11/21/2014   NPR Fresh Air

AUDIO:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=365711628&m=365726875

This is the third time Cumming has starred in the musical. He talks about the new production — everything from his costume (which he calls a “Wonder Bra” for men) to the darker themes of the show.

Originally aired April 28, 2014.

http://www.npr.org/2014/11/21/365711628/for-alan-cumming-life-is-once-again-a-cabaret?sc=17&f=&utm_source=iosnewsapp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=app

11/14/2014   The New York Times

The producer of “Mockingjay” talks with Taffy Brodesser-Akner about getting the most out of the “Hunger Games” franchise (without being too grabby) and the rise of the female protagonist.

“Mockingjay,” the newest “Hunger Games” movie, is coming out in a few days. You’re producing the last book as two movies. Why? We felt we needed two movies to tell the story. But it would be disingenuous to say that there isn’t a benefit to getting four movies out of a trilogy instead of three.

So why not make two movies out of each book for a total of six movies? Well, that seems grabby.

What’s the most important thing that a producer does when she has a hot literary property on her hands? The most important thing is to always remember what made you love the book. The movie can’t and doesn’t have to be just like the book, but it should feel like the book — it should make you feel the way the book made you feel.

When the books came out they seemed to be too violent — children killing children — especially with so many school shootings in the news. How did you keep the movies from feeling that way? By staying inside Katniss’s point of view, we never made a party out of the violence. Our young people live in a world in which there’s violence wherever you turn. This is a young person having agency, taking action and doing what she can to save herself.

A ticket is a ticket, but do you have any feelings about whether adults should be so into reading Y.A. novels? To me, a great story well told is a great story well told, and just because the protagonist is a young adult doesn’t mean that story has less merit or worth than if the protagonist is a full-grown adult.

You have also acquired the rights to the hit novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” What do you think of the notion that movies with female protagonists are risky box-office bets? Since I’m not allowed to swear, I’ll say I think that’s a lot of bullpucky. I don’t understand why people still behave as though making movies with female protagonists is risky, given that — hello — we do make up over 50 percent of the population, and we go to movies.

So do you have any idea why this idea persists? Too many white men in positions of power?

How do you suppose that changes, then? White boys beget white boys. The more women and people of color who find positions of influence, the more women and people of color who will find positions of influence. So we need critical mass, and we’re still working toward that. I won’t be satisfied until we’re at the 50-50 place where we ought to be.

Do you find it’s a detriment to be out in Hollywood? No. If anything, it’s a detriment to be closeted. Being closeted in Hollywood is like wearing a toupee. It suggests that you’re not proud of who you are, and that you’re afraid of people finding out who you are. There are places where you can’t be out for fear of your life, for fear of your livelihood. Hollywood is not one of them. So to be closeted here is tantamount to being a wimp.

So you think you can always tell? You can always tell! When I first was coming out to a senior colleague of mine, I said, “Do you think the boss knows?” And he said, “Nina, at this point, I think it’s safe to assume everyone knows.”

Is it true that you were fired from your job as a studio head at Disney while you were in the delivery room for the birth of one of your children? Well, I’d stepped into the hallway. A story leaked into the press when my partner was going into labor. By the time I reached my boss, he was like, Can you come in? I was like, No, I really can’t. So it happened on the phone.

But being a studio head means that eventually you won’t be a studio head, right? When you get the job, they get out the egg timer.

The female protagonists at Disney were the opposite of Katniss: waiting to be saved by Prince Charming or a man with a glass slipper. She’s awake now, and she has a bow and arrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/magazine/nina-jacobson-isnt-afraid-to-fight-hollywoods-old-guard.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

11/10/2014   Deadline   by Denise Petski

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker and undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas has been tapped to direct a new documentary project for MTV’s “Look Different” campaign, which will examine what it means to be young and white in America. The Untitled Whiteness Project is slated to air on the network in 2015. Punched in the Head Productions will produce the project in partnership with Define American, Vargas’ media and culture group.

