Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Casting Directors - Principal Roles - New York

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Goin' 4 quick run & listening 2 LaDY GAgAs"BAD ROMANCE"which is stuck in my head since @michelletrachtenberg kept singing it on set saturday

Top 5 Drag Music Moments (Songs/Videos)

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Posted on January 15th, 2010 by John Polly in Music, National Drag History Month, Style
Drag History Month Continues! It’s the Top 5 Drag Moments in Music: Boy George, RuPaul, Hedwig & Beyond!

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Music and fierce queens (like RuPaul, Freddie, Boy George & Sylvester) make the people come together.

Hey chickens! Drag History Month is in full-swing! Last Friday we served up the Top 5 Drag Moments on Film, and today it’s all about the music. Yes, we’re talking Boy George, the men of Queen, Annie Lennox maybe… And big ups to Sylvester and RuPaul of course.

Want some recent drag music video hotness? Check out the playlist on LogoTV.com which features NYC’s own Pepper Mint, Bebe Zahara Benet, Kelly (and her “Shoes”) and yes some recent RuPaul!

Which were our faves? Read on!

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5. Hedwig “Wig in a Box”

John Cameron Mitchell’s wiggy Hedwig anthem is a classic about how the right wig and some blush can change your entire world view. Gorgeous!

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4. Queen “I Want to Break Free”

Big time rock icon and big time homo Freddie Mercury may be the gayest rock star most loved by beer-can crushing metalheads worldwide. And in the video for this tune, Mercury and his Queen cohorts held nothing back when they decided to drag it up as desperate housewives. Wisteria Lane has nothing on these beauties… And vacuuming in heels was never the same since.

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3. Culture Club “Karma Chameleon”

Even my conservative Republican dad was a fan of Boy George and “Karma Chameleon” back in the 80s. When Culture Club emerged, Boy was a beaming, charming icon of androgyny and gender-f*ckery, and the mass media didn’t know what to think… So they just sang along to the band’s irresistible pop, proving that music really does make the people come together!

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2. Sylvester “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”

Before RuPaul and before Boy George there was disco diva Sylvester. He was “out” before “out” was even an option. He was glam, and wore makeup and caftans and sequins and he was truly fierce. Basically he was fearless. He was disco!

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1. RuPaul “Supermodel”

And then came Ru. This 1992 hit catapulted drag out of the clubs into the homes and radios and TV screens of America. RuPaul, in one fell swoop – thanks to a brilliant song by DJ/producer maestro Larry Tee and a hilarious and glam video – seduced America and showed how gorgeous, classy, funny and fierce drag could be. She was seven feet (in heels!) of attitude and whimsy and she was irresistible. This led to Ru’s TV show, movie appearances, and crowned her as not just a gay icon, but a pop culture icon.

Suddenly, we could all dream of being supermodels. I mean, if it wasn’t for Ru, would we even have a Tyra? I don’t think so. All hail the queen!

And now… A few more great music moments either for, by or about queens…

Aerosmith “Dude Looks Like a Lady”

Steven Tyler and the boys rocked out with their celebration of men got up as girls… Somehow this tune made drag-love safe for frat boys everywhere…

Garbage – “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)”

Shirley Manson and the boys are all about a pretty boy glammed up. Hotness!

Lou Reed “Take a Walk on the Wild Side”

NYC rock legend Lou Reed gives props to Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, drag and trans icons for all time.

Gloria Gaynor “I Am What I Am”

Disco diva Gloria Gaynor served up the pop hit version of the classic “love yourself” anthem from Broadway’s La Cafe aux Folles.

And there are plenty more…

Jeffree Star. Gloria Estefan’s “Everlasting Love” video. Annie Lennox’s “Little Bird” video. And the Pointer Sisters dressed as men in their “Dare Me” video… Tell me your faves!!!! And classics like “Lola” by the Kinks and David Bowie’s homage to glam boys “Lady Stardust.”

Rock on, Queens!

Top 5 Drag Films

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Posted on January 8th, 2010 by John Polly in Movies, National Drag History Month, TV
Drag History Month Celebrates the Top 5 Drag Movie Moments Ever! Plus, RuPaul’s Picks!


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The one and only drag film legend, Divine. Heaven, indeed.

I hope you kids are living for Drag History Month. Did you catch Bebe Zahara Benet’s fierce (and globally aware) PSA? Was it better than Varla Jean Merman’s from last year?

All month long we’ll be counting off some of the biggest drag moments that pop culture has ever seen, and to get things started here’s a quick list of the Top 5 Drag Movie Moments Ever. And we also quizzed drag super-legend RuPaul to sound off on her faves, too; check those out at the end of the post.

And speaking of Ru, it goes without saying that Starrbooty (starring Ru and NYC drag legends such as Sweetie, Lahoma Van Zandt, Lady Bunny and an early Candis Cayne) transcends any and all drag top fives…

But anyway, here we go!

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5. Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

He’s just a sweet transvestite from transexual Transylvania. What more is there to say about Dr. Frank-n-Furter? Tim Curry revolutionized drag, glam rock, musicals, fishnet hose and horror movies all at once by stepping into those heels in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This ain’t pretty girl drag. It’s almost gender-f*ckery at its finest. And who would have ever believed it would end up playing midnight movie houses, spawning a later Broadway hit, and enticing all manner of Americans into exploring their blood-thirsty drag-tastic sides. All that… And a singing Susan Sarandon!

Watch "Sweet Transvestite!"


