In the anticipation of the premiere of the new comedy-mystery web series WHERE THE BEARS ARE, Reel Gay entertainment reporter Karamo was on hand (and hands-on!) during a recent cast photo shoot. Not only does Karamo get nearly every hunky cast member to bare all, he meets the crazy gay brains behind the production. Wearing duties of both filmmakers and cast are RICK COPP ("Reggie"), former writer for THE GOLDEN GIRLS, BEN ZOOK ("Nelson"), writer of Adam Sandler's JACK AND JILL, and JOE DEITLE ("Wood Burns"), know to millions from many TV commercials paying a schlubby husband to the hot, much smarter housewife.

The creators describe the new web series as THE GOLDEN GIRLS meets MURDER, SHE WROTE, only with bears. The official trailer is hysterically campy and complete with furry eye-candy.

The series premieres on August 1st at WhereTheBearsAre.TV

The cast sprinkled with many seasoned Hollywood pros including IAN PARKS ("Hot Toddy"), CHAD SANDERS ("Detective Winters"), MARIO DIAZ ("Ramon Santiago"), JIM PARR ("Hulk"), JESSE MELI ("Thor") and many more.

6.27.12 - Magic Mike Premiere in Downtown Los Angeles 6.24.12

The world premiere of "Magic Mike" took place in downtown Los Angeles on 6.24.12 during LA film festival. The premiere brought out the Hunky cast of the movie. In attendence were Channing Tatum , Mathew Mcconaughey, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriquez, Joe Manganielo, Kevin Nash, Alex Pettyfer and many more

Channing Tatum

Camilla Alves

Alex Pettyfer

Joe Manganiello

Kathy McCormik & Ryan Guzman

Mathew Mcconaughey

Mathew Mcconaughey

Matt Bomer

photos by: Zaki Munis

6.27.12 - "PART OF ME" Katy Perry's World Premiere.

Katy Perry at the world premiere of her movie "Part of Me" in Hollywood. Katy performed infront of her fans after the premiere on Hollywood blvd as Hollywood blvd has been turned into a cotton candy stage for Katy's fans.

photos by: Matt McFarland

6.21.12 - PORTLAND PRIDE-A SURPRISINGLY GOOD TIME
by: Memo Menos

Having covered pride events in nearly every city, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Amsterdam, Toronto, it was with mild enthusiasm that I approached my assignment to cover Portland Pride last weekend. I was expecting a low key, small town event.

What it turned out to be was a full throttle, party on every corner, roaring good time.

First of all, Portland is an amazingly beautiful city. It's like a city nestled in a forrest, with green everywhere, and vistas of a snow covered Mount Hood that pop out unexpectedly to awe and flabergast you. It is so stunning to see that glacier/volcano stick out in the not too distant backround, and when the pictureseque city is in view, it's a breathtaking sight.

Secondly, Portland is a spectacular beach destination. And I'm not talking the riverbank, as fantastic the vistas are of the Columbia River Gorge, just a short drive out of the city. No, I'm talking drop-dead beaches, albeit an hour or two away. Canon Beach has got to be on par with any beach on the planet for beauty, and surf, and sand. On this weekend it was sunny and warm, a real treat to be sure. Hug Point, just 5 minutes south was even more wonderful, and without the commercial encroachment.

But the main event was pride, and it was a multi-act show. The parade was, well, a parade. There aren't many pride parades that are showstoppers, save Sydney, and Amsterdam(on the water), and Toronto. But this one wound through Chinatown, a particularly nice Chinatown, and down by the rivers's edge, culminating at the festival grounds. Nothing shabby about that. I could have done without the dozens and dozens of religious entries, but more power to them. If they can find common ground with the raging partiers that makeup most pride events, this one being no exception, then good for them. A little community, and structure, and values certainly can't hurt.

The festival stage was a bit lacking, with KIM ENGLISH resurrecting her 4 hits from the 90's without so much as doing a single new piece of material. She was in good spirits, if not fine voice, but refused to speak with us after her performance. She declined a tip from an audience member, a drag queen, who was visible stunned by the rejection. Not a wise move in my opinion to shun a fan, even if she didn't need the money. And I'm not so sure of that.