“As a new immigrant in America who grew up watching MTV, it’s a privilege to work on this project and for Define American to be a part of the Look Different campaign. And as an immigrant who is a gay, undocumented, and a person of color, what it means to be ‘white’ in an increasingly ‘minority-majority’ country has always fascinated me,” says Vargas.

Vargas revealed his “undocumented” status in a 2011 essay in The New York Times Magazine in an effort to promote dialogue about the immigration system in the U.S. His most recent documentary film Documented was released in theaters earlier this year and made its debut as a CNN Films broadcast in June. He will receive the PEN Center USA’s Freedom to Write Award tomorrow in Los Angeles. Below is a trailer for Documented.

http://deadline.com/2014/11/jose-antonio-vargas-direct-race-documentary-mtv-undocumented-immigrant-1201280600/

11/9/2014   CBS News

VIDEO:

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/andy-cohen-loves-celebrity-and-being-one/

Just what happened to Andy Cohen over the years that he wound up hosting an uninhibited late-night talk show? Andy Warhol once predicted everyone would be famous for fifteen minutes . . . and it’s a message THIS Andy has taken to heart. Here’s Erin Moriarty of “48 Hours”:

Forty-six-year-old Andy Cohen is the Peter Pan of late-night television. If, by some chance, you’ve never heard of him, he’s the host of “Watch What Happens Live” on Bravo TV . . . a talk show sorely in need of adult supervision.

There’s blush-worthy language . . . inappropriate touching . . . and we should probably mention that he drinks on-air. So do the guests!

The show even has a bartender. Moriarty’s recent appearance in that position may seem strange to you until you hear why:

“A few years back, when I was in college, I interned at CBS News for an incredible reporter named Erin Moriarty,” said Cohen on his show. “How is this for a full-circle moment? She is doing a profile on me right now for CBS’ ‘Sunday Morning,’ and she’s here with a camera crew in tow. It’s tonight’s guest bartender, Erin Moriarty!”

Yes — Andy Cohen started his television career at CBS News, as Moriarty’s 21-year-old intern.

After college, Cohen became for a time a CBS News producer. But his real dream was to be as famous as the people we interview.

He’s not only done that; he’s a bestselling author, with a new book, “The Andy Cohen Diaries.” It’s patterned after “The Andy Warhol Diaries,” published 25 years ago, in 1989.

“I’ve always been fascinated by celebrity, from a young age,” said Cohen, “and I think that’s why I connected to Warhol’s diaries, because it’s a pop culture time capsule.”

Like the pop artist who loved bold-faced names, Cohen took notes on a year in his own fabulous life.

“November 18, 2013: Britney Spears’ people asked me to interview her onstage at her album release event this Thursday in L.A.”

We were with Cohen one day as he recorded his audiobook.

“June 15, 2014: Cher called today . . . “

Many of those A-list names visit him in his “clubhouse” (which is what he calls his tiny stage set).

There may be only 22 people in his studio audience, but in homes there are more than 900,000 viewers each night who know that he was born in St. Louis, and that his family ran a food business there.

He showed Moriarty a box of teabags produced by Allen Foods, Inc. “So you could be selling teabags?” asked Moriarty.

“I could be selling teabags, among other things!”

“Are you living the life you always dreamed of living?”

“I am,” he replied. “One-hundred percent. I mean, it’s great. There couldn’t be a more pure iteration of who I am than what I’m doing every night live at 11 o’clock.”

“And what does that mean? When you say that, what is that?” she asked.

“It means I am being 100 percent myself on TV.”

So who is he, and how did he get here? Like his idol, Andy Warhol, Cohen hit a pop culture nerve. Warhol did it with soup cans and faces. Cohen? He brought us the “Housewives”!

He asked, “Do you blame me for it, Erin?”

“Well, we’ll get to that,” she laughed.

