The following account is my entire blog entry, thought some of you guys (particularly jedimaster and dawntreader) would be interested in reading it.
with Metta,
BC x


Wow.

What a film, what a party, what a night! Where to begin?



Picked up by my cousin from my home about 2pm wednesday afternoon, we headed back to his to smoke a couple of joints and apply a little party slap. by 4pm we were on the road London-bound. traffic was fine, no jams - we were lucky in that respect, however we did make a number of navigational mistakes along the way that in the end put us a good hour behind. The clock was ticking, and unfortunately, my hopes of us getting there for around 7:15 to pick up the tickets were seemingly being thwarted by forces beyond my control! (In fact, by the time 7:15pm rolled around, and we were only just heading into Greater London, I couldn't bring myself to look at the clock anymore for the fear of completely stressing out!)

We both decided it would be in our best interests to invest in a decent road map of London rather than relying any further on the shitty computer print out. Thank God for decent road maps is all I can say. It saved the day and we made up a good chunk of time. We headed into Piccadilly, hoping to find some kind of car park that was preferably Long-Stay, for who knew what the evening was going to throw at us! After seeing one car park chargin £26 for a 6 hour stint, but then telling us we could only park there until midnight (?!?) we just happened to drive down a small side street quite literally off Piccadilly Circus - and found ourselves a space! A sheer stroke of fortuitous luck if ever there was one. Someone obviously took pity on our plight it seems Leaving our car to God-only knows what fate (we just hoped and prayed that we wouldn't come back to find it clamped or towed!)

Knowing this area of London reasonably well, I darted through traffic and tourists with my cousin striding behind me. We got to Leicester Square about 8:15. By this point I thought any hopes of picking up the tickets and passes were now dashed, as I'd been given specific instructions that if they were not picked up by 7:15, they would be sold on to customers waiting outside on a first-come, first-served basis.

The sight that we were met by when we approached the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square was quite something to behold, and at first took me aback enough to make me think: 'oh fuck, now what?!?') There were hundreds and hundreds of people outside, bahind barriers, red carpet, press photographers, TV cameras, security - Jesus Christ, this was the real deal! I had no idea that it was going to be this big an event, but it was just yet another surprise - one of many that were to be had that evening.

It was really hard to find a way in there were that many people around. I made my way through the crowd as politely (yet firmly - like any man with a purpose) as I could, until I found one of the security team and let them know that we were on the guest list and where do we need to go to get in - God only knows how someone famous managed to fight their way through that lot. He pointed around the side by him a few feet away, and as we made our way around to this seculuded entrance in the barries smothered by bodies we could hear him loudly telling everyone to 'get back, move aside please' - heh. You'll laugh, but to be honest, I don't even remember the red carpet - I was so focused on getting inside and finding out if we still had tickets that It was all a blur, (I'm now wondering if my shoes touched the bloody thing at all! lol)

Once inside, the ticket concerns were swiftly and efficiently sorted by a charming young lady, and she informed me that they had been kept aside as I had previously confirmed that I would be attending. God, by this point I so needed something stiff inside me it wasn't even funny. We were unable to secure a Vodka on the rocks, so we headed downstairs to wait to be seated.

We sat in the premiere center section of the auditorium, and about 20 minutes later, Justin Bond, Sook Yin Lee and the uber-cuteness that is the delectable Jay Brennan sat in the row in front of us. A lady from The Times (sorry I forget her name) came on stage and gave a short speech welcoming everyone and saying how pleased they were to have 'Shortbus' as the opening film of the BFI London Film Festival. She went on to say that a lot has already been written about this film, so she'd keep the speech short - but was proud to have John Cameron Mitchell and many of the cast in attendance tonight, and that there would be a Q&A after the film. With that she asked us to welcome John to the stage where he gave a short introductory speech, told us he hoped we enjoyed the film, and that he looked forward to seeing some of us at the party later, and joked that would be no consolation to those who weren't invited! He finished by quipping: "If you can make it through the first 10 minutes then you can make it through anything - but isn't that just like sex anyway?". We all laughed, he thanked us for coming, waved and left the stage.

The lights dimmed, and there she was - Lady Liberty gracing the silver screen. We swooped down, across and around a magical and fairytale-like set of New York and our journey on the Shortbus began.

I'm not going to discuss the film, as you just need to see it. It's a brave, daring piece of work, and I found it funny, sad, beautiful, touching, moving, vibrant, but above all else - real. I was laughing at some things thinking - 'oh God yeah, I've SO been there', or 'that's something I do/have done!' to identifying in part with 2 of the characters, one particularly so. I spoke with this person later that evening and that is one conversation I will keep to myself, that one is mine. But to sum the movie up in a word: BRILLIANT - and I mean that in the truest sense of the word. Oh, and you'll never be able to hear the American national anthem again without smirking, I'll say no more! It was really nice to see Jonathan Caouette pop up briefly too.

