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  • Polari First Book Prize Awarded To Fairytales For Lost Children

    Diriye Osman has won the Polari First Book Prize for his short story collection, Fairytales for Lost Children, published by Team Angelica Press.

    The British-Somali short story writer, essayist, critic and visual artist was last night [Wednesday 8th October] presented with a cheque for £1,000 by Vincent Francois, Chair of the UK LGBT Network and Regional Head of Audit, Societe Generale, at the Polari Literary Salon at the London Literature Festival.

    The Polari First Book Prize is for a first book which explores the LGBT experience and is open to any work of poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction published in the UK in English within the twelve months of the deadline for submissions (this year 1st February 2014). Self-published works in both print and digital formats are eligible for submission.

    This year, for the first time, the five shortlisted books are on sale at selected WH Smiths travel outlets across the country.
    Paul Burston, Chair of judges, said, ‘With such a strong shortlist, deciding on a winner was incredibly difficult. The Polari First Book Prize is about celebrating voices which are often ignored or difficult to hear. Writing as a black gay African man from a Muslim background, Osman dazzled us with the wide range of literary voices in this stunning short story collection. We look forward to his next book and feel confident that he will dazzle us again.’

    The judging panel for the Polari First Book Prize 2014 consists of author, journalist and host of Polari Paul Burston, (Chair); critic and broadcaster Bidisha; author and former Culture Editor for Channel 4 News Matt Cain; literary critic and broadcaster Suzi Feay; author and former Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Rachel Holmes and VG Lee, author and comedian.

    Fairytales for Lost Children is narrated by people constantly on the verge of self-revelation. These characters – young, gay and lesbian Somalis – must navigate the complexities of family, identity and the immigrant experience as the tumble towards freedom. Set in Kenya, Somalia and South London, these stories are imbued with pathos, passion and linguistic playfulness, marking the arrival of a singular new voice in contemporary fiction.

    ‘At a time when homosexuality is still illegal in most of Africa, and barely features in contemporary African fiction, this book is a welcome surprise … At a time when African writing is on the rise, Osman stands above the crowd.’ The Independent

    ‘East Africa. South London. Queer. Displaced. Mentally ill. My excitement over Osman and his writing comes, in part, out of delight at the impossibility of categorisation.’ Daily Telegraph
    The 2014 shortlisted titles were:

    I Am Nobody’s Nigger by Dean Atta (Westbourne Press)

    Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman (Serpent’s Tail)

    Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman (Team Angelica)

    God’s Other Children – A London Memoir by Vernal W. Scott (self-published)

    The Rubbish Lesbian by Sarah Westwood (Mimwood Press)

  • More And More Men Want Pain Free Manscaping

    After years of controversial rhetoric on the reasons women get their body hair removed, the conversation and focus is once again shifting towards men.

    According to a new report out today, record numbers of men are feeling under pressure when it comes to managing their body hair. ‘Manscaping’ – media slang for body hair management for men – is on the rise again with half of British males saying they feel under pressure to groom their body hair. Celebrities such as David Beckham continue to fuel the cult for a cleaner and hair free body.

    It’s a trend which is reflected in the growing number of men seeking laser hair removal at Courthouse Clinics. Recent statistics on the breakdown of in-house treatments revealed a 156 percent increase in the number of men getting permanent hair removal since 2009, particularly with men aged 18-35 (59 percent). Almost half are looking to de-fuzz their back or shoulders, 20 percent their chest or abdomen, and 15 percent get rid of hair on their cheek and beard areas.

    A survey in 2012 showed that 77% of men aged 18-34 admitted to a bit of manscaping, with an incredible 97% saying that hey often took the razor to their down under region. 9% admitted to shaving their legs.

    Dr Patrick Bowler, Medical Director of Courthouse Clinics comments, ‘Men are increasingly expressing a desire for a hair-free body while looking for less time-consuming methods for body hair maintenance – just like their female counterparts. Advanced technology now means that hair removal can take less than 20 minutes with a treatment such as Alma Lasers’ Soprano Ice, with no pulling, tugging or ripping of the hair. It goes a long way to explaining the rise in popularity for laser hair removal – what was once a painful process is now a gentle treatment, especially compared to waxing which, apart from shaving, was seen as the only alternative for men.’

    Makers of the Soprano ICE, from Alma Lasers, say it is the only laser hair removal solution for year-round application, suitable for use on all skin types, and all types of hair, too. Unlike traditional laser technology, patients who tired Soprano Ice reported it as almost zero pain – a first for laser hair technology.

