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News

If you haven’t heard about “Dumb Starbucks” it was a California “art gallery” that completely duplicated the look of a Starbucks, except it added “Dumb” to the Starbucks logo. It turns out the shop was a stunt by Comedy Central show Nathan for You, which parodies business improvement reality shows. I laughed when I saw it on the news, I can’t wait to see the episode.

Tom Cavanagh has joined the cast of the CW’s Flash pilot. He’ll play a physicist at S.T.A.R. labs named Harrison Wells. As far as I can find, there isn’t a DC Comics character with that name to hint as his future.

Just a mention of Tom Cavanagh has me looking for that Breakfast with Scot DVD.

How is AMC celebrating African-American history month? By developing a Civil Rights drama. Bombingham is set in Birmingham, Alabama...

Brace yourselves. This list of the Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies is probably going to generate some howls of protest thanks to a rather major upset in the rankings. Frankly, one that surprised the hell out of us here at AfterElton.

But before we get to that, an introduction. A few weeks ago we asked AfterElton readers to submit up to ten of their favorite films by write-in vote. We conducted a similar poll several years ago, but a lot has happened culturally since then, and a number of worthy movies of gay interest have been released. We wanted to see how your list of favorites had changed.

We also wanted to expand our list to 100 from the top 50 we had done previously. We figured there were finally enough quality gay films to justify the expansion. And we wanted to break out gay documentaries onto their own list (You'll find the...

By MoreHorror.com

The 'found footage' horror film Knock Knock 2 will be releasing on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand. Check out the official details below from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

From the Press release:

When the tape stops the horror continues this summer as Lionsgate Home Entertainment releases.

"Knock Knock 2" on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand. Based on found footage, this horror film stars newcomers Aiden Cardei, Jordan Elizabeth, Beckett West (Breakfast with Scot) and Stephanie Lovie. A killer paranormal thriller, the Knock Knock 2 DVD, which includes interviews with the cast and crew, arrives on August 7th.

About Knock Knock 2

On October 31, 2010 four friends, living in Los Angeles, decide to go on a self-made tour of haunted Hollywood houses and famous celebrity murders hoping to capture these famous ghosts on camera. After several uneventful ghost hunts they came upon a house known as 1666.

They have been missing ever since.

Well, Falling Skies has launched, and the debut ratings were impressive. If you're like me, you took a shine to the character John Pope, and there is a lot of him coming up in the show, and with some interesting spins. Pope is played by Colin Cunningham, and I got a chance to talk to him recently about the show, shows generally, and his character. It was a great conversation, and I hope that translates (it usually doesn't quite work). For my money, a lot of the best hope of the continued success of the show comes down to how Pope figures into things, and I think Colin gives a fun, interesting, and layered performance that is worth watching.

Just because the show is so new, I'm going to include the official rundown on both the character and Cunningham before jumping right into the interview. Have fun.

John Pope, the...

HBO Canada, a multiplex channel from the two premium cable networks The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Movie Central (Western Canada), announced that the upcoming Canadian half-hour comedy Living in Your Car will premiere on May 7 at 9:30 Pm.

With the unstable economy as a backdrop, Living in Your Car follows Steve Unger (John Ralston), a fallen corporate executive whose rule of the financial world comes to an abrupt halt when he is arrested and charged with fraud, obstruction and racketeering. After cutting a deal to get out of prison, Steve quickly realizes his old life no longer exists: his former colleagues shun him, his wife, Lori (Ingrid Kavelaars), and daughter, Kate (Mariah Horner), don’t want to live with him, and even his own parents refuse to help him. As he clings desperately to the last vestige of his former self – a luxury sedan – Steve finds himself under court...

