GALECA & GLAAD: Gay 'Best of the Year' Honors
Friday, January 31, 2014 at 7:38PM 
Though I complain about the proliferation of awards groups some of them serve more of a purpose than others, even if they're also lining up to honor the same things as every other group. Like AIDS related Best Picture nominee Dallas Buyers Club twhich some gay critics don't like at all and on principal but which factors into both of the gay-specific awards recently announced.
Now, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has made really suspect endorsements over the years (Let us not speak of I Know Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) but they've also highlighted and fought against a very real problem so you have to respect their greasy wheel existence if not always their execution of message.
As per usual, GLAAD will hold a bicoastal bifurcated awards ceremony, first in Los Angeles in April and then in New York in May, long after Oscar season is over. GLAAD's film (and other medium) nominees as well as the nominees and winners of GALECA (the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) are after the jump with commentary and in some cases links. It's always bugged me that when magazines, blogs, and web articles are nominated for prizes the nominations list rarely have an easy way to check out the nominees so I figure I'm doing a public service by including them. You're welcome.
Kill Your Darlings honored by both groups
GLAAD
OUTSTANDING FILM – WIDE RELEASE
- Blue Is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects)
- Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
- Kill Your Darlings (Sony Pictures Classics)
- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Sony Pictures Releasing)
- Philomena (The Weinstein Company)
GLAAD apparently has a different definition of "wide" than almost anyone else. Blue is the Warmest Color never reached even 200 screens (the traditional definition of wide is at least thrice that amount) and Kill Your Darlings never even reached 100. I'm genuinely confused by this. Also, why did no one tell me that The Mortal Instruments was gay-related in some way? Please to explain.
OUTSTANDING FILM – LIMITED RELEASE
- Concussion (RADiUS-The Weinstein Company)
- Geography Club (Breaking Glass Pictures)
- Out in the Dark (Breaking Glass Pictures)
- Reaching for the Moon (Wolfe Releasing)
- Yossi (Strand Releasing)
I regret to inform that I've only seen one of these pictures (Yossi) and did not like it. Concussion I shall seek out since I've only heard good things, particularly about Robin Weigert getting a big role.
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
- The Fosters (ABC Family)
- Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
- Orphan Black (BBC America)
- Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family)
- Shameless (Showtime)
Grey's Anatomy is still on?!? Is GLAAD on the ABC Family payroll? I can't feel charitable toward ABC Family shows because they cancelled Bunheads and that was just not right. I'm still not over it.
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)
- Glee (Fox)
- Modern Family (ABC)
- Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
- Please Like Me (Pivot)
Glee is still on ?!? I'm kidding. I know it's still on. The more pertinent question is why is anyone giving it prizes at this point?
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL EPISODE (in a series without a regular LGBT character)
- “Bride and Prejudice,” The Soul Man (TV Land)
- “LARP and the Real Girl,” Supernatural (The CW)
- “Secret Lives,” Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime)
- “Snow Angels,” Elementary (CBS)
- “There’s the Door,” Necessary Roughness (USA Network)
Drop Dead Diva is still on ?!? I cannot accept this list because no Southland episode appears and speaking of great shows with a gay character.
OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
- Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
- In the Flesh (BBC America)
Why are there only two nominees?
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY
- Bridegroom (Virgil Films / OWN) -- awww, Glenn's "favorite"
- Call Me Kuchu (Cinedigm)
- God Loves Uganda (Variance Films)
- The New Black (Promised Land Films)
- Valentine Road (HBO) - Amir liked this. I cried throughout.
Remember when Call Me Kuchu & God Loves Uganda were oft compared and vying for Oscar attention. Neither were nominated but they both hit with GLAAD.
OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
- Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce (Fuse)
- Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual (WE tv)
- Dream School (Sundance Channel)
- Project Runway (Lifetime)
- Small Town Security (AMC)
As a life long fan of Cyndi Lauper I have the credentials to tell you that her reality series is TERRIBLE. It made me like her a little less which is a feat nothing has ever accomplished. No, not the wrestling fanaticism. No, not the years of covers and greatest hits albums instead of making awesome new pop, no not anything. The title is "Still So Unusual" a reference to her classic solo debut "She's So Unusual" but if anything the show, makes her look just like every other celebrity. Maybe it's the format which is lazily generic, taking no risks and following every single formal and formulaic element of the the weirdly nonflexible reality genre in terms of editing, confessionals, and lack of actual content in favor of repetition, overexplaining, prefacing and then recapping. I swear most shows using this format (i.e. most of them) could be like 10 minutes long there's so little actual content. End rant.
OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW EPISODE
- “Are Gay Parents Different?” The Ricki Lake Show (syndicated)
- “First Openly Gay NBA Player Jason Collins and his Family," Oprah’s Next Chapter(OWN)
- “Fred Rosser,” The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated)
- “Laverne Cox,” Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (FX) - embedded above
- “Modern Family Values,” Raising McCain (Pivot)
OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM – NEWSMAGAZINE
- “Chris to Kristin: A Navy Seal’s Secret,” Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
- “India’s Third Gender,” The Stream (Al Jazeera America)
- “The Rebounder: The Kenneth Faried Story,” E:60 (ESPN)
- “Transgender at 11: Listening to Jazz,” 20/20 (ABC)
- “The Welcoming Movement,” To the Contrary (PBS)
OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM SEGMENT
- “Gay Rights at Work,” MSNBC Live (MSNBC)
- “Portman Reverses Position on Gay Marriage,” Starting Point (CNN)
- “Pride & Prejudice,” Melissa Harris-Perry (MSNBC)
- “Scouts Dishonor,” The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC)
- “Wild Blue Yonder: Scott Hines,” The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
Methinks MSNBC is going to win something
OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
- “Boy or Girl? Gender a New Challenge for Schools” by Martha Irvine (Associated Press)
- “Gay Ex-mayor Who Fled U.S. Awaits Immigration Change” by Jeremy Roebuck (San Antonio Express-News [San Antonio, Texas])
- “LGBTQ in the Capital” (series) by Melissa Griffiths (Juneau Empire [Juneau, Alaska])
- “Poor Black and Hispanic Men Are the Face of H.I.V.” by Donald G. McNeil, Jr. (The New York Times)
- “Why Bisexuals Stay in the Closet” by Emily Alpert (Los Angeles Times)
OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE ARTICLE
- “The Hidden War Against Gay Teens” by Alex Morris (Rolling Stone)
- “Owning the Middle" by Kate Fagan (ESPN The Magazine)
- “The Perfect Wife” by Ariel Levy (The New Yorker)
- “What’s Wrong With Exxon?” by Antonia Juhasz (The Advocate)
- “Why Gay and Lesbian Couples Pay More” by Carolyn M. Brown (Black Enterprise)
OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE OVERALL COVERAGE
- The Advocate
- ESPN The Magazine
- The New Yorker
- People
- Time
OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM ARTICLE
- “How Fallon Fox Became the First Known Transgender Athlete in MMA” by Loretta Hunt (SportsIllustrated.CNN.com)
- “How One Lawyer Turned the Idea of Marriage Equality into Reality” by Chris Geidner (Buzzfeed.com)
- “Prime Timers: Spotlight on LGBT Seniors” (series) (Advocate.com)
- “Repression and Gay Rights in Russia” by Sean Guillory (TheNation.com)
- “Sex, Lies and HIV: When What You Don’t Tell Your Partner Ia Crime” by Sergio Hernandez (Buzzfeed.com / ProPublica.org)
OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM – MULTIMEDIA
- “Bisexuals Get Their Turn in the White House” by Alyona Minkovski (Live.HuffingtonPost.com)
- “Coming Out Kicking” by Cyd Zeigler (Outsports.com)
- “Remixing the Trans and Hip Hop Conversation” by Marc Lamont Hill (Live.HuffingtonPost.com)
- “To Get Married, They Left Ohio” by Julie Zimmerman on behalf of the Cincinnati EnquirerEditorial Board (Cincinnati.Com)
- “We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda” by Sunnivie Brydum, D. David Robinson (Advocate.com)
OUTSTANDING BLOG
OUTSTANDING MUSIC ARTIST
- Elton John, The Diving Board (Capitol Records)
- Goldfrapp, Tales of Us (Mute)
- Lady Gaga, ARTPOP (Interscope Records)
- Tegan and Sara, Heartthrob (Warner Bros. Records)
- Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City (XL Recordings)
Any preferences here? I ask because I am not well versed in music and am constantly willing to take other people's advice in this one artistic arena
OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK
- Batwoman, written by W. Haden Blackman, J.H. Williams III, Marc Andreyko (DC Comics)
- Fearless Defenders, written by Cullen Bunn (Marvel Comics)
- Husbands, written by Jane Espenson, Brad Bell (Dark Horse Comics)
- Life with Archie, written by Paul Kupperberg (Archie Comics)
- Young Avengers, written by Kieron Gillen (Marvel Comics)
Though I don't follow comics closely and haven't for years I do occasionally notice news stories about them. The first Wiccan/Hulkling kiss happened in 2012 but the teen superheroes are still a couple (last I heard) which accounts for The Young Avengers nomination in this category. Sadly, though comics have long since gone there, it's hard to imagine a superhero movie featuring gay heroes. Over at DC, a few months back in September the writers of Batwoman quit over objections to the company's objections to storylines (see J.H. Williams blog) they were trying to see out - one, specifically, was a wedding for Batwoman who is an out lesbian so this nomination probably feels like a nice post script.