CAZWELL followed with an energetic set that rocked the young crowd, who didn't seem to know who KIM ENGLISH was. How fast irrelevancy looms on this scene. CAZWELL did oblige with some new material, his new single "Beans and Rice", along with his hits, "I Saw Beyonce in a Burger King" and "It's All Over Your Face." When one Portlander shouted out where's AMANDA LAPORE, CAZWELL fired back "who the fuck is she, you want your money back fool?"

Backstage he was not the acid-tongued rapper/comedian, but a sweet, obliging servant, posing for pictures, signing posters, and generally being an all-around nice guy. He has definitely quit his day job and is doing music full time, as evidenced by a tight performance that included 4 costume changes, seamlessly interwoven in his 4-song set. The man is a pro!

COLTON FORD closed the stage with an amazing body, and not so amazing musicality.

But the real scene in Portland for pride are the block parties hosted by some of the clubs in town. It seems each of the bars hosts their own little street fair. Hamburger Mary's had one, with water slides, food trucks and a full-on stage. Scandals hosted a block party which showcased a local band that was off the hook, ACOUSTIC MINDS. Fronted by twin sisters with incredible pipes, as well as a male lead singer who also plays keyboards, the harmonies and melodies that filled Stark Street for nearly 3 hours were some of the best I've ever heard.

Just down the street, Boxxes had perhaps the best party of the weekend, with porn star hosts, aerial acrobats, FRENCHIE DAVIS, and the closing act, SHARON NEEDLES, who literally brought the house down. She made an uber-dragmatic stage entrance about 7pm Sunday evening in a coffin carried by a troupe of twink dancers in their skivvies. She emerged from her simple wooden box to a thumping MARILYM MANSON tune, holding a bilbe like it was a bludgeon. She ripped pages from it, tearing them into shreds and heaving them at her adoting fans. She followed that antic by placing some pages in a blender, mixing them with a little Abolut(shameless plug for the sponsor), chugging the concoction and spraying it into the crwod. They shireked as if Alien had just bled acid on them. Miss thing is all that! It was like MICK JAGGER was there, or more appropriately, LADY GAGA. Totally off the hook.

SHARON NEEDLES has an anti-establishment, raging radical message that really resonated with the young kids in the audience. Her Manson/Gaga bit is quite polished, and she knows how to prance and pose. The more traditional drag queens on hand looked a little stunned after the performance. They are definitely going to have to step up their game with this "girl" prowling the scene.

The weekend also featured the world's largest nude bike ride Saturday night, with some 15,000 naked riders taking over the streets of the city. It was an annual event completely unrelated to gay pride, but not without a powerful pride qoutient. These people take their biking seriously here, and riding naked takes it up another couple of notches. The event brought people out to line the streets and get a glimpse of the flesh on wheels as they buzzed by en masse.

The funny thing about the ride is that later Saturday night in various parts of the city, you could see lots of people going about their evening activities, going to dinner, hanging out in a bar, riding home far from the route of the race, completely naked! It seems once you've broken through that emotional barrier of wearing clothes, and get over yourself, being naked is a freeing, enjoyable, even preferable experience.

Likewise to Portland Pride. It was a surprise that I would gladly do again. Maybe naked next time.

6.4.12 - Las Vegas Festival 2012: Pool Parties

On May 25-28, MATINEE returned for the second-annual Las Vegas Festival, presented by Jake Resnicow, Patrick Crough & Paul Nicholls. Photos by GAYSTAR. Next Stop: MATINEE New York Pride

photos by: Rich Stadtmiller

5.30.12 - I discovered tht I still cry at weddings.

Ronald Cox and Dennis Skiba met at IML 5 years ago (aovbe pic) ,at IML. Now that domestic partnerships are legal in Illinois, they decided to get hitched at IML, and no one better to officially do it than IML founder Chuck Renslow.

5.21.12 - The Amazing Spider-Man

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves from a story by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theaters everywhere in 3D on July 3, 2012.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.