Out Spotlight XXXXI

Tonight are the Emmy awards here in the U.S. and what a perfect day for today's Out Spotlight. Neil Patrick Harris.

NPH has done something that no one, actors, executives, agents and others thought was impossible: an openly gay man playing a skirt chasing womanizer, being a spokesman with major endorsement deals, and being one of the faces of his television network.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 15, 1973, Neil grew up the second son of two lawyers in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and found his way into acting after following his older brother to an audition. His first role? Toto in a school production of the Wizard of Oz.

While many think of his first role is that of young doctor Doogie Howser, in Doogie Houser M.D., his first roles wer in 1988, when he starred in two movies: the film Clara's Heart, a drama with Whoopi Goldberg that won him a Golden Globe nomination, and Purple People Eater, a children's move. It was in 1989 that NPH got the role in Doogie Howser, M.D., for which he was again nominated for a Golden Globe. After Doogie Howser's four-season run ended in 1993.

After Doogie, he took time to do other things, but never left performing. Taking on some guest roles on television series, before taking his first film role as an adult in 1995 in the little-seen shocker Animal Room. Other film included supporting roles in The Next Best Thing, Undercover Brother, Starship Troopers and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, in which he played a drug-crazed, lecherous parody of himself.

But Broadway had a calling for NPH and he answer that as well. Working on Broadway in both musical and dramatic roles. He played Tobias Ragg in 2001 concert performances of Sweeney Todd. In 2002, he performed on Broadway beside Anne Heche in Proof. In 2003, he took the role of the Emcee in Cabaret, alongside Deborah Gibson and Tom Bosley. As a result of his critically acclaimed performance in Cabaret, Harris was named the top drawing headliner in the role of the Emcee by GuestStarCasting.com, topping fellow celeb stars John Stamos and Alan Cumming. In 2004, he performed a dual role of the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald on Broadway in the controversial musical revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. He also sang the role of Charles (first played by Anthony Perkins) on the Nonesuch recording of Sondheim's Evening Primrose. He has also portrayed Mark Cohen in the musical RENT.

In 2005 went back to weekly television in CBS's ensemble sitcom How I Met Your Mother, playing a serial womanizer Barney Stinson which earned him a 2007 and a 2008 Emmy nomination. Tonight we will see if Emmy nominated Neil Patrick Harris will become Emmy award winner Neil Patrick Harris.

Neil is a great comedian,great guest on talk shows, and competitor on game shows. NPH just seems to love to perform and have fun. He is a regular fill in guest host for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly. He also was the co-host of this years Science and Technical Awards of the Emmy's.

During Neil's career and transition from child to adult actor, he was also growing from boy to man, there were never any child star gone wild moments for him. He is one of handful of child stars in became a well adjusted adult performer with his priorities and outlook solid. But it was not without scandal or what some tried to make into a scandal. In 2006, the website Canada.com ran a story about NPH being gay it was immediately downplayed by his publicist Craig Snyder insisting "He's not of that persuasion. While many in Hollywood would let what their publicist say be their voice, and not say anything, Neil did just the opposite, he wanted to make people knew he was not denying being gay. He came forward and not only negated his publicit statements, but acknowledge that gay rumors and said that he was gay in an exclusive to People magazine.

"The public eye has always been kind to me, and until recently I have been able to live a pretty normal life. Now it seems there is speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.

"So, rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love."

Looking back on the situation in an interview with Ellen De Generes, he said: "There was a little of media scrutiny heading my way. People were starting to ask for stories of other people that may have fooled around with me, and the last thing you want to do is talk about your private life based on scandal. "I'm not a very scandalous person and so I didn't want to have to respond to some story, whether it was lie or truth - so I just made a statement and sort squashed the fires." And since his announcement, Harris has been delighted with the public response, revealing, "For me that is the greatest ending to the story so far - that nothing really has changed at all. "I'm doing nothing different and people aren't behaving differently towards me. ... People heard and they're like 'Yeah, and?' That attitude, I think, was great."

He and his long time partner fellow David Burtka. Neil and David attended the 2007 Emmys together last September as an openly acknowledged gay couple for the first time. Neil and David have been together since 2004. Harris refers to Burtka as "My better half" and an "amazing chef."

Something you might not know about NPH is that he is now one of America's top magicians, after he was voted onto the board of the Illustrious Magic Castle. NPH has been into for years - and now sits with the top tricksters at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the home of the Academy of Magic Arts. His appointment to the board of directors is very significa - he is the first celebrity to be receive the honor since Cary Grant.

"I’m a magician at heart, so smoke and mirrors is great. The idea of smoke and mirrors tends to suggest suppression and the idea that you don’t want people to know about who you really are, but as an actor you kind of do want people to not know who you really are. I think it was nice to have a bit of a smoke screen in a way."

