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Vin Diesel dances; 'Sean Saves the World' shuts down
Entertainment news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2014-01-28

This article shared 6079 times since Tue Jan 28, 2014
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Fast and Furious actor Vin Diesel posted a video to his Facebook page early Tuesday, Jan. 28 of himself singing, dancing and doing the "Surfboard" to the powerhouse singer's hit single, "Drunk in Love," according to US Magazine. "You know I love music…" he shared with his 63 million-plus fans on Facebook, along with a seven-minute, 29-second long video. He then slowly inches away from the camera to the tune of Katy Perry's hit single "Dark Horse," and the dancing ensues. "Guys, I'm excited, I'm happy," he said toward the end of Beyonce's song. "Universal just called me and said Riddick is number one on the DVD charts."

It's the end of the road for NBC comedy series Sean Saves the World, which stopped production on its freshman order on Jan. 28, according to Deadlline.com . The show had received a five-episode back order for a total of 18. Fourteen episodes have been shot, and 12 have aired. NBC will look at the remaining two segments after the Olympics.

Gay activist Dan Savage—known as the writer of internationally syndicated relationship/sex advice column Savage Love and as the co-creator of the It Gets Better Project—is taking the HUMP! Festival ( which features amateur porn ) on the road. The festival started in 2005; this year, the 18 shorts consist of Savage's personal favorites, mixed with some of the most popular audience picks from throughout the years. The HUMP! Tour begins Saturday, Feb. 15, in Chicago at the Music Box Theater with Savage hosting. For an overview of each film and the full list of tour dates, check out www.humptour.com .

Actor Robert De Niro is honoring his late gay father in an HBO documentary, according to The Huffington Post. Robert De Niro's father, Robert De Niro Sr., was an abstract expressionist painter, part of the post-WWII art scene that produced such talent as Jackson Pollock. ( He died in 1993 at age 71. ) De Niro has made a documentary about his father called Remembering the Artist Robert De Niro Sr. that premiered at Sundance Film Festival and will air on HBO in June.

Actor Mark Ruffalo defended a woman's right to choose by recounting his mother's struggle to obtain an abortion when the procedure was still illegal, according to TheWrap.com . The Avengers star released a video tied to the 41th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that recognized a constitutional right to abortion. He was initially hesitant about getting involved, but changed his mind after he remembered his mother telling him about her difficulties finding medical aid to end an unwanted pregnancy when she was younger.

The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association ( GALECA ) has announced the winners of its annual Dorian Awards Jan. 21 in Hollywood, Calif., according to a press release. In the area of film, 12 Years a Slave was named Film of the Year, Matthew McConaughey of "Dallas" won for Film Performance of the Year ( Actor ), beating co-star Jared Leto, and Cate Blanchett won for Film Performance of the Year ( Actress ) for Blue Jasmine. Television was also honored. The Liberace movie Behind the Candelabra and the series Orange Is the New Black tied for TV Drama of the Year; "Orange" also won for LGBT TV Show of the year. Emphasizing the different nature of this event, GALECA named Rachel Maddow Wilde Wit of the Year and James Franco Wilde Artist of the Year. The We're Wilde About You ( Rising Star Award ) went to trans actress Laverne Cox while Lily Tomlin received the Timeless Award.

NBC has opted not to proceed with the proposed re-imagining of the 1980s series Murder, She Wrote that would star Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, according to Deadline.com . The project, from writer Alexandra Cunningham and producer David Janollari, got a lot of attention when it came together in October, receiving a commitment from the network. The network reportedly has not given up on a reboot, but may try with a new concept.

The comedic online series Vicky & Lysander has a trailer for its upcoming second season, according to a press release. The series will return with 10 all-new episodes exclusively on the show's newly launched YouTube Channel Feb. 5. The first season of Vicky & Lysander—which follows the antics of a deluded Manhattan couple who work tirelessly to climb the New York social ladder—debuted on LOGO Online.

At the Sundance Film Festival, the audience gave a standing ovation to the movie Love Is Strange, which centers on a gay couple ( played by Alfred Molina and John Lithgow ) who marry after 39 years together, according to USA Today. "The crises in this movie are ordinary events that everybody can relate to," said John Lithgow. "It's not about emotional fireworks. This is about how a marriage survives little tragedies, not big ones." In the movie, the couple's bond is challenged with Molina's character, George, is fired from his job teaching music at a Catholic school after the archdiocese learns of his marriage.