While working as a programming executive at Bravo, Cohen helped create the immensely popular “Real Housewives” reality series. Cohen still watches over the shows, and interviews the most controversial couples every week.

Moriarty asked, “Why would they want to share these very private moments? Divorces? Fights with their children? Why would they want to share that with America?”

“That I have not entirely figured out,” he replied.

“It isn’t for the money?”

“I think sometimes it’s for the money,” said Cohen. “I think sometimes it’s for the fame. They get speaking gigs, they get books, they get jewelry lines, they get other things.”

Cohen says the shows aren’t scripted, but the stars know they’re not likely to survive without drama.

He writes in his book, “This is the world we live in and I’m just feeding the beast.”

“Yes, it’s true,” Cohen said. “And sometimes I think that’s great. And sometimes I shake my head at myself.”

But you still do it? “I do. I love it. And I really — I’m proud of the show.”

And particularly proud that he is late-night TV’s only gay talk-show host, so he can openly complain about the only thing lacking in his life.

From “The Andy Cohen Diaries”:

“So why don’t I have a boyfriend? Pick one or two: I am shut off, I am happy as I am, I am selfish and set in my ways, I put my job first, I meet people that I’m more attracted to physically than mentally, I use my friends and job to replace a relationship.”

And, he told Moriarty, “It’s a part of the show. It doesn’t define me, but it’s part of who I am. And so, yes, the idea that I can be wholly myself on television probably didn’t exist ten years ago.”

“Or 25 years ago. ‘Cause you once told me that you were afraid, you didn’t know how I would react.

“Of course, I was in the closet when I was as your intern.”

Cohen has yet to find the right man, but he did gain a best friend: his adopted rescue dog, Wacha, named after Michael Wacha, pitcher for Andy’s beloved St. Louis Cardinals.

“Erin, I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror anymore,” he said. “I was just ready to take care of something else, you know? And I feel like he’s opened my heart up, so I feel like a guy is coming.”

There’s something else Cohen’s “Diaries” make clear: It’s a lot of work to be a celebrity . . . a lot of time on red carpets . . . a lot of time at the gym.

But there may be no one who enjoys it more.

“Look, I’m all about high and low,” he said. “I love The New Yorker and I love US Weekly. I love having Meryl Streep on my show, and I love having any ‘Real Housewives’ on my show. I don’t feel that different from the kid that I was when I was your intern, I really don’t.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/watch-what-happened-to-andy-cohen/

10/30/2014   Bloombert Business   By Tim Cook

At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to today.

For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.

While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.

The world has changed so much since I was a kid. America is moving toward marriage equality, and the public figures who have bravely come out have helped change perceptions and made our culture more tolerant. Still, there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation.

I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.

I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it. I’ve made Apple my life’s work, and I will continue to spend virtually all of my waking time focused on being the best CEO I can be. That’s what our employees deserve—and our customers, developers, shareholders, and supplier partners deserve it, too. Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one’s sexuality, race, or gender. I’m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things. I hope that people will respect my desire to focus on the things I’m best suited for and the work that brings me joy.

The company I am so fortunate to lead has long advocated for human rights and equality for all. We’ve taken a strong stand in support of a workplace equality bill before Congress, just as we stood for marriage equality in our home state of California. And we spoke up in Arizona when that state’s legislature passed a discriminatory bill targeting the gay community. We’ll continue to fight for our values, and I believe that any CEO of this incredible company, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, would do the same. And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.

