Video ~ "Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston" A documentary about Roy Halston Frowick,directed by Whitney Sudler-Smith.

FROM THE VAULT: Halston & Liza!

HALSTON VIDEO LINK http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/04/28/style/1247467728195/ultrasuede-in-search-of-halston.html

"Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston" new documentry on Fashion Icon

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In the ’70s, Vicariously
By ALEX WILLIAMS
Published: April 28, 2010
WHITNEY SUDLER-SMITH was too young to be a part of the raucous party scene that was 1970s New York. So the 41-year-old screenwriter and son of the socialite Patricia Altschul did the next best thing: he made a movie about it.
Or, more accurately, he made a movie about one of the era’s most emblematic figures: Halston.




“Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival tomorrow. The documentary focuses on the life and times of Roy Halston Frowick, the Iowa-born designer who as a milliner in Chicago in the 1950s made hats for Kim Novak and Deborah Kerr. Later, as confidante to celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minnelli, Halston became a star in his own right, the epitome of Studio 54 glamour. The film touches on the designer’s drug use and his business misfortunes. He lost control of the Halston name in the 1980s, and died of complications from AIDS in 1990.



“As a child of the ’70s, whose tastes were formed during that time, I think Halston represented everything that was right and was wrong with that time,” Mr. Sudler-Smith said. A week before the premiere, he was sitting at a poolside table on the roof of Soho House, sipping a Stella Artois, looking somewhat ’70s himself, with his Rod Laver-model Adidas and aviator shades to go with his bespoke suit by the Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard. “The glamour and decadence, that chic sensibility, it was so prescient,” he said. “You wish it still existed now, but it will never happen again.”



Indeed, “Ultrasuede” is as much a personal odyssey as a biography. “I grew up hearing stories about Halston,” he said.



His mother and her third husband, the financier Arthur G. Altschul, later gave parties at their art-filled Fifth Avenue apartment featuring members of the Halston circle like Bob Colacello and André Leon Talley. Several of those friends appear in the film. Mr. Sudler-Smith inserted himself as an on-camera Michael Moore-style narrator. Driving a vintage Trans Am, with Roxy Music and Chic thumping away, he tracks down Halston friends, business associates and survivors of the disco demimonde, and recreates a lost world of high living and louche style. “The idea is to come away from the film wanting a glass of Champagne,” he said.



Mr. Sudler-Smith admitted that he is an unlikely candidate to tackle the fashion legend. He had never made a documentary; before “Ultrasuede” his experience consisted of knocking around Hollywood, making short films and hawking scripts written on spec, including one called “Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms” — “a love story set in a white supremacist compound,” said Mr. Sudler-Smith, who divides his time between Los Angeles and New York.



Also, he is anything but a fashion insider. In a scene with Mr. Talley over lunch at Michael’s, Mr. Sudler-Smith said he had no idea who Diana Vreeland, the legendary Vogue editor in chief, was. “He looked at me like I had stabbed him with a fork,” Mr. Sudler-Smith recalled. (Cathy Horyn, the fashion critic for The New York Times, also makes an appearance.)



The film started as a portrait of “great eras of decadence — Berlin in the ’30s, Paris in the ’20s and New York in the ’70s, with Halston as a figurehead,” he said. Ultimately he decided that Halston deserved his own movie. “He really was a great artist,” Mr. Sudler-Smith said.



But Halston was known as much for his jet-setting lifestyle as for his minimalist designs (including his wildly popular Ultrasuede shirtwaist dress). He became a mass-market branding juggernaut, licensing everything from cologne to carpets. At his apex, Halston reigned from a lobby-size office on the 22nd floor of the Olympic Tower above Fifth Avenue, where the mirrored doors alone cost $500,000, according to the movie.



Mr. Sudler-Smith relied on friends and family contacts to gain the trust of many of Halston’s friends, including Ms. Minnelli. “I was terrified: my first interview, Liza Minnelli, in her apartment — Warhols of her, her mom and Vincente Minnelli” on the walls, he recalled. “We walked in, we’re setting up the lights, she said, ‘No, my father was a director!’ — she lit herself.” Working with the editor and producer Anne Goursaud and others, he spent four years on the $2.2 million movie. Much of the money came from investor friends and some maxed-out credit cards. “Capitol One I think has a hit squad after me,” he joked.

