Los Angeles filmgoers are in the thick of this year's Outfest, and the gay blogs are going nuts over the "secret screening" of the director's cut of the 1998 film 54.

Set in the late 70's, "54" chronicled the rise and fall of the famed discotheque Studio 54, where famous and infamous celebrities would go to be seen and experience, um ..."altered states of consciousness". It starred Mike Myers in a rare dramatic performance as club owner Steve Rubell, and Ryan Phillippe as Shane, a new bartender who is quickly seduced into this world of glitz, glamour, and designer coke spoons.

I remember watching it and thinking "meh", but it looks like all of us who saw it missed out on the real movie. The director's cut was screened at Outfest, and writer/director Mark Christopher has restored 45 minutes of footage that the studio originally forced him to cut out.

According to Greg Hernandez of Out In Hollywood, that footage makes all the difference:

"So how different is the director's cut? VERY. And it's MUCH better and much more gay! Phillippe's character is bisexual in this superior version and shares screen kisses with several men, including Breckin Meyer...Christopher's original version is such a better film because it chronicles the club's fall along with Phillippe's personal journey."

Cameron Mathison in his formal wear

Also of note is the inclusion of more scenes from perpetually shirtless ultra-hunk Cameron Mathison (who I didn't even remember was in the movie):

"As an added treat, we also get to see a bit more of the beautiful Cameron Mathison of "All My Children" and "Dancing With the Stars" fame who was only seen briefly in the studio version. His character is gay! We did not know this from before. But in the director's cut, he's in a relationship with one of the other bartenders and they even share a passionate kiss."

Unfortunately, there are no current plans to release this director's cut, but with the enormous amount of attention it's gained just from this one showing, maybe that'll change.

What do you think? Is the film worth revisiting, or should it go the way of the polyester suit?

That breeze you feel is extended middle fingers all over the world waving in triumph. Jay Leno has issued an apology for his cringe-inducing interview with Ryan Phillippe two weeks ago. He released this statement to People magazine:

"In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong. I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."

Even though the apology was close to "sorry about the misunderstanding", and he made it to a magazine and not on his show (where people would actually see it), this should put an end to the story. Interesting that it took considerable backlash from the media and a weigh-in from GLAAD for Leno to act. The only sad thing is that we won't get a chance to see more colorful birds from around the world.

While Jay is doling out the apologies, I've been patiently waiting for years for him to apologize about another horrifying incident, which you can see after the break. (and Horshak, how could you?)

I know that you're probably thinking "What does a pic of Ryan Phillippe in a Santa suit have to do with this post?" The answer is: absolutely nothing, I just needed something to get the sour taste of his appearance last week with Jay Leno out of my mouth.

Ryan appeared on The Tonight Show last Wednesday to promote his upcoming movie Stop/Loss, but Jay, ever the Junior High Schooler, wanted to needle Ryan about his role as Billy Douglas years ago on One Life To Live. As you probably know, back in the early 90's Ryan played the first openly gay soap opera teenager, and Jay found the whole idea Hilarious!. After asking Ryan if his character's name was "Lance Bedrock", he asked Ryan to turn to the camera and give his "gayest look". Ryan tried his best to maintain his composure, but he was obviously uncomfortable.

You may remember that two years ago, Jeff Whitty wrote an "open letter" to Jay about his gay-baiting. After this latest incident, Jeff has released details about the conversation he had with Jay about the letter, including Jay's assertion that he was well aware of gay history, including the famous "StoneHILL Rebellion". To get the sour taste of that out of your mouth, after the break you can see Ryan in his Armani jeans commercial.