When I arrive in my office each morning, I’m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.

http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-30/tim-cook-im-proud-to-be-gay

10/27/2014   The Hollywood Reporter   by Philiana Ng

As Hazy Mills hits its 10-year anniversary, the duo — friends since college — reflect on their diverse stable of hits, the occasional miss and why they’re ready to go to space (well, sort of)

This story first appeared in the Oct. 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner formed Hazy Mills a decade ago, they were in markedly different places in their respective entertainment careers. Emmy-winning actor Hayes, now 44, was co-starring on NBC’s long-running comedy Will & Grace, while Milliner, now 45, was teaching at Chicago’s sketch comedy theater Second City. Today, their company — its name was inspired by combining their last names and the old mills that dotted their home state of Illinois — has built an impressively diverse roster of programming that includes NBC’s hit horror-crime drama Grimm; TV Land’s recently syndicated sitcom Hot in Cleveland; NBC’s competition show Hollywood Game Night (for which host Jane Lynch recently scored an Emmy) and NBC’s upcoming live comedy Hospitality, about life inside a Manhattan hotel.

“We definitely both ‘visualized’ success,” says Milliner on a sunny October morning at Hazy Mills’ new offices on the Universal lot. “But there were a lot of valleys in between where it was hard to really see the success because this a business that punches you in the balls.” Hayes, who juggles acting on the CBS comedy The Millers with producing, says passion has been a key component to their surviving television’s most volatile decade in recent memory. “We don’t stop until we get what we want — in the most respectful way,” says Hayes.

Here, the friends and producing partners reveal why comedy always matters (even in drama), what they learned from the failure of Sean Saves the World and what genres they want to tackle next.

How has your working relationship evolved over the years?

TODD MILLINER When I met Sean, I was loaning him my Blockbuster card, and now I give him the password to my Netflix account.

SEAN HAYES Ten years ago, we didn’t know the ropes of the business. We were equal that way. (To Milliner.) You were learning the business, I was learning how to work together.

Milliner Our relationship’s weathered everything.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from each other?

HAYES I’ve learned a lot of patience. I’ve learned approach — it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. I have a more abrasive approach sometimes.

MILLINER I learned to act more quickly. What makes our business successful is the combination of the conflicting styles we have, where he wants to act and I want to slow down. Now I’ll take more risk and he’ll [take the time to] measure whatever that [project] might produce a little more seriously.

The projects that you back are measured by your passion for them. Have you refined that approach?

HAYES Everything we do has to have some comedy in it. Even Grimm (which returned Oct. 24), where in the most horrific moment, there will be a funny line from [actor] Silas [Weir Mitchell].

MILLINER We started by having a simple mission statement: only producing what we would want to watch. We were lucky that we had a confluence of things, where doors weren’t shut to us; we sold Grimm, Hot in Cleveland and Hollywood Game Night around the same time. Now the thing that people want to paint us into is a “celebrity monster comedy that has gay overtones.” (Laughter.)

Sean, you’re now a series regular on The Millers. How do you balance your on-camera duties with your responsibilities as a producer?

HAYES No one can do it alone! Todd runs the company, and we have many employees. It’s a machine we built with love and care.

MILLINER It helps when you love what you’re doing. Persistence

and passion — that’s a great tagline for someone’s company.

What’s the farthest you’ve gone to get a project on the air?

HAYES It was a one-hour drama series based on the life of Billy Joel. I said, “Let’s call him. If he says no, then he says no.” He said yes, we sold the project to Showtime and it ended up being a pilot. The next thing you know, we’re in New York eating with Billy Joel. You don’t know a result until you actually go out and seek it. I don’t mind noes, they just point me in a different direction.

MILLINER I hate noes. That said, it does make me work harder to get a yes. Grimm took the most persistence and fortitude to get a pilot made. It was cut [at CBS] during the [2007-08] writers’ strike. We sold it to NBC probably three times. We felt like Grimm — it was put on a Friday against Game 7 of the World Series — was an afterthought. We worked so hard to get it on the air: What do we have to do to get a break? Then it did great [in the ratings].

Your NBC comedy starring Sean, Sean Saves the World, was canceled after one season in 2013. What was your takeaway from that?

