Rod 2.0:Beta

Patrik-Ian Polk and "Noah's Arc" Nominated for GLAAD Media Award, Third NAACP Image Award

Awards season is here and the nominees for the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards have been announced. Among those honored are the Academy Award-nominated film Milk, the Logo reality series Shirts & Skins that featured a predominately black gay male cast, and, director Patik-Ian Polk and his hit independent film Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom. 

The film adaption of Noah's Arc—the first television series to focus on black gay characters—was nominated for Outstanding Film-Limited Release. The nod by the GLAAD Awards caught director/executive producer Patrik-Ian Polk by surprise when he was contacted this morning by Rod 2.0. "I am completely shocked!" Polk tells Rod 2.0. "We've never been nominated for a GLAAD Award before, so it was a pleasant surprise."

The awards season has been especially kind to Polk. Two weeks ago the 40th NAACP Image Awards nominees were announced and Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom was one of several nominees that featured black gay characters or content, Jasmyne Cannick reported. This week Polk was given a third nod for Outstanding Direction. "The NAACP Image Awards are such a staple of mainstream Black America, that I never really fathomed a gay black wedding movie like Noah's Arc would be recognized by them," the director tells Rod 2.0. "So this is pretty cool to be included in their Independent Motion Picture category. And then to be nominated for Writing and Directing- I'm still pinching myself."

The recognition by the veteran black civil rights organization means greater visibility for black gay men and lesbians in the black community. Polk says, "I've been watching the Image Awards my entire life! My grandparents watched that show. Will [Smith], Denzel [Washington] and Halle Berry win these things. And now, there's just a fraction of a possibility that I, an openly gay black man, might have a chance to accept a major award like that in front of a live national TV audience. I don't usually put that much focus on awards ... but for us in our community, this would be big."

Vote online here for the NAACP Image Awards.

Did You Read ...
News: "Noah's Arc", Paterson, Eric Holder, Braylon Edwards [R20]
West Hollywood Marriage Rally Attracts "Noah's Arc" Stars [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Cast Urges "No" on Proposition 8 [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Actor Doug Spearman, Black Ministers Urge "NO" on Prop 8 [R20]
Darryl Stephens Talks Coming Out to "Instinct" [R20]
Rodney Chester of "Noah's Arc": I'm Still Not Gay! [R20]
Behind the Scenes Video from Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom [R20]
Noah's Arc Has Sailed [R20]
Deal or No Deal? [R20]
Darryl Stephens on the "Out 100" [R20]
Jensen Atwood: The CLIK Interview [R20]
A Very Beautiful Darryl Stephens [R20]
Darryl Stephens in "Boy Culture" [R20]
Darryl's "Boy Culture" [R20]
A Conversation with Darryl Stephens [R20]
Rodney Chester: I'm STILL NOT Gay!" [R20]
Beyond the Sassy Sidekicks? [After Elton]
What Does the Future Hold for Noah's Arc? [After Elton]
TV's Most Influential Gay Sex Scenes [After Elton]
The Many Faces of Rodney Chester [Keith Boykin]
A Conversation with Keith Boykin [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]
Hamilton Cobb: Big Deal Playing Gay [R20]
Uno Dos TREY [R20]
"Honey, I'm Home!" [R20]
DVD Review: "Noah's Arc" [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]

News: "Noah's Arc", Paterson, Eric Holder, Braylon Edwards

· The 40th NAACP Image Awards nominees are announced and a number of black gay artists are honored. "Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom was nominated for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture," reports Jasmyne Cannick. "In addition, creator, Patrik-Ian Polk was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture. Recently self-outed Wanda Sykes received a nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series her work on The New Adventures of Old Christine." 

· NYS appeals court upholds Westchester County's recognition of gay marriages performed out of state.

· Gov. David Paterson refers to LGBT issues in his State of the State address: "Hate has no place in the Empire State. I call upon all parents to increase their efforts to teach their children respect for all people—no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. And we in State government must strengthen our school-based curriculum to reinforce the critical message of acceptance and tolerance.

· Report: Youth in Nigeria at an increased risk of HIV/AIDS because of a lack of information and counseling services.

· Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Braylon Edwards: The year in pictures.

