The 1983 cult Ian McKellen movie The Keep, directed by Michael Mann, is now available on 4K Ultra HD (via Vinegar Syndrome), Collider noted. This adaptation of the 1981 F. Paul Wilson novel takes place in Nazi-occupied Romania, where German soldiers have laid siege to a small village—but those soldiers are soon attacked by a supernatural horror. Captain Klaus Woermann (played by Jürgen Prochnow) seeks outside help—and learns that the only man capable of stopping the monstrosity is Dr. Theodore Cuza, an elderly Jewish historian played by McKellen, who is currently locked in a concentration camp with his daughter. Adding to the ambiance was a soundtrack by the German electronic band Tangerine Dream, who also lent their talents to Mann’s Thief as well as Risky Business and Grand Theft Auto V.
Powder ran an article on the five best LGBTQ+-inclusive ski resorts in North America. They are Colorado’s Aspen Snowmass, British Columbia’s Whistler Blackcomb, Utah’s Park City, Colorado’s Telluride Ski Resort and California’s Mammoth Mountain. Among other things, Aspen is known for hosting the longest running and original Gay Ski Week; according to a historical account on Aspen Snowmass’ website, Aspen’s first Gay Ski Week was held in 1976. Whistler Blackcomb has hosted its own Pride and Ski Festival for more than three decades, keeping pace with Whistler’s popularity explosion over the last 20 years.
Cher—who has been in the industry for more than 60 years—has said her forthcoming record will “probably” be the last album she releases, according to Billboard. Per the UK publication The Sun, Cher made her recent comments while at London’s Lyceum Theatre in support of her recently released biography, Cher: The Memoir, Part One. While discussing the book, she turned her attention to her forthcoming 28th album, saying, “This is probably my last album that I’m gonna do. I’m really excited. They are great songs and I’m just really excited that I’m doing it.” Cher released her first album in 1965 as half of Sonny & Cher with then-husband Sonny Bono, and launched a solo career that same year.
Queer singer Chappell Roan marked a major milestone on Spotify, per Billboard. She shared on social media that her breakout hit “Good Luck, Babe!” has officially surpassed 1 billion streams on the platform. Among those congratulating her in the comments section were fellow musical artists Olivia Rodrigo, SZA and Brandi Carlile. “Good Luck, Babe!” is featured on Roan’s debut album, Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which debuted in September 2023. This year has been a whirlwind for Roan, as she’s garnered six Grammy nominations for 2025, including best new artist. However, she took a break earlier this year after being overwhelmed by her celebrity, the media and social media.
The coming-of-age slasher comedy Bloody Axe Wound—with Sari Arambulo, Molly Brown, Eddie Leavy, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Billy Burke—will be out in theaters on Dec. 27, a press release announced. The plot of the 83-minute film is described thusly: “Abbie Bladecut is a teenager torn between the macabre traditions of her family’s bloody trade and the tender stirrings of her first [same-sex] crush. In the small town of Clover Falls, Abbie’s father, Roger Bladecut, has built an infamous legacy by capturing real-life killings on tape and selling them to eager customers, but as Abbie delves deeper into the grisly family business, she begins to wonder if it’s time to take the family tradition in a new direction.”
Level 33 Entertainment will release filmmaker Sav Rodgers’ award-winning feature documentary Chasing Chasing Amy on Dec. 17, per a press release. In the film, Rodgers takes a journey of self-discovery while making a documentary about Kevin Smith’s’ Chasing Amy and its polarizing reputation among queer people. Smith’s Chasing Amy chronicles the impact on the long-term friendship of two New Jersey comic-book artists (played by Ben Affleck and Jason Lee) when they are joined by a third artist (Joey Lauren Adams)—who turns out to be lesbian.Chasing Chasing Amy—which features interviews with Smith, Adams, Lee and Guinevere Turner, among others—explores the transformational impact of the ‘90s cult classic on a 12-year-old queer kid from Kansas, coming of age and coming to terms with his identity.
