Fortunately or unfortunately, most of us have fallen hard for a friend. Sometimes it works out but many times it fails to spark because the other party was oblivious to your attraction, the timing was off or they just weren’t that into you. Suffice it to say, when writer/director Wendy Jo Carlton set out to make a new movie, she found her inspiration at (where else?) a Chicago Dyke March when she noticed the extreme closeness of friends Jacqui Jackson and Jessica London-Shields. The two actresses were closer than close and were often assumed to be romantically coupled but, in reality, they were nothing more than good friends. Take that story, cast your inspirations as the title characters, put a musical spin on it and you have the indie film Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together.
While traveling around the country to the various Lgbt film festivals – most...
While traveling around the country to the various Lgbt film festivals – most...
- 7/21/2011
- by J. Halterman
- AfterEllen.com
A musical romantic comedy that defies genre conventions and expectations left and right, Jamie and Jessie are Not Together is one of the funniest, most original lesbian films of the year. With an attractive, likeable cast of characters, snappy, believable dialogue and two phenomenal leads, it’s a summery blast of fresh air.
Jessie (Jessica London-Shields) and Jamie (Jacqui Jackson), both queer, are roommates and best friends. We first meet them biking along the road to their Chicago apartment, and then witness an awkward conversation – Jamie is moving to New York for an acting gig (on Broadway, mind you) in two weeks.
At first, it seems like our carefree leads are in a relationship, as they spend plenty of time together skinny dipping on the beach and snuggling on their couch, the picture of domestic bliss. However, it quickly becomes apparent that they are not actually together – Jamie is dating...
Jessie (Jessica London-Shields) and Jamie (Jacqui Jackson), both queer, are roommates and best friends. We first meet them biking along the road to their Chicago apartment, and then witness an awkward conversation – Jamie is moving to New York for an acting gig (on Broadway, mind you) in two weeks.
At first, it seems like our carefree leads are in a relationship, as they spend plenty of time together skinny dipping on the beach and snuggling on their couch, the picture of domestic bliss. However, it quickly becomes apparent that they are not actually together – Jamie is dating...
- 7/4/2011
- by Danielle Riendeau
- AfterEllen.com
Everyone's been talking about Fantastic Fest, but the first film festival of September is as dear to my heart as the one that ends the month. Last year was my first aGLIFF, and it will not be my last. The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) recently announced its opening-night, centerpiece and closing-night films, as well as the parties. The email announcement promised a wide range of films from "Ticked Off Trannies to The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister" and with that tease, here are details on the three films we know, and the parties associated with them: Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, BearCity and Howl.
Last year's fest was a lot of fun, with a great staff, fun films and wonderful guests. The program was full of interesting, provocative, and enjoyable movies that had a much broader scope than I'd expected in a niche festival. Even with...
Last year's fest was a lot of fun, with a great staff, fun films and wonderful guests. The program was full of interesting, provocative, and enjoyable movies that had a much broader scope than I'd expected in a niche festival. Even with...
- 8/11/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
"I have to orgasm onstage, and it's the bravest thing I've ever done in my life." So asserts Sharon Gless, who is talking about her role in "A Round-Heeled Woman," a true story that she optioned nine years ago. Slated to run through Feb. 7 at San Francisco's Theater Artaud, the play by Jane Prowse is based on the best-selling memoir by Jane Juska, a former teacher who put a personal ad in The New York Review of Books saying that before she turned 67, she wanted to have a lot of sex with a man she actually liked. "This is a woman who had not been touched in 30 years," says Gless, who has never shied away from risky roles, if she felt they were worthwhile. American producers wouldn't come near it, she says, but Gless persisted, undaunted, until she found British producers who wanted to underwrite the piece. "Britain seems to...
- 1/21/2010
- backstage.com
Happy Humpday!
Bitch has announced the release of her second solo LP, Blasted, which will come out on March 23. Perhaps the most interesting note in the press release is that the album was "fueled by a recent break-up." Yikes, so Daniela and Bitch are no more? Blasted is gonna be good.
True Blood has hired on Kristen Bauer as a series regular for season 3. She plays the lesbianish vamp Pam, so I'm looking forward to many Sapphic scenes from Eric's right-hand woman.
Jessica Capshaw told TVGuide.com that Greys fans have something fun to look forward to. "Callie and Arizona get a little sexy soon," she said. "We see a little girl-on-girl action. America was asking for it and America got it." I will not get excited, as to not become disappointed. Instead, I will pretend that she means a glance and a wink and a possible hand hold. Then...
Bitch has announced the release of her second solo LP, Blasted, which will come out on March 23. Perhaps the most interesting note in the press release is that the album was "fueled by a recent break-up." Yikes, so Daniela and Bitch are no more? Blasted is gonna be good.
True Blood has hired on Kristen Bauer as a series regular for season 3. She plays the lesbianish vamp Pam, so I'm looking forward to many Sapphic scenes from Eric's right-hand woman.
