gay rights Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The problem with so many documentaries is a lack of cohesive focus, the result of too many ideas and intentions -- linked but incongruent -- for any certain purpose to be conveyed. Such an identity crisis can ruin the most well-meant film, but it almost seems appropriate to the homosexual and transsexual issues fumbling around in Katherine Linton's Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig.

In 2003, record producer Chris Slusarenko put together a tribute album called Wig in a Box that featured popular artists such as The Breeders, They Might Be Giants, The Polyphonic Spree, Spoon and Sleater-Kinney covering the songs of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a rock musical about a transsexual that was also made into a cult film. The proceeds from the sales of the album went toward funding for New York City's Harvey Milk School in its transformation from a youth center for gay, bisexual and transgender students into an accredited public high school.

Openly gay actor Sir Ian McKellen, in his speech accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival, told movie fans that although his own mainstream movie career opened up after he came out of the closet, it's still very difficult for gay actors to be open about their sexuality, and even harder for lesbian actresses. McKellen spoke of Hollywoods "old fashioned attitudes", very different from the attitude in theater, where actors are "at ease with being open and honest".

McKellen makes a good point. How many openly gay or lesbian actors can you think of off the top of your head? In spite of efforts of groups like Focus in the Family to highlight the supposed homosexual agenda in Hollywood, I'll bet you can't think of more than five current A-List (heck, I'll even take B-List) actors who are both gay and out of the closet.  Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr, and Montgomery Clift don't count; I'm talking actors or actresses you're likely to see in current People's 50 Most Beautiful or Sexiest Flavor of the Month Alive issues.