GALECA
I happened to be travelling when The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (of which, full disclosure, both Glenn and I are members) announced their nominees and then their winners but it went down and that was two weeks ago but if you haven't yet heard, here are the nominees (a few nice surprises) and winners (the usual)
Film of the Year
American Hustle
Blue is the Warmest Color
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Laurence Anyways
12 Years a Slave - *winner*
Film Performance of the Year - Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
James Franco, Spring Breakers
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club - *winner*
Film Performance of the Year - Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine - *winner*
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Blue is the Warmest Color won two awards
LGBT Film of the Year
Blue is the Warmest Color - *winner*
Dallas Buyers Club
Kill Your Darlings
Laurence Anyways
Philomena
Foreign Language Film of the Year
Blue is the Warmest Color - * winner*
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
I'm So Excited!
Laurence Anyways
Out in the Dark
Documentary of the Year
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
Bridegroom - *winner*
I Am Divine
20 Feet from Stardom
Campy Flick of the Year
August: Osage County
The Canyons
Carrie
The Great Gatsby
I'm So Excited! - *winner*
I was horrified that the by-all-accounts misbegotten remake of Carrie was honored in any way. But I haven't seen it so I suppose I should keep my mouth shut. Also: August could have probably used more camp.
Unsung Film of the Year
Frances Ha
In A World . . .
Kill Your Darlings - *winner (tie)*
Short Term 12 -*winner (tie)*
The Spectacular Now
Visually Striking Film of the Year
Frozen
Gravity - *winner*
Inside Llewyn Davis
Laurence Anyways
The Great Gatsby
TV Drama of the Year
American Horror Story: Coven
Behind the Candelabra - *winner*
Breaking Bad
Mad Men
Orange is the New Black
TV Comedy of the Year
The Big Bang Theory
Getting On
Girls - *winner*
Ja'mie: Private School Girl
Modern Family
Veep
TV Performance of the Year - Actor
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra - *winner*
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
I have about 6 open tabs playing this Vine of Jessica Lange screaming "...KNOTTY PINE?!" https://t.co/J0csW2Qmot
— Laurence Barber (@bortlb) January 30, 2014
TV Performance of the Year - Actress
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven - *winner*
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House of Cards
If you had told people in the mid 1990s when Jessica Lange's film career was petering out that she was going to a major gay icon in the 21st century I don't think many people would have believed you.
TV Musical Performance of the Year
Shirley Bassey, "Goldfinger," 82nd Academy Awards - *winner*
Neil Patrick Harris, "Bigger," 67th Annual Tony Awards
Jane Krakowski, "Theme from Rural Juror," 30 Rock
Jessica Lange and cast, "The Name Game," American Horror Story: Asylum
Lea Michele, "To Make You Feel My Love," Glee
I have to say I was SOOOO angry that Megan Hilty or Bernadette Peters weren't honored here for "Smash"
LGBT TV Show of the Year
Behind the Candelabra
Bridegroom - *winner*
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
RuPaul's Drag Race
I'm confused how Bridegroom can win both a TV and Film prize? Fishy! I really thought that Orange is the New Black had this in the bag.
I feel so ashamed that I never really wrote about Coven. Just that one time. (sigh)
Campy TV Show of the Year
American Horror Story: Coven - *winner*
Behind the Candelabra
House of Versace
Sharknado
Smash
Unsung TV Show of the Year
Broadchurch
The Carrie Diaries
Cougar Town
Getting On - *winner*
Mom
Orphan Black
I voted for the winner here but color me shocked that it prevailed. I thought for sure it'd be something else.
The We're Wilde About You
Adele Exarchopoulos
Dane DeHaan
Laverne Cox - *winner*
Lupita Nyong’o
Tatiana Maslany
Wilde Wit of the Year
Rachel Maddow - *winner*
Bill Maher
Kate McKinnon
Dan Savage
Amy Schumer
I was sad that more people didn't Consider His Shit... but at least Franco got a couple prizes for Spring Breakers
Wilde Artist of the Year
Alfonso Cuaron
Xavier Dolan
James Franco - *winner*
Spike Jonze
Steve McQueen
Timeless Award
Lily Tomlin
GALECA does not host an awards show but instead holds a toast in LA each year for the winners.
That's a lotta list. Go forth and gay it up.
Reader Comments (19)
I wouldn't feel ashamed about not writing about Coven. It petered out so tragically. That finale! Those final episodes! Agh! What a miss! Given the phenomenal female cast, the story/writing just couldn't keep up.
