The Australian TV industry just held its annual awards, the Logies (named after a guy we can all thank — or sometimes hate — who made television a workable medium). Some of the faces from the red carpet should be familiar to AfterEllen.com readers outside of Australia. Here's one: Demi Sorono, the out lesbian who made it to the final four of Australia's first season of So You Think You Can Dance. This was the final four:

The references to Demi's sexuality disappeared after the first few episodes, but the subtext was there the entire season. Speaking of shows with gay themes, some of the ladies of Satisfaction made the ceremony.

No Logie for the lesbian prostitute (possibly because her character was constructed entirely of clichéd craziness), but Alison Whyte took home a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actress. … continue reading

Another list? Darn tooting! This time it’s about two great things that go great together: movies and music. CNN’s Screening Room has named its Top Ten Songs in Movies. Not soundtracks, not scores, but singles used during a particular scene. As expected, the list is heavy on the male-dominated scenes and, somewhat less expectedly, fairly violent.

10. Trainspotting, “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop (opening scene)
9. Dr Strangelove, “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn (atomic ending)
8. The Royal Tenenbaums, “Needle in the Hay” by Elliot Smith (Richie’s suicide attempt)
7. Say Anything, “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel (Lloyd’s boom box serenade)
6. Almost Famous, “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John (bus sing-along)
5. Muriel's Wedding, “Waterloo” by ABBA (talent show triumph)
4. Apocalypse Now, “The End” by The Doors (awaiting orders in Saigon)
3. Goodfellas, “Layla” by Eric Clapton (Jimmy’’s murder spree)
2. Reservoir Dogs, “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel (ear slicing)
1. Easy Rider, “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (opening scene)

Now, I love Nos. 7–5. I had a poster of Lloyd’s grand romantic gesture from Say Anything on my dorm room wall. And I dare you not to feel unbridled joy as Muriel and Rhonda come out in their white ABBA outfits in Muriel's Wedding. This movie made me forever love Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths. Heck, let’s watch it again, just because we can.

As for the other selections on CNN’s list, I would have picked a scene from Wes Anderson’s film Rushmore instead of Tenenbaums. And I would have gone for the “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” Uma scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction instead of the unfortunate Van Goghing of a victim’s ear in Reservoir Dogs. Also, no mention of The Graduate anywhere on this list? Didn’t that film practically pioneer the use of popular music in movies?

To balance out the bloody and the manly, I thought I’d add some gay, girly and (whenever possible) gay girly selections to the list. Since CNN’s list makers seemed impressed by showy outer death and destruction, how about some quiet inner devastation? In Love Actually, Emma Thompson realizing her husband is being unfaithful — set to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” — will break your heart, guaranteed. … continue reading

It seems like every couple of years or so, someone will release another one of those lists: You know, the ones that talk about the greatest on-screen partnerships and duos. There will be a top ten: Hepburn and Tracy will be mentioned, as will Bogart and Bacall. In the realm of (allegedly) non-romantic pairings, there will be Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and maybe Laurel and Hardy, or the guys from Lethal Weapon. What there reliably never will be is any female-female buddy relationships.

Well, I think that’s nonsense — so without any further ado, here is a list of my favorite (allegedly) non-romantic female partnerships on film and television:

Dorothy (Jane Russell) and Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

The '50s showgirls of this classic film travel together, trade banter, stick up for each other in the face of outsiders, and even walk up the aisle together at the end in matching wedding dresses. Sadly, they weren't actually marrying each other — even though the picture does make it look like it.

Kate/Offred (Natasha Richardson) and Moira (Elizabeth McGovern), The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)

Trapped in the dystopian future imagined by Margaret Atwood's novel, in this film adaptation Kate gets strength, courage, and some much-needed humor from her rebellious lesbian friend Moira.

Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon), Thelma and Louise (1991)

In this iconic reworking of the traditional road movie, the waitress-and-housewife-turned-stickup-artists became so close that by the end, as Sarandon has said, "they were finishing each others' sentences." … continue reading

Recently, I have been contemplating getting another tattoo. After all, it has been scientifically proven that they are hot. Before I get inked, however, there are two things I have to decide on first: the design and the placement.

Now you see why I am holding out. There is nothing worse than a bad tattoo.

Let's be real, though: The design options are endless; the placement options are not. And what better way to decide where to permanently mark my body than by looking to celebrities for guidance? It seems to be the trend.

First, there's the old-school armband that Pamela Anderson made popular.

Her thoughts on body art?

"Tattoos are like stories — they're symbolic of the important moments in your life. Sitting down, talking about where you got each tattoo and what it symbolizes, is really beautiful."

But what exactly does barbed wire symbolize? Oh, right: There was that 1996 movie written by someone named Ilene Chaiken. But I digress.

Moving on, I present to you arms and wrists.

Clockwise from top left: Winona Ryder, Jessica Alba, Alanis Morissette and Tegan and Sara.

(See more of Tegan and Sara's tattoos here.)

