Is Anderson Cooper Coming Out For February Sweeps?

There was some heat in the blogosphere on this potential story back in mid-December, when Gawker reported that CNN's Anderson Cooper brought his longtime boyfriend to his holiday party.  A flurry of speculation followed as to a potential coming out episode that would be a part of his daytime talk show.  Since then however, there have not been any new rumors or actual facts. But now that today is February 1st and sweeps are upon us, it seems time to ask the question again and be on the lookout for more clues.

The rumors about Cooper's public coming out began last summer and then heated up in November, when the thinking was he would do it to boost ratings for that sweeps period.  His show has not been doing that great so a week-long Anderson Comes Out extravaganza would certainly garner some eyeballs.  However, Cooper has kinda/sorta been living as a gay man and is seen out on the town with his man (Ben Maisani, above in sunglasses), even though he hasn't publicly made any statement on the subject.  Kathy Griffin certainly has tried to do it for him on their New Year's specials!

Anyway, it would be nice to have Cooper make it official, as some another news anchor did recently.  And, at the least, this sort of gesture for The Gays would do a lot to make up for the embarrassing promo-mercial for Spiderman he did in the middle of CNN's New Years broadcast. That was awful!

Queer Country Monthly and A Musical Discovery

On Saturday, I went to something called the Queer Country Monthly at Branded Saloon in Prospect Heights.  I didn't know what to expect but was delighted to find a great lineup of original songs and cover tunes by a nice array of local artists.

I particularly loved a duo called My Gay Banjo, who have been playing around the BK and developing a loyal following over the last couple years. I wrote about them for NEXT magazine's Nexus blog, where I am a semi-regular nightlife correspondent.  You can read my article here and watch My Gay Banjo on YouTube, performing their delicious cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene".  

Michael Urie Makes His Broadway Debut In HOW TO SUCCEED

Michael Urie, who starred in the original stage production of my play WTC VIEW as well as the film adaptation too, is now making the leap to Broadway.  He made his debut on the Great White Way this Tuesday, playing the role of Bud Frump in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING.  He jumps into the show along with Nick Jonas, who is taking over for Daniel Radcliffe who originated the lead in this revival.

I chatted with Michael earlier this week about his big debut and posted a short story about it on Queerty too.  Michael also sent me a link to a fun video he and Nick did about how well they've got to know each other as they've been rehearsing together all month for stepping into their roles.  So congrats to Michael for the next big step in his acting career.  Break a leg! :)

First-Time Oscar Nominee Bret McKenzie Is Kinda Cute

I've slacked a bit on my semi-irregular "Kinda Cute" feature here on the blog. But today, I was inspired to get it going by Bret McKenzie, who you may know as the star of a daffy, little HBO show called FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS.  I always thought he was quite cute and scruffy on that show, as him and his partner wrote songs and kicked about the East Village with their rag-tag team of friends.

But as of this week, Bret is a first-time Oscar nominee for his awesome song "Man or Muppet" from THE MUPPETS movie.  Does this make him cuter? No, it just gives me a timely tag to feature him today!

The New York TIMES caught up with Brett by phone down in New Zealand, where he is originally from.  He seemed pretty surprised and delighted about the nod for his original song.  He was even more excited by his unusual chances of winning.  This year, there were only two nominees for best song, the other from the movie RIO. So Bret has a 50/50 chance of winning. So I look forward to his charming acceptance speech...and how he looks in a tux!

Troubles At The World Trade Center

There have been a number of problems recently at the World Trade Center site which have slowed construction of what was formerly known as the "Freedom Tower" and has brought construction on the 9/11 Museum to a halt.  Also, construction for a planned WTC 3 tower that was supposed to be 80-stories tall may now stop at the 7th floor due to a lack of tenants for the building.

All this was reported by the AP today over on the HuffPost's NY page.  The slowdown on World Trade Center 1, which was rising at a floor a week, is being attributed to technical difficulties as the building passes the 90-story mark.  But problems with the other projects are more complex, involving a problem in the steel production for the site and political/budgetary disputes with the Port Authority.

The bottom line in all of this is that completion of the site is going to be delayed for months and possibly years, with the opening date for the 9/11 Museum being pushed to 2013 at the earliest. It's disappointing news considering how so much progress was made in the last couple years. Hopefully, the mayor can intervene and get these entities working together to complete this massive project sooner than later.

