Tag Archives: Dustin Lance Black

Uptown Players announces lineup for second Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival

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Last year, Uptown Players launched its first-ever Pride Performing Arts Festival to coincide with the Dallas Pride celebration. It was a hit, and the festival is coming back for a 10-day series of gay plays and performances.

Already announced will be the regional premiere of 8, the play by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black based on the actual transcript of the challenge to California’s Proposition 8 law, banning same-sex marriage. Rene Moreno will direct the staged reading in the Kalita Humphreys main stage. (Sept. 6.)

Also on the main stage will be Songs for a New World, a song cycle by composer Jason Robert Brown, directed by Bruce Coleman and music directed by Kevin Gunther. (Sept. 9, 11 and 15.) [EDITOR'S NOTE: Uptown Players has announced that Songs for a New World has been removed from the schedule.]

The remaining shows will all be performed in Frank’s Place, the upstairs venue at the Kalita. Among the lineup:

• Speech & Debate, about three teenaged misfits united by a town sex scandal. (Sept. 7, 8 and 10.)

• The Madness of Lady Bright, starring Larry Randolph as a drag queen slowly going insane; it played last year at the Festival of Independent Theatres, winning Randolph awards for his performance. (Sept. 8, 9 and 15.)

• Still Consummate, in which master comedienne Marisa Diotalevi, pictured, revisits her award-winning one-person show The Consummate Woman. It will be on a double bill with Paul J. Williams’ standup act Triple Crown Queen, about growing up gay. (Sept. 8, 11 and 14.)

• A-GAYS, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Young performance artist John Michael Colgin reprises his one-man show about being gay at OSU, and the ptifalls of finding a boyfriend. (Sept. 8, 9 and 15.)

• Why Am I Not Gay. Straight guy Jason Kane loves musical theater and looks like a bear on the prowl at a Hidden Door beer bush, but — gasp! — prefers girls. He pokes fun at the stereotypes of gay folks, and being on the other side of them. (Sept. 9, 12 and 15.)

• I Google Myself, which played a few years back at WaterTower’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival, will return. This comedy is about a man who finds he shares the same name with a porn star. Kookiness ensures. (Sept. 9, 13 and 15.)

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Uptown Players among groups bringing “8″ to a theater near you

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Last fall, we reported on the star-studded reading of Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black’s new play 8, which features readings from the transcripts of the Prop 8 trial in California, the Mormon-backed initiative that sought to ban gay marriage in that state. It was a one-night-only event full of celebs; George Clooney announced he’d do a West Coast version. But other than that, it seemed like something most of America would have to wait for.

Well maybe most, but not Dallas. Sure, we don’t have Clooney or Morgan Freeman, but we will have Uptown Players doing a reading of it, as part of a nationwide program. So far, 17 states have signed on for about 40 readings, include Dallas’ gaycentric theater company.

The play concentrates on the actual oral arguments made by lawyers and unlikely allies David Boies and Ted Olsen in opposing implementation of the proposition.

Uptown has yet released any details — the date, the cast, etc. — but we will post report new information on the project as it is announced.

Black, pictured above, won an Oscar for his screenplay to Milk and has J. Edgar in theaters now.

UPDATE: According to Uptown Players cofounder Craig Lynch, the company will stage 8 in September, to coincide with Dallas Pride. “We are proud to be selected by Broadway Impact as the North Texas theatre company to present a staged reading” he said.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Movie Monday: ‘J. Edgar’ in limited release

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Secret agent man

J. Edgar gets off to a shaky start, but it grows on you. Our first sight of Hoover is of DiCaprio pinched into an overdone old-man latex mask that looks comical, like Lord Voldemort in a Brooks Bros. suit. The film is bookended by the sunset of Hoover’s life while recording his memoirs, and the start of his career, only until about 1935; that leaves a generation of villainy during the Cold War and Civil Rights Movement almost untouched by Black and director Clint Eastwood. Some things had to come out, of course; but the gap feels gaping.

None of this is to say Dustin Lance Black’s (Milk) screenplay doesn’t succeed on several levels. He portrays Hoover as a spiritual brother of Norman Bates: Emotionally arrested, mother-obsessed (a scene where he dressed in his dead mom’s clothes is singularly creepy) and expressing his frustrations in inappropriate ways.

3 out of 5 stars. Read the entire review here.

DEETS: Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Judi Dench. Rated R. 145 mins.  Now playing in limited release.

—  Rich Lopez

Dustin Lance Black, Leo, weigh in on ‘J. Edgar’

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You can read my review of J. Edgar here, but check out this interview by Chris Azzopardi with J. Edgar screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and actor Leonardo DiCaprio:

No milk for Dustin Lance Black — the 37-year-old filmmaker who says he feels 10 years older today — on this recent morning in a suite at a Beverly Hills hotel. Instead, the screenwriter is nursing a hangover after the premiere J. Edgar, with a bottle of water, joking that “it just means more honest answers; the filter’s down.”

Even without the last drops of Jack and Cokes flushing from his system (proof: lots of bathroom breaks), Black’s always spoke his mind. It’s how the writer has become one of the most admired LGBT activists of our generation, passionately speaking out on hot topics like Prop 8, being a lapsed Mormon and curious dinners with Taylor Lautner (more on that later).

