Up With Pixar

So what's next for Pixar after the critical and financial success of WALL-E? Well, things are looking Up.

The computer animation giant was at Comic-Con today to preview their next feature (directed by Monsters, Inc.'s Pete Doctor) and it sounds like they have another winner on their hands.

Click here for a charming sneak peek of the film, in theaters May 29, 2009.

Sleeping Beauty Castle to Reawaken

Just in time for the release of Sleeping Beauty as a two-disc Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray(ah, that infamous Disney synergy at work), Disneyland will reopen one of its lower-key attractions, the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

Longtime Disneyphiles will remember this A-ticket as a self-guided walking tour up inside the park's central icon, where they could view nifty little dioramas of Barbie-esque dolls depicting scenes from the 1959 animated fairy tale (here's a video retrospective). It was definitely low-tech stuff, mostly appealing to little girls and window display designers. (I remember as a kid we would always do this one last because if we missed it, no big loss; why we waited to do the one attraction that required a lot of walking -- up flights of stairs, no less -- after a full day at the park, I don't know.)

However, for the 2008 version (planned to open sometime this fall), Imagineers are promising a little more bells and whistles, including a virtual walkthrough for park guests who aren't able to walk up all those stairs.

UPDATE: The attraction has re-opened to guests, and LaughingPlace.com has a full report, including pictures and video.

The Sleeping Beauty Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray will be available October 7. Click hereto pre-order it from Amazon.com.

Little House on the Stage

As a kid, I was obsessed with the opening credit sequence of the wholesome TV classic Little House on the Prairie. It was always comforting to hear that familiar theme music, even though the show that followed often dealt with the harsh realities of such a life. I would always wait for little Carrie Ingalls to go tumbling down that hill, and was confused when Big Edie would tell me (seemingly every week) that Lindsay Sidney Greenbush was actually two people. Did that mean that Melissa Sue Anderson was too?

The big star of the show, of course, was Melissa Gilbert as Laura "Half Pint" Ingalls, who would grow up to write the stories the series was based upon. And now, Gilbert herself is all grown up (and glammed out) and currently starring as Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in a musical version of those same books, making its world premiere tonight at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

The new tuner, directed by Francesca Zambello (Broadway's The Little Mermaid) and featuring the music of Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman (Emma) with a book by Tony Award winning librettist Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), has already proven to be a big draw. Its limited engagement has been extended by two weeks. In addition to Gilbert, the cast includes familiar Broadway faces Steve Blanchard and Jenn Gambatese.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again

With a jump to the left and a step to the right, MTV has announced they are remaking the movie that defines the terms "cult film", "audience participation" and "midnight movie classic", The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Original RHPS producer Lou Adler is heading up the remake, which will use the original story and score by Richard O'Brien, plus possibly a few songs from the original stage production ("Superheroes", "Once in a While") that were cut from the final 1975 movie. No director has been attached as of yet.

As expected, die-hard Rocky fans are up in arms (there is already an online petition protesting the new film), but I'm curious to see how they would do it ... and with a budget this time. Casting would be key, most especially for the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania immortalized on stage and screen by Tim Curry.

If I were making the decisions, I'd pick Alan Cumming for Frank; anyone who has seen his Cabaret Emcee would agree. For Brad and Janet, how about the Enchanted couple themselves, James Marsden and Amy Adams. O'Brien could be Riff Raff again if he's up to it; if not, perhaps Raúl Esparza from the 2000 Broadway revival. His co-star, Dick Cavett, would return as the Criminologist, while Magenta and Columbia could be the totally Wicked pairing of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. As in the stage RHS, Eddie and Dr. Scott would be played by the same person: Jack Black. And as for Frank's ultimate creation, Rocky himself? Why, Cheyenne Jackson of course; he is the perfect man and, as luck would have it, he has played the role before.

Hopes are for a Halloween 2009 release, so we'll likely hear more soon.

UPDATE: In a curious development, Richard O'Brien claims no connection to -- or support of -- this remake. Additionally, although it at first appeared to be a theatrical release, new reports are indicating that it will be aired on television, which may effect the casting (in other words, strike out Marsden, Adams and Black from my dream cast ... sigh).

Doing the New Tron Dance*

In this day and age of instant information via the internet, where every minute detail of motion picture productions are broadcast worldwide in the time it takes to click a mouse, you got to give Disney props for what they pulled off yesterday at Comic-Con.

