Sandra Bernhard Archives - Big Gay Picture Show

Starring: Jewel Thais-Williams, Madonna, Sandra Bernhard, Sharon Stone, Thea Austin
Director: C. Fitz
Running Time: 90 mins
Certificate: NR

Although some may not have heard of the Jewel’s Catch One nightclub, for others it’s a legendary venue – the Studio 54 of the West Coast – that for over 40 years welcomed all, but mostly gay men and women, and was a particular refuge for the African-American LGBT population of LA. It also became a hangout for celebrities, and hosted a Madonna album launch.

This documentary looks at the club and more particularly the woman who founded it, Jewel Thais-Williams. Hers is a remarkable story. Despite having little money, she bought the bar that later expanded into the club at a time when women in California weren’t even allowed to be bartenders (unless they owned the bar). She wasn’t just a woman in a man’s world, she was a black woman in a white man’s world, and she was also a lesbian. [Read more…]

Whether crowd-funding movies will work in the long run still isn’t clear, but at the moment it’s a great way for films that would find difficulty getting cash through traditional sources to get made. One such film currently looking for backers is the gay-themed Such Good People, and unlike many others, it already has a cast attached of fairly well-known names attached, representing the good and the gay of US entertainment.

Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Partners), Randy Harrison (Queer As Folk USA), Lance Bass (N*Sync), Bree Turner (Grimm, The Ugly Truth), Jon Polito (American Gangster, Gangster Squad), Alec Mapa (Marley & Me), Drew Droege (Eating Out: Drama Camp), Mitch Silpa (Bridesmaids, Along Came Polly) and Broadway legend Sandra Bernhard are all set to star. The film is about ‘A young, gay couple discover a secret room filled with cash while house-sitting for wealthy friends… who die while out of the country.’

The makers are looking for $50,000, which is the bare bones of what’s needed to cover production costs, although the more cash they get, the more they’ll have to spend on locations and more time to shoot the film. Stewart Wade (Tru Loved, Coffee Date) is set to direct from a script by David Michael Barrett.

The makers says, ‘Our risks and challenges will be enormous. Even though that is true of every film production, at every budget, the smaller the budget the greater the challenges… We have something else, too: We have passion! And we believe that passion plus experience will equal a great little movie that will, with your help, come together to truly be something special.’

If you’d like to know more or give some cash, head over to Kickstarter.