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A sprawling yet compact history of the iconic night club, Studio 54 focuses on the club’s founders, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, two men who turned a small business throwing balls for rich kids on Long Island into the venue to be during the disco era. Lasting only four years, the converted theater became a theatrical experience all its own. As explained by disco legend and club regular, Nile Rodgers – the models would hang with the gays, the straight guys would show up to meet the models, and the disco (at least in Manhattan) became a rare place of diversity and unity.

Directed by Matt Tyranauer, Studio 54 provides an aerial overview of the club, fittingly concerned more with the battles that took place behind the scenes than those out on stage, – by design, the club was a theatre with participants down below with a dark balcony for voyeurism and other activities.

Justin Bieber knows the ole saying ... when in Brazil, find a smoking hot Brazilian model. The Biebs is making the most out of his tour stop in Rio de Janeiro by spending a lot of time with Luciana Chamone. They were all up in each other's biz in the backseat of his ride Thursday. Can't blame him. If he's smart ... there's a promoter working on extending the South American swing of this tour right now.

Review by Sam Moffitt

I used to fantasize about going to Plato’s Retreat. The heyday of Plato’s was the late 1970s, during my time in the Navy. I still remember an article Playboy magazine ran about the first out in the open bath house/swing club for straight couples in American history. To say I was sexually frustrated during my time in service would be a major understatement, and not just from the long time spent at sea on a Navy warship, absent any female company. I had issues that had nothing to do with the Navy and which I will not go into in a movie review. Quite frankly the idea of being able to go into an open club and have sex with any woman on the premises, totally anonymous, no dating ritual, no games, sounded like pure heaven.

Now after seeing this excellent documentary about...

“I wonder what the meanest, foulest, rottenest, woodsiest sex crime ever was?”

Fred Lincoln was a giant in the adult film industry, directing and acting in hundreds of porno films from the early 70’s up until about 5 five years ago when his health began to decline. We Are Movie Geeks doesn’t cover porn, but like his costar David Hess (who died in October of 2011), Lincoln would have gone done in history as one of the slimiest degenerates in the movies if he had appeared in nothing except the 1972 rape and revenge classic Last House On The Left where he played the repellent villain Weasel Padowski (a name he sometimes used as a pseudonym for his porn directing). Director Wes Craven’s first film was one of the most notorious movies ever made, offending nearly everyone who saw it, and 40 years later, it hasn’t lost any of its edge.

“I wonder what the meanest, foulest, rottenest, woodsiest sex crime ever was?”

Fred Lincoln was a giant in the adult film industry, directing and acting in hundreds of porno films from the early 70’s up until about 5 five years ago when his health began to decline. We Are Movie Geeks doesn’t cover porn, but like his costar David Hess (who died in October of 2011), Lincoln would have gone done in history as one of the slimiest degenerates in the movies if he had appeared in nothing except the 1972 rape and revenge classic Last House On The Left where he played the repellent villain Weasel Padowski (a name he sometimes used as a pseudonym for his porn directing). Director Wes Craven’s first film was one of the most notorious movies ever made, offending nearly everyone who saw it, and 40 years later, it hasn’t lost any of its edge.

“I wonder what the meanest, foulest, rottenest, woodsiest sex crime ever was?”

Fred Lincoln was a giant in the adult film industry, directing and acting in hundreds of porno films from the early 70’s up until about 5 five years ago when his health began to decline. We Are Movie Geeks doesn’t cover porn, but like his costar David Hess (who died in October of 2011), Lincoln would have gone done in history as one of the slimiest degenerates in the movies if he had appeared in nothing except the 1972 rape and revenge classic Last House On The Left where he played the repellent villain Weasel Padowski (a name he sometimes used as a pseudonym for his porn directing). Director Wes Craven’s first film was one of the most notorious movies ever made, offending nearly everyone who saw it, and 40 years later, it hasn’t lost any of its edge.

“I wonder what the meanest, foulest, rottenest, woodsiest sex crime ever was?”

Fred Lincoln was a giant in the adult film industry, directing and acting in hundreds of porno films from the early 70’s up until about 5 five years ago when his health began to decline. We Are Movie Geeks doesn’t cover porn, but like his costar David Hess (who died in October of 2011), Lincoln would have gone done in history as one of the slimiest degenerates in the movies if he had appeared in nothing except the 1972 rape and revenge classic Last House On The Left where he played the repellent villain Weasel Padowski (a name he sometimes used as a pseudonym for his porn directing). Director Wes Craven’s first film was one of the most notorious movies ever made, offending nearly everyone who saw it, and 40 years later, it hasn’t lost any of its edge.