MILLINER We learned a lot from that. We learned that [creator] Victor Fresco is a great writer and that launching a comedy now is hard anywhere. We learned that Linda Lavin, Tom Lennon and Megan Hilty — and all the actors — were wonderful to work with. And you can never plan for a hit. Who knows? If it was launched 10 years ago or 10 years from now, would everything have aligned differently? It didn’t align this time. If everybody knew what made a hit, I’m sure it would be a hit. Thursdays are hard for everybody — except Hollywood Game Night, weirdly. It’s the alternative to everything.

Is there a show from the company’s portfolio that holds special meaning?

MILLINER I feel particularly tied to Hot in Cleveland because it really did put us on the map as a company. Those four ladies [Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick] are so special, and [creator] Suzanne Martin is our work wife. I missed my first Hot in Cleveland tape night out of 109 shows a couple weeks ago for a family vacation.

Do you have a plan for the next decade?

MILLINER We started this company when Obama wasn’t president. We talk a lot about the future and a lot about new, interesting partnerships and developing stuff that’s not just for traditional television.

HAYES A friend of mine said a while ago: “The business is constantly changing and you must change with it.”

Premium cable is a space you’re hoping to branch into. Are there other areas you’re eyeing for expansion?

MILLINER Space is a genre we love, and even though we are in sci-fi with Grimm, space is its own thing. We’re infatuated with it, from a Guardians of the Galaxy level to Ancient Aliens.

HAYES We have something in development in that area now. There hasn’t been a game-changing space/sci-fi show since Star Trek on network television.

MILLINER I’m a big fan of Airplane! — very pun-heavy, broad comedy. I don’t know if people’s appetites warrant it, but it seems like that’s been missing: Naked Gun, Airplane!, Top Secret! Or some kind of twisty-turny spy, heist drama like Three Days of the Condor, The Sting or Heist.

Are you still working on a concept for a Broadway show?

HAYES We have one that’s almost ready to talk about.

MILLINER Our live, half-hour NBC show coming up, Hospitality, will also feature live commercials. That’s our bridge into theater. Then, hopefully we’ll have a show in New York.

Any nerves about doing a live show?

HAYES It is ambitious, that’s why you do it.

MILLINER Eventually, you just have to say “f– the nerves” because anything exciting will make you nervous. If you can get your butterflies to fly in a pattern, then you’re OK.

There is a surge in reviving old properties. Is there a classic TV title you’d want to bring back?

MILLINER If it made sense. If I said, “No way, don’t ever do a remake,” then there wouldn’t have been great new versions of The Fugitive. Or 21 Jump Street. We wouldn’t be opposed to it. In some ways, Grimm is a remake — it just happens to be from public domain.

If someone told you they wanted to bring back Will & Grace, would you consider it?

HAYES Sure, let’s do it!

MILLINER Sometimes I think these things happen a little too early.

HAYES That’s the example of me being instinctual and him being methodic.

MILLINER I think we’re just going to relaunch NBC’s The Blacklist — while it’s still on the air. We’ll just change the color in the title.

—

Hazy Mills By the Numbers

82: Percentage growth for NBC’s heavily time-shifted horror drama on Friday nights, Grimm, in 18-to-49 in season three.

2006: The year Hayes and Milliner first pitched their idea for a live comedy series, which will finally come to fruition early next year in NBC’s Hospitality.

2015: When Grimm begins airing on TNT in an exclusive off-network syndication deal.

2: The number of retro arcade games Hayes and Milliner have stationed by their desks. They include a combo Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga machine and Asteroids.

5.9 million: Hot in Cleveland‘s total viewership for the June 16, 2010, premiere, TV Land’s highest-rated telecast.

100-plus: Number of celebrity guest stars on Hot in Cleveland over six seasons, including Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, George Hamilton, Carol Burnett and Carl Reiner.

210: Number of territories in which Hot in Cleveland is licensed, including Australia, Ireland, Croatia and South Africa.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sean-hayes-todd-milliner-lessons-742499

10/22/2014   Huffinton Post   By Curtis M. Wong

“Friends” star Lisa Kudrow is a hot commodity once again thanks to the reprise of “The Comeback,” the comedy series which has long been a favorite of gay men.

