The post Video: Bruce Vilanch Drops In On “Hey Qween” To Dishes About Bette Midler, Cher, Carol Channing, And Red Foxx – 4 Videos Included first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

President/Founder of The Hollywood Museum, Donelle Dadigan, along with Council Member Mitch O’Farrell and Board President Esteban Montemayor of Christopher Street West, kicked off Pride weekend with the annual “Real to Reel” exhibit that shines the spotlight on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) community in television and film through the decades. This year’s event also feature a special recognition with The Future of Hollywood Award presented to actress Stephanie Beatriz and the Legacy Award to TONY Award winning actress, Julie Newmar.

“I was thrilled to attend The Hollywood Museum for the opening of the REAL TO REEL exhibit the other evening, to kick off Gay Pride here in L.A,” said Geri Jewell of Deadwood fame. “It was wonderful coming together with friends and colleagues in support of another part of the spectrum of diversity.”

Reminiscent of Mae West, Ms Julie Newmar was carried on stage in the arms of two bodybuilders, stating “This what happens when you’re a legacy. You don’t have to walk anywhere. You are carried.”

“Thank you all for this lovely tribute,” she added. “It’s so wonderful to receive it in this building, the old Max Factor salon, where for so many years so many of the greats found their external beauty and also discovered their internal beauty. Donelle Dadigan (Founder/President of the Hollywood Museum, formerly The Max Factor Studios) has given the world a priceless time capsule for generations to enjoy for years to come. Im particularly thrilled to get this recognition right now in the midst of the Me Too and Times Up moment of our history,” remarked Ms Newmar.

“I always had my own way of dealing with those situations. First of all, I was taller than most of the men. So right away, I had an advantage. And one of my early roles, on Broadway and on film, was a gal called Stupefyin Jones in LI’l ABNER. Men saw her and they turned to stone. And this was before Viagra. I think some of them thought I actually had that power. And perhaps I did. Im also delighted to receive this acknowledgment in conjunction with all the LGBT pride activities here at the Museum and around the country this month. Of course, there has always been a strong LGBT presence in my life … even BEFORE Catwoman. But to be reminded of it at this critical time, and to know that it is indeed part of my legacy, and that my legacy is not only an artistic one, but one of feminine strength, power and, lets never forget, fun thats a very, very good thing and it fills me with overwhelming gratitude.”

Honoree, Ms Stephanie Beatriz, commented on similarities of her Brooklyn Nine-Nine character, Rosa Diaz’s sexual identity struggles and her own experiences since she came out to family and friends about her own life. “Just like Rosa, I found support from my friends and colleagues, but less so from my family and the Latin community.”

The Hollywood Museum’s REAL to REEL: Portrayals and Perceptions of LGBTQs in Hollywood exhibition opened to the public on Friday, June 8th, to coincide with the annual Christopher Street West Pride activities. Spanning 100 years, the 2018 exhibit is a salute to the LGBTQ community’s contributions to the entertainment industry. Now, in its fifth successful year, the REAL to REEL: Portrayals and Perceptions of LGBTQ in Hollywood exhibit, is offered in partnership with Los Angeles City Council member Mitch O’Farrell (CD-13) and LA Pride, as an educational, entertaining and informative retrospective of LGBTQ images in film, TV, new digital platforms featuring costumes, props, photos, and iconic imagery all telling the story of the milestones and influence that LGBTQ characters and plot lines have had in Hollywood from early stereotypes in silent films to modern-day representations. Additionally, REAL to REEL celebrates LGBTQ Icons by paying homage to those individuals who support the LGBTQ community.

“We are both honored and humbled by the response to last nights program for the 5th annual REAL to REEL exhibit opening. The outpouring of love and positiveness was shared by both the entertainment and LGBTQ communities. The words of inspiration from actress Stephanie Beatriz, the Future of Hollywood Award recipient, blessed all that were in attendance and the overwhelming applause and response to comments from our Legacy Award honoree, TONY Award winning actress Julie Newmar, was worthy of her iconic stature. We are grateful to Council member Mitch O’Farrell and LAPD Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala, LA City Controller Ron Galperin and Board President Esteban Montemayor of Christopher Street West for their trust in us. Without their integrity and support, all this effort would mean nothing.”- Donelle Dadigan (President/Founder of The Hollywood Museum)

