Gloria's Oversexed Mind

The second interview from SexKitten.Net...

A Look Back at BDSM in Film

Gracie: In my mind, there are 3 movies/tv shows in my lifetime that seem to mark points in the kink/BDSM world: Rocky Horror Picture Show is the cult status entre, the movie The Secretary is the honest look, when BDSM moves out of the closet so to speak, and Desperate Housewives is when the mainstream acknowledges BDSM if not accepts it.

What are your thoughts about these depictions, and what media would you suggest as defining moments in BDSM/kink?

GGB: I can't speak to defining moments necessarily to leather/BDSM culture as a whole. We're too diverse a world. I think each of us could list films (or books) which had a personal meaning for us. Sometimes it isn't even a whole work but a visual image, a text passage, or some other scrap of a movie, show or book that captivates our imaginations and may haunt our SM fantasies forever after.

Speaking personally, the film "The Night Porter"--released a year before Rocky--had an enormous impact on me and remains one of my favorites. Its themes were more seriously, intensely, and disturbingly frank. Very dark but very realistic. And it explores fetishes filmmakers still shirk from. Dirk Bogarde (star of "The Night Porter") also made a lesser-known film in 1963 called "The Servant" in which the characters not only took LSD (wildly advanced for its time) but the entire sequence of events is predicated on the evolution of a bizarre sadomasochistic relationship between the servant and his master, and their gradual switching of power roles. Obviously that film stuck with me too.

A year after Rocky, we had "Maitresse," directed by Barbet Schroeder (who was himself involved in our world), a very explicit look at the life of a French prodom....

continue reading what Gloria said...

September 22, 2005 in Film, Sex and Culture, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 11, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Wedding Crashers

Owen Wilson (John Beckwith) and Vince Vaughn (Jeremy Grey) are two obnoxious friends whose hobby is to crash weddings....

Beckwith, who has taken the wedding crashers' vow of remaining forever single, falls for Clare Cleary, played by Rachel McAdams, and Grey seduces her psychotic sister Gloria.

What follows are some hilariously funny scenes in which Beckwith does his best to win over Clare, while Grey has to deal with the sadomasochistic Gloria...

September 11, 2005 in Film, Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Interesting review of a horror flick with SM content now out on DVD.

Rubber's Lover: A Japanese Cyber-Punk Trip

..."Rubber's Lover," a re-released Japanese film from 1997 could be difficult for some people to watch. An online synopsis described the movie as "gruesome" and "bizarre."

The movie does contain a scene featuring a man ripping off a woman's clothes, blood splattered walls and a man "inspecting" another's stomach. But the black-and-white film and low lighting numb the movie's potentially gruesome scenes, and give it a film noir feel.

The movie had a creative story line. A group of scientists use human beings as lab rats in their unethical and illegal underground research to unlock the secrets of the human mind and unleash psychic ability. The higher-ups tell the scientists the project has been cut and they can no longer continue their research. This motivates them to turn on one of their own....

Their research methods are interesting - including a drug called Ether and a device that looks similar to a virtual reality helmet. They also use a rubber suit (thus the title), which cuts off the wearer's oxygen supply in order to throw them into an altered state of consciousness....

Included in the DVD's special features is an interview with the director, Shozin Fukui, who is better known for his film "964 Pinocchio." Even if you hate the film, hearing Fukui explain his ideas behind it gives you some appreciation.

For example, he mentions preparation and inspiration for the film came from his talks with "real" psychics and people involved in the underground S&M (sadomasochism) scene.....

March 9, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Robin Williams' seems to be getting his chops back as a stand-up. His sharp social commentary at last night's Oscars were a hit.

Williams Animated Over Cartoon Furor.

Robin Williams gave new meaning to the term "tape delay" at the Academy Awards. Before presenting the award Sunday for best animated feature, he paused to rip a large piece of white tape off his mouth, then proceeded to mock those who connect cartoon characters with pro-gay messages.

The stunt appeared to confirm reports that producers had censored his gags. But after lighting on well-worn comic targets such as Viagra, Joan Rivers and Botox, Williams took on the culture wars:

"They tell me now that SpongeBob is gay. SquarePants is not gay. Tight pants maybe. SpongeBob Hot Pants? You go, girl!"

....Williams suggested that other cartoon characters through history also might have been gay — and he didn't spare Disney icons, although Disney-owned ABC was airing the awards show.

"What about Donald Duck? Sailor top, no pants. Hello?" Williams said. "Bugs Bunny. More dresses than J. Edgar Hoover at Mardi Gras....

February 28, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Blow by blow

In the ’70s, pornography was still controversial enough to make national headlines and create widespread frenzy. In 1972, the world focused on one film in particular, a film that would become a household name, its reputation persevering even 30 years later. That film was Deep Throat, a low-budget production that varied from its contemporaries only in that it featured one remarkable blowjob.

The centerpiece of the film, the woman responsible for the titular act, was Linda Boreman, although the world would forever know her as Linda Lovelace. While Lovelace was certainly responsible for the film’s success, she was also a key figure in the controversy surrounding it. Not long after the peak of her success, she turned on her industry, testifying that she was coerced into making the film, and even went so far as to describe her experience on the set of Deep Throat as rape.