“I wonder what the meanest, foulest, rottenest, woodsiest sex crime ever was?”

Fred Lincoln was a giant in the adult film industry, directing and acting in hundreds of porno films from the early 70’s up until about 5 five years ago when his health began to decline. We Are Movie Geeks doesn’t cover porn, but like his costar David Hess (who died in October of 2011), Lincoln would have gone done in history as one of the slimiest degenerates in the movies if he had appeared in nothing except the 1972 rape and revenge classic Last House On The Left where he played the repellent villain Weasel Padowski (a name he sometimes used as a pseudonym for his porn directing). Director Wes Craven’s first film was one of the most notorious movies ever made, offending nearly everyone who saw it, and 40 years later, it hasn’t lost any of its edge.

Hugh Jackman is planning to sing at a series of concerts in London later this year - and he wants Robbie Williams to join him. The Australian actor is set to put on the 'fun' gigs when he takes a break from starring in the film version of musical Les Miserables - which sees him play the central character of former convict Jean Valjean - and he has been taking inspiration from late American swing singer Frank Sinatra's Los Angeles performances. And Hugh is hoping the Take That singer - who previously released Swing When You're Winning, which was comprised of tracks...

Hugh Jackman is planning to sing at a series of concerts in London later this year – and he wants Robbie Williams to join him

The Australian actor is set to put on the "fun" gigs when he takes a break from starring in the film version of musical 'Les Miserables' – which sees him play the central character of former convict Jean Valjean – and he has been taking inspiration from late American swing singer Frank Sinatra's Los Angeles performances.

And Hugh is hoping the Take That singer – who previously released ‘Swing When You’re Winning’, which was comprised of tracks which are part of the Great American Songbook – will duet with him on stage.

He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I loved that anything can happen, relaxed feel about Frank Sinatra - and viewing Peter Allen’s tapes also taught me a ...

“Downtown 81 represents Manhattan’s last stand as a beatnik haven for creatively driven impoverished artists, a moment where everyone was connected in one giant electrical circuit creating their own cultural power.”

Downtown 81, featuring a nineteen year old Jean-Michel Basquiat, captured the movers and shakers from the no wave, hip-hop, graffiti, and alternative fashion scenes, as they collided down in the depths of New York’s lower east side. Originally shot by director Edo Bertoglio in the winter of 1980-81, it remained unreleased for nearly twenty years before being re-assembled in 1999 by co-producer Maripol Fauque (a Polaroid photographer and fashion designer, behind the iconic look for Madonna on the cover of Like a Virgin). Basquiat first acquired notoriety in the early eighties New York art scene with his ‘Samo’ graffiti slogans, which caught the attention of TV Party host Glenn O’Brien. After Basquiat appeared as a guest on...

Singer is seeking medical treatment for 'emotional and physical issues,' according to her spokesperson.

By Gil Kaufman

Demi Lovato

Photo: Jim Spellman/ WireImage

When Demi Lovato left the Jonas Brothers tour over the weekend, her representative said that the 18-year-old singer was taking a break "in order to seek medical treatment for emotional and physical issues she has dealt with for some time."

On Tuesday (November 2), People magazine reported that an unnamed source close to Lovato's family revealed that the singer was bullied at school and that the trauma of that bullying has stayed with her. "She fought through eating disorders and has struggled with cutting," said the source. "Demi is taking control by getting help."

Lovato's spokesperson could not be reached at press time to confirm the claims in the People story. The singer also unexpectedly shut down her Twitter page over the weekend.

Lovato was in the...

The seventh annual CineKink Film Festival in NYC gave all kinds of perverts and kinky-minded individuals a warm haven during the cold month of February, Feb. 16-21 specifically. Lots of sexy fare was screened at the venerated Anthology Film Archives, but the sexiest of the sexiest? That would be these award-winning films listed below.

Your average kinky film fan was given the chance to vote for several Audience Choice Awards, but there was also a jury of super kinksters voting on short films; plus the ultimate kinky players, i.e. the staff of the CineKink fest itself, gave out a handful of special awards.

