Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Kim Richards Out

Get Well Kim
Kim Richards is no longer a regular on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

She may make a cameo or two, but...while I could be snide about this I choose not to. Leave that to people who have no lives.

This actually makes me sad. I grew up with Kim, she was in one of my favorite films of all time Escape to Witch Mountain.

Let's not berate her for her transgressions. How about sending out some love in hope she gets her life back together.

Kim on IMDBhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001668/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Congratulations Caitlyn Jenner

Hello Gorgeous 
The backlash is already here and Caitlyn's official Vanity Fair cover only came out yesterday.

While I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion, honestly I am over all the cynicism and negativity that comes from someone being brave enough to be themselves.

Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that she is happy? Rather than harp on her politics and privilege?

As my friend Ian Harvie puts it, "this will save lives" and isn't that what we should all be focusing on?

Follow Caitlyn at: 

Monday, June 1, 2015

No Gaga For This Lady

Lady Gaga Ain't Pregnant
"I'm getting a little older and many people think I'm pregnant but I tell them, 'I'm just almost f--king 30,'" Lady Gaga, 29, told the audience at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles Sunday during her Cheek to Cheek concert with Tony Bennett.

Has she thought about Taylor Kinney knocking her up? Hell to the yes.

But will she in the future? Most likely, but not now.

Case closed. Keep creating Ms. Thang - you'll know when to put a bun in that oven.

Meantime, can't wait to see you in American Horror Story: Hotel!

Go Gaga at: 
https://www.facebook.com/ladygaga
https://twitter.com/ladygaga

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Historical: The Films of Robert Mugge

Robert Mugge
MVD Entertertainment Group to release the films of Robert Mugge

"Films of the documentarian Robert Mugge are cultural reference books... Documents of a flourishing below-the-radar culture... They are archival records as well as entertainments." 
- Stephen Holden, The New York Times 

Bob Hope - Entertaining The Troops DVD (street: 06/09/15) 
Deep Sea Blues BLU-RAY (street: 07/07/15) 
Giving Up The Ghosts: Closing Time At Doc's Music Hall BLU-RAY (street: 09/29/15) 
Souvenirs Of Bucovina: A Romanian Survival Guide DVD (street: 09/29/15)

Check out these markers of time & place, by filmmaker Robert Mugge

Since 1973, Robert Mugge has made more than 30 films, the majority of which have focused on music and musicians. According to Mugge, "In my films, music frequently serves as a leaping-off point for discussions of social issues, cultural issues, political issues, even religious issues. In fact, I tend to see music as a metaphor for the human spirit."

For example, in Bob Hope - Entertaining The Troops(coming to DVD on June 9th), Mugge pays tribute to hundreds of American performers who assisted the military in World War II. Included are rare period performances by the likes of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Dorothy Lamour, Frances Langford, the Andrews Sisters, Danny Kaye, Lena Horne, and Mel Blanc, as well as a 1988 reunion of Bob Hope's WWII troupe of performers.

Mugge has made documentaries about bluegrass, reggae, and Hawaiian music and has done films centered on RubĂ©n Blades, Sonny Rollins, Robert Johnson, and Gil Scott-Heron. He's done several movies on the blues including Deep Sea Blues (on Blu-ray July 15th), a rocking portrait of the 2007 Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise to the Caribbean. As a bonus, this two hour film also includes Mugge's 96-minute All Jams On Deck, shot on the October 2010 Pacific cruise.

Another blues film, Last of the Mississippi Jukes (coming to DVD later this year) is full of high-powered performances by Alvin Youngblood Hart, Chris Thomas King, Vasti Jackson, Bobby Rush, and Patrice Moncell. However, it's ultimately a sad film. It starts off with a brand-new club in Clarksdale, Miss., Ground Zero Blues Club, which is co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman and Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett and which intentionally evokes the style and spirit of traditional jukes. But it ends at the Subway Lounge in Jackson, Miss., shortly before that legendary club closed. At the end of the film there's hope that the Subway would be renovated and revived. However, due to structural problems, the building was eventually demolished.

Giving Up The Ghosts: Closing Time At Doc's Music Hall (on Blu-ray September 29th), is a feature-length music documentary exploring the twin careers of respected physician and musician Dr. John Peterson and the music and arts venue he owned and helped operate in downtown Muncie, Indiana from 1992 to 2012. The film alternates a final performance at his Doc's Music Hall with assorted interviews and related activities, including a ceremony to "free" the building's ghosts.

Mugge's films have earned him high praise from publications including The Village Voice and The New York Times, with Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter writing, "Mugge has, during the past 25 years, established himself as the cinema's foremost music documentarian ..."

"I tend to pick subjects that interest me and about which I'd like to know more" he continued. "Making a particular film becomes an adventure in which I get to learn more about a chosen subject, while simultaneously sharing with others much of what I've experienced." This quest for knowledge has drawn him to make films about reggae, zydeco, gospel music, jazz improvisation and, most recently, the historically rich region of Bucovina in northern Romania and southern Ukraine." Says Mugge. "That was certainly something I knew nothing about," he said of the Eastern European region, to which he ventured with a film crew that included Diana Zelman, now his wife, a filmmaker in her own right who has helped to produce all of his films since 2005. The result, Souvenirs of Bucovina: A Romanian Survival Guide, is coming to DVD on September 29th.

Mugge, takes pride in never having had to make a film that he did not want to make. "I never stop working," he proclaimed.

"It is an honor to be working with Robert Mugge," said Ed Seaman, COO of MVD. "Most of us have been fans of his work for a long time and recognize the integrity in not only the filmmaking and recording, but of the subject matter. We feel it is a perfect match, considering our connection with music and the arts in film."

