(OUTview AMERICA) INTER-view: Screenwriter and director Brian O'Donnell on AKRON, One of the most inventive Gay coming-of-age films ever is finally out on DVD and VOD!

by MK Scott

At the 2015 Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival I was thrilled to see a new coming of age film about two Gay college students who are conflicted by a family secret. (This was in my Top 5 of the best films at the 2015 SLGFF.)

What I found was an inventive tale of two Gay lovers with no coming out issues, no health issues or small community conflicts, it is a simple story of two families that dealt with a family tragedy and how it will affect the family now that old wounds resurface.

The film synopsis from the AKRON website reads:
Benny and Christopher, college freshmen, meet playing football and begin a relationship. They fall in love supported by their family and friends. As their love for each other grows, a past tragic event involving their mothers comes to light. This revelation tests their own love and Benny's close-knit family.

Throughout this reflective love story, with the beauty of rural Ohio as its backdrop, Benny travels an emotional journey that examines both his own feelings and his family's ability to come to terms with the past. AKRON is a sensitive and unique independent film that puts a progressive, Midwestern spin on a classic family drama.

So I was doubly thrilled to have a chance to speak with writer/director, Brian O'Donnell by phone.

(OUTview AMERICA) EXCLUSIVE INTER-view: NW native and rising star Angus MacLane on theater, animation and Finding Dory!

by MK Scott

I am always in awe of local people who have achieved success. The Pixar film, Finding Dory was a summer hit and it was co-directed by Northwest bred, Angus MacLane.

MacLane and I were raised in Beaverton, Oregon and we both attended Beaverton High School and owe our success to one man, our mentor and drama teacher, James N. Erickson. Other big names came from our theater program as well, including Broadway stars Brooks Ashmanskas and Shoshana Bean, NPR's Ari Shapiro, and Out Magazine writer and actor Jesse Archer.

I reached out to Angus for an interview last summer, and we finally connected just in time for Finding Dory's DVD/VOD release.

(OUTview AMERICA) Carrie Turns 40 and hits BluRay Today: See MK's 2013 Chat with Sissy Spacek!

In 1976, Carrie, the "absolutely spellbinding horror movie" (Roger Ebert) directed by Brian DePalma (Scarface, The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill) and based on the best-selling Stephen King novel, premiered in theaters, forever changing the landscape of horror films, and launching much of its outstanding cast into stardom.

TODAY (10/11), the SCREAM FACTORY™ home entertainment brand celebrates the 40th anniversary of the film with a 2-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray release which includes a brand new 4K scan of the film and nearly 3 hours of bonus material.

The first film adaptation of a Stephen King book, Carrie was a box office hit, garnering Academy Award® nominations for the up and coming star Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter), and film veteran Piper Laurie (The Hustler), a rare accomplishment for the horror genre at the time. Featuring the first major film roles for John Travolta, who was then starring in TV's Welcome Back Kotter, Nancy Allen (RoboCop) and William Katt (The Greatest American Hero), Carrie was also the big screen debut for Amy Irving (Yentl), P.J. Soles (Halloween) and Betty Buckley (Eight Is Enough).

MK w/ Spacek in 2013              (Wang)

At the center of the film's terror is Carrie (Spacek), a high school loner with no confidence, no friends... and no idea about the extent of her secret powers of telekinesis. But when her psychotic mother and sadistic classmates finally go too far, the once-shy teen becomes an unrestrained, vengeance-seeking powerhouse who, with the help of her 'special gift,' causes all hell to break loose in a famed cinematic frenzy of blood, fire and brimstone.

Over the last 40 years the ultimate revenge fantasy has become one of the all-time great horror classics, and Carrie is now, finally, offered as a definitive, two-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray.

In 2013, I had the opportunity to chat with Sissy Spacek on the Red Carpet at SIFF minutes before receiving her lifetime achievement award.

(OUTview AMERICA) Director, Gillian Armstrong on "ORRY-KELLY: Women He's Undressed', Coming to DVD and VOD ON 8/9!

by MK Scott

Who was Orry-Kelly? The name is forgotten but he was the King of Hollywood costumes from the 1930's to the early 1960's and was Australia's first Hollywood Star.

Kelly had a secret long-term relationship with Archie Leach (aka Cary Grant) before even moving to Hollywood and garnered 3 Oscars for his designs for An American in Paris, Les Girls, and Some Like It Hot.

Now, his life and work can finally celebrated in the DVD release of  Women He's Undressed. It is more than a documentary, it is part narrative as Orry (played very campy by Aussie, Darren Gilshenan) as well as some great interviews from Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Scotty Bowers (At your Service) and Gay Hollywood expert, William Mann (Wisecracker).

I had a chance to chat with the director, Gillian Armstrong about her film and legacy of Orry-Kelly.

(OUTview AMERICA) MK's 'JOINT' Inter-view with the Stars of 'You're Killing Me" now out on VOD and DVD!

George Hopes Joe is Joking!                 Wolfe

by MK Scott

George (Jeffery Self), a narcissistic wannabe internet star, starts dating Joe (Matthew McKelligon), a monotone serial killer. While all of George's friends agree that Joe seems a bit strange, George claims his new beau "isn't scary, he's gorgeous." But as George's friends start to disappear, the remaining group decides to take matters into their own hands.

Directed by Jim Hansen, creator of the viral video smash series "The Chloe Videos", this gay mixture of "Dexter" and "Gilmore Girls" blends witty banter, pop culture references and good old-fashioned murder. YOU'RE KILLING ME employs humor, camp, and razor sharp wit to tell a morality tale about self-obsession and our growing disconnection with the world around us. After sold out festival screenings and critical acclaim last year, the film is now available to nationwide audiences.

Starring popular gay actor Matthew McKelligon (Interior. Leather. Bar., Eastsiders, and My Sweet Suicide), Jeffery Self (Logo's "Jeffery & Cole Casserole"), Drew Droege (The Chloe Videos), Mindy Cohn ("The Secret Life of the American Teenager"), and Edi Patterson ("Blackish," "Partners").

(OUTscene AMERICA): INTER-view: What a Sissy....A Revealing Moment with 'Man at Bath's' Francois Sagat, Finally on DVD!

From Porn to Film Star?

by Adrian Ryan

So I says to Francois Sagat, I says, “Francois! I understand that this is probably the most obvious question in the universe and that you’ve been asked it over and over and over again, but! Do you plan to embrace your porn career as you move forward into mainstream films, or play it down?”

And Francois Sagat says? “I don’t want to do mainstream films. I like porn.”

Well. Okeedokee then. (And with his deep French accent and his pouty French lips, the word "porn" sound like “prawn”. Adorable.)

(OUTscene AMERICA) Classic EXCLUSIVE with Leon Acord, Creator and star of Old Dogs & New Tricks, available on DVD Now!

 by MK Scott

The hit Web Soap, 'Old Dogs and New Tricks is Out on DVD this week from Wolfe Video. To Promote it, I am re-posting my May interview with the Creator, Writer, Star, Leon Acord and I had a great chat as he told me what is in store for the show, Hopes of the future and How the LGBT Media really feels about Gay men over 50: