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  NIGHTSPOTS

Billy Masters
by Billy Masters
2016-03-02

This article shared 2505 times since Wed Mar 2, 2016
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"Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties—I wasn't invited."—Chris Rock takes aim at Jada Pinkett Smith during his Academy Awards monologue.

By the time you read this, I will be winging my way back to South Florida for the Winter Party. This annual soiree is presented by the LGBTQ Task Force and raises funds for oodles of community organizations. The Winter Party started as a single event back in 1994. Now it's a six-day extravaganza. Last year, they broke their record and raised over $1 million. If I'm not mistaken, I broke a personal best as well ... but why sully the pages of this respected publication with the details? If you're in the area, do say "hi." I'll be the one inappropriately dressed.

Obviously, I couldn't leave Hollywood until after the Academy Awards. I mean, the Oscars and Billy Masters go together like John Travolta and a lawsuit. But enough about happy endings and onto the Oscars. We were off to a rocky start when Chris Rock mentioned cinematographers and the camera shakily panned to an empty seat. Irony? Sarcasm? I'm inclined to believe it was a technical snafu, like the beginning of Gaga's performance. I'm also not sure if Rock was making a joke or if he thinks Sam Smith and George Michael are the same person. Eh, all us gay white folk probably look the same. I thought it was a little overkill for the In Memoriam segment to be accompanied by "Blackbird." Yeah, we get it—we'll have more diversity next year! While I was happy to see Holly Woodlawn remembered, where was Abe Vigoda? We know him primarily from television but, hello—The Godfather!

Sam Smith made a bit of a bungle when he said, "I read an article a few months ago by Sir Ian McKellen, and he said that no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar. If this is the case—even if this isn't the case—I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world. I stand here tonight as a proud gay man, and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day." What Sir Ian actually said was, "Why has no openly gay man ever won the best actor Oscar?" A big difference—one that Dustin Lance Black quickly pointed out via Twitter: "Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiance." MEOW!

When Greg Berlanti said, "There is nothing I've wanted more than to be a dad," I assumed he was talking about his baby beau, Robbie Rogers. In fact, Berlanti is not only a hot daddy; he's a biological father. Last weekend, the prolific producer announced that a surrogate gave birth to his son, Caleb Gene Berlanti. Mixed with his excitement is some trepidation at being a new dad. "Check back in approximately 2-30 years for the tell-all about how I screwed it all up." Unless the tell-all ends with them dating, he'll be doing just fine.

One of Berlanti's projects for next season is Riverdale, an effort to bring to life the inhabitants of the Archie comic books. The cast includes KJ Apa as Archie, Lili Reinhart as Betty, Camila Mendes as Veronica, Cole Sprouse as Jughead and Ashleigh Murray as Josie ( as in "and the Pussycats" ). The only name among those that means anything to me is Cole Sprouse—and that's only because we shared photos of his brother Dylan's "jughead" on BillyMasters.com . It's the casting as Archie's dad that threw me—Luke Perry! Yes, the bad boy of West Beverly High will be the father to a new crop of kids. BTW, the Archie comic's gay character, Kevin Keller, will also be included in the show in a pivotal way—whatever that means.

The powers that be at ABC have revealed the lead for their remake of Dirty Dancing. Alas, they passed over the lithe and lovely Derek Hough ( more on him later ). We didn't spend much time mourning Derek's demise when we learned that the guy filling Swayze's shoes will be Colt Prattes—a name that likely doesn't mean anything to you. Since I'm a devotee of the annual Broadway Bares benefits, the name rang more than a few bells. Plus, how does one forget someone named Colt? It's like the first time I slept with someone named Shayne—you don't forget your first Shayne. Back to Colt. In addition to flaunting his stuff as a Broadway Bares poster boy, he's also appeared in several Broadway musicals and as a dancer on tour with a number of singers, most notably P!nk, who also featured Colt in her music video "Try." Be sure to check out the sizzling photos we have of him on BillyMasters.com .

I alluded to Derek Hough in the previous paragraph. Hough coveted the role of Johnny Castle. But he's got his eyes on a more tantalizing target—Singin' in the Rain. It's no secret that the Gene Kelly classic is Derek's all-time favorite flick. He learned the routines as a tyke, recycled them on Dancing with the Stars, and even got to know Gene's "widow." ( Look: I can only handle so many tangents. )

While his dream has always been to remake SitR, his stint last year with the Rockettes gave him a new idea—what about headlining a revival of the musical on Broadway? I'm told ABC execs want to do anything to keep him happy, so who knows? It's not as if Derek is without stage experience. Did you know that Derek starred in the UK production of Footloose: The Musical? Interesting since his sister Julianne was in the lackluster big-screen remake. I was reminded of this little footnote in Footloose history when I saw Derek and Julianne at the HBO post-Emmys party in 2014. When the band started playing Footloose, the Hough kids started dancing together in that creepy Flowers in the Attic way. Derek dumped Julianne when Sofia Vergara sashayed over to him. It was all fine until he attempted to hoist her above his head. She was wearing a strapless dress and, well ... you can just see the video on BillyMasters.com .

When I'm hearing Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, it must be time end yet another column. I rushed home to file this story with some Oscar dish before heading to the parties. While I'm cavorting, you should head over to www.BillyMasters.com, the site that's always ready to celebrate. If you've got a question, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com, and I promise to get back to you before Sam Smith offers to sing at Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley's wedding. Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.


This article shared 2505 times since Wed Mar 2, 2016
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