the pride 06.16 — 06.29.2017ISSUE NUMBER 18, VOLUME 2
WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM
| JUNE 16 – 29, ‘17
LOS ANGELES
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THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER
Chappy Has the Hookup
Photo: Courtesy Chappy.
Jack Rogers and Ollie Locke.
Created by Jack Rogers and Ollie Locke, Chappy is a New Gay App for a New Gay Age.
See more on page 2
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LOS ANGELES
> Chappy Has the Hookup TECHNOLOGY DATING APPS
FROM THE COVER
⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA
Created by Jack Rogers and Ollie Locke, Chappy is a new gay app for a new gay age.
When Jack Rogers and Ollie Locke conceived of their gay dating app Chappy, they knew exactly what they wanted it to be. It was a simple concept: An app where gay men could come out from the shadows and have conversations that went beyond “top or bottom.” Today, with over 1 million users in the U.K. and a growing U.S. market, Chappy is poised on the verge of world domination. As for Rogers and Locke, their vision for the app hasn’t changed. They still want to change the world. And they want to do it by changing the way we date. With its minimalist, black and white interface and sliding scale between “Mr. Right” (for relationships) “Mr. Right Now” (for fun and hookups,) and "Mr. Who Knows" (for everything in between). Chappy is designed for the gay dater who knows what he wants, and isn’t afraid of flat-out asking for it. “Nine years ago when Grindr started,” said Locke, “it did the most fundamentally amazing
“
“We’re trying to empower gay guys a bit.” thing, it brought the community together. But when marriage equality came in, and the idea of babies and happily ever after, Grindr never developed to speak to that. That isn’t a bad thing – but we realized it was something that needed to change.” The change is palpable in Chappy, where the approach to dating is a gentlemanly affair.
Marvelous, sad and blisteringly funny... a drama that speaks to us all.” - The Guardian
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no idea who’s going to download the product. Chappy is about wanting a change from what the current space is.” That space has been dominated by Grindr for nine years, as most gays know all too well. Locke and Rogers have sensed the desire for change in a community that doesn’t want to feel shame and secrecy about dating anymore. “Going on Grindr feels like putting on a mask,” said Rogers. “It feels like you’re going into a dungeon. It doesn’t feel like it’s about being proud or being out.” This was the aspect of gay dating that made Locke apprehensive about downloading the app after he first came out in his early 20s. As the first person to come out on British television, via his reality show "Made in Chelsea," Locke carried a lot of the weight of that world-shifting action on his shoulders. “I didn’t want a 75-year-old sending me a picture of his dick. I was terrified. So I never downloaded it. I didn’t know where to meet Photo: Thinkstock. men. I was struggling. I would call up Jack and say, ‘I don’t know what to about this, you know about dating apps.There has to be something!’” That something was Chappy, an app with a “What a lovely job we have,” said Locke, clear philosophy. Each user has to connect their “that helps potentially match people that could account with a Facebook profile. They have to fall in love and have families and have a happily upload photos with their actual faces in them. ever after?” And they have to be clear about what they’re When I met Rogers and Locke last week, looking for – something forever, something for they were on the verge of introducing L.A. to now, or something in betheir new app by way tween. of a one-night takeover “Because of the anoof 1 Oak in West Holnymity of certain apps,” We want it to be the kind of said Rogers,“I think a lot lywood. “L.A.’s such a key market for us,” said app where your Grandmother of people show a terriRogers. “It’s good to ble side of themselves. can be like ‘oh you’re using finally get a launch. We They go on there and Chappy, that’s great.’ also wanted to come they start being realand physically be there ly aggressive, sending and see it through dick pics, saying things properly, rather than in their profile like ‘no just launch everywhere blacks, no Mexicans.’ All that stuff. For us, it’s and not have any idea what you’re doing.” about accountability. If you’re going to be racist “It’s very easy to throw an awful lot of mon- on Chappy, everyone will see it’s you.” ey at something and put billboards all over “It’s like any troll hiding behind a keyboard,” West Hollywood,” added Locke, “but you have said Locke. “With Chappy, you’ve got your real name, your real age, you have to have your face in every photo.” The accountability aspect aligns Chappy with feminist dating app Bumble, whose mission has always been at the forefront. It’s no surprise that Bumble is Chappy’s sister company, and Locke and Rogers were able to get the attention of Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe by pitching their app in the same vein. Rogers and Locke met Wolfe by chance on a London rooftop and pitched their idea of Chappy then and there.
“
Photo: Courtesy Chappy.
