Kaiju Do Me a Favor?

Cthulhuzilla? (via)

"Using the Beta Capsule, Hiyata has become... Ultraman!" As a kid, my first real introductions to Japanese culture were the Anime series ("Kimba the White Lion;" "Astroboy") and Kaiju  movies and TV shows I watched after school and on Saturday afternoons - Godzilla movies and "Ultraman."  I think even as a kid, I thought they were goofy. The monsters (and even the heroes) were obviously men in rubber suits, stomping around models of mid-century Tokyo. The response of Japanese filmmakers to the horrors of nuclear war, the genre spawned an industry that has found its way into American culture... or did it?

Kaiju [kye-jou] literally means "strange beast" in Japanese. In this case, giant monsters which wreak havoc in a major metropolitan city. Hmm... in what early American movie does a giant monster wreak havoc on a major metropolitan city...?

Hell, Toho studios practically admits they stole the idea in 1962's particularly silly King Kong vs. Godzilla.

And one can certainly go further back than that for tales of giant monsters. Lovecraft created an entire mythology based on giant monsters who ruled the world before the age of men. Conan-Doyle's The Lost World? No, older. I know...think about it - Moby Dick is actually early-American Kaiju. Further back? Sure. 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and any quest to slay a dragon. Earlier? Thor used his hammer on the Ice Giants. Wait, further? Okay - Goliath and Jonah have really bad days. Giant monsters persist in mythology because when early humans first encountered dinosaur fossils, they imagined all sorts of creatures that may have covered such skeletal remains. And just to bring it back full circle, the most recent example of American Kaiju was 2008's first-person, 'found footage' movie from producer J.J. Abrams, Cloverfield:

Having been denied (for now) bringing his vision of At the Mountains of Madness to the screen, director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth; Hellboy) is about to unleash his interpretation of Kaiju with next summer's release of Pacific Rim. A fan of del Toro's ever since 1993's odd little vampire tale Cronos, I have always been in awe of the director's passion for spectacular visuals. The full trailer for Pacific Rim was released online today and even from what little it shows, you can tell that no one's skimping here. Some folks have described Pacific Rim as "Godzilla meets Transformers." I can certainly see how some people might make that correlation but knowing the body of the director's work, I think we're in for something much more.

I have no doubt that Pacific Rim will be decidedly better than the 1998 fiasco that was Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's Godzilla:

Let's hope the proposed 2014 American reboot of the franchise isn't anything like that. Regardless, I'll be seeing Pacific Rim. Will you?

More, anon.
Prospero

The Geekiest Gay Love You'll See This Week (Possibly NSFW Edition)

XXX-Men

Really? Another blog post from a movie geek about gay comics? Please... But let this play out. You know I have my own take on things. And this post is actually more for myself a few other fanboy friends. You all know who you are, Stephen; Aaron; Tom; Murph; Chino, Bill M. If you don't get it or can't identify, don't feel bad. I still love that you check in every now and then. So let's talk about comics, shall we?

The comics I read as a kid were Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella from Warren Publications. I know you are hardly surprised by this. The great thing about Warren was, they got around the infamous Comics Code by calling their comics "magazines" and publishing them in an 8"x11" format. The children of the original Tales from the Crypt, the Warren horror comics were dark and weird and silly and often had gorgeous covers from artists like Frank Frazetta. My friends and I would by them from Bob's Bookstore at 5 Points. Bob sold new and used books and comics. He also sold illegal half-cover comics, 10 for $1.00. My personal love of superheroes comes more from TV and movies than from the comics. I didn't discover most of their comic-book personae until I'd seen some other medium's version. And while their is plenty to love about the Marvel Universe, I will always prefer DC Characters. I may have mentioned a few times how many times I was Batman for Halloween (not to mention just playing in the yard with a big bath sheet tied around my neck). And don't even talk to me about tearing up at certain points during the good Superman movies. Yes, I really loved just about every Marvel movie in the past few years (Thor being the exception), but the DC characters are more... pained, I guess. Yes, even Superman - Kal-El is an alien, after all. The LGBT community as a whole may identify more with Marvel's X-Men (and I certainly do, to some extent), but DC's tortured souls speak to me differently. Anyway...

