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Sunday, June 28, 2015

GLAD Marriage Architects Talk SCOTUS Ruling (AUDIO)









In this exclusive audio broadcast Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson Host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ participated in a conference call following the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gay and lesbian couples in the United States, no matter where they live, have the same legal right to marry as heterosexual couples. The call was hosted by Janson Wu, Executive Director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and Gary Buseck GLAD’s Legal Director who has been involved with GLAD in various capacities for more than 35 years, including serving as Executive Director from the fall of 1997 to January, 2004. As you know in 2003 Mary Bonauto GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director won the ground-breaking Goodridge case making Massachusetts the first state in the U.S. where gay and lesbian couples could legally marry. GLAD also pioneered the legal strategy that brought down the Defense of Marriage Act. On April 28th Bonauto argued Question 1, as formulated by the Court: “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?” Bonauto represented April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse of Michigan and spoke for them as well as for plaintiff Kentucky couples Tim Love and Lawrence Ysunza, and Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James and committed and loving couples nationwide. This resulted in the United States becoming the 20th country in the world where gay and lesbian couples can legally marry nationally.

Janson Wu who was present in the court during this historic ruling provides a personal and professional perspective of this case stating, “Arriving at this moment at this time was not inevitable. It happened now because people across the country – young and old, LGBT and straight, religious people and business people – stood up for fairness and their families and friends and worked diligently and strategically to include same-gender couples in marriage. This was a movement marked by hope, tenacity and smarts.” In this fascinating audio recording, Gary Buseck, GLAD's Legal Director, provides an insider analysis of the historic 103 page ruling that makes you truly understand how this decision was reached and the significance it has on the future of our LGBT community and of all Americans. He also addresses how the Supreme Court’s prior Hobby Lobby decision may come into play, which allows religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender.

Janson Wu is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Wu has served as GLAD’s Executive Director since December 2014 following eight years as a staff attorney and a seven-month tenure as deputy director. Gary Buseck after serving as GLAD’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2004 has been setting legal strategies and supervising GLAD's team of attorneys. Before coming to GLAD, Gary spent twenty years in private practice and co-founded a Boston law firm focusing on the gay and lesbian community. He received a B.A., a Masters in Religious Education and a J.D. magna cum laude from Boston College.
For More Info: glad.org 



Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Filmmakers, LGBT Equality & More (AUDIO)








In the first installment of our exclusive two part audio montage series Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with gay and straight filmmakers at the 17th annual Provincetown International Film Festival press luncheon. First we talked to fierce straight allies Director Jeffrey Kaufman and Producer Marcia Ross about their documentary THE STATE OF MARRIAGE that chronicles Vermont lawyers Susan Murray and Beth Robinson along with GLAD attorney Mary Bonauto (who recently argued the Supreme Court case for Marriage Equality), as they historically and passionately paved the way for the entire marriage equality movement in this country. Kaufman and Ross were so moved by their quest for marriage equality that they actually fell in love while creating this riveting film. They talk about what led a straight couple to embrace our community and their spin on the future of LGBT equality.
Next we talked to Filmmaker Laurie Kahn about her documentary LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS which is a fascinating, fun film revealing the remarkable global community of women who create, consume and love romance novels. For three years Kahn followed the lives of five diverse published romance authors and one unpublished newbie as they built their businesses, found and lost loved ones, coped with a tsunami of change in the publishing industry and earn a living doing what they love while empowering others to do the same. Then we chatted with Matthew Breen, Editor-in-Chief of The Advocate about the state of LGBT equality in this country. Breen hosted a very interesting panel at the film festival entitled GAY VOICES: WHERE THE PERSONAL MEETS THE POLITICAL. He was joined on the panel by director Jean Carlomusto (LARRY KRAMER IN LOVE AND ANGER), Jeff Kaufman and Marcia Ross (THE STATE OF MARRIAGE) and David Thorpe (DO I SOUND GAY?) in a very cutting-edge discussion on LGBT filmmaking and beyond.

Then we sat down with Iconic Filmmaker John Waters for our annual chat. John has been very busy this year promoting his book CAR SICK that was just released in paperback. He did a book signing while at the film fest for CAR SICK, his hilarious cross-country hitchhiking memoir about his journey waving a cardboard sign that reads, “I’m Not Psycho” and braving a seemingly scary route across America from Baltimore to San Francisco. This year Waters was honored at the 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards in NYC with the Lambda's Trustee Award for Excellence in Literature presented to him by the legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith. We talked about that experience and receiving an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design as well as delivering RISD’s keynote commencement address. Waters stated that this was really a year of queer for him as he heads off to London for his art show entitled Beverly Hills John at Sprüth Magers London that runs from July 1st to August 15th. Next week in the second installment of our two part series we talk with Director Bobcat Goldthwait, Filmmaker Kim Yaged, legendary AIDS Activist Larry Kramer, Director Bao Nguyen and Actress Jennifer Coolidge. Listen To PIFF Press Lunch Part #2
For Info: ptownfilmfest.org






Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Provincetown International Film Festival June 17 to June 21








