STREAM QUEEN

STEAM!

All aboard for the new contemporary Western Steam! now available on the LGBTQ streaming network Revry. The award-winning short musical film tells the story of the conductor of a tourist steam train who deserts his boyfriend for a wild night with a real-life outlaw.

Steam! Is written and directed by Jeffrey Simon, who also wrote the music and lyrics. The film stars Broadway actor Coby Getzug (The Book of Mormon, Spring Awakening), who is currently starring in the national tour of The Band’s Visit. Barrett Riggins and Liam Cronin are also featured. Producers David Hemphill and Matt Andrews created Steam! as a master’s thesis project at USC School of Cinematic Arts. It premiered at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival and won Best in Show. “As a gay man, I have a complicated relationship with Westerns. I love the sexy ruggedness of the cowboy/outlaw archetype, the phallic power of pistols and steam trains, but I have always felt unwelcome within the culture of masculinity perpetuated by the genre,” Simon said. “By making this a musical, I’m hoping it will be more inclusive to a queer audience without sacrificing what makes Westerns so exciting.” revry.tv

MOON MANOR

Sometimes learning how to live is learning how to die.

Inspired by a “true-ish” story, Moon Manor introduces us to Jimmy on his last day alive. He has advancing Alzheimer’s, so he has decided to die like he has lived — with intention, humor and zest. Jimmy will show his estranged brother, salt-of-the-earth caretaker, sharp-witted death doula, a novice obituary writer, a cosmic being and the guests at his FUNeral that sometimes the art of living just may be the art of dying. An exploration of what it means to have a “good death” and inspired by the life stories of 84-year-old lead actor James Carrozo, Moon Manor is the debut feature from female filmmaking duo KnifeRock and marks the first original score by Coldplay producers The Dream Team.

The filmmakers stated on the movie’s website that “the well was deep when it came to pulling stories from Jimmy’s life to write Moon Manor. Thus, Jimmy’s real anecdotes and memories are included in the movie, but the character of Jimmy is fictional and the story of his last day alive is fiction. The character and the actor do have one very important thing in common: a belief that death is something to be embraced, not feared, and a desire (if one is privileged enough to be able to make the choice) to have an intentionally designed death, surrounded by ceremony and loved ones.”

As an activist for LGBTQ and immigration rights, Carrozo has been acting, singing, dancing and doing comedy for most of his 84 years. Moon Manor isCarrozo’s first feature film and fulfills his childhood dream of making a movie of his life. Debra Wilson, Richard Riehle, Lou Taylor Pucci, Reshma Gajjar, Galen Howard, Ricki Lake, Heather Morris, Gayle Rankin and Whitmer Thomas round out the cast. Moon Manor is available on demand starting Friday, March 11.

moonmanormovie.com

THE ANDY WARHOL DIARIES

From executive producer Ryan Murphy and director Andrew Rossi, this breathtakingly expansive, six-part portrait of a legend chronicles the remarkable life of Andy Warhol from the intimate vantage point offered by the artist’s own posthumously published diaries. Beginning with his childhood in Pittsburgh, the series traces Warhol’s almost unbelievably diverse journey fluidly moving between mediums and through eras as an artist —both revered and reviled — director, publisher, TV producer, scene maker, celebrity and much more. While he was a larger-than-life figure, Warhol was intensely private regarding his personal life. This series truly reveals much about the very complex man through his own words — often in his own voice using cuttingedge AI techniques— and those who worked, created, and played alongside him from the subversive to the mainstream, from John Waters to Rob Lowe. A limited documentary series releasing on Netflix Wednesday, March 9, The Andy Warhol Diaries deftly validates Warhol’s belief that the idea is not to live forever but to create art that will. netflix.com/andywarholdiaries

A man’s estranged father unexpectedly dies, so he goes home to Cape Cod and prepares the house for sale while sharing it with his father’s temperamental live-in boyfriend.

Director Paul Riccio’s heartfelt, award-winning comedy drama is now available on DVD and all digital platforms. The Breaking Glass Pictures film stars Dan in Real Life alum and two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz alongside Jamie Effros (On), Joanne Tucker (The Report), and Cheri Oteri (Saturday Night Live).

Give or Take is the definition of a comedy with heart,” Riccio said. “It’s a detailed and authentic narrative, affording real depth to the regret, resentment and misunderstanding that can take shape around a loved one’s death. Led by the heart-wrenching performance of Norbert Leo Butz, Give or Take paints a compelling, moving portrait of a son’s journey to understand and accept the complexities of his father.”

Martin (Jamie Effros) is a pragmatist who has checked the boxes of an acceptable life yet feels disconnected, especially from his father, Kenneth, a distant man Martin could never figure out. Their relationship got more complicated when Kenneth came out after his wife died. For the first time, he was able to live openly and honestly as a gay man. He found love with a younger man, his lawn guy, Ted (Norbert Leo Butz), and they had been living together in Ken’s house on Cape Cod ever since. When Kenneth dies, Martin goes home to sell the house while sharing it with Ted. Grieving, they circle each other, butt heads, and negotiate how to remember the different man they both loved, and the significance of what he left behind.

Give or Take premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It has played numerous other festivals including Monmouth Film Festival, where it won Best Narrative Feature; Out on Film Atlanta, winning awards for Best Ensemble and Best Screenplay; Port Townsend Film Festival, where it garnered Best Feature; Out at the Movies, where is snagged Best Screenplay and Audience Award for Best Feature; FilmOut San Diego, where Butz took home Best Supporting Actor; and kicked off this year’s Provincetown Film Festival. “Give or Take is that rare film that has mastered the job of tackling a serious subject in a heart-warming way,” said Richard Wolff, CEO of Breaking Glass. “This story is honest and light-hearted, but still delivers a powerful message about coping with the death of a loved one. We are thrilled to be bringing this story and amazing ensemble cast to North American audiences.” giveortakemovie.com

GIVE OR TAKE