Bill M. is also a DC guy. Bill's love of Superman is equal to mine of Batman. Bill and I met this past spring and quickly found out we love many of the same things and have been posting all kinds of Superhero nonsense on each other's Facebook timelines. Many of our friends have caught on and also post similar things to both of us. Today, sweet Stephen in Portland posted a picture of some hand-painted Christmas ornaments with the logos of several superheroes. Well and good, until my friend Aaron asked "What is Cap(tain America) doing with all those DC characters?" I looked at thepicture again. Yup. Batman; Superman; Flash, Green Lantern (all DC) and Captain America (Marvel). "I didn't make them," I replied, "but the thought of Cap and Bats is pretty hot."

Aaron then linked to the cover for a DC/Marvel crossover with Batman and Captain America joining forces. "No Rule 34" he said. So of course, Uncle P, being the dirty old bear that I am, went looking for Rule 34. And man, is there lots of it!

I'm not sure if that's Brandon or Tom (maybe Tom's head on Brandon's body?) in that composite on the left but it's definitely the work of a gay geek with some mad Photoshop skills and a dirty mind. I personally don't see this particular pairing as very probably in a gay cross-over story. Most of the fan-made gay superhero stuff online is in the form of paintings and drawings (and plenty of 'shopping), usually deliberately done in the style of an established comics artist. Here are a few I found:

Why Does Superman Look So Surprised?

Gay Emo Superboy

Who the Hell Are These Guys?

Of course this fascination with turning established characters gay is hardly new:

Highly Illogical

Oh, Mr. Frodo!

Malfoy Has a Magic Wand

Still a Better Love Story Than Twilight 

It's obvious that the fans want what the fans want. Give us some more hot gay boys, Hollywood! We've grown up since Brokeback Mountain. Of course it could all explode in our faces. Fan fiction also gave us "Fifty Shades of Gray" {violent shudder of revulsion}. I have lots more to say about this subject, but that's for another post.

I will say that 20 years ago, I wouldn't have written a piece like this (indeed, many of the pieces I've written). LGBT acceptance has grown beyond what I ever thought I'd see in my lifetime, and the comics were at the forefront of inclusion, long before many people even noticed. Both Marvel and DC have LGBT characters driving major story lines. Even the wholesome Archie Comics introduced Kevin Keller, an out and proud Military Officer, who married his African American partner Clay Walker this past January. Progress is slow, until it happens all at once. We're getting there.

Of course, there's nothing wrong in finding the humor in all it:

More, anon.
Prospero

Popping Tentpoles

You have probably already seen at least one or two of the four full-length trailers for upcoming films which were released online today. I am on the fence about all of them. Two of them are potential franchise rebooters. One of them is from an original story from my second-to-least favorite (and most frustrating) modern director and the other is from the director of TRON: Legacy, written by and based on the graphic novel by the director. Of course, the downside of that good news is the star. But first things, first.

Return to us now, to those thrilling days of yester-year! A staple of radio and weekly film serials since the 1930's, The Lone Ranger was popular with Western-loving audiences right through the 1950's. Played in serials, films and on TV for many years by Clayton Moore, the Ranger's last incarnation was the miserable 1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger starring Clinton Spilsbury in the title role and Michael Horse as Tonto. You might not remember Spilsbury because he never made another movie, ever. Horse has had an almost-make-a-living career ever since. Here's the trailer for that major misstep from Universal:

Today, Disney released the first full trailer for their reboot, starring hottie Armie Hammer as John Reid/The Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto. I hate this idea, even more than I hated the idea for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Of course, writer/director Gore Verbinski proved that at least one Pirates movie was a good idea. Still, Depp has begun to annoy me. As a 'star' who wants to keep a low profile, he sure does work a lot. Recently, for the same two directors, over and over again. This time, he has a dead crow on his head and does his best to create a non-stereotypical Native American accent:

Just once, I would love to see Depp in a film by almost anyone but Burton or Verbinski, playing an everyday Joe who doesn't have anything extraordinary happen to him. Hammer apparently has big feet, and we all know what that means... He's also rather gorgeous when cleaned up. While there is no trace of the William Tell Overture in the trailer, Jack White's score is sure to include it in some way.