Jessica Capshaw told TVGuide.com that Greys fans have something fun to look forward to. "Callie and Arizona get a little sexy soon," she said. "We see a little girl-on-girl action. America was asking for it and America got it." I will not get excited, as to not become disappointed. Instead, I will pretend that she means a glance and a wink and a possible hand hold. Then...
- 12/9/2009
- by Trish Bendix
- AfterEllen.com
Chicago – The 2009 Best of the Midwest Awards were given out on Tuesday night, part of a huge celebratory event at the Rockit Bar and Grill in downtown Chicago, capping another successful year at the Midwest Independent Film Festival.
Festival Director Mike McNamara was the Master of Ceremonies, giving out nine awards for the best of the 2009 season. The Midwest Independent Film Festival convenes Every first Tuesday of the month throughout the year, and showcases films directly associated with the Midwest area.
Best Feature Winner ‘The Merry Gentleman.’ Left to Right – Producers Steven A. Jones and Paul Duggan, Exec Producer Tom Bastounes, Midwest Indie Festival Director Mike McNamara at the BMAs in Chicago, December 1st, 2009.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
Local Chicago legends Richard Roeper and Erich “Mancow” Muller hilariously roasted each other as part of the presentations, special guests included Armand Assante, John McNaughton (director of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer...
Festival Director Mike McNamara was the Master of Ceremonies, giving out nine awards for the best of the 2009 season. The Midwest Independent Film Festival convenes Every first Tuesday of the month throughout the year, and showcases films directly associated with the Midwest area.
Best Feature Winner ‘The Merry Gentleman.’ Left to Right – Producers Steven A. Jones and Paul Duggan, Exec Producer Tom Bastounes, Midwest Indie Festival Director Mike McNamara at the BMAs in Chicago, December 1st, 2009.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
Local Chicago legends Richard Roeper and Erich “Mancow” Muller hilariously roasted each other as part of the presentations, special guests included Armand Assante, John McNaughton (director of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer...
- 12/3/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
I love the tagline for Hannah Free: “A film about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home.”
How perfect is that? I don’t even have to see the movie to get teary-eyed.
In the film, Hannah (Sharon Gless) and Rachel (Maureen Gallagher) are two women who face the conflict between small-town values and their relationship.
According to the movie’s website:
Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another. Hannah becomes an adventurous, unapologetic lesbian and Rachel a strong but quiet homemaker. Weaving back and forth between past and present, the film reveals how the women maintained their love affair despite a marriage, a world war, infidelities, and family denial.
Here’s the trailer. (If you get a request for your age at...
How perfect is that? I don’t even have to see the movie to get teary-eyed.
In the film, Hannah (Sharon Gless) and Rachel (Maureen Gallagher) are two women who face the conflict between small-town values and their relationship.
According to the movie’s website:
Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another. Hannah becomes an adventurous, unapologetic lesbian and Rachel a strong but quiet homemaker. Weaving back and forth between past and present, the film reveals how the women maintained their love affair despite a marriage, a world war, infidelities, and family denial.
Here’s the trailer. (If you get a request for your age at...
- 10/28/2009
- by thelinster
- AfterEllen.com
This week finds early awards season contenders lining up alongside a queer cinema double bill, a troupe of unorthodox vampires and a horror movie franchise that's become torturous in more ways than one.
Download this in audio form (MP3: 14:15 minutes, 13.1 Mb)
Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Amelia"
Awards season takes flight with celebrated director Mira Nair's biopic charting the early life and rise to prominence of pioneering aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Hilary Swank produced and stars as the elusive Kansas-born pilot as she perilously navigates the skies, the trappings of fame and her romances with publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere) and Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). Christopher Eccleston, Cherry Jones and Mia Wasikowska join the heavyweight cast in this pic whose Oscar-friendly subject matter may allow it to fly under the Academy's expanded Best Picture tent.
Opens in limited release.
"Antichrist"
Controversial from the word go, Danish...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 14:15 minutes, 13.1 Mb)
Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Amelia"
Awards season takes flight with celebrated director Mira Nair's biopic charting the early life and rise to prominence of pioneering aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Hilary Swank produced and stars as the elusive Kansas-born pilot as she perilously navigates the skies, the trappings of fame and her romances with publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere) and Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). Christopher Eccleston, Cherry Jones and Mia Wasikowska join the heavyweight cast in this pic whose Oscar-friendly subject matter may allow it to fly under the Academy's expanded Best Picture tent.
Opens in limited release.
"Antichrist"
Controversial from the word go, Danish...
- 10/19/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
Here’s the complete news release giving you all you need to know about the Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival kicking off in October…
The 13th Annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (Plgff) takes place October 2 – 8, 2009 at Cinema 21, 616 Nw 21st Ave. Plgff is a non-profit arts groups that annually showcases queer feature, documentary and short films from all over the world.