Edward Hausner/The New York Times

Halston in 1969.

Evan Sung for The New York Times

DAPPER Whitney Sudler-Smith said of '70s New York, “You wish it still existed now, but it will never happen again.”

Larry Morris/The New York Times

Halston with Diane Von Furstenberg at the Costume Institute show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1970.


After a two-hour interview, the director, still anxious, sat bolt upright. No wonder. The fashion world will soon scrutinize his maiden effort, and so will many others. Vanity Fair is a host of the party after the New York premiere at Trump SoHo. For the Los Angeles premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on May 12, Elizabeth Taylor will serve on the host committee. He is now, it seems, part of the Halston legacy.
“It’s like I’m having my debutant’s ball, at 41,” he said.    LIZA ON HALSTON VID CLIP!

Liza Minnelli - "All About Me" Broadway Show Opening Night

03/18/2010 - Liza Minnelli - "All About Me" Broadway Show Opening Night - Arrivals - Henry Miller's Theatre, 124 West 43rd Street - New York City, NY, USA © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Caroline Rhea Hosts PFLAG Gala Honoring Liza Minnelli, May 1

by BWW News Desk

Caroline Rhea will host the Straight for Equality Awards Gala honoring Liza Minnelli on May 1. The second annual awards ceremony will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis. Liza Minnelli will be presented with the 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award. This honor recognizes Liza's lifelong role as a Straight Ally of the LGBT community. Also being honored at the ceremony will be NFL Super Bowl XLIV star Scott Fujita, for Straight for Equality in Sports.
Tickets to this event are $300 for a general admission ticket or $400 for a VIP ticket.
Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California to the actress/songwriter Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli. She began her career at a very early age, co-starring with her mother in the movie "In the Good Old Summertime" in 1949. At the age of 10, Liza hosted the first-ever TV broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz", reaching a viewing audience of about 45 million people. By the time she was 19, she had landed the lead role in "Flora, the Red Menace". This Broadway performance won her a Tony for the Best Actress in a Musical.
In 1972, her movie career peaked when she played Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." The film won eight Oscars, including the Best Actress for Liza. The role also earned her a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award. The unqualified success of "Cabaret" put Liza on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week. Liza also starred in the first concert ever filmed for live television in 1972. Liza went on to appear opposite Robert DeNiro in the musical "New York, New York," directed by Martin Scorsese, in 1977. In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the movie "Arthur", going on to make the sequel "Arthur 2" in 1998.
Liza added a second Golden Globe to her already impressive list of awards in 1985 wither her performance in "A Time to Live", a made-for-TV movie. Liza returned to the state in December 1999 to pay tribute to her father in a show called "Minnelli on Minnelli" at New York's Palace Theater. In 2008 Liza returned to Broadway with "Liza's at the Palace..." which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, marking her four Tony Award. She recreated the show at the MDM Grand where her performance was filmed for a public television special and a DVD. The show's cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award. Liza continues her extraordinary music career with ongoing concert tours in the U.S. and Europe, as well as recording a new album. Liza has also won a special Tony Award in 1974 for "adding lustre to the Broadway Season."
For more information on this cause visit http://www.straightforequality.org/.
Straight for Equality is a project of PFLAG National that was launched in 2007 to invite, educate, and empower straight allies to demonstrate their support for their LGBT friends and family. Since its inception, the program has trained more than 3,500 people nationwide through its educational workshops in corporations, healthcare environments, and communities. The Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award was designed to honor a performer and/or artist who has a history of advocating for equality for LGBT people. The first award was presented in 2009 to actress Sigourney Weaver.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

Liza Minnelli: My SATC2 Scene Is Very "Rock and Roll!"

When Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) gay BFF Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson) weds his man in Sex and the City 2, the wedding singer will be a Tony and Oscar-winning VIP: Liza Minnelli!