    Soprano ICE cools the skin with a sapphire tip to prevent any burns to the skin as the laser penetrates the dermis. This means patients feel no discomfort at any point throughout the procedure, and still get the best possible results. Multiple clinical studies conducted by leading dermatologists confirm Soprano ICE’s status as safer and equally or more effective compared to other lasers. Soprano ICE can also be used to treat small and difficult to target areas like the eyebrows, nose and ears making it the ideal treatment for men.

    Prices start at £35 for a single treatment; courses from £959 (courses available as 3/6/8 treatments)

  • Charlie King Comes Out As Gay Live On Morning Television

    Charlie King Comes Out As Gay Live On Morning Television

    Former TOWIE hottie Charlie King has come out as gay live on Morning TV.

    (more…)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Hello Norma Jeane, Kings Head Theatre, Islington

    ★★★★ | Hello Norma Jeane, Kings Head Theatre, Islington

    The year is 2003. Joe has jetted off to Los Angeles to find and bring back to England his 76 year old grandmother, Lynne, who has escaped from the home she was living in and holed herself up in a motel in Hollywood.

    When he finds her, she tells him that she is there, because the world is in dire need of some good news, and that news is that she is about to reveal that she is in fact Marilyn Monroe, that she faked her own death, and that she has been living in obscurity in Essex ever since. Is she really Marilyn or is she just fantasising? Will Joe believe here? Will we? And does it really matter one way or the other?

    Dylan Costello’s amusing and often very touching play cleverly keeps us guessing. As he adds layer upon layer of detail to his tale, we are buffered one way and the other, one minute believing Lynne really is Marilyn, and the next absolutely sure that she isn’t, and we are kept guessing till the end. Ultimately though the play is not about guessing games, but about the nature of love, unconditional love; the genuine love between Joe and his grandmother, contrasted with that of Joe and his abusive, cheating boyfriend back in London. And maybe when Lynne jets off to Hollywood, she does so in the hope of making Joe see sense, of Joe finding his true self instead of living in the shadow of his boyfriend.

    At the play’s centre is a performance of warmth and humour from Vicki Michelle, known worldwide for the role of Yvette in the TV sitcom Allo Allo. But this is no star turn; Michelle is one part of a talented team. Her relationship with Jamie Hutchins’s sweet, rather gauche Joe is beautifully charted, as their scenes together veer from high comedy to touching drama. Farrell Hegarty differentiates nicely between the superstar Marilyn and the young Norma Jeane, and has a great comic turn as TV hostess Carla Carlyle. Handsome Arron Blake completes an excellent cast as budding actor Bobby and Matthew Gould’s direction is unobtrusively right from beginning to end.

    Hello Norma Jeane was one of five winners in Chicago based Pride Films and Plays’ Great Play Contest in 2011, and it is to be hoped that it will have a life beyond its present short season at the Kings Head in Islington.

    At the moment it is playing Sundays only at 3.15 and 7.15 until November 2nd at the Kings Head Theatre, Islington.

  • Campaign Of Homosexual Equality Celebrates 50 years

    Unveiling of plaque to Commemorate 50 years since the founding of The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) at Church House, Deansgate, Manchester.

    Tuesday 7th October 2014 sees the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) a democratic voluntary organisation, founded in 1964 as the North Western Committee for Homosexual Law Reform (NWHLRC) in Manchester.

    The plague will be unveiled by Lord Mayor, Representatives of Church House/Diocese of Manchester, in the company of invited guests including representatives of CHE, The Lesbian & Gay Foundation and invited local LGBT community members at 2pm.

    The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (The LGF) are organising a tribute and celebration in honour of the 50th anniversary of the birth of the modern in lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) rights movement through recognising the formation of The North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee and later The Campaign for Homosexual Equality.

    The charity has worked with The Diocese of Manchester to unveil a special commemorative plaque at Church House on Deansgate in the city centre to mark the very first meetings of NWHLRC/CHE on October 7th 1964. This will take place in the early afternoon and is also supported by Manchester City Council. The plaque unveiling will be followed by an afternoon tea in the presence of The Lord Mayor of Manchester at Manchester Town Hall.

