Sean Hayes (Photo: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Anyone else curious what this in-development television project that Sean Hayes is cooking up might be all about? This New York Times interview will only say that it's called Bi-Coastal and that it involves "a guy with a wife and kids in California and a boyfriend in New York."

• The home of gay Boyzoner Stephen Gately was burgled, and some expensive jewelry with sentimental attachments stolen.

• Good news: In Hogan reality spinoff Brooke Knows Best, Hulk's daughter has a gay roommate and the Hulk's totally cool with that. Bad news: the implication that Brooke knows anything, let alone "Best".

• We can believe it's Boy Butter: Last Monday, Bravo aired what is being called the first ever national television commercial for an anal lubricant, and I missed it. Damn you, TiVO! (Technically, Boy Butter has advertised on television before ... and to equally creepy results, but only in local markets.)

• The trailer for the sure-to-be-controversial documentary Religulous (in which Bill Maher travels the world trying to get to the bottom of religious absurdities) is up, and in it Maher talks to a couple of gay Muslims. This is gonna get interesting.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Brad Altman and George Takei

Monday night at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City, the Trevor Project held its 8th annual Summer Gala. Hosted by Alec Mapa, the entire evening was as entertaining as it was inspiring with a mix of individuals honored for their work with gay youth as well as musical and comedy performances.

The N, the network whose award-winning television shows Degrassi: The Next Generation and South of Nowhere have broken new ground in the positive representation of gay and questioning youth, received the Trevor Commitment Award. Receiving the award was Sarah Lindman, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of The N, who spoke emotionally about how including gay content in their teen-geared series has been a great place for gay and questioning teenagers to see that they are not alone as they come to terms with self-identity and sexuality.

The Colin Higgins Foundation honored three gay youths with their Youth Courage Awards. Kyle Rapinan, Perre Shelton, and Devon Bearden were each honored for fighting back and pulling themselves out of their respective abusive and discriminatory situations and are now thriving in their lives. In fact, Shelton received a standing ovation when he recited one of his powerful poetic works to the audience upon accepting his award.

Alan Cumming

The hilarious Alan Cumming was honored with the Trevor Hero Award for his endless work helping young people accept themselves for who they are and teaching them to be empowered, not hindered, by that self-awareness. Past recipients include Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham.

“For a long time, I’ve admired the work of The Trevor Project and the support they give to America’s gay youth, so I’m really delighted and honored to be given this award by such a great organization,” said Mr. Cumming in a Trevor Project press release. “The Trevor Project really inspired me so this award truly is special, and I will continue to try and further their goals in my life and work.”

More pics and celebs after the break!

Damn! Damn Yankees stars Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, and Cheyenne Jackson

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Out designer Tom Ford is designing the costumes for the world's best-dressed spy in the next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. If anyone knows how to make Daniel Craig look his best, Ford does.

• Here's a fun 20 Questions with the always-entertaining Alan Cumming (he makes mention of his husband, Grant, which is very sweet).

• According to an authoritative new biography of Hugh Hefner, he once kinda-sorta had a sexual encounter with another man. Which is probably the least scandalous thing ever to happen in the pleasure baron's storied life.

• Our pal John Polly over at NewNowNext was at the impressively star-studded Provincetown Film Festival over the weekend and has a great roundup of all the fun.

• Boy George's plans for a big US tour this summer are dampened by his inability to obtain a visa. First Amy Winehouse is denied entry, and now George? Next thing you know they'll excommunicate the cremains of Billie Holiday.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Every year The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that works to prevent suicide among gay and questioning youth, honors someone who can be an inspiration for queer youths with The Trevor Hero Award. Past recipients include Nathan Lane and author Michael Cunningham.

This year's award will be given to Alan Cumming, the bisexual Scottish actor who recently starred in the Sci-Fi Channel's The Wizard of Oz remake, Tin Man, and was the voice of curmudgeonly Chuck on Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. Cumming is also someone who speaks out on LGBT issues regularly with eloquence and wit.

The Trevor Commitment Award, which is given to a company or organization, will be given to cable network The N, home to gay inclusive teen shows like Degrassi: The Next Generation and South of Nowhere.

Adamo Ruggiero from Degrassi: The Next Generation

We can all probably remember what it's like to be young, struggling to accept your sexuality and not being able to find any role models to show that being gay doesn't limit who you can be. With people like Cumming in the limelight and shows like Degrassi finding mainstream popularity, one can certainly hope that the path is slowly getting easier for gay youth.

The awards will be given out at The Trevor Project Gala on June 30. The affair sounds like a gay ole' time with Alec Mapa hosting the festivities, comedienne Sandra Bernhard performaing and Adamo Ruggiero (the Degrassi actor who came out publicly earlier this year), Lauren Collins, Cheyenne Jackson and Heather Matarazzo presenting.

Hitler's not happy about the demise of Tosh & Owen

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• MUST SEE -- Hitler receives intel on the Torchwood season finale via his senior officers. Courtesy of MadameVideoland, it's a brilliant pairing of faux subtitles and a German language Hitler movie.

