As the clock struck noon on Saturday, October 8th, 2016, Taylor Mac walked on to the stage of St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. The band of almost two-dozen musicians and backup singers led by musical director Matt Ray were already there, waiting for him. His outfit consisted of a tower of colorful ribbons cascading down his head, a petticoat with a peacock-like tail resembling a fireworks display, and a glittery jersey with a 13 — the number of American colonies in 1776 — on the front. He looked fabulous.
And other than the occasional bathroom break,...
And other than the occasional bathroom break,...
- 6/30/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Longtime filmmaker pairing of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have had their share of premieres at the fest all the way back to Where Are We? (Sundance ’91), The Celluloid Closet (Sundance ’95), award-winning Paragraph 175 (Sundance ’00) and more recently, broke from docs with Howl (Sundance ’10). They would naturally be on pace to deliver their second fictional, fact-based biopic starring Amanda Seyfried in the skin of Linda Lovelace. All-star cast for Lovelace includes: Peter Sarsgaard, Juno Temple, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Chris Noth, Adam Brody, Hank Azaria, Wes Bentley, James Franco, Eric Roberts, Chloë Sevigny and Bobby Cannavale.
Gist: Written by Andy Bellin, this centers around Lovelace’s life as the star of the first porn movie with a plot, 1972′s “Deep Throat,” and pornographer husband, Chuck Traynor, played by Peter Sarsgaard. James Franco plays a young Hugh Hefner.
Production Co./Producers: Eclectic Pictures’ Heidi Jo Markel, Untitled Entertainment’s Laura Rister and Jason Weinberg,...
Gist: Written by Andy Bellin, this centers around Lovelace’s life as the star of the first porn movie with a plot, 1972′s “Deep Throat,” and pornographer husband, Chuck Traynor, played by Peter Sarsgaard. James Franco plays a young Hugh Hefner.
Production Co./Producers: Eclectic Pictures’ Heidi Jo Markel, Untitled Entertainment’s Laura Rister and Jason Weinberg,...
- 11/20/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Looking for a must-see list of great gay documentaries? We've got you covered. We recently asked our readers to nominate up to five of their favorite documentary films via write-in vote. Thousands responded and we tabulated the results to bring you the top 25 here. All of these films are definitely worth a look and to help you learn more about titles you might not be familiar with, we've included trailers, links to reviews, official film websites and more. Plus, for three of the titles we've even embedded the full movie thanks to the Logo Docs library.
So here they are, the 25 Greatest Gay Documentaries. Which ones have you already seen? Which ones do you need to see?
25. Saint of 9/11
Summary: Sir Ian McKellen narrates this inspiring portrait of Father Mychal Judge, a New York City Fire Department Chaplain who wrestled with his sexuality, his genuine dedication to life as a priest,...
So here they are, the 25 Greatest Gay Documentaries. Which ones have you already seen? Which ones do you need to see?
25. Saint of 9/11
Summary: Sir Ian McKellen narrates this inspiring portrait of Father Mychal Judge, a New York City Fire Department Chaplain who wrestled with his sexuality, his genuine dedication to life as a priest,...
- 9/10/2012
- by AfterElton.com Staff
- The Backlot
Co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are well known for their documentaries addressing Lgbt issues, like their Emmy-winning 1995 doc about portrayals of gays in TV and film the Celluloid Closet, their Oscar-winning 1998 doc about the AIDS Memorial Quilt Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, and their multi-award-winning 2000 doc Paragraph 175 about the Nazi's persecution of gays from 1933-1945. In Epstein and Friedman's latest film, Howl, the duo examine Allen Ginsberg's groundbreaking poem 'Howl' and the landmark censorship trial that surrounded its publication (see my ReThink Review of Howl and discussion about it on the Young Turks here). While Howl is a departure for them as their first scripted feature -- alternating between a re-enactment of Ginsberg's first reading of 'Howl' to an audience, an interview with Ginsberg about his background and the writing of 'Howl', and the...
- 10/12/2010
- by Jonathan Kim
- Huffington Post
Chicago – The seismic shift that took place with the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem, “Howl” – which is also the title of the new movie about the verse – reverberates and inspires to this very day. The brilliantly rendered film, starring James Franco as Ginsberg, is written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.
Ginsberg’s journey through the landscape that the film covers is near and dear to the hearts of these creators. The themes of alienation, industrialization and moral isolation in the poem Howl told a truth about America that no history book can convey. Epstein and Friedman use animation, true-life recreation and a landmark obscenity trial to tell the story of Howl, and the all-star cast of Franco, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels, Treat Williams, David Strathaim and Bob Balaban move the narrative.
Epstein and Friedman are no strangers to shining a light in the controversial corners of our society.
Ginsberg’s journey through the landscape that the film covers is near and dear to the hearts of these creators. The themes of alienation, industrialization and moral isolation in the poem Howl told a truth about America that no history book can convey. Epstein and Friedman use animation, true-life recreation and a landmark obscenity trial to tell the story of Howl, and the all-star cast of Franco, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels, Treat Williams, David Strathaim and Bob Balaban move the narrative.
Epstein and Friedman are no strangers to shining a light in the controversial corners of our society.
- 9/29/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Here is Meredith Brody's Berlin Diary, Day Two: Every year film festivals run a little differently, a fact I was reminded of as hundreds of people were turned away from the early-morning press screenings at the Berlinale Palast, heretofore open to those with non-press-passes (such as myself) after the press has been admitted. The hordes were incredulous and angry, knowing the Berlinale Palast would be half-empty. Wondering why I had gotten up for the 8:30 a.m. screening of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s (The Celluloid Closet, Paragraph 175) first fiction film, Howl, my question was quickly answered when I realized I would at least be early in line at the nearby ticket office where passholders have to queue up daily to get their tickets for the ...
- 2/14/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
The opening night feature film of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival was Howl, a nonfiction drama described as a "movie about a poem." You might recall that we woke up at 6:30am and trenched in four feet of snow to try to score tickets to the premiere, and failed. We somehow got in... and in case you're wondering, we've included audio of David Chen's dramatic story of how he scored not one, but two tickets to the highly sought after film. James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg, who is still trying to find his voice. The story follows the creation of his groundbreaking poem Howl, and the landmark obscenity trial that followed. The film also stars David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, two filmmakers best known for their documentary features The Times of Harvey Milk and Paragraph 175, make their...
- 1/22/2010
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
MattCanada here with a bit of an overview and Best-Of Gay films for the last decade.
Gay cinema over the last ten years has been intrinsically tied to both the political gains made by gay activists and the intense battles surrounding everything from the worldwide fight for gay marriage to nationally specific issues like America's Dadt and Doma, and Britain's repeal of Section 28. The relationship between the political and the cinematic is always most pronounced in the medium's relationship to minority groups and their texts.
The Aughts have seen gay-rights become the most visible"social values" issue in America, and this has been reflected in a number of high profile American films dealing frankly, sexually, and politically with what it means to be gay in America. Milk, Far From Heaven, and Mysterious Skin employ gay filmmaking traditions, like those of Affirmation Documentaries (Richard Dyer's term), Sirkian melodrama, and New Queer Cinema,...
Gay cinema over the last ten years has been intrinsically tied to both the political gains made by gay activists and the intense battles surrounding everything from the worldwide fight for gay marriage to nationally specific issues like America's Dadt and Doma, and Britain's repeal of Section 28. The relationship between the political and the cinematic is always most pronounced in the medium's relationship to minority groups and their texts.
The Aughts have seen gay-rights become the most visible"social values" issue in America, and this has been reflected in a number of high profile American films dealing frankly, sexually, and politically with what it means to be gay in America. Milk, Far From Heaven, and Mysterious Skin employ gay filmmaking traditions, like those of Affirmation Documentaries (Richard Dyer's term), Sirkian melodrama, and New Queer Cinema,...
- 12/22/2009
- by CanadaMatt
- FilmExperience
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, two filmmakers best known for their documentary features The Times of Harvey Milk and Paragraph 175, make their narrative feature film debut with Howl, a nonfiction drama which premieres at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as one of the 16 films which were selected from 1,058 submissions for the U.S. Dramatic competition. James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg, who is still trying to find his voice. The story follows the creation of his groundbreaking poem Howl, and the landmark obscenity trial that followed. Also starring David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels. Seven more photos after the jump. Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman:...
- 12/17/2009
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Whatever you think of Milk, there’s no denying that the Oscar-nominated biopic is putting a long-overdue spotlight on the life of Harvey Milk, allowing much of the mainstream audience to learn about his singular achievements for the very first time.
But why stop there? Now that Milk has proven that stirring gay life stories can appeal to more than just a gay audience, Hollywood should think about making movies about the following legends. We’ll even help them decide which to make first by throwing in a rating of 1-5 Harveys for each story’s eventual Oscar bait-ability. That should help land some big name stars.
Montgomery Clift
Who he was: Gorgeous leading man of the 1950s (From Here to Eternity [1953], A Place in the Sun [1951]) who led a torturously closeted existence in Hollywood. Survived a somewhat disfiguring car accident during the filming of Raintree County (1957) opposite Elizabeth Taylor,...
But why stop there? Now that Milk has proven that stirring gay life stories can appeal to more than just a gay audience, Hollywood should think about making movies about the following legends. We’ll even help them decide which to make first by throwing in a rating of 1-5 Harveys for each story’s eventual Oscar bait-ability. That should help land some big name stars.
Montgomery Clift
Who he was: Gorgeous leading man of the 1950s (From Here to Eternity [1953], A Place in the Sun [1951]) who led a torturously closeted existence in Hollywood. Survived a somewhat disfiguring car accident during the filming of Raintree County (1957) opposite Elizabeth Taylor,...
- 2/5/2009
- by dennis
- The Backlot
- Discovering and developing talent is what they do, and judging by the high quality level of docs they are able to support and then showcase at the snowy Park City fest it makes all the sense in the world that the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program would find it advantageous to want split the atom as many times possible and fork over what I imagine is some Ben Franklins that will be well spent. Its folks like me who get to sink their teeth into these films every trip back to Sundance.This year, 25 feature-length docs and their filmmakers will receive financial grants from the fund – many of these filmmakers are familiar names to those who know more than a thing or two about contemporary doc films. Here is the list of recipients provided below. Development GRANTSRob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, $10,000Howl (Us)Using animation to explore Howl , the poetic masterpiece by Allen Ginsberg,
- 6/8/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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