At the tail end of a presentation for the upcoming "re-imagining" of Escape to Witch Mountain titled Race to Witch Mountain, the Mouse House dropped a bomb that must have had the fanboys wetting their Underoos with glee. Not only did they confirm without a doubt that the long rumored sequel to Tron was being made, they actually showed footage from it. And not just any footage, but footage featuring The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges. Both the MTV Movies Blog and ComingSoon.net have play-by-plays of the clip, which will likely not be seen by we the masses anytime soon.

No other details of Tron 2 (or, annoyingly, Tr2n) were given, but Imdb lists a 2010 release date.

* Anyone else remember when the Pointer Sisters performed their hit "The Neutron Dance" on some Disney TV special back in the early 80's? There were actually dancers, clad in the familiar Tron costumes, dancing the, well, neutron dance. I tried in vain to find a video of it online, to no avail. So much for the internet ...

UPDATE: See it while you can: cam footage of the Comic-Con trailer.

Reverend's Reviews: No Regrets for No Regret

A few years back, out filmmaker Todd Haynes paid a well-received tribute to the films of Douglas Sirk with his Far from Heaven. Sirk was known for his soapy stories and glossy style, exemplified by such 1950's productions as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life. Haynes created a picture- and style-perfect replica but with a contemporary, overtly gay sensibility, with Dennis Quaid playing the closeted gay husband of oblivious housewife Julianne Moore.

South Korean writer-director Leesong Hee-il has gone Sirk and Haynes one better with his No Regret. This excellent drama was actually filmed before Brokeback Mountain and the gay-themed The King and the Clown became enormous hits in South Korea and made GLBT topics more palatable there. Now recognized as the first true gay film in Korean Cinema, it is finally being released stateside this Friday in Los Angeles and New York by here! Films/Regent Releasing.

No Regret is, according to production notes, "plotted in a style similar to what has become known as 'hostess movies'--which deal with ambitious young women who come to the big city of Seoul only to end up working as prostitutes." Here, attractive male orphan Sumin (a great performance by straight actor Lee Young-hoon) moves to Seoul immediately following his 18th birthday and mandatory ejection from the orphanage. After losing menial jobs in a factory and restaurant due to his quick temper, he is hired as an exotic dancer at an underground gay club.

Sumin attracts the attention of many, but no one is more smitten by him than Jaemin (popular Korean television actor Lee Han). The son of a Korean conglomerate's wealthy vice-president, Jaemin is secretly gay and engaged to a woman. His falling for Sumin creates all manner of personal and public drama.

Much of No Regret, in true Sirk style, has the main characters denying and/or dancing around their true motivations and feelings. There is also considerable critique of Korean social and class distinctions, which is in keeping with the Sirk tradition. Indeed, director Hee-il is quoted regarding the inspiration behind his film, "Through the love of two men, I wanted to explore the themes of desire and class."

Fortunately, No Regret doesn't end as tragically as many of Sirk's melodramas did. Full of lovely, intimate moments between its various players and providing a unique travelogue of modern South Korea, I recommend No Regret to any adults, GLBT or otherwise, in the mood for a timeless romance.

Watch the No Regret trailer here.

UPDATE: No Regret is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Best of the Fests: Philadelphia 2008

2008's Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival came to a close last night. Best Feature winners were the sexy drama Ciao (watch the trailer here) and Stewart Wade's dramedy Tru Loved (Jury and Audience Awards, respectively).

Other winners including the fest's closing night feature, Were the World Mine, and the documentaries black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent, Squeezebox! and Polymath, or the Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman.

Lifetime Thanks Estelle for Being a Friend

Illustration by Glen Hanson

In honor of to the late great Estelle Getty, Lifetime (Television for Women and Gay Men™) will air a special marathon of Sophia-centric episodes of its signature series The Golden Girls this Friday.

Ten episodes will be broadcast starting at 12 noon EST, and viewers get to vote for their favorite one, which will air last.

And for more Sophia memories, watch this video tribute.

Poster Post: Yes, This is a Real Movie

In the revered tradition of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! comes Bitch Slap. The flick is breathlessly described as "a modern throwback to the B-Movie/exploitation films of the 1950's-70's, mixing hot girls, fast cars, big guns, nasty tongues, outrageous action and jaw-dropping eye candy with a message ... don't be naughty."