This month, filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are betting that Lovelace’s story, and that of the film, is still hot enough to stir controversy and sell movie tickets. They’ve teamed with producer Brian Grazer (8 Mile, A Beautiful Mind) and Universal Pictures to craft a documentary on the subject.

Their final product, Inside Deep Throat, is a welcome entry to the documentary genre—a rare bit of fun in the era of Michael Moore-style attacks on politics, war and corporate America.

Inside opens like a commercial, blasting viewers with quick, humorous quotes from a variety of commentators including Hugh Hefner, Erica Jong, John Waters, and Larry Flynt. Seventies-era graphics fly across the screen, along with grainy footage from the 1972 release of the film, in which protesters wave signs, politicians rant and rave, and the public line up to buy tickets.

After the opening furor dies down, the film tackles the wide range of topics surrounding Deep Throat—some serious, such as the preservation of the First Amendment and Lovelace’s allegations of rape; some light, such as celebrity reactions to her talent, and the ridiculous plotline of the film. Plot? Yes—apparently, ’70s porn had plots, however far-fetched they may have been....

February 23, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Uhhhh...the whole movie project has collapsed because a star won't expose his penis?

Methinks there is more to this story.

Russell says no to showing his willy

Russell Crowe says his film Eucalyptus was cancelled because he didn't want to show off his willy....

Russell said: "I was taken aback at the addition of a scene requiring me to expose my penis to the young Queen Elizabeth."

He said he was told he could use a prosthetic one and was given a range to choose from....

February 21, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Since it's been all over the news and, partly, because I feel so damn bad for this self-destructive actor whose life has been so disastrously unraveling all over the tabloids since his involvement with Heidi Fleiss, I hesitated to post this link despite the obvious humor of his Mr. Sizemore's latest idiotic move. But, wow, at least three people thus far have mailed me links to the story so apparently there is a profound need for Gloria's mind to bring it to the attention of other readers.

Alas, poor Tom Sizemore. The photos below tell the story: the way he looked when he was a successful actor just a few short years ago; and the way he looked at his trial in 2003 for abusing Heidi Fleiss.

Actor Tom Sizemore Fails Drug Test with Fake Penis

Actor Tom Sizemore has been jailed for violating his probation by failing a drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results, a Los Angeles County prosecutor said on Friday.

Sizemore, 43, who played a battle-hardened sergeant in the war movie "Saving Private Ryan," was placed in custody on Thursday. He was ordered to remain behind bars until a hearing on Feb. 24, unless he posts $25,000 bond, Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney said....

The actor is required to undergo random drug tests as a condition of probation for his convictions on separate charges of methamphetamine possession and beating his ex-girlfriend, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.

During Thursday's proceedings, prosecutors told Judge Baretto that Sizemore failed three drug tests in three days, the first after he was caught using a fake penis sewn into his boxer shorts and filled with a clean urine sample kept warm by a heating pack.

Carney said the ruse was revealed when the temperature of the sample proved too cool to have come from Sizemore's body, and he was asked to remove his pants.

According to prosecutors, Sizemore had been caught once before trying to use a similar device, sold over the Internet under the brand name the Whizzinator, and had failed drug tests on at least five occasions....

February 13, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

I'm blogging the beautiful Miss Marilyn Monroe...

...for no other reason than that she was gorgeous, truly gorgeous, in a way actresses and models no longer are. Naturally gorgeous. (Ok, a little peroxide later, but oh that body and its angelic flesh.)

The reigning sex goddess at a time when masturbation was considered pathological and homosexuality was a felony, it's no wonder she grew desperately turbulent and depressed. To be at once the symbol of everything desirable and everything our society loathed--that was her burden. These pictures come from an earlier and happier time, perhaps the only time when she enjoyed being herself.

Don't you feel as if you could fall into that creamy flesh?

February 6, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Oh how sad. But how wonderful that he lived to such a ripe old age, busy and working right to the end--and what an amazing and productive life it was.

Actor Ossie Davis Found Dead in Hotel

Ossie Davis, an actor distinguished for roles dealing with racial injustice on stage, screen and in real life — and perhaps best known as the husband and partner of actress Ruby Dee — has died at the age of 87.

Davis was found dead on Friday in his hotel room in Miami, where he was making a film called "Retirement," according to Arminda Thomas, who works in his office in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Davis, who wrote, acted, directed and produced for the theater and Hollywood, was a central figure among black performers of the last five decades. He and Dee celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1998 with the publication of a dual autobiography, "In This Life Together...."

February 4, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I think this is fabulous.

Sex and porn to be featured at Berlin Film Festival

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - Sex and the pornography industry takes centre stage at next week's Berlin Film Festival after the leading actress in last year's Golden Bear winning film was publicly hounded over her earlier work as a German porn actress.

Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick said the focus on sex and porn was less a nod to the controversy that engulfed "Head-On" starring Sibel Kekilli than a tribute to sex research pioneer Alfred Kinsey as well as the commercial success of porn films.

"There are simply a lot of films about sex and pornography out there in the market," said Kosslick, whose event is often ranked behind Cannes and alongside Venice as one of the world's leading festivals.

"We thought it was time to take a look at the era we lived through 30 years ago," he added. "It was time of sexual repression and yet a lot of money was earned with sex films...."

February 2, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Oh dear me.

Lara Flynn Boyle's Scandalous Nude Flight

Movie beauty LARA FLYNN BOYLE has been accused of stripping nude and trying to seduce a fellow passenger during a recent first-class flight to London.

Passengers claim the MEN IN BLACK 2 star started behaving strangely halfway through the ten-hour British Airways journey from Los Angeles to the capital's Heathrow Airport.

But they were stunned when she stripped off her clothes and tried to climb into the bed of a sleeping stranger....

A BRITISH AIRWAYS spokeswoman confirms, "First-class passengers on board Flight BA 282 from Los Angeles to Heathrow reported that a female passenger in the cabin was behaving strangely."

A shocked witness adds, "People recognised she was Lara Flynn Boyle and saw her popping pills on board early in the flight.

"She was starkers, woke a passenger up, tried to get into bed with him, pulled open the blind and said, 'We're landing, get your clothes on,' even though we were more than four hours away from London."

February 1, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

What could be better than Brad? Well, if you like men with dark good looks (and who doesn't?), cast your eye over to Bollywood which apparently crams its screens with men to die for. In a completely unrelated search, I came across this utterly scrumptious actor/model, John Abraham. Below, a few photos of this gorgeous young man.

January 22, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

I thought his obsession with Elvis and marriage to the King's daughter were weird enough.

Now I learn he uses rocks to get his rocks off.

What a pity. The man is so hot in leather.

(Ok, yeah, I'd do him, stones and all. Especially if James Gandolfini held him down for me.) ;-)

Nicholas Cage uses gemstone therapy for good sex

London, Jan 5 : Oscar winner Nicholas Cage is reportedly using gemstone therapy to add a zing to his sex life.

The 'Connair' actor recently had his wedding ring reset in the mystical carnelian rock and says that it is working wonders for his libido.

"It's good for my sex life. I'm very much into stones," the Sun quoted him as saying...."

January 12, 2005 in Film, Sexual Strangeness | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Interesting review of a film that sounds worth seeing.

'Woodsman' chronicles a pedophile's pain

Ever since it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last January, Nicole Kassell's film ''The Woodsman" has been the subject of hand-wringing on the part of film industry watchers. How do you get a sympathetic story about a pedophile into theaters? How do you get people to see it?

The concern is misplaced: ''The Woodsman" is an honest, honorable indie chamber drama that, if anything, errs on the side of caution. It benefits from a scrupulously observed performance by Kevin Bacon as a man who has learned to mistrust his every impulse. It's also hamstrung time and again by contrived situations and dialogue. It is, in short, very much a first film, and just good enough to make you want to see what Kassell does next....

January 9, 2005 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Nifty review of a new movie featuring the delicious Latin actor Gael Garcia Bernal in drag.

Mexican actor embraces gender-bending

Say what you will about the performance of Gael Garcia Bernal in Bad Education-- and critics in cities where the new Pedro Almodovar film has already opened have been saying very nice things -- but this much you can't take away from the young Mexican heartthrob: The guy looks fabulous in a dress.

Mount him on a pair of 4-inch stiletto heels, lacquer his lips lurid red, strap on a platinum blond wig, then pour him into a slinky sequined dress, and what you've got is one luscious Latin lover -- playing a transvestite. This is not the sort of movie star machismo traditionally associated with Latin cinema, but Bad Education...is a most unconventional story.

Garcia Bernal -- who brings an achy, heartbreaky pan-sexuality to roles such as the young Ernesto Guevara de la Serna in The Motorcycle Diaries, and even to the hormonal hottie in Y tu Mama Tambien-- seemed like a perfect fit for the junior-miss sized part Almodovar had created....

December 29, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Surprising and refreshing honesty from some film stars. It'll be interesting to see how a sex therapist is portrayed on film too.

Only Getting Better With Age

December 19, 2004 -- "So, how much sex do you get?" That's how Dustin Hoffman broke the ice with co-star Barbra Streisand on the set of their new film, "Meet the Fockers."

"We confessed that between the two of us, we got about seven days a week of sex. I was once, and she was six times!" he joked.

In this sequel to 2000's "Meet the Parents," Streisand and Hoffman play the parents of the groom (Ben Stiller), Roz and Bernie Focker. Bernie turned his back on a lucrative career as a lawyer to become a stay-at-home dad, while Roz is a sex therapist to senior couples. Together they stand in stark contrast to the bride's parents:Uptight WASPs Jack and Dina Byrnes (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) - a humorless ex-CIA man and a Martha Stewart-type housewife, respectively. The mix is often awkward, but there's no denying the chemistry. . .and the blush-inducing laughs....

