CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Tarell Alvin McCraney: Black, Gay Genius!

Recently the MacArthur Foundation announced its latest roster of MacArthur Fellows, better known as the "genius grants" they are no-strings-attached $625,000 awards given directly to individuals "to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations."

At least two of this year's 2013 class of 24 winners are openly LGBT. Tarell Alvin McRaney, 32, is an award-winning playwright and Carrie Mae Weems, 60, is a well-known photographer. Here's a short description of this talented young gay Black man:

Tarell Alvin McCraney is a playwright exploring the rich diversity of the African American experience in works that imbue the lives of ordinary people with epic significance. Complementing his poetic, intimate language with a musical sensibility and rhythmic, often ritualistic movement, McCraney transforms intentionally minimalist stages into worlds marked by metaphor and imagery. 

His most well-known works, a triptych collectively titled The Brother/Sister Plays (2009), weave West African Yoruban cosmology into modern-day stories of familial self-sacrifice, unrequited love, and coming of age. The audience becomes an essential part of the story as the characters speak their stage directions and inner feelings directly to the viewers. In Head of Passes (2013) and Choir Boy (2012), McCraney draws on themes that run throughout the Book of Job and traditional spirituals, respectively, to explore the role of faith and tradition in two very different close-knit worlds. Head of Passes, set in the isolated marshlands of the Mississippi River Delta, dramatizes a matriarch’s struggle to maintain her faith as her world literally falls apart around her. In Choir Boy, students at an elite boarding school remain united in their dedication to performing traditional spirituals even as they navigate the fraught nature of adolescent self-expression.

It's nice to see the MacArthur Foundation recognize that "genius" comes in all different shapes, sizes and colors and is present in every community. Very psyched to see LGBT people of color recognized in this way!
Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

2012 EMMYS: The Winners!

Tonight the 2012 Emmy Awards were given out. I only correctly predicted 4 of 10 of the top categories in drama and comedy in my previous analysis of the nominations, although I did get the two biggest awards of the night right, which was the wins for ABC's Modern Family and Showtime's Homeland for Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series, respectively.

There were two upsets in the Lead Actor and Lead Actress Comedy Series, with Jon Cryer winning instead of openly gay 2-time Emmy-winner Jim Parson and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss winning for the wretched series Veep instead of either Tina Fey or Amy Poehler.

I was very psyched to see the accolades for  Homeland, which I caught on demand last Spring and quickly burned through watching 4 or 5 episodes in one weekend prior to the season finale in May. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis are simply amazing in this tautly written and brilliantly acted series which is a remake of an Israeli television series about a returning soldier (Lewis) who a mentally ill intelligence officer (Danes) thinks may have been turned into an enemy weapon.

The second season of Homeland starts next Sunday. Check it out!

Here are the results of the Top 10 Emmy awards in the Drama and Comedy categories.

Outstanding Comedy Series

• "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
• "Girls"
• "The Big Bang Theory"
• "Modern Family" (WINNER!)
• "Veep"
• "30 Rock"

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Zooey Deschanel - "New Girl"
• Lena Dunham - "Girls"
• Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
• Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus "Veep" (WINNER!)
• Melissa McCarthy - "Mike & Molly"
• Amy Poehler - "Parks and Recreation

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
• Louis CK - "Louie"
• Larry David - "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
• Jim Parsons - "The Big Bang Theory"
• Jon Cryer - "Two and a Half Men" (WINNER!)
• Don Cheadle - "House of Lies"

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

• Mayim Bialik - "The Big Bang Theory"
• Julie Bowen - "Modern Family" (WINNER!)
• Merritt Wever - "Nurse Jackie"
• Sofia Vergara - "Modern Family"
• Kristen Wiig - "Saturday Night Live"
• Kathryn Joosten - "Desperate Housewives"

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Ty Burrell - "Modern Family"
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson - "Modern Family"
• Ed O'Neil - "Modern Family"
• Eric Stonestreet - "Modern Family" (WINNER!)
• Max Greenfield - "New Girl"
• Bill Hader - "Saturday Night Live"

Outstanding Drama Series

• "Boardwalk Empire"
• "Breaking Bad"
• "Downton Abbey"
• "Game of Thrones"
• "Homeland" (WINNER!)
• "Mad Men"

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Kathy Bates - "Harry's Law"
• Claire Danes - "Homeland" (WINNER!)
• Glenn Close - "Damages"
• Julianna Margulies - "The Good Wife"
• Michelle Dockery - "Downton Abbey"
• Elizabeth Moss - "Mad Men"

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Steve Buscemi - "Boardwalk Empire"
• Bryan Cranston - "Breaking Bad"
• Michael C. Hall - "Dexter"
• Jon Hamm - "Mad Men"
• Hugh Bonneville - "Downton Abbey"
• Damian Lewis - "Homeland" (WINNER!)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

• Archie Punjabi - "The Good Wife"
• Anna Gunn - "Breaking Bad"
• Maggie Smith - "Downton Abbey" (WINNER!)
• Joanne Froggatt - "Downton Abbey"
• Christina Hendricks - "Mad Men"
• Christine Baranski - "The Good Wife"

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

• Aaron Paul - "Breaking Bad" (WINNER!)
• Giancaro Esposito - "Breaking Bad"
• Brendan Coyle - "Downton Abbey"
• Jim Carter - "Downton Abbey"
• Jared Harris - "Mad Men"
• Peter Dinklage - "Game of Thrones"

DRAMA! EQMD Head Fired After Major Legislative Setbacks

Morgan Meneses-Sheets

The executive director of Equality Maryland, Morgan Meneses-Sheets, who lead the organization while it suffered two defeats this year at enacting gender identity non-discrimination and full marriage equality has been abruptly fired by the board of directors, it was revealed on Friday.

