In 2014, Some Actors Still Have An Issue With Playing Gay

There were two stories this week about male actors and their reluctance to play gay. I found this news a bit surprising given how much things have changed in the last 10 years, with many straight actors like Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhal doing some of their best work playing gay roles. I thought maybe actors' nervousness, both professional and personal, was maybe a thing of the past. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

On the HBO show TRUE BLOOD, the actor Luke Grimes reportedly left the show when he found out his character was going to have a gay romance in the new season. While his agents contend the reasons for the move were strictly professional (ie. he booked bigger feature gigs), it does seem to be a case of curious timing.

On an NBC show, Brendan Fehr is playing a gay doctor on NIGHT SHIFT. However, he admitted in a recent interview that he had great difficulty with the intimacy that the role requires.  His comments about having trouble kissing onscreen partner Luke Mafarlane (?!) were maybe taken a little out of context. But it's still troubling that an actor would publicly admit to something like this...unless it was some strange reverse attempt at publicity for the show during gay pride month. The old adage of there being no such thing as bad press may be at play (especially when it comes to a summer show on NBC!).

Anyway, that this is still even part of the conversation in 2014 is troubling to me as a filmmaker who often writes gay characters. In fact, I recently had an experience in auditions for a new project where one of the actors was great and said he was totally comfortable with the role. Then, after he read the script which does involve kissing another guy, he balked and took himself out of consideration. My advice for him? If he can't do his job as an actor, which is to play other people...all kinds of other people, then he may want to consider a career in catering. Just saying...

The Cast Of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK On LAW AND ORDER

I've recently been catching up on the Netflix original series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. It's a unique show set in a women's federal prison with some fascinating and memorable characters. For me, one of the additional thrills watching it is that the show was cast and shot in NYC so the actors playing all these roles are some wonderful and familiar faces (like nightclub singer and Bway songstress Lea Delaria). And, like all New York actors, they've all "done their time" on NBC's LAW & ORDER. 

A clever woman named Stef at the website Autostraddle (?!) has gone through IMDB and found most of the major characters in their appearances on the NBC staple, along with screen grabs from their roles. The pornstache prison guard, played by Pablo Schreiber, had a major recurring role on LAW & ORDER:SVU stalking/torturing star Mariska Hartigay's character. The only one it seems who wasn't on the show was oddly enough series star Taylor Schilling. 

One of my personal favorites on the show is the mom Aleida Diaz, played by Elizabeth Rodriguez, who I directed as the spacey sister of Lauren Velez in my romantic comedy I THINK I DO. Her role on OITNB couldn't be further from her hilarious work in ITID but it's great to see her one the show in such an impressive lineup of talented ladies.

NBC Planning New Musicals After SOUND Success

NBC got a blockbuster audience of nearly 19 million people to watch the live broadcast of a musical last week. Given those spectacular numbers, they are already planning to do it again next holiday season. There's an article in today's TIMES saying that they've been getting lots of suggestions and have already narrowed it down to a few choices.

Though there was a cacophony of criticism about Carrie Underwood's performance as Maria, I just think it's great they are bringing the musical form back to television. I've always believed there is so much talent in New York theatre that could be presented in this way--hey, it worked pretty well in the 1950s and introduced stars like James Dean and Paul Newman to a national audience. In fact, SOUND OF MUSIC did the exact same thing with Audra McDonald last week.

Mainly known in NYC as an amazing actor/singer/Tony winner, Ms. McDonald is now a national treasure with her showcasing as Mother Superior last Thursday night.  It was a remarkable performance which was easily the highlight of the show and, during one of their songs together, actually made Carrie Underwood even better in her role (as many bloggers and critics have noted). I have seen her many times here in the city, most memorably in one of her first roles in CAROUSEL, and she is a truly incredible talent who deserves more attention on the national stage.

SNL Throws A Popular "Boy Dance Party"

Lately, it seems that the best material on SNL is often the pre-taped sketches. Last week, they did one of the more daring satirical pieces about the Republican party shutdown of the government with Miley Cyrus as Michelle Bachman. It was seriously out there--and almost reminded me of the edgy material from the show's original run back in the '70s. This week, they kept things a little bit lighter but it was just as funny with a sketch about a "Boy Dance Party" which happens in secret after the wives and GF's leave their men behind to watch football.

