In a review of The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at Allbookreviews.com, Bob Medak suggests the book “For lovers of fantasy and just a good book to read.”

Wolfe Releasing sent me the following press release, about a must-see movie.

SAN JOSE, CA —Wolfe Releasing, the largest exclusive distributor of LGBT film and video, is proud to announce the theatrical release date for 3 NEEDLES. Thom Fitzgerald’s explosive portrait of the global AIDS crisis will open on Friday, December 1, 2006, in conjunction with World AIDS Day. The film, which depicts three intimate and diverse stories of people dealing with the AIDS crisis in China, Canada and Africa, stars Lucy Liu, Chloë Sevigny, Stockard Channing, Olympia Dukakis, Sandra Oh, and Shawn Ashmore.

On December 1, 2006, 3 NEEDLES will open in a limited release pattern in approximately 20 markets, in conjunction with World AIDS Day. Wolfe Releasing, in collaboration with Covington USA, will work closely with non-profit organizations and community groups in a series of benefit screenings to help spread the powerful message of the film. World AIDS Day was started by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 to focus global attention on the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the day is currently managed by the World AIDS Campaign.

Thom Fitzgerald, who previously directed THE HANGING GARDEN, BEEFCAKE, and THE EVENT, created 3 NEEDLES to present a portrait of people all over the world who struggle to sustain their spirits in the face of the deadly AIDS crisis. This luminous film visits rural China, a plantation in South Africa, and Montreal’s porn industry, to tell three separate yet universal stories from the pandemic.

In China, Ping (Lucy Liu) is a pregnant young woman running a black market blood collection scam that creates a mini-epidemic in a rural village. In Montreal, Denys (Shawn Ashmore) is a porn actor hiding his positive HIV status in order to continue working and supporting his mother (Stockard Channing), who herself goes to extreme lengths to provide for the family’s future. And, in Africa, Sister Clara (Chloë Sevigny) is a young novice nun driven to convert the rapidly dying Africans to Catholicism before it’s too late who makes a desperate bargain with a corrupt plantation owner to help prevent the spread of HIV in the region. Sandra Oh and Olympia Dukakis portray nuns in the same order who accompany her on the journey.

The film has already begun gathering widespread acclaim from around the world. Bruce Kirkland of the Toronto Sun said, “The spectre of AIDS has never been treated on film with the bravado, the scope and the ambition of Thom Fitzgerald's drama 3 NEEDLES.” And, Time Out UK hailed the film’s “stunning photography and powerful performances.” And, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer described the film as “Courageous…it has a raw beauty and energy.”

As previously announced, the US release version of 3 NEEDLES reinstates Thom Fitzgerald’s intended structure, content and tone, including approximately 20 minutes of crucial footage, such as a controversial sex scene featuring Stockard Channing in a Montreal strip club.

3 NEEDLES recently had a gala premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where actress Lucy Liu honored pioneering AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, and the film is currently screening at major film festivals across the United States. And, on July 11, 2006, Lucy Liu will be honored at the annual Video Software Dealer’s Association conference with the group’s Humanitarian Award for her work in this film, as well as with UNICEF as a Celebrity Ambassador working on Pakistani earthquake relief and HIV/AIDS issues in China.

Web Page, Gay Pride, Gay/Lesbian Movie, Fantasy Novel

Added new page, Book Index: Genres, Themes, and Keywords.

Summer 2006 Gay Pride Event. If you’re near Virginia this weekend, remember the first StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts Festival, which will include readings from two of my books.

Visit This Week In Texas to read my review of the gay/lesbian-themed film Floored By Love.

I mentioned before that you can read about the comical novel The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at Locus Online, the online companion to science fiction publication Locus Magazine. Also, an upcoming issue of the magazine itself will include information about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure, possibly even a review!

Visit This Week In Texas to read my review of the AIDS-themed film An Early Frost.

Gay Pride Event

Walton, West Virginia, June 16-18. The first StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts Festival will include spoken word artists reading passages from my books The Acorn Stories and Holding Me Together. This gay pride event will take place at Longfork Campgrounds and Resort. I won’t be able to attend, but I’m honored by the inclusion of my works, and I hope some of my readers can go. The event also includes movies, music, and visual arts. According to StoneWall Society’s founder, “The Pride In The Arts Festival is a direct offspring of the Annual Pride In The Arts Awards presented by StoneWall Society. The goal of the PITA Awards and Festival is to provide support and to help create an awareness of our community artists.”