Then there is Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder's reboot of Warner's and DC's Superman franchise, starring Henry Cavil as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman. Along for the ride are Micheal Shannon; Amy Adams; Russell Crowe; Kevin Costner; Diane Lane: Laurence Fishburne; Christopher Meloni and Tamoh Penikett. Snyder's Watchmen was pretty good, though his last movie Sucker Punch was downright awful. But with producer Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer on board, Man of Steel  could be just what the franchise needed, despite the silly new costume design and the lack of Brandon Routh:

Still hot but wacky Scientologist Tom Cruise returns to Sci-Fi in writer/director Joseph Kosinski's (who also wrote the graphic novel in which this film based) post-apocalyptic thriller Oblivion. Cruise plays a court-martialed soldier sentenced to repair droids on a decimated Earth, only to discover the planet isn't as deserted as once thought.

Finally, there's M. Night Shama --- no, I'm not going to do the joke name tonight. Every time I thought Shyamalon was about to redeem himself, he's failed me. Returning to Sci-Fi for the first time since Signs (the second and last film of his I liked), M Knight's latest sees Will Smith and son Jaden marooned on a future version of Earth which was abandoned by humans 1000 years earlier:

Oooh! Baboons and the return of Ice Age saber-tooths! How (not) exciting! Given Smith's record of late, I'll probably wait until this one's on Showtime.

I hope 2013 has better fare in store than most of these movies. What do you think? What movies are you looking to seeing in the coming year?

More, anon.
Prospero

The Gayest; Draggiest and Hardest-Nippled Christmas Things You'll See This Week

2012 Boston Santa Speedo Run

I think that's the longest title I've ever given to a post. But it will all make sense soon (or not - how should I know if you're sane? I'm obviously not*).

First, the Gayest, Hardest-Nippled part of the post (did you ever think you see the word 'nippled' capitalized?*). Saturday was the annual Santa Speedo Run in the fine city of Boston. Thousands of hotties got together and ran a marathon in the skimpiest beachwear, underwear and holiday costumes possible. It's all for charity and looks like lots of fun and something I wouldn't mind seeing in person. They hold these SSRun events in cities all over the U.S. - hang on - BRB - Damn! No Philly.  Maybe next year (via).

Now onto the draggiest Christmas thing this week. Gender Illusionist Doo-Wop group The Supreme Fabulettes (apparently the toast of gay London) have a new song and video out, just in time for all the holiday cheer. Please enjoy the Boy-George directed "You Ruined My Xmas:" 

 

Drag is hard and I hate doing it because the costume changes suck, especially without a dresser. I do admire the performers who put up with the inconveniences because they love doing it. And I must admit to having a lot fun doing Hairspray... 

Can you tell I'm getting into the holiday spirit, finally?

More, anon.
Prospero

*Really. Who else thinks like this? Okay... maybe my sister, a little. And sweet, hilarious Mia - my 'work-niece.' A few other twisted souls on Facebook. Maybe you. I don't worry about it. Neither should you. Who are we to judge anyone, any way? Move along. Nothing more to see here. Well tonight, anyway.

Dance as if Everyone Is Watching

The Very Fine Mr. Gene Kelly

Not too long ago, I was asked if given a choice of any Hollywood star (alive or dead), with whom would I most prefer to spend a romantic evening? My first thought was my Obsession, but then I realized I wanted a dirty, rough and tumble night with Jason. Romance is not in our cards...

For a night of romance...? The choice was obvious... the one and only Gene Kelly. I mean, come on! Look at him there all rugged and gorgeous. He's also my only ever answer to "Astaire or Kelly?" Not to disparage the graceful and talented Fred Astaire. I get it. But Gene... (sigh...) was an athlete. You may have danced with a broom and on the ceiling, Fred but Gene danced in the rain; on roller skates; in barns and with a friggin' cartoon mouse! Plus... well, just look at him! The actor-dancer-singer-choreographer-director was a Star for lots of reasons. Oh -- screw you, Stomp!

Like many who spend their lives in the theatre, I fell in love with performing in Musical Theatre. It was really the first time I actually got the idea of creating a person who was completely different from myself. What gay teen in the 70's wouldn't love that? I literally had a nationally renown high school Theatre teacher who also exposed me to weird, experimental theatre; Thornton Wilder; Edward Albee; T.S. Eliot and Radu & Ragni, all while increasing the greasepaint in my veins... I try not to have regrets about my life. It's led me to so many wonderful things, people, friends and experiences and I wouldn't take back any of it. But I do regret that I never learned how to read music and how to dance. Don't get me wrong - I have danced in musicals. It was always a laborious task - though luckily in high school, you get a lot more rehearsal time than in the real world. Even in college and beyond, I've been able to pull off some complicated stuff, but only with lots and lots and lots of practice. And as with anything, it's gotten even harder with age. I was down to the bare minimum of movement in Hairspray because my knees are so bad - and I was never really all that graceful to begin with. Somehow, I got through it. I don't know if I could again.

