Oh My Godot: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Rewind

2012 saw Jake leave CAA and Austin leave the Crazy Tree and all that came with the job behind.

With January came LA for both of our fellas. With OTH in the can, Austin was back in the city of Angels with Jake out and about and back to his old haunts (ie the Doctors) and juicing it up. Jake started 2012 out for sushi with friends and smocking it up and playing pap peek a boo. While Austin was MIA at the OTH premiere for it's last season in LA. (Foreshadowing ahead!) Jake left CAA for WME, and once again was name a presenter at the Golden Globes. Breakfast with Busy and family. And don't forget about that late night Pinkberry run with Austin. We also found out that Austin or is that Julian loves coffee cake.

Soon Jake was grabbing not one or two or three juices but five juices out on a morning juice run driving a truck that wasn't his, but looked very much Mr. Nichols and later did one better than be seen with Austy's truck but the tall Texan himself as they shared a sushi lunch with friends and hopped in the car and took off together. And before the month was over there was a little review of the big photoshoppin' job that covered more than Maggie's pregnancy.

Then Jake was back in England bespectacled and pushing the dark side making a video for the The Shoes. Then off to be a juror at Berlinale 2012 with a clean close shave and something even bigger. His big tall Texan, who was spotted on his way in Heathrow by former co-star Dana Delaney and then soon tweeted he was in Berlin enjoying the film fest. But we didn't only get the tweets but the peeps when pictures from Berlinale showed that Austin was enjoying many of the events right where he should be right by Jake's side, including a reception with President of Germany. At Berlinale Jake was his ever charming self, and we learned of his obsession with the number 5 and stories of being a bad influence from legend Meryl Streep. While Austin was showing some of his best acting he's done on OTH, the final shave came to Brulian as well.

While Austin lost his beard, Jake grew one that seemed to stay for the rest of 2012 during March. Austin got the role of Tommy West, the A-lister with the habit of hooking up with chicks with dicks on Showtimes newest show Ray Donovan. Rumors of Jake doing Motor City that didn't get of the start line and Jake popping back up in New York. Then headed back to LA at the end of the month before he started filming The Enemy. OTH was in it's final days on The CW and Austin talked about his love of directing and about get a chance to direct one more time before the show ended.

April kicked off with Jake back in NYC and doing some host duties for his late godfather Paul Newman's charity at Paul Newman's Dream at Lincoln Center. There were some crazy revisionist history of Ellen Pompeo and Jake meeting before Moonlight Mile by Pompeo herself. There were some fun with photos when Jake's beard grew and changed color from one day to the next. Jake sightings were all over, San Francisco, Portland, Toronto, while Austin went to Coachella and never got seen. In April we heard that Jake was going to hit Off Broadway in the fall, with Austin tweeting a big neon LIVE the day after the announcement. Austin hit the big 32 and we found out that Jake's distance cousins include beard inspiration Ulysses S. Grant, FDR, Shirley Temple and the Bushes.

May had sneak peeks at EoW at early screenings that got great audience response. We got the first real look at EoW with a trailer and LOL finally opened (and closed quite quickly). Austin spent time on set watching Todd Haynes work and shared it through a tweet. Jake and Austin are out for a late night bite at In - N - Out in Cali. Jake reported to his set for The Enemy in Toronto, and continued to wear the black Yankees hat and was reported hanging with Beyonce and Jay-Z as well as out with his mom and bounced between NYC and Toronto.
But the big thing for May was the 10th anniversary for our guys who met at the casting of The Day After Tomorrow in May 2002.

June saw another beard trick of Jake's or was that just a little photo swapping and playing with dates for cover as Austin arrives back in the Big Apple. The hunt was on to Spot the Jake in Toronto with Where in the Sprawl is Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake got spotted at Rufus' show in Toronto hanging with K'Naan almost 5 years to the day he was on the stage with Rufus in NYC. Austin filmed Ray Donovan in LA. Jake couldn't get a date and the Minka story came around again. Austin started tweet his travelogue of 2012 as he was back in Austin after LA. Jake was seen out with Rufus and his fiancee as second time in just weeks in Toronto.

Austin tweets another connection to Jake with a tweet about Kayne and Jay-Z Watch the Throne while he heads to Comic Con in Paris as a special guest with fellow OTH co-stars and creater Mark Schwahn for three days. Jake goes of the radar and then pops up all over the place including NYC, Toronto and three tweets of him Austin TX. And Austin throws out another shout out about Jake wearing a Yankees camp his last day in Paris. Austin goes missing and Jake pops back up on Mom's set in NYC. Can we just get them both chipped and run real time GPS on them? The first picture of Jake and the cast of If There is...comes out and Jake's all about the Details (magazine). And there was a ripple when Jake was seen at Frank Ocean's show, shortly after Ocean came out to the public. LOL came out on DVD.

Aquaman Austin gives us a video of how long he can hold his breath and backflips off the cliff into the water in August. Jake got spotted at Mumford and Sons (and months later a photo of Austin there too). Austin tweeted an Olympic caption challenge, challenge accepted Mr. Nichols. OMG turned 5! Austin's all about Shark Week. Jake was rumored again for another movie, this time Mississippi Grind about a gambler, but that rumor folded as soon as it was dealt. Jake supported Generation Food and sent out a message online to help them reach their goal of over $50,000. EoW had it's first premiere at a special screening at the Hamptons and we found out that Jake is such of friend of Jerry Seinfeld that he bunks there after the party. If There is... opens. Jake goes back to see Dave late night, and was as charming as ever.