Streisand [offers] whipped cream-covered cleavage to Hoffman. And later on, she offers even more in a touchy-feely scene with De Niro. There was no physical contact between the two in the original script, but Streisand was keen to heat things up with her legendary co-star. She suggested, "What if I was sexually massaging him, or something?...." To prepare for the scene, Streisand watched sex therapy tapes and consulted with her personal masseuse who acted as choreographer....

Hoffman also had little difficulty tapping into what makes his character, the embarrassingly frank and open Bernie, tick. In fact, he's pretty prone to blush-inducing outbursts of his own.

"I was what you'd call a premature ejaculator," he confides, without a hint of embarrassment. "And once a premature ejaculator, always a premature ejaculator. But the benefit is that as old as I am, I'm still premature, but it takes an hour now!...."

While "Fockers" makes more than its fair share of snickering jokes about sex in the silver years, Streisand - who holds a chair at the University of Southern California in the study of sexuality and intimacy - finds that sex actually gets better as you get older.

"You get freer, and less inhibited. There's a sense of mortality, and it's like living each day to its fullest ... experiencing your body," she confides....

December 20, 2004 in Film, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Hot out of my mailbox:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CineKink NYC Announces Festival Awards, Gives Tribute to 'A Home at the End of the World'

NEW YORK, NY - CineKink NYC announced the recipients of awards in a range of categories during the film festival's closing ceremony held on Sunday, October 24, 2004.

Recognizing extraordinary depiction of kink in mainstream film and television, the annual CineKink Tribute was presented to the film 'A Home at the End of the World,' for "its presentation of a polyamorous relationship and its positive portrayal of family and commitment outside of traditional monogamy."

Released by Warner Independent Pictures in 2004, 'A Home at the End of the World' was directed by Michael Mayer from a script by the story's original novelist, Michael Cunningham, and starred Colin Ferrell, Dallas Roberts, Robin Wright Penn and Sissy Spacek. Producers for the film were John Hart, Tom Hulce, Pamela Koffler, Katie Roumel, Jeff Sharp, Christine Vachon and John Wells, along with executive producers Michael Hogan and John Sloss.

Honorable mentions for the CineKink Tribute went to the series 'Six Feet Under' (HBO), to the movie 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story' (Twentieth Century Fox) and to correspondent Bob Wiltfong and 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' (Comedy Central).

A selection of CineKink NYC audience choice and festival awards were also announced at the ceremony, presented to filmmakers whose works appeared in the festival in a variety of categories:

"CineKink Choice" - AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
'Born in a Barn' (Elizabeth Elson, 2004, USA, 53 minutes), an intimate and sometimes humorous look into the erotic lives of four seemingly ordinary people and the fast-growing fetish world of ponyplay.

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE:
'Slaves' (Ich Bin Niemand, 2003, USA, 101 minutes) a graphic, documentary-style profile of artist R.C. Hörsch and his sadomasochistic relationships with several different women.

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD - HONORABLE MENTION:
'Alice in Footland' (Napoleon Lake, 2004, USA, 59 minutes) follows Alice's visit to an fetish wonderland and a new interpretation of the old classic.

"CineKink Best" - FESTIVAL AWARD FOR BEST SHORTS

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
'Liberty in Restraint' (Michael Ney, 2004, Australia, 35 minutes) follows fetish photographer, Noel Graydon, showing his work in progress, a passion for his art and its themes, and the transgressive activities of the community he moves within.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT
'Haircut' (Bryan Jackson, 2004, USA, 8 minutes) depicts the close-up results of a routine haircut taken to extreme.

BEST ANIMATION SHORT:
'Dream Human' (tsubasa, 2003, USA, 5 minutes) details the mechanistic creation of a perfect erotic vision.

BEST MUSIC VIDEO:
'Spanky! Spanky!' (DJ Spot, 2002, USA, 3 minutes) features the original perv pop stars, Dick-n-jayne, with an ode to spanky! spanky!

HONORABLE BEST MENTION:
'I Sit on Acid' (Ryan J. Wolowski, USA, 3 minutes) uses a self-held camera to explore imagery, body, sexuality and self.

Making its return run October 21-24, the second annual CineKink NYC featured a specially selected program of films and videos that explore and celebrate a wide diversity of alternative sexuality. Billing itself as "the really alternative film festival," the event was presented by CineKink, an organization dedicated to the recognition and encouragement of kink-positive depictions in film and television, and topics touched upon included S/M, leather and fetish, roleplay, swinging, non-monogamy, polyamory and gender bending. With offerings drawn from all over the world, works presented at CineKink NYC ranged from documentary to drama, comedy to porn - and everything in between.

For more information, visit www.cinekink.com

###

Film publicity photos are available at www.cinekink.com/press/

November 10, 2004 in Film, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

This sounds kind of cool.

Colorful DVD

Colorful is a toast to all the men who have ever loved panties, a celebration to all those who have lolled in the thought of licentious activities, an exploration into the gutter that almost everyone has dipped their mind into at least once. A collection of over fifty vignettes from the Japanese variety show Wonderful (a la Saturday Night Live’s TV Funhouse), Colorful is a fun and surprisingly refreshing comedy that explores the sketchy humor of raunchy, border-line fetish animation.....

