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Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (June 4, 2010)

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

The Gulf oil leak, America’s Got Talent and Rue McClanahan – all of these topics and more were Tweeted about by queer women in entertainment this week.

If you come across tweets that you think we should feature in “Tweets of the Week” or if you find (verified) Twitter accounts for out lesbian/bi women in entertainment who you think we should follow, please send us that info at [email protected].

 

THIS JUST IN: CATCHING UP WITH GUINEVERE TURNER

The L Word and Itty Bitty Titty Committee are just some of the credits on Guinevere Turner‘s résumé. Turner quickly became a force in lesbian entertainment when she hit one out of the park in her first project, 1994’s landmark Go Fish, which she wrote and starred in as the young, lovelorn lesbian Max. In the years since, Turner has continued writing and acting – she helped pen the screenplay for 2000’s American Psycho, as well as 2005’s The Notorious Bettie Page. But it’s lesbian cinema that truly captivates her.

AfterEllen.com caught up with Turner at Wolfe Video’s 25th anniversary party to discuss the legacy of Go Fish, what she’s working on now and why Wolfe provides an invaluable opportunity for LGBT filmmakers.

AfterEllen.com: What are you working on at the moment?

Guinevere Turner I am working on writing a very mainstream lesbian romantic comedy in the hopes of actually making a truly crossover movie that people see that’s lesbian. I think romantic comedy is the smartest genre choice for that. And I’m set to direct another romantic comedy that’s actually a straight story. And I just wrote a TV pilot that I’m trying to get set up about women on Wall Street.

AE: So nothing much.

GT: Right!

AE: What about The Owls?

GT: The Owls we shot last summer and it is just now getting its legs and will be at all the film festivals. I’m acting in that. I’m playing opposite V.S. Brodie, who played my girlfriend in Go Fish, but now we play ex-girlfriends who hate each other. She’s actually one of my best friends, so we had a lot of fun doing that.

AE: You’re coming full circle.

GT: Yeah.

AE: What’s the premise of The Owls?

GT: It’s an acronym for older, wiser lesbians. It’s about a group of older, wiser, lesbians – well, older anyway – who are all good friends and accidentally kill someone at a party and now it’s a year later and it’s about how they all fall apart and deal with it. Everybody is just a mess. My character is always drunk and I’m a has-been rock star. It actually was really fun to play.

AE: You also have Breaking the Girl that you’re involved with, too.

GT: That’s something that I wrote. Unfortunately, there’s no part for me in it. I hate when that happens with me – the characters are college girls and I look good but I don’t look that good! [Laughs]

AE: Um, hello, sexy professor!

GT: Yeah, there’s one professor character but it has to be a guy for various plot twists. Anyway, it’s like Wild Things if it were set in college. It’s genre-trashy fun; gratuitous girl-on-girl make-out scenes and three-inch heels.

AE: I’m in!

GT: [Laughs] It’s good.

AE: And you’ve got a great cast attached already: Adrianne Palicki from Friday Night Lights and Cory Monteith from Glee.

GT: Yeah. I believe that’s who we have. Since I’m not the director, I don’t get all that. Since I’ve been working on this movie for so long, I feel like it’s jinxie to say we’re shooting it in the fall, but we’re shooting it in the fall! Jamie Babbit is directing it and Andrea Sperling is producing it. They’re both my good friends, so that’s going to be fun too.

AE: We’re here for Wolfe Video’s 25th anniversary. Go Fish was such an important movie for so many people, myself included. It was the first lesbian-themed movie that I watched after I came out. Others share that same connection as well with you and the movie. What does it mean to you to be connected with people’s coming out experiences?

GT: It’s awesome that women in their early 20s still respond to it. I sat down and watched it again last year and it seemed really dated to me.

AE: I think Max’s overalls may be the only thing that’s dated there.

GT: [Laughs] It absolutely thrills me that people still like it and still talk about it. I feel like it was the beginning of a total shift in lesbian representation in film and TV. I’m proud of that. I’m also happy that the first thing I did was a success. Because now I know that’s just really lucky.

AE: How much has Wolfe Video done to continue that representation?

GT: Wolfe Video is huge. I don’t think that 75 percent of the films that are out there would be seen if it wasn’t for Wolfe. And if it doesn’t get on TV, and people can’t get to film festivals, you actually get to see it because you can get it online. I make short films and the fact that there’s a go-to distributor for gay and lesbian films is totally fabulous. They’re always keeping in touch with me with what I’m doing, so I know there’s always a place.

AE: What do you think of the state of lesbian representation in film and TV right now?

GT: Because of The L Word, it’s a whole different ballgame. That said, I haven’t seen a lot of great lesbian movies lately. It’s been a while since a good American one came out – there have been a couple good foreign ones. I gotta get on that, get to making some good lesbian movies!

AE: You’re certainly doing your part in terms of writing them. Do you enjoy writing more than acting?

GT: I love being behind the camera because I love being the boss. I love acting because I enjoy the lack of responsibility. You’ve got your one job to think about and it’s really easy to just ace it and focus on it. Then I get sick of people and I just want to be alone and write. I don’t love one more than the other.

Check The Owls website for screening dates near you.

