Lots of new DVDs are hitting stores this week and, of course, very few of them (make that one) feature lesbian and bisexual characters. Strangely enough, though, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of Girls Gone Wild-type docs (I counted no less than six separate titles this week — go figure.) But don’t let this sad little fact make you cancel your subscription to Netflix. There are still a couple of DVDs with hot lady appeal.

Preaching to the Perverted

Writer, actress, all-around celesbian Guinevere Turner plays a dominatrix ruling the London S&M scene with an iron whip in this 1997 controversial film. There’s this whole plot about a guy who’s sent in by a minister to spy on her and figure out a way to bring her group down ... blah, blah, blah. But let’s cut to the chase: You can expect lots of hot leather outfits, lesbian trysts, and more fetish fun than you can shake an inappropriately used riding crop at.

Smart People

One of our favorite indie starlets is back and doing what she does best: playing a witty teen with lots of attitude and interesting choices in wardrobe. Ellen Page takes on the role of Vanessa, a sarcastic, SAT-obsessed girl who has her hands full with her brilliant but disconnected father (Dennis Quaid). She gets a little help loosening him up from his new love interest, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. … continue reading

What could make a film about women's roller derby that stars Ellen Page and is directed by Drew Barrymore even cooler? Think hard. I'll give you a second.

OK, time's up. Have you guessed? The answer is, of course, a really cool supporting cast of actresses. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ellen and Drew will be joined in their upcoming film Whip It! by Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden and Zoe Bell.

The film follows Ellen's character, Bliss Cavendar, a small-town Texas girl who runs away from her ex-pageant queen mom played by Marcia. While her mother wants her to follow in her tiara-wearing ways, Bliss would rather strap on some skates. So instead she joins a roller derby league in Austin. … continue reading

Last week, we gave you a few reasons why you might be into watching the MTV Movie Awards that aired Sunday night. While there probably were some highlights on the actual show (such as Ellen Page winning for Best Female Performance in Juno), most of the goods came from the women posing as they arrived. Here's a look at some of our favorite females and their fashion choices for the award show.

Charlize Theron

Leave it to Charlize to look chic in a corset with a pair of slacks. Unlike some celebs, she never seems to overdo it. It must be because of her natural beauty. She could probably make zoo pants look sexy.

Ellen Page

The rising star looked casual and hip, per usual, in her blazer and black jeans with sneakers. She pulls off the "just-dressed-up-enough" look effortlessly, and it's actually when she looks her best.

Lauren Conrad

The Hills beauty wears bright blue beautifully. I've always admired her ability to stay trendy yet classic. She won't be on anyone's worst dressed list anytime soon, that's for sure. … continue reading

The 2008 MTV Movie Awards are live this Sunday night, but with a disturbing lack of female nominees (is anyone really surprised?), I’ve realized that you might more incentive to watch than usual. How does this do it for you?

OK, so the Pussycat Dolls might not exactly provide a huge musical presence, but the aesthetic boost certainly doesn’t hurt, does it?

Additionally, there are some lovely A-listers scheduled to present awards as well; Sarah Jessica Parker, Lindsay Lohan, Charlize Theron, Katherine McPhee, and Megan Fox are only a few.

Hello, Megan!

My shallow tendencies aside, I can’t really ignore such an obvious opportunity to see drunken celebrities act like, well, I usually do on weekends. After all, who can forget the fabulously groan-inducing Sarah Silverman jokes about jail-bound Paris Hilton a year ago? If only Mike Myers wasn’t hosting this year; I foresee more Love Guru plugs in this show than the American Idol finale. … continue reading

A timeless classic of British literature is about to be brought life for the 20th time. Hold on to your bonnets: BBC Films is about to make yet another adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre and bring it to the big screen. If your love of Brontë alone isn't enough to send you racing into the theaters, then perhaps the film's star will; Ellen Page has just signed on to play the title character.

Known mostly for her work in contemporary indie comedies, this will mark the first time Page will star in a period piece. … continue reading

Who could be the next Jodie Foster? That's the question that MSNBC is asking its readers these days. (Click here to vote and see current poll results.)

It's kind of an intriguing question — and one that I've actually considered independently. (But I'll get back to that later.) Of course, Jodie Foster is a unique individual who cannot be replicated, but I'll assume that the folks at MSNBC are speculating about which young, talented actress will successfully transition to a working adult actress.

Of course, they could be asking which young, talented actress will grow up to have a happy, private, lesbian family. … continue reading

Not surprisingly, Ellen Page's power as a box office draw has skyrocketed since we all fell in love with her as Juno. (Don't tell me if you didn't love Juno because I won't believe you anyway.)

The Tracey Fragments, which captured attention at 2007's Atlantic and Berlin film festivals and garnered Page the Best Actress in a Canadian Film award from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, finally will have its U.S. release on May 9.