· Senate Republicans threaten to derail the confirmation of Eric Holder as attorney general. "Holder goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Jan. 15. For conservative Republicans, he is the liberal face of nominees to come as Obama remakes the federal judiciary, and possibly the Supreme Court. Republicans also want to show they still have some clout in the Senate - enough votes to stop a nomination with a filibuster. Holder is expected to eventually win the AG job, but not without a fight."

· Mad Professah reviews The Diner in Washington DC's Adams-Morgan. "The ambiance is a bit loud but it is a very comfortable setting. The food is cheap, reasonably good and available 24 hours a day. I tried the chicken salad cheddar melt on English muffins with fries. The chicken salad was a bit salty but it's actually a really good idea to do a melt on an English muffin and the cheese was deliciously melted. The fries were good, not great."

· Florida state senator introduces legislation to repeal state ban on adoptions by gays and lesbians.

West Hollywood Marriage Rally Attracts "Noah's Arc" Stars

The latest on the fight for marriage equality in California. Three lawsuits are filed against Proposition 8, which would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in California. It appears that the initiative has passed although some 3 million provisional and absentee ballots remain uncounted.

Meanwhile, several thousand protesters took to the streets of West Hollywood, marching down the Sunset Strip and backing up traffic for blocks. If the beautiful young woman at top in the purple looks familiar, she should. That is actress Jennia Fredrique who plays "Brandy" in Noah's Arc and the newly-released Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom. The actress is accompanied by director Patrik Ian Polk and both were kind enough to share these images and some thoughts with Rod 2.0.

Polk is "disheartened" by recent political developments and the overwhelming black support of the marriage amendment. "I've got a movie in theaters right now that's about a gay black wedding and the title is 'Jumping The Broom'," Polk tells Rod 2.0, "a reference to the fact that slaves literally had to jump over a broom to symbolize their marriages because they were not legally allowed to enter into such unions. So to hear that 75% of the black women in California who participated in this election voted for this hate-filled proposition is terribly disheartening. Have we black folk already forgotten what it was like to be discriminated against?"

Polk says the measure passed because many many blacks "dismiss gay rights issues as irrelevant to the black community" and believes "it's time more black gay men [became]  more visible and more vocal."

Jennia Fredrique says it was important to bring her young son, Jennis, because she wanted to expose him to equality at an early age. "As a straight woman, I'm really tired of 'gay' not being accepted as normal and natural, " she tells Rod 2.0 adding the marriage ban is "discrimination" and it's "ridiculous that this is even something that's up for a vote."

Amen to that. Thanks to Patrik Ian Polk and Jenna Fredrique for the images and their time, and, for taking to the streets. Actor Doug Spearman was also extremely active in the fight against 8 and was joined by Darryl Stephens, Jensen Atwood and Rodney Chester at fundraiser in Oakland.

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom is now playing in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington DC. Due to popular demand, tomorrow it expands to Detroit, Houston, Palm Springs, San Francisco and Ocean, NJ.

Tyler, Olson, Allred File Suits [Advocate]
Protests Mark Marriage Expectations [365]

Did You Read ...
"Yes We Can" to "YES on 8": Blacks Overwhelmingly Approve Prop 8 [R20]
Anti-Gay, Black Pastors Use Children for Prop 8 [R20]
Blige, Etheridge Raise $3.9M for No on Prop 8 [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Cast Urges "No" on Proposition 8 [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Actor Doug Spearman, Black Ministers Urge "NO" on Prop 8 [R20]
SCLC Leader Criticizes Anti-Gay, Black Pastors [R20]

"Noah's Arc" Actor Doug Spearman's PSA Against Prop 8

Actor and activist Doug Spearman, the handsome openly gay co-star of Noah's Arc and the new feature film Noah's Arc Jumping the Broom, tapes a new public service announcement  for NoOnProp8.

"I play a gay married man on television and in the movie but in real life I am just a gay California man," Spearman says. "Now I have the right to get married in California .. and there are a group of people who want to take that away from me. They want to write inequality into the straight constitution and turn back the clock and take away my civil rights. I am fighting hard so that will not happen."

Spearman, who is on the board of Equality California and the No on Prop 8 campaign, recently headlined a news conference featuring several black pastors against the toxic ballot initiative. One on the ministers is California SCLC President Rev. Eric Lee, who blasted black mega-church pastors who are embracing the discriminatory, anti-gay measure.

In a previous post, one reader described Doug Spearman as the "quiet giant" of the Noah's Arc. We'd have to agree. Spearman isn't the star, isn't the sex symbol and doesn't have the most memorable lines. But he was the only principal cast member who was openly gay during the run of the show, and, off-screen has been extremely dedicated to gay rights and equality. Simple, powerful, effective.

Thanks KAREN OCAMB
Donate here and/or here to fight Proposition 8. 

Did You Read ...
"Noah's Arc" Cast Urges "No" on Proposition 8 [R20]
"Noah's Arc" Actor Doug Spearman, Black Ministers Urge "NO" on Prop 8 [R20]
SCLC Leader Criticizes Anti-Gay, Black Pastors [R20]

Winners for "Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom" Soundtrack

On Monday, Rod 2.0 published a review and CD giveaway for Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The soundtrack is available on Tommy Boy Records and features excellent music by Michelle Williams, Solange, Phoebe Snow and many others, including LGBT artists director/executive producer Patrick-Ian Polk, Fol Chen, Sy Smith and transsexual Pam Jones.

Comments are here. The CD winners are Nathan James, Rodney B, Rafael and Bill. Posters also may be available for several other commenters. Thanks to Tommy Boy Records and Penetration Inc.

Review and Giveaway: "Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom" Soundtrack

If you saw Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom over the weekend—and the chances are very good that many of you did, judging by its strong weekend box office—you were probably dancing in your seats to the energetic soundtrack. Here is very good news for fans of Noah, Ricky, Alex and Chance and their laugh out loud big screen, big wedding adventure: The original motion picture soundtrack is just as enjoyable as the film.

There are some major extras with the Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The packaging is superb. The CD cover includes fantastic original photography by the ridiculously talented photographer Duane Cramer. There is also an inside jacket that frames a spectacular cast photo. The disc tray is framed by a beautiful photo of Darryl Stephens. The back cover shows much more skin with Jensen Atwood, Darryl Stephens and Christian Vincent posing in underwear.

Most impressive, in addition to the eclectic musical selection, is the presence of liner notes. The real kind that many of us remember from LPs. The notes are written by director Patrik-Ian Polk, who is also the soundtrack executive producer and pulls triple duty as a vocalist on several tracks. The booklet photos and liner notes make this soundtrack a collector's album.

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is an eclectic and infectious collection. The two lead tracks that get the most attention are, of course, Michelle Williams "We Break the Dawn" and Solange's "Sandcastle Disco." Those anchor the collection with an uptempo vibe but it doesn't stop there. Several tracks lend a retro aesthetic—maybe a tribute to late 80s, early 90s dance music—such as the anthemic"World, Hold On", which was used for that fabulous montage of Noah, Chance and Ricky voguing. There is much more of that vibe in tracks such as "Cable TV" and the Janet Jackson-inspired "Spies." These two are the best tracks of the collection and define the movie.

After the jump, more on the soundtrack and your chance to win a copy.

"Noah's Arc" Actor Doug Spearman, Black Ministers Urge "NO" on Prop 8

Doug Spearman, the handsome openly gay co-star of Noah's Arc and the upcoming feature film Noah's Arc Jumping the Broom, headlines a news conference with several Los Angeles ministers to urge the black community to vote NO on California's toxic Proposition 8. The newser was held at the Lucy Florence Cultural Center in Leimert Park. From left to right,  Spearman; Rev. Eric Lee, President, Southern Christian Leadership Council of LA; Rev. Vanessa Mackenzie; Rev. Arthur Lawrence Cribbs; and Willie Pelote with AFSCME.

Spearman, who is on the board of Equality California and the No on Prop 8 campaign says, "When the Supreme Court authored its opinion, it effectively wiped away not just discrimination against gays and lesbians. They wiped away discrimination in the state of California in a way that had never been addressed before. They did a brave and beautiful thing."

Earlier this month the cast of Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom headlined a fundraiser for No on Prop 8 in Oakland. Spearman, Darryl Stephens, Jensen Atwood and the still not gay Rodney Chester urged black voters and the black gay community to turn down the ballot measure. The film opens in limited release on October 24 and features a wedding-themed plot.

Black voters could play a crucial role in the fight over same-sex marriage. The Los Angeles Times reports "they make up only about 6% of the electorate in California [and] are expected to vote in record numbers this election because of Barack Obama's presence on the ballot."