Former Hercules/Xena stars Lucy Lawless, Renée O'Connor and Kevin Sorbo headline the cast. Visit the official website for more fun (including sections labeled "Bitches and Boners", "Gang Bang" and "Peep Shows") and watch the outrageous, boobalicious trailer.

Days of Our (Sordid) Lives

Del Shores' Sordid Lives, the cult fave movie based on the cult fave play, is now aiming for that cult fave trifecta with a TV show: Sordid Lives: The Series premieres tonight on LOGO.

The 12-episode series will actually be a prequel to the play and movie, which starred Bonnie Bedalia, Beth Grant, Leslie Jordan, Olivia Newton-John and Ann Walker, who all return as members of the outrageous Texas family at the center of the story, originally billed as "a black comedy about white trash" (the Ewings they ain't). Joining them in the fun are new cast members Jason Dottley, Rue McClanahan and Caroline Rhea, plus such guest stars as Candis Cayne, Margaret Cho and Carson Kressley.

AfterElton.com has both a preview and a review to get you primed for opening night; click here to watch a sneak preview (NSFW for language).

Hangin' Ten With a Six Pack

Matthew McConaughey, in the role he was born to play: Surfer, Dude. So nice to know that we won't have to wait too long for him to take off his shirt in this one ...

The comedy, which also stars Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson (dude, they must have had one helluva wrap party) will sail into theaters in September. Watch the trailer here.

Reverend's Report from Outfest: Awards Night

Drag queen Momma, wannabe drag queen Janice Dickinson, and out actors T.R. Knight, Craig Chester and Rex Lee were on hand in Los Angeles last night to present the "Outie" Awards at the official conclusion of Outfest 2008. Here are the winners:

Audience Awards:

• Outstanding US Dramatic Feature: Hamlet 2 (directed and co-written by Andrew Fleming)
• Outstanding Documentary Feature: A Place to Live (directed by Carolyn Coal)
• Outstanding First US Dramatic Feature: Watercolors (directed and written by David Oliveras)
• Outstanding Soundtrack: Hamlet 2 (Rock Me, Sexy Jesus!)
• Outstanding Narrative Short: I'm Jin-Young (directed by Lee Sung Eun)
• Outstanding Documentary Short: La Corona (directed by Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega)

Grand Jury Awards:

• "Heineken Red Star" Award: Were the World Mine (directed by Thomas Gustafson) -- See review below.
• Outstanding International Documentary Feature: Sex Positive (directed by Daryl Wein)
• Outstanding International Dramatic Feature: XXY (directed and written by Lucia Puenzo)
• Outstanding Narrative Short Film: Countertransference (directed by Madeleine Olnek)
• Outstanding Documentary Short Film: La Corona
• Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film: Tye Olson in Watercolors
• Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film: Nicole Bilderback in The New Twenty
• Outstanding Screenwriting: James Bolton for Dream Boy

Special Programming Awards:

• For Freedom: Football Under Cover (directed by Ayat Najafi and David Assmann)
• For Artistic Achievement: Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (directed by Matt Wolf)
• For Emerging Talent: Dave O'Brien, director of Equality U

The awards presentation was immediately followed by the Los Angeles premiere of Were the World Mine. This gay musical riff on all things Shakespeare, but especially A Midsummer Night's Dream, is imperfect but enjoyable. Director/co-writer (with Cory James Krueckeberg) Gustafson actually expanded his previous short film Fairies into this feature. I think the short is the better movie, as the feature becomes heavy-handed in its literalism. But Gustafson assembled a talented young cast -- including Tanner Cohen and Robin Williams' daughter, Zelda Williams -- for the feature and, with a larger budget to play with, made it visually ravishing. (Watch the trailer here.)

Outfest will conclude tonight with the Los Angeles premiere of Tru Loved, a new film by Stewart Wade (Coffee Date). It's a hot ticket and ... I couldn't get one, so this concludes my day-by-day coverage of Outfest 2008. However, many more movies and filmmakers made an impression during the fest than one can adequately survey in a mere week and a half. I'll continue to post reviews and interviews in the weeks and months to come.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Terminator's Salvation

If you were wondering (hoping) that some good ol' fashioned beefcake would be injected into the fourth installment of the Terminator series, Terminator Salvation, then your prayers have been answered (although it does seem a bit odd that we are still hearing about cast additions to the film when we've already seen a teaser trailer).

