Reverend's Interview: Haley Joel Osment, From “I See Dead People” to “I Play Gay People”

When he was the ripe old age of 11, actor Haley Joel Osment was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as the traumatized, ghost-plagued child in The Sixth Sense.  Soon after, he was acting for Steven Spielberg as an android yearning to be human in the Oscar-nominated sci-fi adventure A.I. Artificial Intelligence.  Other prominent roles followed in Pay It Forward and Secondhand Lions.  Then he entered college and essentially disappeared, by choice, from the public eye.

Today, Haley Osment (he drops the “Joel” in casual conversation, and has also been dubbed “HaJo” by some press wags) is back in a big way… and playing gay.  The 24-year old sports earrings, piercings and cutoff short-shorts in writer-director Coley Sohn’s debut feature, Sassy Pants.  He plays Chip, a flamboyant bartender who is also the much younger boyfriend of the heroine’s gay father.  This funny but heartfelt dramedy will screen at Outfest on Saturday, July 14th.

Osment recently spoke with me from Toronto, where he is filming I’ll Follow You Down with gay actor Victor Garber (Godspell, Titanic), Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) and Rufus Sewell (the current Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter).  Osment is straight but clearly not concerned about that being his primary defining characteristic.

CC:  In Sassy Pants, you are sporting a very different look.  Was this your first time wearing Daisy Dukes?

HJO: Yes, it was. (Laughs)  It was a lightning-fast shoot and I showed up a few days into it.  We had a lot of fun putting this character’s look together.

CC:  What was it about this character or script that attracted you?

HJO: I read it just a week before.  They called me on a whim and asked if I would do it.  I loved the kaleidoscope, the spectrum of characters in the film.

CC:  Did you have any gay influences or models for the character?

HJO: I think we all wanted to avoid Chip being based on any one person.  However, there is an online database of hairstyles we looked at to help determine his look (laughs).

CC: What was fame at an early age like for you?

HJO: I remember it very well and really enjoyed it.  (Osment’s first big-screen appearance was actually as the title character’s son in Forrest Gump, Oscar's Best Picture of 1994.)  It had its material benefits, but I mostly enjoyed the work and the chance to look at great scripts.  That still guides me in the acting choices I make.

CC: Do you have a favorite role or film to date?

HJO: It’s hard to choose a favorite, but as an experience A.I. really stands out.  It was months of prep and shooting, learning to film underwater, and of course working with Spielberg from Stanley Kubrick’s original story.

CC: What are you working on now?

HJO: Well, I’m set to do Wake the Dead (an update of the Frankenstein story in which he’ll play a college-aged mad scientist) later this year, and may squeeze in two other films this summer.  I definitely want to do more theatre (Osment co-starred with John Leguizamo in a 2008 Broadway revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo and majored in theatre at NYU).

CC: Are you planning to attend the Outfest screening of Sassy Pants?

HJO: I’m going to try to get there.  I know there are a couple of fests (the film’s writer-director) Coley is trying to get me to.

So, dear readers, if you want to potentially meet the Oscar-nominated star of several of the most successful films of the last 18 years, plan to see Sassy Pants this weekend.

Interview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend's Previw: Outfest at 30

In 1982, the Rubik’s Cube was all the rage, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was the #1 movie, and Madonna’s career was just beginning.  It was also the year a group of GLBT volunteers at UCLA first organized what would become Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.  That initial event featured a mere three films: Taxi Zum Klo, Making Love and the lesser-known Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man.

Outfest 2012, which is set to take place July 12th-22nd, will celebrate the global growth of GLBT-themed films over the last three decades with special anniversary screenings of those movies as well as the Los Angeles premieres of 147 productions from 24 countries.  Outfest is today the oldest of the many annual film festivals in LA and the leading GLBT festival in the US.

“In this 30th anniversary year, it is remarkable to see the evolution of queer storytelling,” said Outfest’s Executive Director, Kirsten Schaffer.  ”Outfest began with just three films, and now we are screening nearly 150 high-quality movies that represent the rich diversity of our community; stories that contribute to changing culture and attitudes about LGBT people.”  Several of the most prominent queer filmmakers of the last thirty years — including Gregg Araki (The Living End), Rose Troche (Go Fish) and Tommy O’Haver (Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss) — will be feted during a special “Directors Tell All” program on July 15th.

Opening night gala events on Thursday, July 12th will include the LA premiere of the excellent documentary Vito, about author/historian Vito Russo of The Celluloid Closet fame, as well as presentation of the 16th annual Outfest Achievement Award to John Waters.  Waters needs little introduction as the writer-director of such contemporary classics as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, Hairspray, Pecker (my personal favorite), A Dirty Shame and, of course, Serial Mom.