In fact, gay fans have been among the most vocal proponents for the return of the show, which returns to HBO on Nov. 9 nine years after its original cancellation — and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Kudrow.

“When ‘The Comeback’ first came out, I think that gay men were the only ones who were like, ‘Yes. I understand. I get it. It’s great, and I understand,'” the 51-year-old actress tells PrideSource’s Chris Azzopardi.

As to the inherent LGBT appeal of her character, D-list actress Valerie Cherish, she recalled an episode of “Will & Grace” in which “Karen’s at a theater and she throws her flask and it hits someone in the head, and there’s this joke that gay men wouldn’t care cause, ‘Eh, all in a day.’ … So I wonder if that’s what it is — because Valerie gets, you know, humiliated — or humiliates herself — all the time. And it’s like, ‘Yeah, well, that’s the world.'”

Although she notes that “the people I work with are gay,” Kudrow says her love of the gay community extends beyond the confines of Hollywood, too.

“I don’t know who I’m going to offend by leaving them out, but I need to say that I think gay men are superior beings in my mind,” she said. “The two sides of the brain communicate better than a straight man’s, and I think that has to be really important. They’re not women — they’re still men — and women also have thicker corpus callosums, so I think it’s the combination of those qualities that makes them like a superhuman to me.”

To read the full PrideSource interview with Lisa Kudrow, head here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/lisa-kudrow-gay-fans_n_6029672.html

Q&A: Lisa Kudrow On Judging ‘Drag Race’ (As Valerie Cherish!) & Gays Being Biologically ‘Superhuman’

‘The Requirement For Women In Entertainment Is That She Turn Men On’

10/22/2014   Prode Source   By Chris Azzopardi

Ten years without our favorite cupcake-wearing gonzo, Valerie Cherish, is 10 years too long. But the wait’s over. You were heard.

A decade after “The Comeback” first premiered, the hilariously cringe-y HBO trailblazer that lasted just one season in 2005 – and starred Lisa Kudrow as Val, a D-lister reaching for (everything underneath) the stars – returns to the network with the “Friends” actress back as our beloved hot mess.

Lisa, you don’t know how tempting it is to say “hello” three times to you right now. How often do people quote Valerie in your presence? And how often are they gay men?

(Laughs) Frequently and frequently. You know who the next group is after gay men? College students.

Are you surprised by that?

I was surprised… until I got used to it! But it’s fantastic. That’s really thrilling, and then it struck me: “Well, of course! They grew up with ‘Housewives’ of everywhere, and people humiliating themselves on reality TV.” When “The Comeback” first came out, I think that gay men were the only ones who were like, “Yes. I understand. I get it. It’s great, and I understand.” (Laughs)

You know, those are the people I care about the most – the people who really loved the show. That was my only fear after it was all done. Doing it, writing it, shooting it, it was, “Yeah, this is right, this is right.” Then afterwards, “Uh oh, what if it’s not?”

When it comes to Valerie Cherish, what is it exactly about her that we gay men are so drawn to?

I’ve been asking myself that too – not cause it’s a mystery, but I wonder why. I was watching “Will & Grace” once and there was this hilarious episode where Karen’s at a theater and she throws her flask and it hits someone in the head, and there’s this joke that gay men wouldn’t care cause, “Eh, all in a day.” (Laughs) Getting, like, smacked with something is “all in a day.” So I wonder if that’s what it is – because Valerie gets, you know, humiliated – or humiliates herself – all the time. And it’s like, “Yeah, well, that’s the world.”

The other thing that I love about Valerie is, “All right, someone said something not nice, but you know what, can’t use that. Got this other thing I gotta do.” She just ignores that that happened and keeps going.

That’s what it is too: She perseveres.

Completely perseveres! You can agree with her goal or not, but she’s got it and nothing is getting in her way. There’s something admirable about that; there just is. Except, you know, she’s willing to put up with a lot.