Rogers and Locke with Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe.
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CHAPPY, see page 16
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CULTURE HISTORY
GAY L.A.
⚫ BY J.J. ENGLENDER
Long Before Arclight, Cinematheque-16 Was the Place for Queer Art Cinema
This essay is part of a series on queer underground cinema in the ‘60s.
With the success of repertory theaters springing up in L.A. in the 1960s – such as the 800-seat Cinema Theatre on Western, with its popular ‘Underground Cinema 12’ program (put on by Michael Getz – L.A.'s underground film culture was gaining ground. In 1964, exploitation film producer Robert Lippard purchased a theater on the Sunset Strip.The
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THE PRIDE L.A., The Newspaper Serving Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender L.A., is published by MIRROR MEDIA GROUP. Send all inquiries to: THE PRIDE L.A., 2116 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA. Phone: 310.310.2637 Written permission ofor thewhole, publisher be obtained any of the can must be reproduced or before redistributed. All contents contents of this paper, in part (c) 2017 The Pride L.A. THE PRIDE L.A. is a registered trademark of MIRROR MEDIA GROUP. T.J. MONTEMER, CEO 310.310.2637 x7
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theater only had 16mm capability, and Lippard's intent was to screen nudie-cuties. But when the Strip became a hotbed of hippie culture, his programming choice proved tone-deaf. The theater was later taken over by Lewis Teague, an NYU graduate in film studies. Teague offered to run the theater as an art house, and after introducing new weekly programs (featuring European art films and silents) renamed it Cinematheque-16. The art films didn't fare much better than the previous nudies. Initial programming was certainly a mixed bag. In 1966, what was billed as 'A Horror Show', gave a stunned audience the following; "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (Robert Wiene, 1920), Triumph of the Will" (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935), Buñuel's "Un Chien Andalou" (1929) and "Way to Shadow Garden: (Stan Brakhage, 1954.) But after adding Psychedelic Film Trips to its advertising, locals began to sit up and take notice. Comedian Lenny Bruce closed his last professional performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, he allowed producer John Magnuson to capture the show.The result ended up becoming the 65-minute film "Lenny Bruce" - shown at Cinematheque 16 in 1965. Experimental filmmakers such Shirley Clarke, Jack Smith, Robert Kramer, Gregory J. Markopoulos, Thomas Reichman, Robert Downey and Kenneth Anger had their work shown; Downey's "Chafed Elbows," "No More Excuses," and "The Sweet Smell of Sex" ("A drama of people who claw their way to the bottom") and Anger's "Scorpio Rising" all were given ample time (and billing) at the Sunset Cinema. Warhol movies found a home there – most notably "My Hustler," which ran with two other films featuring "serious examinations of gay life" in 1966. Warhol's "Bike Boy" had its West Coast premiere at the theater in 1967. The Doors' frontman Jim Morrison premiered his 40-minute "Feast of Friends" in 1969, on a
An October 1966 screening list for a gay triple feature.
double bill with Warhol's "I, a Man." This was followed by readings from Morrison's "An American Prayer." The success of the Sunset Strip location spurned two more theaters in San Francisco and Pasadena (which didn't last long.) Promoting itself as "Possibly America's Most Unusual Theatre", the Pasadena Cinematheque 16 opened at 7:00 PM on April 25, 1968, and debuted with Warhol's "latest triumph", "I, a Man." The second feature was the 10-minute animation, "Lapis" (James Whitney, 1966.) Programming remained inspired through the late '60s with Paris Earl in "Johnny Gigs Out" (also screened at the Watts Summer Festival) "Pimple, Pimple, It's Only a Pimple" and "Portrait of Jason"
Photos: Courtesy of Adsausage.
(Shirley Clarke, 1967,) lauded by the press as: "A landmark in both queer and confessional cinema." In 1968, the JFK assassination documentary "Rush to Judgment" (Mark Lane, 1967) was screened. But if documentaries with Huey Newton in jail weren't your cup of PG Tips, there was "The Legend of Lylah Clare" (Robert Aldrich, 1968) over at the Loews Colorado, "The Graduate" (Mike Nichols, 1967) at the Hastings Theatre, or Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford's nutty caper, "Salt and Pepper" (Richard Donner, 1968) at the Monrovia Big Sky drive-in. The Pasadena Cinematheque 16 was located at 73 North Fair Oaks Avenue. After closing down, the site became an office building around 1981.
