Other Lesbians in the Media

[mollyig]

Okay, will some Britty Kitty please tell me its not true that Zoe from Emmerdale shagged Scott Windsor.



I haven't seen Emmerdale in a while, and tuned in last week to see that Zoe, the friendly village lesbian vet is now a raving schizo, and my sister tells me that she made a pass at the local (male) vicar and slept with Scott. It can't be true!

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[miss calendar]

Good news for UK kittens, the BBC is adapting Sarah Water's

historical lesbian novel, 'Tipping the Velvet.'



Quote from TV Quick below.



Spooky kind of love



Keeley Hawes will set pulses racing in her next TV role when she kisses a woman and shares steamy lesbian love scenes. The model turned actress who recently left her husband of six months and is now dating Spooks co-star Matthew Macfayden stars in the BBC2 costume drama Tipping the Velvet as an 1890s music hall star Kitty, who makes her living as a male impersonator and has an affair with the central character Nan Astley, played by Rachael Stirling.



The story of a girl's sexual awakening is similar to Moll Flanders, and a BBC insider revealed that viewers can expect to be shocked when it screens this autumn. ' It's a drama about a bohemian underworld, a bit like Moulin Rouge, and it's quite shocking.

This is seriously likely to raise a few eyebrows.'





I haven't seen Moulin Rouge, was there a lot of lesbian content? And from what I recall Moll Flanders wasn't gay but I can see why they made that comparison. I know the tone of the article is annoying but I'm really excited about this. If you've read the novel you know the central character and many of the supporting characters are ' toms' and that there is lots of (hopefully steamy! ) lesbian sex alongside lesbian romance and love. I really enjoyed the novel and since two things the BBC are good at are period drama and book adaptations it could be really special. Since it sounds as if the BBC think it's likely to be shocking, are counting on it being shocking then maybe they'll be faithful to the book without too many cuts. Lesbians, period costumes, crossdressing, camp music hall numbers, oysters, dildoes, romance, passion and steamy lesbian sex.........

Could be a lot of fun kittens...........

[Hyo Shin]

>I haven't seen Moulin Rouge, was there a lot of lesbian content?



Nope, she is talking about the musical aspects of the movie.



>And from what I recall Moll Flanders wasn't gay but I can see why they made that comparison.



Not in the original book. But Alex Kingston played her as a bisexual and 'the girl's sexual awakening thing' is quite similar.



I think Keeley Hawes is a wonderful choice. She was great as Cynthia in "Wives and Daughters."



But can she sing?

Edited by: Hyo Shin at: 6/8/02 3:52:45 am

[Hyo Shin]

More Tipping the Velvet into!



www.bbc.co.uk/print/press...lvet.shtml



BBC Press Release



12.03.02



TV DRAMA



Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes, Jodhi May and Anna Chancellor star in Tipping The Velvet, an Andrew Davies adaptation for BBC TWO



Rachael Stirling (Othello, Bait), Keeley Hawes (The Beggar Bride, Our Mutual Friend), Jodhi May (Last of the Mohicans, The Mayor of Casterbridge) and Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pride And Prejudice) star in Tipping The Velvet, an Andrew Davies adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Sarah Waters for BBC TWO. Hugh Bonneville and John Bowe also star in the three-part drama which begins production this week.



Set in England in the 1890¡¯s, Tipping The Velvet is a colourful, passionate and entertaining love story about Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling), a heroine as appealing and charismatic as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. As she grows into womanhood, Nan realises that she is attracted to women, not to men - and it leads her into a series of adventures which recall that earlier heroine Moll Flanders.



Says Andrew Davies: "Sarah Waters writes from a deep understanding, not only of the great Victorian writers but also the underground literature of the time - the pornographic fiction and the private memoirs of men and women who revealed the truth about what men and women thought and did in the later years of the 19th century. She also writes with an extraordinary, gutsy zest for life in all its often comic complexity, especially the sexual life. The effect of this is sometimes shocking, but always illuminating and life-enhancing."



The glamorous world of 19th century music hall provides the backdrop for Nan¡¯s first love affair with Kitty (Keeley Hawes), a popular male impersonator music hall star. They become a double act both on and off stage, but their manager Walter (John Bowe) wins Kitty¡¯s hand as she ultimately chooses the safety of a traditional life rather than risking the public disapproval of her true feelings for Nan.