Of course, I could follow the examples of Megan Fox, Alyssa Milano and Christina Ricci and choose the back of my shoulder. … continue reading

The shine isn’t even off the 2008 Academy Awards yet, but I say on to 2009! What? No point dwelling in the past. While it’s still an entire year until the next set of statuettes gets handed out, it’s never too early to be totally wrong with your Academy Award predictions. Here’s a quick look at 10 upcoming projects that caught my eye and maybe, possibly, with any luck, might catch Oscar’s eye as well.

The Argentine/Guerilla: An ambitious two-film project by Steven Soderbergh about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara, starring Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potente, Benjamin Bratt and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Viva la revolucion!

Australia: Moulin Rouge maestro Baz Luhrmann returns with an epic love story set during World War II, about an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who teams with a ranch hand (Hugh Jackman) to herd cattle across the outback. Sounds like Far and Away meets City Slickers. I kid, I kid.

Burn After Reading: All you need to know is Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich in a political comedy-thriller about top-secret CIA information falling into the wrong hands — and it's directed by the Coen brothers. Yes, please.

The Changeling: Angelina Jolie may get her 2008 Oscar snub revenge with this Clint Eastwood–directed Prohibition-era thriller about a woman whose kidnapped son is returned, but he could be the wrong child. Clint has been money when it comes to Oscar nominations these past few years, so Angelina, start thinking up a snappy speech. … continue reading

For those of you not familiar with the accent, that's moi with an exaggerated Australian o in the back of the throat, sort of a “mioye.” And here's a bit of wackiness that doesn't need translation. A couple of months ago, the linster informed us that the Australian comedy Kath and Kim will be remade by NBC for U.S. audiences, with Molly Shannon starring as Kath. Well, now she has her Kim. Meet the mother-daughter pair:

You're not imagining things. That is Selma Blair. She's just landed the role of Kim. To put this in perspective, let's take a look at the Australian originals.

Even though I've been happily catching up on the originals here, I'm sorry I'm going to miss the U.S. debut. The weirdness of the pairing with Selma Blair is reason enough to tune in, at least for a start. Originally, Joan Cusack was set to play Kim. Picking Blair instead is taking, well, a slightly different direction. I only hope she has the comedy chops to keep up with Molly Shannon. … continue reading

Esther Blueburger "befriends a duck, talks to God through the toilet and break-dances at her bat mitzvah." In other words, Hey! Hey! It's Esther Blueburger is my kind of movie.

Replace the sprinkles with braces and you've almost got a younger Betty Suarez. The story is a little Betty-like, too. Danielle Catanzariti makes her film debut as Esther, a 13-year-old Jewish girl who doesn't fit in at her private girls' school — or with her family. And she's nervous about her bat mitzvah. … continue reading

So I'm ringing in a new year in Australia. Next to moving in with my girlfriend and not being buried under five feet of snow in a Midwestern winter, the best thing so far has been catching up with the Australian drama Satisfaction. You might remember it as the show set in a brothel featuring a lesbian sex worker as part of the regular cast.

I have to admit to being skeptical about the show. First, there's Heather, the lesbian character. A self-professed gay girl who is able to sleep with men on a daily basis is not the most convincing evidence that we all aren't just waiting for the right man.

But what I was really afraid of was another show about victimization, albeit very pretty victims.

TV and movie stories about prostitution (insert your favorite Law and Order franchise here) are littered with the corpses of dead hookers. Those who aren't horribly raped and murdered usually fall into two camps. … continue reading

The new WNBA Atlanta franchise is finally looking to settle on a name, and you can help!

Go to the WNBA website and cast your vote. The powers that be in Atlanta have narrowed the choice down to four candidates:

Atlanta Dream
Atlanta Sizzle
Atlanta Surge
Atlanta Flight

When I last checked, the Dream was out front by a fairly comfortable margin, followed by Flight, Surge and Sizzle (I like Sizzle the best out of the four, so as usual, I'm in the minority).

And, no, there doesn't seem to be any space for write-ins, so those witty, creative names you've come up with are not eligible. (As a Mets fan, my choice would be the Atlanta At-Least-We're-Not-the-Braves!)

You can also vote for the team colors, ranging from a staid navy blue and gold to a flashy hot pink, silver and black. And you can read the Atlanta Behind the Scenes Blog for all the news as the team develops. … continue reading

For the past 20 years or so, I've given my brother grief for reviewing Dune on his cable-access show without actually having seen the movie. So it feels a little wrong for me to blog about The Golden Compass, given that I've neither read the book nor seen the movie. But I'm not claiming knowledge beyond the Entertainment Weekly article on the religion controversy swirling about the film, so I'm pretty sure I can still claim the moral high ground.

In case you haven't heard, there are two levels of controversy. First, the books (The Golden Compass and its trilogy mates) have angered a lot of religious folk — particularly Catholics — and have been pulled off bookshelves in some Catholic schools. Why? Because atheist author Philip Pullman has apparently created a world in which the authoritarian church is the enemy and the protagonists set out to destroy it and God. (Again, I'm paraphrasing without having read the books.) The Catholic League calls the stories “Atheism for Kids.”

And then there's the movie, starring Nicole Kidman and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards. (What's with “Dakota” being the new official name of precocious young actresses?) … continue reading