Guest Blogging On QUEERTY This Week

This week, I'm guest blogging over at the website Queerty. You can read my posts about the Oscar nominations announced this morning (yay Melissa McCarthy!), the new Snickers ad (a DYNASTY reunion), and two guys who do tag-team sessions on Grindr drunk.  All these and other stories about some movement on the gay marriage front are viewable on www.queerty.com today and tomorrow.  Then I'll be back here with more Hi-Fi Bri-ness. Thanks for checking them out!

A Tribute To Producer Steven Spielberg

Most of us think of Steven Spielberg as a director.  However, while he has helmed nearly 40 feature films  in his 40 plus year career, he has produced more than 130 features (not to mention a new TV show.) Over the weekend, the Producers Guild of America honored Spielberg with its 2012 David O. Selznick achievement award.

Before receiving the award, they played a clip reel of film that Spielberg served on as a producer. And while you'll certainly recognize some of these classic Spielberg titles, there are many other films iconic (BACK THE FUTURE) and otherwise (BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED) included in this sharply edited homage to his body of work as a producer.  [As a sidenote, Todd Sandler, who edited this tribute, is also editor of The Devotion Project shorts that I've feature here.]  It's a striking look at this modern day mogul's effect on the film industry over the last four decades.

An Animated RAIDERS Opening That Took Six Months

Here's a fun Friday clip to end the week with. In honor of the 30th anniversary of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, one serious fanboy by the name of Jeff Gurwood created a stop-motion redo of the first 6 minutes of the film.  It took him six months of painstaking frame by frame animation to (I'm guessing that torch in the beginning took a lot of time!). He used real Indiana Jones action figures but what is most impressive is that he created the sets and props himself.

As a follow-up, think it would be great if Jeff gave the crazy opening sequence of TEMPLE OF DOOM the same treatment.  However, that could possibly take somewhat more time than six months given all the insane action going on in that nightclub and ensuing chase. That is definitely one my favorite Spielberg set pieces...maybe due to all the dancing girls!

Happy Birthday Poe And Good Luck In The AFC Championship Game

Today is the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, one of America's first and foremost writers of poems, novels and really scary short stories.  Poe was always one of my favorite authors as a kid, mainly for the creepiness of his tales but also for the fact that he was a fellow Marylander too.  Poe is strongly identified with Baltimore, where he spent a lot of his adult life and, most infamously, died on October 7, 1849, a few days after being found on a city street.

What many people don't know is that Poe spent the last years of his life in New York City, not Baltimore. In fact, he lived just a couple blocks from my apartment in the Village but then moved way uptown for quieter times in what was then "the country" but soon would became known as "The Bronx." There is a detailed article on the Bowery Boys website about Poe's final home on what is now the Grand Concourse (which I've previously blogged about on a library visit to the Kingsbridge Branch).

Finally, Poe's stories live on today to scare new generations of schoolchildren. But his legacy is also, strangely enough, a part of the National Football League. Baltimore's football team was named "The Ravens" (after Poe's classic poem) in a fan contest back in 1996.  They remain, now and probably forever, the only U.S. sports team inspired by a literary figure.  (Though "The Gatsbys" would be a swell name for the new Brooklyn NBA team.)  This weekend, Poe's team will be battling it out with the New England Patriots for the AFC title. Oddly enough, Poe's birthplace is actually Boston but I doubt he'll have many fans rooting him in Foxborough. We can only imagine what Poe might think of our modern day Gladiators doing battle for the glory of his Raven...and ol' Baltimore too.

The Devotion Project's Latest Love Story: Paul & Brian

My good friend and fellow filmmaker Tony Osso has a new short film out as part of The Devotion Project.  Last year, he decided to start filming LGBT couples who've been together for more than 20 years.  I posted the first film back in the fall and now he's got a new one which is even more amazing than the first.

This time, he gives us the love story of Paul Labrecque and Brian Cantor, a couple who celebrated their 25th anniversary on the day that New York state made marriage equality a reality last summer. What I particularly love about this couple is the honesty they share in talking about their relationship and the difficult challenges they faced together.  It's a moving story and beautifully told.  I look forward to more...