Mugge states:

"Over the past few decades, my documentaries have been released by a variety of companies. Now, I am thrilled that a majority will be released worldwide by a single distributor, and that that distributor will be MVD Entertainment which has a unique interest in, and understanding of, music-related films. From some of my more highly regarded portrait films (SUN RA: A JOYFUL NOISE, THE RETURN OF RUBEN BLADES, and BLACK WAX with Gil Scott-Heron), to films on important American music scenes (THE KINGDOM OF ZYDECO, LAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI JUKES, PRIDE AND JOY: THE STORY OF ALLIGATOR RECORDS, HAWAIIAN RAINBOW, DEEP SEA BLUES, and RHYTHM 'N' BAYOUS: A ROAD MAP TO LOUISIANA MUSIC), to some of my most recent and more eclectic docs (SOUVENIRS OF BUCOVINA: A ROMANIAN SURVIVAL GUIDE, GIVING UP THE GHOSTS: CLOSING TIME AT DOC'S MUSIC HALL, and the forthcoming ZYDECO CROSSROADS: A TALE OF TWO CITIES), I could not be happier that much of my work is receiving impressive new presentations, complete with beautiful packaging and, wherever possible, generous bonus materials.

Kicking off this new relationship is one of my favorite of my own films, ENTERTAINING THE TROOPS, which recounts all the ways in which American entertainers supported Allied efforts in World War II. Perhaps the most satisfying part of this profect for me was becoming friends with the late singer, actor, and humanitarian Frances Langford. It was she who pulled together the reunion of Bob Hope's World War II troupe of traveling performers which forms the centerpiece and climax of the film. At the time we filmed that reunion at Bob Hope's North Hollywood home with Bob Hope, Frances Langford, dancer Patty Thomas, and guitarist Tony Romano (comedian Jerry Colonna having already passed), Ms. Thomas was 65, Ms. Langford was 75, and Mr. Hope was 85. There was something quite magical about these aging yet still warm and witty stars reminiscing about the idealistic exploits of their youth; especially about their repeated visits to the European, North African, and South Pacific fronts where they risked their lives to remind war-weary soldiers, sailors, nurses, and more how much people back home missed them and appreciated their sacrifices. Conducting such interviews, and spending a year and a half locating and editing together relevant footage from that extraordinary period in American and world history, was a rare experience for me, and I am extremely pleased that MVD is once again making the film available along with 25 minutes of powerful out-takes from the Bob Hope troupe reunion." 

Friday, May 29, 2015

Buffy & Willow 2015

A Buffy Reunion: Alyson Hannigan & Sarah Michelle Gellar
T.G.I.F Peeps!

Recently photos of Sarah Michelle Gellar & Alyson Hannigan reuniting in 2015 went viral.

As a Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan I was all a Twitter, ahem, so to speak.

In what appears to be a children's party or just a fun hang the twosome captured the moment and shared it with fans of the show.

Although I have loved them in other things, notably Gellar in Cruel Intentions and Hannigan in American Pie. Nothing will ever top Buffy.

Thanks for being such givers Sarah & Alyson.

Have a terrific weekend everyone...!

Tweet with Buffy & Willow at:
Sarah: https://twitter.com/sarahmgellar
Alyson: https://twitter.com/alydenisof

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Miley Cyrus is a Happy Hippie

Don't Dream It's Over - Miley Cyrus & Ariana Grande
MIley Cyrus teamed up with Ariana Grande recently for an off the hook cover of the Crowded House hit Don't Dream It's Over for her series of Happy Hippie Backyard Sessions.

The philanthropic Ms.Cyrus's nonprofit organization, Happy Hippie, works to “rally young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBT youth and other vulnerable populations.”

I love Miley not only is she an amazing singer she gives back in a big way too!

Appropriately dressed in a Unicorn onesie with Ms. Grande as her sidekick dressed in a Mouse onesie, the two bring a shiny and new take on the classic song. 

Hey, the Unicorn and the Mouse should be friends.

Give it a listen below...



Find out how you can make a difference with Miley at:
http://www.happyhippies.org/

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Pride! "You Are My Family"


Tis the season for Pride, and with that Joe Gauthreaux releases his latest production, “You Are My Family”, a song that celebrates the tightest of friendships and features vocals by the diva of dance, Inaya Day.  Of course it's a dance record, but it also has elements of pop, EDM, and gospel house. “It's a song I'm extremely proud of because it keeps changing as you go along and it has a really good payoff in the end with the gospel breakdown,” Mr. Gauthreaux says.  He cops to throwing out all of his conventional ways of producing dance music on “You Are My Family”. “I wanted this song to make a difference in people's lives beyond the nightclub. I didn’t want to sacrifice the emotional element for the sake of making it a dance record. I can always make a club mix later.” 

So I asked Joe to sock it to me, and tell me what his top five songs are for Gay Pride!


5.  Madonna - Living For Love - Her best single in a long time and the message is timely. Love is what it is all about!

4.  Taylor Swift - Welcome to New York - I just did a mash up to this and I featured the part where she says "... and you can want who you want, boys & boys, and girls & girls..." 

3.  Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Joe Gauthreaux & David Marc 2014 Club Mix) - I love the line "thunder only happens when it's raining" - it's a metaphor for the gay community making things happen when we protest, and have our voices be heard as one.

2.  Aretha Franklin - Pride (A Deeper Love) - This one speaks for itself! A classic that never gets old.

1.  Joe Gauthreaux featuring Inaya Day - You Are My Family - Because without the ones we love surrounding us, being there for us through thick & thin, pride has no meaning.

Give "You Are My Family" a listen after the jump!

Show your Pride at:
facebook.com/PropDRecordings
https://twitter.com/djjoeg