Continue reading “Dustin Lance Black, Leo, weigh in on ‘J. Edgar’” »

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Black defends ‘J. Edgar’s’ gay content

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Last week, I wrote about a report that Clint Eastwood was getting snippy at questions about the “gay side” of his biopic J. Edgar, about the closeted FBI director. The script was written by Oscar winning writer Dustin Lance Black (right), who has had some success with gay profiles (Milk). Well, now Black goes on the record to the film’s defense. In Next magazine, he says this:

“I wrote this with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine company, and there was never any limitation in terms of where I could or should go except they were very interested in finally figuring out the truth about Hoover. We all wanted to find out what really happened. What was his sexuality. What did it look like. I wanted to get to the truth of his political work and the things that deserve applause and things that were heinous. The gay stuff was only ever going to be a third of it. It’s not Milk, but it’s there. When I finished a draft I liked, and think I got to what the truth is, it’s a story that reflects what gay life was like pre-Stonewall, which was very different from what it looked like for Harvey Milk. That’s the script Clint and the studio read and I’ll tell you what — not only did Clint and the studio never cut or change a word, they never had a note about it. Clint said some things that were so incredibly moving that he understood the struggle young gays go through today. If anything, Clint made it even more human and universal.”

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Cast set for Dustin Lance Black’s ’8′

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Dustin Lance Black

The American Foundation for Equal Rights & Broadway Impact have added actors to the lineup of Dustin Lance Black’s world premiere play 8. Bob Balaban, Larry Kramer, John Lithgow and Bradley Whitford are among the celebrities joining the staged reading, which takes place at a one-night-only event on Sept. 19. They join the previously announced cast that includes Anthony Edwards, Morgan Freeman, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Lahti, Rob Reiner, Yeardley Smith and Marisa Tomei. They will play historical figures, including Judge Vaughn Walker, attorneys David Boies and Theodore Olson, and Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry.

The  play chronicles the historic trial in the federal legal challenge to Prop 8, California’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It is based on the actual transcripts of the lawsuit. Black, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for Milk, has been widely active in gay rights causes.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Courage Campaign video deadline Wednesday

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Just a reminder about last week’s post regarding Dustin Lance Black’s video challenge for the Courage Campaign. The deadline is Wednesday, although they did mention the possibility of extending. But why take that chance? Joshua Loker didn’t.

Loker, from Austin but with Dallas ties, has submitted his testimony. He talks about going from a cushy office job to the streets in his edited down version, but you can see the longer video here.

—  Rich Lopez

‘Milk’ screenwriter Dustin Lance Black hopes LGBT Texans respond to video challenge

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Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black is trying to get the word out all over about his latest endeavor — especially to his one-time home state of Texas.

“I think this project is so important,” the Milk screenwriter told Dallas Voice this week. “People need to hear the stories of our LGBT brethren and straight allies from all areas. If you wanna change minds, you have to intro yourself and tell your story.”

Which is what he’s calling for people across America to do for the Courage Campaign’s Testimony initiative. And the former San Antonian hopes some Lone Star State peeps will get on board.

Continue reading “‘Milk’ screenwriter Dustin Lance Black hopes LGBT Texans respond to video challenge” »

—  Rich Lopez

Trevor Project honors Radcliffe

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Daniel Radcliffe, left, with costars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in a scene from ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1′

I readily admit that I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I love the books. I love the movies. And I love the young actors that portray the characters in the movies — especially Daniel Radcliffe.

Radcliffe makes my list of favorites not just because he plays the heroic Harry Potter, but also because of his dedication, as a straight ally, to making life better for LGBT teens.

Obviously, I am not Radcliffe’s only fan. The Associated Press reports today that Radcliffe has been honored by The Trevor Project with the Hero Award for his work with the organization. Since first learning about the Trevor Project in 2008, he has worked to support the organization through public service announcements and other public statements. Radcliffe has also been very vocal and public in his support for LGBT equality.

Radcliffe told AP  he considers it “an honor” to have the chance to support the Trevor Project, and that he believes, “The people that are doing the heroic things are the people answering phones 24 hours a day in the Trevor call centers.” He said that supporting the Trevor Project is “absolutely one of the most important, if not the most important, thing that I’m associated with.”

Previous winners of the Trevor Project Hero Award are Nathan Lane, Dustin Lance Black and Vanessa Williams.

The final installment of the “Harry Potter” movie series — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 — will be released in July, and Radcliffe is now starring in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

—  admin

LGBT screenplay contest deadline is around the corner – as in Tuesday

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From stripper to Oscar-winning screenwriter. This could be you!
From stripper to Oscar-winning screenwriter. This could be you!

For all you Dustin Lance Black and Diablo Cody hopefuls, you just might have your chance. The One in Ten Screenplay contest is underway and open to all screenplay and teleplay writers with one requirement: “At least one of the primary characters in the screenplay is gay or lesbian (bisexual, transgender, questioning, and the like) and that gay and lesbian characters must be portrayed positively.”

Hey, we like that. But you gotta act fast because they are closing in on their submissions deadline. Tuesday, Sept. 1 is the last day to submit your work and they are maxing out at 600 submissions. Last we heard, they were hovering in the early 500 range so you still may have a shot.

Personally, I’m opting for their Movie Title contest. I’m ambitious that way.

—  Rich Lopez