GLAAD Joins Rosie O’Donnell to Premiere HBO Documentary ‘A Family is a Family is a Family’
January 21, 2010
GLAAD joined Rosie O’Donnell on Tuesday evening to premiere her upcoming HBO documentary, A Family is a Family is a Family: A Rosie O’Donnell Celebration.
In HBO’s moving documentary, kids offer touching, profound and often funny insights about what being a family means to them. While answers vary, all family’s share one vital ingredient: love.
Challenging stereotypes, the film creates a portrait of the modern American family in all its wonderful diversity. Among those featured are: children with two fathers or two mothers; a girl whose mother and father adopted her in China; three brothers who live with their mother and grandmother; a pair of mothers who are getting married to make one big family; and families with adopted kids and children born through in-vitro fertilization.
A Family is a Family is a Family is directed and produced by Amy Schatz, whose credits include such award-winning HBO family productions as the “Classical Baby” series and the special “Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales.”
The film makes its television debut Sunday, January 31 at 7PM/ 6 Central on HBO.
Be sure to tune in!
Related Posts:Wanda Sykes’ Comedy Special, I’ma Be Me, Airs Tomorrow on HBO
October 9, 2009
Out comedian Wanda Sykes returns to HBO tomorrow night with her second comedy special, I’ma Be Me. Taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., I’ma Be Me features the outspoken comic riffing on topics such as coming out, being a new mom, working on a gay cruise and, of course, politics.
On November 7, Sykes will also debut her new Fox talk show, The Wanda Sykes Show, making her the first African American lesbian to headline on network late night. The Emmy-winning writer of The Chris Rock Show is best known as Barb on CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine and was also this year’s host of the White House Correspondents Association dinner.
After performing on the True Colors Tour in 2008, Sykes publicly came out last November at a “No on Prop 8″ rally in Las Vegas.
Catch a preview below of I’ma Be Me, airing Saturday, October 10, at 10 PM only on HBO:
Related Posts:Out Counts at the Emmys
September 21, 2009
Last night’s 61st Primetime Emmy Awards represented a great achievement in visibility for members of the LGBT community. The show was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the Emmy-nominated star of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother and an actor who has only seen his profile rise since coming out publicly in 2006. Harris got a big thumbs up on his hosting from encore Emmy winner Jon Stewart. “You’re doing a wonderful job,” Stewart said. “I’m serious. You’re tremendous. And these shows, they usually suck.”
Cherry Jones accepts the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Cherry Jones took home the statue for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as President Allison Taylor on Fox’s 24. In her speech, Jones saluted the artistry and gifts of her co-workers as Keifer Sutherland looked on with obvious pride in his co-star.
The trophy for Outstanding Dramatic Series went to AMC’s hit drama Mad Men starring Jon Hamm and Bryan Batt. Batt is a speaker at the upcoming Out in Hollywood III: The Rise of the Out Actor, an invitation-only panel discussion presented by GLAAD’s Entertainment Media Program in conjunction with the SAG National LGBT Actors Committee. At the panel, prominent actors, casting directors, producers and directors will discuss the opportunities and challenges actors face by coming out.
The LGBT community was also well represented behind the scenes. Irish lesbian Dearbhla Walsh earned the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Little Dorritt (PBS), based on the work of Charles Dickens. In her speech, Walsh thanked her partner, Irish television presenter Anna Nolan. Kristin Chenoweth won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the now canceled Pushing Daisies (ABC) produced by the out team of Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. Michael Sucsy, the openly gay writer/director/producer of Grey Gardens (HBO) accepted the award for Outstanding Made for TV Movie.
GLAAD celebrates the work of these talented artists and the networks that support them. As people see stories about their lives and the common ground we all share, it leads to greater awareness, understanding and equality.
Related Posts:Dan Savage Taping Savage Love Pilot for HBO
August 21, 2009
Openly gay author and journalist Dan Savage is in Los Angeles this month filming a “non-airing presentation pilot” for HBO based on his Savage Love advice column.