When was it first apparent to you that gays were on board with “The Comeback”? Did you know instantly?

Yeah, pretty much. (“The Comeback” co-creator) Michael Patrick King said, “You understand how this will go: First it’s gonna be the gays, then the women, then everyone else.”

RuPaul makes a cameo in the pilot episode…

I know. Oh my god – so good!

This means that Valerie could appear as a guest judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” right?

You know, I’ve been asked to, but I don’t know how Valerie works on a talk show or as a judge. I don’t know. I’m thinking about it. I’m trying to figure out how it works. I don’t wanna say no!

And you obviously shouldn’t. All I’m saying is that I see many opportunities for you to say, “Note to self: I don’t need to see that!”

(Laughs) But she could say all kinds of – I don’t know what we’re allowed to (say on “Drag Race”). I mean, she’s indelicate and gets things wrong and, you know, I don’t know how offensive she’s gonna be.

Valerie is surrounded by gays, and so much of your career has been gay adjacent. You did “Happy Endings.” You turned Meryl Streep into a gay conversion therapist for “Web Therapy.” And then, of course, there’s “The Comeback.” Are you as immersed in the gay community as your career would lead us to believe?

Yes and no. The people I work with are gay. I don’t know who I’m going to offend by leaving them out, but I need to say that I think gay men are superior beings in my mind. I do believe that.

I would love to hear why.

It’s all so tricky. I studied biology and the brains are anatomically different. They just are. There’s a stronger connection with the corpus callosum (in gay men). The two sides of the brain communicate better than a straight man’s, and I think that has to be really important. They’re not women – they’re still men – and women also have thicker corpus callosums, so I think it’s the combination of those qualities that makes them like a superhuman to me.

Even more apparent during this season of “The Comeback” is the inherent commentary on celebrity culture and age and gender discrimination. When it comes to ageism in the industry – the fact that there are so many talented older actresses not getting starring roles – what do you hope “The Comeback” accomplishes in spotlighting that issue?

I don’t know what to say about that. It’s something that just is. I think it’s gonna be a much longer process. I’m really not a revolutionary-type personality, you know what I mean? I’m not the activist type, but mmm, my god. I’m really bad at this – communicating this stuff. But we still… we still… (Laughs) Women still have a different place in our society, and it’s changing slowly but it’s still real slow. Because we’re so interested in the male audience more than the female audience, the requirement for women in entertainment is that she turn men on. That really hasn’t changed much.

That’s particularly the focus of the third episode when – spoiler alert – you simulate oral sex on Seth Rogen.

Right! And then you have the two (completely naked) girls standing there for an uncomfortably long time.

Did it feel uncomfortable for you on set?

Well, the girls seemed OK. But, you know, (it’s) always just about making sure everyone’s being treated with respect, right?

Have you ever experienced the ageism that Val experiences in your own career? Roles you didn’t get because of your age?

Not that I know of. I don’t know how to put it, but one of my biggest failings is that I accept things the way they are, and then I just try to adapt. I think it’s incredible people who say, “No, no. It doesn’t have to be this way though.” It’s like, “Oh. Well, wow.”

Have you worked with someone like Valerie Cherish?

Yes! These people exist. There were people who were like, “Oh, I think I know who this is,” and the answer is, “You don’t know who this is, because this isn’t one person.”

Did you have anyone in mind when you created the character?

No, not one person, because it’s an amalgam of people – men and women.

What do you have in common with Val?

Well, a lot. I think I do have a thing where, if something negative is happening and it’s not serving me, then I’m really not gonna let it in and address it because I gotta keep going. If something’s happening that’s negative I try to think, “What’s OK about this?” so that I don’t get distracted by having to do something about that.

Which is exactly a Val characteristic.

Right. And then it’s just exaggerated and heightened in her.

Could you ever imagine turning your own life into a reality show?