06.16 — 06.29.2017 NEWS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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LOS ANGELES
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MILLENIUM MAYOR
⚫ BY DOUG MONTGOMERY
Compton’s Youngest Mayor Gets Second Term Compton Mayor Aja Brown won a decisive victory for a second term against former Mayor Omar Bradley. The election was notable for the fact that both candidates had served as mayor of the city. Omar Bradley worked in city hall from 1993 to 2001. Brown, meanwhile, was running for reelection after a first term. Brown made history in 2013 when she became Compton’s youngest mayor ever at 31-years-old. Now 35, she has the opportunity to build upon the projects of her first term. Brown emerged from the June 6 election with 60 percent of the vote. Bradley’s own history came to haunt him in the campaign. In 2004, Bradley was convicted of misusing city funds to finance personal travel and games of golf. Although the finding was thrown out on appeal, freeing him up for a mayoral run, he still faces a retrial. Brown seized on the allegations of corruption to bolster her case against Bradley. Compton had been “plagued by corrupt elected officials that have fleeced the city’s assets, selling off revenue-generating enterprises and city property,"
Brown told the Press-Telegram. Bradley tried to deflect attention away from his record by accusing her of dirtying the city. "[Citizens] should look at the debris in the streets, the untrimmed trees, the potholes, the water that is brown that comes through their faucets, the high taxes," Bradley told the Press-Telegram. Bradley also attacked Brown as an outsider.Although Brown’s mother was from Compton, the mayor herself is not. “The value of Compton to those who don’t live here or are not from here is quite a bit different than if you live here or were born here,” Bradley told the L.A.Times. Despite Bradley’s efforts at characterizing Brown’s tenure as lackluster, Brown’s record spoke for itself. Crime has plummeted along with unemployment, businesses are moving into the city, and property values have risen. “Over the last several years, I’ve made it a priority to ensure new internal controls, improve our fiscal accountability and root out corruption and wasteful spending at every opportunity in an effort to be good custodians of our resident's tax dollars,” she wrote in a post-victory statement. Among the first plans of Brown’s second term,
Mayor Aja Brown, who just won her second term on June 6.
she promises “to roll out the largest street reconstruction project in our city's history.” “I'm also preparing a city reform package for
Photo: Courtesy City of Compton.
the voters to consider, which will include modernizing city government and long-term property tax reform,” she continued.
06.16 — 06.29.2017 SPORTS
BASEBALL
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AMERICA’S FAVORITE PASTIME
Dodgers Pride Night Hits a Homerun
Photos: Jennifer Eden and Michelene Mundo.
Dodger Stadium lit up with Pride on Friday, June 9, as the stadium hosted its first Pride night that also served as the official kick-off to 2017 Pride LA. The pregame party came alive with fancy drinks and great music before the National Anthem was performed by Dot Marie Jones backed by the Gay Men's Chorus and Trans Chorus of Los Angeles. Founder of #ResistMarch Brian Pendleton threw the first pitch and the evening honored an array of LGBTQ activists including Billy Bean (Major League Baseball Vice President & Special Assistant to the Commissioner), actor Noah Galvin (best known for his role as Kenny O'Neal on the ABC sitcom “The Real O'Neals”) actor Guillermo Diaz (currently starring as Huck in the ABC series “Scandal”) and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, best known for being plaintiffs in the landmark case that wound its way to the Supreme Court of the United States successfully overturning Prop. 8 and restoring marriage equality to California.
⚫ CULTURE FOOD
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DO YOU HAVE A RENOVATION?
⚫ BY CONNOR DUFFEY
Two Iconic LA Restaurants are Reopening Their Doors
As gentrification sweeps Los Angeles, less chic-minded establishments will, unfortunately, suffer casualties.The two golden-age L.A. restaurants Formosa Cafe and The Cat & Fiddle were prime examples of the sad process in action.The iconic spots were forced to shutter their businesses due to rising rent and lack of interest. Thankfully, these two beloved hangouts have managed to rise from the ashes to thrive once again. Formosa Cafe, a bar and Chinese restaurant known for attracting Old Hollywood glamor in its heyday, closed in December of last year, despite an effort to shake up its menu in 2014. However, the bar’s proprietor, The 1933 Group, who previously undertook a retro remodel of Highland Park Bowl, are working to reopen Formosa Cafe next year. In a statement, one of The 1933 Group’s owners, Dimitri Komarov, states that he promises to keep Formosa’s old L.A. charm, while simultaneously updating its dated aspects: “In a time when beloved establishments are closing throughout Los Angeles, our company mission has evolved to prioritizing the preservation of the city’s architecture and history by acquiring and breath-
The stained-glass trademark of The Cat and the Fiddle in Hollywood.
