Trailer: Struck By Lightning (Starring Chris Colfer)

Chris Colfer Tops NYT’s Bestsellers List

Dustin Lance Black’s Prop 8 Play Raises $2 Million

Via Press release:

On Saturday night, the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact presented the West Coast premiere reading of the play “8” before a sold-out crowd in Los Angeles and a worldwide audience watching on YouTube. “8” is an unprecedented account of the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry. Saturday night’s West Coast premiere reading of “8” was written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter and AFER Founding Board Member Dustin Lance Black and directed by AFER Founding Board Member Rob Reiner. Bryan Singer, acclaimed director of The Usual Suspects and X-Men, was Saturday night’s presenting sponsor. The benefit event raised more than $2 million for the fight to secure full federal marriage equality.

Prop 8: The Play

In case you missed it:

Featuring an all-star cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Lynch, Kevin Bacon and others, “8” is a play written by Academy Award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and directed by acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner. It is a powerful account of the case filed by the American Federation for Equal Rights (AFER ) in the U.S. District Court in 2010 to overturn Proposition 8 [LINK], a constitutional amendment that eliminated the rights of same-sex couples to marry in the state of California. Framed around the trial’s historic closing arguments in June 2010, 8 provides an intimate look what unfolded when the issue of same-sex marriage was on trial.

Golden Globe Winner Chris Colfer To Join Cast Of Dustin Lance Black Play

The Advocate reports:

Chris Colfer, Kevin Bacon, and John C. Reilly will join George Clooney, Jane Lynch, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson in the staged reading of 8, Dustin Lance Black’s play about the court trial for marriage equality

Black used the actual words of the transcripts and firsthand observations of the court trial to overturn Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban, as well as interviews with the plaintiffs and their families. A press release say, “Chris Colfer will play Ryan Kendall, a young man who testified about his experience being sent by his parents to so-called “reparative therapy” as a teenager. John C. Reilly will play United States District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who found Proposition 8 unconstitutional after presiding over the historic twelve-day public trial.  Kevin Bacon will play Charles J. Cooper, the lead attorney for the anti-marriage proponents of Proposition 8.” Matt Bomer, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Takei, Matthew Morrison, Yeardley Smith, Campbell Brown, Rory O’Malley, and activist Cleve Jones are also scheduled to appear in the Los Angeles production. Clooney was previously announced to play marriage equality defender attorney David Boies. The one-night-only staged reading, directed by Rob Reiner, will take place March 3 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles and is expected to raise $2 million for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the nonprofit that took the case to court.

Golden Globe Award Winner Chris Colfer : I’ll Be Back For Glee Season 4

The Insider reports:

Chris Colfer’s future on Glee was called into question this morning when Fox’s President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly announced at TCA that while the much rumored spinoff was dead in the water, Lea Michele would be back for season four as creator Ryan Murphy had come up with a “cool” way to keep the graduating seniors around.
When asked later whether Chris was also part of that plan, Reilly reportedly “hedged”before saying that hadn’t been decided yet.
But after chatting with Murphy after the panel, Chris Colfer revealed to TheInsider.com that he would 100 percent be back in the fall! In addition to getting his take on this inventive way to keep the graduates around, Chris teased some very intriguing 2012 events when I caught up with him at Fox’s All Star TCA party tonight.
Insider.com: It’s been revealed that Lea Michele will be back next year — will you?
Chris Colfer: Yes. I’m coming back. I’m very excited. A lot of people are sad there won’t be a spinoff but I think they’re going to be very very excited to find out what’s in store – I’m very excited by it. Ryan’s idea is kind of revolutionary. It’s the best of both worlds. Everyone is going to like it.
Insider: Presumably whether or not Kurt and Rachel get into NYADA will factor in, right?
Chris: I think so. I’m not positive. I’m looking forward to seeing if he gets in – knock on wood. It’ll be an interesting episode to watch him and Rachel perform with the other finalists.
Insider: But before we get to either of those things, we have this week’s episode — called Yes/No — which features New Directions recreatingSummer Nights from Grease. Which side does Kurt sing on?
Chris: [laughs] He was with the girls — by my request. Originally he was with the boys but I called Ryan and said, “What do the boys have that Kurt wants?!?” There’s no way he’d be hanging with them. He’d be gabbing with the girls over sandwiches and mac & cheese. He completely agreed and I was put with the girls, which is great because I get to be Rizzo!
Insider: Kurt may be with the girls, but Blaine is with the boys. What do you make of the fact the writers have made him “one of the boys?”
Chris: I think they both just gravitate towards people they identify with. Blaine is gay but he’s more of a guy than Kurt, who is a little more grand than that. I say Kurt is more grandeur than guy [laughs]. But I’m glad our show really shows that it takes all kind of gays to make the world go ‘round: good gays, bad gays, manly gays, less than manly gays. There are all kinds of gays.
Insider: The gang is headed for Regionals, and then presumably, Nationals. Do you want Kurt to finally get that win in his senior year?
Chris: Yes. Selfishly, for the character, I do. As an actor, I hope they win Nationals so they can go to London or something for Globals, or whatever comes next. That would be awesome – singing and dancing in the streets of Rome! Who wouldn’t want that?
Insider: Looking ahead to the other 2012 episodes, what are you excited for fans to see?
Chris: I’m really excited for them to see the Michael Jackson episode – I wear a shocking onesie leather jumpsuit. I’m interested to see what the reaction is to that.
Insider: Compare the onesie to the Gaga lobster heels — which were easier to wear?
Chris: Oh god, the heels were so much more comfortable! I never thought I would say this, but the 10 inch heels I wore in that episode were much more comfortable than the leather jumpsuit.
Insider: Not to get too personal, but how tight are we talking? Did you need to douse yourself in baby powder to get into it?
Chris: There was no room for personal, if you catch my drift [laughs]. But there was baby powder. And I have to say, when you’re singing and dancing all day in a leather onesie, it starts to smell. I don’t have B.O. typically but I actually put a car air freshener inside the jumpsuit and it stained my skin. I had a little yellow Christmas tree on my stomach for a good week! Just in time for the holidays [laughs].

