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Thursday, December 17, 2015

Fabulous Gay Memoir “After Woodstock” By Elliot Tiber









In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with writer/producer Elliot Tiber about his third volume of memoirs entitled “After Woodstock.” The book completes his trilogy following the critically acclaimed “Palm Trees on the Hudson” and his breakout bestseller “Taking Woodstock” co-written with Tom Monte and made into a feature film by director Ang Lee. During the summer of ’69 Tiber helped start the gay liberation movement and saved the Woodstock Festival from cancellation. This must-read book and perfect XMAS present begins as Elliot heads to Hollywood to fulfill his dreams in the movie industry driving his recently purchased Cadillac with a duffle bag filled with $50,000 in cash all acquired from his Woodstock Festival windfall. Finally breaking free from his parents he heads on a cross-country road trip adventure with just the guidance of maps provided by his father. Hollywood doesn’t quite turn out as he expected but the adventure continues. Along the way Tiber meets the love of his life Belgian playwright and director André Ernotte. Over the course of their twenty-seven year relationship, Tiber realizes his potential as a humorist and writer and finds a way to cope with his difficult mother whose second wedding in the hills of Israel gives new meaning to the Wailing Wall. The relationship is tested by the AIDS crisis and a string of professional disappointments but ultimately endures the test of time. We talked to Tiber about the inspiration for his new memoir and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Tiber stated, “It’s amazing to me there is such a movement and such an organization that’s worldwide because when I was coming out there were no groups, there was nobody to talk to. There were no companions, no people you could come out and say ‘Hey I’m gay and you’re gay let’s be friends’, no such thing. So seeing this develop into a movement it’s very inspiring to me and hopeful to me. I’m 80 years old now, it’s a little late for me and I’m in forced celibacy now at 80. I feel good that the new generation have a model someplace to look to find some answers and carry on with their own lives and hopefully these people go the next step further. I don’t know what that would be at the moment but the next step further so that we’re all equal which we should be.”

 Elliot Tiber has written and produced numerous award winning plays, musical comedies, television shows and films. As a professor of comedy writing and performance he has taught at the New School University and Hunter College in Manhattan. His first novel, “Rue Haute” was a bestseller in Europe and was published in the US under the title “High Street”. His second book “Taking Woodstock” was made into a fabulous 2009 film by Ang Lee starring Demetri Martin, Henry Goodman, Dan Fogler, Eugene Levy, Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch and Liev Schrieber. Currently Tiber is a highly sought-after lecturer and hopes he can inspire new LGBT generations with his latest memoir “After Woodstock: The True Story of a Belgian Movie, an Israeli Wedding and a Manhattan Breakdown” published by Square One Publishers and available on Amazon.
For More Info: squareonepublishers.com

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Kate Clinton LGBT Year End Review & More









In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Kate Clinton our favorite political humorist about her annual LGBT year end review and chat about what 2016 will bring. This has definitely been the year for marriage equality with the Supreme Court ruling finally making gay and lesbian marriage legal in all fifty states. Now we’re focusing on ENDA the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and transgender rights as Caitlyn Jenner and others have advanced these long overdue issues to the forefront. Kate also talked about how fabulous that more LGBT stories have found their way into mainstream media including the Tony Award winning musical “Fun Home” on Broadway and Phyllis Nagy’s latest screenplay “Carol” starring Cate Blanchett that recently won the New York Film Critics Circle for Best Screenplay and Best Film. We talked to Kate about how even though we have accomplished marriage equality in America we still have a lot more work to do to achieve full LGBT equality.

