Sunday, April 26, 2009

An Evening with Ilene Chaiken at Brava Part 2

By BetteAndTinaForever
You can read the Part 1 here


Part 2

Before the evening began, Raelle Myrick-Hodges, who was just recently appointed as the second Artistic Director for Brava, talked to us about the theater and Brava’s mission and then introduced Ilene Chaiken to the audience.

Ilene began by saying that first she will talk to us about her life and career, and how she finally got to do The L Word and tell our stories, and after her talk we would have a chance to ask her questions. I read a lot of Ilene’s interviews over the last few years, especially regarding the creation and realization of The L Word but listening Ilene speaking about it had quite a different feel to it. She talked to us for almost 30 minutes so I will give you just some highlights of Ilene’s talk. It’s not verbatim but I tried to make it as close to what she said as possible

Ilene’s Talk

- Making movies and telling stories has always been for Ilene a combination of a really great way to spend more time with fabulous women.

- In her senior year at the film school she made a thesis film that was pretty much autobiographical and it was before she realized that she was gay. The movie was made from the point of view of a woman but she wasn’t telling gay stories, she was pushing out the issues of sexuality and how women fit into the culture. The movie was sort of a version of “Sex, lies and videotapes”, and it was controversial and shocking. Ilene’s thesis advisor looked at the film and said, “You’re gonna go to Hollywood”, which wasn’t a compliment.

- Ilene did go to Hollywood and she wanted to write and direct movies. Her first job in Hollywood was at a theatrical agency called TAA. One of her jobs was taking her boss’s Ferrari to the gas station and gassing it up.

- She began working in Hollywood before the sexual harassment laws and before sex changed for everyone with the advent of AIDS.

- After a few years Ilene got a job with a few Hollywood producers who wanted to make a movie and Ilene wrote a treatment for a movie about a bunch of girlfriends who were about to graduate from high school and looking forward to go into the world, explore their sexuality and become adults. It was a personal story for Ilene in a lot of ways. One of the producers liked the treatment and he took it…he actually took took it. He took it to some guy at Warner Brothers and they made a movie out of it about a 40-year old man having an affair with an 18-year old girl. In the background there were a few girlfriends and some nod to a relationship between women but the movie itself was different. It was called “Satisfaction” with Liam Neeson, Justine Bateman as the main character and Julia Roberts as one of the friends.

- After that Ilene worked as an executive, developing movies and then she went to work for a production company where she met Aaron Spelling. She ended up working for him for five years developing television shows.

- While working for Aaron Spelling she learned a lot about television and worked as a development executive on a Pilot for the show that featured the first ever lesbian character on the network television. At that time Ilene was already out and she was completely out in her work. The show was called “Heartbeat” (1988) and it was about a group of women gynecologists in Los Angeles. All women doctors were straight but there was one lesbian played by Gail Strickland who told Ilene that she didn’t know how to play gay and she asked if she could come over to hang out at Ilene’s house and learn how to be gay. The show wasn’t picked up.

- After that Ilene went to work for Quincy Jones’s production company at Warner Brothers for three years. Most famous show that she worked on with Quincy Jones was “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” It was very successful and represented different stories told on television but it wasn’t something that would help Ilene to tell her stories.

- Ilene got fed up with everything and tired of not being able to tell her stories and really get her work out there. Finally, after ten years of working in the movie business and not being able to do what she wanted to do, Ilene locked herself in a cabin and wrote a script. It was angry and really fun action movie. It was homage to “Seven Samurai” but it was all-girls action movie. It was very cool, at least for Ilene. She took the script to an agent she’s been working with and said, “I’m a writer now, here’s my script.”

- Ilene got another writing job and worked on a script for a more conventional movie but after that she got a really cool job adopting a comic book. It was a perfect job because she always wanted to do an action movie, showing girls’ power. She was hired to write a script based on a comic book called “Barb Wire.” The comic was great and she wrote a more subversive script than the comic itself. Ilene’s script was a blown-out action movie with great characters and she thought it would be the coolest movie ever made. She turned in the script and it was pretty much re-written and even though Ilene got the credit as a writer, it wasn’t exactly what she wrote. “Barb Wire” was made in 1996 with Pamela Anderson as a main character. Ilene actually shown us the opening credits for the show and it looked like a soft porn movie.

- Ilene was now a screenwriter and she loved to write commercial movies and she liked to make mainstream entertainment but she always tried to find stories that featured her themes and her people.

- It was a number of years before she had another movie made. She wrote a movie about a young woman with multiple personality disorder who struggled to remain her true self. Ilene wrote it but it didn’t work out and just recently she found out that someone dug it out and made a movie out of it with Halle Berry and it titled “Frankie and Alice”; it’s coming out later this year.

- Finally, Ilene met folks at Showtime and they were working with a very interesting project. They tried to figure out how to make a movie about the work of Robert Mapplethorpe and about events that occurred in 1990 when a museum director in Cincinnati went on trial for showing Mapplethorpe’s work in his museum. The theme was very interesting to Ilene and she read everything about the real events. The movie was called “Dirty Pictures” (2000).

- Showtime executives were really supportive of Ilene’s work and then she wrote an article for LA Magazine based on her urge to tell her stories. At that time Ilene and her then partner had twin girls and they were two years old. She looked around and saw that a lot of her gay and lesbian friends in West Hollywood were having babies and she wanted to talk about it. She wanted to write something about the lives of gay and lesbians in Los Angeles and LA Magazine liked her story and published it. Ilene decided that maybe she could try to make it into a movie and took her article to Showtime. She pitched it to a few people in production that she worked with before and they said, “No way, the guy down the hall in the corner office will never go for this.”

- So Ilene went to work on another movie and then “Dirty Pictures” got nominated for the Golden Globe. And something happened then. Showtime got the rights to a British TV series “Queer as Folk” and they put it on air and it was the most successful show that Showtime ever did before. And just before the Golden Globe Awards Ilene said that they doing this queer boys show and not just long ago she pitched a lesbian show but it was rejected. During the Golden Globe the same guy from the corner office came up to Ilene and whispered in her ear, “I think we’re going to try your lesbian show.” And that night “Dirty Pictures” actually won the Golden Globe.

- This was a truly great moment in history, especially for Ilene because she was finally able to tell her stories the way she always wanted it. Showtime was very supportive and there was never a moment when they said that she had to change something, or tone it down, or not to tell some stories because they were too controversial.

- Ilene ended her talk on a slightly bittersweet note. She said that it was their mutual decision to end The L Word after six beautiful seasons and she felt that they would go out on a high note. Ilene already pitched her spin-off to Showtime (during that event on March 20, Showtime hadn’t made their decision yet but we already have news that “The Farm”, as the spin-off was called, was not picked up by Showtime). Ilene always thought that they will have The L Word on the air for five-six years and by the time it will end there will be many shows, waiting to be made and taking off where TLW left off. And Ilene said that she doesn’t know what happened because we find ourselves once again not represented on the television. She was really disappointed that with the ending of The L Word there’s nothing out there right now representing gay and lesbian characters.

Q&A with Ilene

After the talk, Raelle Myrick-Hodges was heading a short Q&A session with Ilene. They warned us right away that we can ask any questions as long as it’s not, “Who killed Jenny?” Again, here’re some highlights from that part of the evening.

- At first they talked about gay characters being marginalized, or Ilene being marginalized as an artist because she’s gay. Ilene said that even in the earlier years of her career she felt pretty integrated but sometimes people used it against her. She told a story when she hired a woman to direct one of her movies and she got a call from a very powerful person who said that Ilene hired that director because she was gay. In reality, the director was straight and married but they wouldn’t believe her. And she added that we get marginalized not because we are gay women but because we are women. It’s still a largely misogynist culture. And in her career she felt more oppressed because she was a woman and not a gay woman.

- They talked about how Ilene separates her life and her art and Ilene said that she often put a lot of her personal life stories into her writing.

- Ilene said that she tried to write a show that would not only speak to gay women but to straight women and men, to anyone who wanted to come and partake of our stories. The thing that made The L Word a great success was that women loved it, not just lesbians but women. The loved the show and supported it throughout the years.

- The questions chosen from the audience were mostly general questions about movie business or asking advice for young writers. Ilene’s advice was - writing, writing, and writing. Learn all you can about the business and your craft, and keep writing. Ilene herself has certain rituals when she’s writing. She usually gets up very early in the morning and she either works out or write, usually she does both. She writes all day long and most of her writing is done at her computer and not on the paper. She doesn’t write like some writers who go for a walk and come up with ideas then. She writes, takes breaks and then comes back to write more.

- Ilene said that she doesn’t watch many TV shows. There were just a few that got her attention but as soon as she began working on The L Word, she just didn’t have time to watch pretty much anything. Her favorite show was “Six Feet Under.”

- One question was kind of funny. Someone asked if Ilene had ever excluded a storyline from The L Word because it was “too gay”. Ilene was really surprised and asked, “On The L Word? It’s a gay show, there were no stories that can be too gay.” She did mention that she worked on other projects when some people questioned a storyline that appeared too gay but never on The L Word.

- Ilene also said that another reason she wanted to do a lesbian ensemble drama because on the television there were gay characters but it was always the gay best friend or the gay character here or there, and even if there was a show about a single lead gay character, this character was living in a largely straight world. She wanted to have several gay lead characters, represented in a multitude.

- One question was about any similarities between the “Lez Girls” movie storyline and a real-life relationship with Showtime upper management. Ilene replied that as she said before, the Showtime was always unbelievably supportive and never tried to shut her down, make her less gay but that storyline was very real about Hollywood, especially in the movie making business.

- Ilene did say again that Jenny’s storyline was a response to fans’ demands to kill Jenny but it wasn’t only because the fans demanded it. She also said that in the Pilot, Jenny’s character was written based on Ilene and her personal life when she was younger. However, the actresses changed the characters as they brought themselves into their characters; therefore, Jenny changed a lot over each season. Bette was also another character that represented Ilene in her adult reincarnation-- someone driven by work and her passion -- but Bette’s character also evolved because of the way Jennifer Beals portrayed her. Ilene said that she loved Jenny because she thinks that Jenny made the world more interesting place to live.

- Marina was written off the show because Karina Lombard went to work on another show, “4400”.

- One question was asked about Dana. Ilene basically said that when they met in the beginning of season three for their writer’s meeting, a lot of them went through some loss with family members and friends. They wanted to tell a story about a loss and they hadn’t decided right away what character they would kill. All they knew that it had to be a beloved character. Ilene said that she loved Dana and she loves Erin Daniels who had fit very well with the group, but they decided that the most powerful way to tell this story was telling about a character who was healthy, who took care of her body, and it would be shocking. But Ilene had no idea what the reaction of the fans would be and that the grief would be so profound. Ilene said that they believed it was an important story to tell, but if she had a foresight about the fans’ reaction, she would not have killed Dana off.

- The obligatory sex scenes question was asked again, and Ilene replied that all sex/love scenes were choreographed. Each actor works with sex scenes in a different way. There were some who wanted each scene being choreographed to the number, telling them when to move this hand or when to move there, or when they have to orgasm. Some worked better when they were told just the general direction where the scene would go. Always, when they did the sex scenes, the actors had a large say on how the scene was done. They all had different boundaries and Ilene respected those boundaries. The only thing Ilene told them was, “I want you to tell the story, and I want you to believe in it, and we will make it work in a way that makes you comfortable.”

- They had an incredible crew and the directors were predominantly women and it’s really unique in Hollywood. Women were dominating in this project. Rose Lam, who is actually straight, hired as many lesbians as possible to work for the show. It was a very pleasant environment to work in and all the straight people who worked on the show were always comfortable, even with some sensitive material. Ilene said that there was never a division between straight women or gay women who worked on the show behind the scene because, in her opinion, everyone wanted to be gay.

- They skipped most of the written questions about individual characters and then gave the audience the chance to ask more questions. One question was about how to keep going and make more stories about gay and lesbian community. Ilene said that one important thing is for the community to get engage in the storytelling and tell the networks what they like. Ilene added that the president of Showtime called her all the time and told her about the crazy L Word fans that kept sending him letters and emails. When Showtime was deciding to pick the L Word for another season, they started a “black bra campaign” and he got tons of black bras sent to his office. When the community gets together, there’s no way to stop them.

- There was a question “What happened to OurChart” and Ilene was telling about how they really believed in that project, but because of the business structure and some other reasons I don’t remember, it wasn’t valuable as a business. Ilene and some other people who were on OC are working really hard to put together another version of OurChart.

- Another question about The L Word the movie was asked, as well. Ilene pretty much said the same thing as she always said – that the cast and she really want to do it, but it’s not up to her, so it’s hard to say right now what will happen. I suggested sending more black bras to the CBS or whatever company is in charge of it. Ilene’s reply: “It won’t hurt.”

- Another thing Ilene said that there’s a difference between writers and screenwriters. As a screenwriter, you write not to see your words on page but to see it performed by actors. She was always so excited to see what actors would make out of your work, and sometimes they would make it better with their acting. In television, writers are supreme, and in the movies, writers are garbage. In television, the writers are often in charge of everything, even more than directors.

- On any television show, there’s a group of writers. On the L Word, Ilene had a relatively small group of writers. She was a head writer who chose writers, and they all worked together as a group, talking about their ideas in collaborative way. At certain points, Ilene would give everyone certain scripts or stories to write or contribute to a storytelling, but as the head writer, she had the final say.

VIP reception

During the VIP reception we all had a chance to approach Ilene and talk to her. I found her by herself for a moment and asked if she always had a big picture in her mind about where the storylines would go when she pitched the Pilot to the Showtime executives. Ilene replied that when she pitched the Pilot, she basically pitched the characters, but each season they would decide where their stories would go.

Then I asked if it was true that she never intended to get Bette and Tina back together after their break up in season 1. Ilene said that she didn’t intend not to get them back together, but there was a possibility that TiBette would end up in different relationships. Then I asked, “Why did you finally decide to reunite them? Was it because of the fans?” And Ilene said, “It was such a good story to tell and bringing them back together was part of it.”

Overall, I liked event. It was entertaining and informative and just another little connection to the show that I missed so much already.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Jennifer Beals and Ilene Chaiken ponder "Life after The L Word"

by Amelia Manderscheid for afterellen.com from The New York Times discussion series Times Talk on April 20 in New York City

A six-year fantasy of mine came true on Monday night when Ilene Chaiken had to answer to her audience at a New York Times Talk in New York City. Having Jennifer Beals there to confirm why every lesbian I know is in love with her made the event unforgettable and most likely is why it sold out (she’s just as radiantly beautiful in person in case you were wondering).

The moderator was Kim Severson, a staff writer for the Dining section of The New York Times.