The Hollywood Museum’s presentation places the exhibit in the historical context of Hollywood, which is home to a large LGBTQ entertainment industry population. The exhibit revisits monumental LGBTQ moments in history with Rev. Troy Perry, including the Black Cat riots (1967), and the infamous sign that once hung at the entrance of West Hollywood’s Barney’s Beanery. Exhibit highlights include costumes from Transparent, How to Get Away with Murder, Brokeback Mountain, Superstore, The Walking Dead, Empire, Trans America, Sordid Lives, Cruising, Orange is the New Black, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ray Donovan, Mad Men, Arrested Development, Cabaret, K-11, After Forever, Orphan Black, Roseanne, Will & Grace, To Wong Fu Julie Newmar, etc. Additional exhibit items include famous costumes from Hollywood’s leading designers; Mr. Blackwell, Bob Mackie, Ret Turner, Nolan Miller, Zac Posen, Rudolf Nureyev and Edith Head to Project Runway with Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, as well as Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Scandal, Two in a Half Men, True Blood, The Good Wife, much more. This year’s exhibit also includes, LGBTQ Icons including Judy Garland, Betty Davis, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Rock Hudson, Liza Minnelli, James Dean, Bette Midler, Ramon Navarro, Rudolf Valentino, Charles Laughton, Sam Harris, Bruce Vilanch, Sherman Hemsley, Geri Jewell, Jerry Herman, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner and many more.

Recording artist Roslyn Kind exclaimed, “What a GREAT Evening at The Hollywood Museum and the perfect way to kick off PRIDE month 2018, by celebrating all the wonderful contributions of the LGBTQ community to Hollywood’s rich history in the Arts and Culture with the “Real To Reel” Exhibit. Donelle Dadigan does a fantastic job.”

The museum houses more than 10,000 Authentic Show Business Treasures spotlighting more than 100 years of Hollywood history – from the Silents to Talkies, to Hollywood’s Golden Era, Film Noir, Television and its Pioneer Years, through the rebellious 60s, special effects 70s, evolving 80s, involved 90s, technological 2000s, and beyond to current day heartthrobs! The Hollywood Museum’s exhibits showcase the best in film, network and cable television, and new digital platforms featuring iconic and fan favorites! Named one of the top tourist attractions by LA Weekly, voted one of the Top 10 Museums in LA by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, and annually receives the Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor. Located in the heart of Hollywood, at the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave – The Hollywood Museum in the historic Max Factor Building is the “Official Museum of Hollywood” and offers visitors the most extensive collection of Hollywood memorabilia in the world featuring the glamour of Hollywood legends and stars – past, present and in the making…. See one-of-a-kind costumes, props, photographs, scripts, stars’ car collections, personal artifacts, posters, and memorabilia from favorite stars, films and TV shows. The Hollywood Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

The post The Stars Come Out in Support of LGBTQ Community and to Honor Stephanie Beatriz and Julie Newmar first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content, today announced the second annual “IMDb LIVE Viewing Party,” a live streaming companion show celebrating the Academy Awards that in its first year provided millions of fans and industry insiders with unique, entertaining and informative coverage of Hollywood’s biggest night. The live broadcast co-hosted by Dave Karger (IMDb Special Correspondent) and The IMDb Show co-hosts Tim Kash and Kerri Doherty will stream live on IMDb.com, IMDb’s mobile apps, Twitter and Twitch, and will be produced on site at an invitation-only industry viewing party at Neuehouse (formerly the historic CBS Radio Studio) in Hollywood, California.

“Twitter is the place to see and join the real-time Oscars conversation”

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IMDb’s hosted coverage during the “IMDb LIVE Viewing Party” broadcast will take place before, after, and during breaks in the Oscars® telecast. IMDb does not broadcast the awards ceremony itself – while the program is in progress, the hosted conversation stops and IMDb delivers a “second screen” experience featuring videos, information, and trivia related to the Oscar nominees currently being celebrated.

The “IMDb LIVE Viewing Party” broadcast will begin at 4:30PM Pacific on Sunday, March 4, providing viewers with a uniquely fun and informative perspective on the Academy Awards, featuring conversations with celebrity guests, past nominees, experts and industry insiders, along with IMDb data and information. Guests include Aisha Tyler (Criminal Minds, Archer), Anne Heche (The Brave), Lea Thompson (Switched At Birth), past winner Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon), two-time nominee Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), longtime Academy head writer Bruce Vilanch, IMDb’s Founder and CEO Col Needham, Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld), Tamara Taylor (Altered Carbon), Boots Riley (Sorry To Bother You) and more. The live broadcast will also integrate IMDb information and proprietary, real-time IMDb trending data, comments and questions from users on Twitter and Twitch, and pre-produced segments including interviews with nominees Guillermo Del Toro (Director, The Shape of Water), Willem Dafoe (Supporting Actor, The Florida Project), and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Songwriters, “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman).

Entertainment fans can tune in from anywhere to watch the “IMDb LIVE Viewing Party” via IMDb’s mobile apps or directly at IMDb (www.imdb.com). IMDb’s live show will also be simulcast and promoted by two of the industry’s live video leaders, Twitter and Twitch (http://twitch.tv/imdb). Twitter’s live stream of IMDb’s Live Viewing Party will be available globally for free to logged-in and logged-out users on Twitter and connected devices. Tweets about the #Oscars will appear in a timeline along with the live video on Twitter, available at www.live.twitter.com/IMDbLive or @IMDb. The broadcast on Twitch gives users the opportunity to participate in a real-time chat with an IMDb moderator throughout the evening, with some questions and comments to be addressed by hosts and guests during the show.

“Our goal is to produce a multi-hour, live Academy Awards companion show that is worthy of Hollywood’s biggest night,” said Col Needham, IMDb’s Founder and CEO. “With industry legends including Peter Fonda and Tatum O’Neal scheduled to appear, and hosts Dave Karger, and Tim Kash and Kerri Doherty of The IMDb Show on board, our goal is to delight, entertain and inform customers all over the world with IMDb’s real-time trending data, insightful conversation and nominee trivia.”

“Twitter is the place to see and join the real-time Oscars conversation,” said Kay Madati, Global Head of Content Partnerships, Twitter. “We’re excited to collaborate with IMDb to bring fans this behind-the-scenes broadcast alongside the real-time commentary from experts and fans during one of Hollywood’s biggest nights.”

IMDb’s editorial coverage of the 90th Academy Awards will also include real-time winner announcements, trivia quizzes, photo galleries and more.

About “IMDb LIVE Viewing Party”

IMDb’s second-annual viewing party will welcome, by invitation only, more than 300 industry insiders to Neuehouse in Hollywood, California on Sunday, March 4. Party guests will be treated to food and drinks while watching the Academy Awards and the production of IMDb’s live companion show, featuring celebrity conversations and a stream of real-time facts, data and social commentary from IMDb and IMDbPro, the essential resource for entertainment professionals. IMDb’s live companion show to the Academy Awards telecast will begin with a pre-show at 4:30PM, and will wrap up with a post-show after the Academy Awards broadcast concludes. IMDb’s show includes live conversation between hosts Dave Karger and The IMDb Show’s Tim Kash and Kerri Doherty, and celebrity guests including Aisha Tyler, Peter Fonda and Tatum O’Neal, as well as IMDb data and trivia related to nominees and winners. The live broadcast is produced by IMDb and Broadcast Management Group. Entertainment fans can tune in and follow along from anywhere on their mobile devices at www.imdb.com, IMDb’s iOS and Android mobile apps, and distribution partners Twitter and Twitch.

About IMDb

IMDb is the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. The IMDb consumer site (www.imdb.com) is the #1 movie website in the world with a combined web and mobile audience of more than 250 million unique monthly visitors. IMDb offers a searchable database of more than 250 million data items including more than 4 million movies, TV and entertainment programs and more than 8 million cast and crew members. Consumers rely on the information IMDb provides – including local movie showtimes, ticketing, trailers, critic and user reviews, personalized recommendations, photo galleries, entertainment news, quotes, trivia, box-office data, editorial feature sections and a universal Watchlist – when deciding what to watch and where to watch it. IMDb’s portfolio of leading entertainment apps (http://www.imdb.com/apps/) includes its popular “Movies & TV” app for iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, Android phones, Android tablets and its mobile-optimized website. To date, there have been more than 150 million downloads of IMDb’s mobile apps worldwide. IMDb’s X-Ray for Movies & TV Shows (www.imdb.com/x-ray) is a feature that revolutionizes the viewing experience by bringing the power of IMDb directly to Kindle Fire HD, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. IMDb’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/imdb) and official Twitter account (https://twitter.com/imdb) are followed by more than 12 million passionate entertainment fans. IMDbPro (http://www.imdbpro.com) is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals. This membership-based service includes comprehensive information and tools that are designed to help entertainment industry professionals achieve success throughout all stages of their career. IMDbPro offers members the following: detailed contact and representation information; IMDb profile management tools; exclusive STARmeter rankings that are determined by page views on IMDb; a casting service to post breakdowns and apply to roles; a mobile optimized website and more. Additionally, IMDb owns and operates Withoutabox (http://www.withoutabox.com), the premier submission service for film festivals and filmmakers, and Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com), the leading online source of box-office data. IMDb.com is operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (http://www.amazon.com). To learn more, go to: http://www.imdb.com/press.