When asked what she would like to see happen for LGBT civil rights in 2016 Clinton stated, “What I would like to see for LGBT rights in 2016 is a continuation of what I see as a whole exciting new generation of LGBT leaders, and they wouldn’t even say they’re leaders because they don’t have a hierarchical idea of what they do. They’re activists, they’re feminists, and the people who are moving for example the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and these are young black feminists, some gay some straight and they’re involved in that and fearless, absolutely fearless work in immigration. So I think there’s this incredible new generation of LGBT activists who are in so many other wonderful social movements like the movement for climate change, the movement for women’s reproduction rights and I’m very excited and I want to see a continuation of that into 2016 because they are great activists, great strategists, they’re unbelievably hopeful and joyful and not stung by the outrageous slings of the internet. They just go on and they really make a difference in everyday people’s lives. In immigration some young people are doing voter registration and telling people ‘Well I can’t vote because I’m undocumented. I know you don’t care about voting but would you vote for me if I were voting?’ I think it’s fabulous. I’m very excited about what’s happening and hoping that we can make the connection with electoral politics. Just two words, Supreme Court. I’m done…”

Clinton is also very involved with NCLR (The National Center for Lesbian Rights) and LPAC (Lesbian Political Action Committee) conceptualized by her wife Urvashi Vaid to give lesbians a real and meaningful seat at the political table. LPAC is a political action committee (PAC) that builds the political power of LGBTQ women by electing candidates who champion LGBTQ rights, women’s equality and social justice. With 2016 being a presidential election year it is crucial that we elect candidates that support women’s rights and our LGBT community. Currently Kate is working on a new book of essays and about to launch her new show WAKE UP CALL she’ll be performing nationally in 2016.
For More Info & Shows: kateclinton.com











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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Writer Phyllis Nagy Discusses Her Film “Carol” (AUDIO)













UPDATE:  Phyllis Nagy has been nominated for an Oscar Best Adapted Screenplay for “Carol”
--> In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with writer-director Phyllis Nagy about her latest screenplay “Carol” starring Cate Blanchett in the title role that just won her the New York Film Critics Circle for Best Screenplay. Actually "Carol" also won the New York Film Critics Circle for Best Film. This much anticipated romantic film is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s important novel “The Price of Salt” that endured a 18 year journey to bring it to the screen. The movie follows two women from very different class backgrounds who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As a period piece it's beautifully directed by Todd Haynes who also won New York Film Critics Circle for Best Director along with cinematographer Ed Lachman who won New York Film Critics Circle for Best Cinematography. “Carol” is an important film to see especially by our LGBT millennial generation to reflect just how far our community has advanced. Nagy delivers a beautiful and honest story within the conventional norms of the time. The story is about a young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) who is working as a saleswoman in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter becomes more challenging as their love deepens. When Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage her husband (Kyle Chandler) begins to question her competence as a mother as her involvement with Therese and her relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) come to light. The refreshing aspect to “Carol” is that the story is not problematic because the relationship is between two women but instead the characters just have complicated issues like everyone else. We talked to Phyllis about her journey bringing “Carol” to fruition and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Nagy stated, “I’m an out lesbian, I always have been and I think by leading my life openly as possible and trying to inspire other people to do that and help other people do that, I don’t know if there could be a bigger commitment than that, to inspire people not to hide, let’s say. When one’s creating one’s work it’s important to include out interesting characters. They don’t have to be saints. It’s preferable that they’re not, but that they are presented as real people with real complexities who are neither burdened by having the weight of centuries of sexual attitudes behind them nor burdened by having to represent every single gay person on earth. Just real honest characters behaving in a world that either accepts them or does not, but how they behave in that space reflects well on them.”

“Carol” is Phyllis Nagy’s second film with Number 9 Films and Killer Films. Their first collaboration was the Emmy nominated HBO film “Mrs. Harris” written and directed by Nagy. Phyllis’s stage adaptations and translations have also included Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”. Currently she’s at work on two new film adaptations of “The Trap” a novel by Melanie Raabe for TriStar and “The Luneburg Variation” a novel by Paolo Maurensig for Raindog Films, with Colin Firth attached to star. “Carol” is now playing in limited release by The Weinstein Company.
For More Info: carolfilm.com
 
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