Taran Killam killed it with some awesome dance moves, particularly the "shake that sack" move. He is the go-to hot guy on the show these days, sporting some serious guns. Oh--and there's also Bruce Willis doing his best to keep up with the boys as well. Good stuff.

The Songs From SMASH's Fake Musical Become Popular

There's a fun piece on the TIMES City Room blog today about the growing popularity of songs from a Broadway musical that was never on Broadway. "Bombshell" is the name of the fictional show withint the NBC show SMASH, which follows the behind-the-scenes story of this fake musical's journey to the Great White Way.  While there has been much speculation about whether "Bombshell" might actually be a musical some day, that hasn't stopped patrons of piano bars from singing it's praises alongside standards from SOUND OF MUSIC or LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Marie's Crisis, one of my favorite village nightspots, gets a heavy mention in the piece as a joint where this trend is taking off.

There was a great detail in the story about the writers of SMASH's songs, Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. They been a couple since they met in the 1970s...at Marie's Crisis! (Talk about meeting cute for two songwriters.) Now their tunes from SMASH are well, a smash. At least with the gay piano bar crowd.  The songs have also not done too badly online either. In fact, later this month, there will be a real fake cast album released on iTunes for "Bombshell" with 22 tracks from the non-existent show. And the show itself starts its 2nd season tonight on NBC.

Adam Levine Gets Judged And Goes Topless On SNL

The cold open for this week's SNL was unusually star-studded and quite funny too. Adam Levine, of Maroon 5 and THE VOICE, was the host and they did a set up where he was judged on his monologue ala his own show by a panel of celebrity comedians; Andy Samberg, Cameron Diaz, and (surprise!) Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry had some of the best lines about giving advice to some "looks less Jewish than his name" but Cameron Diaz was hysterical doing a send-up of Christina Aguilera and, well, herself. 

The whole thing ends with Adam Levine taking his shirt off to reveal his infamously tatted torso.  Which actually turned this cold open into a hot one. After this turn and his guest starring on AMERICAN HORROR STORY, what could be next for this hot hypenate....maybe a cool indie fillm? We shall see...

Jodie Foster In Her Greatest Role...Herself

Last night's Golden Globes featured an instantly legendary speech by Hollywood icon Jodie Foster as she received the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award. The speech, which brought the crowd to its feet even before it started, has been classified by some as her coming out speech. However it was so much more than that.  It was something like a loose monologue/sololiquy about her life in general and her unusual career in show business since the ripe young age of 3.

I just watched it again and the honesty and the eloquence of it are just so striking. And the emotions, unlike some acceptance speeches, completely unguarded. When she talks about her mother, who seems to be suffering from Alzheimers, it is such a intense moment and a beautiful sentiment, (made with a movie metaphor no-less) as she says "I Love You" three times in hopes that restorative magic may happen.

I first saw Jodie in a Disney movie FREAKY FRIDAY, when I was a youngster. I not only had the hugest crush on her....I wanted to be her. Now I see why. Her enormous talent is just the surface. With her heartfelt eloquence and deep emotion in receiving that award she showed that she is an incredible human being, and one with a rich sense of humor too.  She is not Honey-Boo-Boo, as she memorably noted. (That was the understatement of the night.) She is Jodie Foster and maybe the next 50 years will feature her reprising last night's role and simply playing herself. Who knows? Maybe that could be her greatest role.

New Details On The New Season of SMASH

Out in Pasadena, the annual winter TV press tour is underway and yesterday SMASH got to have it's meet and greet with the critics.  The Hollywod Reporter has all the details but the major news is that the new season will feature a lot more music and a brand new musical too.  Jeremy Jordan, from the hit real Broadway show NEWSIES, has joined the cast and will be working on a show within the show called "The Hit List" while "Bombshell", the Marilyn musical from Season 1 will continue to develop.