As reported earlier this year, the performer, 64, is one of many celebs to cameo in the sequel. (Other guest-stars in SATC 2 will include Miley Cyrus, Penelope Cruz and Project Runway's Tim Gunn.)
Shooting a musical number for Stanford's nuptials was "was so much fun!" Minnelli told UsMagazine.com at Sunday's Broadway premiere of Promises, Promises in New York.
"It's a wonderful number," she gushed. "We had a blast."
When pressed for specifics about the routine, the star added, "It's rock and roll. Everything is moving! And I just got a whole new knee, so I can promise you everything is moving!"
(Minnelli skipped this January's Grammy Awards in order to undergo knee replacement surgery.)



Back in September, Willie Garson told Us that the Sex sequel (out May 28, 2010) is "fun, fun, fun! It's a celebration, and once again, it truly is for the audience."
Miley Cyrus also raved about her time shooting her Sex scene at NYC's Ziegfeld Theater in October. "It was the best job I've ever done," the 17-year-old told Ryan Seacrest.



"It was awesome -- I got a free trip to New York. I hung out in New York all day and then I got to go to the set. I literally shot for an hour-and-a-half, and it was done."

Minnelli to play Asbury

Atrio of music legends will be taking the stage at Asbury Park's Paramount Theatre this season to lend their support to a good cause.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Liza Minnelli and Tony Bennett will each be performing in town as part of a series of shows to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County.


The three shows are presented by the Asbury Park Press and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County.


Valli and his legendary pop vocal group the Four Seasons will be performing on Saturday, May 29. Tickets are $49 to $249 and are now on sale.



Minnelli, a Tony- and Academy Award-winner, will be performing on Friday, June 18. Tickets are $49 to $249 and they will be on sale at noon today.


Bennett, an industry icon whose appeal spans multiple generations, will be performing on Saturday, Aug. 21. Ticket prices and the on-sale date for his show will be announced soon.

For tickets, call 1-877-598-8694, or visit www.livenation.com. Call the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County at 732-775-7862.
By ALEX BIESE • STAFF WRITER • April 24, 2010

A MATTER OF TIME on the big screen

For those in the NYC area:





As part of their Vincente Minnelli Favorites series the Brooklyn Academy of Music will screen Minnelli's final film A MATTER OF TIME (Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Liza) on Wednesday, May 26th.



Times and ticket info available at: http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=2059

The Many Sides Of LIZA!

Liza ~ Fashion Icon...

'Sex and the City 2' soundtrack: LIZA'S version of 'Single Ladies' and more!

Sex and the City 2′ Soundtrack Details


April 20th, 2010 2:45 pm / Author: Nicole Eggenberger


The Sex and the City 2 soundtrack won’t be released until two days before the film comes out, but after seeing who’s on it you’ll be getting carried away!



OK! NEWS: SEX AND THE CITY 2 POSTER OUT-SEXES ITSELF



E! News got the all the juicy details on SATC2 soundtrack and you won’t be unsatisfied!



The opening theme isn’t “Empire Sate of Mind,” but it does feature Alica Keys!

OK! NEWS VIDEO: NEW SEX AND THE CITY 2 TRAILER FEATURING AIDAN!

A cover of the 1980s Blondie classic “Rapture” is the movie’s opening theme, but with some Sex and the City theme mixed in, E! News reports.



“We’re so fortunate to have her,” Jason Linn of WaterTower Music said of Alicia’s cover. “She’s the perfect voice to introduce the… music of Sex and the City 2.”



OK! NEWS VIDEO: NEW SEX AND THE CITY 2 TRAILER FEATURING AIDAN!



Jennifer Hudson also made the soundtrack even though she’s back in the movie as Carrie’s assistant!



Jennifer and Leona Lewis sing a duet of an original ballad written for film titled “Love Is Your Color.”



We don’t doubt it will be fabulous!

Also on the soundtrack is Liza Minnelli covering Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” a new version of Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” and new music from Dido and Cee Lo.



OK! NEWS: TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE SOUNDTRACK RELEASE DATE SET



But perhaps the most exciting news of all is that our favorite girls Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon are also featured on the soundtrack!

The four friends sing Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” which already sounds like it will be a scene straight out of the First Wives Club, only sexier!

Sex and the City 2 hits theaters May 27th, but the soundtrack will be released on May 25th!

LIZA "SEX AND THE CITY 2"...