Dan Savage
Via Slog:
A few Sloggers—and my boyfriend—are wondering why I’ve been in LA all month. I’m down here working on what’s called “a non-airing presentation pilot for HBO.” Or… “Savage Love,” the (potential) TV show. According to a draft of press release that’s sitting on my desk here at HBO—in my own office! with a lock on the door! I could be naked in here!—”Savage Love,” the (potential) teevee show, “will focus on current events and cultural trends with sex as the filter.” I’m hoping to bring a new kind of conversation to TV about sex—an honest conversation, one that’s informed without being (too) wonky, funny without being (too) cruel, sexy without being (too) cheesy. Basically, my sex-advice column—but on the teevee!
Savage has been writing the column since 1991, but lately his career has really kicked into high gear. The best-selling author’s insightful and often hilarious takes on LGBT issues have resulted in frequent appearances on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Furthermore, The Kid, Savage’s book about how he and his partner adopted a baby, is being adapted into a musical by the producing team behind the Tony-winning Avenue Q.
If you will be in Los Angeles on August 27, you can click here to get tickets, which are available on a first come, first served basis. We hope to see Savage Love on HBO in the near future!
Related Posts:Network Responsibility Index Continues to be Covered on TV and Blogs
August 4, 2009
Since the release of GLAAD’s third annual Network Responsibility Index (NRI) last week, the blogosphere has been abuzz with responses to the report. CBS and SyFy have promised big changes and Chelsea Handler comedically pointed out a few things she thinks we missed.
Video courtesy of E! Online:
We at GLAAD always appreciate Chelsea’s humor. A strong and hilarious ally to the gay community, she hosted the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco earlier this year, so despite what some blogs would have you believe, there is no feud between GLAAD and Chelsea Handler. We thank her for bringing attention to the NRI on her Chelsea Lately!
The NRI analyzes programming on the five broadcast networks, the eight highest rated non-children’s/news/sports cable networks plus HBO and Showtime which, as subscription networks, do not receive as many viewers but are considered to be among the major cable networks.
Paul James as gay frat boy Calvin Owens on ABC Family's Greek
E! was not among those networks this year. However, because ratings change from year to year, the ten cable networks counted this year are not necessarily the ten that will be counted in next year’s NRI. Case in point: the second annual NRI counted Spike, which was replaced this year by Sci Fi (now SyFy). This may change again in next year’s report. Several cable networks that did not crack our top ten but air significant LGBT content, such as ABC Family, Bravo and BBC America, were included in the “Additional Cable Overview” found in the rear of the NRI.
Bloggers also wondered why daytime television was not included in the report. There is little question that the daytime TV landscape for LGBT characters is better today than it has ever been. We commend the writers of daily dramas such as As the World Turns, The Young & The Restless, Guiding Light and One Life to Live for seamlessly incorporating LGBT characters into their stories. However, tracking 6,113.5 hours of primetime network and cable television is a big task.
While right now we do not have the staff capacity to include daytime in the NRI, we do monitor storylines and recognize outstanding representations in the Daily Drama category at the GLAAD Media Awards.
Related Posts:GLAAD Releases Third Annual Network Responsibility Index
July 27, 2009
Today, GLAAD released its third annual Network Responsibility Index, a report that maps the quantity, quality and diversity of images of LGBT people on television. HBO ranked highest among all networks, while ABC led broadcast networks for the third year in a row.
"True Blood's" Lafayette helped make HBO the leader in LGBT representation among all networks evaluated
GLAAD reviewed all primetime programming — 4,901 hours — for inclusion of LGBT characters or issues on the five major networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) from June 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009. GLAAD also examined all original primetime programming — 1,212.5 hours — on 10 highly-rated cable networks (A&E, FX, HBO, Lifetime, MTV, Showtime, Sci Fi, TBS, TNT, and USA). Each hour was reviewed for on-screen LGBT representations. Based on the quantity, overall quality and diversity of these representations, a grade was assigned by GLAAD’s Entertainment Media Program to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.
The full, detailed report can be downloaded here: http://www.glaad.org/nri2009
HBO received a Good rating and scored the highest rating of the 15 networks evaluated with LGBT characters on shows including True Blood, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Entourage that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the LGBT community. Of HBO’s 14 original series, 10 included LGBT content and 42 percent of the network’s total programming hours included LGBT representation. However, representation of the lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities was minimal.