    Later on in the evening on 7th October, The LGF’s annual Homo Heroes Awards ceremony will be held at a city centre hotel in Manchester to mark the 50th Anniversary of CHE. The awards, supported by Barclays, are now in their fourth year and provide an opportunity to celebrate those people that have made a difference to the lives of people in LGBT communities.
    Paul Martin OBE, Chief Executive of The Lesbian & Gay Foundation, said: “Many people know a little about LGBT history from the decriminalisation of male homosexuality in 1967 but there is a story that goes back much further and one that Manchester and the North West played a key part in. The men and women behind CHE have made huge steps forward in fighting for LGBT rights for over half a century and we are delighted that representatives from CHE, who still have an important voice in campaigning for equality and respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, will be attending the commemorations of this historic date in the LGBT calendar.”

    Peter Tatchell, Patron of The Lesbian & Gay Foundation, LGBTI and human rights campaigner, said: “The North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee was Britain’s first grassroots gay rights organisation. Led by openly gay people such as Allan Horsfall, it organised one of the early gay law reform public meetings in the UK. Held in Manchester on 7 October 1964, it urged the decriminalisation of homosexuality. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of this meeting and salute the pioneers of the NWHLRC. They trailblazed for LGBTI freedom. We remember and honour them – with pride.”
    Ross Burgess, representing CHE’s national Executive Committee, said: “This country has seen enormous changes since CHE’s foundation in 1964, when all sex between men was still illegal. CHE is proud to have played a great part in those changes, both by campaigning for law reform, and by organising a nationwide network of local groups that touched the lives of thousands of lesbian and gay people. We are greatly honoured by this recognition in Manchester, where it all started, and our only regret is that so many of the early pioneers, such as Allan Horsfall and Ray Gosling, are no longer here to celebrate with us.”

    The Rt Revd David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, said: “Fifty years ago, sexual activity between adult males was still a criminal offence in England. The attitudes of the wider population to same sex relationships were gleaned from court cases and comedians, spiced up by innuendo and accusation, and fuelled by fear. Half a century on, most of us are informed in our views by our friends, work colleagues and close family members who are able to be open about their sexual identities. That we are in such a better place is a tribute to those who were here in October 1964. This plaque is a modest recognition of that fact and of the debt we owe.”

    Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Sue Cooley, said: “Manchester has a long and illustrious history of fighting for inclusion, representation and equality for all members of our diverse society, a fact that we should all be proud of. The Campaign for Homosexual Equality is one of the oldest gay rights organisations in the UK and on their 50th anniversary it is only fitting that a plaque is unveiled to create a permanent reminder of everything they achieved. Attitudes have dramatically changed since the 1960’s, when the CHE was founded, but there is still work to be done in fighting discrimination and I hope people find inspiration in the work of organisations like CHE.”

  • Gay Men Buck Downward HIV Infection Trend

    New figures from Public Health England (PHE) show that gay men are bucking the downward trend for new HIV infections.

    Yesterday PHE released its 2013 HIV statistics, showing new HIV diagnoses amongst gay men have slightly increased, whilst new diagnoses overall are declining.

    Shockingly the new statistics show that, in the past ten year new diagnoses amongst gay and bisexual men aged 15-24 have almost doubled, as well as new diagnoses amongst the over 50s have almost doubled. This worry for the over 50 was mentioned by Doctor Christian Jessen in his interview with TheGayUK in 2012.

    The latest PHE figures come after a recent campaign by a coalition of LGBT organisations which called on political leaders to improve sex and relationships education in schools. These figures highlight the urgent need to make LGBT-inclusive Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) statutory in all schools.

    Yusef Azad, director of policy and campaigns at (NAT) National AIDS Trust, said: ‘The Public Health England statistics for 2013 show a continuing high rate of new MSM HIV diagnoses in the UK – about nine gay and bisexual men are being told they have HIV every day. This reflects undiminished and significant levels of HIV transmission in our society amongst gay men.’

    LESS GAY MEN DIAGNOSED LATE
    However more positively, less gay men are being diagnosed late (within four years of infection). Yusef Azad, director of policy and campaigns at (NAT) National AIDS Trust, said: ‘There continues to be an encouraging decline in the proportion of gay men diagnosed with HIV late – from 43% in 2004 to 31% in 2013. Being diagnosed late, which usually means you have had HIV for at least four years, can have a serious impact on your health, potentially leading to a shorter life expectancy, worse health outcomes and in some cases death soon after diagnosis.’

