U.S. indie distribution stalwart Bleecker Street has announced an exclusive output deal with Canadian distributor, levelFILM as it heads into a busy Toronto International Film Festival.
23.08.2022 - 02:37 / starobserver.com.au
The Bookshop Darlinghurst, Australia’s oldest LGBTQI bookstore, turns 40 this month.In recent years, The Bookshop has weathered the impacts of COVID, economic and political uncertainty and inclement weather, and for a while its future was precarious.
However, its investment in online selling and the support of the community has helped it to weather the storm. A post shared by The Bookshop Darlinghurst (@bookshopdarlo)The seed for The Bookshop Darlinghurst was planted in the 1970s while founding owner Les McDonald was on a holiday with his then partner in the United States.Seeing LGBTQI books advertised in the gay press, McDonald saw an untapped market in Australia. On his return to Sydney, he started importing LGBTQI books and selling them via mail order. Soon the business was getting too large to operate out of home so they set up a bookshop on Crown Street in Surry Hills and then to their current location on Oxford Street.In the 1980s during the AIDS crisis, the Bookshop became a centre for information and community support as well as a safe space. A post shared by The Bookshop Darlinghurst (@bookshopdarlo)Speaking to Star Observer, Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, welcomed this milestone anniversary, saying, “The Bookshop served as a hub of information and support through the AIDS crisis and has remained a constant since, despite the advent of eBooks and the devastating impact of the pandemic – longevity that is testament to the community’s regard for Les MacDonald and his place. “My sincere congratulations on this milestone achievement and best wishes for many years to come.”“It has been a safe space and community hub that to this day fills a void where everyone from young queer people to parents of gay kids
.U.S. indie distribution stalwart Bleecker Street has announced an exclusive output deal with Canadian distributor, levelFILM as it heads into a busy Toronto International Film Festival.
The CW has found its Jonathan Kent. Australian actor Michael Bishop has been tapped to play the role in the upcoming third season of the CW’s Superman & Lois in a recasting. He replaces Jordan Elsass, who played Jonathan in the first two seasons and revealed he would not be returning for Season 3. Jonathan Kent is the son of Clark/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois’ (Elizabeth Tulloch).
Ellise Shafer There’s a new Jonathan Kent in the world of “Superman & Lois.” Warner Bros. announced on Wednesday morning that Michael Bishop, an actor who recently made his American film debut in Disney Channel’s “Spin,” will take over the role of Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s son in the CW drama’s upcoming third season. In August, it was announced that Jordan Elsass, who originated the role of Jonathan, would not be returning. “Jordan Elsass has notified the Studio that he will not be returning to ‘Superman & Lois’ for Season 3 due to personal reasons,” the studio said in a statement at the time. “The role of Jonathan Kent will be recast.”
Oliver Stone is in Venice this year to debut his latest documentary, Nuclear. Written alongside political scholar Joshua S. Goldstein, the film sets out to re-examine the role nuclear power can play in our lives and makes the case that the energy source is humanity’s only realistic alternative to fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. Deadline sat down with Stone and Goldstein prior to the film’s premiere on the Lido to discuss why the pair decided to link up and how the lengthy production process almost “took the life” out of Stone.
You could have heard a pin drop during the gala opening night of Opera Australia’s production of The Phantom of the Opera August 26 at the Joan Sutherland Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. The audience was packed with celebrity Sydneysiders in bow ties and gowns but the real stars of the evening were Josh Piterman, Amy Manford, and Blake Bowden.This trio of truly gifted performers, surrounded by a stunning supporting cast and orchestra, powerfully delivered the musical’s signature songs, Music of the Night, Think of Me, All I Ask of You, the awesomely beautiful Masquerade, and of course the main title song, with vitality and power.This new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mega-musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s novel, overseen by producer Cameron Mackintosh, and director Seth Sklar-Heyn is simply superb on every level.While the story of an obsessive and dangerous love in 19th-century Paris is now familiar to many, it’s the exquisite attention to detail which delivers the magic to this new staging.The 27-piece orchestra under the musical supervision of Guy Simpson is phenomenal, and the production is elevated even further by truly glorious stagecraft. The Phantom of the OperaThe lush costuming by Jill Parker, recreating the original designs of the late Tony award-winning Maria Bjornson is stunning, and the hair and wig design by Angela Cobbin is perfection.The lighting design by Tony Award winner Paule Constable and the sound design by Mick Potter is also extraordinary, with some terrific video and projection design by Nina Dunn.There is also a wonderful use of pyrotechnics throughout the show and of course the thrilling and iconic moment when the chandelier falls towards the heads of the audience still inspires
National Geographic Documentary Films has acquired the rights to “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” a political documentary about the Ugandan opposition leader that premiered at the Venice Film Festival this weekend. Nat Geo acquired the film ahead of Bobi Wine appearing at the Telluride Film Festival when the film will make its North American debut this weekend.