"Grey's Anatomy's" Callie and Arizona helped keep ABC tops among broadcast networks
ABC and The CW ranked first and second among the five broadcast networks, just as they have every year since GLAAD began tracking for the Network Responsibility Index. However, the rankings among the remaining broadcast network shifted with CBS dropping to last place and Fox rising to third.
The 14th Annual GLAAD Where We Are On TV report on diversity will be issued in September. This analysis will examine LGBT inclusion as well as the gender and race/ethnicity of all scripted characters scheduled to appear during the upcoming season. With brand-new LGBT-inclusive shows such as Glee and Modern Family, we are optimistic that the 2009-2010 television season could see some marked improvement among the major networks. Continue checking glaad.org and glaadblog.org for the latest on the Network Responsibility Index and Where We Are on TV, as well as further news on the coming TV season.
Related Posts:Artie Lang Makes Anti-Gay Jokes on HBO’s Joe Buck Live; HBO Continues Re-Airing Episode
June 23, 2009
Comedian and Howard Stern Show regular Artie Lang appeared on the debut episode of Joe Buck Live last week and offered up a slew of unfunny and offensive comments at the expense of the LGBT community. The episode continues to air on HBO.
After host Joe Buck declared that TMZ was his favorite website, Lang retorted by saying: ”Joe, TMZ is your favorite website? What’s your second, suckingc**k.com?”
He then launched into a stereotypical impersonation of an effeminate man and said: ”I’m on TMZ constantly, did you see what Angelina was wearing today? What the f**k, how about going to a sports website for Christ’s sake?”
Finally, after admitting to being “a well-known homophobic” [sic], Lange then claimed: ”It’s like a white trash gift from god that the f**king Cowboys have a quarterback whose last name rhymes with homo.”
See the video (WARNING – Explicit content):
Buck was visibly uncomfortable during the segment and HBO has taken some action. We thank HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg for announcing his decision to ban Artie Lang from future appearances on HBO Sports and Joe Buck Live.
And yet, the problematic episode has re-aired several times since the original broadcast and is scheduled to do so eight more times through the end of the month. GLAAD reached out to HBO and expressed our concern. However, HBO has refused to cease re-airing the episode or edit out Lang’s comments. If HBO is truly committed to taking appropriate steps to respond Artie Lang and his offensive brand of humor, we call on the network to remove Lang’s anti-gay comments from future airings of Joe Buck Live.
Contact HBO and voice your concern:
(212) 512-1000
HBO Omits – and Then Restores – Openly Gay Bishop Gene Robinsons’ Invocation
January 20, 2009
In the days leading up to the inauguration of President Barack Obama, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and allied Americans looked forward to the Sunday inauguration kickoff concert, set to be broadcast on HBO, which openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson would open with a prayer.
When the prayer was not included in the broadcast, LGBT bloggers, advocates and GLAAD staff reached out to HBO to express their concerns. At first, HBO suggested that the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) had kept the prayer out of the broadcast, as noted on AfterElton.com. After some back and forth, the PIC issued the following statement from spokesman Josh Earnest:
“We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson’s invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday’s program. We regret the error in executing this plan – but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event.”
Within 24 hours, after hearing the concerns of LGBT people across the country, HBO agreed to play Bishop Robinson’s prayer before the inauguration and include it in future re-broadcasts of the concert. Media outlets nationwide picked up the story, which was featured last night on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and in reports by Reuters, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News, among others.
Though HBO viewers did not have the opportunity to see the invocation, bloggers posted the full prayer as recorded by a Christianity Today reporter. Rev. Susan Russell’s blog also posted photos from the event and the text of the prayer, while Episcopal Cafe featured links to the full prayer. Numerous LGBT blogs, including Joe.My.God. and Pam’s House Blend, offered ongoing commentary and updates as new details about the story emerged.
In a press release issued today, HBO gave the following update:
An updated version of the exclusive HBO special : THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL on WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21 (11:30 p.m. ET/PT). This presentation will include the invocation of the Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson, as well as all of the original performances of the live special, which was seen Sunday, Jan. 18.
The new version will also be seen this weekend on the main HBO channel and on HBO Latino, on SATURDAY, JAN. 24 (6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT) and SUNDAY, JAN. 25 (3:30 p.m. ET/PT).
