Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (February 8, 2008)

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish announced they were backing Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick for Mayor of London. The burning question however was whether they would back Prince William or Prince Harry when they seize the throne and overthrow their grandmother Queen Elizabeth.

In case you missed it, Cheyenne Jackson, Neil Patrick Harris and partner David Burtka were all a big hit in "Broadway Backwards" but not as big a hit as these guys!

Heath Ledger's death was ruled an accidental death this week which makes it all that much more tragic. If you're not tired of reading about his meaning to gay men this is an interesting piece.

Out journalist and activist Keith Boykin launched a new site that is being referred to as "The Huffington Post" for Black America. Standing O's to Keith for his great work.

 

Even though it looks like the writers' strike is on the verge of being settled, FX is not going to resume production of Dirt which only had seven episodes of the second season in the can before the writers walked. (So there was a upside to the strike after all!) The network will see how the Courtney Cox series fares before deciding whether to renew it for a third season. Everyone chant with me: "Tank, tank, tank!"

Our GLAAD nominated writer James Hillis is doing an in-depth look at the state of gay representation on network television, and he's interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood for it including director, producer and writer Paris Barclay who is currently working on HBO's new drama In Treatment. And Paris gave us scoop on an upcoming gay storyline :

But one of those five characters [patients] – and I’m not going to tell you who – has some gay issues. From the 5th week to the end [which starts February 26th]. I can’t tell you (which one), but it’s fascinating how it plays out. And it’s actually really original in that…” Then stops so as not to say too much.

So if you haven't been watching you might want to start now!

This week I was corresponding a bit with AfterElton Hot 100 favorite Robert Gant (he came in at #14) who mentioned he is in Hawaii shooting a movie for Lifetime with Lisa Edelstein of House fame. The flick is called Special Delivery and and Robert plays Nate Spencer, Edelstein's ex-husband. Robert just played a straight character on Nip/Tuck and it's great to see a gay actor proving you don't have to out and ghettoized.

Alas, unlike his stint on Nip/Tuck, Robert reports the flick does not call for him to doff his shirt. Sigh...

According to GLAAD, MTV is casting the next The Real World and is looking for at least one GLBT housemate. So if you're between the ages of 18 and 24, an exhibitionist willing to get drunk and act all crazy in front of a national audience (and couldn't get on Big Brother) act ASAP as they are having auditions in various places around the country this week.

UCLA's Fowler museum is presenting an exhibit titled "Make Art/Stop AIDS" which runs from February 23 to June 15th. "MA/SA" was created to help artists inspire discussion about AIDS, HIV awareness and, ultimately, to stop AIDS globally. Included in the exhibit is the installation "Medicine Man" created by artists Daniel Goldstein and John Kapellas. The sculpture is made of 300 HIV/AIDS medication bottles and needles collected over 15 years.