Be it arriving international talent or getting to know your community better, here’s just some of the events you can check out in Sydney throughout the weekend. Hot off of making history as the first drag queen to headline Wembley Stadium in 2019, Bianca del Rio is back on Australian shores with her style of rude, crude humour in Unsanitized, her first comedy tour of the post-lockdown era. Hosted at the State Theatre over two days, the Drag Race season 6 winner is sure to offend and self-deprecate in a way only she knows how.
Be it arriving international talent or getting to know your community better, here’s just some of the events you can check out in Sydney throughout the weekend. Hot off of making history as the first drag queen to headline Wembley Stadium in 2019, Bianca del Rio is back on Australian shores with her style of rude, crude humour in Unsanitized, her first comedy tour of the post-lockdown era. Hosted at the State Theatre over two days, the Drag Race season 6 winner is sure to offend and self-deprecate in a way only she knows how.
A 76-year-old Melbourne man, who was arrested last year, for the suspected “gay hate” murder of Raymond Keam in a Sydney Park in 1987, was granted bail on a $1 million surety.Trigger Warning: This story discusses a gay hate crime, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Keam’s murder was among the spate of targeted killings of gay men and trans persons in Sydney and NSW between 1970 and 2010.
Ruben Ostlund is paying tribute to Charlbi Dean after her sudden death.
Sharon Stone often uses her social media to provide a voice and platform for several issues important to her and the world.MORE: Sharon Stone talks Botox and reveals surprising reason she got dumped by younger boyfriendHowever, in a rare move for the actress, she took to her Instagram to share a personal video elucidating her thoughts on a particularly harrowing incident.VIDEO: Sharon Stone gives sneak peek into Italian vacation"I rarely put up a personal plea of any kind," she acknowledged at the top of her clip before going onto detail the circumstances that inspired it."But I just watched a video of a young man taunting an orthodox rabbi who had his hands down," she continued. "And this boy punched this rabbi, just punched him and knocked him out for absolutely no reason other than the fact that he was being hateful," she said, getting emotional as she did so. MORE: Sharon Stone is a vision is stylish bikini selfie - but she has one complaint"We've reached a point in our country, the United States of America, where we're becoming divided.
Mark Ronson is 47. Singer Richard Wingo of Jagged Edge is 47. Bassist Ian Grushka of New Found Glory is 45.
killed three people and injured a fourth outside a Chicago gay bar earlier this month.Tavis Dunbar, 34, was taken into police custody on Aug. 22 and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said during a news conference on Tuesday, which was shared on Facebook. Brown claimed an investigation showed Dunbar “intentionally struck multiple pedestrians” when he plowed his car into a crowd of people gathered outside the Jeffery Pub, a Black-owned gay club on Chicago’s South Side, around 5 a.m.
A gay former marine is being hailed as a hero for his timely intervention that averted a tragedy after an agitated man brought a grenade into a popular gay bar in Florida. The tense moments were captured on the bar’s closed circuit camera TV videos. The incident occurred on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, around 9.26 pm, when a man walked into Corners Pub in Wilton Manors, Florida, and placed a grenade on the bar counter. Bartender Joseph Shakespeare told local news station WPLG that the the man said he had guns in his car. Darryl Darling, a gay former marine, overheard the conversation and stepped in to help.
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” which just debuted on Disney+, is arguably the most delightful Marvel Studios series yet. Created by Jessica Gao and starring Tatiana Maslany as the lawyer-turned-superhero, “She-Hulk” is effervescent and refreshing, a balmy tonic after the darkness of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and other, more somber Marvel Studios productions.