Iconic musician Dolly Parton kicked off her "Blue Smoke World Tour" Jan. 24 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., according to a press release. The tour will be truly global, as she hits New Zealand and Australia in February; the United States ( mainly the West and Midwest ) in January and May; and Europe in June and July.

Boy band The Wanted—composed of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes—is calling it quits, the L.A. Times reported. The "Glad You Came" crooners—who formed in 2009 and were managed by Justin Bieber's manager, Scott "Scooter" Braun—sugar-coated the news for fans with the announcement of their new video and single, "Glow in the Dark," and their upcoming Word of Mouth tour. The protracted farewell tour is scheduled to end in April.

Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who was recently cast as Wonder Woman, has signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros., Variety confirmed. Gadot will play the role in not only the upcoming Batman-Superman pic, but in a Justice League movie and a Wonder Woman standalone film. The Israeli entertainment show Good Evening with Gai Pines reported that Gadot will earn $300,000 per film.

The Weinstein Co. has removed Nicole Kidman's Grace of Monaco from its March 14 U.S. release date and no new date has been set, according to Variety. The company did not disclose why it pulled the film, but director Olivier Dahan has publicly clashed with the company over the biopic, telling French publication Liberation that Harvey Weinstein wanted unreasonable cuts to his film.

The all-female alt-country-rock band Antigone Rising has launched a Pledge Music campaign to raise funds for the recording, promotion, marketing and touring for its two upcoming new EPs, Whiskey & Wine: Volume 1 and Whiskey & Wine: Volume 2, according to a press release. Five percent of the proceeds from the campaign ( www.pledgemusic.com/projects/AntigoneRising ) will donated to GLAAD upon hitting the targeted goal.

Lady Gaga has urged her followers to show support to Justin Bieber's fans, according to Digital Spy. Following Bieber's arrest on suspicion of DUI and drag racing Jan. 23, Gaga took to the Little Monsters website to speak out against his critics. In part, she wrote, "We may not understand everything celebrities do because there's only so much we see, but Justin and Beliebers were 'born this way' too."

Britney Spears' Las Vegas residency has already become the top local show of the year, according to a Digital Spy item. Online ticket retailer StubHub reports that the singer's "Piece Of Me" show has already outsold similar residencies by Celine Dion, Elton John, Shania Twain and Rod Stewart. The show is also the third highest-selling Las Vegas residency ever, behind Dion's show, which began in 2011, and John's, which kicked off in 2009.

The Gene Siskel Film Center ( GSFC ) of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago ( SAIC ) will continue in its legacy of saluting important leaders in cinematic achievement by honoring Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, Saturday, June 7, at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E. Pearson St. The evening will culminate with the presentation of the Gene Siskel Film Center Renaissance Award to Freeman by SAIC President Dr. Walter E. Massey. Past honorees include Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Foxx and George Lucas, among others.

Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones, who plays Loras Tyrell, has been lamenting the lack of gay sex for his character, according to Queerty.com . "There's not enough hot gay sex for Loras this season. I'm afraid there's just not enough," Finn told a blogger at a recent party. The fourth season of the HBO series debuts in April.

Several Broadway stars have lent their talent to a fake musical about the fictional stars of Russian Broadway staging a protest show in response to the Russian government stance on gay propaganda via theatrical performance, EW.com noted. The stars of the short YouTube musical include Andrew Rannells, Michael Cerveris, Laura Benanti, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Stephanie J. Block and Michael Urie.

In a video for the ACLU, Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and husband Justin Mikita talk about their love and their lives together, and what marriage means to them, according to The New Civil Rights Movement. On YouTube, the ACLU adds that in the video, the couple share a "candid conversation about their own relationship and their advocacy efforts to spread the freedom to marry in Jesse's home state of New Mexico and beyond, highlights a national movement for equality for all loving, committed couples."

Boy George is releasing his first studio album in 18 years on March 25, according to a press release. The DJ and Culture Club front man is releasing the CD This Is What I Do, written by George and longtime writing partners John Themis, Kevan Frost and Richie Stevens ( Soul II Soul, Tina Turner, Culture Club ). An exclusive deluxe edition of This Is What I Do will be released on George's own imprint, Very Me Records, via Kobalt Label Services on the same date. George and his band will tour North America later this year.

