gay romance

NO WHALES IN WALES…

I recently had the honor of attending the Iris Prize Film Festival in Cardiff, Wales. And by recently I mean two months ago. To call me a procrastinator would not only be a sad understatement of truth, but a welcomed compliment as far as I’m concerned. As the old saying goes - It’s not easy being me. Who said that? Rodney Dangerfield I think. Listen, being an actor is HARD (We are keeping it clean since it's the holidays and all.) Constantly having to look pretty, spending endless hours in front of the mirror practicing my winning smile, checking my star meter rank on IMdb on a daily basis to make sure I haven’t dipped below the 20,000 mark. HARD, I tell you. (Ok, I couldn't resist the second time around.)

Where was I?… right - Wales. So I get this call from overseas one day—actually it was an email, but getting a phone call from overseas sounds much more important, so phone call it is. So I get this "phone call" from some guy with a funny accent who asks if I want to skip over the pond (that’s what they call it), and take a trip over to Cardiff, Wales as part of the Jury of the Short Film Selection, an award and prize that is actually pretty incredible and is one of the few these days whose primary agenda is promoting up and coming short filmmakers. Incidentally, one of the films I’m in this year, Redwoods, (directed by David Lewis) was part of their Feature Film Selection, competing for the feature film award alongside some other great works including, Hollywood je t’aime (directed by Jason Bushman), The Big Gay Musical (directed by Casper Andreas and Fred Caruso), Highly Strung (directed by Sophie Laloy), Give Me Your Hand (directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent), and Fiona’s Script (directed by Florencia Manovil).

So I went. No shit, right? Free trip to Wales. All the attention and alcohol I want for a week? Count me in.

When I arrived, I was a bit stunned at the false advertisement of the city’s name. There wasn’t ONE whale is ALLLLLL of Wales, and trust me, I looked. Also, EVERYONE was driving on the wrong side of the road! And somehow, they’ve managed to get away with roping everyone in on it. Someone really needs to tell them. Looks pretty dangerous to me. I thought by my not driving, I’d escape this crazy, backwards road insanity. Nope. Being a pedestrian isn’t any better. In fact it might even be worse. I almost got run over by a honking car driving on the wrong side of the road at least twice a day. I counted. By day two, I was beginning to feel like I was playing a reality show version of Frogger.

Other than the crazy drivers, and mediocre plumbing, (and the lack of whales in Wales), the rest of the trip was pretty spectacular. Redwoods even won BEST FEATURE - and I only had to blow one person to get it!

If you want to track this self-proclaimed movie star besides Homopop, check out Matthew's website Matt-Montgomery.com.

There are very, very few films out there that shock the hell out of you and make you want more at the same time. Quite frankly; some people can't handle it. Earlier this year the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival refused to support their gay British filmmakers by not programming this film because it too racy and raw. Clearly, they couldn't handle it. I don't know about you, but I really can't get enough of films that are not afraid to push boundaries and Shank is certainly the film that does put you on edge.

Here in the US, this brilliant, risque yet often-times sentimental narrative has been overwhelmingly received. People just can't get enough of it—especially with cutie Cal played by Wayne Virgo and beefy Jonno played by Tom Bott. Now, I'm not going to waste your time telling you how much I love this film because I want you to go right to the video and watch Rexx and Nick Starr drool all over the boys... and the film.

It's really about freakin' time someone made another Christmas film for us homos—24 Nights is the only other gay Christmas film that I can think of. I mean we celebrate the holidays too, right? Thankfully talented director Rob Williams (3-Day Weekend, Back Soon, Long-term Relationship) and his production company Guest House Films has filled the void with the film festival smash hit Make the Yuletide Gay.

Out-and-proud college studen Olaf "Gunn" Gunnunderson (hottie Keith Jordan) leaves his cutie-pie boyfriend Nathan (way out homo Adamo Ruggiero, "Degrassi: The Next Generation") and heads back to his parents' house for Christmas break—and back into the closet. You remember what that's like... I know I do. Hilarity ensues when Nathan shows up unnanounced at the front door, and the fued between Gunn's mom and her neighor Heather (played by the legendary bad girl Alison Arngrim—Nellie Oleson from Little House on the Prairie) reaches epic proportions! And for gay cinema fans, you will also recognize Derek Long (Socket) who stars as Gunn's dad.

If you want a fun, festive holiday treat, then check out Make the Yuletide Gay. This is definitely a charming film for the whole family... and not just your gay one either!

I saw Little Ashes in Berlin and while I won't rave about the film, that would be bullshit, it's essential viewing for gay cinema lovers. Robert Pattinson, star of Twilight plays gay and poses nude in front of a mirror, check out Perez Hilton for that image capture. I'll also confess that I don't have the hots for him, I think he's a pasty-faced twink, but I know lots of guys love him and the film he helmed. The film tells the story of an alleged love affair between mad artist Salvador Dali and gay poet Frederico Garcia Lorca. Pattinson stars as the bisexual Dali and a young stud by the name of Javier Beltran stars as Lorca. Their lovemaking scene is quite hot -- it's going to get a lot of very surprised teen girls (and gay guys obviously) hot under the collar. The limited theatrical run starts May 8 at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.