Jake relives his first Broadway show, Patti Lupone in Anything Goes, and Austin runs his first triathalon any which way he can and gets 7th. (Great job Austy!) EoW premieres at TIFF with the whole cast there (including a late Jake, delayed at the airport). The Nanny named Fran did a backstage visit at If There Is... Jake on Anderson (no not that way, get your mind out of the gutter) and Jake ALMA's too. Jake does Live with Kelly & Michael, Conan, and Jimmy... but once again no Jay. EoW ended up #1 at the box office after a tight race. And at the end of Sept Jake was lending help again at the Global Citizen Rally in NYC.

October finds Austin LOVES up NYC. Jake play gets extended till Dec, and we find out it will be Watching the Detective next year when Jake stars with Hugh Jackman in Prisoners. Austin once again told us where he with with a KISS of Back in the New York groove and then gets back to his roots at ACL. Someone else turns 5! Jake goes on The Chew and cooks with chef pal Mario Batali. Scheduled to be feted by New Eyes for his work, it gets postponed by a Super Storm named Sandy. Austin gets Rex'd for Halloween.

Austin gets spotted outside the subway doors that Jake is on, and later is seen walking with Jake and an assistant that gets reportedly mistaken for a new gf for the third photographed sighting of them together for 2012. Jake joined others for Arts in Armed Forces for a performance for active military, veterans and their families on Veteran's Day. Austin tweets a song that gets many thinking which is what he wants them to do.
Jake receives his tribute from New Eyes at Colicchio & Sons, while continuing to help raise more money for them. Austin heads to Chicago to do some work for Mob Doctor on The CW. Brulian pops up again but just on a ranking of screen couples. Jake heads to England to promote EoW and when asked what kind of drink would he be he said "A Ribena. Next to a tall glass of water..."

Jake does BBC1 and Graham Norton and not only survives Graham but Joan Rivers and charms them all and definitely is the old Jake we've seen and loved. EoW comes back to the theaters in the US for a limited engagement hoping for a little nod or nom during award season. Austin is back in Chicago and doing some road trips and shows off he's Wheelin' ways in the trailer for Ray Donovan. Jake helps raise money with ICAP, and then joins the cause and helps out with 12-12-12 the benefit for Sandy Relief, including giving 10 grand if Brian Williams put on a Firefighter helmet. He also introduces an EMT from Long Island with ends the year of a thread of connections to Long Island all during 2012. Jake turns 32, the world doesn't end, Austin shows up on Mob Doctor the last night of 2012 and another year is wrapped up OMG style.

Thanks for sharing another year with us and here's to see more of our fellas in 2013.

Happy New Year!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is one of the world’s most famous drag queens. He is a successful actor, advocate, author, spokes model, singer, producer and television host. Today's Out Spotlight is RuPaul.

Born RuPaul Andre Charles. November 17, 1960 in San Diego, California, the only son and middle child (between older twin sisters Renae and Renetta and baby sister Rosalind) to Ernestine and Irving Charles he learned about fashion from his mother and his sisters.

At four he saw "The Supremes" on the Ed Sullivan TV show. As he put it, "I fell in love with them, particularly, the skinny one in the middle." (Diana Ross) His sister remembers him playing out in the yard in one of her pink dresses in 1965, while RuPaul remembers that year him lip-sinking "The Supremes" hit song "Baby Love" by the side of the garage. Neighborhood kids informed him that was a sissy.

After years of fighting his parents divorced when he was 7. He and his sisters ended up taking care of his mother who shut down for several years after the nasty and ugly divorce. At 16, he moved to Atlanta to live with his sister and brother-in-law to get a fresh start.

In Atlanta, RuPaul studied acting, performed as a bar dancer and sang with a band. He gained national exposure with a cameo role dancing in the video for the B-52s’ “Love Shack.” In 1987, RuPaul moved to New York, where he became a popular entertainer in the Manhattan nightclub scene. He was crowned “Queen of Manhattan 1990.”

In 1993, RuPaul collaborated with Elton John on a remake of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” The following year, RuPaul had his first solo hit single, “Supermodel (You Better Work),” which topped the dance music charts. Three more dance hits followed: “Back to My Roots,” “A Shade Shady” and “House of Love.”

Small guest parts in television shows (in and out of drag) in the early 90's led him to branch out into movies with appearances in "To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (1995), “The Brady Bunch Movie” (1995) and Spike Lee’s “Crooklyn” (1995). Those roles aalong with the release of his autobiography “Lettin It All Hang Out” (1996), landed RuPaul a talk show on VH1.

He described the “The RuPaul Show” as “the most creatively satisfying, fun-filled working experience I’ve ever had.” The show had RuPaul (in drag) interviewing celebrity guests and musical acts including his life long celebrity crush Diana Ross, as well as other notable guests Nirvana, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Mary J. Blige, Bea Arthur, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton-John, Beenie Man, Pete Burns, Bow Wow Wow, and the Backstreet Boys. His co-host was Michelle Visage, with whom he also co-hosted on WKTU radio. On one episode, RuPaul featured guests Chi Chi LaRue and Tom Chase speaking about the gay porn industry.

That same year, he became a spokesperson for M.A.C Cosmetics, making him the first drag queen supermodel. In six years, RuPaul helped raise over $22 million for the M.A.C AIDS Fund.

His morning show on WKTU-FM with Michelle Visage, on a New York dance music station was the inspiration for him to produced and starred in the film “Starrbooty” (2007), which he adapted into a nightclub act.

In 2009 he created, produced and hosted of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (as herself, in drag) for Logo Television and the next year added “RuPaul’s Drag U” (as himself, out of drag) for Logo as well.

In 1999, RuPaul was named Entertainer of The Year at the GLAAD Media Awards. In 2002, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Most Beautiful Transsexuals in the World Association.

“With hair, heels, and attitude, honey, I am through the roof.”