News

There should be a disclaimer at the beginning of Battle of the Sexes: "This story is based -- loosely -- on real people and events."

Rather than telling the actual story of Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, and depicting their characters with something approaching authenticity and depth, the film is as two-dimensional as if it were Battle of the Sexes: The Leggo Movie. It is like watching a top tennis player get an easy overhead smash and dump it in the net -- or swing wildly and miss it entirely.

It's a Great story that deserves a far better telling. 55 year-old former world #1 Bobby Riggs challenges 29 year-old and current world #1 Billie Jean King to a $100,000 tennis match, in a circus atmosphere hyped as pitting women's lib against male chauvinism. But of course its real purpose was to make money, and bundles of it, for ABC (which aired...

Have a question about gay male entertainment? Contact me here (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!

Q: In the last few weeks, Matt Bomer has appeared on the red carpet and a late night talk show wearing a gold band on his left ring finger. Officially, he’s unattached and doesn’t talk about his personal life. But a band on one’s left hand almost always has meaning – even if the person isn’t married or civil-unioned. Is it appropriate to ask him about the ring? I say yes. – Brian, Des Moines, Iowa

A: Isn’t this is an appropriate question for Valentine’s Day? It’s true: Bomer is now wearing the ring to public and press events. Is it okay for us to ask him about that?

We actually hemmed and hawed on this one. Obviously, there are widespread internet rumors about Bomer’s sexuality.

Pen Densham has been set to direct "Big Bill," a feature about the self-destructive tennis legend Bill Tilden.According to Variety, Gil Dennis ("Walk the Line") wrote the script, based on the Frank Deford book "Big Bill: The Triumphs and the Tragedy."Baldwin Entertainment and GlennIris Entertainment have put together the funding to make the picture.Densham hasn't directed a feature since 1996's "Moll Flanders," though he directed the 1998 telepic "Houdini" for TNT. He has busied himself writing and producing such projects as the series revivals of "The Outer Limits" and "The Twilight Zone" for his Trilogy Entertainment Group.In the 1920s, Tilden won six straight U.S. Open singles titles, a feat that Roger Federer will try to surpass this month. Tilden was...

Tennis players are boring. They turn up, go on court, smack a few balls around, throw out a few dour quotes in the post-match press conference, and go off to shoot a new commercial for a camera/clothing range. There’s no spark, no sex, no scandal. Right?Well, not quite. Not for Bill Tilden, anyway. The American was a legendary champion during the 1920s, winning the Us Open six times in a row, and becoming the first American to win Wimbledon.But he was also a novelist, a playwright and a bridge champion, while on the court he was renowned for his sense of fair play and gentlemanly nature. But off court, Tilden was very different, and all of his achievements paled into insignificance next to the two prison terms he served for illegal sexual acts with underage boys. Tilden never recovered from the scandal, and died penniless.His...

Pen Densham has signed on to direct Big Bill, a feature about the self-destructive tennis legend Bill Tilden. Gil Dennis (Walk the Line) wrote the script, based on the Frank Deford book Big Bill: The Triumphs and the Tragedy. In the 1920s, Tilden won six straight U.S. Open singles titles, a feat that Roger Federer will try to surpass this month. Tilden's accomplishments -- including stints as a novelist, playwright and contract bridge champion -- were marred by his imprisonment twice for sexual misbehavior with teenage boys. He died broke. Tilden was the first American to win Wimbledon, and he led the U.S. Davis Cup team to six straight titles. He was also meticulous about obeying the rules on court -- if he got an undeserved call, he would hit the next ball out to even things up -- and refused to soft sell his indiscretions. Densham hasn't...

Celebrity interviews can be pretty nerve-wracking. The ante is upped even more when the interviewee doesn't give many interviews. You hope for the best, but sometimes that's not what you get. Xan Brooks got a chance to interview Faye Dunaway for The Guardian, and things didn't go so well. It started with a list of ixnayed topics, but one was left off the list -- Roman Polanski and rumors about Chinatown. He asked if it was true that she once threw a cup of urine at the famed director and well, she didn't take too kindly to that line of questioning. Follow the link to see what happened and then comment below: Was it okay for Brooks to ask her about that? Did she overreact?

And then there's a little bit of tennis. Variety reports that Frank Deford's adaptation of his novel Big Bill: The Triumphs and the Tragedy,...

Producer Howard Baldwin's Baldwin Entertainment has teamed with GlennIris Entertainment to option Frank Deford's screenplay on tennis legend Bill Tilden. The script is based on his novel "Big Bill: The Triumphs and the Tragedy" and focuses on Tilden who dominated the sport during the 1920s. The player won the U.S. Open six times in a rown and, historically, became the first ever American to take home the Wimbledon trophy. However much a legend he was, Tilden was placed in jail twice for sexual misbehaviour with teen boys and ended up dying without any money.