The Q&A was in equal parts funny and insightful, and lasted approximately 20 minutes. I asked John was there any particular relvance to using an animated model of New York City, or was it simply a budget-based decision, to which he answered that they were "obviously never going to be a Tom Cruise movie, we just didn't have that kind of budget, but I wanted to give it more of a fairy-tale feel anyway" and went on to further expound that mainly came about due to the common shared experiences of many of the cast who experienced the New York blackouts - Justin Bond chipped in to say that night was probably one of the most memorable and magical of his life.

The Q&A over, we made our way outside and took a lesiurely walk over to the aftershow party venue 'Too2Much' which was only about 5 minutes walk from Leisecter Square. We showed our invites at the door (which I should mention before I forget were garishly adorned with a wonderful photo from the film's orgy scene inside Shortbus!) First port of call you may wonder? The bar of course! We were happy to find that it was a free bar too, so we enjoyed many a tasty beverage.

Making our way downstairs, we found Justin Bond just about to take the stage in a rather fetching black tafeta skirt covered in silver stars topped off with a suit jacket, all very Justin Bond of course. He was having a wonderful time singing 'Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys', and throwing out the occasional witty aside or barbed comeback. He introduced Paul and PJ next, who came out and did a gay country song for us. They are such a cute couple I can't even begin to tell you - Paul looked so sweet having the time of his life up there all smiles. They finished the song with a celebratory tongue session :smooch:

PJ and Paul tell us all about hawt Gay Cowboy Lurrrve:


Next up was Jay, who I'm sad to say had to fight to to be heard over the crowd for his set. But God bless him, he calmly said with a glint in his eye: "If there's one thing I DO know how to do - is sing to a room full of people who aren't listening" *grin* That seemed to get everybodies attention and he got a strong round of applause at the end.

The uber-cute Jay Brennan performing 'Soda Shop':


Next up was Sook Yin, who sang the most bizarre acapella song I think I've ever herd (sic) - all about a girl and the cow she loved to milk. Sook Yin, I love you but that was way too wierd for me to try and comprehend when I'm a little stoned and well on my way to Drunk City

Then of course, the moment many had been waiting for - the one and only John Cameron Mitchell took the stage with an acoustic guitar player in tow and tossed out a few tongue-in-cheek comments about the loud and rowdy crowd present and then gave us a rather impressive Glaswegian impression as He told us: "Ye betta all shut tha fook up or I'll coome doown there and bash yees heads in!". Great stuff. He then sang Neutral Milk Hotel's 'Two-Headed Boy' which went down really well.

John Cameron Mitchell performing Neutral Milk Hotel's 'Two Headed Boy':


He then said that he hadn't sang this next song for quite some time, and his voice was a little shot but he'd give it a go and proceeded to floor us all with a moving rendition of 'Wicked Little Town' from 'Hedwig & The Angry Inch'. I did actually take about 20 or 30 seconds of video of that, but when I found out what was coming next, I deleted it to make way for...

...The entire cast came out on stage and performed a rousing 'In The End' which had everybody singing along to - it's that infectious, and we all did so I feel in the spirit of Shortbus. I think anybody would have done the same after seeing the film and being there - so I sang it loud and proud for you guys! I took a little video, (it's not much so don't get excited!), but it's something - I at least wanted to come away with some footage of the night I could show you guys, and here it is:
DIRECT LINK: http://www.youtube.com/wa...KGoS6XyF3g

A little later, after watching the gorgeous pole-dancing girls (who even got this Gaybois blood all a-racin!) and dancing too some well chosen songs, I got talking to PJ DeBoy and His boyfriend Paul, and the next thing we knew, my cousin and I are backstage, hanging out, drinking and talking to these guys over a few 'smokes'

We were later joined by JCM, who brought in the increadibly sexy Russell Tovey who plays 'Rudge' in the movie of Alan Bennett's acclaimed play 'The History Boys' (go see it!). My jaw at this point was on the ground, because it was only a few days earlier that I'd been discussing Him with some girly pals at work (I work as a projectionist for a cinema) and fuck me sideways and call me Susan if He ain't stood here right in front of me talking to me like we'd known each other all our lives! *SWOON*

Russell Tovey & a pup who looks like it's SO got the cream! (Now, don't we make a cute couple?)


I spent a little time talking with JCM about films we liked and his hopes for the films reception upon general release etc. The one thing I think I'd like to share above all else is when I told Him how the movie made me feel. I said to him the film was amazing, and it really moved me, but: "the only way I can really tell you how it made me feel, is like this..." I then gave Him a great big hug and whispered 'thankyou' in His ear. He seemed really touched.

The gorgeous Jay Brennan, the one-and-only Mr John Cameron Mitchell, and yours truly:


Later, the dancing girls came and joined the party (which pleased my cousin no end!) along with Jay, and Alan Cumming. It was a great night, and have to say it really could not have turned out any better considering the particularly 'Carry On' nature of how our journey started earlier that day! It was so nice for my cousin and I to spend some quality time together outside of our normal social circles and show him just a little it of 'my world', that was really special and only served to make the whole day even more memorable.