"(I) am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest."



Neil and David singing Part 2

NPH: Out Magazine (article)

NPH: Live with Regis & Kelly

NPH: Sesame Street Shoe Fairy

NPH: Spoofing Doogie Howser M.D. for Old Spice

NPH: Harold & Kumar (NSFW)

NPH: Barney Stinson - Legendary

OMG's JFC Discussion

Episode 1 : "His Visit: Day One"

In the beginning…..

Introductions, Levitations, Resurrections. "The End is Near." "I don’t know Butchie instead."

John. Who is he? Why is he here? Where did he come from?

First impressions of Mitch, Cissy, Shaun and Butchie, Bill and his birds, Link, Cass, Kai, Vietnam Joe, Ramon, Dickstein, Barry. The Snug Harbor.

Symbolism or influences in the first episode?

What did you think about the story? The actors ? The images?

Don't forget the surfing.

Favorite quotes? Favorite scenes? Favorite Characters?

And hey is anyone keeping track of the swear jar for Ep.1 and the series?

Need to check out something for a JFC reference: Calamity Dan's JFC section a great resource.

A is for Amuse

As in Amuse Bouche from the French literally meaning "mouth amuser", it is tiny bite size taste of the chef's choosing to wet the appetite and prepare the everyone for the feast ahead and the chef approach and theme.

What better way to start an Austin Friday's with an evening of JFC, than with such a delicious idea, something to prepare for later on in this evening, a little feast for the eyes.


And the theme of this cuisine is?

Remember OMG's JFC Discussion starts and 5:00pm EST today and runs through Sat. Hope everyone can stop by discuss, ask questions, and enjoy.

Planned acts of Randomness

As if you needed a reminder of OMG's JFC Discussion beginning tomorrow (Friday) evening at 5:00 EST. You still have plenty of time to watch the first hour of JFC and make a list of you comments and questions.

Last week this picture was one of two up as a JFC reminder and the question was do see anything in the pictures? Maybe this picture should have been "Where's Austin?" Did you seem him in the mural?

In a way Austin is kind of like that in life. Kind of slips around undetected for a while and then appears. It is that almost planned kind of randomness in a way that creates a persona.

As it has been said before that someone who wants to climb to the top of the ladder in Hollywood would be using every opportunity to get their face and name out there, trying to get some coverage and buzz. But is seems that isn't the Nicholas Plan as we have watched him over that past few years. Not a lot of bold face mentions in the scene & heard sections, not many red carpets pics or mentions.


Is the randomness planned? Or is it happenstance? Is more beneficial or detrimental for him? Or is it all about balance? Giving him the balance between his private and professional life?

Write On - Write Off

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but apparently not for Annie Proulx. In article in the UK's Independent, despite the success of Brokeback Mountain, it has according to Proulx become "the source of constant irritation in my private life".

How so? It appears that Proulx is being sent "pornish" (her words) mail by fans offering their interpretations of the story, yes that's right Fan Fiction. While the fans see the story of Jack and Ennis a spring board of inspiration, Proulx sees the fan fiction differently.

"There are countless people out there who think the story is open range to explore their fantasies and to correct what they see as an unbearably disappointing story. They constantly send ghastly manuscripts and pornish rewrites of the story to me, expecting me to reply with praise and applause for 'fixing' the story. They certainly don't get the message that if you can't fix it, you've got to stand it."

In a way you can understand, say you've won a Pulitzer prize, a National Book Award, and a PEN/Faulkner award and have 7 books under your belt and you're getting daily rewrites of probably now the famous story you've written. The people who sent it mean no harm they are just excited and inspired by your work, but they expect you to be as excited as they are or maybe say oh this so much better than mine, I wish I could have thought of it. Annie Proulx is not that. She is a nonsense kind of person , that's not saying she's simplistic, oh the contrary, Proulx is as complex or even more so than the characters she creates.

She doesn't really like to do interviews, she's not is an entertainer, she's not a star. If she wanted to be and if the publisher got what they wanted she would be. But that's not Annie. She's writer who just wants to write. A storyteller who needs to tell the story, just like many of the fans of her work are. She's happier on her ranch writing than talking about what she wrote. She is more about the stories she writes speaking for themselves.

You'd think after all this she would move away from the Wyoming setting to give a break from the comparisons and comments but she is going back for one more time for her new collection of nine stories, Fine Just the Way It Is, based on the lives of the women on the ranches. "In a real sense, women on ranches are secondary citizens. But many, if not most, would be furious if you said that out straight, They see themselves as mythic Western women." She did say this is the last time she would visit Wyoming as a setting for her stories, saying she didn't want to be known too closely associated with only one region.

