Swag Tuesday / San Francisco

Courtesy of Frameline and the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival, this Swag Tuesday prize is two tickets to the opening night gala screening of An Englishman In New York, plus admission to the opening night gala after party, which takes place this Thursday, June 18th at the Castro Theatre.

Outspoken, outlandish and utterly unwilling to conform, legendary Quentin Crisp’s tale is the tale of homosexuality in the 20th century. Commonly accepted as the first “out” man in Britain, Crisp’s 1968 biography inspired the 1975 award-winning TV film The Naked Civil Servant, starring John Hurt. But when it comes to the flamboyant performer and king of social commentary, one film could never have been sufficient. An Englishman in New York (starring Hurt in a reprisal of the role) chronicles the latter third of the icon’s life. Where The Naked Civil Servant was about Quentin’s going against the heterosexual grain in the UK, Englishman is the converse, a moving tale about a man who still refuses to follow the rules, even within the budding gay culture of the 1970s and ’80s in New York. Britain’s most famous homosexual sashays stateside with the help of Manhattan agent Connie Clausen (the always amazing Swoosie Kurtz), who gets Quentin resident alien status based on his “unique qualities.” Along the way, Connie finds Quentin a film review gig at The Village Voice and highly entertaining friendships are formed with New York’s bohemian set, played by Denis O’Hare, Jonathan Tucker (who played Tilda Swinton’s gay son in The Deep End), and Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon.

Tickets to the opening night gala events for the 33rd Annual San Francisco International Film festival range from $75 - $90 and are available online here. Browse the entire film festival schedule of events here.

Enter to win two tickets to the opening night screening of An Englishman In New York and the gala after party by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Entries close at midnight on Wednesday, Pacific time. If you cannot be in San Francisco on Thursday, your winning entry is transferable to your favorite local film buff. Publicists: If you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

Gay Hip-Hoppers Pick Up The Mic

Pick Up The Mic, the documentary about LGBT rappers, comes out on DVD on June 23th. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and played at over 50 festivals around the world including SXSW, IFF Boston, Miami International Film Festival, Frameline and Outfest. The audio is the clip below is NSFW.

Too Gay For Theaters?

Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor's latest movie, I Love You, Phillip Morris, appears to be headed direct-to-video, despite getting a generally positive reception at recent film festivals. Micheal Musto speculates that a particular sex scene may have film buyers squeamish, after receiving this message from one marketer:

"The scene is not shocking in the sense that any body parts are actually revealed--both actors are nude, but the way the scene is shot, no pickle is on display. The surprising part is that the 'bottom' is this muscle, bearish type, who is on all fours, getting a really hard pounding by Carey. It was mostly the tone and my perception of Carey as an actor, just because I never looked at Carey in a sexual manner and he was so dedicated to giving it to the muscle-bear and the sexual tone was authentic, it caught me off guard. I eventually got over it and I think Carey is convincingly fantastic in the film. But I think most folks are used to seeing Ewan McGregor naked and engaging in man-on-man sex, but Carey, not so much. So more power to him for going there."

Decapitations, disemboweling, torture porn -all are OK for your local multiplex. Realistic gay sex - unacceptable.