Ron Buckmire, who heads the black gay rights group the Jordan/Rustin Coalition, says black voters could be more progressive. "People have this impression that black people in general are more homophobic than the population as a whole." Buckmire tells Rod 2.0 the Mormon Church's substantial donations to Prop 8 are troubling to many blacks because of the church's racist history. "African Americans are fully aware that before 1982 Mormons openly discriminated against Black people and will be unlikely to agree with them amending the state constitution to deny civil rights to a particular group of people."

While surveys show a majority of black voters support the measure, many black gay activists push back on some attempts—Andrew Sullivan et al—to blame Proposition 8's passage on the black community.  Blogger and journalist Darian Aaron criticizes the largely vanilla complexion of the gay community's opposition anti-Prop outreach. "There are thousands of black gay and lesbian couples throughout the state, supportive clergy, and straight allies that could have been included in this campaign," Darian writes. "African-Americans understand what it feels like to not have a place at the table, to jump the broom versus having legal recognition of their marriages, to enter through the back door versus the front."

Thanks RON AND KAREN OCAMB
Donate here and/or here to fight Proposition 8. 

Black Clergy For, Against Gay Marriage Speak Out [LAT]
AAs Speak Out Against Prop 8 [Mad Professah]
Placing The Blame On Black California Voters [LOLDarian]

Did You Read ...
"Noah's Arc" Cast Urges "No" on Proposition 8 [R20]
Blige, Etheridge Raise $3.9M for No on Prop 8 [R20]
Doug Spearman in "The Advocate"[R20]
Darryl Stephens Talks Coming Out to "Instinct" [R20]
Rodney Chester of "Noah's Arc": I'm Still Not Gay! [R20]
Behind the Scenes Video from Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom [R20]
Noah's Arc Has Sailed [R20]
Deal or No Deal? [R20]
Rodney Chester: I'm STILL NOT Gay!" [R20]
Beyond the Sassy Sidekicks? [After Elton]
What Does the Future Hold for Noah's Arc? [After Elton]
TV's Most Influential Gay Sex Scenes [After Elton]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]
Hamilton Cobb: Big Deal Playing Gay [R20]
Uno Dos TREY [R20]
"Honey, I'm Home!" [R20]
DVD Review: "Noah's Arc" [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]

Gregory Kieth on "Phat Brothas"

For those who prefer their men less sculpted and more on the beefy side, peruse the lunchtime menu at the newish Phat Brothas [nsfw]. The photo blog describes itself as a "catalog to profile and celebrate an assortment of big, juicy, muscle thick men of color."

Fans of the lovely and talented Gregory Kieth (Noah's Arc, Noah's Arc Jumping the Broom) should enjoy the screen captures of the beefy actor in tighty whiteys and a jockstrap. If you prefer your beef with a thicker cut, there are cool videos of Michael Strahan and full frontal screen captures of Eammon Walker from Oz.  Bon apetit.

"Noah's Arc" Cast Urges "No" on Proposition 8

Sorry for being a few days late on this one. The principal cast of Noah's Arc headlined a fundraiser for No on Prop 8 in Oakland. These are images are from Flickr user Jay Brahms' photostream and video of the event.

Doug Spearman, Darryl Stephens, Rodney Chester and Jensen Atwood also sat for a video interview with Clubrimshot's Joe Hawkins to discuss the importance of voter turnout to defeat the amendment that would overturn the right of same sex couples to marry in California. (Note: There are some problems viewing the video interview in Firefox and Safari.) Darryl Stephens, in particular, says he would like to use his official coming out as a platform to discuss important issues facing our community. Bravo.

Oh and a cookie for Rodney Chester who continues to encourage black gay men to become involved in issues affecting "our" community. Rodney probably meant to say "your" community, 'cuz, you know, he is still not gay.

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom will be available in limited release on October 24. The proximity to the November election., plus the wedding-themed plot, makes this an excellent vehicle to combine promotion and activism on the marriage issue. Darryl Stephens graces the cover of the latest issue of Instinct and talks more about the movie and his decision to officially come out. Best of luck on the movie and thanks to the cast for bringing awareness to an important issue.

