Last night the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards were handed out at the New York Marriott Marquis in NYC, NY in a ceremony that “recognizes and honors media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives”. ABC, Lifetime, The View’s Joy Behar and Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon were among the honored last night with GLAAD Media Awards. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals and some deets about the ceremony itself:

Joy Behar, Cynthia Nixon and the ABC drama series “Brothers & Sisters” are among this year’s recipients of media awards from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Presented Saturday in New York, winners of the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards also include the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the Lifetime network film “Prayers for Bobby” and a report on CNN’s “American Morning” program called “Why Will Won’t Pledge Allegiance.” The ABC daytime drama “One Life to Live” and an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” were also recognized, as were the Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo. Among winners in nonelectronic media, The New York Times was awarded for overall outstanding newspaper coverage, and Detective Comics was named outstanding comic book. “Sex and the City” star Nixon was honored with the Vito Russo Award, which is named after a founding member of GLAAD and is presented to a gay media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for the gay community. Behar, a co-host of ABC’s “The View,” received the Excellence in Media Award. The GLAAD Media Awards salute fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives in the media. The remainder of this year’s awards — chosen from a total of 152 nominees in 32 categories — will be presented at ceremonies held in Los Angeles and San Francisco in April and June, respectively.

Congratulations goes out to all the winners! Each year we enjoy more and more GLBT visibility in the media and that visibility should be honored and celebrated. After the jump, check out some photos from the NYC edition of the GLAAD Media Awards last night …

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James Franco, who recently hosted Saturday Night Live and appeared in a story-arc on the long-running daytime drama General Hospital, was on hand at a private screening in NYC for his new film Howl. In Howl, Franco plays the famed beat poet Allen Ginsberg and, from what I’m hearing, gives an Oscar-worthy performance. Buzz about Franco’s performance in Howl is even spreading amongst the Hollywood crowd because celebs themselves (Michael Stipe, Zachary Quinto, Brooke Shields, Dustin Lance Black, Björk and more) were clamoring to get into this special screening:

James Franco has been many things lately: NYU student, artist, soap opera star. So it’s not entirely surprising that the hunky actor managed to transform himself, with a pair of black-frame glasses and an adopted haute-Jersey accent, into outspoken twentieth-century poet Allen Ginsberg. Franco’s latest film, Howl, draws on actual interviews and smoky back-room readings and partly reenacts Ginsberg’s 1957 obscenity court case to paint a portrait of the Beat-era bard. Last night at the Crosby Street Hotel, a Cinema Society audience got an early look at the new movie and at Franco, who stood in the packed theater throughout the whole thing. Clearly, he’s got a thing for poets on screen: Among his recent projects is a short film based on the work of Anthony Hecht, and, in a few days, one inspired by Frank Bidart’s uncompromising poetry will (like Howl) play at Utah’s Sundance Film Festival. “I think poems work very well as films,” Franco insisted, adding that he’d had Ginsberg’s voice (and Howl, Ginsberg’s best-known work) in his head since he was about 16. “I’ve listened to dozens and dozens of recordings of him, over the years, reading that poem,” he said. “I’d listen to them in my headphones walking around New York.” Franco wasn’t the only one feeling the Beat. Björk and Matthew Barney lingered well into the after-party, and Alicia Silverstone revealed that free verse also plays a regular role in her life: “My husband has me read Charles Bukowski poems to him,” she said. “It amuses him.”

As you may recall, we saw photos of Franco on the NYC set of Howl last March and as far as looks go, Franco wears Ginsberg’s chunky glasses very well … he looks very much the part. I think we learned in Milk that Franco has the acting chops to deliver an Oscar-worthy performance … I am SO excited for this film. While I am a huge Jack Kerouac fan, I have a huge appreciation for Ginsberg and his work. I’m certain this film will do well at the film festivals which means, hopefully, it’ll be in theaters where we normal people can see it soon.

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Yesterday tens of thousands of people made their way to Washington DC, our nation’s capitol, in order to take to the streets to demand of our government that equal rights in marriage, military service, immigration and more be extended to ALL citizens of the United States of America. David and I were lucky enough to attend yesterday’s historic march and were able to see first hand the action up close and personal. Here are are a few photos from the New York Times to give a taste of the event yesterday and some deets about what went down:

Tens of thousands of gay-rights activists marched Sunday in Washington to show President Obama and Congress that they are impatient with what they consider piecemeal progress and are ready to fight at the federal level for across-the-board equality, including for the right to marry and the right to serve in the military. Key votes on same-sex marriage are coming up in the District and Maine, and Obama reiterated his campaign promise Saturday to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that forces gay and lesbian members of the armed forces to keep their sexual orientation a secret. But organizers of the National Equality March and its participants said they want to shift the political effort toward seeking equality in all states, rather than accepting just local and state-level victories. “We’re not settling,” said Cleve Jones, co-chairman of the march and founder of the Names Project, the AIDS memorial quilt that recognizes Americans who have died from HIV- or AIDS-related causes. “There’s no such thing as a fraction of equality. We want equal protection under the law.” The march was coordinated by Equality Across America, a group formed this year. Organizers said they represent those who want immediate fundamental change in the legal status of gays, as opposed to those who think patience is needed as legal obstacles are overcome. Some in the latter group are political veterans, such as Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the highest-ranking openly gay political figure in the United States. Last week, Frank said he thought the march was “useless,” a remark that was attacked at the rally. “How many more tears should be shed before some politicians in a backroom can decide it is convenient to join us and fight for our freedom?” asked David Mixner, a longtime activist who spoke at the rally. Attendees expressed complicated feelings about Obama. Nearly every person interviewed said he or she had voted for him, but many people said they were disappointed by what they see as a lack of action on key gay-rights issues, such as letting gays serve openly in the military. Thousands of people marched from McPherson Square, a few blocks from the White House, down Pennsylvania Avenue, chanting “President Obama: Let mama marry mama!” and “L, G, B, T — We demand equality!” Marchers carried signs reading “We Won’t Wait for Full Equality” and “Mind Your Own Marriage.” Spectators watched from the street and the roof of the Newseum, many cheering the participants. As the march ended about 2:30 p.m., people gathered on Capitol Hill for a rally. Many supporters identified themselves as heterosexual, carrying signs with such slogans as “I’m Not Queer But I’m Here.” Organizers seemed surprised by the turnout.

It was a pretty fantastic day … being a part of it all … there are no words. As anyone who even remotely knows me, I’m not the kind of person who likes to get up at 5AM in order to walk around all day long — so it must’ve been a pretty important cause to get me active. But in all seriousness, I am so thankful that David pushed and planned for us to be at yesterday’s march. Walking the streets of Washington DC with so many other people united in the single push to demand equal treatment from our government was really an event I’ll remember for the rest of my life. After the jump, check out some of my personal photos and watch video of speakers Lady Gaga, Cynthia Nixon and Dustin Lance Black at the National Equality March yesterday …

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Despite the fact that explicit NSFW images and screencaps from a sex tape have made their way to the Internets earlier this week, Dustin Lance Black is not letting the drama bring him down or curb his work. DLB was on hand at the Sunset Gower Studios here in Hollywood, CA yesterday to be honored by Lifeworks for his volunteer efforts with mentoring gay youth. Here are a couple pics of Black at yesterday’s event:

Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black was honored at the Life Out Loud 4 event for his work in support of gay rights at Hollywood’s Sunset Gower Studios on Saturday (June 13). The event benefited gay youth-mentoring group Lifeworks . Earlier this week, three-year-old photos of Dustin , 35, surfaced of himself engaged in what appears to be risky sex with another man. “It is unfortunate that individuals and other outside parties are trying to profit from material which is clearly private,” Dustin said in the statement released to E! . “I have had the privilege to speak to people across the country, both gay and straight, on a number of critical issues including safe sex. More important than the embarrassment of this incident is the misleading message these images send. I apologize and cannot emphasize enough the importance of responsible sexual practices.”

It is plainly evident that Dustin Lance Black is not letting the sex tape scandal impede his present course of action. In light of the leak of the photos, what else is there to be done? He has addressed the matter and has clearly moved on. In the wake of a terribly embarrassing incident like this, DLB is handling the who matter perfectly.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

In the wake of yesterday’s release leak of explicit NSFW photos purportedly from a private sex tape that was filmed in 2006, Academy Award-winning screenwriter (for Milk) Dustin Lance Black has issued a statement to E! News’s Marc Malkin regarding this new scandal. From the tone of Black’s statement, it seems he is not going to let the leaking of the photos/video stand in the way of his work:

“It is unfortunate that individuals and other outside parties are trying to profit from material which is clearly private. I have had the privilege to speak to people across the country, both gay and straight, on a number of critical issues including safe sex. More important than the embarrassment of this incident is the misleading message these images send. I apologize and cannot emphasize enough the importance of responsible sexual practices.”

And with that, DLB is brushing off his shoulders and moving forward undaunted. I understand that he is being honored this weekend here in LA for mentoring gay youth and will be among the grand marshals of the NYC Pride Parade in the coming weeks. Malkin also reports that, “Black is not allowing this hiccup to stop him from continuing his work in support of gay rights, particularly on issues pertaining to young people.” To be honest, this is the best way to respond to a matter like this. While I will forever contend that it is absolutely idiotic for anyone to video record themselves having sex, I can absolutely understand how people honestly believe that something like this would never happen to them.