As interesting and amusing as the vignettes are, it must be admitted that Colorful is not something that would appeal to everyone. Targeting a rather niche market, to anyone else, the contents of the disc could be described as anything ranging from stupid to just plain perverted. For the people that would enjoy such random humor, however, Colorful is a real gem. With a spackling of random fetishes and perverted thoughts infused with a shot of testosterone, there’s a lot more to the show than just panties. Ultimately, it’s a portrayal of some of the sketchier aspects of human society, showing mankind’s fascination with sex and how it affects its views and the people within it.

Within the episodes are several arcs, such as one with an American film student named Steve who has decided to make his thesis project on what he fondly terms “the upside-down Mt. Fuji,” AKA the snow-white panties reflected in bodies of water. There is also an arc about a high school coach who lusts after a girl named Yamamoto, an athletic girl in the prime of her youth. With the sheer volume of panty shots and cleavage close-ups, Colorful hits the mark where it no longer seems like fanservice. It’s just a blatant expose of humanity and the sex-starved people that dot the population....

October 29, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Filmmaker Oliver Stone is defending the bisexuality in “Alexander.”

“Alexander lived in a more honest time,” the controversial filmmaker, who directed the big-budget flick starring Colin Farrell, tells the upcoming issue of Playboy magazine. “We go into his bisexuality. It may offend some people, but sexuality in those days was a different thing. Pre-Christian morality. Young boys were with boys when they wanted to be.”

The studio distributing the flick, Paramount, has denied rumors that the film was being delayed while they considered whether to cut some of the same sex scenes, but Stone tells Playboy that he couldn’t get financial backing for the flick in the U.S. “We did not get financed in Hollywood. We were rejected there. We got financed in Europe only...."

October 14, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

I can't wait to see his new movie. Below, excerpts from a recent interview with the director.

Sex Education, John Waters-style

by Todd R. Ramlow

....You've called "A Dirty Shame" a sex education film, why so? Why do you think we need broader avenues of sex education in the U.S.?

Because there are none left. It used to be mostly just AIDS that could kill you. Now we have hepatitis C, and in the gay community there's a rise in syphilis. It used to be at least safe to get blown. Now even that isn't safe anymore. So we have to pick up the pace, there's very little safe sex education left, and kids are going to experiment, and they should, because that's part of being young. But it's scary. So if all of the acts [in "A Dirty Shame"] are not against women and they are safe, then hopefully we can laugh and learn about the necessity of safe sex. Although laughter is the true enemy of "serious" sex, unless you're like a tickle top, which I really don't get. Tickle porn is all about being tied up and tickled until you have an orgasm. And they're very serious about it all. But I'm glad for them. I'm not really going to try it, but it seems to work. I guess my repertory is a little limited on some things.

I'm curious how you choose the fetishes and practices to include in your films. I caught an episode of CSI that was all about furries, which you haven't addressed.

I haven't done that because Vanity Fair had that big article about it, and I never really believed it was true. I think that most people became furries after that article. But it just looks too hot for me. I have to pick fetishes that could be funny and that you could describe quickly. But I completely believe in safe sex education. If we could just talk about it more. I mean the mother-daughter scene in the film is ridiculous, you would never have a mother saying to her daughter "I'm a cunnilingus bottom." But at the same time, if you could ... I mean, there have been billboards all over Baltimore from the mayor's office, reading "Talk to your children about sex, somebody else is." And that's from the government....

October 9, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Just wondering how one goes about toning down puppet sex. Do you cut the string to the penis so it bobs less? Do you fill the mouth with wood glue so it can't simulate deep throat? Or maybe you just do some crafty carving between their little puppet legs?

Toned-down sex in puppet comedy 'Team America' gets R rating

LOS ANGELES - The puppets of "Team America: World Police" toned down their saucy sex scene and finally got the R-rating its filmmakers promised, Paramount Pictures said Wednesday.

The movie, from "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, uses marionettes to satirize the war on terror, Hollywood peaceniks and explosion-filled action-movie cliches.

Although the main characters are only 2-foot-tall puppets with visible strings guiding their movements, a jokey - and explicitly - sex scene between two of them originally earned the movie an NC-17 rating.

Pinocchio cartoon from artwork-walterholl.de

October 7, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I wonder if they'd lower the rating if they blew up the marionettes after they had oral sex. Hmmmm.

Puppet oral sex goes against grain for US censors

The latest feature film from the creators of South Park is facing the box office kiss of death NC-17 rating because of a scene showing simulated oral sex between marionettes....

Stone and Parker are no strangers to ratings wrangles - their 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut was also the subject of a very long and public battle with the MPAA, but ultimately got an R rating.

Parker pointed to the differences between the MPAAs treatment of simulated violence and simulated sex. Team America features violent scenes in which a Tim Robbins puppet is set on fire and a Susan Sarandon puppet is dropped off a 20-story building - all acts that passed MPAA muster.