The interior of the old Formosa Cafe.
ing new life into notable gathering places such as these.” Meanwhile, bar and grill The Cat & Fiddle recently reopened their newly-refurbished doors to the public on June 5 at a new location on Highland Avenue near Hancock Park. The es-
@ the beach EVERY TUES NIGHT 7 p.m. - Closing
323 Ocean Front Walk 310.392.3997
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tablishment’s previous iteration, which bordered Hollywood Boulevard, was forced to close in 2014 due to rising rent costs it couldn't afford, according to owner Paula Gardner. The Cat & Fiddle’s new building used to house Highland Grounds, a coffee shop and restaurant that echoed a similarly retro aesthetic as The Cat & Fiddle. Gardner told LA Weekly that the new space maintains the desired friendly aura, while also making more strategic business sense: “We're happy we're out of the old space now…
It’s a better neighborhood. And the energy is different in that part of town now.” The fresh location sports a more intimate space, a similar menu with some new dishes attached and updated lighting fixtures. A majority of the decor, however, is exactly as it used to be, Gardner also told LA Weekly: “Everything behind the bar is the same. The leaded-glass lamps and windows [one with the signature cat emblem] are back. We kept everything in storage because we knew we were going to open again.” It’s these blissful revamps of cherished older businesses that shine new hope on the prospects of retaining classic local culture. It seems that the old and new of L.A. can not only coexist, but, with the help of community engagement, flourish.
⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Opens in Larchmont Since September, the legendary San Francisco bakery, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, has been executing a subtle takeover of Los Angeles. And quite frankly, L.A. isn’t putting up that much of a fight. Mr. Holmes is famous for its “cruffin” hybrid, a combination of croissant and muffin (often cream-filled) that tourists and Angelenos alike have to line up for at the crack of dawn in order to snag. And even the unlucky ones who arrive after the cruffin has sold out can console themselves with a savory “California Roll” croissant, featur-
ing a salmon-and-seaweed filling, or an orange blossom-and-vanilla donut. Mr. Holmes’ first L.A. location opened last fall in Highland Park and has since spread to Melrose, Orange County, and most recently, Larchmont.The Instagram-friendly interior (white with bright hints of neon pink) and retail-oriented storefront makes Mr. Holmes a natural fit for the new Larchmont Boulevard location, only a stone’s (or should we say Photo: Mr. Holmes Bakehouse ‘scone’s?’) throw away from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, a San FranLarchmont mainstay Bricks cisco company, has recently been infiltrating Los Angeles. and Scones.
06.16 — 06.29.2017
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B:10 in
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T:10 in
© 2017 Cedars-Sinai
S:10 in
Sometimes I underestimate. Sometimes I search it. Sometimes I put it off. Sometimes I freak out. But, I trust my Cedars-Sinai doctor every time.
cedars-sinai.edu
1-800-CEDARS-1
T:11.7 in
Sometimes I overreact.
B:11.7 in
Sometimes I just ignore it.
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Sometimes I self-diagnose.
06.16 — 06.29.2017 NEWS
COMMUNITY
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LOS ANGELES
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UNITED WE STAND
⚫ BY DOUG MONTGOMERY
The Dirty Tactics Used Against a Proposed Hollywood Hotel The advertisements are scattered on bus benches across Hollywood. “No Homophobia,” the signs read in block lettering meant to mimic the Hollywood sign. The advertisements continue, shouting: “No Support for Anti-LGBTQ Hotels!” Then, finally, a link at the bottom: KeepHollywoodQueer.Org. These attack ads are a single part of a campaign against the Ivar Gardens, a proposed hotel development on Sunset and Ivar. The location sits directly across from the Arclight Hollywood at the current site of a Jack in the Box. If approved, the spot would become home to a 21-story, 275-room hotel. But the author of the attack ads is not an LGBTQ advocacy group. The development is being challenged by Unite Here Local 11, a powerful union representing 23,00 hotel, airport, and food service workers in California. Unite Here has thrown its weight against Ivar Gardens because of Bill Willhelm, the president of RD Olson Construction – the company tasked with constructing the hotel. Unite Here has raised alarms over Willhelm’s connection to Legatus, a networking group of Catholic business leaders with a record of
ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS
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virulently anti-LGBTQ positions. Legatus has published papers in support of “conversion therapy” and has come out against gay marriage. Soon after Unite Here publically highlighted Willhelm’s connection to Legatus, Willhelm announced that he was cutting ties with the business group, writing in a letter, "Although I remain a devout Catholic, some of Legatus’ beliefs regarding sexual orientation and women’s rights do not represent my own." And yet, this did not mollify United Here. "He did sever ties with Legatus – not because he had a change of heart, but because he was feeling pressure," argued Andrew Cohen, spokesman for Unite Here Local 11. This is why some observers have concluded that United Here is merely fighting a unionization campaign under the guise of an LGBTQ rights struggle. Even after leaving Legatus, United Here has made a number of unrelated demands of RD Olson, including “card check neutrality,” which allows workers to anonymously and easily join a union. Whatever the motivations behind the campaign, it does not seem to have worked. The
Photo: Courtesy of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Protesters gather outside the proposed spot for the Ivar Garden Hotel.
