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May 29th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch!


May 28th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch!

#BornThisDay: Actor, Rupert Everett

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May 29, 1959Rupert James Hector Everett:

“It’s amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy.”

We were already big fans of his good-looks and his talent when in spring of 1984 The Husband (then the BF) was the waiter for Rupert Everett and his entourage, in town for the Seattle International Film Festival’s world premier showing of the film Another Country, at the then quite famous gay dining spot The Ritz Café in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The Husband came home with the sordid tale of Everett’s very bad behavior, culminating in the actor passing out face first into a plate of food. The Husband’s tale somehow made me loved Everett even more.

At 15 years old, Everett ran away from boarding school and went to London to become an actor. He found work straight off and continued working. He starred opposite Kenneth Brannagh in the stage version of Another Country when he was 23 years old. Based on the life of gay British spy Guy Burgess, he did the film version opposite Colin Firth when he was 25 years old. Everett then came out of the closet when he was 29 years old and then the offers for acting gigs dried up.

He did find work in smaller roles on stage and he gave interesting and deft performances in films like Robert Altman’s romp Prêt-à-Porter and The Madness Of King George, both in 1994, but when he starred opposite Julia Roberts in My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) the industry was abuzz with the idea of the “gay best friend” as an asset for any original screenplay. It was unique to have a gay character who was happily partnered, not a victim, not dying, and not a sissy. He carried the film with the charm of Cary Grant and he won wads of awards. It was the role that generated a buzz that Everett might become the first gay James Bond. That didn’t happen.

That charm followed with roles as gay Christopher Marlowe in Shakespeare In Love (1998), and good, sometimes great, performances in An Ideal Husband (1999), Inspector Gadget (1999), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999), The Importance Of Being Earnest (2002), and the tragically overlooked Stage Beauty (2004). He is the voice of Prince Charming in the money making Shrek franchise, disproving his very own theory that out of the closet gay actors can’t get work.

Everett has written two novels. I very much enjoyed reading his memoir Red Carpets And Other Banana Skins (2006) in which he includes the fact that for a time he worked as a rent boy. He followed that up with a highly readable second volume of memoirs The Vanished Years (2012). In both tomes, Everett names names, something I have come to expect from a memoir. He is honest, hugely funny and deeply wise about human nature, particularly his own. His beautiful face, his lovely manners, all his attractive qualities seemed to be worth the cash to me.

Oddly, Everett has urged gay stars not to come out of the closet. He advises to keep their sexuality a secret as it might easily end their film career. He came out as gay 29 years ago and he has admitted that since then, he has been only able to get supporting roles.

“It’s not that advisable to be honest. It’s not very easy, and I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out… The fact is that you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25 year old homosexual trying to make it in the British film business or the American film business or even the Italian film business. It just doesn’t work. You’re going to hit a brick wall at some point. You’re going to manage to make it roll for a certain amount of time, but at the first sign of failure, they’ll cut you right off. I’m sick of saying: ‘Yes, it’s probably my own fault.’ Because I’ve always tried to make it work and when it stops working somewhere, I try to make it work somewhere else. But the fact of the matter is, and I don’t care who disagrees, it doesn’t work if you’re openly gay.”

Yet, Everett added that he does believe he is happier than those other major stars who are keeping their sexuality a secret:

“I think, all in all, I’m probably much happier than they are. I may not be as rich or successful, but at least I’m vaguely free to be myself.”

Openly gay John Schlesinger was a great director, responsible for Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971), ground-breaking gay themed films. But, I think Schlesinger’s The Next Best Thing (2000), co-starring Everett and his BFF, Madonna, is one of the most dreadful films I have ever had to sit through… and not in a fun way. Drek, not Shrek. I managed to sit through it just to watch Everett.

Everett was really terrific in the film Hysteria (2011) along with Felicity Jones and Maggie Gyllenhaal, plus the delectable Hugh Dancy. The film, set in the Victorian era, is about the invention of the vibrator. I think I was acquainted with a vibrator nicknamed “Rupert” back in the early 1990s.  I thought highly of this witty film.