Metro Weekly's Yusef Najafi has the complete statement from Meneses-Sheets:

It is with a heavy heart that I share that today will be my last day as the Executive Director of Equality Maryland. While it is not my choice to leave, it is my choice to make my voice heard as I exit. 

I've spent the last eighteen months at the helm of EQMD and this time has held some of the most rewarding moments of my career, but it has also been extremely difficult. In particular the past few months have been tough to bear. Not because of the hard work which I welcome and felt honored to be part of, but because of the forces within the organization and external politics that created additional and unnecessary obstacles to our forward movement and success. 

As I move on, I will not focus on the negative or destructive forces that created this untenable situation, instead I will look back at the many proud moments along the way. 

During my first months, Equality Maryland lead the successful efforts to protect the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s policy providing transgender Marylanders the opportunity to update their driver’s license to appropriately reflect their gender. This policy undeniably makes a difference in people’s lives. When you go to a grocery store and pay with a check or buy a glass of wine, you are asked for identification, and to have it match how you present yourself to the world protects you against discrimination and violence. I am proud of this success. 

I am proud that we have built a strong grassroots network throughout the state. I am proud that we identified new supporters, had more young people involved and created a diverse, thriving volunteer program. I am proud of our efforts during the 2010 elections, in particular our work to protect pro-equality Delegate Kris Valderrama and to oust Senator Alex Mooney who had a 0% voting record on LGBT issues. 

I am also extremely proud that together with the staff, our volunteers, our partners and many passionate and dedicated legislative allies that this year we got further than ever before in the goals to amend our state’s anti-discrimination laws to include protections on the basis of gender identity and to enacting full marriage equality. These are what many people call the “civil rights causes of our day” and it has been a privilege to be part of the movement to realize these incredibly important goals. 

I know that many in our community, myself included, were disappointed that we did not get to the finish line, but having done this work for many years I know that progress can take time. We created a strong foundation for future efforts. I look forward to celebrating continued success in Maryland’s fight for equality. 

Looking back, there are things that I could do differently, but lessons I learned I will always have with me. Know that I worked hard and I did my best with the tremendous staff alongside me. Together, we were able to move the organization further legislatively than ever before. 

I am sad that I will not be part of the team advancing critical protections for jobs, housing, credit and public accommodations for transgender Marylanders. I am disappointed that I was not provided the opportunity to continue to build and enhance the efforts to end the exclusion of loving and committed gay and lesbian couples from marriage. 

As a Marylander, as a lesbian, as a parent, as someone with many loved ones who are transgender, and as someone who believes in social justice I sincerely hope that Equality Maryland will succeed in their future endeavors to ensure that our state lives up to the promise of equality for all of its citizens. This will require significant changes, but it is possible. I hope that those who worked hard with my team will continue to be part of these endeavors so that we may also see a better future. 

I am excited to spend more time with my family as I have given up many precious hours with them to wage this battle. I am also excited for the opportunities that lay ahead for me.
I thank those who stood by my side. I am grateful to have met and worked with so many incredible people, many who I will continue to count as friends as I take the next steps in my journey.

I'm sure this will make some trans advocates happy, who were displeased that Equality Maryland agreed to move forward with HB 235, a bill that did not include public accommodations protections, but would have banned discrimination statewide on the basis of gender identity in education, housing and credit.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Town

I finally saw the film The Town directed by Ben Affleck which has a 94% rating at rottentomatoes.com while I was in Washington, D.C. on a business trip at the Ballston Mall.

The Town is a surprisingly good film, starring Affleck as Doug MacRay, the brains behind a gang of bank robbers in Boston, Massachusetts. In fact, a statement at the beginning of the movie claims that the Charlestown section of Boston (i.e. "The Town") has the most bank robbers and armored car robbers per capita of any community in the country. Also starring in the film are Jeremy Renner (Oscar nominated for last year's The Hurt Locker), Jon Hamm (star of television's Mad Men) and Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, Vicky Christina Barcelona). The film also features Oscar-winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation) as Doug's father, Stephen MacRay.

The plot is interesting and features excellent performances, primarily by Renner, Affleck and Hamm.. The story is a pastiche of a romantic drama featuring Hall and Affleck, a heist thriller with several scenes of numerous bank robberies executed like clockwork, and a cop procedural featuring Hamm and "the feds" as they trace Affleck and his brotherly gang of thieves. This is not  meant as a critique, but a fair description to illustrate Affleck's creativity as a writer. However, it as a director that Affleck really makes his mark. The Town moves swiftly, in an engrossing fashion. Although it is sometimes preposterous, and often quite violent, it is never boring.

Running Time: 2 hours, 4 minutes.
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use.
Release Date: September 17, 2010.
Seen: Sunday, November 14, 2010.

Plot: B+-.
Acting: A-.
Visuals: A-.
Impact: B+.

Overall Grade: A- (3.50/4.0).