    ONE IN TWENTY
    According to the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) around 100,000 people in the UK were living with HIV in 2013, which means 1 in 665. In gay and bisexual men THT estimates this figure jumps to one in twenty. It could even be as high as one in twelve in highly populated cities such as London.

    Dates for the National HIV Testing Week were announced last month. The week will run from the 22nd to the 30th of November.

    If you’re worried about sexual health visit our online sexual health microsite for some easy tips and to ask our experts questions on sexual health.

  • OPINION | Coming Out? Won’t someone think of the parents?

    For a lot of people, even with today’s increasing acceptance of gay men and women, declaring one’s ‘different’ sexuality or ‘coming out’ is difficult and complicated. Society doesn’t expect straight teenagers to stand up and declare they like the opposite sex (i.e. heterosexual) – it’s still normally assumed. But gay teenagers do have to make a public declaration.

    So, accepting that you aren’t the same as your family, and most of your peers, can create emotional turmoil. It takes strength of character to be different. On top of that telling others about this very personal part of you can be uncomfortable.

    As the actor, Ben Whishaw, recently said in an interview with the Sunday Times, “It’s hard to have a conversation with people you’ve known your whole life about a very intimate thing. It’s massively weighted with all sorts of stuff, whatever the wider world is saying… it’s an intimate and private and difficult conversation for most people.”

    For most young adults, gay or straight, talking about sex to their parents is embarrassing. Having the added element of not being of the same sexual persuasion as them is even more challenging no matter what some may believe. Yes, there is an increased awareness and lots of gay soap opera characters and gay celebrities but, if your are heterosexual, finding out that your son or daughter is not of the same sexual inclination as you can take some adjusting.

    Unfortunately, for family and friends, because of this increased awareness, there can be an attitude of ‘just get over it’ or parents should accept you for what you are – if they love you. There is a general expectation that the acceptance of people with different sexual attractions should be easy and almost immediate. But life is really not like that, and for quite a few parents, and family members and friends, a coming out announcement is a challenge.

    A lot of focus, quite rightly, is placed on helping gay individuals who are confused about their feelings. In time most come to accept who they are. Little support, however, is given to parents, siblings and friends. They are expected, almost immediately, to accept a ‘different’ son or daughter to the one they thought they knew – a person that perhaps the coming-out individual has spent years learning to accept.

    Acceptance usually takes time and mistakes are made. Because of this family and friends can suffer feelings of guilt, loss and shame. The fact that these feelings are understandable doesn’t make it easier. Sometimes, because of religious or cultural beliefs that have been part of a parent’s whole life, it can become almost impossible.

    Learning that a child, sibling or friend is gay, lesbian or bisexual can feel like discovering that the person you knew is actually someone different. In fact, a person who has come out hasn’t changed; they are still the person that parents loved and cared for. But they, the parents, have to come to terms with new information about their child. And as they are heterosexual this is an area they have little experience in.

    There may be a sense of mourning for the loss of what society still sees as the ideal – a wedding and grandchildren, or nephews and nieces. There may be guilt – “what did I do wrong and what will the extended family and neighbours think?”. Anger is also not unusual – “How could they deceive me and let me think of a future that wasn’t to be or do things behind my back?”.

    All of these feelings are normal. Sometimes these feelings can be worked through by talking to the son or daughter who has ‘come out’; sometimes talking to others in the same situation can bring about a normality or even a realisation that the end of the world is not actually nigh. In some situations there may be a need to talk to a professional, such as a counsellor, so that one can explore one’s feelings without judgement.

    Remember, few parents are lucky enough to be able to accept the coming-out announcement without confusion and maybe anger. For most it can take time and may be difficult to adjust; but you, as the person who has gone through your own acceptance, has the control. You actually have some idea of what they may be going through too.

    You are the one to help them on the way forward. But you may have to be patient and remember the trip you have travelled to get where you are. Just don’t lose a father or mother, sibling or friend because they have not quite reacted the way you wanted them to. Give them time and remember your learning and acceptance about yourself also wasn’t instant.

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • FILM REVIEW | The Two Faces Of January

    ★★★★ | The Two Faces Of January

    After an overly long gestation period, this lesser-known psychological thriller from novelist Patricia Highsmith finally makes it to the big screen.