Interior designer and HGTV star Nate Berkus has partnered with late photographer boyfriend Fernando Bengoechea’s brother, Marcelo, to honor Bengoechea’s memory with a new exhibition of his art, People noted. “Woven Together: Reflections” is on display at the Cristina Grajales Gallery in New York City through the end of January, with Berkus saying that opening night was really the most impactful moment for him. The exhibition featured Bengoechea’s work as well as some of his possessions that Berkus had held onto over the years. Berkus’ life changed forever on Dec. 26, 2004, when he survived the Boxing Day tsunami that overwhelmed at least 12 countries across Asia, but Bengoechea did not; he was never found.
Queer musicians Rufus Wainwright and Meshell Ndegeocello as well as Grammy winner esperanza spalding are among the acts slated to perform at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 27-30, 2025, a press release noted. Just a few of the other acts listed are Waxahatchee, Yo La Tengo, DARKSIDE, Tindersticks, Explosions in the Sky, Beth Gibbons and Arooj Aftab. According to its website, “Big Ears presents extraordinary performances and arts experiences to connect more than 40,000 locals and visitors of all ages throughout the Knoxville community each year.”
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova criticized The New York Times for describing biological females as “non-transgender women,” Yahoo! Sports noted. The term was used in a story about women’s college volleyball teams forfeiting games against San Jose State University, which has trans player Blaire Fleming in its line-up. On X, Navratilova (known for her staunch anti-trans stance) posted, “NYT- you stink. We are women, not NOT TRANSGENDER WOMEN. Just WOMEN will do in the future.” Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon champion, has described transgender women being allowed to compete in women’s sport as a form of “cheating.”
Portland-based performer Asia Consent is the World’s Next Drag Supermonster.after winning the season finale of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula that aired Dec. 2, per Willamette Week. To celebrate the final episode and victory, Consent herself went to Portland LGBTQ+ bar Badlands for a viewing party of the episode, with a mid-episode drag show of horror-themed performances in her honor. Along with $100,000 and priceless bragging rights, Consent—the first Black trans winner on the show, per PinkNews—now has a lifetime supply of Ben Nye stage makeup and is repped by PEG Management, a drag-focused talent agency whose clients include The Boulets, Trixie Mattel and Jinkx Monsoon.
Village People founder Victor Willis doubled down on two issues surrounding the disco band’s 1970s smash hit “Y.M.C.A.”—Donald Trump’s use of the track in his 2024 presidential campaign and the characterization of the song as a “gay anthem,” according to Billboard. On Facebook, Willis talked about why he chose to let the president-elect play “Y.M.C.A.” at rallies and events leading up to his win in November, saying he “didn’t have the heart” to block the usage—despite originally asking Trump to stop in 2020—upon realizing that the politician seemed to “genuinely like” and was “having a lot of fun” with the song. Also, Willis wrote that any branding of the track as a “gay anthem” is “completely misguided” and “damaging to the song,” adding, “The true anthem is Y.M.C.A.’s appeal to people of all [stripes] including President-Elect Trump.” Also, Willis threatened that, beginning in 2025, he and his wife intend to sue news organizations that describe the track as a gay anthem, according to Them.
Oscar-winning actor/director Sean Penn made a call for people to dump political correctness and truly embrace diversity in thought and action as he received a career honor at the Marrakech Film Festival in Morocco, according to Deadline. “I think it’s our job to exploit our diversity in positive ways, and to stand up for it, to embody it,” said Penn. As part of the tribute the festival played some of Penn’s films, kicking off with Gus Van Sant’s 2008 Milk, about the late California gay-rights activist Harvey Milk. The ceremony also screened a tribute reel celebrating highlights of Penn’s career spanning 74 acting credits such as Mystic River, I Am Sam, 21 Grams and Dead Man Walking; and directed films, including his recent Ukraine doc Superpower, The Crossing Guard, Into the Wild and Flag Day.