city councilman with the final say in approving the project, Mitch O’Farrell, criticized Unite Here’s campaign while expressing support for the project. “In my experience, there has been nothing homophobic about RD Olson's approach to this project,” O’Farrell said in a
written statement. “My record reflects that I believe in fair wages and good working conditions,” he continued, “but as a gay man, I am extremely disappointed that Unite Here has sought to drive a wedge within my community in this way.”
CONTROVERSY
⚫ BY GENNA RIVIECCIO
Do the Gays Still Approve of Kathy Griffin? Kathy Griffin has been an unsung hero of gays everywhere since her role as restaurant critic Vicki Groener on the little appreciated late-90’s sitcom, “Suddenly Susan.” Since the pinnacle of her success, Griffin has played into her D-list celebrity status, even going so far as to make a reality show about it called, what else, “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.” It was around the time it premiered – 2005 – that she probably hit her stride in the gay community, garnering numerous GLAAD Media Awards for Best Reality Program. Since the show’s end in 2010, Griffin has still found plenty of ways to remain busy between standup and a slew of random public appearances--often in Vegas. But it wasn’t until her rather literal skewering of “President” Donald Trump that she attracted a more vicious type of attention than usual. No stranger to court-
ing controversy, her humor has generally gotten her banned on every talk show except the uber straight white male likes of Bill Maher and Howard Stern. But she’s never had a place on “feminist” outlets like "The View" or "Ellen." Incidentally, could this speak toward the latent misogyny gay men feel toward women and the natural shine they take to Griffin? But, somewhat ironically, it has been Griffin’s only distinctly feminist act in beheading Trump via the now-notorious picture from her photo shoot with Tyler Shields that has brought her fully under fire – even more than that time when she essentially told Jesus to f- off in her Emmy acceptance speech and then lost her cameo privileges on “Hannah Montana.” Posted on Instagram and Twitter in late May, Griffin wrote beneath the image “I caption this ‘there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out
of his…wherever.” This alluded to Trump’s interview with Megyn Kelly back in 2015, of which he stated, "She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions…You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. In my opinion, she was off base." Griffin’s contempt for Trump’s misogyny was addressed at her press conference regarding the so-called “vile” (by Chelsea Clinton no less) form of artistic expression. She commented, “I've dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life, my whole career. I'm a woman in a very male-dominated field." Her defense of women comes at a time when it’s more important and political than ever, ergo a point of high contention for those of Trump’s old guard status still clinging to keeping things as they were. But even the gays were hesitant at first to support Griffin’s “art,”
Tyler Shields being the only publicly gay person to come to her defense right away with the tweet, “Can you go to jail for making an artistic statement??? Asking for a friend…” Nonetheless, it’s possible that this bold act of defiance just might make Griffin even more lauded by the gays in the long run. After all, if Anderson Cooper, pied piper of the homosexual nation, wills it so with his recent remark, “I want nothing but good things for her,” so shall it be among the entire gay community. Allthough, at the outset of the “incident,” Cooper did his best to remain on Team CNN by remarking, “You know, I think I said that I thought it was completely inappropriate and I didn’t approve it in any way, and I think when you’re friends with somebody, you can say that.” But isn’t being “inappropriate” what makes Griffin so wonderfully queer in the first place?
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ENTERTAINMENT FILM
⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA
06.16 — 06.29.2017
LOS ANGELES
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ON THE BIG SCREEN
Our Most Anticipated Films from Outfest 2017 From the “British Brokeback” to “Beach Rats,” a few of the most exciting queer films coming to L.A.’s queerest film festival
On July 6, most Angelenos will have a chance to finally feast their eyes on some of the most important queer films that have been shattering the competition since the beginning of the year. To get everyone ready, we’re putting together a few of our most anticipated movies from this year’s slate. Get ready to be aroused, verklempt, and nostalgic—possibly all at the same time.