Vote for The Southeastern Science Fiction Achievement Award (the SESFA), 2006.

Torchwood, the Dr. Who spin-off, involves a bisexual con-man from the future. The character has appeared in a few episodes of Dr. Who.

Will the Aquaman TV series happen? Watch for details at AquamanTV: Mercy Reef.

Read about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at Locus Online, the online companion to science fiction publication Locus Magazine.

Discuss The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at The Dragon Page: Podcasts, reviews, and more of fantasy works.

Read about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at the science fiction fantasy site SFRevu.

“SFRevu is a monthly fan/webzine focused on Science Fiction and Fantasy, which features reviews of books, films, and other media, Interviews with top authors and notable newcomers, and columns with the latest releases in books, DVDs, and comics and upcoming films. Our aim is to find the best SF out there and share it with other fans of the genre. SFRevu has editors in both the US and UK and regularly includes coverage of SF from around the world.”

Read about The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure at the gay Web site This Week In Texas.

Unveiled

Movie review by Duane Simolke, author of the West Texas fiction collection The Acorn Stories, for This Week In Texas.

(German with some Persian. English subtitles.)

Named one of the Top Ten Films of 2005 by The Advocate and endorsed by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, this acclaimed political drama stars Jasmin Tabatabai (Bandits) as Fariba, an Iranian lesbian.

After Fariba flees persecution in Iran, she finds it difficult to find permanent asylum in Germany. In desperation, she assumes the identity of a deceased man and accepts a factory job. While constantly working and plotting toward citizenship, she falls in love with Anne, a female coworker played by Anneke Kim Sarnau (The Constant Gardener).

The entire cast gives quiet but powerful performances. Clearly just trying to live their lives in a thankless job, the people in Fariba’s new world cannot grasp the fear and injustice she faces. Instead, they leave it to the viewers to witness the sad plight she faces for loving a woman.

Without speeches or platitudes, Unveiled harshly criticizes any government that would abuse people over their gender, politics, or sexual orientation. That criticism—that indictment—relies on the compelling way director Angelina Maccarone and a talented cast share this story. While some politically charged American films from 2005 provoked discussion and won awards, this new import should draw more attention to the international abuse of gay and lesbian people.

Adam & Steve

Movie review by Duane Simolke, author of the West Texas fiction collection The Acorn Stories, for This Week In Texas.

Adam & Steve gives a decidedly gay and decidedly irreverent twist to the romantic comedy. Obviously and defiantly mocking anti-gay clichés with the title, writer/director/star Craig Chester delivers an enjoyable tale of budding love.

The film’s opening sequence, set in the 1980s, is tedious and unfunny, ending with a gross-out scene. Fortunately, the movie gets better when it jumps to the present, and it keeps getting better.

By the time Adam and Steve fall in love with each other, audiences will fall in love with them as well. The scene where the two lovers confront a gay-basher makes this comedy worth the price of admission. However, it offers much more.

Good casting propels the story. Malcolm Gets stars as the Steve who wins the heart of Adam (Craig Chester). Both actors are openly gay and play reluctant, nervous lovers convincingly. In a role that takes advantage of his goofy appeal, Chris Kattan of Saturday Night Live plays Michael, Steve’s straight roommate. Michael seems fine with Steve’s sexual orientation until Steve falls in love, but then acts betrayed. Indie film queen Parker Posey is Adam’s best friend, Rhonda; not surprisingly, she plays the gay-friendly gal pal with charm. Julie Hagerty has a small but amusing role as one of the members of Adam’s supposedly cursed family.

Part of the movie’s strength comes from how it shows that people can be such a contradiction and so self-defeating. For example, a nameless twink (Noah Segan) keeps making the most profound observations about people he barely knows, yet he seems totally shallow in every other respect. In the same way, Rhonda is funny and likeable with her friends, but bland and humorless in her attempts at stand-up comedy. Most of all, though, Adam and Steve keep failing to see how perfect they are for each other, while letting their fear of imperfections threaten their relationship.