I am 99 percent confident she was chosen because she is an out lesbian, but I knew she was going to be an excellent fans’ representative when she began the talk by asking “What the hell?!” in response to the ending of the sixth season.

On cue, Chaiken replied with her standard fare about how bittersweet it was to say goodbye to The L Word and that since she was upset, she wanted everyone else to suffer, too. In terms of who killed Jenny, all she would say was that “life has no resolutions,” to which Severson replied “that’s why we watch TV!”

Learning of the “whodunit” plan for the sixth season, Beals said she begged Ilene, “Please, please don’t do that.” Beals had hoped that the ending would celebrate the achievements of The L Word and the friendships and relationships in the show, which I’m sure every fan agrees with. “I just didn’t think it did these women justice. It should have celebrated these women’s lives instead.”

We watched a promo video of The L Word for the sixth season to “warm us up” for the discussion. While the clip played on stage, Beals jokingly went all Psycho-shower-scene on Chaiken when the “who killed Jenny” voice-over came on. (I was happy to see they can joke with each other, which proved to be the first of several demonstrations of mutual respect over the course of the panel.)

Te panel moved on to the future. Since The Farm did not get picked up by Showtime, Chaiken confirmed that the development of the show will not continue. She expressed her continued interest in making an L Word movie, and promised that she would come back from the dark side to make the happy ending we hoped for if we gave her one more chance. One fan exclaimed interest in a wedding, which I’m sure all of the Bette and Tina fans would enjoy in lieu of Jenny’s funeral.

To my excitement, Beals and Chaiken also announced that they are working together on a project that is along the same “thematic sense” (i.e. lesbian) of The L Word. They promised more information would be available soon.

Kim Severson then directed the conversation to why Jennifer Beals was interested in The L Word in the first place and the show’s numerous guest appearances. Beals noted that many roles for women in Hollywood are one-dimensional, and that the lives of the characters women can play generally revolve around men.

Chaiken agreed that The L Word’s complex roles brought many actresses to the show. When they were preparing to do press after the filming of the first season, Beals said she did not initially realize it was the first lesbian TV show. She believes that “homophobia is a form of misogyny” and passionately talked about how, by portraying a lesbian, she realized that all women share a connected experience.

Chaiken wouldn't cop to trying to "change the world," when prompted by Severson, but Beals was more forthright about the show's impact, stating that “the personal is political.” She grew emotional when she spoke of how she frequently thought of an isolated young woman in a small-town who had no sense of a lesbian community, but could see a part of herself reflected on The L Word, saying, “Giving someone the opportunity to be authentic is just wonderful.”

Severson slyly asked Chaiken the question on everyone’s mind: how much input did she receive from fellow producers and the cast? Chaiken said that she thought she was not a control freak, and that often the final product was much better with collaboration. Beals agreed, "that’s not my experience of you — other than the sixth season!”

It was heartening to see Beals stand up for her convictions and appear so unscripted.

After about an hour of discussion led by Severson, the panel opened up to audience questions. My favorite response came when one of the few men in attendance asked why the character of Marina ended after the first season. Beals blurted out, “Why did Dana die? Why was Tina raped by her sister? I mean, what?!”

I asked the last question of the night about the development of Bette’s character over the six seasons. Beals criticized Chaiken’s decision to make Bette a perpetual cheater, but appreciated the fact that the character finally learned to balance family and work over the course of the series.

Severson closed the talk by asking about the future of lesbian television, and if The L Word would get green-lighted today. Chaiken believed that it absolutely would not — primarily because it had just been done, but noted that she had hoped to “pass the baton,” and was “deeply saddened by the cultural desert” of lesbians on television.

Even though many fans debate the ending of The L Word, I doubt any of us would disagree with Chaiken’s summary of the lack of lesbian representation.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

NY Times Talk Panel: Jennifer Beals is a Perfect Human and Ilene Chaiken Talks A Lot

by Riese on autostraddle.com

We are in a theater looking at a stage and on that stage are three women:

Our moderator Kim Severson (we’ve been told she’s a lesbian and a New York Times food writer), Ilene Chaiken (the writer, executive producer and creator of Showtime’s hit series The L Word)– and Jennifer Beals, the actress from The L Word.

Beals, in a sharp black suit, is stunning. She’s humble, intelligent, well-spoken, honest and brave. She exudes a perfection so engaging that we sometimes felt a halo was about to spring from her ears; emanating a soothing, healing radiant glow into the audience.

Chaiken, wearing adolescent-y wedged black boots, is a not like that at all. She vacillates aggressively within a Venn Diagram of confidently stated hypocrisies. Her voice reminds us of a Mom who talks too loud when you’re trying to look cool.

Ilene is snappish yet intensely self-satisfied. She exudes a hubris so misapplied that we sometimes felt a trap door was about to open beneath her chair. [Simultaneously Beals would elevate to the brightest ring of angels around heaven]. In fact; her discomfort almost made me feel sad for her … but I knew this sadness could lead to endearment, and then I’d lose my edge/platform/ethics.

Kim Severson was on point from the get-go. Her first question: “What the hell?“

Chaiken consistently employs entry-level HR linguistic slights-of-hand to evade or redirect questions and conversations. Much of the audience seemed receptive to Chaiken, which confused me, and possibly made my blood boil occasionally. [Luckily we were drunkity drunk drunk!] But I respected Jennifer for the mature, careful relationship her and Ilene have — it works. It’s good, I think.

The Entrance:

Kim Severson was on point from the get-go. Her first question: “What the hell?”

Chaiken’s response was, as it’s always been; “Real life doesn’t have resolutions …” etc etc., and I’d barely uttered “That’s why we watch TV,” under my breath before Severson said just that! Ilene clumsily pirouetted onward, dodging questions about her bad choices with Chaikenisms : “We’re here to tell good stories,” “Real life is unresolved,” “we have changed the world,” “We are the champions, my friend [Start EZ Girl Remix of Queen's "We are the Champions"], and “I wanna tell good stories and entertain people.” We also got a few: “If we didn’t incite controversy and conversation, then we wouldn’t have been on the air for six seasons.”
ZOMG! Deep breath.


Almost immediately Chaiken made her first move by mentioning the possibility of  The L Word movie — she put it on the table like a music box, a thing she could shake and play if we ever got unruly. This worked, mostly — people were audibly energized the moment she claimed to have the ability to bring us MORE L WORD. Beals said, as she has before, that she’d love to participate if it happens. [Rumor has it that it probably won't -- that most of the actors don't want to play their characters again -- good riddance and so forth.]

But Ilene’s consistent re-enforcement of a potential pipe dream was indicative of Chaiken’s most apparent personality trait: neediness. She needs attention. Any kind of attention. She mentioned the movie to seal our attention and from that point she felt confident sailing along her illusory river of words. She is the benevolent captain of a ship soaring aimlessly forward and though she keeps a few crewmen within shouting distance and will entertain a pirate for a minute or two, she’s pretty confident she’s got this shit on lockdown, and we will be in Tijiuana before nightfall. Her answers grew progressively obtuse while her pride seemed to puff up around her defensively, like a skunk spraying the air. She emoted biblically. [Editor's Note: All these quotes are approximate, I took notes but didn't have a recorder. I'll correct them in the future when I can get a transcript]

Kim: “Do you think lesbians eat their own? You took a lot of hits from the critics.”

IFC: “People will always have something to yell about, and that’s part of what we do as storytellers … you know, the Jenny character was Jewish, and then people got upset at me that I made the Jewish character crazy! There will always be something to ignite controversy and start conversations.”

