A new, darkly comic Web series called EastSiders premiered on Friday. It's described as "a look at a gay couple's attempt to stay together through infidelity, drunken outbursts and double standards."
I know you're getting sick of Web series, but this one is great—terrific acting, top talent (Van Hansis, Stephen Guarino, Constance Wu, John Halbach and more)...
Above, a gallery of the best-lookin' cast since Paper Dolls in the '80s!
I spent some time with the cast of Hustling in honor of its second season premiere last night, including a revealing Q&A with creator/director/star Sebastian La Cause:
The episodes we screened contained precious little of hysterical Stephen Guarino (as a porn agent) and Gary Cowling (as a career counselor)—these two should get their own spin-off!—but were otherwise filled with what we've come to expect from La Cause's hustling drama: solid acting, witty writing and unexpected situations. This season also benefits from much better production values, even though I though the kick-off season was already remarkably well done on a shoestring.
Rubin-Vega directed us to the after-party: "There's a party in your mouth and everybody's comin'!"
Daphne Rubin-Vega continues to bring real depth to a part that could easily have been a throwaway, and veteran actress Sharon Washington is on hand as the trash-talking mom who will never understand her son's direction in life.
La Cause honors Movember while celebrating his second season
Cowling gets handsy with the boss
Boys, boys, boys: Cowling, Robert Montano, La Cause, Glaszek & Rodriguez
A little atmosphere, including La Cause's introductory speech, can be soaked up here.
While there, I ran into my buddies Andrew Glaszek, one of the main stars, and Guto Bittencourt. Both, like La Cause, are Broadway Bares alumni. Guto's got a hot song and video that's about to drop (stay tuned) and Andrew was teasing us about sexy developments involving his Hustling character. Sounds like La Cause's character has been a bad influence!
After-party boys Guto & Andrew
Speaking of which, this season definitely ups the ante when it comes to sexy scenes; everyone was showing ass crack, including Guarino (who I bet had that in his contract—he's proud of it!) and there were several tastefully and tastily filmed horizontal throw-downs, including an eye-opening kick-off featuring a busty Wilson Cruz.
If anything about the series feels unreal, it's how appealing the johns are. But while titillating, the hustling isn't really the core of Hustling, ironically.
Who nose? Rodriguez plays a pornstar who parties a little too hard...
Make sure to watch at www.hustling.tv or via the official YouTube channel.
After the jump, a bonus interview with new (and caliente) cast member Facundo Rodriguez...
"That's for making me work so fucking hard!"
(1) I enjoyed this surprise party for Madonna in celebration of MDNA going to #1 in 22 countries (including the U.S.). Madonna is so clueless at first since they're yelling "surprise!" and "B-Day Song" is playing. She's probably thinking, "Not yet, assholes!"
(2) Also, ABC's hysterical, underrated show Happy Endings had a plot featuring its gay character's past in an all-male Madonna tribute band (these should exist!) called Mandonna. It was really sweet and funny, and my pal Stephen Guarino continues to be the Karen Walker of the show—hard to do when every single cast member has great timing and brings something to the table.
Poster-art brilliance from here
and, most importantly...
(3) I was on Larry Flick's Morning Jolt show today with fellow superfan Sergio Kletnoy. We mixed it up about MDNA and I had a (friendly) debate with sidekick Keith Price about celebrities who come out either after their greatest success OR in conjunction with something they're trying to sell. Those bears are never hibernating, honey. Here is part one, and here is part two, or listen up here:
Madonna talk with Serge and Matthew Part 1 040512
Madonna talk with Serge and Matthew Part 2 040512
Surprise-party and Mandonna vids after the jump...
Went to the Quad tonight for the 7:15 show of BearCity, Doug Langway's bear rom com about a group of men looking for love, self-acceptance and the occasional cheap thrill, and was surprised how much of a good time I wound up having.
BEARCITY Cast & Creators @ The Quad NYC Premiere 10.22.10 from Matthew Rettenmund on Vimeo.
BearCity—co-written by Langway with film writer Lawrence Ferber—is sort of like a hairy, white Noah's Arc with some Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City thrown in. Tyler (first-time film actor Joe Conti) is a preppy thesp who's sick of acting like he isn't wildly attracted to bears. He meets furry partners Brent (Big Gay Sketch Show's Stephen Guarino) and Fred (Brian Keane) and is taken under their paws, finding himself introduced to 400-pound Michael (Gregory Gunter) and his cubby hubby BF Carlos (James Martinez) as well as the hottest bear in town, silver-haired and silver tongued Roger (CSI's Gerald McCullouch). Instant community!
Are they hirsute-able for each other?
Tyler falls hard for Roger, who seems to resist returning the favor to protect his rep among the muscle bears—as much as Tyler has felt expressing his attraction to bears to be a second coming out, Roger feels the same way about expressing his attraction to a non-bear.
The cast of BearCity recreates that True Blood cover of Rolling Stone for Next. That's honey they're covered in, you pervert.
My buddy Stephen Guarino's flick BearCity hits the Quad in NYC for a week starting this Friday, October 22. Guarino, the director and the writer will be at every 7:15 and 9:30 screening all week in case you want to ask them a question or cruise them.
If you've never seen LOGO's The Big Gay Sketch Show, you're in luck—its latest season (currently in a perpetual state of rerun) is by far its best, so you're not late to the party, you're right on time. One of its stand-outs, the versatile Stephen Guarino, has popped up in everything from Confessions of a Shopaholic to I Hate Valentine's Day and the DVD adaptation of the teen neo-classic The Clique, but like his TV series, he's now really hitting his stride with a meaty role in the new film BearCity. So much so that he just collected an award at Outfest as Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film.
BearCity is described as Sex and the City for the bear community, following a Chelsea twink (Joe Conti, pictured) with a secret attraction to big, hairy men. He's taken in by an older couple (one of whom is Guarino) as he pursues one of their sexy friends (Gerald McCullouch, also pictured). Love is in the hair...!
Guarino with co-star Brian Keane (L) and co-writer Lawrence Ferber. From here.
Currently on tour with a live version of Sketch and making personal appearances to plug BearCity, Guarino took time out for a quick interview on...(NSFW) Cam4.com. Yes, the Web cam sex site. It was probably the first time I had to compete with horny admirers while conducting an interview, and it was the first time I interviewed an actor who ended up with less clothing than he started out with.
Is Guarino a funny pervert or a perverted funnyman? Maybe he's just a great actor with a sense of humor and whose blood type is Viagra. Check the embedded video or click here to view his revealing session., in which he talks about his movie, his TV show, his dream role, his sexual predilections and what happens when co-star Sebastian La Cause enters.
The Outfest awards were announced and I'm so excited that my pal Stephen Guarino (of Big Gay Sketch Show fame) won the jury award for Outstanding Feature Actor for his performance in BearCity, which won Outstanding Screenplay (by Douglas Langway and Lawrence Ferber).
More awards here.
