RuPaul's new album, which is now out, is called Remember Me: Essential, Vol.1, NewNowNext.com noted. The album features new tracks as well as some of Ru's biggest hits, like "Supermodel" and "House of Love," with new featured performers like Matt Pop, Ellis Miah, Kummerspeck and Skeltal Ki.
Lionsgate has boarded international sales on The Ink Factory-financed and -produced action thriller Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster, Deadline reported. The company will launch the project to buyers at next week's European Film Market in Berlin. The project has Foster playing a nurse who runs an underground hospital for Los Angeles' most sinister criminals—and finds that one of her patients is actually there to assassinate another.
Only two days after his highly criticized executive order banning travel into the U.S. for immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations, Donald Trump hosted a White House screening of Finding Dory—and Ellen DeGeneres ( the movie's star ) turned it into a lesson while on her show, EW.com reported. She mentioned the ban and the screening, and told her audience that she didn't want to talk politics. DeGeneres then proceeded to break down the plot of the film—and the relevance to the current political situation.
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, honored Ryan Reynolds as its man of the year, a press release noted. The Hasty Pudding Theatricals' Man and Woman of the Year Awards are presented annually to performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. Past recipients include, among others, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Justin Timberlake, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt and, most recently, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was the 50th Man of the Year.
The film Watermelon Woman—which has been called "a landmark of indie, LGBT, African-American, and women's cinema"—is marking its 20th anniversary, a press release noted. Re-released for its 20th anniversary in a 2K HD restoration, The Watermelon Woman is the story of Cheryl ( Cheryl Dunye ), a twentysomething Black lesbian struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, a beautiful and elusive 1930s Black film actress popularly known as "The Watermelon Woman." Cheryl's love affair with Diana ( Guinevere Turner ), who's white, and her interactions with the gay and Black communities, are subject to the comic yet biting criticism of her best friend, Tamara ( Valerie Walker ).
Young Thug knows that some fans think he's gay—but he just doesn't care, NewNowNext.com noted. Thug, 25, has been breaking gender barriers in the rap world by wearing women's clothing, including a ruffled gown on the cover of his album Jeffery, but his wardrobe choices have led to a slew of rumors about his sexuality. In a video reposted by PabloRedTV, the rapper said, "It is I, Jeffery—the one that gets the most hate, and they say gay, but is also the richest in the A."
Former lesbian Anne Heche is back in a relationship with a woman—this time onscreen in the new film, Catfight, according to NewNowNext.com . The movie centers around Heche and Sandra Oh, who play former college friends who run into one another years later and end up having a catfight—resulting in Oh's character being knocked into a coma. The comedy will be released March 3.
Neon has nabbed Beach Rats—a drama about a Brooklyn teenager's struggles to come to grips with being gay—following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, according to Variety. Beach Rats earned strong reviews for its moody look at a pre-gentrified slice of Brooklyn. It also attracted raves for newcomer Harris Dickinson's feature film debut. He plays Frankie, who spends his evenings searching the internet for men to have sex with, and his days hanging out with some neighborhood delinquents.
Sordid Lives, the cult-classic "black comedy about white trash," is finally getting a sequel 16 years after it first premiered, according to NewNowNext.com . After raising almost $60,000 on Indiegogo, A Very Sordid Wedding, from writer-director Del Shores, will have its world premiere March 10 at Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs—the same venue where Sordid Lives achieved cult status by playing for 96 weeks. The sequel will take viewers back to the small conservative Texas town during the weeks following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on marriage equality in 2015.
Celebrities are encouraging people to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union, and some are matching donations from fans, after the nonprofit organization issued a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, ABC News noted. Sia, Rosie O'Donnell and Judd Apatow each announced on Twitter that they will match donations up to $100,000 to "help our queer & immigrant friends," as Sia put it. Musician Jack Antonoff said he will be matching donations up to $20,000. He encouraged his followers to "stand with me for immigrants and the LGBTQ community."
Out actress Cynthia Nixon ( Sex and the City ) gave a passionate speech at a solidarity rally protesting President Trump's immigration ban outside the iconic Stonewall Inn this past weekend, kicking it off with the line, "Hello brothers. Hello sisters. Hello siblings who reject the gender binary," Page Six noted. Nixon, who has been married to wife Christine Marinoni since 2012, went on to say, "As LGBT people, we know how important coming out is, but I would argue that our coming out has never been more important than it is right now." Nixon also addressed Trump choice of Mike Pence as his vice president.
On Feb. 4, actress Kristen Stewart came out as "so gay" in her Saturday Night Live opening monologue, LGBTQ Nation noted. That fact comes as no surprise—the actress has openly dated women—but it's the first time Stewart has so publicly stated it. Alec Baldwin returned for SNL's cold open, with a sketch that mocked the president's approach to foreign relations; and Melissa McCarthy portrayed White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
George Michael's boyfriend, Fadi Fawaz, has been told he is no longer part of the investigation into the star's death, Metro reported. It was Fawaz, 40, who found Michael's body after he died in bed at his home in Goring, Oxfordshire on Christmas Day last year. Following Michael's death his partner of four years was questioned by Thames Valley Police as part of a probe into what happened in the singer's final hours.
Fashion designer Zac Posen—whose creations are worn by Beyonce, Rihanna, Claire Danes and Natalie Portman—recently bought an Upper East Side duplex penthouse for $3.5 million, according to Page Six, citing Luxury Listings. Posen, a native New Yorker and "Project Runway" judge, bucked the trend of purchasing a place in SoHo or Tribeca. Posen, who designed the glow-in-the-dark ballgown that Danes wore to the Met Gala last spring, will be designing new flight attendant uniforms for Delta Airlines.
Matthew McConaughey has a message for Hollywood: Accept the fact that Donald Trump is president of the United States—and find a way to work with him, EW.com noted. McConaughey said this while speaking with ChannelFi about his new big-screen crime drama Gold. In part, McConaughey said, "It's very dynamic and as divisive of an inauguration and time that we've ever had. At the same time, it's time for us to embrace, shake hands with this fact and be constructive with him over the next four years."
A new documentary is shining a light on the same-sex couples who are quietly taking over the country's current ballroom-dancing renaissance, according to NewNowNext.com . Hot to Trot is a 90-minute feature documentary that follows the overlapping stories of several dancers as they train and compete for events like the 2014 Gay Games, the international equivalent of the Olympics for the LGBT community. The stars of the documentary let the audience into their personal lives, with one discussing his past battle with a crystal-meth addiction and another revealing how struggling with her sexuality almost made her suicidal.
Comedy legend Carol Burnett is a step closer to a TV return, Deadline noted. ABC has given a pilot green light to Household Name, a multi-camera comedy starring Burnett, written/executive produced by Michael Saltzman and executive produced by Amy Poehler through her Paper Kite banner. Household Name is about a family who gets a chance to buy the house of their dreams but under extremely abnormal circumstances: They must live with the current owner, an eccentric, larger-than-life actress ( Burnett )—until she dies.
Fifth Harmony singer Dinah Jane Hansen fell ill ahead of the recent NHL All-Star game, Page Six reported. The group was rehearsing to sing the national anthem at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when Hansen, 19, needed paramedics. The group canceled its performance and left the arena together after the incident. Courtney Daniels sang the anthem instead, Yahoo! Sports noted.
La La Land director Damien Chazelle, 32, waltzed off with the top honor at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Feb. 4, Fox News noted. ( Among some of the other winners were Lion, The Night Of and Veep. ) Rarely has the DGA winner not gone on to win the directing prize at the Academy Awards. The evening also took on a more somber, urgent note as many directors and presenters also grappled with President Donald Trump's refugee and immigration ban.
Tamron Hall has left NBC News, after the division's hire of Megyn Kelly—who is getting, among other things, the third hour of Today that Hall co-hosted, Deadline noted. Hall had to be told last week, because her contract was coming up and her reps were in talks with the news division. Although Hall has exited, Al Roker will continue to host at 9 a.m. hour until Kelly joins the line-up in the fall. TheWrap noted that Hall's supporters are crying foul over the move, with one writing, "Not a good way to start Black History Month."
Nightmare on Elm Street star and horror icon Robert Englund will be the focus of a new documentary, Nightmares in the Makeup Chair, EW.com reported. Directed by Mike Kerz, the film finds Englund recalling his years playing Elm Street villain Freddy Krueger and paying tribute to filmmaker Wes Craven while makeup effects artist Robert Kurtzman transforms the actor into the feared dream-stalker. See NightmaresInTheMakeupChair.com .
Bethenny Frankel and her ex are back to having problems, E! News noted. Jason Hoppy, who was married to the Real Housewives of New York City reality star for two years, was arrested Jan. 27 after he allegedly sent Frankel emails and text messages and showed up at their 6-year-old daughter Bryn's school, a court public information officer said. E! News has also learned that there's an order of protection in place for this case. According to TMZ, the order states Hoppy must stay away from Frankel's home and place of business and have no communication with the reality star.