Kim: “Wasn’t that character based on you?”


“When Ilene said the show wasn’t political,” Beals explained, deeply invested, “I thought — well, the personal is political … even thinking if there’s one girl in the middle of nowhere who can see herself reflected and … know that she’s beautiful. Giving someone the opportunity to be authentic is just wonderful.”

Jennifer got teary a lot.

This makes us love her more.

Jennifer is direct, unapolagetic and readily emotive whether she’s discussing her outrage over a woman assaulted in the woods where she goes running or thanking the fans for all their support.

Jennifer Beals is one of those heterosexual women we’re lucky to have so firmly and proudly on our side. “I see homophobia as a form of misogyny,” Jennifer says. “I see how all women are connected, gay and straight, because we are all repressed or repress ourselves in some way.”

Audience: “What happened to Marina?”

J-Beals:[laughing] “Why did Dana die? Why was Tina raped by her sister? I mean — what?!”

On the topic of Season Six and her issues with it, Beals admitted she was opposed to the “dark” plotline and that it was the first season where she and Ilene frequently butted heads — but that she’d get through these bad scenes by remembering, “I’m there — my job as an actress is to serve the story. So I really had to do my best to serve the story, and focus on doing that, but with the final season I just didn’t think it did these women justice. It should’ve celebrated these women’s lives instead. I would do the scenes and then go to my trailer and yell WHYYY???”


However in general she felt “heard” by the writing team and despite some “gross inconsistencies” that they needed to cross, she felt Bette was a good strong character and Jennifer carries Bette Porter inside her always. She and Ilene both were proud of the work they did that enabled other women to come online, meet each other and start to tell their own stories and feel blessed to have made that happen.

Audience: “What did you think of Laurel’s speech at the Bravo A-List Awards?”

J-Beals: “I didn’t see it, I’m always the last one to see everything … what happened? [is filled in on Laurel saying TV is getting progressive if she can win an award for sitting on Jennifer's face] “Oh, she’s a witty gal, isn’t she.”

Beals discussed her hesitance with the first love scene for the pilot and her concern that she would be this “ugly heterosexual person” who didn’t know what she was doing. She then explained how she began focusing on the emotions and worked skillfully from there because that’s the real heart of it. I swear I heard women gasping breathlessly during this particular discussion. I may have said “OMG, I want to see someone orgasm in their pants right now.” I may have been really annoying to sit close to.

Kim: “Let’s talk about the clothes.”

J-Beals, in amazing funny voice: “That’s what I miss the most.”

She shared an anecdote about a recent shoot where the director promised not linger too long on her breasts during a scripted scan and she said “Honey, I’ve done The L Word. Linger wherever you want to linger” because “sexuality is sexuality.”

Kim: “Who killed Jenny? I mean — did you even have an idea in your head?”

IFC: “Let’s go back to the last question.”

Ilene dodged political responsibility but gladly stepped up to say that she “changed the world.” Kim, scowling and nearly rolling her eyes, said: “Yeah, you did. You did.” At this point I was also slightly in love with Kim the moderator, I might start reading about food in The New York Times now.

The World According to Ilene:

Reason OurChart folded - CBS, who she loves dearly for letting her do the show but who ruined OurChart.

Why did Dana die - ‘Cause people die in real life.

Why did all these other characters disappear? - These are complicated decisions — business decisions — that you cannot understand.

Reason there are no new lesbian shows - Because of the economy, because she already made one, because she happened to seize upon the grand moment and now we are in a cultural desert which makes her sad.

Why did you ___? - What’s that? A Bird? We tell stories! WHOOZIEWHATZIT! Hey ! Look at the possible movie! It’s dancing! There will be lesbians! No plans, but look at the possibility! It glows, just like Jennifer’s face!

What the hell is going on with the Interrogation Tapes: She “wanted to address telling stories and answering questions and [they] didn’t have enough time to tell all those stories” during the show’s run. [!!!]

Who Killed Jenny? Ilene deflects. Someone in the audience yells “Ilene Chaiken!”

Is Writing Collaborative? Yes, but The Chaiken is solitary. But more and more people will come to her with objections and “more often than not the other ideas were better than mine.”
For the last half hour the audience could ask questions, but most of the people who stepped up to the mic wanted to talk about their feelings and then ask questions, which was cute but also not timely. Except for the lovely rep from Tibette.com who got right to the point, that’s how you do it ladies. I wrote “OMG TIBETTE.COM HAS SENT A REPRESENTATIVE” in all caps in my notebook.
From my notebook, before the show: “We’re very wet and on the train. I hope this train is gong to Lezzie-Town. Alex is drinking sakè from a water bottle. There is rain in our hair. I hope something crazy happens, like a catfight. I’m going into this now how I went into the show — emotionally prepared for spot-on drama & comedy but knowing deep down inside how unlikely it is that the show will effect me with all I am ready to bare. This sake is turning the roof of my mouth into styrafoam. Hi-ho, High-Ho, it’s off to Ilene we go.”

Someone asks about the Interrogation tapes and if they can go on indefinitely. I am confused, and a little bit scared. No one understands the question. Beals hasn’t seen hers.

Every time Jennifer speaks, the room hums with positive energy. She wants to make a photography book to get some money into charity causes. She is so perfect. She is up there with Rachel Maddow in the Realm of Perfect Humans.

Jennifer Beals: “I did a triathalon –”

[audience explodes into applause]

Kim: “And one time, she had breakfast!”[to Jennifer:] “They adore you!”

Ultimately, I can say that this show did one thing right: it assembled a marvelous cast who breathed life into occasionally fantastic and often mediocre material and it told women’s stories. Beals noted that prior to TLW, she’d never seen so many multi-dimensional female characters who weren’t written as romantic or otherwise complements to a more complicated male. She said: “Love is very important but it’s not the only story — well, perhaps it is the only story, because everything we do is for a kind of love — love for work, love for family…”

And The L Word told women’s stories no better or worse than a lot of things that have been out there. As a show for women, it did an exceptional thing. As a show for lesbian women we feel there’ve been so many talented people waiting so long to have a voice — and so many other women ready to be a part of that unveiling — that there could’ve been more — something better.


Afterwards Alex and I discussed how we both felt anxiety when Ilene was vaugely (during the OurChart convo) suggesting that something else like OC would be in the works at some point. I don’t think she meant it, she says a lot of strange things. I think we need new storytellers now and clearly there are brilliant artists out there ready to bring those words and dreams to life.

So we’ll plod on valiantly here with making our collective collaborative dreams come true — focusing on the business end, a major redesign and charting the expanses of our aspirations — and hopefully we’ll do so full of conviction and sunshine. Because we know that there are so many bright women who are open to their stories being told — and ready for it! — and we know that the beauty, in patches, that still shines through the vacant lot that housed the set where Jenny moved in with her boyfriend, Tina was ovulating, Dana didn’t want her fans to know she was a gay lady and Shane liked Lacey a lot, but she liked a lot of people.

We like all of you. We liked that show [sometimes], but we like a lot of things. We like a lot of things a lot more than we liked that show.

So … let’s do it! The future is as bright as Jennifer Beals’ personality. Trust me.

Monday, April 20, 2009

First pics from the 20th Annual Glaad Media Awards in LA

Pictures by wireimage, gettyimages and jamd


See all pics here!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I'll scream later

by Marlee Matlin "I'll scream later" - Look on Amazon.com

Critically acclaimed and award-winning actress Marlee Matlin reveals the illuminating, moving, and often surprising story of how she defied all expectations to become one of the most prolific and beloved actresses of our time.

