I was among the first generation of kids to see the original Star Wars movie in 1977. I was 10 then, and when the third installment rolled around six years later, I was waiting in line for hours with friends at the local theater on opening day. I’ll be seeing The Force Awakens with my own son this week, and have been reflecting on some of the lessons I’ve learned from the series and what it has meant to me.
Question: What 1952 — 1952! — book was about a married mother who leaves her husband for another woman, only to battle him in court for custody of their daughter? Read on for the answer, as well as more about the story coming to the big screen.
2010 brought us a number of excellent films—and a few books—about LGBT families. Here are some you may want to add to your holiday list. Mom’s Apple Pie: The Heart of the Lesbian Mothers’ Custody Movement, a documentary by Jody Laine, Shan Ottey and Shad Reinstein, gives us a look at early custody cases involving
Now out: a trailer for Sundance film The Kids Are All Right, starring Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as lesbian moms whose kids decide to go in search of their sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo). My initial thoughts: Moore and Bening make a great couple, but just once I want to see lesbian moms on screen
Watching the Oscars tonight? Here’s some filmmaking news that will have you seething: Florida lawmakers are considering an incentive package to attract film and entertainment jobs to the state. Productions with “nontraditional family values,” however, would be ineligible. State Rep. Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando), who introduced the bill, said that films depicting gay families should not
Helen and I share even more viewer feedback on kids’ movies, including one woman’s trauma about pink elephants, several films involving rodents, and how anime could even help children’s reading and language skills. Mombian: She Got Me Pregnant, 08-27-09 Uploaded by drudolph. – Watch more LGBT videos. (If the embedded video above doesn’t work, try
(Originally published in Bay Windows, October 22, 2008, with slight variation.) “Hollywood would never make this movie,” says director Laurie Lynd of his new feature film, Breakfast with Scot. On the surface, though, the plot sounds like something we’ve heard before: unsuspecting, child-free adults find their lives transformed when circumstances plop a kid on their