• For three seasons, openly gay actor Eric Millegan has played Bones' sweet and mild-mannered Dr. Zack Addy. That's why it was a bit of a shock to fans when the character was revealed to be a villain on last Monday's season finale. TV Guide gets the scoop directly from series creator, Hart Hanson.

Eric Millegan

• You might recall Will Wikle as the openly gay contestant from from Big Brother season 5. More recently he's co-hosted Logo's travel program: Round Trip Ticket. Word on the street is he's just been cast as Alan Cumming's love interest in the upcoming independent film, Shifting the Canvas.

Will Wikle (left) & Alan Cumming

This installment of briefs brought to you by......

Ben Barnes

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• FOXNews and FOX late night took dirty swipes at Ellen, calling her wedding announcement a "danger" to her show's sponsorship and the equivalent to talking about ones "bowel movements" on television. (Remind me to wear dark colors the next time I attend the wedding of someone from FOX.)

• Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is set to play Dorian Gray in a new film adaptation of gay author Oscar Wilde's classic (and quite queer) morality tale of obsession and vanity. The film comes from the men behind An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, and the recent and upcoming St. Trinian's films, all of which featured or starred out actor Rupert Everett.

• In this recent audio interview, John Barrowman confirms a Torchwood third season (with an apparently very different team), hopes for season four, and mentions a variety show he has in the works.

• We'd actually heard this from the horse's mouth at last week's GLAAD Awards, but Alan Cumming has officially joined the cast of NY indie flick Shifting the Canvas as an evil real estate developer. This movie is one Paul Lynde reference away from being the gayest thing in history.

• The bill to have Harvey Milk's birthday recognized as a day of special significance in the state of California passed the Assembly, and will now go to the Senate. Meanwhile, the bronze statue to be unveiled this Thursday (Milk's birthday) will be, according to the group that secured funding for the project, the "first likeness of an openly gay person to be permanently ensconced in a civic building."

• David Hyde Pierce will host the Forget-Me-Not Gala to raise money for Alzheimer's research. Broadway hottie Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening) and Kate Burton (Grey's Anatomy) will also participate.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

The UK's Channel 4 typically fills the cold months with a celebrity edition of Big Brother. But with last year's show being the focus of an international racism controversy, Channel 4 announced that they would be giving Celebrity Big Brother a rest this year. Instead they're filling the house with a cast full of young overachievers ... and then giving a variety of celebrities control over the madness.

Kicking off this season of Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack is gay comedian Matt Lucas, whom you probably know from various unforgettable roles on Little Britain. Lucas' first prank on the Big Brother house was to have Scottish youth activist John wear an earpeice and follow orders from Lucas. Here's a sample of Lucas' actions:

Lucas tried to stir things up with his puppet, pushing him to declare himself an expert in every other houseguests's area of expertise, and to follow the claim with something really foolish. John struggled with the task, especially when it came to following the houseguests' conversations and Lucas' commands in his ear at the same time, and most of the strange things John said and did were missed by his fellow houseguests. Even though he failed to stir the pot on Lucas' behalf, Lucas gave him passing mark on the secret task for good effort.

• The Sci Fi Channel's Tin Man scored a very respectable 6.3 million viewers in its debut. That's Alan Cumming helping to build a Tin Man-inspired Habitat for Humanity house. Presumably it comes insured against tornados.

• Out actor David Hyde Pierce has re-signed for another sixth months as the lead in Broadway's musical comedy Curtains, for which he won the Tony. His stint will now run through the end of August ... I guess I shouldn't be holding my breath for a Wet Hot American Summer 2?

• John Barrowman's co-host on Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's in-the-works reality competition to find the UK's best choir will be singer and talk show host Charlotte Church.

• Some pranksters thought adding a bunch of gay jokes to Australian Idol Guy Sebastian's Wiki page was funny. How crass. See, guys, here in the States we gay-bait the hosts and judges, not the contestants. Oh, alright, we gay-bait everyone.

• "Ask a Gay Man" ... well, gay man William Sledd is getting a pilot for a Bravo series tentatively titled Hey, Bitches! Let's hope it works out better for him than it did for Perez Hilton with his Bravo pilot. Wait, did I just say that?

In one of the oddest ideas for a film I've heard in a while, plans were announced for Hatter, starring Alan Cumming and gay fave Rebecca Romijn, working together for the first time since X2. Early details on the film are sketchy, but Variety reports that the plot is based off of the Tea Party scene from Alice in Wonderland, with Cumming (who is also producing the film) playing Matt Hatter, a "hedonistic" fashion designer who is confronted by a journalist (Romijn) with dark secrets from his past. Hatter will be directed by James Killough, making his feature film directorial debut. The film will begin shooting on location in Europe in spring of 2008.

The role isn't Cumming's only recent foray into classic children's literature; he's also playing the part of the scarecrow in the Sci Fi Channel's miniseries, Tin Man, a "twisted, psychedelic" take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Judging from the trailer the film looks visually interesting, if a little cheesy, which is par for the course for most of Sci Fi Channel's original movies. Tin Man is set to air in December.