In stores this week we have a few cool movies that you might have overlooked during their theatrical runs, and a bunch of others that you're probably glad that you missed. Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! leads the list of major DVD releases, along with Richard Kelly's The Box and Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant starring John C. Reilly. Also out this week is the low budget horror remake Sorority Row, Norwegian Nazi zombie flick Dead Snow, acclaimed U.K. soccer drama The Damned United, and The September Issue, a documentary about infamous Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Truthfully though, I think the main thing we've all really been saving our money for is Jersey Shore: Season 1 Uncensored. What will you be renting or buying this week? The Informant! [1] (+ Blu-ray [2]) The Box [3] (+ Blu-ray [4]) Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant [5] (+ Blu-ray [6]) Sorority Row [7] (+ Blu-ray [8]) Everybody's Fine [9] The Damned United [10] (+ Blu-ray...

Believe it or not, Mongrel Media, a Canadian film distributor, puts its products on iTunes. Moreover, as far as I know, downloading a film on iTunes is legal. The following is the list of some films and there are Canadian films among them.

Canadian Feature films:

* Away from Her.

* Breakfast with Scot.

* Cairo Time.

* Growing Op.

* How She Move.

* Love & Savagery.

* Nurse.Fighter.Boy.

* One Week.

Foreign feature films:

* Mary and Max.

* The Narrows (2008).

* Scenes of a Sexual Nature.

* Wendy and Lucy.

Documentaries:

* Big River Man.

* Blood on the Flat Track.

* The Corporation.

* A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash.

* Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father.

* Flow: For Love of Water.

* Garbage Warrior.

Every year, it seems as if there’s only one small gay indie movie that breaks out of the pack and becomes the movie everyone talks about: Eating Out in 2004, Mysterious Skin in 2005, Another Gay Movie in 2006, Shelter in 2007, and Were the World Mine in 2008.

These are all pretty good movies, even if I didn’t always agree that they were the ones that most deserved to break out. (Last year, I liked Ciao more than Were the World Mine. And I liked Quinceañera more than either Shelter or Another Gay Movie.)

But I have a feeling that this year’s gay indie break-out movie will be Patrik, Age 1.5 – a Swedish film released last year in other countries, but only now being seen here in the U.S.

If it doesn’t break out, something’s truly not right in the world. It’s a flat-out wonderful movie.

In the film,...

Release Date: Oct. 10

Director: Laurie Lynd

Writers: Michael Downing (novel), Sean Reycraft (screenwriter)

Cinematographer: David A. Makin

Starring: Noah Bernett, Thomas Cavanagh, Ben Shenkman

Studio/Run Time: Regent Releasing, 95 mins.

Eric and Sam are a committed gay couple, though not married or in a civil union, suddenly forced into custody of Scot when his mother dies. They deal with this change in a humorous getting-to-know-each-other plot that’s somewhere between Kramer vs. Kramer and Big Daddy in tone. The catch here is that Scot is also gay, flamboyantly so, at least so far as a pre-pubescent child can be said to have any form of sexuality. This makes Scot a pariah at school and leaves Eric and Sam uncertain if they should raise him to embrace who he is or to be like them and for the most part hide his sexuality for social and professional reasons.

Three cheers to the National Hockey League for reportedly becoming the first professional sports organization to endorse a gay-themed movie. Too bad Laurie Lynd's "Breakfast With Scot" is so bland and timid.

TV actor Tom Cavanagh's Eric is repeatedly identified as a star player for the Toronto Maple Leafs who becomes a sportscaster after a career-ending injury.

Most of his co-workers have no idea he's been quietly playing for the other team with a lawyer (Ben Shenkman in a severely underwritten role) who's as "straight acting" as he is.

Ben Shenkman earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations four years ago for his supporting role in Angels in America, in which he played the lover of a gay man who had AIDS. In the Canadian indie Breakfast with Scot, Shenkman takes on the lighter and more modern side of gay life, playing one half of a couple who are suddenly faced with raising a precocious, deeply theatrical 11-year-old boy. Shenkman stars alongside Tom Cavanagh, who plays a former hockey player and sportscaster who is in the closet at work, and ambivalent about raising a kid to begin with, not to mention one who seems more gay than he is. Shenkman, who lives in New York with his wife and newborn son, talked to me about Breakfast with Scot, which he says is more of a family story than anything specifically for gay audiences. The film premiered at the Toronto Film...