In 2012, Everett starred in the BBC adaptation of Parade’s End with my boo, Benedict Cumberbatch. The five-part drama was adapted by Tom Stoppard from the novels of Ford Madox Ford. This television series is provocative and a must for Downton Abbey fans.

An aptly cast Everett then starred as Oscar Wilde in the London production of the stage play The Judas Kiss in 2012. That production can currently be seen at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Everett’s Olivier Award nominated portrayal of the gay playwright and the play have received rapturous reviews, with the NY Times calling it “the performance of Everett’s career.”

“I think we are going to see the end of celebrity as we know it. Show business is not an honest profession.”

Despite having had just a little work done, he is really starting to look his age. I would still do him, though. Like Everett, I can be very shallow and a bit of a slut. Apparently we will never marry though:

“I loathe heterosexual weddings. The wedding cake, the party, the champagne, the inevitable divorce two years later. It’s just a waste of time in the heterosexual world, and in the homosexual world I find it personally beyond tragic that we want to ape this institution that is so clearly a disaster.”

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#RealEstatePorn: The Perfect West Village Townhouse –$22 Million

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The West Village is one THE most desirable spots to live in a brownstone, if you can afford it. I live in the village myself, and once co-owned a brownstone in Brooklyn so, I can appreciate townhouse living. And I know the downside, as well. (Too much constant up and down for me.)

Owners Jos White, a Brit technology entrepreneur in his early forties and his wife Annabel,the former director of The Rug Company have put the place on the market for $22 million. Jos sold his tech company MessageLabs for over half a billion in ’08, so the couple bought their dream home. These pics are from a few years ago from House & Garden UK. The Whites’ neighbors, Anna and Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair and his wife, who live a couple of doors away, and Anna Wintour and her family who also live nearby are presumably staying put.

If you want 21st century living in a 19th century townhouse, to me this is pretty much perfection. Obviously, no expense was spared, and they have VERY nice rugs and art, but the style here is chic, casual English, and not show-off tech zillionaire.

It’s six-story layer cake and the cherry on the top of is Jos’s home office. Because of the building’s landmark status, no additions can show from the street, not a single brick. So the office had to be set back. On the garden side, it has an angled wall of glass windows, like an artist’s garret, which cantilever up to go outside using a hand crank.

Have a look around. As I said, it’s pretty perfect, if you like this sort of thing.

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(Photos, Ngoc Minh Ngo; via House & Garden UK)

The post #RealEstatePorn: The Perfect West Village Townhouse –$22 Million appeared first on The WOW Report.

#RealEstatePorn: Inside New York City’s Most Expensive Home. Price, $120 Million.

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Say hello to NYC’s most expensive home on the market: the $120 million co-op at swanky 834 Fifth Avenue. The 16-story, Rosario Candela–designed citadel, built of limestone in 1931 on the corner of 64th Street, overlooking the Central Park Zoo, is itself a legend and spectacle. With just 24 apartments, many of them duplexes, and serviced by round-the-clock white-gloved doormen and elevator operators, 834 Fifth is home to nearly as many billionaires. Rupert Murdoch bought an 8,000-square-foot apartment in the building for $44 million in 2005.

John Gutfreund, was known as the “King of Wall Street,” and died in March at the age of 86. His wife Susan has put the apartment/mansion, located on the building’s seventh and eighth floors on the market. It has 20 rooms with a 1,600-square-foot master suite, along with three other bedrooms, grand marble staircase opens into a 50-foot-long living room overlooking Central Park with 3 more bedrooms, 5 full and 3 half bathrooms , spread out over 12,000 square feet. It has many amenities you might expect and a few you might not, like a felt-lined walk-in steel safe for storing silver (note the butler’s pantry with meticulous notes on various china, below) a wine cellar, staff quarters, a gallery, and of course, a winter garden room. Have a look around.

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(via Variety)

The post #RealEstatePorn: Inside New York City’s Most Expensive Home. Price, $120 Million. appeared first on The WOW Report.