What brought all this on is the clip I am about to share (via) called "Let's Dance." It's a compilation of dance clips you may or may not have seen before, this time set to "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers (I'm not familiar, but I think I need to hear more from them). Take a look and then check out some other hot dancers who make me rue my lack of dance talent:

This one's probably NSFW:

Of course, if asked to chose only a living star, it would be gorgeous Bollywood Bear, Hrithric Roshan. Seriously, it should be illegal to be so sexy:

As for this post's title - you've all heard the phrase "Dance as if no one is watching." Well, I call BS! Dance as if  EVERYONE is watching, all the time! Do everything you do like every one is watching. Bask in their admiration and feed off their applause. I think that Jebus fellow might be attributed as having said "Don't hide your light under a bushel" or something to that effect. Revel in all that you are and everything you do. I may not dance, but damn if I can't sing, act and direct. Of course, in thirty-odd years of directing, I've never taken on a musical. And there are plenty on which I want to put my stamp.

I guess I have a new goal. Yay!

More, anon.
Prospero

Living Historically.

Larry Duncan and Randy Shepherd

Yes, this picture has gone viral and it will no doubt take it's place among the most iconic images of modern history. As Larry and Randy raise their hands in the first oath of their impending marriage, I say: "Congratulations, guys! Oh - and thank you for furthering the smashing of stereotypes! Seriously though - where are you registered?"

One of my favorite, sappy gay romcom's is 2000's Big Eden, starring Ayre Gross; Tim Dekay (the third biggest star with whom I've had a personal conversation); the always wonderful Louise Fletcher and Eric Schweig (best known for Ron Howard's dark Western The Missing). Set in the most progressive small town in the world (when the local matchmaker realizes her mistake, she immediately arranges a boys-only party to introduce the prodigal protagonist to potential partners*), Big Eden works so well because of the actors' commitment the story. Everyone in Big Eden knows with whom Henry (Gross) belongs, even if Henry doesn't. A sort of sideways Cinderfella story filled with quirky characters; absurdest situations and the creakiest of creaky old rom-com endings, it makes this sentimental old fool cry every time I see it.

*Say that three times, fast.

Damn! I've been living in the wrong part of the country this whole time! My Post-Bohemian friend Stephen has lived (and has loved living in) the Pacific Northwest for quite some time. He and 'The Husband' have the kind eclectic and comfortable home towards which I aspire. I can't say I'm surprised by the legalization of personal recreational marijuana and marriage equality in Washington. I'm glad to be alive to see it, though.

I used to be surprised to think about all the things my grandmother saw over the course of her life and how different things must have been for her after 80+ years. Now, of course, I think about all the things I've seen over the course of my life and how different things are for me. I was alive but too young to appreciate the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK, but I saw Vietnam; Woodstock; the Moon Landing; the Manson Family murders; Stonewall; the opening of China; the resignation of Nixon; the Iran Hostage Crisis; the assassination attempts on both Ford and Reagan; the Challenger explosion; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the introduction of the VCR, compact disc, home computer (I'm on my 7th? since the 90's) and DVR; both the building of the World Trade Center and it's destruction at the hands of fanatical madmen; the rise and fall of dictators; fads, crazes and wacky fashion; the creation of the Internet, Email, Facebook and Twitter; the cell phone, Blackberry & Smart phone; the South Asian Tsunami; laptops, Katrina; tablets & touch screens; rebellions in the Middle East & Northern Africa; Sandy and the two-term election of our first African-American POTUS -- who just so also happens to be the first sitting POTUS to openly support Marriage Equality. 

I know I'm missing some important events over the last (REDACTED) years. I'm just happy that I have a way to record my personal experience during my visit through history. Will any of it matter, 20 or 30,000 years from now? I doubt it. But I am enjoying myself while here. I feel bad for the folks who came before and both jealous of and sad for those who will come after. If we get our shit together, the future of humanity is limitless. I truly hope we get our shit together. I'd like for all of us to around to witness a whole lot more history.