Marlee Matlin entered our lives as the deaf pupil turned custodian audiences fell in love with in Children of a Lesser God, a role for which she became the youngest woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar. More than twenty years after her stunning big screen debut, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actress is an inspirational force of nature -- a mother, an activist, and a role model for millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people around the world.

In I'll Scream Later, Marlee takes readers on the frank and touching journey of her life, from the frightening loss of her hearing at eighteen months old to the highs and lows of Hollywood, her battles with addiction, and the unexpected challenges of being thrust into the spotlight as an emissary for the deaf community. She speaks candidly for the first time about the troubles of her youth, the passionate and tumultuous two-year relationship with Oscar winner William Hurt that dovetailed with a stint in rehab, and her subsequent romances with heartthrobs like Rob Lowe, Richard Dean Anderson, and David E. Kelley.

Though she became famous at the age of twenty-one, Marlee struggled all her life to connect with people, fighting against anyone who tried to hold her back. Her own mother often hid behind their communication barrier, and Marlee turned to drugs before she even started high school. However, she found in acting -- with the encouragement of her mentor, Henry Winkler -- a discipline, a drive, and a talent for understanding the human condition that belied her age and her inability to hear. By the time Hollywood embraced her, she had almost no formal training, a fact that caused many other deaf actors to give her the cold shoulder, even as she was looked upon as a spokesperson for their community.

She has played memorable roles on wildly popular television shows such as Seinfeld, The West Wing, and The L Word, danced a show-stopping cha-cha-cha on Dancing with the Stars, and now, with uncompromising honesty and humor, Marlee shares the story of her life -- an enduring tale that is an unforgettable lesson in following your dreams.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The "Lez Garter" Campaign 2009

by The home of the "Lez Garter" Campaign

Do you want a TLW Movie? - Please join the 'Lez Garter' Campaign

THE 17 REASONS WHY WE WANT MORE L WORD STORIES

Legitimization– Television, a “living space medium”, can be a powerful agent of change in our culture. This promotes social acceptance and, eventually, legislative change.


Lightening – It can strike twice for Showtime, if the heart and soul of The L Word, “Bette and Tina”, are at the center of the stories told.

Liberal – The L Word has a large heart, is open minded, tolerant and kind.

Left – The L Word left us all wanting more love, more lust, more lechery, and more life.

Legitimacy – This is imprinted upon a community, by society as a whole, when the stories of an underrepresented group are acknowledged in the entertainment media.

Lobotomy – The procedure we will all need to get over our longing to see the characters we fell in love with over the past six years.

Lessons – The women of the "L" dispelled many myths and stereotypes about lesbians through thought- provoking story telling.

Luciferous – "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." -Edith Wharton-. The L Word has been both the candle and the mirror.

Liberty - The L Word reminds us we were born free and equal.

Level playing field – Whether we happen to be straight, gay, bi-sexual or transgender, we all equally enjoy laughter, loyalty, friendship and a great LOVE story.

Legalized marriage – It’s the last bastion of civil rights, and another reason telling the story of “Bette and Tina’s” marriage is both romantic and socially important.

Lust and Lascivious – We admit it, we love seeing the sex scenes and the glamour on The L Word. After 80 years of movies showing straight love scenes, isn’t it only fair?

Leap of Faith – We bow to the wonderful actors who took that leap, without fear, to honorably, proudly, and authentically, portray these characters.

Liquor – The “L” women age like a bottle of fine red wine; the more you watch, the more you want.

Loyalty – All women will support all women when they share the universal connections through our stories.

Life – Showtime breathed life into an untapped market that has just awakened to the possibilities when our stories are thoughtfully told. It "coaxed us away from the mechanical, toward the miraculous."

Love – What we see with every “Bette and Tina” kiss.


Do you want a TLW Movie? - Please join the 'Lez Garter' Campaign

Monday, April 6, 2009

TLW cast members: what are they doing now…

By BetteAndTinaForever on l-word.com

Jennifer Beals


Well, it certainly seems that Jennifer is the busiest of the bunch. She appears in two movies, one TV show, and several events and benefits.

- On April 4 she is one of the presenters at the 7th annual Illuminations LA benefit for the American Fertility Association. “At this year’s Illuminations LA, The AFA will honor Dr. Daoshing Ni of Tao of Wellness with the Joyce M. Vargyas, MD, Visionary Award, and the cast of ABC’s Brothers and Sisters will be presented with the Advocacy Award. Brenda Strong will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies, and Jennifer Beals and Luke Macfarlane will be among the award presenters at the event, which is designed to raise much-needed support and education funds for The American Fertility Association”
(http://www.ereleases.com/pr/starfilled-evening-afas-illuminations-los-angeles-17882).

- Beals’ French film “Joueuse” appears in the World Narrative Feature Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, which “unveiled its Narrative, Documentary and Discovery competition roster Monday morning, featuring a new streamlined event with 84 features and 46 shorts screening April 22 - May 3.” Here’s a short description of the film: “Queen To Play” (Joueuse) - directed and written by Caroline Bottaro. (France, Germany). Sandrine Bonnaire plays an inquisitive hotel maid captivated by a vacationing couple (Jennifer Beals, Francis Renaud) playing chess. Thus begins her obsession with mastering the game and transforming her uninspired life. An American expat (Kevin Kline) mentors her in the game that alters both their lives in this delightful feel-good French import” (http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/03/09/tribeca_unveils_46_world_debuts_in_leaner_line_up_for_2009/).

- “Joueuse” is not the only film that Jennifer Beals was filming recently. “Joining up with Denzel Washington, Beals will co-star in the action-thriller ‘The Book of Eli’. The script, by Gary Whitta with a rewrite by Anthony Peckham, centers on a lone hero named Eli (Washington) who must fight his way across the wasteland of a near-future America to protect a sacred book that might hold the key to saving humanity. Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis are also in the cast. Beals is playing Oldman’s sexual prize and Kunis’ mother, a blind woman doing anything she can to protect her child” (http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE50Q10Y20090127) ‘The Book of Eli’ hits theaters on January 15th, 2010.

- On April 18, Jennifer will appear at the GLAAD Awards ceremony along with some other cast members. “Showtime drama The L Word will receive a Special Recognition Award as the show concludes its sixth and final season. The L Word broke new ground for LGBT visibility on television with its focus of exploring the lives and loves of a group of lesbian and bisexual women in Los Angeles. Created by Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken and featuring a talented ensemble cast, the show is unique for prominently featuring women – many of them lesbian or bisexual - both in front of and behind the camera. The show has gained worldwide popularity, airing in 39 countries, and received nominations and trophies from the Emmy Awards, the NAACP Image Awards, the Leo Awards, the Satellite Awards, and the GLAAD Media Awards. Chaiken, along with cast members Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Kate Moennig, and Pam Grier will accept the award” (http://www.glaad.org/events/ma_detail.php?event_id=179).

- During the L5 Convention Jennifer told the audience that she wouldn’t mind doing another television show, as long as it’s really good. Well, maybe we won’t see her on another show that will last six years but she will appear in a multi-episode arc on Fox’s TV series “Lie to Me” where she will play the ex-wife of Tim Roth’s fib detector and the mother of their daughter, Emily (Hayley McFarland). “Her character, an assistant U.S. attorney by the name of Zoe Landau, hires her former hubby to assist with an arson case, and it quickly becomes apparent that the onetime spouses still have unresolved feelings to work through. Beals’ first episode airs April 29” (http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/03/lie-to-me-exclu.html).