BC and Alan Cumming: (I told him his fragrance stunk)*


A HUGE thankyou goes out to my friend Cian, (do I EVER owe you a drink for this!), to JCM for being so affable and generous with his time, and to all fellow riders on the Shortbus. My only 'regret' is that I didn't give Russell Tovey my number! heh. I want everybody who is a member of this community to know that I partied with all of you guys in mind, but remember - YOU'VE GOT TO GET ON IT TO GET OFF, AND WE ALL GET IT IN THE END!

BC x

'SHORTBUS' is released in the UK December 1st.
Watch the trailer for 'Shortbus' HERE

Oh damn....just remembered - all this, and I've neglected to tell you all about the rather humpy Go-Go Boy who wasn't really a Go-Go boy but who was Go-Go boy enough in (and out of) his pink hotpants to get well and truly 'Spangled' backstage.... I'll leave this story to your wild imaginations kiddies...

WARNING! Butt-nekkid manflesh behind the cut


* ...joke!

I will read the whole thing in detail later 'nana but I wanted to send you a big, huge and I've sent you an orgnote a little bit ago hope it's still there for you to read...

love you and miss you hon

YOU
MET
RUSSELL
TOVEY

I hate you. Absolutely hate you.








GREAT report, mate.

Thanks for sharing.

BananaCologne said:

Everytime you type Metta, I read Yetta and think of;

BC! Wonderful -- i hafta go back and read later, but the pictures are great!!!!

What an amazing night!! You look so cute!!!!

I'm soo jealous. I loved the movie and I too was touched by it. And boy could I relate to a lot of it. I am a SHORTBUS rider by the way. Heehee!!!

M
[Edited 10/26/06 9:39am]

I'M SO JEALOUS!!!!!

Great story nana! Thanks for sharing. I have already seen shortbus twice and I may go again this weekend for a thrid. Right now John Cameron Mitchell owns my ass (oh, who am I kiddin, he's always owned it).

ohmygod!!! you celebrity meet and greeter you!

I wish I could meet Alan. Very cool B.C.

I can't stand Alan Cumming

of everyone in those pics, i'm most jealous that i didn't meet nana!

My beautiful Nanners.

I am so jealous you got to meet those guys.


Shortbus is a great movie. I think I wanna go see it again and again.

Stymie said:

i'm so glad i got to see that movie with you, stymie. i had no idea it would have the impact on me that it did, and talking with you about the movie afterwards was almost more great than the movie itself! though one day i know you're gonna sock me one for dragging you to all my insane art films.

and to everyone else, GO SEE THIS MOVIE! NOW! highly recommended!

Anx said:

this wasn't playing at the musicbox theater?

SpisaRibb said:

nope. century landmark.

Anx said:

I'd never have some of the most wonderful experiences I've had if it hadn't been for you. I would have never seen Capote or Brokeback or even Bubba Hotep if it hadn't been for you. You made Clerks II and Snakes on a Plane more wonderful for me. I love you.

Stymie said:

we've seen some nutty stuff just this year alone, haven't we?

i couldn't pick a better movie buddy!

SpisaRibb said:

really?

That movie was super excellent. It was easy to identify with those characters. I think my girlfriend had a half-dozen epiphanies (don't be dirty, people ) by the time it was over. We loved it.

Anx said:

me either. it was emotionally gripping in a way i was totally unprepared for.

here' my top 10 again:

1) It made me laugh when I felt I shouldn't laugh;

2) It made me think while I was sitting in a movie theater;

3) As my roommate said, it made gay sex "so normative" – not to mention bi-sex, threesomes, group sex and everything in between;

4) I don't remember seeing more honest portrayals of human emotion from an ensemble cast ever;

5) It really made me wonder why pussy and menstrual blood freak me out so much. And that was before I knew this little tidbit that Mitchell shared with Out: "For my Hitchcock cameo I decided to do something I had never done: I ate me some pussy. It didn't get me hard, but it was better than craft service. Are you happy now, Mom?"

6) It literally blows away Whitney Houston’s version of "the Star Spangled Banner";

7) It openly discusses the connection between sexual liberation and universal consciousness;

8) It strikes a blow to Christian right hypocrisy by embracing love and without ever mentioning the Christian right;

9) It made me wonder if I'd ever seen these actors before. Then wonder 'why not?' Then pray that I do see them again;

10) Lots and lots of cock.

madartista said:

1) I found myself laughing when nobody else was. Were they holding back, or am I a freak?
2) I LOVE IT when movies really do that.
3) That was delightful. Felt like the world matching my head for once. There's a "sex-positive community center" that I belong to, and this is what it WANTS to be.
4) I found myself thinking about it like a documentary. I had to remind myself that these were actors.
5) I couldn't believe he did that. Well, the flip side: my poor very-lesbian girlfriend cringing and ducking like it was a horror film at the cum shots. Poor thing. You two should talk.
6) That was the best. The fucking BEST.
7) Assumes it, even.
8) See 7.
9) See 4.
10) Amen to that.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

WOW!!! Sounds amazing!!! I'm so happy that you got to meet JCM, 'Nana! I absolutely cannot wait to see this film!!!!!