Devastated, our heartbroken heroine takes to the streets to survive, in her guise as a male impersonator, and finds a niche in the Victorian sexual underworld. She is also drawn to Florence (Jodhi May) but feels unable to tell her the truth about her secret street life. Instead, she is spotted by the wealthy widow, Diana Lethaby (Anna Chancellor), a woman in her thirties who lives by her own rules - utterly amoral, capricious and predatory. She introduces Nan into a world of luxury and debauchery and Nan virtually becomes her sexual slave.



When Nan is eventually thrown back on the streets, destitute and starving, she searches for Florence, who is initially deeply mistrustful, but a strong bond develops between them that blossoms into real and lasting love.





Jane Tranter, Controller of Drama Commissioning for the BBC, says: "Tipping the Velvet is a dazzling and provocative drama, with Andrew Davies on top form. It¡¯s a remarkable portrait of a world and characters not familiar to most people. We¡¯re thrilled to be bringing such a powerful adaptation of Sarah Waters¡¯ book to BBC TWO."



Sally Head, whose previous credits include such outstanding dramas as Cracker, Prime Suspect and Band of Gold, is executive producer with Gareth Neame, Head of Independent Drama Commissioning for the BBC.



Sally says: "Tipping the Velvet is unlike any other drama I¡¯ve worked on¡¦ the emotional and visual extremes of the story wrap around each other so that it is compelling, startling and sometimes shocking. Andrew Davies script is simply the best, serving Sarah Waters¡¯ beautiful novel in a way that makes my toes curl."



Tipping The Velvet, a Sally Head production, is produced by Georgina Lowe (The Mayor of Casterbridge, Topsy-Turvy) and directed by Geoff Sax ( Othello, Clocking Off).

[Killin Joke]

Anna Chancellor, huh... Hmm, didn't she play the woman who found out she was a lesbian at the end of the movie "Crush" (with Andie McDowell) ? I might be seriously mistaken, though... Happy ending (well, not so much for Andie's character) -> woman (gynaecologist) who had nothing but trouble with men in the past, kisses a woman on a wedding in a provoking, sweet vengeance way, and finds out she actually likes it. The woman she kissed was also a doctor, so: great catch /chuckle/

"In the half-tone light of a young morning she sighs and shifts on the pillow. And across her face dancing, the first shadows fly to kiss the Pussy Willow." (Jethro Tull)

[Hyo Shin]

Yes, she is.



Jodhi May was Lea in Sister My Sister. Rachael Stirling played another male impersonater in The Triumph of Love. I love their choices.

[Killin Joke]

Heh, I knew it. Thanks for confirming my suspicions, Hyo

"In the half-tone light of a young morning she sighs and shifts on the pillow. And across her face dancing, the first shadows fly to kiss the Pussy Willow." (Jethro Tull)

[Moridin]

Has anyone here seen Common Ground?

I watched the MTV Movie awards yesterday, and took notice of Britany Murhpy, who was just so boyant and alive you'd think she was on uppers or something. Anyway, thought I'd check what movies she'd been in, went to the "pictures" secotion on imdb and all of a sudden saw her in a uniform dancing around with a woman. The pic was from Common Ground

us.imdb.com/Title?0212889

and frmo the description I was a bit surprised noone had mentioned it here yet. Has anyone seen it anyway and care to tell me/us if it was good/bad whatever?

[Dumbsaint]

I so love that that my favorite British novels keep getting made into miniseries.



Yay!

Wham, bam, slap-a-tag-on-my-toe, ma'am.

Hello, evil now!

[TyRex316]

Would love to see Sarah Water's "Fingersmith" get made into a movie as well. Absolutely love that book.

[MaClayMagic]

Sorry, but it's true. Zoe slept with a guy. But it's ok because she's going crazy therefore she is allowed to do something like this. Excuse me while I gag! Zoe hasn't been right since the wonderful Emma left, and I stopped watching after that. Poor "Emmerdale", gave us the first lesbian in a British soap, got gazumped by "Brookside" with the first female to female kiss, and then Zoe started that downward slide. Thank goodness we had "Bad Girls" to show that women, even ones behind bars, can live happily ever after in that old 'kiss in the fade out' shot! Now there was romance!!

Can't wait for "Tipping The Velvet"!! How cool is the BBC?!!

Sky's "UK Drama" has been reshowing "Portrait Of A Marriage"here in the UK. We were gobsmacked to see it one evening! It's not been reshown for goodness knows how many years!

"I am a whizz, if ever a whizz there was!"