By Neil Pedley

With the fall season's heavy hitters already starting to make an appearance, this week's feast of indie offers some calm before the big studio storm. Enjoy it while it lasts.

"Ashes of Time Redux"

Celebrated Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai gathered together lost and damaged footage to painstakingly rework his only martial arts epic, first released in 1994, into a fresh, definitive edition (complete with an all new score from Yo-Yo Ma). With a blindingly colorful palette, Wong paints a looping, stylized portrait of an embittered agent Ouyang Feng (the late Leslie Cheung) who channels the unbearable pain of a broken heart into commissioning bounty hunters to commit acts of vengeance. Tony Leung Ka Fai, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau and Jacky Cheung round out the still-impressive cast.

Opens in New York and Los Angeles.

"Body of Lies"

In terms of the global espionage thriller, orange is the new...

Here is the trailer for Regent Releasing’s movie Breakfast With Scot, Adapted from the novel by Michael Downing is set to open in theaters October 10, 2008. The film is directed by Laurie Lynd Eric (Tom Cavanagh) lives for all things hockey. Now in his thirties, he’s managed to turn his stint as an ex-professional hockey player with the Toronto Maple Leaf into a full-time gig as commentator for sports TV. He’s living the dream! But when Eric’s boyfriend, Sam (Ben Shenkman), announces they’re to become temporary guardians of a young boy, Scot (Noah Bernett). Eric’s comfortable world [...]...

The following feature-length motion pictures have been reviewed and rated by the Classification and Rating Administration pursuant to the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program. Each of the designated ratings is defined as follows under the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program.

G -- General Audiences. All ages admitted.

PG -- Parental Guidance Suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG -13 --Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

R -- Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Nc-17 -- No One 17 And Under Admitted

Film Distributor ReasonRating 1. 13 Hours In A Wearhouse

Maverick Entertainment Group, Inc.

Rated violence including some torture, language and brief sexuality.

R 2. Armored

Screen Gems

Rated for sequences of intense violence, some disturbing images and brief strong language.

PG-13

3. Article VI

Wiley Rhodes Productions L.L.C.

Rated for thematic material and some language.

PG 4 Ashes Of Time Redux...

We have nine clips from the Regent Releasing film "Breakfast with Scot" starring Thomas Cavanagh, Cameron Ansell, Ben Shenkman, Benz Antoine, Noah Bernett, Robin Brûlé, William Cuddy, Colin Cunningham, Dylan Everett. The film opens in theatres on September 19, 2008 (Exclusive to Los Angeles) and is directed by Laurie Lynd ("TV's Noah's Arc," "Degrassi: The Next Generation"). Adapting the Michael Downing novel is Sean Reycraft who has written episodes of "Slings and Arrows" as well as "Degrassi: The Next Generation" and "The Eleventh Hour"...

With more than 200 films, 50,000 expected attendees and 26 years of history at its back, Outfest: the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, which kicked off Wednesday night, has reached an age that typically connotes old guard orthodoxy and establishment entrenchment. But if you ask interim executive director Kirsten Schaffer what makes Los Angeles' longest continuously running film festival important, it's all about the newbies.

"The festival is a launching pad for emerging queer filmmakers," Schaffer said. "This is the place to make connections with other filmmakers and industry, and begin to bring their careers to new places."

Because of Outfest's proximity to Hollywood, a certain amount of industry presence is endemic to the festival. However, as director of programming Kimberly Yutani said, the industry crowd is somewhat incidental to the festival's primary draw.

"Outfest is very much an Lgbt community festival," she said. "Yes, there are people in the industry who are gay that come with an eye for talent, but they come as a member of that community."

The festival's neutral attitude toward Tinseltown is perhaps best evinced by its lack of a formal marketplace. As Schaffer said, "A lot of things get bought and sold during Outfest, but we're not the queer Afm."

This aversion to becoming a trade show is essential to the festival's commitment to showcase compelling work. "We're an arts organization, so we're not confined by profit margins," Schaffer said. "We can show movies that mainstream entities aren't dealing with."