About Twitch

Twitch is the world’s leading social video service and community for gamers. Each day, millions of community members gather to watch, talk, and chat about shared interests. Twitch’s video service is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for all types of content, including the entire video game ecosystem, the creative arts, vlogging (IRL), and more. Twitch also runs TwitchCon, the annual convention for celebrating the Twitch community. For more information about Twitch, visit our Press Center, Twitter feed (#Twitch), and Blog.

About Twitter (NYSE: TWTR)

Twitter is what’s happening in the world and what people are talking about right now. From breaking news and entertainment to sports, politics, and everyday interests, see every side of the story. Join the open conversation. Watch live streaming events. Available in more than 40 languages around the world, the service can be accessed via twitter.com, an array of mobile devices, and SMS. For more information, please visit about.twitter.com, follow @Twitter, and download both the Twitter and Periscope apps at twitter.com/download and periscope.tv.

The post Bruce Vilanch To Help IMDb to Celebrate the 90th Annual Academy Awards with Its Second Live-Streaming Companion Show and Industry Viewing Party first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

LOS ANGELES — Put comedy writer Bruce Vilanch on the spot by asking if he has a political gag suitable for the Oscars, and he makes a game try.

“There’s probably a joke in Trump buying three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Vilanch said, “because that’s all he does is publicize himself. So it seems to me you have a nice, clean shot on the ninth hole.”

He doesn’t have to sweat polishing the riff on best-picture nominee “Three Billboards.” While he’s crafted one-liners for hosts and presenters for 23 Oscar shows, he’ll be watching comfortably at home and with Koosh balls at the ready.

“So you can throw them at the screen when people you don’t like win,” Vilanch said. The ceremony airs at 8 p.m. EST Sunday, March 4, on ABC.

He isn’t playing at being a critic: In his salad days, he wrote film reviews and celebrity profiles for the Chicago Tribune. He and rising star Bette Midler clicked during an interview, and he helped shape her comic stage persona on his way to becoming an in-demand writer for TV shows and big-ticket events including the Tony and Grammy awards and Comic Relief, and for stars ranging from Billy Crystal and Robin Williams to Donny and Marie Osmond.

Admirers sang his praises in the 1999 documentary “Get Bruce!” about his life and work.

“Part of the way that people view me is because of how Bruce has written for me,” Whoopi Goldberg says in the film. “And I’m very grateful for that, because it makes me actually look much smarter than I am.”

Viewers got acquainted with the distinctively mop-topped, bespectacled man himself in a late 1980s revival of “Hollywood Squares,” in which he and Goldberg traded quips from adjacent squares.

After writing for a quarter of all Oscar ceremonies — this year is the 90th — and winning two Emmys along the way, Vilanch is uniquely positioned to size up the grande dame of Hollywood awards shows, and how it and repeat host Jimmy Kimmel can serve TV viewers and the anxious stars who fill the theater.

One hint: The jaw-dropping best-picture envelope mix-up of last year is pretty much a gift to Kimmel.

___

TIMES CHANGE. THE OSCARS DON’T.

Vilanch says the movie academy has kept the ceremony template intact from the very beginning, “which is to give every award on the air. So you have to figure out a way to entertain the audience while the sound effects editor is thanking his Hebrew school teacher.”

Social media is routinely incorporated now in awards show — think of Ellen DeGeneres’ star-filled selfie at the 2014 Oscars that went viral on Twitter — but Vilanch says the Academy Awards are in a league of their own.

“The thing about the Oscars is it’s the biggest one. … I would love to see them do more to own the past and the history of the movies,” he said, but acknowledges that the passing years stand in the way.

“As you get farther and farther from the Golden Age, fewer and fewer people of the audience, outside of the theater, are getting who you’re referring to. … There will be a component of the audience saying, ‘Audrey Hepburn? Was she the one in the boat with the guy? Oh, she was Tiffany,'” he said, adding, unhappily, “It’s real.”