- Another exciting news is Jennifer’s book of photographs that she took on the set of The L Word during six years. “Jennifer Beals revealed that she is working on a book of photos of the cast throughout the seasons filming and off set. The proceeds will go to charity, including the Matthew Shepard Foundation” (http://www.buzzsugar.com/2697605). In addition to the photos, most of the cast members are contributing a paragraph or two about their experience on The L Word. At the L5 Convention Jennifer told me that she didn’t want to do it at first but Mia Kirshner persuaded her and even set Jennifer up with her own publisher to accomplish that task. Jennifer also said that she is planning to put the book on-line for the fans of the show and raise money for charities that way.

Pam Grier

- Pam is writing her autobiography book that is coming out in January 2010. The book will include a chapter on her six-year experience playing Kit Porter on The L Word. As she told me last year during our interview on the set, “I’m starting my book, my memoir, by Grand Central Publishing, it will be out next year and we talked about these real issues.”

- Pam is also appears in two movies that are coming soon, ‘Identity’ and ‘The Invited’ (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000427/).

Leisha Hailey

- She is appearing at the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles on April 18.

- Leisha is also signed up for the Australian L Convention in Sydney in January 2010.

- In the meantime she is busy with her band Uh-Huh Her and just recently they sent this message to all their friends on myspace: “Well it's been 3 months of writing and we hit a wall today. We had to go out in the parking lot and play nerf football to let off some steam. The band next door started playing when they were on their cigarette break (smoking kills) and threw our ball up on the roof. It's down now. Our studio is super cute. We've been having a great time in here. Our dreams finally came true and we've been able to write together in the same room for more than 4 days at a time. Cam keeps the air conditioner at some arctic setting and I have to bring layers of clothing to get through the day. She is also on some sort of cleanse so she's a real joy to be around. We have two death metal bands on either side of us as well so we have to get most of our work done before they arrive. We tried to record vocals one night when they were practicing but it sounded like someone was being tortured to death in the background. Even with crazy obstacles like these we can still get a song written, that’s how deep our talent runs. We miss you terribly and promise to be more attentive to your needs. I think we're at the point where we can come out of our little hidey hole and let you know what we're up to. Big kiss, UHH.”

- Also, how can we forget the infamous TLW spin-off “The Farm” where Leisha’s character Alice is in jail, apparently for killing Jennifer Schecter. According to imdb.com, “After being convicted of murder Jenny Schecter, Alice is incarcerated in California's Humboldt State Farm and Prison for Women. Arriving alongside Alice is Valentina Galindo, a seemly humble articulate woman but beneath her gentle exterior lies a ruthless woman. She is feared by all and thought to be the most dangerous woman in California, while only convicted for racketeering, drugs and assault. Valentina is believed to be the Hitler of LA's underground responsible for ordering countless murders. Valentina has many enemies who would offer a handsome reward for her head (IMDB.com).

In her recent interview to mediablvd on-line magazine Leisha stated that she believes that Alice is innocent of that crime when she said, “Alice is falsely accused, in my book.” She also said in the same interview that she’s glad the new spin-off seems different from The L Word or she wouldn’t take it on. “I wouldn’t have taken it on if it felt like a continuation of the same thing. The fact that Alice is in a brand new scenario in prison, and the characters around her are so strong, scary and intimidating, and there are all these brand new ideas, it feels fresh. I think about what it would be like to be me going to prison, and it would be so insane and hard to deal with that that’s going to be a big, exciting acting challenge.".

Ilene Chaiken mentioned at the last event “An Evening with Ilene Chaiken” that right now The Farm is just a pilot presentation and it will be up to Showtime executives to pick it up and turn into a new series. Ilene and Leisha both are full of hope that if the spin-off gets picked up, the other characters might appear in it as well, visiting Alice in jail.

Alexandra Hedison

- The biggest news for Alexandra is her next show in Los Angeles where she is presenting her new series of photographs, Ithaka. This is Alexandra’s fourth solo exhibition of photographs where she uses the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest as a metaphor for the odyssey of life. She will have an open reception and a show at Frank Pictures Gallery (Bergamot Station) on April 4 (http://www.artslant.com/la/events/show/46962-moplas-official-opening-night-exhibition---alexandra-hedison-in-conjunction-with-projekt-la-part-1?print=1).

- In addition to being busy with her photography and the art show, Alexandra is scheduled to appear at the L6 Convention along with Pam Grier, Kate Moennig, Mia Kirshner, Rose Rollins and Guinevere Turner.

Laurel Holloman

- As we learned just barely a month ago, Laurel had at least one audition in her future. When she was at the Farewell Party in LA Laurel mentioned to EW that she couldn’t stay at the party too long because she had an audition the next morning (http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/the-l-word.html). The details about this audition are unknown at this time but we wish Laurel all the best in her career.

- Laurel is also scheduled to attend a few events in a near future. First in line is the Bravo’s second annual ‘The A-List Awards’ hosted by Kathy Griffin, which will pay tribute to Natasha Richardson. The show will be filmed on April 4 and shown on Bravo on April 15. This show “celebrates the best in food, fashion, beauty, design and pop culture and honor those who have made an unforgettable mark in the arts and showcase some of the leading creative minds in today's society.” By the way, Bette and Tina love scene in the elevator in episode 509 is among the nominees for the ‘Sexiest TV Moment’. I hope that TiBette scene will win because I think they deserve it.

- The next event for Laurel is the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles on April 18. Laurel will join Jennifer Beals, Ilene Chaiken, Pam Grier, Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey to accept an award that The L Word will receive a Special Recognition Award.

- Laurel was also asked to do an Australian Convention in Sydney in January 2010, along with Rachel Shelley and Leisha Hailey.

Mia Kirshner

- As you all well aware, Mia used a lot of her savings from her acting job to write and publish her first book, ‘I Live Here’. “With the show ending, Kirshner plans to move to New York. She sees ‘I Live Here’ as the first in a series, and will begin the next one next year” LA Times .

- In another interview Mia also said that her book was just the beginning. “My goal now, I'm going to get that book into as many universities as I can. This book needs to be taught, so I have a whole plan out there. MIT asked me to teach there, so I'm teaching a course on the book in January.".

Marlee Matlin

- The latest information on Marlee can be found on her myspace.com where she posted this message. “More about my book. People Magazine comes out this week with an excerpt from my autobiography ‘I'll Scream Later’. The book comes out April 14 and I’ll be on Good Morning America the day before (plus do several book signings in the New York area that week) to talk about it. I hope all of you go out and buy a copy (or two or three). This is a whole new path I’m taking here, talking about things I’ve never discussed before. It’s my hope that my truth can serve to inspire many many more than me just being the Deaf lady who asked America to ‘read my hips!’ on Dancing with the Stars.”

Kate Moennig

Kate also seems to be busy this year with projects and events.

- Kate Moennig is slated for ‘Three Rivers’, a pilot about a team of transplant surgeons. Kate will play a self-destructive lung/heart transplant fellow. The show derives its title from its Rashomon story-telling style in which each story is told from three points of view, the donors, the patients and the surgeons.

- She is scheduled to appear at the GLAAD Awards in LA and also at L6 in Blackpool.

- Kate will star in the movie ‘Everybody’s Fine’ with Robert De Niro that is in post-production right now.