Former Melrose Place actor Doug Savant recently recalled why he dodged questions regarding his sexuality while playing gay character Matt Fielding on the ’90s show, according to Deadline. On the podcast Still the Place, Savant told some of his former co-stars—including wife Laura Leighton, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Daphne Zuniga—that he “felt a responsibility” to not distance himself from his on-screen portrayal. On press tours, Savant (also known for being on Desperate Housewives) said he made a personal choice to not address his sexuality publicly, claiming that Spelling, the network Fox and creator Darren Star were not fans of the decision—resulting in an office meeting with executives, PMK founder Pat Kingsley and Star. As Savant noted, his character was among the first LGBTQ+ characters on TV, following a scant list of queer characters that existed in the ’80s; he revealed he was encouraged to reveal he was straight as “it would be somehow more palatable to the American public.”
Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories, with items by the late Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, will be released through Penguin Random House on Jan. 14, 2025, per a press release. (Jan. 14, 1925 was Mishima’s birthdate.) The description of the forthcoming book, according to the publishing house’s website, says, “A new selection of Yukio Mishima (author of Spring Snow and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea) short stories from the 1960s—his final decade—Voices of the Fallen Heroes offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of Japan’s greatest writers.” In one story, Mishima recalls the true story of the time an obsessed fan broke into his home at dawn, insisting on meeting the author and urging him to “tell the truth.” The book will be available in English for the first time, with a team of experts translating Mishima’s text. Several organizations and websites, such as Making Queer History and Queer Portraits in History, have written that Mishima was part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Peggy Caserta—who created bell-bottom jeans and who was intimately involved with rock icon Janis Joplin—has died at age 84, The Advocate noted. “Already living openly as a lesbian when that was a rarity even within the ostensibly liberal, though thoroughly heteronormative hippie culture, Caserta boldly called her new Haight-Ashbury shop, Mnasidika, after a character in the iconic Sappho-inspired poetry collection The Songs of Bilitis,” according to Deadline. Caserta met Joplin, her neighbor on Haight Street, in 1966; Caserta has said she believed Joplin was straight but “wild,” although Joplin had several female romantic partners.
Transmasculine adult-content creator Apollo Moon—known to his friends and family as Forest Harader—died in Los Angeles at age 26, according to Them. Although his cause of death is not yet confirmed, the Harader family learned that he was hospitalized in the ICU and on life support on Nov. 27. Moon was considered a prominent and beloved adult content creator within the trans community, and he was especially notable as a person of color in a predominantly white space.
Out British actor Ben Whishaw talked with Radio Times about playing a queer assassin in the Netflix spy thriller Black Doves. As for what attracted him to the part of Sam Young, Whishaw said, “I enjoyed that it trod a line between being vaguely ludicrous and thrilling and funny and dark. I liked that it has this combination of things. I was up for something fun—and a queer assassin had a certain interest for me. I wanted to read more.” Whishaw also noted that his paternal grandfather served in the German army during the Second World War—while working as a spy for the British government.
Sony is going one week earlier with the R-rated comedy One of Them Days—starring queer actress Keke Palmer and singer SZA—as it will release the title on the four-day MLK weekend that kicks off Jan. 17, 2025, Deadline noted. The movie follows best friends and roommates Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA), who are about to have “one of them days.” When they discover Alyssa’s boyfriend (Joshua David Neal) has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a comical race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.
The 40th edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards revealed nominations. Best Feature nods went to Neon’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anora, A24’s queer feature I Saw the TV Glow, Amazon MGM Studios’ Nickel Boys, A24’s Sing Sing and Mubi’s Demi Moore body-swap horror movie The Substance. Nominations for the John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for under $1 million) went to Big Boys, Ghostlight, Girls Will Be Girls, Jazzy and The People’s Joker. In the Best Lead Performance category (gender-neutral), Amy Adams (Nightbitch), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Moore, Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo) and Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow) are some of the nominees. (Domingo, Schafer and Smith are part of the LGBTQ+ community.) SNL alum Aidy Bryant will return to host the event on Feb. 22, 2025.
Timothée Chalamet (Dune movies; Call Me By Your Name) will receive its 2025 Chairman’s Award at the Palm Springs Film Festival for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown—James Mangold’s biopic about the celebrated songwriter, Deadline noted. “Timothée Chalamet embodies one of the most iconic figures in music history with his extraordinary performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. Chalamet does his own singing in the film, which opens on Christmas Day in North America and also stars Edward Norton as Pete Seeger as well as Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo. Among the other honorees at the festival, which runs Jan. 2-13, are Angelina Jolie for Maria, Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Mikey Madison (Anora), Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), the cast and director of the trans-centered film Emilia Pérez, and the ensemble of Conclave.