That especially applies to Outfest's Platinum section, which focuses on avant-garde and experimental media. This year's Platinum programming pays tribute to underground punk mutineer Bruce Labruce with screenings of his "Super 8 1/2" (1993) and new "Otto; or, Up With Dead People" (Strand Releasing) at Redcat.

This year's highest honor, the Outfest Achievement Award, will go to filmmaker Donna Deitch, whose 1985 "Desert Hearts" made waves for its earnest and positive portrayal of lesbian romance.

Outfest also has selected a small number of "centerpiece" films for Gala screenings. This year's opening- and closing-night galas at the Orpheum Theatre are 2007's "Breakfast With Scot" and 2008's "Tru Loved," both of which depict families helmed by gay and lesbian parents in tree-lined suburbia.

Likely to create buzz this election year are films in the Outing Politics series, including the Oscar-winning 1984 documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk," a narrative version of which will be released by Focus Features this year, and Dan Butler's satire 2007's "Karl Rove, I Love You," which centers on an unknown actor's obsession with the Dubya handler.

Here! Films has acquired North American rights to the gay-themed family comedy "Breakfast With Scot," the opening-night selection of L.A.'s Outfest 2008 film festival.

Tom Cavanagh ("Ed") and Ben Shenkman play a straight-laced couple who end up with temporary custody of a flamboyant 11-year-old orphan (Noah Bernett).

Here! sister company Regent Releasing will distribute Laurie Lynd's film in theaters this fall. Here! exec Mark Reinhart negotiated the deal with Miracle Pictures' Paul Brown.

Graham Greene, Chris Kattan and Heather Matarazzo have signed with APA.

Greene, an Oscar nominee for Dances With Wolves, recently wrapped the indie film Pushing Up Daisies and has a voice role in the upcoming animated film The Legend of Secret Pass.

He also can be seen in the indie Breakfast With Scot, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. His credits include Transamerica and the TNT miniseries Into the West.

Graham continues to be repped by manager Susan Smith and the Gary Goddard Agency in Canada.

Kattan, best known for his eight seasons on NBC's Saturday Night Live, next appears in Christmas in Wonderland and has a voice role in the upcoming animated "Foodfight!"

His credits include the films Corky Romano and A Night at the Roxbury, the latter of which he co-wrote. He continues to be repped by 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney Karl Austen.

Matarazzo -- who earned an Independent Spirit Award for her film debut, Welcome to the Dollhouse -- next appears in the Logo series Exes & Ohs, which premieres Monday. She most recently appeared in the film Hostel: Part II. Her credits include the Princess Diaries films and Showtime's The L Word.

She continues to be managed by Jamie Freed at the Collective and attorney Marcy Morris.

TORONTO -- David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, starring Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen, and Denys Arcand's Days of Darkness will get the red-carpet treatment at the Toronto International Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.

The latest work from veteran Canadian directors Cronenberg and Arcand -- whose film closed Cannes this year -- will receive galas at Roy Thomson Hall.

Unveiling the Canadian contingent in Toronto, festival organizers said they have booked Francois Girard's Keira Knightley starrer Silk from Picturehouse and New Line International, Roger Spottiswoode's Rwandan drama Shake Hands With the Devil and Clement Virgo's boxing tale Poor Boy's Game, starring Danny Glover, for Special Presentations slots.

Also joining the Special Presentations program is Adam Vollick's Here Is What Is, a portrait of famed record producer Daniel Lanois, and Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg, billed as a "docu-fantasia" about the filmmaker's hometown.

Canadian films unspooling as part of Toronto's Contemporary World Cinema section include Leonard Farlinger's All Hat; Bruce Sweeney's American Venus, starring Rebecca De Mornay; Bernard Emond's Contre Toute Esperance, which will also screen in Locarno; and Carl Bessai's Carrie-Anne Moss starrer Normal.

Also joining the CWC party is Laurie Lynd's Breakfast With Scot, Denis Cote's Nos Vies Privees and Kari Skogland's The Stone Angel, the big-screen adaptation of the classic Margaret Laurence novel, starring Ellen Burstyn.