But does Annie's comments mean that writers shouldn't write fan fiction anymore? Any great work inspires many and that's what this does. There will always be fan fiction writers, writing and exploring the answers and solutions that they would like to see. Writing is a exercise of the mind and soul and that is what is for many Brokeback writers.


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A little BBM and Annie moment from an interview on Bookslut.com

Annie gave Heath public praise for his performance as Ennis. It always made you wonder if she singled him out.

"You said earlier that you were pleased with Heath Ledger's performance. Did you feel that way about the whole cast?

The whole cast was magnificent. There wasn't anything not to be thrilled with, in anyone's performance. They were all extraordinary. And by singling out Heath Ledger, I didn't mean to slight Jake Gyllenhaal in the least, because he's an extraordinarily versatile, quicksilver, accomplished actor. Really, quite marvelous. And I think he went from Brokeback to Jarhead, and that is the kind of jump that is, like, "Oh, really?" And he did both with ease. Very expert ease.

All of the actors were just superb."

Super Movie Mix In

Today's like ice cream, you take a bunch of random good things (Jake and Austin projects) and mix them in together to get a sweet treat.

So get the base ice cream and add some:

Some Pop Rocks
While The Informers has release dates in Europe, it has nothing definite in the US. The assumption is some time in October and November.
Will Mickey Rourke getting an Oscar buzz for The Wrestler get a solid release date and add more screens for The Informers? What's going to get people to see it beside for OMG'ers going to see Austin? Bret Easton Ellis' story? Billy Bob? Winona? Bassinger? Amber Head? Or that it's Brad Renfro's last film?

Then some Gummies
"Jessica Biel, Catherine Keener Praise Director David O. Russell, Decide Not To Punch Him" is the title of the article on MTV's Movie Blog. Seems like despite his past reputation of bad behavior the ladies of Nailed praised Russell as a director. Despite the not knowing the fate of Nailed for distribution and all the difficulties in making the movie Jessica Beil said “He pulled such a bizarre cool interesting performance out of everyone. It was quite an interesting experience. David was amazing.” Catherine Keener called the political satire a screwball comedy and said
"if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the stoppages have inspired an attitude of perseverance in the cast." “This felt like it was happening despite all of the obstacles,” she said. “It felt like us against the man. We were like — you cannot shut us down!” Tracy Morgan seemed up beat about the film too even with all the obstacles. You think Jake feels the same?

And of course Chocolate
The old go to that you think you know everything about. Brothers. It's just on how the blend of ingredients works to see how rich it can be. We knew Mare Winningham was in it, but didn't Sam Shepard is as well. And casting Nat, Tobey and Jake? Sheridan said he wanted "the trio to be younger than they were in Bier's film. The only problem is that the 5 foot, 8-inch tall Maguire is 4 inches shorter than Gyllenhaal, who stands six feet. This violates the general biological rule that brothers are either roughly the same height or no more than two inches apart." Will there be some interesting camera angles or will Tobey have get "lift" or two? Will Sheridan ever film them side by side?

Blend until mixed. But then you have to go for the unexpected.

How to top it all off? How about something fresh, like the Fresh Prince of Persia.

Courtesy of Funny Junk

Now that's a mix -in.

Interiors

No not the Woody Allen movie, but similar in complexity. What we see on the outside is not what is truly going on inside. Morocco is case in point. On the outside it is a canvas of neutrals, but behind its interiors lies remarkable and intense beauty.

The beauty of Morocco is staggering. Behind high walls were cool fountains and brilliantly tiled courtyards, with small pools scattered with rose petals, simple seats overlaid with richly patterned rugs and cushions and bedroom walls glowing with polished pearly tadlakt glaze (made with lime, marble dust and egg white). The Moorish lights piercing the walls with slivers of light.

From passionate red of the paprika spice to the intense blue of the Mediterranean and the shimmering yellow of the Sahara. You can almost feel the decor as if it were alive! In fact one of the spectacular Moroccan decor is created with an intense blue as is there at Jardin Majorelle located in Marrakesh. There is no way you can fall in love with the blue color. The blue is unique because no one has ever been able to copy it.

Jake spent time at the Jardin Majorelle, the former resident of Yves St. Laurent, no doubt enjoying the not only the amazing interiors but the incredible gardens and aviary as well.

Now to think what the home of a 6th century Persian prince will be, the setting dressing for Prince of Persia interiors are going to take your breath away, if this is the Morocco of today.

Jake of course has worked in Morocco before, filming Rendition. But this time you suspect he is experience the cultural in a new way, completely immersing himself in it. Wonder if Jake will bring some of the Moorish influence back with him? The food? The furnishing? The rugs? The tiles? The garden design? The intense colors?

The colors, the textures, the scents, the heat of the desert day and the coolness of its nights and shadows. How could you not fall under its seduction, or seduce someone yourself.