You May Have Missed ...
Darryl Stephens Talks Coming Out to "Instinct" [R20]
Rodney Chester of "Noah's Arc": I'm Still Not Gay! [R20]
Behind the Scenes Video from Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom [R20]
Noah's Arc Has Sailed [R20]
Deal or No Deal? [R20]
Darryl Stephens on the "Out 100" [R20]
Jensen Atwood: The CLIK Interview [R20]
A Very Beautiful Darryl Stephens [R20]
Darryl Stephens in "Boy Culture" [R20]
Darryl's "Boy Culture" [R20]
A Conversation with Darryl Stephens [R20]
Rodney Chester: I'm STILL NOT Gay!" [R20]
Beyond the Sassy Sidekicks? [After Elton]
What Does the Future Hold for Noah's Arc? [After Elton]
TV's Most Influential Gay Sex Scenes [After Elton]
The Many Faces of Rodney Chester [Keith Boykin]
A Conversation with Keith Boykin [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]
Hamilton Cobb: Big Deal Playing Gay [R20]
Uno Dos TREY [R20]
"Honey, I'm Home!" [R20]
DVD Review: "Noah's Arc" [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]

Darryl Stephens Talks "Noah's Arc" and Coming Out to "Instinct"

Actor Darryl Stephens is the cover feature of the October Instinct. At six pages, Jim ver Steeg's profile is probably one of the magazine's more in-depth recent cover features. There is also a smart fashion (and shirtless) editorial lensed by photographer Peter Brown. Kudos to Instinct for its third major cover feature in the past 18 months that featured black gay personalities.

In addition to promoting the limited theatrical release of Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, for the first time Stephens responds to critics who questioned his reluctance to come out as openly gay gay during the broadcast run of Noah's Arc.

“We had seen other gay shows where the straight actors who were playing gay got a lot of the credit for doing all the work and for being braver actors. We were all just trying to avoid that,” Darryl says. But they were also trying to avoid adding to the challenges already felt by many in the industry. “I think as black actors we are all aware of the fact that the roles we are allowed to play are very limited. To step up and say “I’m gay” makes a lot of other doors close, too.”

It would be interesting to hear if publicly coming out has helped or harmed Stephens' career. Judging from the roles he has chosen—Noah's Arc, Boy Culture, Another Gay Movie, Ugly Betty etc—there doesn't seem like the potential for a career backlash. It may actually have helped. Stephens says his sexuality "has never been any big mystery or secret" and takes particular aim at "gay bloggers" who tried to make it an issue.

[C]ritics have wasted little time and a great deal of bandwidth to point out that Darryl has not shouted his sexuality from rooftops. “I’ve read a lot of very negative responses, not necessarily to my work, but to my choices, from gay bloggers,” he says. “There is a lot of hypocrisy in the criticism from the people who just don’t know what it’s like to put yourself out there. It’s fucking scary. It’s not like sitting at home on your computer.”

Darryl Stephens makes a valid point about privacy and self-identity, but, the larger point remains unanswered: Was it ironic that for a show that was considered "groundbreaking" for its portrayal of black gay characters and issues, with the exception of Doug Spearman, the black gay actors refused to come out? What message did that send to the "community? Perhaps we should pose these questions to actor Rodney Chester who "hosted" several black gay awards events and still denies he is gay.

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom will be available in limited release on October 24. An excerpt of the interview with Darryl Stephens is availble at the Instinct website.

Darryl Stephens: Stepping Up, Standing Out [Instinct]

You May Have Missed ...
Behind the Scenes Video from Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom [R20]
Noah's Arc Has Sailed [R20]
Deal or No Deal? [R20]
Darryl Stephens on the "Out 100" [R20]
Jensen Atwood: The CLIK Interview [R20]
A Very Beautiful Darryl Stephens [R20]
Darryl Stephens in "Boy Culture" [R20]
Darryl's "Boy Culture" [R20]
A Conversation with Darryl Stephens [R20]
Rodney Chester: I'm STILL NOT Gay!" [R20]
Beyond the Sassy Sidekicks? [After Elton]
What Does the Future Hold for Noah's Arc? [After Elton]
TV's Most Influential Gay Sex Scenes [After Elton]
The Many Faces of Rodney Chester [Keith Boykin]
A Conversation with Keith Boykin [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]
Hamilton Cobb: Big Deal Playing Gay [R20]
Uno Dos TREY [R20]
"Honey, I'm Home!" [R20]
DVD Review: "Noah's Arc" [R20]
Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre" [R20]