this video is possibly NSFW, though it features no actual sex or nudity or profanity. Second, I'm really sorry about the bizarre, farted (I swear to God) cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Turning the volume down does not diminish the video (and the music gets old, fast). Ladies and Germs, all the way from a Polish Fun Fair, the "Cock Cock Train:"

I suspect this was part of the town's Carnivale celebration before the start of Lent. It's also reminiscint of the holiday's pagan origins as a festival of cleansing and rebirth. On second thought, a giant peen spurting out fully-formed children doesn't really seem all that inappropriate. Or maybe I'm just a sniggering teen-ager at heart, as is every man I know, gay or straight.

I'll be back in a bit for another small post tonight. Just wanted to make sure I didn't forget to post that clip.

Disney-Pixar Presents: "Frank Miller's '300?'"

I wasn't sure what I was going to write about tonight, unil I visited my old friend, YouTube. And because I had been recently viewing re-cut trailers, it suggested one I hadn't seen before. I was thinking I might do a follow up to the Classic Horror? post from a few days ago, but then found something that took me on a different path toward sort-of the same destination: Mash-up trailers. And for some reason, I found a plethora of trailers which mashed the 300 trailer's audio to any number of other trailers' visulas. Even more interesting was how many Disney/Pixar films get the the treatment. The first one of these I came across was a Toy Story/300 mash-up:

Funny, yes? Well, linked to that mash-up was this one, for Monster's Inc./300:

And it doesn't just work for CGI. Here it is brilliantly realized in The Lion King/300:

It's not even limited to animated films. I can think of any number of westerns and action films that would work, but this Star Wars/300 mash-up is probably my favorite:

And let's not forget those afflicted with "gamer's thumb." Here is Mortal Kombat/300:

But it isn't just mash-ups. I suppose the bombastic trailer for 300 was just perfect fodder for parody, as evidenced by how many there are on YouTube alone. Here is Ninja Asylum's hilarious parody:

Or this immigration-themed parody from The Latino Comedy Project:

Finally, from YouTube poster "mynameisthad300," this delightfully absurd, MST3K meets the British "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" parody "Where's My Cat?"

So what are your favorite 300 parodies? Or what other movie parodies do you love? Please share any links in the comments. And I promise another follow-up on re-cut trailers, including the one that led me to all this 300 nonsense.

More, anon.

Prospero

The Gayest Thing You'll See This Week (Movie Edition)

And possibly the funniest and/or worst movie clip you'll ever see. Thanks to the "Found Footage" section on I09, I came across this 1987 gem, Rock'n'Roll Nightmare. Along with the most jaw-droppingly ridiculous special effects (and unlike our President, when I say "special effects," I really mean special effects) it includes some of the most godawful writng, acting and directing, ever. Ed Wood would have been asking, "Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? This movie is crap!"

In the movie's climax, a girl turns into a travelling carnival's Dark Ride attraction and our Hair Band hero suddenly sheds his clothes, donning eye makeup and a studded leather codpiece and claiming to be an archangel. Did someone leave the house without taking his thorazine? The puppet demon (or whatever) grunts appreciatively as the muscle-bound drag queen poses and flexes. Then a stagehand throws poorly-made ambiguous "creatures" at our hero (presumably dispatched by the not-scary-but-ridiculous demon), who pretends to struggle valiantly, all the while making faces like a constipated yak (not that I have anything against yaks - their hair makes the best theatrical wigs and beards, as evidenced by the star's new and improved gigantic hair).

There's some hilarious face-off/dance-off moves between the sweaty, steroid-pumping, obsequiously androgynous, 80's big-haired star (one Jon Mikl Thor - is it me, or are there very few more pretentiously spelled names?) "fights" the devil (or Beelzebub or Baal or any other number of names for the devil Mr. Thor can mangle the pronunciation of). There's even some ankle grabbing! It's truly indescribable. You just have to watch for yourself. Oh, what the boys at MST3K could have done with this:

Wasn't that just so perfectly je ne sais qua? I honestly think this movie was made in Mr. Thor's mom's basement with a bunch of retired carnies, aging roadies and the junior high art class for a crew. And that hair just makes me want to set it on fire, poor thing. He's actually not bad-looking when he's not scrunching up his face in all that ridiculous grimmacing. The only things missing were a nipple ring and a masked slave on a leash. Oh, Jon Mikl Thor worked again and in 2006 made The Intercessor: Another Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare. As soon as I have time to find a clip, Ill post it. I hope it's half as deliciously awful as the first one.

And speaking of the boys at MST3K, have you seen this fan-made MST clip on the crap-tastic Tweener vampire franchise, Twilight? Hilarious!

See? You thought I was pulling your leg in my last post. Movies and "The Gayest Thing" in a single post! Who loves ya, baby?

More, anon.
Prospero

On Acting

What a ridiculous profession, acting is! Honestly, when you think about it, it's totally unnatural. More like a genetic disorder, really. I mean, people get paid to stand up in front of a group of people (all of whom have usually paid and want to be there) and they pretend to be people they're not, telling a story that is usually completely untrue. And here's the kicker: by buying your ticket and paying to see me pretend to be someone else, you are also agreeing to believe me as I lie to you for two or more hours. And worse yet, we're both happy because of it. What? What the hell kind of B.S. contract is that?

But it's been that way for millenia. The first recorded professional actors were ancient Greeks taking part in religious ritual plays to please the gods (a phenomena we still see in modern Passion Plays and religious theme parks). When the poets got hold of playwrighting, everything changed and it became about much more than just honoring the gods, but in telling great stories. And it's been that way ever since.

Actors have been both praised and reviled throughout history and it was only in the early 20th Century that it started to become a respectable (if not still suspect) profession. There are dozens of styles of acting. There's classical British acting, "method" acting (after the Stanislavsky Method). There are those who use the techniques of more modern teachers like Strassberg and Meisner. Personally, I'm what some people call a "combination actor." I take bits from here and bits from there (sometimes more from one than another, depending on the play) and use all them together. I've been lucky enough to include both ancient, classical and modern theatre styles on my resume. and find myself a more well-rounded performer for it. And a better director.

Sunday, I am taking part in another Directors' Panel at my Alma Mater. The last one in which I took part was about scene analysis. This time we're doing an audition and headshot seminar, advising student actors on improving their audition skills and getting the best results from a photo shoot. I love working with young actors, because they aren't afraid to take risks on stage and stretch and play parts they might not otherwise have gotten to play. I'll be holding my own auditions in a few weeks, so Sunday morning may well prove educational for me, as well.

You're bored, I can tell. More on movies in my next post, I promise. And maybe even a "The Gayest Thing You'll See" post. They're secretly my favorites.

More, anon.
Prospero

I Almost Forgot

You can also join the JTMF Group on Facebook. We want to get the word out and fill seats, so we may may ask you to share information from time to time. You'll really only hear from us in the spring. You can also access exclusive photos from our shows and events. Above, you can see "Joan Rivers" interviewing two guests at our Fifth Anniversary Red-Carpet Gala in 2007, which featured Charles Busch's hilarious play Psycho Beach Party and a Luau-themed reception. Silent auction items that year included donations from Robin Williams, Carol Burnett and the cast of ABC's "Desperate Housewives." Oh, we know how to throw a party, honey!

By the way... I must make a correction. In a previous post, I mentioned that the MCCC/JTMF "Pride Night" at Angels in America benefited the JTMF. I should have said that the event benefits the James Tolin Memorial Scholarship at MCCC, which was established by the JTMF. I apologize for any confusion.

More, anon.

Prospero