Without Jobriath there would be no Lady Gaga. Without Jobriath there would be no Morrissey. The question on your lips right now is undoubtedly, who in the hell is Jobriath? Kieran Turner’s new documentary “Jobriath A.D.” explores the life and times of one of the most influential and one of the most forgotten musicians of all time, Jobriath Boone. Jobriath’s musical career began in the late 1960s, as he performed in the stage production of “Hair.” He caught the eye of the svengali-like manager Jerry Brandt and the pair set out to set the music world on fire. Jobriath had it all – great looks, tremendous musical talent (including writing, arranging, singing and playing multiple instruments), a major promotional campaign and a unique gimmick that had never been done before in pop music – being openly and flamboyantly gay.
It seemed there was no way they could lose and yet, Jobriath’s career went nowhere. The world was just not ready to accept an out and proud icon. Interviews with close friends, associates and musical peers in “Jobriath A.D.” help fill in the tragic story of a man who seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, time and time again throughout his life. The end of his life saw him reduced to playing piano bars and pimping himself to survive before his death at age 36 from AIDS.
Though he was never able to see the effects of his influence or see financial success in his lifetime, Jobriath should be considered the dynamite that broke down a barrier for creative individuals who think and act outside the box and are uncompromising in their artistic beliefs. Fans of Jobriath such as Morrissey and Def Leppard, helped get his music out there to a new generation of fans and nearly 25 years after his death, Jobriath’s career is finally starting to gain the momentum he initially set out to build.
As of press time, a release date for “Jobriath A.D.” is still being worked out. You will definitely want to see this film as it is absolutely tragic (but necessary) to see how a person’s sexuality can ruin their life due to the small-minded society we live in. I learned so much about the life of an extraordinary individual who was so far ahead of his time. Unfortunately, the world did not enjoy the tremendous gift of Jobriath while he was alive and it is our responsibility to make sure this does not happen again. On a personal note, I am extremely honored that a photo I took of Scissor Sisters lead singer Jake Shears appears in the film and I would like to thank Kieran Turner for including it in his great film.
The 2011 New York Film Festival came to a close on October 16, 2011 with the premiere of the new George Clooney vehichle, “The Descendants.” Clooney was in the house to wave goodbye to the festival (as you can see pictured above). The film is about a man whose wife is in a coma (due to a boating accident), his two troubled daughters, new information that his wife had an affair on Georgey and the fact that Clooney’s character has the sole right to sell or keep a ton of land in Hawaii. While the film was shot beautifully on location in Hawaii, the film would have been a better Lifetime movie of the week as it was totally predictable and not really that well acted. There were holes in the plot as deep as the bodies of water the film was made in and I found myself wishing that they would just pull the plug on his damned wife so this movie would end. Interestingly, the film takes place in tropical weather and there was not one scene were George Clooney was shirtless. That wouldn’t have made the movie all that much better for me, but I am just pointing it out since a lot of people get wet when they think of ole GC. He does wear shorts in some scenes and he has quite nice legs. I had to pay attention to something other than the movie and since so many people appeared to be enjoying it, I wasn’t going to be ”that guy” who is a total dickbag at movies and starts texting. Of course by now you know I am a movie curmudgeon, so this movie will probably win every award known to man and you’ll hear talk around town that everyone loved it. Everyone except me! Don’t forget that!
From left to right: Portia De Rossi, David Cross, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett
The hottest ticket in town on October 2, 2011 was the cast reunion of the TV show “Arrested Development” as part of the New Yorker Festival. Before I get into what the program for this afternoon was all about – here’s the information you are all dying to know:
Writer/Creator Mitchell Hurwitz confirmed that an “Arrested Development” movie is happening. The script is half way finished and they are aiming to begin shooting in the summer of 2012. Leading up to the film, there will be up to 10 installments (one per character) letting the audience know what everyone’s been up to since the show went off the air. Distribution methods are still being worked out, but one might expect webisodes or non-traditional means of delivery.
Michael Cera, Jason Bateman
Ron Howard called in and Liza was not in attendance, but the rest of the principals on “Arrested Development” were on stage talking about the ups and downs of the show, some of their heroes and influences and there was also a brief question and answer session with the audience.
Portia DeRossi, David Cross
As you can expect from the cast, they cracked jokes constantly and also spoke about their proudest moments on the show. The audience consisted of “Arrested Development” die-hards and you could hear a pin drop when the cast spoke about the show.
Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter
The cast would not reveal too much about the plot on the upcoming film, but they did advise that each character will probably screw things up when the script is locked.
Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat
At the end of the hour long presentation, the cast did the chicken dance!
If you love art and fascinating people, you need to see “Con Artist” immediately. “Con Artist” is the story of artist Mark Kostabi. The film traces his roots growing up in Whitter, California to his jet setting life of present day where he resides in New York and Rome. “Con Artist” is a fascinating portrait of a fascinating man. Mark Kostabi rose to the top of the art world in the 80s on his own terms by doing something so many successful people fail to do – tell the truth. Kostabi exposed the truth about the phoniness of the art world by admitting that he often only served as a creative director to the works he sold for large sums of money and sometimes he had nothing to do with them – as so many artists do but refuse to discuss. He gained fame and success but he lost it all because there’s one thing people do not like to hear even though they claim they want to hear it – the truth. The truth hurts and Kostabi was not afraid to speak up and expose it.
But that’s just one layer of Mark Kostabi. Along the way, he’s tried his hand in everything from sculpture to composing music to being a game show host (where contestants can title his paintings for a cash prize)! He’s also appeared on countless TV shows, shown his art all over the world and met the world’s elite from Andy Warhol to the Pope. Some people love him. Some people hate him. Some people say he’s the nicest guy on the planet. Others say he’s the devil incarnate. Is the entire movie a hoax? That’s up to you to decide. One thing is for sure, Mark Kostabi leaves no gray area about what side of the fence he stands on and that’s too much for most people to handle. I think it’s fantastic! I’ve been fortunate enough to spend some time with Mark Kostabi and after meeting thousands of famous people in my life, I think he’s one of the most interesting (and nicest) people I’ve ever met. Form your opinion. “Con Artist” is available on Amazon.com as well as Netflix.
This is a no-brainer! Reeve Carney, star of Spider-Man on Broadway and lead singer of the band Carney, has been cast as Jeff Buckley in the “official” bio-pic about the singer’s life. As a big fan of Jeff Buckley’s music, I was dreading the prospect of a movie because the names being thrown around that were in consideration to play Jeff are not singers. I am happy that if a movie has to be made, Reeve Carney who can both sing and act will be in it. It helps that he looks and sounds a lot like Jeff and from what I’ve heard so far, he’ll sing the songs so I am very excited about that.
Not so long ago, I saw Carney perform and Reeve performed two songs by two different legends – Queen and The Beatles! Coincidentally, the banter before the song is something you’d hear at a Jeff Buckley concert so I am excited for the film. Don’t let me down like you usually do Hollywood!
And now, enjoy seeing Reeve Carney sing “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen followed by “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by The Beatles.
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