Poor Focus Features.
The film company hit gay gold a few years back with Brokeback Mountain, a love story about gay cowboys. Well, the company will tonight premiere its latest lavender adventure, Milk, a biopic about slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk. While laymen may assume Focus would want to build the hype, they're eschewing a big hoopla over the homo-tinged feature.
The New York City Opera has commissioned an opera based on Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain. The only way they could make this gayer would be to adapt it as a musical. Who are we kidding? It's probably coming. [NYDN]
• What's more depressing: that people want to keep their hunting gun by their bed or that some couples can't share and are ordering two of these shot gun racks?
• We didn't mean to mock Rebecca Romijn twice in one day, but she looks so much like a certain drag queen we couldn't resist.
• We so bet lawyers blog better than republicans. [WSJ]
• The latest trend in interior design is divorcee revenge decorating. So, you know, mostly skulls, voodoo dolls, pick axes, those types of things. [NYT]
• Who is that Flickr guy and why is he so rad? [Unbeige]
• Somebody told Randy Quaid that Brokeback Mountain was going to be a broke ass movie. And he was stupid enough to believe them. [AP]
• Even better than books about Pam in your butt are books by bloggers which have nothing at all to do with their blogs. [Blogebrity]
Appearing in today's Variety:
(Click for larger version)
Yep, an ad paid for by bitchy queens.
Heartbroken Brokeback Fans Say “Thanks†With Ad in Daily Variety [429 News, via Oh La La Paris]
We literally asked for this story after the first "Cowboy Fashion" article appeared in the New York Times last month. The original left us somewhat empty, longing for more detailed coverage than was offered by the unsubstantiated "trend" piece.
Eric Wilson's Styles story, "Brokeback' Sells a Style," claimed that because freaks were paying thousands of dollars for the shirt off Jake Gyllenhaal's back, that cowboy fashion was cool.
At any rate, Western fashion has struck a chord with audiences, as several people are now willing to pay top dollar for that authentic Brokeback look.
Today, we have a wonderful, almost recycled rendition, of the exact same story, courtesy of David Colman (who may or may not have read the New York Times last month.) But this time, they go to great lengths to prove that the urban cowboy look is in fashion because the clothes are actually in stores and on runways this time.
With its representation of two plain cowboys who fell in love in plain old Western wear, it hit the fashion bull's-eye. Cowboy boots, snap-button shirts and big ol' belt buckles — standards that have come and gone several times before — are striding back into style.
So, now you have you're proof. Ralph Lauren — not just some gay human rights activist — says that the cowboy look is hot. So go forth, grab your faded jeans and button up collared shirts. Just be careful about where you wear them — you never know when you might get locked in a tent with Tom Cruise.
Fashion Goes West [David Colman, New York Times]
Earlier: It's finally acceptable to dress like a gay cowboy
Are they for real? Dude, if your husband is sleeping with other guys behind your back, your marriage isn't "Brokeback." It's fucking broke.
On the other hand, Jann Wenner & Threes Co. made it work. Maybe there's hope for gay men who want to get married and have kids after all.
(Y'know, because that legal gay marriage option can just get really complicated.)
Many Couples Must Negotiate Terms of 'Brokeback' Marriages [Katy Butler, New York Times]
Not that we're in the business of spreading conspiracy theories, but all this Oscar babble has sabotaged our ability to discern plausible fact from fiction. So we bring you this "Hollywood is a scheming place" email from yesterday evening that, in all honesty, should've been met with our delete button.
But it wasn't.
Overheard a big macher from one of the three-letter agencies on Wilshire this morning wondering…
Did a certain cult threaten someone at a certain accouning firm with blackmail unless the name of a certain movie produced by a certain cult member was switched with the name of the real winner for Best Picture?
Just asking.
If only we had a cult to pull favor with PricewaterhouseCoopers, perhaps we wouldn't be so worried by April 15.
We've already seen gay cowboy cheerleader Andy Towle's reaction to Crash taking home the Best Picture Oscar. But how is the press handling the Brokeback Mountain fall out?
• 'Crash' runs over 'Brokeback Mountain'
• Gays brokenhearted over 'Brokeback' loss
• Gay cowboys shot down at Oscars
• The film that crashed the Oscars
• Oscar party Crash(er)
• The post-Oscars debate: Why Brokeback lost
As the gays in Hollywood shed a tear, there's comfort in knowing the gays in media have got their backs. Their brokebacks, if you will.
Andy Towle – the man who's been chronicling the gay cowboy craze for what seems like the entire life cycle of blogs – loses his reason to live.
Crash Wins Best Picture [Towleroad]
At least Hollywood has settled its GLBT prejudice issues.
This year, the Hollywood word of the year is "Brokeback." How very strange and clever — not to mention helpful for the secret language of the hidden gay subtext in the media industry.
The nonprofit group Global Language Monitor placed "Brokeback" — as in the film title "Brokeback Mountain" — at the top of its list of Hollywood words and phrases that captured attention this year.
Paul JJ Payack, the head of Global Language Monitor, said the movie became a cultural phenomenon that generated a million jokes, according to Google.
Like three Blenders to a Cargo, a million jokes about gay people = 1st Place in the word of the year awards.
The rest of the lucky proverbial prize winners (complete with our commentary) after the jump.
CONTINUED »
How excited are we? The New York Times has finally decided that it's cool to dress like a cowboy again. Yee-haw! Dreams are just coming true all over the place.
And people are paying big, big money just to get this hot, new look.