#RealEstatePorn: 8 Ultra-Luxurious (& Expensive) New York City Pads

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What does New York City need? Well, certainly not more luxury residences, but there’s seems to be no end to multi-million dollar apartments with over-the-top amenities. Here are 8 that Gotham has called our attention to:

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Cassa Hotel and Residences: 515 Ninth Ave., #9F
The Cassa residences are in the Cassa Hotel, just blocks from Bryant Park. This 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment has two terraces with access to all the amenities of that luxury hotel—room service; in-room massage services, full housekeeping, child and pet care services, limousine services, and valet parking. Price: $8,400/month

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455 Central Park West
This Gothic townhouse is hidden in the castle-like building of what once was a hospital, it houses a 4,236-square-foot, four-bedroom maisonette with towering ceilings and an outdoor courtyard. Price: $8.75 million

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993 Fifth Avenue
This pre-war Fifth Avenue penthouse is across from The Met with nine sprawling rooms, an eat-in kitchen, formal dining room and four bathrooms. Price: $15.75 million

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Soori High Line: 522 W. 29th St., Penthouse 10B
The building’s 2,708-square-foot duplex penthouse has boasts heated floors and motorized blinds but the highlight is its personal rooftop pool and 1,036-square-foot terrace overlooking the city. Price: $15.1 million

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The Greenwich Lane: 145 W. 11th St., Apt. TH5
The Greenwich Lane is an intimate collection of five townhouses tucked away in the West Village. This particular 7,357-square-foot, five-bedroom townhouse offers has its own landscaped garden, two rooftop terraces, a full-size elevator, en-suite bathrooms, a butler’s pantry, and wine cellar. Price: $26.5 million

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The Police Building: 240 Centre St., Cupola Penthouse
Th 5,500-square-foot Cupola Penthouse in The Police Building has “The Dome Living Room”, a circular space with a 360-degree panorama of the city and the “Dome Sanctuary” which has exposed brick walls, and four huge clock windows. Price: $35 million

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One Madison: The Duplex at 23 E. 22 St.
This 6,600-square-foot duplex in the Flatiron District is on the 55th floor (with a media room on the 56th floor) has impressive views from every room and the residents only club offers butler service. Price: $37.5 million

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443 Greenwich St., Penthouse A
This 8,569-square-foot condo has a five-bedroom penthouse features a rooftop terrace and a personal wading pool with a private elevator to navigate its three floors. The building has a valet for its indoor parking garage with electric charging stations, private fitness studios with men’s and women’s locker rooms, a Hamam (Turkish Bath), 71-foot indoor swimming pool and wine cellar. For $52 million, it should. (via Gotham)

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May 30th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch!

Happy Memorial Day! We Salute the U.S. Naval Academy’s Annual Herndon Climb

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The Herndon Climb is a the U.S. Naval Academy tradition. It’s a thing.

The “plebes-no-more” ceremony is where the plebes (first year students) work together to climb the greased (phallic) monument and replace a plebe “dixie-cup hat” on the top. The midshipman who replaces the hat will be given a pair of admiral’s shoulder boards. Legend says that he or she will be the first of his or her class to make Flag Rank, although in reality this hasn’t yet happened.

The Herndon Monument is a 21-foot-tall granite obelisk, erected in memory of Captain William Lewis Herndon, who decided to go down with his ship and the men left aboard rather than save himself on September 12, 1857.

The climb goes back to 1959 and the record was set in ’69, when Midshipman Larry Fanning made the climb in 1 minute and 30 seconds. However, the monument was not greased that year.

In ’75, Midshipman Michael J Maynard scaled the monument in 20 minutes in 1972, believed to be the fastest time since the tradition of greasing began.

The previous superintendent ordered not to slather the monument with lard but his successor reinstated the tradition in 2011. The climb serves as a useful event in reinforcing teamwork, organization and leadership. And has other obvious visual perks, as well.

This year the winner was Midshipman Chris Bianchi in an hour 12 minutes and 30 seconds. Congrats! Happy Memorial Day.