It will also be available on hbo.com starting Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Today, GLAAD sent out the following as part of a statement, which you can read here.
GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said:
“We are disappointed that at this landmark moment millions of people worldwide did not get the opportunity to see the invocation by the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson during the original live broadcast of the opening celebration of the Presidential Inauguration. Rev. Robinson’s incredible voice draws attention to the common ground we share and we are encouraged that HBO has restored his invocation to their historical record of that day.”
HBO is Shameless
January 6, 2009
HBO has just announced it is working on a US version of the British comedy hit Shameless. The series follows the Gallaghers, a working-class family with a sweet gay kid as part of the clan.
In the British version, Ian (played by Gerart Kearns) is a closeted teenager carrying on a secret relationship with Kash Karib (Chris Bisson). Obviously it is our hope that HBO will keep these gay characters, but we know from experience that all too often, the LGBT members of foreign series are lost when shows are adapted for American audiences.
Shameless has aired on BBC America and Sundance Channel, which put the show on our radar a few seasons back.
No word yet as to when the US version will roll out.
Special Sunday Night Viewing: Matthew Shepard Biopics
October 11, 2008
To honor the memory of slain gay college student Matthew Shepard, Lifetime and HBO will be re-airing two original films on Sunday, October 12. They are not to be missed.
It has been ten years since Matthew was brutally killed in Laramie, Wyoming. His death shocked and saddened people around the world.
In 2002, two television films were made to dramatize the anti-gay hate crime. Now, to commemorate the event, HBO Signature will re-air the acclaimed The Laramie Project while Lifetime Movie Network and GLAAD will join to commemorate the anniversary of Matthew’s death by airing the Emmy-winning The Matthew Shepard Story, originally made for NBC.
A generation has grown up unaware of the story of Matthew Shepard. This Sunday, set your DVR or gather the family around to watch two incredible stories about the life and senseless death of a young man that brought issues of anti-gay discrimination and violence to an international audience.
The Matthew Shepard Story
Sunday, Oct. 12; 12pm ET/9am PT, Lifetime Movie Network
The Laramie Project
Sunday, Oct. 12; 10:15 pm, HBO Signature West, 7:15 pm HBO Signature East
Please view the trailer for The Laramie Project here:
REVIEW: Two Tales of Matthew Shepard
October 7, 2008
HBO Signature and Lifetime Movie Network bring the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard to the small screen this Sunday. While heartfelt, both overlook telling aspects of small-town life in Little America, according to New York Magazine reviewer John Leonard.
The Laramie Project
Missing Persons
by John Leonard, New York Magazine
You’ll be anguished by the angels and confounded by the shoes. The same angels show up in both these variations on a hate crime. They are friends and classmates of Matthew Shepard, constituents of grief, supporters of gay rights. Outside the church or the courthouse, dressed up in sheets with scaffolding for wings, they interpose themselves between the cameras of the media and the agitators chanting homophobic slogans. They complicate the “live” vampire feed. The Matthew Shepard Story tells us that these angels wore earplugs so as not to have to hear the slogans. Toward the end of The Laramie Project, they will also resonate, of course, with a production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America at the University of Wyoming.
Whereas the shoes remain a mystery. In The Laramie Project — originally a stage piece based on 200 interviews conducted by Moises Kaufman and his Tectonic Theater colleagues, with a small cast playing multiple roles, before it was opened up to blue sky, brown prairie, and big-name acting — the two men who abducted, tortured, and murdered Shepard are asked point-blank by the detective (Clancy Brown): “Why did you take his shoes?” They don’t know, or choose not to explain. In The Matthew Shepard Story, a flashback follows the boy on a school holiday from Switzerland to Morocco, where, as if in undress rehearsal, he will be ambushed and assaulted by young thugs who also take his shoes. This coincidence is not remarked upon by either film, since they haven’t seen each other. But those of us who have seen both are none the wiser.