Nevertheless, Austrian bodybuilder-turned actor Roland Kickinger has been tapped to play a "younger" version of the cyborg assassin immortalized in the first movie by Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is not the first time Kickinger (who some may recognize from the Baywatch spoof Son of the Beach from a few years back) has followed in Arnie's footsteps; he played the Pumping Iron era Schwarzenegger in the TV movie biopic See Arnold Run.

Terminator Salvation, which stars Christian Bale, Helena Bonham Carter, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anton Yelchin under the direction of Charlie's Angels' McG, is scheduled to open May 22.

Ready for Their Close-Up

Lachey assays Sharpays.
The High School Musical juggernaut continues. Following two hit Disney Channel movies, a concert tour, a legitimate stage production, theme park attractions, a documentary and even an ice show, it's only natural that the next step would be an American Idol-ized talent-slash-reality show. Right?

Titled High School Musical: Get in the Picture and hosted by former boy bander-slash-Newlywed Nick Lachey, the series will follow a group of hopeful Zac Efrons and Vanessa Hudgenses as they compete for the big prize: a chance to star in a music video for the franchise's feature film threequel, High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Yeah, that doesn't sound like much, so Disney recently sweetened the deal to include a couple singles and a possible network gig.

HSM: GITP starts tomorrow night on ABC with the first of a two-part premiere, to conclude on Monday. Here's a sneak peek.

Rings Cycles On

The sprawling stage spectacular based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy will play its final performance tonight in London.

The big budget theatrical experience -- which combines state-of-the-art stagecraft, music and the classic tale of Frodo, Gandalf, et al -- made its world premiere in Toronto two years ago. Plans are now underway for a German production as well as an international tour through New Zealand (where the Oscar winning movies were filmed), Australia and the Far East. Unfortunately, there are no plans at this time to bring it to the United States.

Here's a video preview of the show from before it came to London; the original cast recordingis also available.

Reverend's Report from Outfest: Gay Muslims & Porn Stars

In the tradition of Trembling Before G-d and For the Bible Tells Me So, which have screened at Outfests past, comes this year's documentary centerpiece of the festival, A Jihad for Love. Those earlier films explored, respectively, Jewish and Christian attitudes toward homosexuality. A Jihad for Love, produced by Sandi DuBowski (who made Trembling Before G-d) and directed by Parvez Sharma, turns the lens on the experiences of GLBT Muslims.

What the film reveals is by turns disturbing, encouraging, horrifying and hopeful. Some Muslim leaders and predominantly-Muslim countries speak unapologetically of their desire to behead, burn, hang or otherwise execute gay men and lesbian women in their midst. They cite a small number of passages in the Qur'an (or Koran) as authorizing such punishment for homosexual behavior. A Jihad for Love partly focuses on the effort of four gay citizens of one hostile country, Iran, to immigrate to Canada.

However, the documentary reveals that other Muslim leaders and countries are more tolerant. They appreciate the spiritual struggle, or jihad, that virtually all GLBT people undergo in reconciling their personhood with their faith. Just as not all Christian or Jewish communities condemn GLBT people, and some openly welcome them, neither do all adherents of Islam.

Watching the powerful A Jihad for Love as a gay American, I couldn't help but be thankful for the considerable acceptance we've found and advances toward equality that have been made in the US as opposed to many other nations, Muslim or otherwise. Globally, we still have a long way to go.

Turning from the sacred to the profane, Outfest also premiered Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, about 1970's gay porn icon Jack Wrangler. Born into a successful Hollywood family, Wrangler set out to become a legitimate actor. Both attractive and talented, he found himself in demand as a model, which soon led to modeling for gay publications, which then led to appearing in gay adult films. He subsequently became the most popular gay porn star of his time.

But Wrangler's success didn't end with gay porn. He was one of the few openly gay actors to cross over to straight porn and become equally popular. In time, he retired from adult films and became a sought-after theatre actor/director. Most surprisingly, he fell in love with and married a woman, singer Margaret Whiting. He did so without renouncing his homosexuality, which confused and angered more than a few of his fans.

