Tom O'NeilVan Hansis and Jake Silbermann respond to charges that "As The World Turns" forbid them to kiss at GLAAD Awards
Tom O'Neil who writes the Los Angeles Times blog The Envelope just emailed me asking me to join with him in calling on GLAAD to rescind the award the gay rights organization gave to the CBS soap opera last Monday. In his column on the subject, O'Neil says several interesting things including making the assertion that Van Hansis (who plays Luke) and Jake Silbermann (who plays Noah) were told by the powers that be they were not allowed to kiss at the GLAAD awards (something straight actors have previously done). Says O'Neil:
I contacted the actors' representatives who gave AfterElton.com the following statement: We were honored to have been asked to appear at the GLAAD Media Awards on Monday night. As actors, it is such a privilege to be part of this important evening. It was our choice not to kiss each other on the red carpet. While we love and support the characters we play, we attended the Award show as actors, not characters. Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann Submitted by on Fri, 2008-03-21 12:28. Does a same-sex rape make The Kite Runner gay? Tom O'Neil explains why he thinks it does.
Los Angeles Times blogger Tom O'Neil recently posted on his blog The Gold Derby about GLAAD's nominations being "bizarre" for not being gay enough. As proof he cited the fact that GLAAD hadn't nominated The Kite Runner. Said O'Neil:
For those not familiar with either the book or the movie, The Kite Runner tells the story of two boys (pictured above) growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan, the wealthy Amir and his friend Hassan, the son of his father's servant. When Hassan is raped by Assef, (a teenage boy who grows up to be a pedophile), Amir does nothing to help him and, in fact, later commits a horrible act of betrayal against his friend. First let me say I haven't seen the film adaptation of the The Kite Runner, but I did read the book from which it was adapted and I have talked to some folks who have seen the movie. Now let me say I was completely baffled by O'Neil's comments as were most of the folks who posted responses on his blog. When I read The Kite Runner it never occurred to me that there was anything the least gay about it. Curious to see if O'Neil, after having read those comments, had changed his mind, I dropped him an email asking just that. Here is our exchange:
Tom responded with:
Still puzzled, I wrote back again. Submitted by on Tue, 2008-01-29 16:21. Ang Lee: Homophobia might have cost Brokeback Mountain the Best Picture Oscar
File this one under very frustrating but interesting nonetheless. The Los Angeles Times' Tom O'Neil, who writes the entertainment blog The Envelope, recently sat down with Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee. Amongst other things, the two men (in a recorded interview) chatted about Lee's new film Lust, Caution which was just deemed ineligible for the Oscars. But later the chat turned to Brokeback Mountain's Best Picture loss to Crash and here is the frustrating part -- the battery on the camera died and the cameraman didn't notice. Oy. (Hattip to AfterElton.com reader Wayman!) O'Neil reports that at first Lee downplayed on homophobia on the Academy's part, but when pressed finally admitted it might have been a factor. O'Neill writes in The Envelope:
Perhaps O'Neil could next chat with film critic Roger Ebert about it.
Interestingly enough, a short time after talking with Lee, O'Neill chatted with Heath Ledger and the subject again came up. If you're wondering how controversial the issue still is in certain circles, check out Ledger's reaction according to O'Neill: Ledger's face went flush with terror. "Don't make me answer that question!" he begged, waving his arms to make the question go away, then covering his head with his hands. Submitted by on Mon, 2007-12-03 09:00. |
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