Liza to serenade the City ~ Is there such a thing as too much concentrated gayness happening in one spot? That's the scientific experiment the Sex and the City sequel is planning when it hits theaters next year and Liza Minnelli makes a cameo. At a gay wedding scene. Performing Beyonce's "Single Ladies,." If it sounds like a crazy rumor, it's not. Liza loves making an entrance - and this sounds like one for the record books. And Minnelli isn't the only planned cameo. Apparently Miley Cyrus is going to show up, too, but doing what? No one seems to know just yet. Maybe she' s going to play Big?s long-lost love child or an arch-nemesis competing young men with Samantha. And course, as more insane news leaks about 2010?s queerest film event, you?ll be kept in the loop here. Romeo is waiting for reports of a fantasy sequence featuring ultimate fighter t arget="_new" Chuck Liddell. by
Brent Hartinger

LIZA'S SPARKLE IS IN "SEX AND THE CITY 2" WHAT ABOUT STREISAND?

Home » Ask the Flying Monkey! Gay Royalty, Plus Will La Streisand be in "Sex and City 2"?


Ask the Flying Monkey! Gay Royalty, Plus Will La Streisand be in "Sex and City 2"?

by Brent Hartinger

April 18, 2010

This week! Will La Streisand be in Sex and the City 2? Have any celebrities "inned" themselves? Plus, the truth about the Tiffany/Debbie Gibson feud!



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



Q: So the trailer for Sex and the City 2 is out, and it reveals what Liza Minnelli had already confirmed: she sings at Anthony and Stanford’s gay wedding. But what about the other part of the rumor, that Barbra Streisand also sings? Is she in the movie or not? – Elliott, Carmel, CA



A: It’s been denied, but truthfully? I'd bet money that she is.



What’s my hunch based on?



First, there were the rumors before filming that the producers were in “secret talks” with her. Then there were the rumors, immediately shot down, that she and Liza Minnelli had actually filmed a scene together. I don’t put much stock in rumors per se, but why would the Minnelli rumors be true and not the Streisand ones? Plus, all this would make sense if they're trying to create a surprise "event."



Then, of course, there’s La Streisand’s well-known penchant for making both a Big Entrance and a Big Splash, not to mention all her talk lately about being tired of working so hard all her life.



Doing in a cameo in this movie would be the best of all possible worlds for her: she'd make a huge splash in a massive hit movie – and all it would take is a couple of days to record the song and film the scene.



I think she'd be insane not to do it. I think the producers would be insane not to want her to.



Finally, there’s the trailer itself. If you look carefully, first, we see a shot of Liza (looking fab, incidentally). Then, in the very next shot, we have a very brief flash of the lower half of another performer.



After all the rumors, if that's not Streisand, they're definitely trying to make us think it is.

Liza Minnelli coming to Portland

April 16 Bob Keyes bkeyes@pressherald.com

Stage and screen star Liza Minnelli is coming to Portland.

Minnelli, daughter of actress Judy Garland, will open the Portland Ovations' 2010-11 performance season.



She will sing at Merrill Auditorium in Portland on Sept. 29, appearing with a quartet led by jazz pianist Billy Stritch. Minnelli will perform American standards.



Members of Portland Ovations will get the first shot at tickets beginning June 7. Tickets to the general public will be available beginning June 21. Ticket prices have not been set yet.



Portland Ovations will preview its season with an event June 2 at the Portland Public Library.



The other performance in the Portland Ovations' season that has been announced is Bill Cosby, who will perform in Portland on Oct. 16.



Cosby tickets are on sale. Minnelli has won an Oscar, an Emmy, two Golden Globes, multiple Tony Awards and numerous other awards.

Liza (with a Z) Minnelli live for the Red Dress Red Carpet Runway 2008...NYC

DRG Records to Release "Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli 'Live' At the London Palladium"

By Andrew Gans


13 Apr
DRG Records will release "Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli 'Live' At the London Palladium" April 20.


The release marks the first time the recording has been available on CD. Capitol Records recorded "Live" at London's London Palladium Nov. 8 and 15, 1964.



DRG went back to the original master tapes and restored the recording to include two tracks, "Once In A Lifetime" and "Just In Time," which have never been heard before.