The Matthew Shepard Story
In fact, there’s surprisingly little overlap. When Matthew’s father, Dennis Shepard, rises in court to urge mercy instead of death for Aaron McKinney, he says the same thing whether he’s Sam Waterston on [Lifetime Movie Network] or Terry Kinney on HBO. But The Laramie Project is otherwise an anthropology of a small town (population 26,000) and a cowboy culture (“Live and let live” is how they like to think of themselves), with soul-searching locals impersonated by the likes of Dylan Baker, Steve Buscemi, Kathleen Chalfant, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofalo, Joshua Jackson, Laura Linney, Camryn Manheim, Christina Ricci, Lois Smith, and Frances Sternhagen. Whereas The Matthew Shepard Story, as we’d expect of a commercial network movie, is the usual nuclear-family fallout shelter, all about what it felt like to be Matthew (Shane Meier) as well as his parents (Waterston and a very bruised Stockard Channing), and almost entirely innocent of politics, community, or ideology.
So, perhaps oddly, Matthew is mostly missing from The Laramie Project, which is more about how people have to reimagine themselves to accommodate what happened to him — while Laramie is mostly missing from The Matthew Shepard Story, which seeks rather to account for the agonizing family decision not to ask for capital punishment. From The Matthew Shepard Story, you wouldn’t know about any of the remarkable people we meet in The Laramie Project, like Father Roger Schmit (Tom Bower), the Catholic priest; Rebecca Hilliker (Camryn Manheim), who runs the University of Wyoming theater program; or Reggie Fluty (Amy Madigan), the police officer who treated Matt’s bloody wounds, only to discover that he was HIV-positive. From The Laramie Project, you wouldn’t know how spectacularly unhappy Matthew had been before his fatal abduction, even in Denver, or that his father was in Saudi Arabia during most of the trial. And from neither film do we learn anything at all about Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, the born losers who left him hanging on a fence; for this intelligence, you must consult JoAnn Wypijewski’s extraordinary essay in Harper’s three years ago.
Well, in Laramie, as one closeted gay rancher explains, they didn’t exactly live and let live. It is more like “If I don’t tell you I’m a fag, you won’t beat the crap out of me.” But how is this much different from anyplace else in our homophobic country and our homophobic world? In Laramie, at least they seem to take what happened personally.
This review originally appeared March 4, 2002, copyright New York Magazine
The Matthew Shepard Story
Sunday, Oct. 12; 12pm ET/9am PT, Lifetime Movie Network
The Laramie Project
Sunday, Oct. 12; 10:15 pm, HBO Signature West, 7:15 pm HBO Signature East
Entourage is Picked Up For a Sixth Season
October 7, 2008
The HBO Emmy-winning comedy Entourage has officially been picked up for a sixth season. In our book, this means one thing to cheer about: more Rex Lee!
Lloyd with his boss Ari
Though the series has always been gay-inclusive, Rex’s character, Lloyd, was initially in the background, shadowed by his overbearing boss, Ari (played by three-time Emmy winner Jeremy Piven). However, with each passing season, Lloyd has been given a little more screen time. He went from just answering phones to participating in plot lines that wholly revolved around his personal life. Suddenly, I was watching episodes that had Lloyd in nearly every scene with Ari. And when he got a boyfriend — who we actually got to meet — I knew Entourage had officially crossed over: Lloyd was a three-dimensional gay character on an incredibly successful and popular show.
But the ultimate achievement transpired within this current season: For the first time, Rex Lee’s name is in the opening credits. This is a huge step forward for the actor — and for gay visibility.
Rex plays one of the few gay Asian Pacific-Islander characters on television today. In GLAAD’s recent Where We Are on TV diversity study, we found there are only six Asian LGBT characters on cable, a mere 7%. (In contrast, there are 74 white characters, 82%.)
Don’t get HBO? You can still enjoy Lloyd’s zingers by reading his blog. Check out “Letters from Lloyd” here.
And don’t say that Rex never gives back to his community. He participated in GLAAD’s “Be an Ally & a Friend” PSA campaign last year. Feast your eyes.
Déjà vu Battle of Matthew Shepard Bio-Pics
October 6, 2008
Sunday, Oct. 12, marks ten years since the murder of college student Matthew Shepard. Six years ago, two television films were made to dramatize the anti-gay hate crime, but a well-publicized turf war broke out when NBC scheduled their film to air opposite one airing on HBO.
The Matthew Shepard Story
HBO had highly promoted The Laramie Project, adapted from the off-Broadway play of the same name, to air on March 16 of that year but were caught off-guard when NBC announced they would air their version of the story the same night.
