Today's featured honoree from our 2009 "School Days"–themed Out 100 -- our pick of the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have made an impact in their communities and on mainstream culture in the last 12 months -- is Tony Kushner, voted "The Rebel."
A new Tony Kushner play is always an event. His latest -- The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures, in which a 75-year old man gathers his offspring to announce that he’s killing himself -- is destined for Broadway next spring following a preview in Minneapolis last April. Also next year, his opus Angels in America -- “a gay fantasia on national themes,” in his words -- gets a much-anticipated off-Broadway reissue. The director, who in 2008 won the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, lives with his partner, Mark Harris, whom he married in 2003, complete with rings from Tiffany’s in New York and then again, legally, in Massachusetts in 2008. “One cake designer I called said, ‘We specialize in elaborate beautiful white flowers all over the cake,’ ” Harris told a reporter for the New York Times Vows section in 2003. “So I said, ‘I should tell you, this is for two men.’ There was a slight pause, and she said, ‘I can put little baseball players all over it?’ ”
Monday we'll reveal the full 2009 Out 100 portfolio, shot by Jason Bell, in stores and online at Out.com.
Today's featured honoree from the 2009 "School Days" themed Out 100 -- our salute to the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have made an impact in their own communities and on mainstream culture in the last 12 months -- is Pedro Almodóvar, voted "Biggest Flirt."
Almodóvar’s sensual, glittering body of work has made him one of the world’s most successful and well-known filmmakers. He has been a novelist, pornographer, cartoonist, and crooner; his films draw on all of these experiences. Over the course of his long career -- including 17 films -- he has cultivated and defined a uniquely gay sensibility: life as outrage, beauty, and passion. Again and again, from the lives of transsexuals to the vagaries of childhood friendships, absurdity crescendoes into comedy. His latest film, Broken Embraces, shot in the style of hard-boiled American noir, further evolves his irresistible oeuvre.
We'll continue to bring you more featured honorees in the coming days until we unveil the entire 2009 Out 100 portfolio, shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell, in stores and online in mid-November.
To see an exclusive slideshow of images featuring Tamar Novas, Spain's newest heartthrob and star of Almodóvar's latest film, Broken Embraces, head to Out.com.
Arjan Timmermans, one of our 2009 "School Days" themed Out 100 honorees (the dashing blogger and head of Arjanwrites.com was voted "Most Likely To Be in the Computer Lab" and is pictured above left with blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend), will take to Santos Party House in NYC on Thursday night to oversee the second of his Superfraiche concerts.
Earlier this year Timmermans, who launched his site in 2003 and was the first-ever credentialed blogger to cover the MTV VMAs and the Grammys, debuted the Superfraiche series, which aims to introduce and provide a platform for worthy new pop acts, with a show featuring Fritz Helder and the Phantoms, Noah, Kate Havnevik, and Kaci Battaglia.
On Thursday the show will feature Dangerous Muse, Brad Walsh (who, when he isn't making irresistible pop songs, spends his time boyfriending Project Runway's Christian Siriano), Menya, Reni Lane, Sam Taylor, and DJ Josh Madden. All proceeds from the event will benefit War Child, a worldwide organization that provides humanitarian assistance to kids
in war-torn areas around the word. More specifically, this Superfraiche will
support the music programs of Artists United for Children and Youth Development (AUCAYD) in Sierra Leone. British music retailer 7Digital.com will also be giving away free mp3 album downloads to everyone who attends the show.
We caught up with Timmermans at the first Superfraiche concert this summer and here's what he had to say about his inspiration for creating and curating the series:
Today we bring you two honorees from the 2009 "School Days" Out 100 -- this year's look at the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have impacted gay and mainstream culture in the past 12 months -- Kehinde Wiley and Bebe Zahara Benet.
Since finishing an MFA at Yale in 2001, the New York–based artist Wiley (above, left) has shot to meteoric critical and commercial success, fusing highbrow art and hip-hop culture by recreating classic late-Renaissance portraits with young men plucked from city streets. In September, his show “Black Light” debuted at Deitch Projects, following the publication of a monograph of the same name.
Nea Marshall Kudi’s drag persona, Bebe Zahara Benet (above, right) was born when, while working a Parisian runway, the male model was asked to fill in for female models who’d gone MIA. Raised in the West African Republic of Cameroon, Marshall took the pole position on RuPaul’s Drag Race in March and is preparing to release his first EP.
We'll continue to roll out more honorees from the 2009 Out 100 in the coming days and in mid-November the full portfolio, shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell, will be available in stores and online.
Our featured honoree of the day from the "School Days"–themed 2009 Out 100 -- this year's look at the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who made an impact in both gay and mainstream culture -- is Kelly McGillis.
McGillis’s coming out last April created an outsize media storm. The 52-year-old star of Top Gun and The Accusedrevealed she was a lesbian to SheWired.com, unleashing a torrent of support from around the globe. McGillis, who also starred on The L Word as a closeted army colonel trying a “don’t ask, don’t tell” case, emphatically said she is “done with the man thing.” A sexual icon for millions of straight boys who grew up in the 1980s, McGillis became another iconic example of the significance of sexual honesty later in life. This winter she will star in a U.K. tour of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
During the coming days we'll continue to roll out more honorees from the 2009 Out 100 -- shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell -- until the full portfolio is revealed in stores and online in mid-November. Keep checking back for a new honorees and in the meantime check out the 2008 Out 100 here.
Today's featured honoree from the 2009 "School Days"–themed Out 100 -- this year's celebration of the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who've impacted both queer and mainstream culture in the last 12 months -- is Lee Daniels.
If Daniels wins best director at this year’s Oscars for the devastatingly beautiful Precious -- as he almost certainly will -- he will be the first gay African-American to take the honor. The producer of not-so-lightweight films like Monster’s Ball and The Woodsman, Daniels is on his way to collecting a trophy case full of awards (the film has already won top prizes at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals) and securing himself a spot alongside directors like Alexander Payne and Ang Lee as a distinctive voice of his generation. The father of 13-year-old twins recognizes that he’s shone light on some of the darkest reaches of contemporary society, but he won’t rule out anything for the future. He just signed on to helm the big-screen adaptation of Miss Saigon.
We'll continue to roll out honorees from the 2009 Out 100 in the coming days with the full portfolio, shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell, to debut in stores and online in mid-November.
As we continue to roll out the honorees from our 2009 "School Days"–themed Out 100 -- the latest in our annual look at the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have made an impact in their communities and in mainstream culture -- today we present James Neiley, who we voted "Most Fearless."
What began as a volunteer position at the queer youth center and advocacy organization Outright Vermont during high school quickly became a crash course -- and burgeoning career -- in activism for Neiley. In March the 17-year-old was tapped to deliver a speech in front of state legislators who would decide the fate of gay marriage. His impassioned plea went viral on the Internet and, three weeks later, Vermont became the fourth state to give gay nuptials the green light.
We'll continue to roll out more honorees in the coming days leading up to the full reveal of the 2009 Out 100 portfolio, shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell, in mid-November.
Out: What's something you wish you'd done in high school but you didn't? Neil Patrick Harris: Hmm. I wish I'd been able to play more sports. Because I was working, back and forth so much I couldn't really commit to much of anything. I would've played -- I wish I could say something cool like football, but I probably would have played tennis. I was more of a tennis player.
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