Edited by: MaClayMagic at: 6/9/02 4:37:33 pm

[semiramis]

I absolutely loved this book. Will anyone be taping this series when it is shown? I'd love to see it

[xita]

Oh wow, I had no idea Tipping the Velvet was even being developed for TV. That actually made me happy, look a smile

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Willow and Tara Love

Truly and Forever

[maudmac]

Just saw Bobbie's Girl on Showtime. It's okay.



Being as though it's "A Showtime Original Picture For All Ages," it's not heavy on the smoochies, although it does clearly show that Bobbie and Bailey are a couple.



And, extra special bonus, no lesbians die! Super-mega-extra-special bonus, Rachel Ward in glasses!

---------------------------
I think I'm going berserk. Would you like to come too?-- Buckner & Garcia

[WillowMuch]

Has anybody seen 'What's cooking'? It's by an Indian director, Gurinder Chadha. I just saw it and it was good - Julianne Margulies [Carol Hathaway from ER] and Kyra [again from ER] made a cute couple though there's not really much of their couple-ish screentime. The movie is not entirely about them, they are just a sub plot.



Also, does anybody know of any website where we can get clips from any of the movies mentioned in this thread?



Thanks



Re: mad lesbian of the week

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll tell you what Chutney Popcorn would have benefitted from. There is no such thing as too much Jill Hennessy. Oh, yeah.



That said, I thought it was okay. I definitely enjoyed seeing an interracial couple, being that I'm half of one myself. And I have a soft spot for all things Indian.



This film had a lot of potential. It just didn't quite know what to do with it. IMHO.



(But I would watch Chutney Popcorn a hundred times if it keeps Bar Girls far, far away from me.)

[AutumnT]

I have seen What's Cooking recently and I have to admit I found it painfully dull and much too predictable in the writing for my taste. Yes, I thought the couple stuff was nice, but damn you had to sift through a lot of other stuff in all the other stories for it. I'm glad you liked it, but it was much too slow for me.

Autumn

-----------

Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[Rally]

Gay life, straight up Men who do the deed with women (imagine that) is one trend in 18-day festival



The San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film

Festival, longtime home to edgy material, opens

Thursday with "Lan Yu," a steamy male love story

from China, and "Notorious C.H.O.," the new concert

documentary from raunch comic Margaret Cho. But

one emerging theme in the festival is even more

incendiary: Gay guys who go straight.



Call it the "Will & Grace" factor, only consummated.

In "Bob and Rose," a British TV series from "Queer as

Folk" creator Russell T Davies, an out, proud and

randy homosexual named Bob goes ga-ga for a gal

named Rose and freaks himself out in the process.



"(The series) really speaks to what it means to be a

gay man," says Michael Lumpkin, co-director of the

festival. Fellas also fall for women in England's "The

Lawless Heart" and Spain's "I Love You Baby." In a

lineup that features films about pirate drag kings and

people who do it with stuffed bunnies, maybe the only

way to stand out is by depicting a sexual switcheroo.



"I don't know what it means," says Lumpkin of the

turncoat trend.



Those who like their lesbians and gays to stay that

way still have plenty to see among the 80 features

and 209 shorts. The 26th annual festival runs through

June 30 and will, as always, showcase hot bodies,

illicit trysts and transgender triumphs. It also will pay

tribute to those who paved the way for the current

anything-goes ethos, with films about older gays and

lesbians and queer history.



"Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House"

follows two Brooklyn mothers and activists who left

their husbands for each other in the 1970s. The

documentary closes the festival June 30 -- gay pride

day -- at the Castro. "Claire," a silent film about an

older male couple who discover a baby, will play to

orchestral accompaniment June 26 at the Herbst, and

"Harold's Historic Homo Home Movies," with footage

of San Francisco gay life from the 1940s through '70s

shot by now 91-year-old Harold O'Neal, plays the

Herbst June 23.



"Films about older people always sell out," says

festival co-director Jennifer Morris. "Even though most

movies are made for teenagers."



At 18 days, the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival runs a

week longer than in past years. By extending the

length and limiting the event to three sizable venues --

the Castro, Herbst and Yerba Buena Center for the

Arts theaters -- organizers hope to cut the number of

sellouts. The focus on bigger theaters, however,

means films like "The History of Masturbation" and

"Please Don't Stop:



Lesbian Tips for Givin' and Gettin' It" no longer will

play in the intimate settings of the Roxie or Victoria,

two longtime festival venues dropped this year.