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(T/Y Kevin Sessums; Photos, Scott Henrichsen)

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Why Is Liza Minelli Selling All Her Warhols’? ($40 Million Might Be a Good Reason…)

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According to Page 6 of the New York Post, Liza Minnelli is quietly trying to sell her collection of Andy Warhol paintings. Minelli owns 22 works including four portraits of herself, three of her mother, Judy Garland, and three of her father, Vincente Minnelli.

Many of the works had decorated Liza’s apartment in the Imperial House on East 69th Street which she sold last year for $8.37 million. Sources reportedly said Minnelli is asking in excess $40 million for the entire collection. Art dealer Robert Dupont told Page 6’s Richard Johnson,

“… it’s worth more than that. Other Liza portraits have gone for $4 million at auction.

Minnelli, 70, has battled a number of health issues over the years, from substance abuse to two hip replacements. Her publicist Scott Gorenstein said,

Liza is in fine health and she recently celebrated her 70th birthday with friends and family in Beverly Hills

… like any enthusiastic art collector, Liza Minnelli is always exploring opportunities.”

Liza is trying to keep the sale secret and showing the works privately in Manhattan. Guess the cat’s out of the bag now… The question is, why not put them up for auction with a catalogue, show and a well-publicized sale? She would almost certainly make more money…

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Liza's New York apartment at The Imperial House sold last year for around $8.5 milion

Liza’s New York apartment at The Imperial House sold last year for around $8.5 milion

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(via NY Post)

The post Why Is Liza Minelli Selling All Her Warhols’? ($40 Million Might Be a Good Reason…) appeared first on The WOW Report.

#PictureThis: The “Scarlett Muse” Exposes & Explores the World’s Oldest Profession

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Pedro Slim


NSFW: The upcoming exhibit, Scarlett Muse, at Daniel Cooney Fine Art further exposes hustlers, hookers, prostitutes, gigolos, ladies of the evening and assorted sex workers. Since the dawn of photography over 150 years ago the purveyors of prostitution have inspired compelling imagery.

The idea of this exhibition at first, might seem a bit illicit and seedy, but it is really quite the opposite upon examination. From an early stereo daguerreotype (c.1850’s) to E.J. Bellocq’s portraits of prostitutes in the brothels of New Orleans to Atget and Brassai photographing ladies of the evening in Paris, the show runs the gamut of up-close intimacy.

The more current work of Benjamin Fredrickson in a dual role as artist/hustler with his provocative Polaroid self-portraits made while servicing clients rivet while Anthony Friedkin’s look at gay life in gritty San Francisco are a window into the dawn of gay liberation. Punk rock legend Danny Fields‘ shares living room snapshots circa mid 70’s and artist’s George Awde, P.L. diCorcia and Malerie Marder bring us into the 21st century.

The exhibit opens Thursday, June 9 at Daniel Cooney Fine Art.

Bruno – August Braquehais

Bruno – August Braquehais

Brassai

Brassai

Eugene Atget

Eugene Atget

Christer Stromholm

Christer Stromholm

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E.J. Bellocq

E.J. Bellocq

Anthony Friedkin

Anthony Friedkin

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George Awde

George Awde

Danny Fields

Danny Fields

Danny Fields

Danny Fields

Chris Arnade

Chris Arnade

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Chris Arnade

Bob Mizer

Bob Mizer

Bob Mizer

Bob Mizer

Jane Hilton

Jane Hilton

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#BornThisDay: Transgender Pioneer, Christine Jorgensen

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May 30, 1926Christine Jorgensen:

“Remember, never throw away a chance for happiness too quickly…it can get to be a habit.”

Before the lovely Laverne Cox, before Alexis Arquette, before Chaz, even before Bruce Jenner broke the big news to Diane Sawyer and the rest of the world that Caityln was on her way, a little boy from the Bronx became a lovely lady. It was 1952 and Science was still popular, unlike our own times. Engineers could build rocket ships, researchers could cure diseases, and medical doctors could turn a seemingly regular guy into a glamorous woman. This was an era before there was a T in the equal rights movement, before there was even an L,G, or B. In fact Transgender wasn’t even a term yet.