There was also news that a full "cast recording" of the fictional "Bombshell" musical will be released mid-February with songs from both Season 1 and Season 2. The musical itself, however, is still fictional as it was confirmed last year that there is no book written and no current plans for an actual Bway show about Marilyn.  They haven't ruled it out but it seems unlikely that it will ever happen, given the history of Marilyn flopping on the Great White Way before.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a new season of the show which many love to hate. I'll be honest--I just love it. A show about Broadway on network television? I mean seriously...what's not to like? :) Here's the trailer for Season 2--with some serious guest stars too. It all starts Feb 5th.

Black and White: Two White House Sitcoms On TV

There have been a lot of ads and hype recently about the new NBC sitcom 1600 PENN, a family show set in the White House which debuts this Thursday night.  Starring BOOK OF MORMON's Josh Gad as the unruly son of a sitting president, it could be entertaining as Gad is a pretty inventive comedian. But the show already has some competition as it is actually the second White House sitcom to debut this television season.  And the other sitcom is somewhat more true to current history in that it features a black family in the White House.

THE FIRST FAMILY premiered last September as a syndicated show (it airs in NYC on MyNetwork TV) and I randomly saw an episode of it last week when flipping channels. The president has a rambunctious extended family which notably includes Jackee Harry as his wacky sister.  The show, however, seems to have been beamed in from the 1980s and, despite its unusual premise, is bland and unfunny. I'm amazed the show hasn't gotten more attention given the reflection of the Obama White House (though this fictional family hails from Detroit!) but then again, it is just not that good. We'll see if 1600 PENN can be any better.

MUNSTERS Reboot MOCKINGBIRD LANE To Air Once As H'Ween Special

Over the last couple years, NBC reportedly spent 10 million dollars on a remake of the 60's classic show THE MUNSTERS called MOCKINGBIRD LANE (the street where the original TV family lived). But it didn't get picked up as a series this fall and, with an all-star lineup (Eddie Izzard and Portia de Rossi) and major talent behing the camera (Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer), there were questions as to what was going to happen to the expensive show. Well, those questions were answered today as the Hollywood Reporter has the news that they will air the pilot as a "Halloween Special" on Friday October 26th at 8pm.

When I heard "Halloween Special" I immediately thought of another infamous, one-night only network trick/treat that occurred back in the 1970's. It was the PAUL LYNDE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL which is one of the weirdest and wackiest hours of network television ever unleashed upon the American public. It is hard the describe the culture clash of Kiss performing disco songs with Paul Lynde, Florence Henderson, and Margaret Hamilton (not to mention Donny and Marie!). It's unclear if MOCKINGBIRD will rise to this level of camp craziness but it will be worth watching.....at least once.

Coming to NBC....GLEE For Adults

So yesterday, I posted about PAN AM, which looked to be one of the more exciting entries in the new fall TV season.  Well, now I have seen what is easily the most awesome looking trailer for a new show since Fox started airing those enticing GLEE promos two years ago.  Apparently I'm not alone my enthusiasm as, after reading through the reviews TV upfronts last week, this was the most buzzed about show.

SMASH is a behind the scenes look at the making of a Broadway show.  That alone got my interest when I first heard about this show when the pilot was announced back in January.  But what makes it this truly extraordinary is the talent involved in putting it all together;  Steven Spielberg is the executive producer, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (CHICAGO, HAIRSPRAY) are the lead producers, playwright Teresa Rebeck (THE UNDERSTUDY, MAURITIUS) is the writer,  Michael Mayer (AMERICAN IDIOT, SPRING AWAKENING) is the director, and the music is by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (HAIRSPRAY).  Whoa.

The cast has Megan Hilty (who I saw in WICKED) and American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee as two talented ladies battling for the role of Marilyn Monroe in a musical about the icon's life.  And from the looks of this 5 minute trailer, which I have watched more than 5 times(!), this is gonna be great. The show will be doing original songs each week and the two that are featured in this preview are just fantastic, especially the last number.

The only drawback is, like GLEE, there's going to be something of a wait involved before this makes it on air.  The show is slated for January 2012 so that it can premiere after NBC's new hit THE VOICE. This is, of course, the same strategy employed with GLEE, premiering after IDOL. Let's just hope that ratings lightning will strike twice for this remarkable looking show.