Golden Globes Nomiate LGBT Films, Madonna, Chris Colfer

The Advocate reports:

LGBT-themed films such asAlbert Nobbs, Beginners,The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and J. Edgar will compete for top honors at the 69th annual Golden Globes next month.

The nominees for best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama include Glenn Close as the cross-dressing butler in Albert Nobbs and Rooney Mara as the bisexual computer hacker in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Viola Davis is also nominated in this category for her performance as the stoic maid in The Help, from gay director Tate Taylor, and Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady by out director Phyllida Lloyd.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s acclaimed turn as the founder of the F.B.I. in J. Edgar is among the nominees for best performance by an actor in a motion picture, drama. Also nominated in this category is Michael Fassbender as the reckless sex addict who indulges in a same-sex encounter in Shame.

Janet McTeer, Close’s costar in Albert Nobbs, will compete for best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture. Among her competitors is Octavia Spencer as the spirited maid in Taylor’s The Help.

Veteran actor Christopher Plummer’s performance as an elderly man coming out as gay in Beginners is among the nominees for best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture.

Madonna’s latest directorial effort, the sweeping romance W.E., scored two nominations — one for best original score for composer Abel Korzeniowski and another for the song “Masterpiece,” written by Madonna, Julie Frost, and Jimmy Harry. Also competing for best song in a motion picture is Elton John, who, with Bernie Taupin, cowrote “Hello, Hello” for the animated Gnomeo and Juliet.

Nominees for best foreign language film include Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, the harrowing war drama In the Land of Blood and Honey, and Pedro Almodovar’s haunting The Skin I Live In.

Both of Ryan Murphy’s hit series received nominations. American Horror Story is in the running for best television series - drama, and standout star Jessica Lange is up for best performance by an actress in a series - drama. Glee will compete for best television series - comedy or musical opposite another LGBT-inclusive sitcom Modern Family, which also scored a nomination for Eric Stonestreet as best performance by an actor in a supporting role. Notable inclusions this year are Glee stars Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch.

Competing for best miniseries or motion picture made for television are HBO’s Cinema Verite, a true story that documented Lance Loud’s coming out to his parents on camera in the early 1970s, and the Todd Haynes-directed Mildred Pierce.

The Golden Globes are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The ceremony will be broadcast live on January 15 and will again be hosted by Ricky Gervais, who shocked many last year with his no-holds-barred humor.

Glee’ Controversy: Lea Michele & Chris Colfer Getting NY Spinoff, Corey Monteith Looking For New Oportunities

The Huffington Post reports:

Just as “Glee” fans began to contemplate a life without Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel, they may not end up having to say goodbye after all.
Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter broke the newsthat stars Lea Michele (Rachel), Chris Colfer (Kurt) and Corey Monteith (Finn) would be graduating from the hit musical dramedy at the end of the coming third season. And while that has some fans bummed, a new report reveals that creator Ryan Murphy has bigger plans for the first two stars.
RumorFix.com says that Michele and Colfer will star in a spinoff show that places their characters in New York, a thread that began pulling near the end of last season. In New York for Nationals, their characters snuck onto the stage of “Wicked” and sang one of the songs. The characters decided that, following their graduation, they’d move out to the city.
While not announcing the news himself, Murphy said in his interview with The Hollywood Reporterthat he planned on focusing on that storyline during the upcoming third season.
“I’m much more interested in Lea’s character — not so much on her relationship with Finn, but more on what her dreams are beyond high school and how she plans on getting them,” he said.
Back in June, Murphy got the ball rolling on breaking the news of the upcoming graduation, telling Ryan Seacrest, “The thing that I wanted to do and the cast wanted to do, we didn’t want to have a show where they were in high school for 8 years. We really wanted it to be true to that experience. We thought it would be really cool if we were true to the timeline.”
As for Monteith, he’s looking at other opportunities.
“I’m thrilled with how the show’s done and with the opportunities it’s provided me, but at the same time I’m excited about doing other things,” he told Entertainment Weekly at the end of June.
Earlier on Thursday, Colfer was nominated for an Emmy, while Michele was not. The show itself was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Chris Colfer on Republican Photo Ops

Colfer and Criss, Behind the Scenes

I know! But it’s my guilty pleasure.

Chris Colfer Wins Golden Globe Award

2010’s Most Googled Gays (The Advocate)

For the complete list, click here.

Glee’s Chris Colfer hits the Leather Bar… This is one of the pics taken by and for Rolling Stone Magazine.