Up next…

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4. The Queen

This documentary from 1967 was revolutionary for its time, taking folks behind the scenes of a pre-Stonewall drag pageant in New York City. The synopsis for The Queen begins: “Jack is 24, sometimes he's a drag queen named Sabrina. In 1967, as Sabrina, he's the mistress of ceremonies at a national drag queen contest in New York City.” And if you’ve been out and about in the last decade or so in Manhattan, you’ve encountered the Mother Flawless Sabrina herself—and consider yourself blessed.

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Mother Flawless Sabrina today… Attagirl!

Anyway, The Queen is a great, gritty docu-look at old-school drag fabulousness, featuring drag legends of their day such as Crystal LaBeija, Harlow and International Chrysis. Watch the opening clip of The Queen.

Ready for a frock on a rock?

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3. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

It may be the best road trip movie of all time. And it just happens to involve two drag queens, their trans godmother, a busload of ABBA songs (and some archival ABBA feces), countless sequins and wigs, and ping-pong balls shot out of a sexy lady’s vag.

Yup, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, somehow took drag from being a gaudy late-night taboo to a feel-good global movie sensation. It hit about two years after RuPaul’s “Supermodel” was romancing the airwaves, and the combined effect was magical. It also inspired more drag movies to be made (Paging To Wong Foo…).

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Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce & Hugo Weaving take the stage…

Plus, the musical numbers are divine. “I Will Survive” done by campfire in the outback; “I’ve Never Been to Me” and “Saved the Best for Last” getting poignant onstage treatments; and CeCe Peniston’s “Finally” got served up as the show-stopping number it was always meant to be.

But most of all Priscilla, was the story of 2 gay guys and a tranny just looking for love, acceptance and having some kicks along the way. They were sweet, bitchy, grumpy, lovelorn and caring. Just like us!

Watch the Priscilla trailer…

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Hugo Weaving Terence Stamp | Movie Trailers

Now serving realness…

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2. Paris Is Burning

Paris Is Burning is easily one of the fiercest films ever made. Jennie Livingston’s chronicle of Harlem ball culture in the late 1980s has been controversial (Did she take advantage of her subjects? Were they ever compensated as allegedly promised?), but it also did a dazzling job of introducing the world to voguing, the concept of “houses” and “balls” and most obviously, it introduced a new vernacular of ferocity to the world, gay and otherwise. For the first time, a massive audience got to see courageous, resilient, gay and gorgeous African-American drag queens up close and personal. They served, they read, they threw shade, they walked, they “owned EVERYTHING.”

Watch the first segment of Paris Is Burning.

The Houses of Xtravaganza, of LaBeija, of Ninja… Legends were celebrated and the quotes and heart and humor abounded. And we met gorgeous creatures trying to find a little glamour in harsh and hellacious New York City.

It’s hard to scratch the surface of how monumental this film is. Just buy or rent it and get schooled. “Learn it, and learn it well…”

Pepper LaBeija. Dorian Corey. Octavia St. Laurent. Venus Xtravaganza. And Willi Ninja (see the clip below)… Legends all. May they all rest in peace, glamorously.

Watch Willi Ninja explain the origins of voguing in Paris Is Burning.


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Paris Is Burning's legendary Dorian Corey. Don't look in her closet.

Dorian Corey had one of the most poignant quotes in movies ever in Paris Is Burning, with this bit about dreams of fame and how they end up…
I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think, you've made a mark on the world if you just get through it, and a few people remember your name. Then you've left a mark. You don't have to bend the whole world. I think it's better to just enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.

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God bless Venus Extravaganza. "Touch the skin, Sweetie. Touch the skin. You CAN'T HANDLE IT."


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The gorgeous Octavia St. Laurent.

And finally…

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1. Anything starring Divine

Divine didn’t invent drag, she just brought it screaming and flailing out of the closet and into the light as a subversive, twisted, hilarious revolutionary form of art and expression. Divine personified the fearless, foul-mouthed but good-natured and game-for-anything drag queen that we’ve seen on bar stages and in films now for decades.

Divine was a clown, but also a brave pioneer pushing boundaries. John Waters realized this, and he put his best friend front-and-center of his movies (which were always a manic critique and satire of corny American values), turning Divine into a screen icon who could personify all the ribald and raucous about queer America.

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Pink Flamingos. Female Trouble. Polyester. Lust in the Dust. Hairspray. In all of these Divine (nee Harris Glen Milstead) was our Bette Davis, our Lana Turner, our Joan Crawford, our Sofia Lorne and Rosalind Russell and Mary Tyler Moore, all rolled up in one.

And she ate dog poop on-camera, in real time. If that doesn’t shoot you to the top of a list for anything, then I don’t know what does.

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Grace Jones and other fans pay proper homage to Divine…

Now… Watch the trailers for Divine's three biggest films: Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Polyester. Long live Divine!!!!

And now…

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RuPaul (seen here in Starrbooty) has gotta few more film picks you need to remember…

RuPaul loved all of these Top 5 picks. But get a look at a few of her own favorites…

Some Like It Hot
Tootsie
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar
the original La Cage aux Folles
Outrageous w/Craig Russell
Johnny Depp in Before Night Falls
Victor/Victoria
and Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Start watching & give drag props! Happy Drag History Month!
Zip Car is the DEVIL! I reserved a car from 4-5:30 yesterday and they are telling me that I was 9 minutes late and charged me $50 bucks!!!