The complete track listing follows:



Overture: Over The Rainbow; Never Will I Marry; What Now, My Love; Liza; The Travelin' Life; Smile; The Man That Got Away



Once In a Lifetime - Judy



Just In Time - Judy



The Travelin' Life - Liza



Gypsy In My Soul - Liza



Hello, Dolly! - Duet



Together (Wherever We Go) - Duet



Medley: We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together; Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?)



Medley: Hooray For Love; After You've Gone; By Myself; 'S Wonderful; How About You; Lover, Come Back To Me;; You And The Night And The Music; It All Depends On You



Who's Sorry Now? - Liza



Smile - Judy



How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life? - Liza



What Now My Love - Judy



Medley: Spoken Introduction; Take Me Along; If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight); Tea For Two; Who?; They Can't Take That Away From Me; I Love A Piano; Take Me Along; My Mammy



Make Someone Happy - Judy



Pass That Peace Pipe - Liza



The Man That Got Away - Judy



The Music That Makes Me Dance - Judy



Medley: When The Saints Go Marching In; Brotherhood Of Man



He's Got The Whole World In His Hands - Duet



Never Will I Marry - Judy



Swanee - Duet



Chicago - Duet



Over The Rainbow - Judy



San Francisco - Duet



Visit www.drgrecords.com.

Julie Goldman ‘Big Gay’ plans for sketch as LIZA!

By Bill Burke


Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - Added 15h ago

Julie Goldman was 15 when she first stepped onstage at the Comedy Connection and began a more than 20-year career in comedy.




The Lexington native - and out actress/musician/comedian - now stars on “The Big Gay Sketch Show,” (returning tonight for a third season at 10 on Logo).



Originally a writer on the show’s pilot, Goldman joined the cast of the sketch comedy show with a queer perspective during its first season.



“I think that the more comfortable we get and the writers get, the network gave us more leeway to do stuff,” Goldman said. “This season is broader - expanding sketches and ideas. Everything is expanding. This season is the best yet.”



Goldman promises the return of one of her best-known characters, Super Liza - an incarnation of entertainment icon Liza Minnelli, who gains superpowers when soused. Goldman’s Minnelli walks the streets of New York, answering the calls of gay people in trouble. A quick martini or two and she transforms into a sequined, slightly tipsy version of her former self, high-stepping her way to justice.
The show is exciting to me, more than something like ‘Saturday Night Live’ and other sketch shows, because we feature women more than anybody,” she said. “I think that’s a huge deal. A lot of times on those shows, women are marginalized or the brunt of jokes or barely get in. I feel like we’re doing something.




“For me, it’s personally important. We’ve been able to showcase funny women and funny lesbians, which other than Ellen (DeGeneres), you don’t get.”

Goldman is branching out. She performs an ongoing monthly club show, “Julie Goldman’s Offensive Women,” has penned a lesbian romantic comedy screenplay with her (straight) writing partner, is developing a reality show and co-stars in a Web series, “Julie and Brandy in Your Box Office.”



Now comes the return of “Big Gay Sketch Show,” directed by TV veteran Amanda Bearse, (Marcy D’Arcy on “Married . . . With Children” and one of the first prime-time actresses to come out as a lesbian).

SEX AND THE CITY ~ Trailer with Liza! opening May 28th!

Liza Minnelli Part Of VTA 2010-2011 Season ~ September 11, 2010 – Schuster Center

April 7, 2010; Posted: 11:04 PM - by BWW News Desk
Victoria Theatre Association announces the additional shows for 2010-2011 featuring legendary singers and songwriters, fast-paced drum lines, acrobatics and dance and so much more! “We are thrilled to have the very talented Liza Minnelli join us,” said Ken Neufeld, President and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation, “as well as Mannheim Steamroller and some of the greatest songwriters in American music culture in The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Be prepared for jaw-dropping acrobatics and aerial delights in Cirque Dreams - HolidazeDrum Line Live! These presentations are not part of a series but our all of our series subscribers get the first opportunity to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public on July 31, 2010.”For more information, visit victoriatheatre.com.

HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY!

Celebritweets: Passover Edition

Related: Celebritweets, Ashton Kutcher, Nicole Richie, Samantha Ronson, Joan Rivers, Rainn Wilson
"I spent Passover with gay friends. Two of the four questions were on Liza Minnelli." -- Joan Rivers, who prefers to wash down her Seder dinner with a tall glass of sass!