    The year is 1962 and the story opens on the sunny steps of the Acropolis where two American tourists, Chester McFarland and his much younger bride Collette, are having fun enjoying the splendor of the Ruins, whilst nearby Rydal a handsome charismatic Tour Guide has a small group of young wealthy debutantes eating out of his hands. At Collette’s insistence, Chester hires the guide to take them sightseeing although he quickly realises that the young man is not all he claims to be.

    It turns out that neither is Chester, and the past that he is running from is far more complicated and filled with danger. That night a Private Investigator turns up at Chester’s hotel room and threatens to expose him unless he repays the money he swindled from some Clients in a Ponzi-type scheme. After a struggle in which he kills the man, Chester realises that he will need to quickly flee Athens before the murder is discovered. So he turns to Rydal sensing that the young man will know someone who can get them new passports to replace the ones that the Hotel had taken off them when they checked in.

    As they all need to hide out until the new passports can be forged, Rydal suggests that they take the night ferry to the distant island of Crete. However when they arrive there the Hotel will not give them rooms without proper identity, so they catch a decrepit local bus into the remote heart of the island hoping that a more basic village inn would take them in regardless. As the journey gets more difficult and fraught the trio seem less elegant and assured particularly as there are strong undercurrents of mistrust developing between them, especially the two men. Rydal seems fixated with Chester who he thinks off as a substitute figure for his father whom is estranged from, whilst on the other hand, Chester suspects that the young man wants to steal Colette away from him.

    Suspicion leads to treachery and the pace gets more frenetic as they try to keep one eye on each other whilst keeping the other eye looking out for the authorities in hot pursuit as they start catching up on them. It’s very clear that it’s not going to end well for any of them.

    It’s hardly a Hitchcock masterpiece like his adaptation of Highsmith’s Strangers on A Train, nor is it Minghella’s take on the novelist’s Talented Mr Ripley but Oscar-nominated screenwriter Hossein Amini in his directing debut does an admirable job keeping the tension level high in this gripping thriller. The moody cinematography is particular is superb adding a very dramatic visual look to this period piece. Whilst the lead actors Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst may not have a great deal of chemistry as a couple, they put in really fine performances as the troubled McFarlands that one expects from these two talented actors The real joy, however, is Oscar Isaac who was completely mesmerizing as Rydal, and this following hotly on from his riveting turn in Inside Lllewyn Davies clearly shows that he is destined to be a major star.

  • BOOK REVIEW | The Queen Of Clubs

    ★★★★★ |The Queen Of Clubs

    There’s a quote at the front of this book that states:
    “Some people are born drag queens.Some people become drag queens. And some poor sods have drag queens thrust upon them.”

    And so it starts…

    Riding on a wave of drag queen interest, everywhere from the Facebook controversy over users having to use their real name (but only seems to apply to drag queens?) to RuPaul, this book tells a story – and a bloody good one at that!

    Tobias has taken some characters that could have been drawn as complete clichés and given them life – these characters, like ‘em or loathe ‘em, are real.

    From the still-in-the-closet virgin to the seen-it-all barman, from the abusive relationships to the fading glamorous drag queen – it’s all here and written large.

    The story follows one of our cast, Oliver, as he pops his drag club cherry and visits Divas, a seedy, rundown club run by Chris (not me!) It’s here that Oliver meets the rest of the cast – from deluded Robert Davies Junior (aka Wendy WolfWhistle) to the trio of cabaret queens Wendy aspires to join.

    The storyline moves along in short, sharp bursts, each chapter leading you into the next in a clever and addictive way. I’m not one to spoil a good plot, but there is lost love, unrequited love, love on the rocks, self-love and self-loathe, drugs, bad cabaret, cops ‘n’ robbers, and bad drag.

    This isn’t Drag Race calibre, there’s no Sharon Needles or Bianca Del Rio here – and that’s its charm. This is Everytown or Anytown, and these are people you could walk past on the street any day of the week, these aren’t the polished performers that may have to lip-synch for their lives… these couldn’t lip-synch to save their lives!

    This really is one you’ll love – from start to finish, it’ll entice you in, make you feel you know these characters (or someone very like them) and leave you with a shocker of an ending! This is low rent, low end, real life, warts and all stuff and I for one love it!

  • FILM REVIEW | Map To The Stars

    Maps to the Stars can be described as a take-off on Hollywood and celebrity and the people who inhabit this world, and boy what a world it is.