The licentious jury voting on short films consisted of Bad Lit pal Mike White of the legendary zine Cashiers du Cinemart, Lolita Wolf of the Leather Yenta (Nsfw) blog and Bill Woods of the long-running New Filmmakers screening series.

Finally, before we get to the full...

Jon Hart and Mathew Kaufman’s entertaining documentary American Swing chronicles the rise and fall of Larry Levenson, whose nightclub & sex club Plato’s Retreat became, along with Studio 54, one of the top New York City hangouts of the late 1970s. Jon Hart (right) has kindly answered (via e-mail) a few brief questions about American Swing. See below. American Swing is currently playing at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood. Photos: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. How difficult (or easy) was it to get all those people who had worked at or gone to Plato’s Retreat to be so candid about their experiences at the club? Did you run into many who refused to discuss the past? Almost everyone was extremely apprehensive about being interviewed. Once they were sitting down in front of the camera, we asked them questions and they answered. Our one request: They be themselves. In American Swing,...

American Swing (2009) Direction: Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart Screenplay: Keith Reamer Interviewees: Buck Henry, Annie Sprinkle, Melvin van Peebles, Ron Jeremy, Jamie Gillis, Helen Gurley Brown, and others By way of interviews, photos, and home movies, Mathew Kaufman and journalist Jon Hart’s American Swing humorously chronicles the rise and fall of all-American entrepreneur Larry Levenson, free-sex advocate and self-proclaimed "King of Swing," while painting a nostalgic — though hardly all-flattering — portrait of the heyday of Plato’s Retreat, New York City’s foremost sex club-disco of the late 1970s. Earlier in the decade, wholesale meat purveyor Larry Levenson had decided to reinvent himself as a Sexual Liberation Messiah. Even so, it’s debatable whether Levenson actually saw himself as a Man with a Mission, or whether he was just a cunning self-promoter with his eye on the cash flowing into his Upper West Side club in the basement of Manhattan’s Ansonia Hotel.

As someone who has been to an untold number of swing parties in NYC, and often had a hilarious time, I’ve never found them the least bit sexy. Truth be told, average Joes engaging in group sex is rather boring to me. So I was hoping that through interviewing Jon Hart and Matthew Kaufman, co-directors of the Plato’s Retreat doc American Swing, they’d upend my Pov, get to the essence of why the notorious 70s sex club was so alluring. I spoke with the filmmakers during their opening night screening at the Museum of Sex. Jon, since you’d already exhaustively researched Plato’s Retreat and written about its founder Larry Levenson for “The NY Times” and “The Village Voice,” what drove you to want to tell the story through film? Jh: He was a larger than life character. He just had a great story. It was moving and funny.

The animated blockbuster is back once again as Paramount/DreamWorks’ “Monsters vs. Aliens” animated comedy unspools into a massive 4,104 venues. Comparing animated weekend record holders, March holds some potent releases and is dominated by Fox. “Ice Age: The Meltdown” from Fox is the highest grossing March opener in the genre with over $68 million grossed, followed by the prequel at $46.3 million, the studio’s “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who” with $45 million and “Robots” at $36 million. “Monsters vs. Aliens” features a strong cast including Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson and Stephen Colbert. Also unveiled into a wide count is "12 Rounds" in 2331 theatres. The actioner directed by Renny Harlin is sent out by 20th Century Fox. WWE megastar John Cena looks teams with the director of “Die Hard 2.” Other cast includes Ashley Scott, Steve Harris, Brian J. White, Aidan Gillen, Taylor Cole and Lara Grice.

A barrage of quality indie fare this week compliments a couple of seriously intriguing docs as well as some less than stellar genre fare as the blockbuster season of summer quietly inches ever closer.

Download this in audio form (MP3: 7:51 minutes, 10.8 Mb)

"12 Rounds"

It's something of an irony that Renny Harlin, the man who made grown men cry with the abominable "Die Hard 2," should scratch out a paycheck at the helm of this derivative WWE Studios thriller with a plot that borrows so heavily from the infinitely superior "Die Hard With a Vengeance." Sporting the customary condom-full-of-bowling-balls physique, WWE grappler John Cena stars as New Orleans detective Danny Fisher, the target of much ham-fisted ire from international terrorist Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen), who blames Fisher for the death of his girlfriend. With his own girlfriend Molly (Ashley Scott) now held hostage by Jackson, Fisher becomes the pawn...