Recently discharged Army Private George Jorgensen made headlines around the world when he returned to the USA from Denmark as a blond woman named Christine Jorgensen. Jorgensen shocked the world and freaked out Americans. People were afraid and angry. They still are.

While serving in the Army, Jorgensen, who said that she had felt trapped in the wrong body since childhood, read an article about a doctor in Denmark who was experimenting with sex change and hormone therapy.

Brave Jorgensen was just 24 years old when she made the journey to Copenhagen to meet with Dr. Christian Hamburger who diagnosed the young GI as “transsexual”. Hamburger prescribed female hormones and encouraged Jorgensen to dress in women’s clothing. Hamburger and a noted psychologist had to petition the Danish government for permission to perform the illegal act of castration for surgical purposes.

Hamburger successfully changed Jorgensen’s special stuff from male to female. Jorgensen chose Christine as her new female name in honor of her doctor.

Her transition made headlines when she returned to the USA in 1955. Curious crowds and eager journalists showed up at NYC’s Idlewild Airport to cover her return from Denmark. The December 1st, 1952 headline on the cover of the NY Daily News read:

“Ex-GI Becomes Blond Beauty”.

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Jorgensen:

“At first I was very self-conscious and very awkward, but once the notoriety hit, it did not take me long to adjust.”

Jorgensen was resourceful and like any true American she was able to take that media attention and turn it into nightclub engagements. With a straight face, she sang I Enjoy Being A Girl and Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered as part of her act. My city of Portland’s own Mary’s Club, the oldest strip club in the USA (Portland has more strip clubs than churches) engaged Jorgensen with a gig as a go-go girl. Often the butt of television comedians’ jokes, she always kept a sly sense of humor about herself.

Jorgensen didn’t hide away. She became the first, but certainly not the last, transgender American to grab all that publicity about her transition and run with it, so to speak. All network news broadcasts, every major magazine and newspaper, and every popular radio show covered her transition. Books were written about her. She smartly wrote her own: Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography (1967), a bestseller in 12 languages, adapted into a film in 1970. The memoir begins with this succinct first line:

“Nature made a mistake which I have corrected.”

She got a record deal and released Christine Jorgensen Reveals, a spoken-word album where she was interviewed by comedian Nipsey Russell. She even cut a few singles. Jorgensen made $12,000 a week performing her stage act in Hollywood. Other people who were considered “cross-gender” always existed, but no one had the guts to go public, become famous and make money until Jorgensen.

“I decided if they wanted to see me, they would have to pay for it.”

Just like in our own 21st century, the US government didn’t know how to handle a change in gender. She sought a marriage license in 1959 but it was denied because her birth certificate classified her as male. She had worked as a chauffeur, but her permit was revoked. She had difficulty finding a place to pee.

Jorgensen claimed that public reaction to her surgery was one of the first steps in the new sexual revolution of the 1960s. She said that she never regretted her decision. The public acceptance of Jorgensen as a woman showed that gender and the body were not always connected, and that gender was something that a person could create. This changed the world in no small way.

Jorgensen lived a quiet private life after her celebrity had run its course. She resided at the famed The Chateau Marmont in Hollywood, occasionally taking speaking gigs. Lovely to look at, smartly dressed, with a smoky, sexy speaking voice, she would have been perfect for today’s television reality programming. I am sure that World Of Wonder Productions would have had a place for her in their smart line-up. In fact, at the end of her life she said that her only real regret was not having appeared on Murder, She Wrote (an achievement that I did manage).

She never married and lived alone. Jorgensen took her final curtain call in 1989, gone from that damn cancer. She was just 62 years old. I like to imagine her still alive, living as the queen of the movement that she gave voice to.

“Does it take bravery and courage for a person with polio to want to walk? It’s very hard to speculate on, but if I hadn’t done what I did, I may not have survived. I may not have wanted to live. Life simply wasn’t worth much. Some people may find it easy to live a lie, I can’t. And that’s what it would have been… telling the world I’m something I’m not.”