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NO EGOS WERE DAMAGED IN THE MAKING OF THIS SHOW

A host who plays it “too inside or too snarky” is courting trouble, according to Vilanch. That includes even being mildly insulting to actors and filmmakers who are on hand to be celebrated, as 1995 host David Letterman found when he turned Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey’s given names into silly sing-song.

“Neither of those women were there that night to have their names made fun of. They’ve come a little farther than that,” Vilanch said. “They’re sitting there and it’s like, ‘Really, TV boy? This is what you’re going to do, you’re going to make fun of my name?'”

Audiences in general have become very sensitive to humor they deem cruel or unseemly, Vilanch said. A joke about a heavy-set actor, for instance, likely won’t fly even if it’s delivered by a similarly rotund comedian, he said.

How to avoid putting a foot wrong in writing for a ceremony seen by millions, even in an era of declining ratings?

“You have to trust your judgment, and sit down at your computer wearing a parachute kit. Just in case,” he said. A line might go too far, but if it’s “a beauty, it might be worth it.”

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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, THE THIRD RAIL?

For an industry in the midst of confronting alleged misconduct by major figures, how can Kimmel pay heed to the crisis yet keep it from overshadowing Hollywood’s biggest night?

Golden Globes host Seth Meyers handled the issue deftly with quips about Harvey Weinstein and others facing accusations, Vilanch said. But a broad-brush approach may be smarter at the Oscars.

Calling out individuals who are under a cloud and are past Oscar winners is an intersection that could prove embarrassing to the movie academy, Vilanch said.

“The more general, the better. Now that I’ve said that, who knows what Jimmy Kimmel will do,” he said. He lauded the ABC late-night host for “brilliantly” handling last year’s best-picture disaster and suggests Kimmel “can spend time on that, which kind of deflects everything else. … It’s almost like a gift.”

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PERSONAL BEST

Asked to pick a favorite among the nearly two-dozen Oscar shows he’s worked on, Vilanch settles on one that included the stuff of highlight reels.

It was 1992, the year that Billy Crystal hosted and Jack Palance, announced as best supporting actor for “City Slickers,” did one-armed push-ups on stage to prove he still had it at age 73. Vilanch, his fellow writers and Crystal churned out a series of jokes about the moment to be delivered by Crystal at regular intervals.

“It was so insistent that Billy’s manager came backstage about an hour in and said, ‘How many more of these are you going to do? I’m running a pool in the audience,'” Vilanch recalled. “We won an Emmy for writing that show.”

It also became an Oscar template.

“From then on, every other host was watching the show in the wings, and as things were happening we were writing new jokes,” he said.

The post Oscar funnyman to show: play up envelope mess, not harassers first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Tony Award winners Betty Buckley and Lillias White and original Rent star Anthony Rapp are among Broadway performers lined up to spend One Night With the Stars, a benefit for Wigs & Wishes, the charity that provides wigs and grants wishes to women and children who have lost their hair and are otherwise suffering from cancer.

Broadway, TV, film, and music stars recently added to the 7:30 PM December 4 concert at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City include Fran Drescher, Constantine Maroulis, Darci Lynne, Tom Bergeron, Carrie Ann Inaba, Jesse Medeles, Cheryl Burke, and the duo Tabitha & Napoleon D’umo (a.k.a. Nappytabs).

They will appear alongside the previously announced Mandy Gonzalez, Lainie Kazan, Telly Leung, Noah Galvin, Bruce Vilanch, Jon Jon Briones, Jennifer Gambatese, Jordin Sparks, Natasha Bedingfield, Sofia Carson, Sal Valentinetti, James Maslow, and Sharon Catherine Brown. Lineup subject to change. Billy Blanks Jr. is scheduled to direct.

Tickets cost $66 to $1,006. Net proceeds for the 7:30 PM concert will go to the Wigs & Wishes foundation, which was launched by celebrity hairstylist Martino Cartier.

Wigs & Wishes held its annual gala October 22 in New Jersey.

Lillias White has been a special guest performer on Playbill’s Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Tickets are now on sale for Playbill’s Broadway on the High Seas July 2018 cruise to Iceland, accompanied by Judy Kuhn, Christine Ebersole, Rob McClure, Jarrod Spector, Carmen Cusack, and Sierra Boggess.

The post Reminder: Bruce Vilanch, Constantine Maroulis, Fran Drescher Entertain At “One Night With The Stars” Benefit first appeared on We Got Bruce!.