Of course, life has a way of humbling. I pride myself on being an alum of the #1 High School Theatre program in the U.S. The soon to retire Louis Volpe is one of the most influential teachers I've ever had. He was invited to create the High School versions of Les Miserables and was the first adult to tell a 17 year-old Uncle P that being gay wasn't the end of the world. The humbling is embedded below, as the cast of a high school production of Les Miz equates itself with this year's most annoyingly intrusive pop song:

More, anon.
Prospero

A War of Wit with an Unarmed Opponent.

The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect our privacy.

(Insert "Law and Order" doink-doink sound here)

I thought I'd said all I had to say about this topic, but then today... 

I have a Facebook friend - a lovely retired lady (let's call her "Claire") - who happens to be a Christian. Claire is sweet and good-natured and I have never heard her utter an unkind word to anyone. All well and good. When she posts religious things, I don't respond. I post plenty of Humanist things. Claire never responds to those. I always respond when she posts travel pictures and such. But today...

Today, Claire shared a link to a Chick Fil-A online coupon with all of her Facebook friends. I hope she shared it in the best of intentions. I can't imagine otherwise. There is truly not a mean bone in her body. I can't say the same for one of Claire's Christian friends. Uncle P responded to Claire's link and Claire's friend (let's call her "Lamia") responded to me, and so on. Here's how it went:

Uncle P: I don't support companies that support hate groups.

Lamia: They don't support hate groups ... They support Gods irrefutable Word in scripture. Get informed.

Uncle P: Lamia, I'd suggest you get informed yourself. They give money to groups which have been officially identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as Hate Groups.

Lamia: Let's talk about "informed" God is about love, BUT there are rules...hate groups do not like rules. You want to live your life doing what ever you want and go to hell, than go for it. If you want to live life in eternity, there are rules. So, rules=heaven......do whatever you want=the fiery lake.........your choice

Her response has nothing to do with what I said, but then this appears:

Claire: From a Friend: [REDACTED] wrote: "Good suggestion. I went to SPLC's website and searched for Ckick-fil-a. Except for one incident where a man attacked someone while carrying a bag from CFA, there was no mention of CFA."

To which I responded:

Uncle P: I never said that the SPLC mentioned Chick Fil-A. Chick Fil-A is not a hate group. They do, however, donate to several groups on the SPLC's list, which can be found by doing a simple search of Chick Fil-A's beneficiaries. Lamia, I feel sorry that you aren't able to think for yourself and are unable make informed decisions based on true morality, rather than dogma. I am finished commenting on this thread. Claire - I'm sorry to have caused such a fuss.

Trying to have a honest, open and cogent conversation (even on line) with a Wingnut Christian is harder than convincing a top to bottom for the first time (I am getting so saucy, these days!). I've come to realize that such people are very, very afraid to die. Hell, we all are. We just don't admit it to ourselves every day. We'd go mad, if we did. See yesterday's post for my view on that. It seems to me that extremely religious people must fear death so much, that they have to believe in stories that promise them an eternal afterlife. They can't appreciate their life for its own sake. They don't appreciate the majesty in the odds of their very existence. They don't see the beauty of the Fibonacci Sequence in everything that exists. The thought that they may only exist once terrifies them. Instead, they should learn to take joy in the fact that they exist in the first place. It makes me sad to think that people still want to live some parts of their lives based on bronze-age mythology. 

My sense of morality comes out of knowing how rare and fragile our lives are, and doing everything I can to make the lives of not only the people I know and love, but all people everywhere, at least as good as mine. That's what should matter. I can't imagine anything more immoral than a person or corporation who gives money to any organization which actively works to hurt people. How is that 'Christian' in any sense of the word (at least as I was raised to understand it)? I wanted to tell Lamia that she should sell her daughter into slavery and she'd better hope she never let a shrimp pass through her lips, but thought better of it. She wouldn't understand it, I'm sure. And I wasn't about to attack her punctuation and grammar, as bad as they are. I figured I'd let the Grammar Nazi's do it here. Have it it all you GNs!

And Lamia - since you apparently still believe in magic, here's something that will undoubtedly have you accusing the guy of being a witch:

Just so you know, Yann Frisch is Uncle P's newest obsession, even though everything I've found on YouTube seems to be variations on the same routine. It's still pretty impressive.

More, anon.

Prospero