For me, Outfest wouldn’t be complete each year without its Sing-Along Musical night at Hollywood’s Ford Amphitheater.  This year’s selection, largely in tribute to Waters, is the 2007 musical version of Hairspray starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah and Zac Efron.  It will be held the evening of Thursday, July 19th.  Attendees are encouraged to dress in costume as characters from the film and, naturally, to sing along.

Other movies being shown during Outfest 2012 that I have seen in advance and recommend highly include: Sassy Pants (see my interview with one of its stars, Oscar nominee Haley Joel Osment, later this week); the International Centerpiece film Young & Wild; local filmmaker Aurora Guerrero’s lesbian romance Mosquita y Mari; the sweet Slamdance Film Festival award-winner Heavy Girls, from Germany; the Swedish girl-on-girl tale Kiss Me; Stud Life, from Great Britain; and Katherine Brooks’ Facebook expose, Face 2 Face.  For a complete listing of films or to purchase tickets for screenings and related events, please visit the Outfest website or call (213) 480-7065.

Quentin Lee is another prominent queer filmmaker who has been featured at Outfest several times.  The director of such Asian-fusion movies as Drift and The People I’ve Slept With is back this year with White Frog, a moving family drama that incorporates homosexuality, conservative Christianity and Asperger’s Syndrome.  It boasts a great cast that includes Glee’s Harry Shum Jr., out actor BD Wong, the lovely Joan Chen (The Last Emperor; Lust, Caution) and, in a potentially star-making performance, Boo Boo Stewart (The Twilight Saga).  The Hong Kong-born Lee took time out just prior to starting work on a new film, provocatively titled Chink, to speak with me about White Frog.

“Reaction to the film has been really good,” Lee reported.  “We’ve played one festival so far (the San Francisco International Asian American Film Fest); kids, in particular, really loved the movie.”

The central story in White Frog is about two brothers (Shum and Stewart) afflicted by what others may perceive as “handicaps” who are being raised by fundamentalist Christian parents (Wong and Chen).  When tragedy strikes, one of them must stand up to defend his brother’s honor and become the man he is meant to be.

The screenplay, written by Ellie Wen but shepherded by Tony Award-winning playwright and producer David Henry Hwang, found its way to Lee via Facebook.  “What happened was a year and a half ago, the writer contacted me on Facebook and said, ‘Hey, I’d love for you to direct this!’  It was very personal for them, the story of someone they knew who died and hadn’t been able to come out.  I liked too that it was about two generations and multi-cultural.”

In the film, a traditional story is related of a young frog that is encased in a coconut and emerges completely white (hence the movie’s title).  When asked about this, Lee responded: “We were thinking, ‘Was the white frog something good or is it something bad?’  We decided it was a metaphor for how parents raise and form their children.”

White Frog makes a number of nods to the New Testament and traditional Christian themes of rebirth and resurrection.  Lee shared about his own diverse religious background: “My father was an atheist; I went to Protestant schools and have a Christian background but am not particularly religious.  I hope the movie encourages discussion and debate about Christian conservatism.”

What Lee did not know while he was immersed in pre-production on White Frog was that his own sister was struggling with Asperger’s Syndrome.  She was diagnosed just two weeks before cameras rolled.  While “totally coincidental,” according to Lee, it brought an unexpected resonance and heft to the project.

“I hope the film sparks more discussion among younger people about both homosexuality and Asperger’s, these controversial topics,” Lee said.

White Frog will screen at Outfest on July 21st.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Men on Film: Magical or Magic-less?

I don't know how a movie about strippers can manage to be simultaneously leering and coy, but such is the case with Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike. The surprise hit has been drawing hordes of screaming women and, to my observation, quieter but not necessarily less enthusiastic groups of gay men since it opened last Friday. While unique as a movie-going experience (at least during opening weekend) the film is strictly standard issue despite its exotic setting and Oscar-winning director.

The suddenly omnipresent Channing Tatum stars (and inspired the plot) as the title character, who performs at a female-oriented Miami nightclub as part of a troupe of male stripper-dancers. He takes an aimless 19-year old (Alex Pettyfer, the alien teen in I Am Number Four) under his wing and they soon become, at the younger’s stated insistence, best friends. But Magic Mike isn’t able to protect his charge from the temptations of drugs, greed, indiscriminate sex and disloyalty that are, if this film is to be believed, part-and-parcel with the stripping vocation.

Matthew McConaughey gives the film’s best performance as the club’s charismatic yet occasionally sinister owner. He’s something of a buffer, tanner version of Joel Grey’s emcee in Cabaret. Rounding out the troupe are familiar faces Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Matt Bomer (the out star of White Collar), Kevin Nash and Adam Rodriguez. Sadly, though, Reid Carolin’s by-the-numbers screenplay doesn’t allow for much to be revealed of these supporting characters other than their bare chests and butts. Meanwhile, actress Cody Horn is less than impressive as Mike’s romantic interest, sporting exactly one facial expression throughout the film except when she laughs while taking a sandbar stroll.