Warner Bros. has announced that it has set Hugh Jackman to play Blackbeard in Pan, the Joe Wright-directed update of JM Barrie's Peter Pan tale, according to Deadline.com . He joins Garrett Hedlund, who will play Captain Hook after battling with Boardwalk Empire's Jack Huston and Perks of Being a Wallflower's Ezra Miller for the role. The pic remains untitled, although it does have a July 17, 2015 release date after it was shifted last week to take the slot previously held by the studio's Superman vs. Batman movie.

The gay HBO drama Looking has gotten off to a slow start, according to Deadline.com . The show, set in San Francisco and starring openly gay actor Jonathan Groff, drew only 338,000 viewers for its debut Jan. 19. ( It about 606,000 viewers when factoring in all telecasts. ) By contrast, the Matthew McConaughey-Woody Harrselson cop thriller True Detective—which also airs on HBO on Sundays—averaged 1.7 million viewers in its second week.

Speaking of low ratings, ABC is yanking Sofia Vergara's series Killer Women for that very reason after two episodes, according to E! Online. Taking the spot will be Mind Games, a new drama from EP Kyle Killen and starring Christian Slater; it was originally scheduled to premiere March 11 and now will launch Feb. 25. ABC also announced Dancing With the Stars will return March 17.

The 56th Grammy Awards will be remembered for two mute Frenchmen and a mass wedding ceremony involving same- and opposite-sex couples. The French dance-music duo Daft Punk's Random Access Memories took honors as Album of the Year, while the album's hit single "Get Lucky" was Record of the Year. However, for many ( including members of the LGBTQ community ), the highlight of the Grammys was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ( along with Mary Lambert ) performing its equality anthem "Same Love"—which was followed by Queen Latifah officiating a group wedding event with 33 couples of various sexual orientations. Madonna then sang a slowed-down version of her 1980s hit "Open Your Heart."

On The View, co-host Jenny McCarthy revealed that a gay couple raises her son while she's in New York City, according to BillyMasters.com . "My son is being raised by two gay men," she said. "A lot of people don't know that. Evan is at home in Chicago, and I've had two gay men raising him. And they are the most wonderful men and I couldn't be more proud for him to see that."

Rosie O'Donnell is making her return to ABC's The View on Friday, Feb. 7, according to TheWrap.com . The appearance marks the first time that O'Donnell will be on to the daytime talk show since moderating season 10, which ran 2006-07. The former co-host departed the show under less-than-friendly circumstances, including an infamous argument with now-former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

Warner Bros. Records will release the original motion picture soundtrack to Universal Pictures' Endless Love on Feb. 11, according to a press release. The soundtrack features such acts as Franz Ferdinand, Tanlines, The Tallest Man on Earth, Guards, and Tegan and Sara, who perform the track "Don't Find Another Love," which was written specifically for the movie.

Singer Gloria Gaynor—known for her disco hit "I Will Survive"—banned go-go boys recently while performing at a gay club, TMZ reported. Gaynor performed at West Hollywood, Calif.'s, The Abbey and performed her new song—but the gig was delayed when Gaynor insisted managers remove all go-go dancers from the room. Gaynor insisted she's not anti-gay but that she's deeply religious, and that she also does not take photos with shirtless men or provocatively dressed women.

The Grammy-winning band fun. recently launched a campaign to raise $250,000 to build a community health center for the Ruth Ellis Center, which provides housing, meals, clothing and medical services for LGBT youth in need in Detroit, according to a press release. Members of the band fun. are singer Nate Ruess ( who duetted with Pink at this year's Grammys ), guitarist Jack Antonoff and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost, who is from Detroit. While LGBTQ youth make up 5 percent to 7 percent of the general population, they represent up to 40 percent of the overall homeless youth population.

Point Foundation ( Point ) will present its Leadership Award to acclaimed TV producer, educator and medical doctor Neal Baer at the April 7 Point Honors New York gala, according to a press release. Baer's good friend, taward-winning actress Mariska Hargitay ( Law & Order: SVU ), will present the Point Leadership Award to him. "As a recently out gay man, I'm deeply honored to be recognized by the Point Foundation for my television work over the years depicting the stories of LGBTQ youth," said Baer.


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