Rachel Shelley

- Rachel’s horror movie, “The Children”, was released on the DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK on March 30th through Vertigo Films and Contender Home Entertainment. “The Children” is based on a story by Paul Andrew Williams and directed by Tom Shankland. Set on New Years Eve, two families come together to celebrate the holidays but they end up in a desperate fight for survival as one by one the children mysteriously fall ill and turn against their parents with horrifying consequences.

- Rachel is scheduled to appear at the Australian convention in 2010.

- Rachel also joined the UK-based lesbian Diva magazine as their celebrity columnist and she already posted her first article where she shared news about a book of memoir that Pam Grier wrote and about a book of on-set photos that Jennifer Beals is planning to release.

- The best news of all is that Rachel is five-months pregnant. She announced the news to the French Lesbian Magazine ‘Republique du Glamour’ and said that she had decided to put her career on hold for a while. Here’s a two-part podcast with Rachel.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Showtime Won't Buy "The Farm"

by Sarah Warn , Editor in Chief April 3, 2009 - afterellen.com


Showtime will not be airing The L Word spinoff The Farm, the entertainment industry's leading trade publications are reporting today.

"Showtime is zeroing in on new series pickups," Variety reports, and "it's understood that the pay cabler has passed on ... The Farm, an L Word spinoff from producer Ilene Chaiken." According to The Hollywood Reporter, earlier this week "the network informed the producers of two pilots — the L-Word spinoff starring Leisha Hailey and the Matthew Perry/Peter Tolan comedy The End of Steve — that they would not continue."

The L Word and The Farm creator Ilene Chaiken

The pilot for the women-in-prison drama focused on The L Word's Alice (Leisha Hailey) after she is convicted of killing Jenny (Mia Kirshner), whose death was left unresolved in the series finale of the lesbian drama last month.

Although the actresses were unaware of the murder plot during filming, the entire final season of The L Word revolved around "Who Killed Jenny?" Showtime posed this question repeatedly on television and online before and during the eight-episode sixth season, with storylines written to give each of the main characters a motive for the murder.

But when the series ended on March 8, the question remained unanswered, primarily because, Chaiken told The L.A. Times in January, "I don't actually feel compelled to answer it."

With the announcement of The Farm spinoff in the works, however, it was widely assumed by viewers that Alice would be convicted of the crime, although it is not known whether she actually committed it.

Alice (Leisha Hailey) being interrogated in the L Word finale.

At the TCA Winter Press Tour in January, Showtime Entertainment President Robin Greenblatt described The Farm as "grittier" than other female prison dramas, with only a few lesbians among the large cast of characters.

Famke Janssen, Melissa Leo, and Laurie Metcalfe had guest roles in the pilot, with the possibility of becoming series regulars.

Showtime has not yet officially commented on the status of The Farm.

Hailey is currently busy promoting her band Uh Huh Her.

With The L Word over and The Farm unlikely to air, there are few regular lesbian or bisexual characters slated to appear on primetime cable or premium TV in the near future. There are currently no lesbian characters in regular roles on primetime broadcast TV, and only three regular bisexual characters.

The Farm: «The L Word»-Spin-off ohne Chance für Serien-Order?

Bernd Michael Krannich am Freitag, 3.April 2009 - serienjunkies.de


Momentan werden beim amerikanischen Abo-Sender Showtime in New York vier fertig gestellte Piloten gesichtet, um zu entscheiden, welche davon - maximal jedoch zwei - in Serie gehen: „The Farm“, „The End of Steve“, „Ronna & Beverly“ und „Possible Side Effects“. Dabei sollen nach Insiderinformationen die ersten beiden Projekte bereits aus dem Rennen sein.

Keine Chancen gibt es demnach für das Projekt „The Farm“ von Produzentin Ilene Chaiken. Der Pilot setzt die Handlung von „The L Word“ fort und beschreibt, wie Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) für den Mord an Jenny Schecter (Mia Kirshner) verurteilt wird und nun im Gefängnis sitzt. Weitere Rollen Piloten hatten Melissa Leo, Laurie Metcalf und Famke Janssen inne (Serienjunkies vom 19.01.2009). Chaiken wies darauf hin, dass trotz ihrer Verurteilung für den Mord noch lange nicht bewiesen sei, das Alice wirklich die Mörderin sei. Vermutlich werden wir die diesbezügliche Wahrheit nun nie erfahren.
„The Farm: «The L Word»-Spin-off ohne Chance für Serien-Order?“ nachzulesen bei Serienjunkies.

Ebenso chancenlos soll die Comedy „The End of Steve“ sein, in der „Friends“-Star Matthew Perry einen Moderator einer lokalen Fernsehshow spielt, der mit persönlichen Dämonen zu kämpfen hat ((Serienjunkies vom 16.10.2008), (Serienjunkies vom 12.12.2008)). Weiter Rollen im Piloten hatten Kiele Sanchez, Martha Plimpton, Eddie Shin, Nate Torrence und Dreama Walker inne.

Somit sind nur noch zwei Serien im Rennen. In der Serie „Possible Side Effects“ geht es um eine Familie die in gestörten Verhältnissen lebt und in der Welt der Arzneimittel ihr Geld verdient. Dabei wird gezeigt, dass es in der Arzneimittelbranche auch um Politik, Einflussnahme und horrende Gewinne, die die Pharmafirmen erzielen, geht. Darsteller sind Josh Lucas (Serienjunkies vom 30.07.2008), Ellen Burstyn (Serienjunkies vom 01.10.2008) und Jason Buttler Horner (Serienjunkies vom 26.11.2008).

Als weiteres Projekt steht noch der Comedy-Pilot „Ronna & Beverly“ von „Weeds“-Produzentin Jenji Kohan zur Disposition. Darin geht es um zwei ältere jüdische Frauen und ihre zänkische Beziehung in Boston. Hinter dem Projekt steht das Produktionsstudio Lionsgate TV.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Clementine Sets the Record "Straight"

By Michael Fairman - An Advocate.com exclusive posted March 31, 2009


Clementine Ford tackles daytime television on The Young & the Restless, sets the record "straight" on those L Word rumors, and talks about her life on her terms.

Get ready Genoa City! Tomorrow, Mackenzie "Mac" Browning reappears on the canvas in the form of former L Word star Clementine Ford. Best known for her role as Molly Kroll and as the eldest daughter of Hollywood favorite Cybill Shepherd, Clementine's foray into daytime is one of the most highly anticipated of the soap season.

For those who need a refresher course on Mac... She is the ex-girlfriend of Billy Abbott, who ran away to Darfur when it was revealed that they were cousins shortly after they were married. Well, new DNA results this week involving her grandmother and Billy's mother will cause a seismic shift in relationships...and the drama begins!

In real life, Clementine has gone through drama of another kind. A recent interview with the U.K.'s Diva magazine, whose cover headline touted "Clementine Ford Comes Out," left a bit of a mess for the actress to clean up. The interview intimated that she slept with one of her L Word costars (she didn't) and put the subject of her sexuality center stage. "I am gay," she tells Advocate.com. "I just wanted there not to be this big emphasis on it."

Clementine chatted with Advocate.com about her exciting new adventure on the number 1-rated soap The Young & the Restless, to clear up any rumors or misrepresentations her LGBT fans might be curious about, and to give us a hint at what to expect in her new role!

Congratulations on your new role. You are stepping into a recast role on the top-rated soap. What are your feelings about it and your experience so far doing daytime?
I am a lucky bitch! It's so nerve-racking. It's like I felt on The L Word when I went into that core group who has been together forever. I was surprised because you hear horror stories about going in, and the intimidation of the group. I thought, Well, this will never happen again, and then I get this job. I am nervous, but my friend, Y&R's Greg Rikaart [Kevin Fisher], told me wonderful things about everyone on the show. And sure enough, everybody is great.