SO happy that "Please Like Me" gets a major nomination here, particularly outside of Australia. It's excellent, check it out if you can.
I remember The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones featuring an openly gay character, but he's very much a background character whose orientation, from what I recall, is only used to create some low-stakes drama. I also recall a character whose orientation was more ambiguous, and he's basically a plot point. (I hate that I remember anything about that movie, by the way.)
I would highly recommend you check out Vampire Weekend if you haven't already, they're one of the best bands out there.
You're the one who doesn't love Lange by default. Her gay appeal is inherent in her physical beauty and baby doll emotional outbursts.
I read the Mortal Instruments books, which rather prominently feature a bisexual, mixed-race warlock named Magnus Bane who winds up in a significant relationship with one of the main demon-hunter boys (Alec? Simon? The names, when they're not "Magnus", blend together). Never saw the film adaptation, so I'm not sure how big an emphasis was on this relationship. But in the books, Magnus is the sort of character who keeps reappearing, all immortal and witty and wise, in each volume. Like a young, dandy Dumbledore.
Nathaniel, you really should check out Tegan & Sara if you never have before. Great album, I'd say their best since 2004's So Jealous (also worth a look). Awesome Canadian artists!
Trevor, they're the coolest.
Nathan, as a diehard Jessica Lange fan, I knew all along it would happen -- wink!
Wouldn't Frances and Frances alone have clinched Lange's icon status? Also, nobody seems to remember this, but that TV movie she and Tom Wilkinson did called Normal when Wilkinson played a man who gets a sex-change and the film is about how Lange and Wilkinson as a married couple deal with it? Amazing nobody remembers it but I remember it being incredibly progressive. La Lange is quite conscientious in her choices.
Aside from Blue, Laurence Anyways should've slayed all the LGBT-related film awards. Especially over Kill Your Darlings in the Unsung Film category that is was bizarrely not nominated for when I knew fewer people aware of that superior film. The beat generation is overdone. Time to usher in the queer people of now than narcissistic white male writers who wanted to screw the other. Plus, after watching- by mistake- the documentary, Chickenhawk, I'm not one to celebrate Allen Ginsberg's life unless that discussion of his NAMBLA supporting is addressed.
Tegan and Sara or Vampire Weekend for album. Against Me! better be nominated next year or I will riot and slam dance my way to the GLAAD offices.
Pulling so hard for Tegan and Sara. Incredible album.
Please don't mention Bunheads. I just got finished crying over the finale. AGAIN. The fact that it is no longer on TV makes me sad and angry beyond belief and nothing can replace it and suddenly I want to make a kickstarter to fund a second season or a movie or a stage production or SOMETHING and I hate ABC Family SO. MUCH. right now.
Tegan & Sara and Vampire Weekend. Great, great albums.
Actually, with Young Avengers, all but one member of the team is now out of the closet.
I feel terrible saying it because the story is so sad I feel for the main subject of the film, but every time I see Bridegroom mentioned I roll my eyes. That movie seems so sappy, cliched, and indulgent, just like the YouTube video that inspired it.
Whilst I've not seen Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters is one of the most surprising family dramas on network TV at the moment. Both that and Switched At Birth are perhaps the two most curious and deeply rooted explorations of minority groups on TV at the moment, even if they are essentially wedded to the usual teen soap opera dynamics.
Whilst I've not seen Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters is one of the most surprising family dramas on network TV at the moment. Both that and Switched At Birth are perhaps the two most curious and deeply rooted explorations of minority groups on TV at the moment, even if they are essentially wedded to the usual teen soap opera dynamics.
Switched at Birth and The Fosters are both very, very good. PLL is ridiculous, even the show's most ardent fans admit as much, but it does have a positive portrayal of a lesbian character than any character on say, Glee.
Nathaniel, you were asking why ''Glee'' is still getting awards attention. It still features Kurt and Blaine, arguably the most popular gay teen couple on the air, and there's also Wade (Unique) Adams, one of the only transgender teens on network TV. ''Glee'' has been nominated 4 times by GLAAD for each of its seasons, and won for Best Comedy for its first 2 seasons. It also just picked up 2 more People's Choice Awards last month: Chris Colfer for Favorite TV Actor in a Comedy and Lea Michele and Naya Rivera (Rachel and Santana) for Favorite TV Gal Pals.
As for the individual episodes nominees, "Southland" wouldn't have been eligible because Cooper was a regular character.
"I have to say I was SOOOO angry that Megan Hilty or Bernadette Peters weren't honored here for "Smash"
I voted for "Hang the Moon"!