No. (Laughs) The closest I came was doing an episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Do you watch reality shows? Are you a fan at all?

I do watch them. They’re so fascinating to me. I like “Top Chef,” “Project Runway” – still like that. I watch “America’s Next Top Model.” And then I watch the “Housewives.” I watch certain “Housewives” of places.

I am fascinated with the level of criticism young people can handle. I could not have handled it. I think I would’ve shriveled up in a ball, so on one level I really admire the Teflon part of them that’s able to say, “OK. Thank you. Good note.” I constantly try to work against that judgmental part of me, and it’s not (easy), especially when it’s the judgmental part that gives you your sense of humor.

And all this is research for “The Comeback,” of course.

Well, yeah, I can’t really say that. (Laughs) It’s not research, but I am fascinated. I also do have this other theory that, thanks to those “Housewives,” we finally do have a point of reference for how women behave. We need to. It can’t just be reasonable, good behavior, because that’s how we depict the downtrodden so that no one thinks we’re sexist or racist, so you end up with all of these subgroups in our society that have to be dull. They’re not allowed to have any flaws, otherwise whoever wrote (that depiction) is accused of having bad feelings about them. To me, that’s when things are finally OK – when everyone’s allowed to have flaws depicted in entertainment.

Mira Sorvino recently brought up a sequel to “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.” What are your thoughts on one, and do you think it’ll happen at this point?

I have no idea. Robin Schiff wrote and produced “Romy and Michele,” and we all did get together years ago with a great idea: “Romy and Michele Get Married.” And yeah, Disney wasn’t interested in it at the time. Now, I don’t know what it would be. My worry is, you know, wouldn’t it involve plastic surgery? (Laughs)

With a sequel like “Romy and Michele Get Married,” does that mean they end up being lesbian lovers because of the pact they made to marry each other in the original?

No, they’re not, but that’s always the other meaning. Because that’s the relationship. That is the relationship. But I think by now it’d have to be “Romy and Michele Get Divorced… Again.”

In the spirit of the meta show a la “The Comeback,” if you could play a version of yourself playing Phoebe from “Friends” years later, what would that character be like?

Well, I did play a version of myself playing Phoebe. (Laughs) Phoebe is a version of myself. Valerie’s a version. And Fiona Wallice (of “Web Therapy”) is a version. And, well, Michele Weinberger is not a version, I have to say. I don’t know. I have a feeling if Phoebe had to be revisited, she’d be closer to me.

Why do you say that?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna see a woman my age saying “floopy,” trying to be cute. No, uh-uh. It’s too Baby Jane.

Say “hello hello hello” to Valerie Cherish when “The Comeback” premieres Nov. 9 on HBO.

Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service. Reach him via his website at http://www.chris-azzopardi.com.

http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=68569

10/20/2014    By Charles Pulliam-Moore

‘Biggest Loser’ Trainer Jillian Michaels Clarifies Comments About Being Uncomfortable With ‘the Gay Thing’

Though she’s best known for whipping overweight Biggest Loser contestants into shape, Jillian Michaels (pictured above with her partner Heidi and their children) raised eyebrows last week after expressing that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with being open about her sexuality.

“Look, I wish I had some strapping football player husband,” she admitted in an interview with Health, explaining that she sometimes introduced her wife Heidi Rhoades as ‘her friend.’ “It would be such a dream to be “normal” like that, but I’m just not.”

Over the weekend Michaels reached out to People magazine in an attempt to clarify her statements which she felt members of the LGBT community had simply “misunderstood.”

“I attempted to shed light on how hard and scary it can be to be out,” Michaels told People. “That gay families get attacked and even small daily interactions involve others being ‘shocked and disturbed’ by the gay lifestyle.”

“I was saying if along the way in my life that had been a choice I would have made it, but it’s not who I am. Gay is not a choice. If I was ashamed of who I am, I would be in the closet. Considering my family was on the cover of PEOPLE magazine, I think I’m pretty far from that.”

 

 

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