Page plays Tracey Berkowitz, a 15-year-old who's riding out a blizzard in the back of a city bus, wearing nothing but a shower curtain. She's looking for her brother Sonny, whom she hypnotized into believing he's a dog. The movie uses complex Mondrian-style multi-frame editing throughout the entire movie to convey Tracey's fragmented thoughts as she tells her story.

Wow, there are a lot of movies I haven't heard of. And at least a few I'm really looking forward to. It's time for another poster-and-trailer extravaganza!

First, the Baby Mama poster hasn't really been released yet, but I came across this snapshot of the actual paper object. Cute. Is it April 25 yet?

Next, Smart People, featuring the smart and adorable person named Ellen Page (yeah, and Sarah Jessica Parker, too, but I find her less smart and less adorable, and occasionally less human).

This film debuts April 11. Here's the trailer: … continue reading

Is there such a thing as entertainment gaydar? Recently I came across an old friend on Facebook, whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade. Over the years, I’d wondered if perhaps she was gay — and once she had added me as a friend, I'll admit that I clicked over to her profile, curious to see if there would be anything about her sexual orientation there. While there wasn’t anything explicitly stated, I did see with interest that she listed The L Word as one of her favorite shows, and Brokeback Mountain and Chasing Amy as two of her favorite movies.

Now, entertainment gaydar, like any other gaydar, is based on stereotypes — and thus is bound to be somewhat unreliable. After all, there are plenty of straight people who like both The L Word and Brokeback Mountain. (And, actually, I think disliking Chasing Amy is probably a clearer sign of being a lesbian than liking it.) Nevertheless, this whole episode got me thinking about what a person’s tastes in entertainment may or may not say about her sexual orientation. And, using the popular AfterEllen.com forum thread "I’m so gay/I’m so not gay" as an inspiration, I decided to see how my tastes would stack up in the “stereotypically lesbianish” department.

To start off with the “I’m so not gay” category (hey, I may as well get the bit that will make me unpopular out of the way first):

1. I'll admit it — I don’t totally get the Tina Fey thing.

The fact that scribegrrrl, Dorothy Snarker, and Sarah Warn are all fans is enough to convince me that I must be missing something here — and who knows, maybe one day I will see the light. But I’ve seen 30 Rock, and the thing that amused me most about it was Alec Baldwin. (Who, whatever else he may or may not be, is definitively not lesbianish.)

2. I don’t watch The L Word.

The women on The L Word may be gay, but I’ve discovered that that, in and of itself, isn’t enough to make me identify with or deeply care about them. A little good writing goes an awfully long way.

3. I think Desert Hearts is a snooze-fest. … continue reading

UPDATE: Alison Lohman (White Oleander, Things We Lost in the Fire, Beowulf) has signed on to star in Drag Me to Hell. See the end of this post for more.

Drag Me to Hell, the new horror movie from Sam Raimi, has to find another actress to drag with it, as Ellen Page has dropped out.

The Oscar nominee's withdrawal is bad news for the film, which marks Raimi's return to directing the horror genre after seven-plus years in Spiderman country. Personally, I'd prefer that he return to the Xena genre. Yes, Xena gets a whole genre — any objections?

The official explanation for Page's withdrawal is that she had a scheduling conflict. Besides Drag, Page is cast in Drew Barrymore's roller derby comedy, Whip It! and Peacock, a thriller starring Cillian Murphy. Since most studios are trying to get films produced before a possible Screen Actors Guild strike on June 30, Page's schedule no doubt is packed. … continue reading

So, did you see Ellen Page on Saturday Night Live?

More important, did you see her in that last skit? Page played a young woman named Marty whose life was forever changed by a Melissa Etheridge concert. Here it is:

Yes, you heard that right: She did say, "Why does everything have to have a frickin' label? Why can't I just hug a woman with my legs in friendship?" Ha ha!

Around the interweb, the sketch is being seen as a response to all the gay rumors about Page. But whether or not it was really about Ellen herself, it was refreshing to see such a positive gay-themed skit on SNL. Its ultimate message seemed to be, "It's OK to be gay." … continue reading

It's an award-a-rific weekend. Along with the Oscars on Sunday, you can catch the BET Honors (tonight at 8/7c on, uh, BET) and the Independent Spirit Awards (Saturday at 5 p.m. EST on IFC). Both of them look considerably more interesting than There Will Be Boredom and No Country for Any Women.

Scheduled to appear on the BET Honors are Alicia Keys, Tyra Banks, Vivica A. Fox, Kerry Washington, Keyshia Cole and more. This picture of Kerry Washington and Zoe Saldana has nothing to do with the BET Honors, but it sure is pretty. (I found it on the website for the UNDP/UNEP Poverty and Environment Initiative. Activism is sexy!)

On Sunday before the Oscars, Barbara Walters talks to Miley Ray Cyrus, Vanessa Williams, Harrison Ford and the awesome-but-slightly-overexposed Ellen Page.

Sheesh, so much to watch — and my DVR is full, too. Gone are those lazy, book-reading days of the writers' strike!