This year’s festival begins with a special screening of the Swedish drama Patrik, Age 1.5 on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm at Cinema 21. Goran and Sven are the perfect gay couple; they have a beautiful house in the suburbs, a solid relationship, a home full of love and warmth. Newly approved for adoption, they believe that baby “Patrik, age 1.5,” is on his way. One tiny decimal mistake later, they find themselves saddled with a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent! Directed by Ella Lemhagen, Patrik has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The 13th Annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (Plgff) takes place October 2 – 8, 2009 at Cinema 21, 616 Nw 21st Ave. Plgff is a non-profit arts groups that annually showcases queer feature, documentary and short films from all over the world.
This year’s festival begins with a special screening of the Swedish drama Patrik, Age 1.5 on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm at Cinema 21. Goran and Sven are the perfect gay couple; they have a beautiful house in the suburbs, a solid relationship, a home full of love and warmth. Newly approved for adoption, they believe that baby “Patrik, age 1.5,” is on his way. One tiny decimal mistake later, they find themselves saddled with a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent! Directed by Ella Lemhagen, Patrik has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- 9/2/2009
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
Sharon Gless, (Queer as Folk, Burn Notice, Cagney & Lacey) stars in the passionate lesbian drama Hannah Free, a new film about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. The film will have a one-week limited engagement in Chicago Sept. 25-Oct. 1 at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 164 N. State.
- 8/24/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Sharon Gless, (Queer as Folk, Burn Notice, Cagney & Lacey) stars in the passionate lesbian drama Hannah Free, a new film about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. The film will have a one-week limited engagement in Chicago Sept. 25-Oct. 1 at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 164 N. State.
- 8/3/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Ella Lemhagen's "Patrik, Age 1.5" won the audience award for best feature and Dee Mosbacher and Fawn Yacker's "Training Rules" took the audience prize for best documentary at Frameline33, the San Francisco International Lgbt Film Festival, which concluded Sunday, with the world premiere of Wendy Jo Carlton's "Hannah Free."
Maria Breaux's "Lucha" won the best short film award.
The annual Frameline Award for excellence in Lgbt filmmaking went to experimental directors George and Mike Kuchar, whose careers and antics were documented in Jennifer Kroot's "It Came from Kuchar."
The Frameline Volunteer of the Year Award went to longtime volunteer captains Andy Friend and Edric Kwan, who had the honor of selecting Kimberly Reed's documentary "Prodigal Sons" to receive a $2,500 grant.
The fest screened 226 films in eleven days at the Castro Theatre, the Roxie Film Center, the Victoria Theatre, and the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley.
Maria Breaux's "Lucha" won the best short film award.
The annual Frameline Award for excellence in Lgbt filmmaking went to experimental directors George and Mike Kuchar, whose careers and antics were documented in Jennifer Kroot's "It Came from Kuchar."
The Frameline Volunteer of the Year Award went to longtime volunteer captains Andy Friend and Edric Kwan, who had the honor of selecting Kimberly Reed's documentary "Prodigal Sons" to receive a $2,500 grant.
The fest screened 226 films in eleven days at the Castro Theatre, the Roxie Film Center, the Victoria Theatre, and the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley.
One of my favorite sites, Melissa Silverstein's Women&Hollywood.com, recently published an interview with Wendy Jo Carlton, the director of the new lesbian film Hannah Free. The film made its world premiere last night in San Francisco at Frameline (the world's oldest Lgbt film festival).
In the interview, Carlton says that while working on the Chicago Gay History Project, she met playwright Claudia Allen, and along with executive producer Tracy Baim, the three women decided to adapt Allen's play, Hannah Free, for film.
Starring Sharon Gless (Queer as Folk) and Maureen Gallagher, the film follows two women throughout their lifelong love affair. Here's the synopsis from the official site:
Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another. Hannah becomes an adventurous, unapologetic lesbian and Rachel a strong but quiet homemaker. Weaving...
In the interview, Carlton says that while working on the Chicago Gay History Project, she met playwright Claudia Allen, and along with executive producer Tracy Baim, the three women decided to adapt Allen's play, Hannah Free, for film.
Starring Sharon Gless (Queer as Folk) and Maureen Gallagher, the film follows two women throughout their lifelong love affair. Here's the synopsis from the official site:
Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another. Hannah becomes an adventurous, unapologetic lesbian and Rachel a strong but quiet homemaker. Weaving...
- 6/29/2009
- by karman
- AfterEllen.com
Hannah Free, the new film starring Sharon Gless, written by Claudia Allen (adapted from her play) and directed by Wendy Jo Carlton will premiere on Sunday, June 28 as the closing night film for the Frameline Lgbt Film Festival in San Francisco. The film tells the story of a life-long love affair between two women, Hannah and Rachel. Hannah played by Gless is a free spirit who refuses to abide by the rules and has constant wanderlust even though she is incredibly in love with and happy with Rachel. It takes Rachel a lot longer to fully be with Hannah even though she does love her. Their struggle to love each other and be accepted is symbolic of the evolution of the struggle for gay civil rights. Sharon Gless is a forceful presence as Hannah. While the story...
- 6/27/2009
- by Melissa Silverstein
- Huffington Post
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.