Out There:: Vanquishing Prop 8 & Hate

It's the High Holy Days for LGBT folks in San Francisco this week, and Out There is feeling that old-time religion! The gayest of gay weeks began for us last Thursday night at the Castro Theatre, which was opening night of Frameline 38, the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. Directors Ben Cotner and Ryan White were in the house for the screening of "The Case Against 8," their chronicle of the five-year battle that toppled the California electorate's odious and happily now-defunct Proposition 8.

Also attending the glamorous opening night were the four plaintiffs of the case, Kris Perry, Sandy Stier, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, and they were greeted with sustained, heartfelt ovations as they took the Castro stage along with the directors for a post-film Q&A. Other luminaries in the audience included Judge Vaughn Walker and Hollywood macher/LGBT ally Rob Reiner. It was an unusually compelling opening-night film that really brought the community together, as the subject matter attracted marriage equality activists, politicos, cable-television types, as well as the typical Frameline audience of filmies and their admirers. Frameline announced the selection of its new executive director, Frances Wallace, who had been acting executive director since the spring. Wallace took the stage as a vision in hot pink.

We chatted with filmmakers and other festival types at the Frameline afterparty that was held at Terra Gallery. The night being unusually temperate for San Francisco, half of the party attendees were chilling in the gallery's outdoor space.

The next night, the Pride bandwagon rolled on, as OT & Pepi attended Mark Rhoades' 7th annual Pride Kick-Off Party in the Pavilion Room & Garden Court of the Fairmont Hotel. Again, much of the action was outside in the garden, although the pavilion also enticed with its glamour. As always, Rhoades' affair was a suave cocktail-party scene full of handsome revelers. We chatted with several fascinating partygoers, then made our way to Civic Center for the opening party of Gorgeous at the Asian Art Museum. The combination of icons of modern art from the SFMOMA collection with artifacts of world art from the AAM collection made for provocative and stimulating juxtapositions. Kind of like our life during Pride Week.

Human Behavior

This week, arts writer Tavo Amador profiles openly gay Hollywood Studio-era director George Cukor, and recommends a few of his best films. As the gay icing on the fruitcake, here's an amusing anecdote from Cukor's life and times. Reportedly, on the first day of rehearsals for "The Women," Cukor gathered stars Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Mary Boland, and Joan Fontaine on the set, and warned, "Pull in your claws, girls. We've got a movie to make."

His admonition did not work. Crawford clanked her knitting needles during Shearer's close-ups. Shearer kept insisting that Crawford have plainer gowns. Russell started calling in sick until she got over-the-title billing. Girls will apparently be girls.

And our favorite newspaper correction of the summer so far came from the Sports section of The New York Times. "An article in some editions on Thursday about the respect Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has earned from his rivals quoted incorrectly in some copies from comments by Lloyd McClendon, the manager of the Seattle Mariners. In praising Ellsbury, he said, 'He's what you would call a dirt rag,' not a 'dirtbag.' " High praise indeed! Play ball!