Being a sudser rookie, did your pal Greg Rikaart give you any soapy advice?
He said "Keep going! In soaps every day is a new day." I have gotten one piece of advice from the cast. They told me it's going to be one of the hardest jobs I've ever had, especially the first little while till I hit my stride. Once I hit my stride it will be fine.

Mac comes back just as her ex, Billy, is getting married to Chloe Mitchell.
I do. What prompts her return is she has heard that her grandmother might be alive, and she wants to find out for herself. This has been someone who is so important in her life and she comes back, and that is the only agenda. The wedding is a huge surprise and shock for her.

Certain family DNA tests come out at the wedding. How does that affect Mac?
Let's just say the DNA tests affect me in a way that any 25- or 26-year-old in this situation would be affected. It's [Katherine Chancellor's] and [Jill Foster Abbott's] DNA. Mac is [Brock Reynold's] daughter, who is Katherine's son. The DNA results that come back, and the love of my life who I thought was my cousin, is now married with a baby, and is not my cousin! Now, to come back and to see that there is a wedding, and that you are now not actually cousins, begs the questions: Do I run away? Do I try? Do I just try to exist in this world where this guy is inches away, but a hundred light-years away?

You are working with a daytime living legend, Jeanne Cooper, who plays Katherine. What were your initial thoughts?
I can honestly say that she is an incredible lady. God willing, I am that on it at her age. She is so on it -- funny and so warm. I cannot say enough good things about her.

So Mac, being the humanitarian, is still full of good will when she is confronted with her family?
She was working in Darfur doing good deeds, which is hilarious, because my sister in real life was working in a Palestinian refuge camp in Jordan. So my sister is the person I pretend to be, and she is my little sister. Mac is a genuinely good person and has the best of intentions.

Who have you been able to work with so far on Y&R?
I mostly have worked with Billy Miller [Billy], Elizabeth Hendrickson [Chloe], Jess Walton [Jill], Jeanne, and Adrienne Frantz [Amber Moore]. One thing that I loved was some of my initial scenes with Jess and Jeanne. I could not remember the backstory, but all I had to do was look into their eyes and pay attention and I knew immediately what the history was.

Do you have an idea of where your character will be heading for the next several months?
I have heard inklings, but they are very protective of what is going to happen. I have heard three different possibilities.

But Mac will have romance?
It's a soap. Hello!

Molly was a great character on The L Word! How was your experience there?
I had a great time and it changed my life. I think it's not that much different than the soap world. There are people that come up to you that surprise you, who watch the show and love it. There are fans that are obsessive and love it, and then there are people who say "What's that?"

The L Word was groundbreaking for television, with an all-lesbian story. Did you feel that way about the show?
I was excited to be working. In terms of it being groundbreaking, I think in a way it's a shame. I don't think it should be groundbreaking; it should not be made into a thing. There should be gay couples on television and lesbian and transgender people on television. It should be something that is normal. It's exciting that it was groundbreaking, but now where do we go?

Did you receive comments from people or fans from your performances on The L Word?
I had people come up to me and say that it made a difference. Even people who are older than me would come up to me and tell me that to be a character and come into the story as someone who has a "stick up her ass" about so many things and the lesbian issue, and then to see that change, was good for them. I do think it's difficult for a lot of women who have come from certain backgrounds who are expected to have a different life. It's not easy, and you don't know where to necessarily put things, and you are not sure and a little timid. I had a lot of people coming up to me telling me that it was nice for them to see someone going through that struggle and figuring their way.

Was there more pressure for you to succeed in show biz because your mom is famous? Did you have any misgivings when you made the choice to be an actress?
I think it kind of bit me in the ass later, because her name got me in the door at a lot of places and I was not ready. Then I started working and I realized, You know, people will make comparisons, whether you like it or not. It's really hard, and you kind of have to step back and go, Am I following my path or am I following their path? I think with time it's been my path. My career and my life are very different. So I kind of got over that hump real quick.

What did your mom say when you landed the role on Y&R?
She was thrilled! My mom has never watched the show that I know of. I don't think she was a big soap person, but growing up, my stepmom and I used to watch the ABC soaps: All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital. My mom very rarely watches TV. She is a movie person. She better start watching now!

When you finally got to set foot on the CBS sound stage of Y&R, what happened?
I kind of got on set and looked around and went, "Oh, my God! I know who all of you are." It was exciting! Melody Thomas Scott [Nikki Newman] and Peter Bergman [Jack Abbott] were there. And to all of those actors I was like, "Hey, you and you and you! I totally know you!"

Let's clear the air on the interview that ran recently with Diva magazine, in which the cover read "Clementine Ford Comes Out." In the piece, it sort of intimated you came out and that you had an affair with your costar of The L Word, Kate Moennig. Then you did an interview with TV Guide magazine where you attempted to clarify. It sort of has given you some pushback from fans. Can you tell us what happened?
It's funny. I was having kind of a rough day. My best friend sent me a text saying, "You have to see this." So I went online to see this link and I read the comments and I go, "They hate me!" When I did the TV Guide interview I was angry because there is the whole perception now that I came out and I went back in. And what upset me was, I felt that because I did not "come out" in that interview, I felt it was unfair to fans that bought the magazine expecting to get a tearful story that says "I'm gay." I thought it was misleading, and now because I was upset by that cover, I am apparently back in the closet and people hate me.

But can you understand how some people may have been confused when in a magazine piece you are quoted like that?
There are people who get it, and get what my original meaning was. Just as I was talking about story lines being a nonissue on The L Word; it should just be these people are gay and it's part of life. I think with that article, and what came across as ambiguity, was actually my attempt at making it a nonissue. Look, I am gay, and I just wanted there not to be this big emphasis on it.

What about the reported "fling"?
I would never!

Any of your L Word costars weigh in on your new soap role?
I talk to Kate Moennig all the time, and she was the first person I told. She told me congratulations.

Growing up in show business, do you think it gave you a different perspective on life?
I am one of those people who are really lucky. I have no shame about that at all, and I had a really great time. Yes, my mom is an actress and I grew up in Los Angeles. There are a lot of things I did that most of the people don't get to see and [I met a lot of people that most don't get to meet], but at the same time, I was born in Memphis, Tenn. My other side of the family is very Irish-Catholic. My father is a bartender, and my stepmom is a nurse. For me, I grew up in the best of both worlds, with a sense of value and a sense of being grounded, as well as traveling all over the world and doing incredible things.

Proposition 8 has been such a hot-button issue since the election in November. What do you think is missing in the media representation of gay relationships that clouds the mainstream's perception of marriage equality as a civil rights issue?
We have all heard it, where people have coined the phrase "straight marriage," and that is a big thing for me. It's like, "Why is it different? Get over it." If you don't want to have a gay marriage, don't have one. Don't marry someone of the same sex, but let me do it if I want to!" Ellen and Portia became poster children for gay marriage because we don't have a lot of people that are representing this. There are still those walls, and there are those people who say, "Hide who you are. Be careful. Don't be too gay." I think a lot of that, and the media feeding into that, is part of the reason that Prop. 8 passed.

In closing, what can we look forward to from Mac on Y&R?
Two teases come to mind: Billy or Chloe, which one does she choose? Will Mac stay in Genoa City, or does she go? Stay tuned....