1. God’s Own Country
Lauded as the British answer to "Brokeback Mountain" (albeit a few years late,) Francis Lee’s tale of the unlikely romance between Yorkshire farmer and an immigrant
same themes.
3. Freak Show
Starring Laverne Cox and an all-grown-up Abigail Breslin, “Freak Show” is the heartwarming tale of a boy who decides to run for homecoming queen (emphasis on ‘queen’) in his super-conservative high school. Trudie Styler (a.k.a. Wife of Sting) chose “Freak Show” as her feature directorial debut, and had no trouble attracting a star-studded cast (hello BETTE MIDLER!) to bring the classic James St. James novel to life on screen.
4. Cherry Pop Harris Dickinson in “Beach Rats.”
worker has been topping all the lists from almost every huge festival this year. Variety called it “Heart-Stirring.” The Hollywood Reporter called its use of nudity “expressive.” You had us at nudity.
Photo: Beach Rats trailer
2. After Louie
Alan Cumming stars opposite Zachary Booth (star of 2011’s fabulously gay “Keep the Lights On”) as Sam, a man trying to trace the history of the gay movement from his youth to the present. Vincent Gagliostro’s first feature film seems to be part of a bigger conversation about the changing course of gay rights from its beginnings as a grassroots, in-your-face protest movement to a mainstream bid for marriage equality and adoption rights. “After Louie” is the fictional counterpart to Gagliostro’s 2015 documentary “After Silence,” which dealt with the
Alan Cumming in “After Louie.”
Assaad Yacoub’s expanded version of his 2013 short film tells the tale of one drag night in a local bar, featuring one newcomer/misfit, one aging legend, and a whole lot of local color. More than anything, “Cherry Pop” earns its place on this list for asking one of the most crucial and pressing questions of our gay generation: Do you believe in life after drag?
5. Beach Rats
Of course, no list would be complete without mention of “Beach Rats”, Eliza Hittman’s hotly-anticipated story of boys, the beach, and the boardwalk. The oh-so-hot Harris Dickinson (looking like a young Christian Bale) stars as an aimless kid trying to figure out where he belongs in the world, and who he’s attracted to—by way of much experimentation.
Phot: Courtesy of “After Louie.”
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SEX BELONG TOGETHER
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CONNECT Know your status. And be ready for what’s ahead. VISIT AND TALK TO A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER
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WHAT’S
HAPPENING
THE BEST GOINGS-ON AROUND AND ABOUT LA
The Pride
WHEN: June 14 -July 9 WHERE: The Wallis Annenberg
Center for the Performing Arts WHAT: A new play by Alexi Kaye Campbell that follows a (heavily queer) relationship across time and place, from 1958 to the present day. WHY: The Laurence Olivier Award-Winning play deals with themes of shame, repression, and forbidden love – basically things we’ve all had our fair share of struggle with.
Brendan Fernandes presents Free Fall 49 with How To Dress Well
WHEN: June 16, 6 - 9 p.m. WHERE: The Getty Center WHAT : Artist Brendan Fernandes
uses installation, dance, and performance elements to create a haunting tribute to the victims of the Pulse massacre. DJ How To Dress Well joins Fernandes to create a soundscape for the piece. WHY: One year later, our community is still coping with the fallout from Pulse. Fernandes’ work ensures that the impact of the event lives on in our cultural memory.
Movement for the Mind
WHEN : June 25, 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. WHERE : Everybody Gym WHAT: A workshop for Black-identified folks to support mental health and physical healing. WHY: Work up a sweat while building a sense of community.
United in Anger: A History of ACT UP WHEN: June 27, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Hammer Museum WHAT : As part of the Hammer’s
“People Power” screening series, Jim Hubbard’s “United in Anger” will bring footage of the AIDS crisis and ACT UP to light onscreen. WHY : “United in Anger” looks at the history of the crisis through the images of the time. Hubbard’s film pieces together documents from the earliest days of ACT UP to tell its story for a new audience.
Après le Déluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues WHEN : June 28, 8 p.m. WHERE: UCB Franklin WHAT: “Kids in the Hall’s” Scott
Thompson reprises the character of Buddy Cole, one of his most infamous skits, through monologues from his earliest appearance on the iconic show to the present. WHY: “Kids in the Hall,” people.