The post #BornThisDay: Transgender Pioneer, Christine Jorgensen appeared first on The WOW Report.

#DirtyGirls: The Porn World Has a Nasty Response to Susan Sarandon: “F*ck Off!”

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Yes, the porn world has a dirty response to Susan Sarandon: F— off!

The 69-year-old Oscar-winner made headlines at the Cannes Film Festival when she said she wants to direct female-friendly pornography after she retires from acting. Sarandon said she was motivated because,

most pornography doesn’t look pleasurable from a female point of view.

But, its female makers say, there is plenty of the “female friendly” erotic moments in today’s pornography.

The Daily News Gersh Kuntzman (Yes, Kuntz-man!) reports on some prominent women in front of the camera in more “female friendly porn. Joanna Angel makes hardcore porn,

When I heard what she said, my entire body did an eye-roll. I mean, if you want to make a porn, great, Susan, make a porn But why did she have to come from the

‘Everything is awful and I’m going to make it cool’

position. It’s arrogant and uneducated. It’s like me going to a doctor’s office and saying,

‘I could run this better.’”

Even in the female porn world, there are differences of opinion to the age old question, “What does a woman want?” Joanna Angel said,

I make a lot of different porn: some with plots and set ups, but many women tell me they want ones with no plot. They want it dirty. Men don’t even say that to me as much as women do.

Porn director Bree Mills with actress Jessa Rhodes

Porn director Bree Mills with actress Jessa Rhodes

Bree Mills, whose all-female studio Girlsway turns out mini-series like The Turning, which winkingly hints at a coming lesbian apocalypse, Mills said,

The arc of our episode does lead to a sexual encounter, but the amount of time on the build-up and the women reacting to each other is the majority of what we do. If Susan Sarandon wants to educate herself, I’d give her lifetime membership to Girlsway.

Director Maria Beatty said of Sarandon’s comments,

When she talks about porn, it sounds like she was talking about some of the industry, which churns out fast food sex, the clips you can watch for two or three minutes. That’s the attention span of a lot of men. But women love the whole idea of foreplay and contemplation the intensity of touch. And arousal and stimulation. That’s the key for a lot of women. That’s what brings them to orgasm.

So, even if female porn directors might disagree some about their art, theses three all agree on one thing: Susan Sarandon can kiss their ass.

Director Joanna Angel

Director Joanna Angel

HOW TO DIRECT A PORN FILM

By Joanna Angel

Porn star and director Joanna Angel heard that Susan Sarandon wanted to direct pornography and she just laughed. But if Sarandon really wants to direct erotica, here’s Angel’s advice.

First of all good luck. Directing porn is not easy. It’s hard work. The whole process is difficult. There are times when you have an idea, but you start filming and this idea isn’t working for the particular performers you have so we have to change it. This is an art where the variables are people. Maybe there’s a particular type of sex I want to see, but these particular actors don’t have that kind of sex. Maybe I wanted romance, but the chemistry between these people is rough and dirty.

In Hollywood, people are handed a script and actors are trained to be that person. But porn is different. Every porn scene is going to be different. Yes, you can put them in outfits, but people are going to have sex the way they have sex. You can only direct them so much.

This is the kind of thing Susan Sarandon hasn’t thought about.”

Maria Beatty's "The Black Widow."

Maria Beatty’s “The Black Widow.”

(via The Daily News)

The post #DirtyGirls: The Porn World Has a Nasty Response to Susan Sarandon: “F*ck Off!” appeared first on The WOW Report.

#LGBTQ: Nick Jonas Admits He Can’t Say He’s NEVER Had Sex with a Man, “That Would Be Lying”

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Why does he keep talking about this? Because people asking…

Nick Jonas says he can’t “technically” say he has never had sex with a man. The Sun reports:

The star’s sexuality has been a hot topic after he revealed he had filmed a gay sex scene for his role in Kingdom, the martial arts drama series. He said,

On Kingdom I have a sex scene with a guy. It is always this thing have I, has Nick? No. But it’s my lips, it’s my hands, it’s my body, even if I’m playing a character. So technically I have done that, so I wouldn’t say I haven’t, because that would be lying. But as me, Nick, I am very open about who I am and that I have nothing to prove. I know what I am, I’ve been honest about that.