At any rate, Western fashion has struck a chord with audiences, as several people are now willing to pay top dollar for that authentic Brokeback look.
A pair of jackets, worn in the movie by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, were auctioned at a New York gala for the Human Rights Campaign on Saturday, drawing a top bid of $42,000…
Oh, wait. No they're not. They're paying to clutch Jake Gyllenhaall's jacket to their chests and dream off ripping of his clothes. (Plus, some of the money goes to charity, so that's some insentive to drop $42,000 on a pair of cowboy coats.)
Now, if they wanted to say that the western look was coming into fashion, the Styles section wouldn't be wrong. An Earnest Cut & Sew, Diesel, Lucky … all NYC stores that are adopting that "urban rancher" look.
But to say that the cowboy look is "in" just because people will pay for a little piece of Jake and Heath? That's like saying that people take their fashion tips from the Styles section.
'Brokeback' Sells a Style [Eric Wilson, New York Times]
• Paris Hilton doesn't just go number one. [Hollywood Tuna]
• Attention all wanna be gay boys age 10-18. Here's your chance to get the shit kicked out of you in dodgeball. [Queerty]
• The ultimate Cosmo girl is going to have the most rockin' sweet 16 evah. Then she's going to open her mommy's magazine and learn all about how to give great head. [Gawker]
• Reese Witherspoon isn't the only one involved in a Golden Globes "vintage" dress "scandal" — so is Nataline Portman. And somehow Kirsten Dunst is, yet again, involved. [A Socialite's Life]
• Suburban women in middle America love them some hot cowboy action. Watch out, Chicago, the cast is coming to Oprah. [Newsweek]
• It's damn hard to concentrate with those paparazzi stalking your ass. Especially if your Lindsay Lohan, and have coke induced ADD already. [OAN]
• And that Colin Farell thing is still up (pun intended). What was that Mayor Ray Nagin was saying about a delicious drink? [Colin Farrell Sex Tape]
From Ben Widdicombe's Gatecrasher column on Saturday:
Having Harrison Ford as a customer is a problem any young fashion line would love to have. But when your clothing is aimed at gay men, how do you publicize it?
Ford walked into a Chelsea men's wear store recently and liked the 429 T-shirts so much, he bought one in each color ("Green, brown and eggplant," according to a spy). He probably didn't realize that 429 is so named because it spells G-A-Y on a telephone keypad.
Harrison Ford making an unitentional play for the gay community? Eh, not really our thing. But the New York Daily News mentioning covering something gay that isn't Brokeback Mountain? It's reason to celebrate.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for racial equality. Our hope for change is a little more simple.
Ford wears quite a number [Gatecrasher]
• Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe call it kaputz. Lowe decided that being married to a horse who could box the shit out of him was losing its appeal. [Insider TV]
• People in Utah are being denied their right to three hours of cowboy on cowboy action. Reason #5,096 we live here. [AP News]
• Prince William brings on the competition for Jake Gyllenhaal via Jarhead. Hoo-rah. [Fox]
• Nick Lachey sues Jessica Simpson — Dateline asks, "is Katie Holmes listening?" [Dateline Hollywood]
• We already know she can change positions. Now Paris Hilton proves she can alter her state of mind as well. [The Scoop]
• At least Arnold Schwarzenegger fell off a motorcycle and not one of those scooter carts Bush was riding around on. [People]
Why won't anyone see King Kong? Because for some reason which we will never, ever, comprehend, people listen to Matt Drudge.
Not only has Drudge tried to stop people from seeing King Kong by calling it racist, he also tried to stop people from seeing Brokeback Mountain. That is just a sin.
Drudge Report
Studios have to battle snarky media reports [Gregg Kilday, Hollywood Reporter]
And we spent all day stretching for a Jake Gyllenhaal reference, and this one falls right into our lap tops! Looks like that crazy little "gay cowboy" movie might start to become a little more mainstream — reaching from outside the NYU and Chelsea areas to television screens across the world.
"…Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," a drama of love between cowboys, leading the pack in the all-important best picture race.
"It could be the gay Oscars this year because gay-themed movies could win almost all the major awards," said Tom O'Neill, show business awards columnist for The Envelope.Com., referring to the sudden dominance "Brokeback Mountain" has gained so early in the race.
We beleive that the truly beautiful aspect of this film is that both gay guys and straight girls can take equal amounts of pleasure in watching Jake wrestle around with Heath Ledger. Call it what you will, but if this is the gay Oscars, then we can't wait to hear the academy try to explain why millions of chicks are clamoring for as much Jake on Heath action as they can get.
'Brokeback Mountain' tops Oscar bets [Arthur Spiegelman, AP News]
That the New York Times assigned Guy Trebay to do a Sunday Styles piece on gay cowboys in Wyoming didn't surprise us. That it took this long to connect Brokeback Mountain to Matthew Shepard, however, did.
Cowboys, Just Like in the Movie [Guy Trebay, NYT]
What do the following headlines have in common?
• Need to Find an Xbox 360? Buy a Ticket to Tokyo
• Caged 'Scissorhands' spews bizarre banter
• Through His Webcam, a Boy Joins a Sordid Online World
• Abercrombie & Fitch Does Not Condone Your Logic
• Shirley MacLaine says she’s no Paris Hilton
• Ho Ho Hos: Boston's Santa Speedo Run*
Not one of them is about Brokeback Mountain. Christmas came early this year.
* While Andy Towle's post about the Boston Santa Speedo Run was not technically about Brokeback Mountain, he did manage to squeeze in a Jake Gyllenhaal reference. Color us unsurprised.
Editorial Director