– by Lesley Goldberg

 

WORKING THE POLL: GIRLS-ON-GIRLS ON FILM

Musicians have been utilizing Sapphic sexuality in their videos since, well, videos were created, but lately, it appears female artists are really upping the ante.

First there was Lady Gaga’s prison lip-lock in “Telephone.” Then it was Christina Aguilera’s bordering-on-bondage antics in “Not Myself Tonight.” She’s followed by Rihanna’s “Te Amo,” Kylie Minogue’s orgy-fied “All the Lovers” and Mr. Flash’s “Flesh.” OK, that last one is from a guy, but it’s very lesbianish and also quite fun to watch.

Which one of these recent vids did you enjoy the most?

What is your favorite recent lesbianish music video?customer surveys

In our poll last week, we asked you which summer show you were most excited about. The new series you can’t wait to see is The Real L Word. Don’t worry – we won’t tell your friends.

What summer TV show are you most excited to watch?Market Research

LESBIAN VIDEO CLIP OF THE WEEK

The new season of Last Comic Standing premieres on Monday at 8 pm (7 pm central) on NBC, and we have a preview clip below. Recognize any familiar faces?

Yep, that was our own Fortune Feimster (from the vlog Is This Awesome?) and Nicol Paone (The Big Gay Sketch Show) that whizzed by. So if you were looking for a reason to tune in, now you have at least two!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Lady Gaga visited Larry King this week, where she talked about her love of gay fans, being feminist and bisexual and what inspires her. She also wore a nifty Larry King-style outfit.

The London Evening-Standard talked with director Noel Clarke about his new film 4.3.2.1 which includes the character Kerrys (played by Shanika Warren-Markland), “a half-Brazilian lesbian who karate kicks a handbag thief while wearing a fishnet top and a denim skirt the size of a SIM card.”

Chely Wright has signed on as the grand marshal at this year’s Chicago Pride Parade.

Our writer Heather O’Neill attended the Lambda Literary Awards in New York and has the full scoop on the winners and ensuing party.

Orlando, based on the Virginia Woolf novel about a man who turns into a woman, is being re-released in theaters at the end of July. First released in 1992, it stars Tilda Swinton and the source material is lauded as one of the classic lesbian-esque novels.

Jen Foster went on Fox News in Nashville to perform and talk about an upcoming benefit for the flooding happening in her city. (Thanks AE reader cserri for the tip!)

If you haven’t already, check out our new etiquette column, How to Be A Gay Lady, by Ruth Callander. In the first lesson, she explains how to conduct oneself in a lesbian bar.

Jillian Michaels told PopEater.com what’s on her workout playlist and it includes Florence and the Machine, “lots of Jay-Z, Hey Monday, of course Lady Gaga. [There’s also] T.I., Mary J. Blige, a little bit of Wale, a little bit of Your Vegas and a little bit of the Sounds.”

Danielle Riendeau reviewed 8: The Mormon Proposition for us and found it to be “One of the most emotionally affecting and well-crafted documentaries of the last decade.”

E! Online thinks Sandra Bullock‘s showing up at the MTV Movie Award guarantees she’ll kiss another woman on stage. Right now you can vote for who you’d like to see her kiss, the options being Katy Perry, Cameron Diaz, Kristen Stewart or someone of your own choosing. (Yes, you can choose yourself.)

Dorothy Snarker ranked the Queer Quotient on TV’s summer shows for us. One of them is Pretty Little Liars, which debuts on ABC Family next week with teen lesbian Emily (played by Shay Mitchell) keeping her sexuality a secret from her friends. In a separate post, Snarker also had some wedding gift suggestions for Jane Lynch and her wife Lara Embry, who got hitched this week.

Frameline, San Francisco’s International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, runs June 17-27 and you can get ticket info here. One of the films premiering there is A Marine Story starring Dreya Weber (The Gymnast).

Outfest has also announced its lineup. The 28th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival will run July 8-18, and it includes Cheryl Dunye‘s The Owls (as the U.S. Dramatic Centerpiece). Jane Lynch will receive this year’s Outfest Achievement Award, which will be presented to her by fellow Glee cast member Chris Colfer and director Paris Barclay prior to the Opening Night Gala screening of HOWL. For schedule and ticket info, visit the Outfest website.

If you live in Los Angeles you can be in the audience for live shows by the clever and hilarious That’s What She Said. The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Project presents seven weeks worth of entertainment from the lesbian duo at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood. Every Friday between June 4 and July 16, TWSS rocks Hollywood with a full performance of sapphic song stylings. For more info, see the event Facebook page.

Did you catch Showtime’s Pride: Gay & Lesbian Comedy Slam this week? We talked to one the stars, Sandra Valls, about the show and being “too gay.”

Ladycops fans everywhere will be saddened to learn that Liz Vassey is exiting CSI after her contract was not renewed for another season. Time to raise a test tube in her honor.

And on a happier note, a star-studded benefit, ALL LOVE, ALL WOODSTOCK, will take place on June 26 in Woodstock, NY for Constance McMillen and the ACLU. All proceeds from the benefit will go to McMillen’s college education fund and the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and AIDS Project. For event and ticket information, go to the Bearsville Theater website.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

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