    It’s a world created by David Cronenberg, who also directed. He’s the man who last brought us 2012’s Cosmopolis but he is more well known for the much better received A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. Maps to the Stars is not a normal movie, in other words, it’s not what it says on the tin. It’s surreal, dark, black, and intense. It’s a movie that is desperately trying to show us the inhabitants of Hollywood, and their dreams, and their need for fame and validation.

    There are several lead characters in the film, but it mostly belongs to Julianne Moore. She plays ageing actress Havana Segrand. While she’s not that old, she can’t get the parts she used to get, but one part that she really wants is to play a part her late mother once played. Segrand seems to live in the shadow of her more legendary mother, who died in a mysterious fire, yet is not a stable woman – though she lives in a huge house that befits a famous film star. Even though Segrand is surrounded by people all the time, including her agent, her personal assistant Agatha Weiss (Mia Wasikoska), and her visits to self-help guru Dr Sanford Weiss (John Cusack), she sees the ghost of he mother as a young girl around the house, and she doesn’t know why. Segrand is just one of the many strange characters in the film.

    There’s also the already-mentioned Agatha Weiss. Her story is even more bizarre. She’s been kept in a psychiatric asylum in Jupiter, Florida since she was a young girl, after a horrible fire that left her with scars on her hand (she wears gloves) and face. It was a fire that appears to be one that she started, as she has been ostracised and totally rejected by her family. This includes her father, who happens to be Dr. Sanford Weiss. She’s obsessed with trying to re-enter the family circle, which she does, and on top of all this, there’s something really strange about her.

    Dr Sanford Weiss is a famous television psychologist who offers New Age advice to his followers, as well as performing intimate bodywork on his celebrity clients, the rich and famous. He stars in his own television program that is constantly on in his household; he’s a strange egotistical man. He is also the author of best-selling self-help books with analysis for the troubled, which doesn’t help his 13-year old teenage son, Benjie Weiss (a very good Evan Bird).

    Benjie Weiss is a teen sensation, a Beiberesque movie star who is making way to much money. He’s spoiled and screwed up. He’s a teen heartthrob (having starred in the big hit ‘Bad Babysitter’ and fresh from rehab – at the tender age of 13). He visits a sick girl in a hospital, to boost his reputation, and is told by his agent that the girl in dying of AIDS, but actually she tells him that she’s got Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He’s pissed off and tells his agent off for providing him with the wrong information. The girl eventually dies and Benjie is haunted by her ghost – a ghost that he sees almost everywhere he goes. It’s a metaphor for his stardom, an attempt to bring him back down to earth perhaps? But it doesn’t, it makes him a lunatic to the point where he thinks he’s strangling her but he actually strangles the co-star of a new film that he’s doing. He’s jealous that this co-star is stealing scenes from him. The strangulation is a chilling scene, and all too surreal by the reaction of his mother, Cristina Weiss (Olivia Williams). She’s not your typical celebrity mother; she’s a bit backwards and emotionally unstable, paranoid if you will, who is more concerned about her son’s ability to make more money than for his personal well-being.

    The Weiss family is one screwed up family. Robert Pattison shows up as perhaps the only sane person in the movie. He’s Jerome, a limo driver who happens to pick up Agatha when she arrives in Los Angeles. He’s not just a limo driver, he’s also a part-time actor and has fallen for Agatha, but also gets seduced by Havana. After their sexual romp all hell breaks lose and Agatha goes on a rampage.

    Maps to the Stars is an exaggerated take off on Hollywood and it’s denizens. It’s a film that is a distorted view on celebrity culture, but to the extreme, with highs and the very lows, with ghosts from their past thrown in for scary effect. It’s a film where the characters are all very unlikeable, so unlikeable that you sort of wish they would all kill themselves. Maps to the Stars uses Los Angeles and Hollywood as the backdrop, with parts of the film shot on the Hollywood walk of fame and under the famous Hollywood sign, to give it an authentic feel.

    Most people say that Hollywood is fake and artificial, which is observed well in this film. It’s fake, dark, make believe, artificial and over the top, with celebrities swallowed up by their obsessions with success, celebrity and money, and perhaps this is what Hollywood is all about?

    Available to buy from Amazon

  • INTERVIEW | Sinitta

    If you don’t know who Sinitta is then we can only ask one question, which rock have you been sleeping under? We talk to X FACTOR’s favourite guest… Sinitta.