The Laramie Project
“For whatever reason, they either wanted to damage our film at the cost of their film — which is a $3 million torpedo — or they didn’t have a lot of confidence in their film,” Chris Albrecht, HBO’s then-president of original programming, told The New York Times.
While NBC claimed the scheduling gaffe “was a total coincidence,” HBO blinked and rushed their film to air a week earlier. Both films would go on to be nominated for GLAAD Media Awards with The Laramie Project taking the prize.
A generation has grown up unaware of the story of Matthew Shepard. This Sunday, set your DVR or gather the family around to watch two incredible stories about the life and senseless death of a young man that brought issues of anti-gay discrimination and violence to an international audience.
The Matthew Shepard Story
Sunday, Oct. 12; 12pm ET/9am PT, Lifetime Movie Network
The Laramie Project
Sunday, Oct. 12; 10:15 pm, HBO Signature West, 7:15 pm HBO Signature East
No Te Pierdas La Corona en HBO
September 12, 2008
"La Corona" en HBO
“La Corona” es un documental corto que se estrenó en HBO el lunes 8 de septiembre y cuenta una historia interesante.
Nominado por un Oscar en el año 2007, cuenta la historia conmovedora e entretenida de un concurso de belleza dentro de la carcel mas grande para mujeres en Bogota, Colombia. Las cámaras siguen cuatro concursantes, incluyendo una quien está en una relación romantica con otra mujer.
Aunque nos lleva dentro de un mundo nada feliz, “La Corona,” con su excelente fotografía y altísima calidad de producción, se quedará contigo muchos dias despues de haberla visto.
“La Corona,” será televisada en HBO la semana de septiempre 8-12.
First Look: Alan Ball’s True Blood
August 27, 2008
Alan Ball, the creator of the GLAAD Media Award-winning drama Six Feet Under, has reunited with HBO to present True Blood, a vampire drama based on the popular series of Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. In a conversation with Ball today, he admitted that he rented and watched many vampire films before setting out to write and direct the show’s first episode, which premieres Sunday, Sept. 7 at 9/8c on HBO. There are three things he promises will never be part of True Blood: No crazy contact lenses when the fangs come out, no opera music, and no cold icy blue light.
But what there will be is lots of blood sucking, gay metaphors, some gay characters, and even pansexual vampires. Why pansexual? “Well,” Ball explains, “for vampires, feeding and sexuality are combined. It goes hand in hand.” This means we can look forward to seeing vamps of both sexes feeding on male and female humans. But Ball tells us that some of his vampires lean in certain directions, attracted to one sex over another — just like many humans.
In Ball’s world, pansexual is the new bi, while the British series Torchwood considers its characters omnisexual. Are these all new labels for the same thing, or a generational rejection of terminology?
“I think, in my limited awareness of teenagers and people in their twenties, I think [labeling your sexuality is] just not that big a deal anymore, and that’s pretty healthy,” he says. “Kids are less inclined to be judgmental. That’s not to say there aren’t tons of judgmental kids, but it certainly seems to be less of a stigma attached to experimentation than when I was in high school. I think that certainly in the younger echelons of society, it’s just not a big deal anymore.”
The openly gay writer/directer gained acclaim following his Oscar-winning American Beauty and Emmy-winning Six Feet Under. Both featured gay characters weaved into the fabric of the stories. “I have a more organic affinity with characters who may be gay,” he says, but admits he doesn’t go out of his way to shoehorn gay characters into his projects, such as his new film Towelhead. “I live in a dream world where being gay is about as interesting as having brown hair.” He jokes that he certainly doesn’t proclaim, “We have to have a gay character, because goddammit, we’re people too!” Ball says he has two screenplays in the works: one with a gay character, one without.
We got a sneak peek at the first two episodes of True Blood, and LGBT fans should expect plenty of metaphors about the fight for minority equality (“God Hates Fangs” protest signs), a supporting gay character (wittily played by Nelson Elas) and plenty of onscreen sex and nudity. “I’m not sure that ‘porn’ is the word,” Ball tells us, laughing. “I would say ‘hot.’”
We’ve also been promised a lesbian character in future episodes and gay romances to come. He assures us, “There’s a little something for everybody in this show.”