"We blow Janeane Garofalo's head clean off, [but for the MPAA] it's all about the positions of the dolls having sex," Parker said. "It's not funny - it's tragic....."

October 6, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy....

Mel Gibson Gets Court Order Against Praying Fan

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mel Gibson producer and director of "The Passion of the Christ," has obtained a restraining order against a man he says stalked him to demand that they pray together, according to court papers.

Zack Sinclair, a 34-year-old homeless man, also has sent a number of letters that Gibson described in a court declaration filed on Sept. 21 as "alarming, harassing and annoying."

October 2, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Naturally, I was hoping for something a tad kinkier, but this was still fun celebrity gossip.

Attention-seeking stars becoming the norm

Movie studios used to work with the press to hush up their stars' eccentric behavior. The theory was that if the public knew about an actor's penchant for, say, edible cross-dressing, they'd be less likely to enjoy him in a romantic comedy.

So stars kept their idiosyncrasies undercover, except in very rare cases. Like Marlon Brando. The late, great actor once said, "I am myself, and if I have to hit my head against a brick wall to remain myself, I will do it."

Which actually explains a lot.

The guy was so quirky that he retreated to Tahiti, only emerging every few years to make movies such as "The Island of Dr. Moreau" (in a role that -- he felt -- called for a bucket on his head).

Martin Scorsese is making a movie about another Hollywood eccentric, due this winter. "The Aviator" stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the multifaceted Howard Hughes: oil man, playboy, filmmaker, billionaire.

But all you really need to know about him is that he wore Kleenex boxes for shoes.

Now, it turns out, Brando and Hughes were before their time.

These days, odd behavior is a viable career move. Pioneered by Angelina Jolie and her "Yeah, I enjoy a little erotic knifeplay, what of it?" attitude, she is the godmother of the Gotta Be Me movement.

Why is the timing right for peculiarity? Show business has never been more competitive. Mutant good looks are no longer enough. So today I'd like to hail those stars who are setting themselves apart by making audiences very, very nervous....

September 27, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

By now, you've probably heard that Russ Meyer has gone to his reward in the big bosom in the sky.

Titillation kingpin Russ Meyer, the mastermind behind soft-core classics like Vixen! and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and the mainstream melodrama Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, died Saturday at his Hollywood home. He was 82.

I remember the first time I saw a Russ Meyer movie. I was a college student, living in Queens and the decrepit little movie theatre around the corner from me was showing a double feature of "Up!" and "SuperVixen" at a $1 matinee. Once inside the theatre, I made a startling discovery: the rest of the audience was made up of senior citizens taking advantage of the matinee price. Even funnier, not one of them left during the double bill, despite some of the raunchiest, most violent action I'd ever seen in any mainstream theatre. I couldn't begin to imagine what the grandpas and grandmas were thinking, but, by golly, they amiably kepg chomping popcorn and malt balls as quadruple-E cup beauties turned into chainsaw-wielding butchers.

Anyway, in Mr. Meyer's honor, I've put together a small PHOTO ALBUM of some movie posters (of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and various stills. Check it out for a brief glimpse at this filmmaker's sexually obsessed imagination. The Faster Pussycat! posters and stills are particularly choice.

If you really want to learn about Meyer and his work, I recommend checking out Daze Reader's tribute to Meyer. It includes a biography, filmography, and reference guide to his life and work, plus links to interviews, articles, reviews and more.

You can also visit RM Films International, Meyer's production company, to order posters, DVDs, and copies of his vintage photographs of voluptuous vixens. If you like Meyer, you'll love his photography.

September 24, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

This is an old story but I have a feeling a lot of SMers missed it. It's the tale of how the director of the Matrix movies, Larry Wachowki, fell in love with notorious California pro-domme Ilsa Strix, and how his private SM/TS life with her was outed by Ilsa's vindictive ex-lover (a female-to-male TS apparently keen on harming Wachowki's reputation).

To me, the tragedy here is not that this couple was outed. That's pretty shabby but from the article it would seem the couple may have screwed over their ex'es. If so, then it enters that realm of grievous ugliness common in all break-ups, when enraged lovers commit acts of vengeance and malice. It doesn't excuse the ugliness but it does help explain it.

The tragedy I see is that revealing someone's sexual orientation is a lethall weapon in this society. People can literally be professionally destroyed overnight because they're found out to be gay, transsexual, a fetishist, an SMer or anything else that--while unusual--is neither immoral nor unnatural. Why should it matter if this couple enjoys SM or if Wachowki is transgendered? How do either of these things detract from his talents as a filmmaker?

They don't. This was all about character assassination, and SM was viciously used to achieve it.

MR MATRIX AND HIS DOMINATRIX

EVEN by Hollywood's bizarre standards, it's a tale that for sheer weirdness, is right off the scale....

Larry Wachowski has abandoned his wife of nine years - childhood sweetheart Thea - to pursue a sado-masochistic relationship with a dominatrix.