Sex on camera counts? Guess so, if you’re being totally honest. (via The Sun)

The post #LGBTQ: Nick Jonas Admits He Can’t Say He’s NEVER Had Sex with a Man, “That Would Be Lying” appeared first on The WOW Report.

#TransformationTuesday: QWERRRKOUT feat. Jade Embers

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Transformation Tuesday just got a whole lot QTer…New queers featured every week! Tag us, take a pic of us and follow us on Instagram at QWERRRKOUT, and you too could be the next QT! YOU BETTA QWERRRK!

Jade Embers

Age: 24

Location: Tampa, Florida

About:

Drag started out for me as a joke…and just wanting to say I did drag once. After I competed in my first talent contest, I was completely hooked. I didn’t think it took as much work as it did and I wanted to be the best I could possibly be at it (especially the makeup part). Little did I know, it would end up being my career a few years later. I have many people I look up to, but if I just named a couple, I’d have to say Roxxxy Andrews, and Desiree DeMornay. They just really embody “DRAG” to me. In terms of projects, I’m really just working on extending my wardrobe. Opening my mind to more avant-garde looks and such. Making sure I stay current is a giant project in itself!

Instagram: thenonamekid

 

 

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Watch Now: “Cult! A Hollywood Story” Episodes 8 & 9 – Series Finale!

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The big finale to Damiana’s thriller web series “Cult! A Hollywood Story” has arrived in Episodes 8 and 9! The final face-off between Steph and The Shelby Roberts Acting Studio reaches its bloody conclusion. Will Steph survive? And will Shelby still be able to offer her affordable acting program that includes blood sacrifices? Find out below, and be sure to subscribe to the Pretty Things channel for more videos coming soon!

The post Watch Now: “Cult! A Hollywood Story” Episodes 8 & 9 – Series Finale! appeared first on The WOW Report.


Must-Watch Video OTD: Dianne Brill Interviews Amanda Lepore Part II

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Two of New York’s most impossibly fabulous glamour gals meet to discuss beauty and diet tips, upcoming projects, and personal guide-to-life philosophies in the exciting part two of Dianne‘s “Brill of it All Interview” with trans goddess Amanda Lepore. Other topics include: Amanda’s upcoming memoirs, her favorite songs, and how to achieve such perfect, glowing skin. It’s your “must-watch” viral video of the day!

And if you haven’t already watched it, be sure to catch part 1 below, where Amanda talks about her early years and the art of BECOMING AN ICON.

The post Must-Watch Video OTD: Dianne Brill Interviews Amanda Lepore Part II appeared first on The WOW Report.

Save the Date: Eric Politzer’s “La Transformistas” Show at the Art Angels Gallery, Los Angeles, June 4

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Photographer Eric Politzer has a marvelous new gallery show this weekend at the Art Angels Gallery celebrating the performers at queer cabarets throughout Cuba, featuring both female trans artists and gay female impersonators. The collection offers a rare glimpse into the underground world as well as the lives of its extraordinarily courageous inhabitants.

Gay cabarets have fulfilled the role of community centers in Cuba in the absence of any other gay-owned or gay-friendly establishments, such as bars, clubs, bathhouses, restaurants, etc. These cabarets have offered safe and welcoming places for LGBT people to gather and develop a sense of community.

The cabarets and the performances that take place there have played a fundamental role in pushing for gay civil rights and promoting AIDS awareness. And since the cabarets are popular with mainstream society, they have been the one place where LGBT and straight people have come together in mutual acceptance and respect. ¡OUT! explores a unique and compelling juncture where gender identity, politics, community mobilization, and artistic expression intersect in Cuban culture.