WEST HOLLYWOOD SINGLE FAMILY HOMES APRIL SALES 7918 Willoughby Avenue 9016 Dicks Street 7733 Lexington Avenue 7614 Willoughby Avenue 8959 Norma Place 611 N Orlando Avenue 528 N Flores Street 9018 Dorrington Avenue 8842 Dorrington Avenue 737 N Martel Avenue 358 Huntley Drive 9031 Dorrington Avenue 551 Norwich Drive 532 Huntley Drive 838 N Orlando Avenue
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15 UP 15.38% $1,562,000 UP 13.60% $2,294,833 UP 60.13%
Jack Rogers and Ollie Locke.
CHAPPY
from page 2 “We recognized her instantly,” said Rogers. “And we went over and told her what we were doing.” “I think the thing we said was, ‘we want to do what you’ve done for feminism for the gay community.’” Said Locke. “And two days later we signed a lifetime partnership.” The social accountability aspect that Chappy is taking on could be the thing to launch them into another stratum of socially-conscious apps. Locke and Rogers have already met with the Los Angeles AIDS charity APLA to discuss a partnership. They’re planning on building community events and forums into and through the
Photo: Courtesy Chappy.
app. “We want to make platforms in the future where kids can come out and discuss stuff.” Said Locke. “We need to have that fundamental sense of community behind it. We want it to be seen as a safe, responsible place for dating. We want your Grandmother to sit there and be like ‘oh you’re using Chappy, that’s great.’” This vision of the future—where the stigma behind dating apps has all but disappeared— opens up new and exciting possibilities for the queer community in general. Chappy’s mission seems like not only the logical step, but the radical step in new technology. “We’re trying to empower gay guys a bit.” Said Rogers. “Give them at least the ability to date in a more controlled way, give them more choice, and just feel a bit more 2017.” “The fact is,” Locke agreed, “it’s time.”
06.16 — 06.29.2017 CULTURE ART
⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA
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SEVERAL NIGHTS AT THE MUSEUM
Marlene Dietrich’s Style Gets Its Own Smithsonian Exhibit’
If you know anything about ‘30s glamour icon Marlene Dietrich, you’ll know that she kissed a girl (and liked it) in 1930’s “Morocco," while wearing an exquisite suit and tie. Did we mention this was 1930? And that, for Dietrich, drag wasn't even that unusual? Well, that's just the kind of legend she was. As a German import to Hollywood and the face, along with Greta Garbo, of Hollywood’s ‘exotic’ new legion of talkie stars, Dietrich symbolized an approach to sexuality that went beyond black and white. From her iconic same-sex kiss in “Morocco” to her gender-bending turns in films like “Blonde Venus” and “The Devil is a Woman,” Dietrich was almost single-handed responsible for queering the Hollywood glamour paradigm in the ‘30s and beyond.
The National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian has seen fit to honor Dietrich’s contributions to queerness in a new exhibit, opening June 16. In collaboration with the Deutsche Kinemathek and Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin, “Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image” presents stills and portraits from Dietrich’s most iconic performances, showcasing the avant-garde, androgynous fashion that shaped her image on screen from the late ‘20s to the ‘50s. Dietrich’s sense of fashion was daring for a time when women were expected to dress for men. Her sense of dressing for oneself, and projecting an untouchable, androgynous image of self for the camera, was a radical concept in early Hollywood. Historian Kate C. Lemay has curated a gallery
Dietrich in a still from “Morocco,” 1930.
of some of Dietrich’s most iconic looks to finally honor the true work the actress did within the limitations of Hollywood’s rigid
gender roles. Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image runs from June 16 to April 15, 2018.
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06.16 — 06.29.2017 ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION
⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA
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SPOILERS BELOW
New Season of “Orange is the New Black” Brings New Drama, Trauma As far as queer TV goes, audiences can always count on Jenji Kohan’s prison saga to deliver the goods.
They call it POITNBSD. Post- “Orange is the New Black” Syndrome. Or if they don’t, they really should. If there’s one thing we know about showrunner Jenji Kohan’s prestige Netflix show, now in its fifth season, it’s that no punches are ever pulled. And we mean ever. When Kohan conceived of a prison drama that would put a white woman at the center of a multicultural universe divided by patriarchal rule and class hatred, she made it quite clear to us that if we were going to try to view “Orange is the New Black” as mindless entertainment, we’d have a hard time of it. At very least, we’d have to come out of our binge-watching coma feeling heavily politically implicated. What’s different – and shocking – about the fifth season of an initially singular show – is how it manages to pull itself out of the water time and again. When season four ended last year, with one of the most beloved characters meeting her unceremonious (and deeply politicized) death, and a standoff that left a potential-
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
Galina “Red” Reznikov (Kate Mulgrew) and Blanca Flores (Laura Gómez) sift through files in a promotional still for “Orange is the New Black” Season 5.
ly life-ruining decision in the hands of another intensely loveable character, the Internet wasted no time in dragging Kohan across the coals. Sure, she’d left us with an incredible cliffhanger, a swell of dramatic tension, and a climax that left both the prisoners and prison workers in a potentially mutually destructive situation. But she’d
sacrificed one of her most important characters to do it. No one knew if the show could survive the death of Poussey Washington – or if the next, Poussey-less season of “Orange is the New Black” was going to quite live up to its Orange is the New Crack reputation. Were the fans just too betrayed? Had they finally had
enough? Well, in a word, no. Season five arrived last Friday, without too much fanfare, and we were hit with the drama all over again. Of course, no one had forgotten about Poussey. But with the prison in full chaos mode, every character dealing, in her own way, with the political implications of an impending riot, and a number of main characters splintering fully off to do their own insane thing, viewers were almost distracted enough not to want to look backward. Last season ended just on the heels of the Pulse massacre, which also dovetailed with the end of L.A. Pride, making the politics of the show feel just a little more wrenchingly painful than they might have in an alternate universe. Add to this season the reality of the once-unthought-of election of Donald Trump, the year anniversary of the Pulse shooting, and the release of Chelsea Manning from prison, and we have a whole new, arguably much more complicated world in which to watch the trials and tribulations of our favorite social justice warrior prisoners. So has "Orange is the New Black" lost its edge? Not at all. Has it adapted? Certainly. But you might say that it came into existence, at the very start, to help us adapt. To give us more tools with which to battle an increasingly frightening, hostile, and unjust world.And for that, the show deserves its place in the pantheon.
⚫ BY ANNETTE SEMERDJIAN
“Brown Girls” Gets Picked Up by HBO "Brown Girls" is the latest hit web series to secure a deal with HBO for a feature-length show. The network that brought us "Insecure," which was based on Issa Rae’s web series "Awkward Black Girl," now will bring us another TV show centered on women of color – this time with a distinctly queer emphasis. The creators of "Brown Girls," writer Fatimah Asghar and director/producer Sam Bailey, created the series early this year about two friends, Patricia and Leila, sorting through their mid-twenties in Chicago. The show's popularity has skyrocketed since episodes started airing on Chicago’s Open TV, a platform for queer and intersectional programming. The hilarious, compelling writing along with the comedic performance of the actors, makes for truly binge-worthy TV. Sonia Denis plays Patricia,
a black musician and commitment-phobe who's not afraid to kick a booty-call out of bed and call them an Uber. Nabila Hossain plays Leila, a South Asian Muslim writer who is just coming to terms with her queerness. As Leila deals with her fears around committing to a queer relationship, Patricia encourages her to stay single and remain a part of their “Single Girls Club Forever.” The story and its characters do not follow the one-dimensional mold that most women of color and queer women get pigeonholed into. Rather, the show focuses on the complicated feelings and situations that women in their twenties deal with while still portraying the specific stories of each woman’s background.Asghar tells Time that "A lot of people come from intersections that get erased on media platforms.” The story of a South Asian
Muslim woman who is just accepting her queerness is not one that many people are familiar with, and to tell that story on screen is a triumph for queer women of color in filmmaking. “If we can shed light that these people exist and are real, and have many different personalities, it will expand the definition of what some of these identities mean," she continued. The characters' backgrounds, in terms of religion, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality, do not become focal points of the show but rather an amalgamated aspect of the story arc that creates a nuanced and complex telling of the lives of queer women of color. Bailey tells Paper that the internet and the popularity of web series have created an even playing field for show creators.“It wasn't until I saw other
web series like "Awkward Black Girl," "The Couple," and even "Broad City" to a certain extent, that I felt I could have an idea and get it to the masses without outside influences tainting it,” Bailey said. “It makes sense that we do it, and we do it our own way with our community so people don't water down the story that we want to tell." Thanks to independent online platforms like Open TV, audiences get to enjoy diversity in characters without feeling queer-baited into a show that will eventually cut out those resonating characters and storylines. Now, as the number of female-centric stories with women of all backgrounds gain popularity, major networks like HBO are picking them up and the stories that have waited too long to be told are finally hitting the airwaves.
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