Sporting dangly earrings and a knitted cap, he was accompanied by 36-year-old Karin Winslow - a well-known sado-masochistic dominatrix, who had just left her trans-sexual husband and taken on Wachowski as her "slave".

WATCHING the Cannes highlights at his flat in New Orleans was her estranged husband, Jake Miller.

"I want people to know the truth," he says. "When Larry walked down that red carpet with my wife he was probably wearing a bra and panties under his suit.

September 17, 2004 in Film, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A sharp report, with short reviews, from Roger Ebert, on some cutting-edge indie films, based on sexual themes, that have shown at the Telluride film festival and will be coming to art houses near you soon.

Telluride: Three very different looks at sex
BY ROGER EBERT FILM CRITIC

TELLURIDE, Colo. -- Three of the best films at this year's Telluride festival deal with unusual frankness with sex. Sally Potter's "Yes" stars Joan Allen as a scientist trapped in a loveless marriage, who begins a passionately physical affair with a Lebanese cook. Bill Condon's "Kinsey" stars Liam Neeson as Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey, whose research revolutionized conventional ideas about human sexual behavior. And Todd Solondz's "Palindromes" is a story of messy, sad teenage sexual experiences.

September 7, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sex-Film Industry Threatened With Condom Requirement

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 - A member of the California Assembly has warned the pornographic-film industry, already buffeted by an H.I.V. outbreak earlier this year, that unless actors wear condoms while they work he will write a law requiring it.

The warning, from Paul Koretz, a Democrat who represents West Hollywood and parts of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, came in a letter last week to 185 producers and publishers of pornographic material, advising sex performers to adopt "harm-reduction procedures" like using condoms or face the chance that the Legislature will "exercise its authority to mandate more stringent actions."

While most people in the sex industry appear to agree in principle with the idea of consistent condom use, it has long been believed here that condoms are not sexy.

August 24, 2004 in Film, Sex and Sadomasochism, Sexual Health | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Angelina's flying instructor too nervous to teach

Angelina Jolie has such an effect on the opposite sex she had to find a new flying instructor.

....[a] source says, "The poor guy was so nervous he could hardly speak.

"Angelina had a few lessons with him but she's had to change because the guy was obviously suffering."

And who could blame him? At moments, she reminds me of a young Ava Gardner. Only happier, more self-confident, and sexier.

August 23, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What the writer fails to consider is that this a phenomenon of the Baby Boomers Generation--the "free love," "our bodies, ourselves" generation. As this group continues to age, we'll continue to see more enlightened, open-minded attitudes towards sexuality expressed in their films and books than were ever expressed in their parents' generation.

The Naked Truth

HOLLYWOOD -- Middle-aged movie stars are fearlessly fleshing out their resumes like never before. Drop into Los Angeles and the Hollywood hills are alive with the sound of sucked-in guts and flabby butt cheeks flapping. The most recent examples? In The Door in the Floor, Kim Basinger goes topless, Jeff Bridges bares all and Mimi Rogers shocks with a full-frontal scene.

But they're just a few of the disarming number of heretofore respected, 40-plus actors who have doffed their duds like nudity was going out of style -- and maybe it should if it means filmgoers are spared William H. Macy's near full Monty in The Cooler.

Is all this just a fleshy fluke? Doesn't seem so. In the past two years, audiences have seen 66-year-old Jack Nicholson's dimpled derriere in Something's Gotta Give, Danny DeVito's 59-year-old backside in Tim Burton's fable Big Fish and -- who could forget, even if you tried with months of psychotherapy -- Kathy Bates' skinny dip in About Schmidt.

August 16, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

This should be interesting....

29th Toronto International Film Festival

.....the gala lineup will also feature Kinsey, a biography of the controversial American sex scientist from Academy Award-winning writer-director Bill Condon, the director of Gods and Monsters and screenwriter for Chicago. Starring Liam Neeson as Alfred Kinsey, this world premiere delves into the life of the man who rocked North America with his 1948 groundbreaking study, Sexual Behavior and the Human Male.

August 12, 2004 in Film, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What's this world coming to? I blogged a different article about another branch of this group just the other day. Where are all these asexual-non-kinkual whip fetishists coming from?

Out of dungeons and into rec rooms

There's a new generation of whip-crackers who want to lift the instrument out of the lore of sadomasochism to a sport that might reach Olympic status. They use whips to grab items, to heal bodily injuries or for the sheer joy of making the thing go "pop." They swear their whips never touch human flesh.

How do they come upon this unique hobby? Through martial arts classes, an interest in the Wild West or jobs at Renaissance fairs. Others encounter the whip in pop culture. They have flicked their way through the Indiana Jones movies, The Mask of Zorro and Batman Returns. The latest film to whip up interest in the sport? Catwoman.

The star of the film recently gave the whip the Halle Berry seal of approval. During a visit to The Oprah Winfrey Show in May to promote the film, the actress called the whip "the most elusive tool you can play with, but the most sexy and the most fun. ... And once you get your first crack ... you just have to keep cracking." Her skills are on display in the movie as Berry uses the weapon to grab a gun out of the bad guy's hand. On the promotion trail, Berry tells reporters that she's the proud owner of 6-foot, 9-foot and 12-foot whips.