"We'll see how it goes," says Lumpkin of the larger

theaters. "Last year was our 25th year, and this year

we had to try something different."



Here are some festival highlights:



-- Notorious C.H.O. (8 p.m. Thursday, Herbst):

Homegrown comic Margaret Cho has gotten brassier,

if that's possible, since "I'm the One That I Want," the

2000 film made from her confessional stage show.

Here she dares to make -- and even pulls off -- a sex

joke about Sept. 11, and she ends the butch-femme

debate forever by declaring, "I want a woman who

looks like John Goodman." The film also shines when

it moves offstage to show the devoted gay men and

Asian American women in the audience who've

memorized the comedian's best bits. There's also an

interview with Cho's mother, who personally thanks

every woman in the rest room for coming to her

daughter's show.



-- Lan Yu (7:30 p.m. Thursday, Castro): A smooth,

successful businessman turns a young student into a

rent boy, igniting a tortuous love affair in director

Stanley Kwan's sensual, haunting film based on an

anonymous Internet novel. As the conflicted

businessman, Hu Jun moves from stony to

heartbreaking.



He makes such a sympathetic cad that you root for

his character even when he cheats on the kid or

marries a woman to escape his sexuality.



-- Bob & Rose (Program 1, 9 p.m. Friday, Herbst, and

noon June 28, Castro; Program 2, 3 p.m. Saturday,

Herbst, and 3 p.m. June 28, Castro): This charming

series explores one man's shock at discovering

himself shagging a woman in the toilet of a moving

train. Funny, poignant and filled with refreshingly real

people, "Bob & Rose" shows the flip side of steeping

oneself in gayness, when what was liberating

becomes limiting. The series' two winning leads, Alan

Davies and Lesley Sharp, make a lovely pair, damn

the labels.



-- Replay (6:30 p.m. Friday, Herbst): If you like your

lesbian psychodrama with a French accent, this one's

for you. Beauties Emmanuelle Beart and Pascale

Bussieres play childhood friends, one of whom is now

an actress and the other a dental prosthetist (?!). One

of them goes psycho. Surprisingly, it's not the

actress. The tragic tone, straight out of "The

Children's Hour," treads that thin line between camp

and depressing, but this guilty pleasure features

committed performances that transcend the pulp

surroundings.



-- American Mullet (6:30 p.m. June 16, Castro, with

the shorts "Lesbian Fashion?" and "Your Better Butch

Fashion"): It's long hair, without the fuss. The mullet is

that short-in-front, long-in-back style favored by

dirt-track racers and lesbians across the land. While

most observers just sit back and snicker, filmmaker

Jennifer Arnold interviewed the brave men and women

who sport the 'do. Among them are a Billy Ray Cyrus

impersonator -- a limited career path, at best -- and a

lesbian who grew out the back of her hair to look more

feminine. Though mullet wearers cross racial and

gender lines, they share a spirit of rugged

individualism. Yes, they know they're out of style, and

no, they don't care. Perhaps the hairdo will be the

next big thing: Young Anakin Skywalker's braid, once

unraveled, is a modified mullet.



The San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film

Festival



Thursday June 30 at the Castro and Herbst theaters

and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San

Francisco. Tickets can be purchased at the Frameline

ticket office, 1800 Market St., by calling (925)

866-9559 or visiting www. frameline.org.

------------




Officially, of course, I have to say that I have no idea what you're talking about.

Edited by: Rally at: 6/9/02 10:49:52 pm

[Culzean]

I don't know if anyone is watching The Wire on HBO but it looks like the big lesbian love scene is coming up next week (6/23). I haven't seen Sonja Sohn (who plays the lesbian narcotics detective) before, but she's very good.



I read on the web that she also played a lesbian in an independant film called "Work." The reviews I read were very good. Has anyone seen it?





deb

[alyamber4ever]

I don't get HBO Grrrrrr, Damn TV!!! Everybody should have HBO.....that's just how it should be!!!

[semiramis]

Although this is more about a real lesbian than a fictional character, there was a really sweet article in the Australian New Weekly magazine last week, that credited the love of her girlfriend Francesca, with saving Portia from anorexia. If anyone is interested I can transcribe this....

Nice to see a trash mag extolling the positive virtues of lesbian love

[Kalita]

On the utter opposite of the spectrum:

Quote:

---

Madonna and Halle To Share Raunchy Kiss

Madonna and sexy Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry will share a raunchy lesbian kiss in the new Bond movie. The superstar singer is performing the theme song and making a small cameo in new [James Bond] spy flick Die Another Day--and gets intimate with Halle in a scene that's sure to have fans sitting up. A source says, "The action would add some serious sizzle to the flick."