ABC and Dick Clark Productions announced its New York lineup for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025, according to a press release. Ryan Seacrest—marking his 20th year as host—will return alongside co-host Rita Ora to lead the festivities from New York’s Times Square, with a roster of artists including Carrie Underwood, Megan Moroney and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. American Idol judge and former winner Underwood will perform a medley of some of her biggest hits in Times Square just before midnight.
FX’s What We Do In The Shadows recently featured Alexander Skarsgard in an episode, per Deadline. He was dressed in all black and wore vampire fangs, much like his True Blood character Eric Northam did across the HBO show’s seven seasons. Of his appearance, Skarsgaard (jokingly) said, “I’m afraid I have no recollection of shooting this episode as Dr. Laszlo Cravensworth [Matt Barry] apparently hypnotized me at the wrap party. But I did wake up with an intense physical attraction to Dr. Cravensworth and found his extraordinary wit, charm and intelligence absolutely disarming.” Additional guest stars with prior vampiric experience include Skarsgard’s True Blood co-star Evan Rachel Wood, Only Lovers Left Alive‘s Tilda Swinton, Blade star Wesley Snipes and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Paul Reubens—who all appeared with other famous vampires in a season-one episode of Shadows.
Modern Family alums Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson—who played siblings on the show—both spent their Thanksgivings in the hospitals, The New York Post noted. Bowen posted a foggy photo of one of her sons outside the ER entrance with the caption “It’s not a holiday without a trip to the ER. (He’s fine, btw) HAPPY THANKSGIVING.” Ferguson shared a photo of him holding one of his two sons in a hospital bed (whom he shares with husband Justin Mikita) in his own Instagram post. “I have received a lot of parenting wisdom from @itsjuliebowen so seeing I wasn’t the only one with a kid in the ER on Thanksgiving was comforting. (He’s also fine.),” he wrote.
Broadway’s Hell’s Kitchen will launch a multi-year national tour of North America in fall 2025 from Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, Playbill noted. The tour will visit more than 30 cities in its first year. The Shubert Theatre production—featuring music and lyrics by Alicia Keys and a book by Kristoffer Diaz, inspired by Keys’ life—was a 2024 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical.
The film Wicked is connected to a potential class action against Mattel over a porn site link on tie-in merchandise, according to Deadline. “After opening the box that contained the Wicked Doll, Plaintiff’s minor daughter used an iPhone to visit the website shown on Defendant’s packaging,” a filing read. “To her absolute shock, the website, ‘Wicked.com,’ had nothing to do with the Wicked Doll. Rather, Wicked.com pasted scenes of pornographic advertisements across her phone screen.” Holly Ricketson, the complainant, added that Mattel didn’t even offer “any refund for consumers who had already purchased the dolls.” Independent adult-film company Wicked Pictures was founded in 1993, and it was where porn superstar Jenna Jameson made her debut.
RuPaul’s Drag Race and American Idol alum Adore Delano promoted her new relationship with her new partner, Sasha Allen, Out noted. Allen is a musician, artist, content creator and a member of The Dogs on Shepard Street band who made history as the first trans contestant of all time to progress to the live shows on The Voice (U.S.). Allen is known for competing in season 21 of The Voice, having Ariana Grande as his coach.
RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Katya revealed the one item that’s an immediate turn-off for her: financial shaming, according to People. “I was in the elevator with four gay guys—three of them knew who I was, one didn’t,” she said. “The elevator opens, and they leave. The person who didn’t know who I was turned back and said, ‘Nice iPhone 6.’ And it’s so stupid, but it has stuck with me for two years. I’m, like, ‘Are you for real?’” She added, “I wish he would’ve been like, ‘Nice, bald head.’ Do something. Just have some balls, because I would’ve laughed at that.” Katya recently wrapped season two of Grindr’s sex-positive dating podcast, Who’s the A–hole?, which she said has been “a dream come true.”