Festival's abuzz over big numbers for 'Brokeback'

Ruthe Stein Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Headlocks and cowboys.  He is not even struggling. He loves it.Park City, Utah  In the midst of Utah's Wasatch Mountain Front, another mountain was commanding most of the attention at the Sundance Film Festival. "Brokeback Mountain" took in $8 million at the box office over the weekend, bringing its total to well over $40 mil -- an impressive figure for a movie still in limited release.

"It's in the air," said Ellen Huang, who spends much of her time at the Queer Lounge, a comfy meeting place she started for the gay filmmaking community, stylishly furnished with gray sofas, a large red ottoman and black-and-white blowups of icons like Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra, whom it's hard to imagine playing gay cowboys.

Being a cowboy can be tons of fun.   She's had frequent conversations about the impact the odds-on favorite to win the best picture Oscar will probably have on mainstream moviemaking. "Hollywood had a certain idea of how gay films with gay leading characters are going to do, and 'Brokeback' is changing those preconceptions," Huang said.

Speaking of happy, the following morning at the annual queer brunch, John Waters proclaimed himself over the moon about Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman being front-runners for best actor. "We're going to have the queer Oscars this year," Waters said. "But I'm still waiting for a gay actor to be nominated for playing a gay man."

Pink Flamingos by John Waters is a classic. You need a strong stomach to watch this movie.For complete article click here

Comments

[Tanuki]

Pink Flamingos!
Another classic. I can't believe you actually
remember that film, starring Divine--who's an
eggregious a tranny who ever graced the stage.
Ugly and outrageous, but pretty funny. I remember
going to see it in around 1974/1975, or there-
abouts, and being totally grossed out by her last
yucky antic with the DS. What ever happend to her ? I think I'll go out and rent it tonight! *&@$#*

[Lori Victoria Braun]

I do remember Pink Flamingos very well. I loved that movie for some strange reason. Divine passed away just when John Waters was getting popular. I think it was right after Hairspray the movie was filmed that Divine died. Well, I hope that if you rented the movie tonight you did not eat much before.

[Tanuki]

Especially striking was her shoplifting a steak and keeping it warm on the way home in her own "little oven". Since 197x I've wondered if some women actually did that.