I’m no connoisseur of male strip shows, although I have been known to stuff a few dollars (neatly folded, never crumpled) into a few g-strings in my time. To its credit, Magic Mike captures well the stylish yet seedy veneer of many such clubs. The strip/dance numbers are also well-staged and –photographed. Strangely, though, the movie tends to obscure or cut quickly away from the mens’ full-frontal yet thong-clad moments. There is stage humping and lap dancing galore but we rarely get even a veiled hint of the actors’ natural endowments. While incidental, such coyness in this heavily-trumpeted celebration of man-flesh struck me as odd and maybe even hypocritical. There also isn't a single gay character in the film but it does feature a bisexual female character.

More than a few reputable fellow critics have bestowed laurels upon Magic Mike, largely thanks to Soderbergh’s reputation. While Mr. S. does fine work with what he’s given, it ultimately amounts to little of substance. You may be able to pad a stripper’s pouch but not this film’s barely mediocre script.

Reverend's Rating: C-

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Channing Tatum really comes into his own in Magic Mike, which is fitting since the film was inspired by his own experiences as a stripper in Florida. Director Steven Soderbergh, best known for Erin Brockovich and last year’s disappointing Contagion, brings some cinematic class and depth to the story of a group of rowdy strippers in Tampa, Florida.

Led by Matthew McConaughey in a gonzo performance as club owner Dallas, Magic Mike is as sexy and fun as you could hope for, at least in the first half. There are plenty of hilarious and raunchy strip numbers where the gorgeous cast really gets to show off their stuff. The latter half of the movie feels more like a hangover after a drunken bachelorette party, but that is in keeping with the film’s segue into the darker side of the dirty dancing business.

In addition to Tatum, who plays Mike, a stud with his eye on more than working construction, detailing cars and, most lucratively, baring it all at Club Xquisite, the cast includes True Blood’s tall, dark and studly Joe Manganiello as Big Dick Richie, the Fireman. We don’t get to see nearly enough of his well-endowed character off stage, but you do get to see evidence onstage of where he got his name. Manganiello deserves more screen time, as do his fellow dance studs. Newly out hunk Matt Bomer plays Ken, a stud with a wife who likes to swing with his fellow dancers and is very into the partying lifestyle. (Look for Elvis’ granddaughter Riley Keough in Bomer’s big scene; she’s the one with the piglet!) Also, Ugly Betty’s Latin lover Adam Rodriguez co-stars as Tito, who doesn’t figure into the story very much but does add a lot of nice eye candy during the dance routines.

At 6’10” and fifty-two years old, Tarzan (WWE wrestler Kevin Nash, a.k.a. Big Sexy) is the biggest and oldest of the guys, but he’s made of pure muscle. He’s definitely the homeliest dancer in the bunch. Overdoing it with a drug cocktail supplied by the club’s DJ, he leaves an opening in the act for Alex Pettyfer’s character nicknamed The Kid. Pettyfer’s Adam meets Tatum’s Mike at a construction site where Adam manages to get fired the first day. Mike gives him a lift home, where he meets Adam’s over-protective sister Brooke, played by Cody Horn, the daughter of Walt Disney Chairman Alan F. Horn. This becomes notable when Horn’s deadpan acting leaves you wondering why she was cast.

Mike makes Adam the slacker into a stripper star, and like Margo Channing in All About Eve and Cristal Connors in Showgirls, the older star watches as his protégé becomes more and more enamored with the lifestyle as Mike becomes more serious and disillusioned.

Tatum is unbelievably cute in Magic Mike, even making a scene with a loan officer sexy. His charisma actually brings his costar Horn to life, which is a miracle. The blonde Hilary Swank look-alike’s performance is so dry, she makes Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny look like Meryl Streep in comparison. Mike’s infatuation with such an uptight drip is the film’s biggest flaw. Pettyfer, who looks like Ashton Kutcher in this film, plays Adam with a mysterious blankness, but the scene where he blithely dismisses a huge gesture of friendship by Mike plays so false and hollow, it’s phonier than the scene is intended.

Of course, Magic Mike is all about the stripping, and on that count, it doesn’t disappoint. The group numbers and Tatum’s gymnastic solo dance routines will make you want to pitch dollars at the screen. Until, that is,  the film turns serious and Adam starts messing around with the sleazier side of the business, including a tryst with Elvis’ granddaughter Riley Keough.

Magic Mike is hilarious and light-hearted entertainment. It may also be the only Hollywood film where a penis pump is shown in use. Although the story of a guy who begins to question his fun-loving, fast-partying life was old when John Travolta did it in Saturday Night Fever, Tatum and director Soderbergh make Magic Mike a surprisingly moving peep show.

Reel Thoughts Rating: B

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Have a Super 4th of July!