From a HuffingtonPost interview with Eric:

The Huffington Post: Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
Eric Politzer: During the nearly 20 years that I had worked in the LGBTQ community as a grassroots activist and social service provider, I regularly witnessed the critical contributions that traditionally marginalized groups were making in the fight for civil rights and the response to the AIDS crisis. I was fascinated to explore what roles some of these groups played in a socialist country that supposedly held negative social, cultural, religious and political attitudes toward LGBTQ folk.

What was the most surprising thing you learned while making the book? Did any of your assumptions get proven wrong?
I saw a short video that touched on the role that the gay cabarets in Cuba have served as the only places for gays and straights to congregate together openly in safety, comfort and mutual respect. This certainly proved to be true; however, I was surprised to see how strong the intergenerational bonds were at the cabarets. This included very nurturing mentoring between older and younger Transformistas, as well as large numbers of young gay men who adoringly attended the performances and showered tips and affection on the Transformistas.

I had assumed that the make-up, attire and production value at the cabarets would be very modest due to the country’s economic conditions. I was amazed at how resourceful the Transformistas were in being able to create often-extravagant fashion statements and dynamic stage performances.

Do you have a particularly favorite image or story from the book?
My favorite shoot for the book was a trip to a popular beach we took with two of the transgender Transformistas. We did car-to-car photos of them in a stunning lemon yellow Pontiac Bonneville as we drove through the streets of Havana and out onto the highway. At the beach they improvised and gave fierce modeling poses along side the Pontiac. Then they stripped down to minimal beach attire, and proceeded to frolic and play with joyful abandon. They wrestled, had water fights, raced each other along the beach, and waded into the ocean holding hands. Even though they had never been photographed in public — let alone at the beach — they exuded such a sense of ebullience and freedom that it left me in awe.

How is this community different from other queer communities you’ve worked with/documented?
There are a few major differences I see between the Cuban queer community and others I have worked with. First, there really is no queer commercial culture in Cuba to speak of other than the cabarets and the state-run disco. Second, I have not seen a community whose progress and legitimacy seems -– rightly or not -– to be identified to such a great extent with a single government official, in this case Mariela Castro, who is the director of the National Center for Sexual Education and daughter of President Raul Castro. Most impressively, though, is the fact that the Cuban government covers all the expenses involved with gender reassignment: this is clearly very empowering to the transgender community.

For more information check out www.artangels.net

Las Transformistas at Art Angels

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Grab Your Handkerchiefs: JSJ Interviews the Gay Iraqi Soldiers from the Upcoming Documentary “Out of Iraq”

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How far would YOU go for the love of your life? Out of Iraq tells the story of two enlisted men in war-torn Iraq – one an Iraqi solider, the other a U.S. translator – who fall in love before being forced to flee when the families become targets of anti-LGBT violence. With thousands of miles between them, they fight to be reunited. I sit down with the completely adorable star-crossed lovers – Nayyef and Btoo – and hear their incredible story. Grab your handkerchiefs, lakes and gentlemen… This is a love story for the AGES.

Out of Iraq premieres June 13 on LOGO.

Out of Iraq will be screening at the LA Film Festival on June 2nd. Get your tickets here.

It will also be screening at Annerberg on June 2rd. Get your tickets here.

Out of Iraq is a World of Wonder film produced by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato; produced and co-directed by Academy Award-winner Eva Orner (Taxi to the Dark Side) and Chris McKim; and co-produced by Aaron Butler.

 

The post Grab Your Handkerchiefs: JSJ Interviews the Gay Iraqi Soldiers from the Upcoming Documentary “Out of Iraq” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Lick Your Kitty with the Licki!

This Cigarette Commercial Proves How CRAZY STUPID We Were in the 50s. Watch.

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We all know what a powerful tool the media is for businesses. And we also know smoking is bad for your health and can kill you. But that wasn’t always so. It’s never a bad idea today to question what that the media offers you. (Even The Wow Report?) These ads and the commercial below show just how gullible and ignorant society was about the dangers of smoking. Watch.

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The post This Cigarette Commercial Proves How CRAZY STUPID We Were in the 50s. Watch. appeared first on The WOW Report.

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