In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Lisa Viola, Senior Programmer for the Provincetown International Film Festival that takes place June 17th to June 21st in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Celebrating its 17th year writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait (Call Me Lucky) will be honored with the 2015 Filmmaker on the Edge Award in conversation with resident artist John Waters at Provincetown’s Town Hall on Saturday June 20th. Actress Jennifer Coolidge (Best In Show) will receive the Faith Hubley Career Achievement Award that same evening in conversation with film critic B. Ruby Rich. The festival will open with Leslye Headland's “Sleeping With Other People” and close with “I Am Michael”, directed by Justin Kelly. Spotlight Films are James Ponsoldt's “The End Of The Tour”, Paul Weitz's Grandma starring Lily Tomlin and Jeffrey Schwarz's “Tab Hunter Confidential”. The festival will also host a double billing of Steven Spielberg's “Jaws” and Noel Marshall's “Roar” at the Wellfleet Drive-In on Wednesday June 17th. Some of the notable filmmakers and guests attending this year's festival include: Alison Bagnall (Funny Bunny); Bao Nguyen (Live From New York!); Barry Crimmins (Call Me Lucky); Brendan Toller (Danny Says); Christine Vachon (Nasty Baby); David Thorpe (Do I Sound Gay?); Jeff Kaufman (The State Of Marriage); Joe Murphy (Yosemite); Joey Kuhn (Those People); Josh Watson (The Daddy); Larry Kramer (LGBT activist and subject, Larry Kramer In Love And Anger) and more. We talked to Lisa about this year’s film festival highlights and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Viola stated, “I feel like through the work that I have been doing at Provincetown for the last 17 years that that is the best work I can do that promotes LGBT civil rights. I feel like giving a voice to filmmakers and making a space where audiences can come and explore and have conversation and talk about new topics and sort of have an assessment of what’s going on right at the moment, that is something I feel very proud of and happy that promotes civil rights for our LGBT community. So I’m very excited about that.”

Lisa Viola has been affiliated with the Provincetown International Film Festival since its inception in 1999. She has also been a programming associate for the Sundance Film Festival since 1992. Lisa graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Communication Arts. The Provincetown Film Society, Inc. (PFS) is a non-profit year-round organization and home of the Provincetown International Film Festival. PFS is dedicated to showcasing new achievements in independent film and honoring the work of acclaimed and emerging directors, producers and actors. This year the 2015 Filmmaker on the Edge Award is sponsored by LithExcel Marketing. Partner sponsors of the 2015 Film Festival include: HBO, a preferred partner sponsor, LithExcel, marketing services producer, XFINITY, Sage Inn and Lounge, Sidewalk Films and WOMR with additional government and foundation support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Mallrd Foundation and the Provincetown Tourism Fund. This is the ninth year we’ll be covering the film festival for OUTTAKE VOICES™.
For Info & Tix: ptownfilmfest.org





Monday, June 1, 2015

Pride Comes To Our LGBT Millennial Generation









In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Levi Chambers Editor in Chief of Pride.com the new social entertainment network recently launched by Here Media, the leading global LGBT media company, to provide a safe and user-friendly cool online haven for our younger LGBTQ generation to make friends, share stories and find support. This unique new site is a social entertainment network targeting the forward-thinking millennial generation giving them new tools to amplify their digital voices, raise their social profiles and lead inspiring conversations fueled by timely, entertaining content. June marks the beginning of LGBT Pride celebrations throughout the country and one of the missions of Pride.com is to provide a content and conversation destination where Pride belongs to everyone. Pride.com will also make its priority to report on current trending topics and prominently features user-submitted comments, content, and photography. We talked to Levi about what he hopes to accomplish with Pride.com and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Chambers stated, “I’m in a unique position. I have a loud voice to support LGBT civil rights and I have an audience that consists primarily of millennials, which as you know are really good at sharing their opinions and the things they like on Facebook and Twitter or any social network that they are on. This generation of young Americans are really creating a wave of change and are incredibly connected to the world and loudly share our opinions. My personal commitment to LGBT civil rights is to use Pride to cover important issues in a way that makes it really consumable and easily understood and more important sharable by our young readers. Social media virality of content and stories is extremely powerful and I think do a lot to move LGBT civil rights forward.”

Levi Chambers holds a Master's Degree in Professional Writing from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor's Degree in Film from Arizona State University. He brings his enthusiasm and extensive experience in creating content for social platforms that engages audiences and delivers results. The new site is ultimately for all equality-minded 20-somethings with interest in content presented through an LGBT lens. Developed by Livefyre and powered by Livefyre Studio, Pride.com uses real-time interactions to inform its editorial focus and promotion, leveraging conversations to create real-time social experiences. Members use their existing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or Google+ profiles to instantly log in and engage with other members around the content that matters most to them. The launch of Pride.com bolsters Here Media’s reach to millennials and compliments its existing family of iconic LGBT media brands, including The Advocate, OUT, Gay.com and Here TV, among others. Here Media Inc. produces and distributes content across all platforms worldwide. Here Media distributes LGBT media with universal, humanistic appeal. Its distribution platforms include television, VOD, broadband, online, print, and mobile.
For More Info: pride.com