Tyra & Suze: How can the gays NOT love 'em?
The do-gooders for all things LGBT and media-related over at GLAAD have unveiled their list of nominees for this year's big GLAAD Media Awards. Think of them as the Gay Oscars, or the Gay Emmys, or the Gay Cable ACE Awards (do they still give those out?).
Lots of usual suspects are included: Milk, Brothers & Sisters, South of Nowhere, Ugly Betty… But there are some nice inclusions that make for a nice surprise (maybe?).
Alongside Milk as nominees for Best Picture – Wide Release are Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (it had those cute indie-band gays), Brideshead Revisited (dashing gay-ish Brits), Vicky Christina Barcelona (Penelope & Scar-Jo get it on!) and RocknRolla (made by Guy Ritchie – anybody see that one?).
Films in limited release getting nods were Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, Shelter, XXY, Save Me & The Edge of Heaven. These all get handed out in various ceremonies in NYC, LA & SF in March and April.
And one fun category…
OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
America's Next Top Model (The CW)
I Want to Work for Diddy (VH1)
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
Shirts & Skins (Logo)
TransAmerican Love Story (Logo)
Is this one award that Kathy G. won't win? Oh, the supsense! Maybe Kathy, Miss J, Diddy's Laverne Cox and Calpernia Addams can just play a game of horse against the Shirts & Skins gays to figure this one out. (They should recruit straightie Nigel Barker. He's tall! And probably hot in b-ball gear.)
More on Tyra and Suze's big honors after the jump!
Our beloved Tyra (you know you love her, bat-sh*t crazy as she is) is scoring some lifetime acheivement-y prize called the "Excellence in Media Award." Top Model is also up for Best Reality Series and her talk show got noms for Outstanding Episode for stints such as "Don't Ruin My Gay Wedding", "Gays in the Ghetto" and "Transgender Triumphs." Attagirl! For those, Ty-Ty is up against Oprah and Ellen. Ayyy… Good luck!
Money-managing super-lesbian Suze Orman is getting the grandiose Vito Russo Award. Russo was a queer film historian; he wrote The Celluloid Closet. Orman's getting this one cuz its "presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community." Previous honorees include Rosie O'Donnell, Alan Cumming, Nathan Lane, Cherry Jones, Elton John… You get the idea!
There are over 125 nominees in English-language categories, and a truckload of Spanish-language titles too! Awards go out to journalists, magazines, theater productions, commercials, websites… Ya know. Media! Gayness!
Maybe two of the most fun categories (IMHO) include…
OUTSTANDING MUSIC ARTIST
Jay Brannan, goddamned
Hercules & Love Affair, Hercules & Love Affair
k.d. lang, Watershed
The Magnetic Fields, Distortion
Sam Sparro, Sam Sparro
and…
OUTSTANDING NEW YORK THEATER: OFF–OFF BROADWAY
Arias with a Twist by Joey Arias and Basil Twist
The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac by Taylor Mac
Dina Martina: Off the Charts! by Grady West
Lustre, a Midwinter Trans-Fest by Justin Bond
Play it Cool book by Martin Casella and Larry Dean Harris, music by Phillip Swann, lyrics by Mark Winkler
(Clockwise from top left) Joey Arias, Taylor Mac, Justin Bond and Dina Martina = Best Category Ever!
They usually dole these trophies out at ceremonies spread throughout the spring in different cities (NYC, LA, SF) but how fab would it be if Dina Martina, Justin Bond, Joey Arias and Taylor Mac all played one gig? (Actually, it would just be Wigstock, right?)
Get the full list of nominees at GLAAD's site. And details on the Suze & Tyra honors are up, too.
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in New York on
March 28, 2009 at the Marriott Marquis; in Los Angeles on April
18 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE; and in San Francisco on May 9
at the Hilton San Francisco.
