SEPTEMBER 12, 1997 GAY PEOPLE's ChronicLE 21

ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS

Eight gay films are coming to theaters this fall

by John Graves

Eight lesbigay films, most of them about gay men, are listed in the August 29 special "Fall Movie Preview" issue of Entertainment Weekly.

In September, look for In and Out, a screwball comedy based on the story of a real-life gay teacher Tom Hanks thanked when he accepted the 1994 Best Actor Academy Award for Philadelphia. In the movie, a star outs his high school teacher on the awards show, a few days before the teacher's wedding. (The real teacher was already out when Hanks said on TV that he was gay.)

Also previewed are Love Always, an allwomen adventure film, and the transgendered tale Different For Girls. In October, look for the Asian gay love story Happy Together and the boarding school love triangle tale Lilies, where an all male cast takes on both male and female roles.

Finally, in December, Greg Kinnear plays the gay neighbor of Jack Nicholson in Old Friends while Kevin Spacey plays a gay antique dealer accused of murder, and drag performer The Lady Chablis plays herself in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

According to a report in USA Today, their will be 30 lesbian, gay and bisexual characters in the fall television season, 23% more than last season.

Included in the fall lineup of new shows are openly gay actors Bill Brochtrup playing a gay receptionist on ABC's new show Total Security and Ellen co-star Patrick Bristow as Ian on UPN's Head Over Heels. An office assistant, Ian has announced his decision to be celibate to his co-workers, but is keeping his bisexual orientation secret. Over on Fox, Karime Prince will play Melvin, an HIV-positive black gay youth on 413 Hope Street.

Head Over Heels has already begun airing and can be seen on UPN on Tuesdays at 9:30 PM.

Chastity Bono, media director of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said the increase in gay characters was "simply a reflection of a growing trend of inclusive programming". Bono went on to say that, "This historic number of characters signals America's increasing appreciation of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community as part of their own lives."

According to another report in USA Today, oftimes homophobic actor and comedian Eddie Murphy has dropped his $5 million libel suit against the National Enquirer. The suit came about after the Enquirer published a story headlined, “Eddie Murphy's Secret Sex Life: His transvestite hooker tells all."

Murphy was stopped by police in the wee hours of May 2 after he picked up a crossdressing prostitute. Murphy, who was not arrested, told police he was concerned about the man's safety and was giving him a ride home. The police noted that Murphy was stopped some distance past the prostitute's home and that he was picked up in an area frequented only by male prostitutes.

In addition to dropping the suit, Murphy, has agreed to pay the Enquirer's legal fees. In his statement, Murphy says that he is "still pursuing his slander claims against other individuals."

National Enquirer editor Steve Coz said, "We believed in our story from the beginning. It's great to be getting a check from Eddie Murphy."

Elton John is the focus of Tantrums and Tiaras, a documentary now airing on Cinemax. The story of the openly gay music star mixes interviews, off-stage clips and concert footage from John's 1995 world tour. It was filmed by

his life partner, David Furnish.

Ellen DeGeneres was named one of TV's most fascinating stars of 1997 in a featured cover story in the September 1 edition of People magazine. In the article, DeGeneres said she is "looking forward to this season more than any other one. For the first time I feel completely free."

DeGeneres went on to say that her character's focus this season will be, "Do I live my life different, act different and dress different? And ultimately, of course, the answer is no."

Unfortunately for Ellen fans, DeGeneres also said, "I think this will be our last season. We're not M*A*S*H."

Gloria Reuben, who has been nominated for an Emmy for her ER role as HIV-positive physician's assistant Jeanie Boulet, was also listed by People as one of TV's most fascinating stars of 1997.

There were a few critics of the Catholic church after memorial services for the late, gay fashion mogul Gianni Versace were held Catholic churches in Miami, Fla. and Milan, Italy last month. According to a report in the gay-friendly National Catholic Reporter, the criticism came from Vittorio Messori, who

Msgr. Angelo Majo, who gave the homily in Milan, described the service as "a profoundly human`and Christian gesture." Messori, on the other hand, was said to have compared the service in Milan to “a gay pride day in New York" and was quoted in the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero as saying, "I do not want to play the moralist or demonize anyone, but with this Mass, Catholics can only be perplexed."

Mazzi, the TV priest, said he was "displeased to see this spectacle." Countering the criticism, Bishop Allessandro Maggiolini of Como told the Milan newspaper Coriere

della Sera, "Every soul goes before the Eternal Father as naked as a grub and has the right to prayer. To deny that to a homosexual is an insult."

The Milan archdiocese responded to Messori's comments saying, "The best way to avoid judging someone is to respect the suffering of the others in silence."

The National Catholic Reporter went on to report that Dino Boffo, director of the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, said that he was "scandalized that [any critics could] feel scandalized” and asked, “What more do they want? Homosexuals are also children of God."

ABC correspondent Jay Schadler returns to Prime Time Live to give the background on the stories he brought back when he hitchhiked across the country last year for the show. One of the stories in the original show was about 19-year-old Beauclerk Hilty-Jones who told how his father came out as a gay man after 25 years of marriage. In this installment, Schadler meets with Hilty-Jones' parents and his father's gay life partner. Schadler is reportedly working on a proposal for a series based on his experiences.

Lawrence, a gay teenager Canadian cartoonist Lynn Johnston introduced to her syndicated comic strip, For Better or For Worse, a couple of years ago, was again featured in the strip a few weeks ago. This time, Lawrence turns to his old friends for support after he tells them he has the blues because his partner is about to go to Paris on a scholarship.

John Graves is the producer and host of Gaywaves, a lesbian-gay public affairs show on Cleveland's WRUW 91.1 FM Fridays at 7 pm. Dave Haskell, Jim McGrattan and Kim Jones also contributed to this column.

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