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With fame and success comes the higher risk of scandal and no one knows that better today than Academy Award-winning screenwriter (for Milk) Dustin Lance Black who is now dealing with a scandal of his own. According to Queerty.com, an unscrupulous friend of Black’s has made available a sex tape featuring Black engaged in various sex acts, some of which are unsafe (use a condom, people … every time). The photo agency Starzlife is now shopping around the tape for sale. It looks like you finally made it in Hollywood, Dustin Lance Black:

The Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter is about to be known more famously for another film: his own sex tape. Photos and videos are making the web rounds show Black and an unidentified partner (presumably, the tape’s leaker, though that’s not certain) engaged in bedroom activities typical of two gay guys from back in November 2006; the tape is being shopped around by agency Starzlife. Black is next scheduled to appear in New York City for the Gay Pride Parade, where he’s a grand marshal, followed the next day by the Trevor Project’s annual NYC fundraising gala.

Seriously people, if you record yourself having sex chances are it’s going to get out eventually — it’s just way too easy these days. While Dustin Lance Black may not have known back in 2006 that he would become famous for screenwriting a film, it goes to show that one can never be too careful with what they record on video. I believe Starzlife will be making this footage available for sale … as soon as their site goes back online. Or … if you really wanna see the NSFW uncensored photos, you can check them out HERE at ONTD!

[Photo credit: Starzlife; Source]

Celebs from the big screen, the small screen, the stage and more made their way out to the Nokia Theatre here in downtown Los Angeles, CA yesterday evening to attend and participate in the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards … which honors achievement in GLBT visibility in the media. Here are a few photos from the awards show itself and some info from the glitzy ceremony:

Civil rights group GLAAD honored the movie “Milk” and singled-out Reverend Gene Robinson and comedian Kathy Griffin for their work at a Saturday night gala highlighting issues such as gay marriage and equality. Talk program “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was given a GLAAD Media Award for its episode “Ellen & Portia’s Wedding Day,” covering DeGeneres’ wedding to actress Portia de Rossi. DeGeneres dedicated the honor to Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11 year-old Massachusetts boy who killed himself earlier this month because school kids bullied him and called him “gay.” “In my opinion, we are not fighting for gay rights, we are fighting for equal rights,” DeGeneres told the black tie crowd at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater. The 2009 awards marked the 20th year that films, TV shows, performers and others have been honored by GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “Milk,” about slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, was named best film. “Desperate Housewives” was chosen best TV comedy, and “Brothers and Sisters” was named top TV drama. GLAAD President Neil Giuliano spoke to the audience about the impact TV shows such as “The L Word” and movies like “Brokeback Mountain” have had on introducing audiences to all sorts of lesbian and gay characters and issues they face. Giuliano touched on marriage and said that despite setbacks like the passage of California’s Proposition 8 which denied gay men and women the right to marry in that state, progress has been made in other states where gay weddings are now legal. “As we learned in Iowa and Vermont, ignorance and hate does not stop the march of social justice,” Giuliano said. While many of the night’s speeches focused on social and political issues — as expected for the activist group — the night also featured a lot of comedy and music. Comedian Kathy Griffin accepted the Vanguard Award for her work in the gay community. She dressed in a bikini with a white, gay marriage ribbon, pinned to the bottom. The makers of video sensation “Prop 8: The Musical,” a parody of the conservative campaign backing Proposition 8, were singled-out with a special recognition award, and the musical number was performed on stage. The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop in the Episcopal church, was given an honorary award for his work as a religious leader and activist. Last month, GLAAD held a ceremony in New York City where it handed out other media awards. A similar event is planned for May in San Francisco.

I really love that the GLAAD Media Awards are handed out in LA, NY and San Francisco … issues of GLBT visibility are too large for just one ceremony. Much love and congrats to all the folks who work tireless to help foster and spread positive images of the gay community, pushing the boundaries of discrimination further and further away. The work is long and hard and nowhere near complete … until justice and equality for all is achieved in this country, the work carries on. Again, congrats to those folks who keep on keepin’ on. Click HERE for a full list of award winners from the LA portion of the GLAAD Media Awards. My dear friend Darion was able to attend the GLAAD Media Awards yesterday and he managed to get a fun photo with one of his fave celebs:

Don’t they look great? Kathy Griffin looks stunning. Trust me, Darion was geeked beyond words. Woot!!

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]