    So… So Many Men So Little Time, we’re getting a theme here with your hits – all to do with man loving, (girl after our own heart)… So what are you looking for this time, someone Macho? Toy Boyish? or other?
    Actually now I’m looking for someone gorgeous with a big big BIG heart!
Lips that are juicy and chewy, a touch that is firm but gentle… I’m crazy and emotional, I need passion, warmth and soul. I want eyes that I can melt in and a chest I can lie on and weep on and sleep on and a body I can feast on. Forever… Sorry Did I say that out loud?

    5/5 She’s an animal. Someone get this woman a man… Stat!

    What’s your feelings about grown men in Onesies?
    Hmmm I actually got to see quite a few this year and they were men of all different shapes and sizes. They looked ridiculous but comfortable, so it was kind of sweet really.

    4/5 Come on now Sinitta, ridiculous is the word… Comfortable and fashion are two words that should never be heard together… You should know that!

    Do you know what ‘Sounding’ is?
    NO!

    Explain to Sinitta that it involves men’s bits and a metal rod…

    Even with the clues – just NO! No idea!

    2/5 The naive mind is a precious place. Once you’ve seen it – you can’t un-see it.

    Have you ever given or tried to give fashion advice to Simon Cowell?
    Of course!

    3/5 And does he listen? We think you need to take scissors to his high wasted jeans and cut cut cut.

    What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever read about yourself?
    Oh dear, ok latest one is that Simon has me gagged so I can’t talk about stuff. How can you GAG THE MOUTH?!! Anyway, it’s not true, I actually exercise my own censorships and discretions, it’s Louis who needs a Gag! And a Bit, and a Bridle!

    6/5 Love that she’s referred to herself as THE MOUTH. Extra points for the capitalisation but we’ve deducted some points for the mental image of Louis in a gag, bit and bridle.

    The biggest pain in the world is… a) Simon Cowell b) Child birth, or c) Getting a tropical plant’s leaf stuck in a place that it shouldn’t be?
    This one’s easy, a Broken Heart. That thing can just ache and ache and ache for such a long time, you wonder if you will EVER be the same again. But TRUTH is, eventually you will get better and it will be ok.

    4/5 White wine heals all wounds darl, white wine and Tramadol.

    Is there any possible way to out camp the leaf dress?
    I really do hope so, though I must admit I haven’t thought of it yet… Imagine if I have “peaked in campness” now, with so many years left to live – nightmare!

    4/5 Perish the thought – Can we suggest you in an oversized champagne glass, served with 4 topless hunks, wearing nothing but the labels of a well known champagne brand?

    You seem to be the nicest celebrity that ever graced the earth! There must be an inner Diva? Ever had a stand up argument with another celebrity? Who, What, When and did you patch it up?
    Aah, that’s really sweet of you to say that… Hmmm I did have a very famous fight with Pete Burns back in the 90s – we were performing with Kylie. Playing the Tokyo Dome he is about 6ft 2 and me 5ft 4 and he thought I was babyish and said, “Here she is-LITTLE MISS SHOWBIZ” in a catty voice and tried to fling me off of the stage! I think we were fighting over a boy, I can’t really remember what triggered it, so I grabbed him by his weave and shook him until all of his rings fell off and threw him onto the ground and stood on him in my red patent leather heels! 
Ok, now the truth -
I was pretty lame I must admit, I think I just let some big man pick me up and carry me away and then started yelling back at him from a safe distance! We are good though Pete and I, we actually get along well if we see each other. He’s actually a big softie!

    10/5 – Automatic 2 extra points for mentioning Kylie. Two more points for the over active imagination and the visual of grabbing Pete by the weave and 1 more for the truth fairy…

    What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
    Best advice I have ever been given – gosh so much good stuff… Be true to yourself always, then at least you always know who you are and where you are at. That may have been me who said that. Or, if you are going through Hell, just keep on going and don’t stop until you get the hell out of there – and no matter how hurt you get never give up on Love… Love fiercely, even when you fight… Love each other

    4/5 This is very Celine Dion. We like.

    What are you doing, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday night? Aren’t you knackered?
    Knackered!!! Actually when not being a disco diva or being Mama, you can find me on my lover’s chest watching House of Cards. On Netflix! It’s incredible… After that I will be watching Scandal. Kerry Washington! Sounds so normal right? But, I will be wearing Westwood heels and a Chanel feather jacket…

    7/5 Sinitta you kill us. Long live the Leaf wearing campness that is Diva Mamma Sinitta.

    So Many Men, So Little Time is out now via all good digital retailers.

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