---

It's interesting in a train-wreck kind of way, I think...

"Why, you’re just new all over, aren’t you?" - Lilah on Wes, "Tomorrow"

[AutumnT]

Oh God. Train wreck kinda way is right. Anytime they need to promo this sort of thing as "raunchy" it can't be good.

Autumn

-----------

Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[Kendahl897]

OK, first, someone needs to download the love scene from 'The Wire' for those of us who don't have HBO. Second, Chutney Popcorn is a cute, enjoyable film. I especially love the labor scenes, I actually spit my coke through my nose from laughing so hard. Finally, the BEST lesbian film ever made as far as love scenes go is WHEN NIGHT IS FALLING, the unrated version.....First time I saw it, I actually turned red and broke out in a sweat, as my neighbor was watching it with me...Lets just say it gives the word 'grinding' a whole new meaning.....

[Alirissa]

Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed both films - It's in the Water and What's Cooking. Although What's Cooking isn't a gay film but a multicultural film about four different families - Hispanic, African-American, Asian and Jewish (which features the lesbian couple). It had a couple of very funny jokes that only lesbians would pick up on which involved the turkey. I won't give them away for those who haven't seen it.



It's In The Water was just a lot of fun for me. Plus, I thought the two actresses had great chemistry.



But for the most part, I have found most lesbian films to be just awful or just plain boring. Don't know why. I'm a huge movie buff and this fact has perplexed me.



I haven't seen When Night Is Falling, but will now check it out.

[Killin Joke]

I'd love to read a transcription of that article, semiramis Or maybe you could just place a link... Any posititive news is welcome, I think

"for beauty is a witch against whose charms faith melteth into blood." (Claudio in 'Much Ado About Nothing')

[AutumnT]

Just wanted to thank everyone in this thread that pointed me towards this movie. I have no idea how I never saw it but wow. Story. Acting. Directing. Who knew. And yet another example of how laundry rooms lead to good things.

Autumn

-----------

It grated, like something forced in where it doesn't belong.

[nermal1]

I haven't seen this movie mentioned in here yet. Show Me Love is a lovely little Swedish movie I believe. It's about a 16 year old girl who has a crush on another girl at school (who I believe is younger than her. The actress was younger than her in real life anyway). It was pretty depressing for a while, but had the best ending



A great film to watch, one lesbian who totally understands and goes with her feelings (though all the teasing she got did lead her to suicidal thoughts for a while), while the other girl comes to the realisation throughout the movie that she feels the same way too.

CalebRoss.com

Tribe Guys

[La]

I just saw When Night is Falling for the first time about a week ago and must agree with everyone who said it was an awesome movie. I'm so gonna buy it when I get back to the states.

~La

You know you've been in Korea too long when you go to the USA on vacation and bow to cars that let you cross the street in front of them instead of just doing the thank you wave.

[urnofosiris]

"Show me Love" is originally called "Fucking Amal"

I watched a few weeks ago on Dutch TV (thanks to Concrete for pointing it out, I actually remembered to tape it). It was a very sweet movie indeed. The beginning a wee bit depressing, it really showed how hard being a teenager can be. Hee. It had all the things in it most of us will remember or are currently still living. I'd really recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to try and get your hands on it.



A leetle spoiler space



---------------------------------













The coming out scene of the girls at the end was priceless, so well done and very funny.











-----------------------------



Well it was only a very leetle spoiler, but it was nice to be *completely* unspoiled for it, so hence the tiny spoiler space.



I found a site with an English transcript of the movie with a few pics from scenes as well. It is best viewed with Netscape 4.0 or higher. (btw, I can see it with IE as well, you get redirected to a download page for Netscape, but when I hit the back button, you go back to the site and can read the transcript and see the pics as well, it's just the the first paragraph that is in gibberish and gobblycook, but that's not part of the transcript anyway)



For those interested: amal.host.sk/fascript.htm

---------------------------



"I am giving you what you need, not what you want"
-The perfect excuse to be an asshole

Edited by: DrG at: 6/24/02 4:46:51 am

[Kendahl897]

If you buy this movie, make sure you get the unrated version, which means that you probably need to order it from Canada.Try videoflicks.com..I've ordered it from them before...Believe me, there is quite a difference between R and unrated