As the series opens we meet privileged Los Angeles prep schooler Bret Ellis (Igby Rigney) as an alluring aerial shot tracks him driving his father's sporty Mercedes—"a tank" of a car, Bret scoffs—through the Hollywood hills, echoing the establishing shots of the film he is about to watch on its opening weekend, Kubrick's The Shining.... Continue Reading →
Seven-time Tony Award-winning producer, fashion trailblazer and innovative performance artist Jordan Roth makes his television acting debut this week in FX's The Shards, an alluring 1980s-set thriller based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 bestselling novel, adapted by Ellis and Ryan Murphy. Portraying Steven Reinhardt on the series, the strikingly stylish right-hand man to Hollywood mogul... Continue Reading →
Belgian filmmaker Cato Kusters makes her powerfully affecting feature debut with an adaptation of Fleur Pierets’ acclaimed 2019 book, Julian, a memoir of love, activism, and grief. In 2017, Fleur (Nina Meurisse) and her wife Julian P. Boom (Laurence Roothooft) launched 22 The Project, a performance art piece in which the couple planned to get... Continue Reading →
The nonprofit Sundance Institute has shared the names of this year's cohort for the 2026 Sundance Institute Trans Possibilities Intensive, which takes place online from July 27th–29th: Stella Alfjaro, Autumn Boxley, Song Hà , Emory Chao Johnson, Justice Jamal Jones, and Kevin Xian Ming Yu. This is the fifth year of the intensive, which is designed... Continue Reading →
A year after the federal crisis line for LGBTQ+ youth went dark, the co-founder of The Trevor Project is betting on another kind of lifeline where queer youth take the mic. Powered by the national nonprofit The Future Perfect Project, the I'm Feeling Queer Today! podcast—hosted and produced by LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-22—returns for... Continue Reading →
The 1970s brought about many paradigm shifts in cinema, prominent among them were those exemplified in Rocky and Saturday Night Fever. Sylvester Stallone defied the studio by insisting on starring in the little $1 million indie he wrote and, despite the prevailing wisdom, the film earned $225 million and won the Best Picture Oscar. With... Continue Reading →
I’ve always admired how filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz has dedicated much of his career to shining a light on so many untold queer stories, including I Am Divine, The Fabulous Allan Carr, Tab Hunter Confidential, and Vito. In his latest, Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, he takes a multi-pronged approach to the real murders which inspired the... Continue Reading →
My coverage of OutfestNext continues with filmmaker Gary Jaffe’s feature debut, Before I Do. I confess that I approached this film with great trepidation due to the fact that I am often allergic to the genre in which a bunch of people gather in one spot to air out their dirty laundry. Unless you’re Who’s... Continue Reading →
Welcome back Outfest! Now rebranded as OutfestNext, this legendary queer film festival went through some down time in recent years, but has returned with an incredible slate of films. I’ll post several reviews starting with En El Camino (On The Road), from writer-director David Pablos (Dance Of The 41, The Chosen Ones). Blending neorealism with... Continue Reading →
Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit that uplifts LGBTQ+ storytellers in the entertainment industry, will run the second edition of its four-day screening series OutfestNEXT at LA LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza from July 23rd–26th. The lineup includes 19 feature films, plus over 30 shorts, educational workshops, and conversations with filmmakers and the community.... Continue Reading →
Charlie: "Everyone thinks teenage relationships don't last." Nick: "I never really thought that about us." Heartwarming and healing, as well as heartwrenching at times, creator-writer Alice Oseman and director Wash Westmoreland deliver a pitch-perfect, tenderly-crafted finale to this beloved series that feels like a hug from your best friend when you need it most. Heartstopper.... Continue Reading →