Since Wrangler's film success was before my time, I wasn't familiar with him and so found Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon fascinating as well as entertaining. Well-directed by Jeffrey Schwarz and featuring interviews with both Wrangler and his wife, the film re-enforces the truth that when it comes to sexuality, career success and, most significantly, love, there is little that is black and white.

Watch the trailers here: A Jihand for Love and Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon.

UPDATE: A Jihad for Loveand Wrangler: Anatomy of an Iconare now available on DVD from Amazon.com.

See NSFW pictures of Jack Wrangler in The Back Room.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Watch the Watchmen

With The Dark Knight down, time for the next comic geek sensation: Watchmen.

Although the eagerly awaited big screen adaptation of the landmark graphic novel series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons won't hit theaters until March 6 of next year, fanboys everywhere are chomping at the bit for every bit of information. And this week's two big offerings -- the first trailer (attached to the Bat-flick) and an extensive Entertainment Weekly cover story -- are now online.

That should keep us ... I mean them ... happy for a while. Seriously though, this one looks awesome. And if you really want to geek out, head over to Rope of Silicon for a series of screen cap-to-original-comic-panel comparisons.

The Latest in Theaters: Batman Besides

Although The Dark Knight is shaping up to be the movie event of the summer (if not the year), there are a lot of other movies opening this weekend as well. Such as:

• Mamma Mia! Can you ask for anything better then Meryl Streep and an all-star cast (including the absolutely dreamy Dominic Cooper) in a sun-kissed movie musical complete with ABBA's biggest hits? I think not.
• Chad Allen returns as gay detective Donald Strachey for another mystery in On the Other Hand, Death. Co-starring, as a lesbian high school guidance counselor no less, is Margot Kidder.
• Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch and Stanley Tucci are among the voices in the new animated comedy adventure Space Chimps, about ... well, chimps in space.
• In Transsiberian, Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer are wrapped up in a mystery aboard the titular train ride from Russia to China.
• Writer/director Jacques Nolot stars as an aging gay gigolo faced with his own mortality when his wealthy benefactor dies in in the French import Before I Forget (watch the trailer here).
• And finally: if you find yourself in New York and looking for a good time this weekend, then how about the Sing Along Xanadu?

Visit Fandango - Search movie showtimes and buy tickets!

Bat-Tube

On the eve of the debut of what sounds like his darkest adventure yet, let us indulge in a little good natured bat-humor aimed at the bat-dude:

- We'll start with some more "lost footage": the trailer for a pre-talkies version of The Dark Knight, appropriately titled The Silent Knight.
- And for more trailer deconstruction/reconstruction, here it is ... in Lego.
- The latest in "Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC", a.k.a. "When Batman Meets Iron Man" ...
- ... And then Hellboy enters the picture.
- Bonus clip: this one isn't all about the Caped Crusader, but it's still pretty darn cool: "The World of Tim Burton".

Lost Crawford Footage Found!

In the very same Argentinean museum where the original Metropolis footage was recently discovered, another bit of cinematic history was recovered from the abyss of time: the lost Joan Crawford Batman episode.

It is not widely known*, that Crawford, like all great stars of the time, was asked to appear as a nemesis of the Dynamic Duo on the campy Batman television series of the 1960's. In fact, she was to play a new villainess, named Mildred Fierce, in the third season finale of the program, with a young Stephen Spielberg (making his directorial debut) at the helm of the episode.

Unfortunately, after very little was shot, both Crawford and Spielberg were fired by 20th Century Fox, the show's studio, due to budgetary concerns; trade papers of the day blamed Crawford's exorbitant salary demands and Spielberg's insistence of constructing an elaborate set for a single scene set in Gotham City's Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

The episode was retooled for Zsa Zsa Gabor and, ironically, ended up being the last show of the series, as it was cancelled soon after. (Crawford, nevertheless impressed with the moxie of the young Spielberg, would work with him again the following year on the pilot episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery.)

The lone scene shot, which set up the character of Mildred Fierce as she escaped from Arkham, has never been seen by the general public ... until now. Film historians have widely assumed that all prints were destroyed in a mysterious fire in the Fox studio archives in the mid-1970s; how one copy not only survived, but also made its way to Argentina, is unknown.

But now it has been lovingly restored, under the guidance of Spielberg himself, and is now available exclusively for Movie Dearest readers to view online. I know you are all very excited to see this extremely rare footage, so click here and enjoy!

* In fact, it may be entirely made up.