August 12, 2004 in Film, Post-Modern Pop Culture, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

"Six Feet Under" fans note--this movie stars the delectable Peter Krause (Nate).

New wife-swapping film, We Don't Live Here Anymore, has strong cast

(AP) - Wife-swapping, a decidedly swinging '60s activity, seems to be all the rage once again.

First came the Fox reality series Trading Spouses and ABC's upcoming Wife Swap. Those focus on the innocent, fish-out-of-water laughs that result when two moms trade places and take the heat in somebody else's kitchen.

Now comes "We Don't Live Here Anymore," which goes in the bedroom....

A sombre, updated version of "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "We Don't Live Here Anymore" stars Mark Ruffalo and Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) as Jack and Hank, appropriately rumpled college professors and best friends living in a small, woodsy town. They get together often for dinner parties with their wives - Jack is married to Terry (Laura Dern) and Hank is married to Edith (Naomi Watts)....

August 11, 2004 in Film, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

This film festival caught my eye: Black In The Life Film Festival

It is a part of a larger event:

In The Spirit Of Being Black

A celebration of same gender loving and transgender people of African descent

Monday, Aug. 16 - In Remembrance
Remembering loved ones who have passed on due to AIDS, other health-related issues and the violence that has plague the black community.

Tuesday, Aug. 17 - Film Festival
The largest black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender film festival in the world

Wednesday, Aug 18 - Honors Reception
Lesbians & Gays of African Descent for Democratic Action will honor our community champions.

Thursday, Aug. 19 - Lavender Seniors Lunch Brunch
Engaging our Seniors in the same gender loving and transgender community of African descent.

Friday, Aug. 20 - Networking
Hanging with the other folks that want to get ahead, too--the Entrepreneurs.

Saturday, Aug. 21 - Family Day
Families and people of all ages celebrating wellness. Something like a family reunion.

Sunday, Aug. 22- Film Festival
The closing of the film festival. A treat you don't want to miss.

August 11, 2004 in Film, Post-Modern Pop Culture, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Boy, that billboard sure didn't last very long.

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A billboard on Los Angeles' famous Sunset Strip showing a graphic sex act and promoting upcoming independent movie "The Brown Bunny" has been taken down, a spokeswoman for the film says."

August 6, 2004 in Film | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I've finally figured out why actors, rock stars, and other celebrities you'd think would know better (or have a wisp of a moral conscience) are behaving worse and worse in public. It's publicity, baby!! This headline says it all. Courtney Love to Stand Trial; Promotes New Album.

In the 1980s, it was Rehab Chic: actors, producers, and wives of politicians were making pilgramages to drug and alcohol rehab hotels and attending AA meetings in a mass show of self-excoriation, followed by a forced (upon the public, that is) march to talk-shows nationwide. AA became the est of the 80s, with a Who's Who of Hollywood Celebs dripping self-hatred from every cosmetically enhanced pore.

In the 1990s, it was Abuse Chic: ah, it was a golden age! A golden age of psychosis, I mean. Allegations of child abuse and "recovered memories" kept stars' names in the news while their gory tales of victimization dominated the day-time talkshows. Tell-all autobiographies became the darlings of publishers as all the sordid secrets about your favorite star's personal hell were serialized in tabloids. Whether these stories were true or not hardly mattered. What was important that people like Oprah and Roseanne Barr and even thigh-mistress Suzanne Summers were telling them.

Now it's chic to flout laws and cool to get caught. Hollywood's A-list of famous felons include Winona Ryder, Tom Sizemore, Robert Blake, and Robert Downey. Will his bust for selling bongs hurt Tommy Chong's career or make him a cause celebre? (Not sure it could hurt a career that was built on doing drugs in the first place, come to think of it.) Even Diana Ross is getting into the law-baiting act. What could be better for an aging diva than to find herself in photo-spreads again. Even if they show her as the drunken scarecrow she's become, it's still publicity, baby! Janet Jackson knows all about it (and also how to finesse it without actually getting arrested).

A much more important story in today's news, though, concerns another kind of star. California's multi-billion-dollar adult porn industry has ground to a virtual halt after a popular actor tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. The porn industry is calling a 60-day moratorium on film shoots so that actors can undergo tests and make sure they are not similarly infected. One of the more frightening bits of intelligence in this article is that "only about 17 percent of performers use condoms." They believe the infected actor contracted AIDS during a non-condom shoot in Brazil. (I wonder how the Vatican thinks he got it.)

According to the article, "The Los Angeles-based industry, which normally films three to four films a day, must now wait 60 days to learn whether the deadly virus spread to 14 actresses who had onscreen sex with James, or to the 35 sex partners the women subsequently had."

My sympathies to all those who've been exposed to the virus. I wish you courage, strength and hope, and most of all, I hope you test negative for HIV.

April 16, 2004 in Film, Post-Traumatic Tabloid Disorder, Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack