I’m Off to Palm Springs for the World Premiere of “Dirty Talk” at Cinema Diverse!

I’m headed out-of-town today readers. So there probably won’t be any posts til Monday but it’s for a great reason. I’m off to the Cinema Diverse Palm Springs International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival for the world premiere of the hilarious short I co-produced and co-starred in, Dirty Talk. It’s the first screening of our festival tour. We will then be heading to Out on Film Atlanta on Oct. 6th, the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on Oct. 9th and the Sacramento International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on Oct. 13th. For more on our film and those screenings, head here and watch our website, Twitter and Facebook for more info and festivals to come throughout the year. And take a look at the information on Dirty Talk and our Palm Springs screening below.

Dirty Talk at Cinema Diverse Palm Springs International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

~Sunday Sept 23rd at 7pm before the feature Love or Whatever
(buy tickets for the film Love or Whatever starring Jennifer Elise Cox and Kate Flannery from The Office that also includes Dirty Talk)
* our cast, crew and filmmakers will all be present for this screening and the Q & A!

http://cinemadiverse.ning.com/

Dirty Talk
Written & Directed by Jeff Sumner
Produced by Harrison Bloom, Jason Boegh and Jeff Sumner
Cinematography by Jorge Luis Urbina
Music by Michael Teoli,  Casting by Tony Miros
Edited by David Neuendorff
Starring: Jeff Sumner, Jason Boegh, Ralph Cole Jr., Jeffrey Christopher Todd and Claude Knowlton.

Dirty Talk tells the story of Nathan (Jeff Sumner), a conservative English teacher who tells his best friend Zach (Jason Boegh) about a one night stand with a hot Latin man (Claude Knowlton) who loves to talk dirty and takes him out of his comfort zone.

Dirty Talk website: http://www.dirtytalk-themovie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dirty-Talk-a-short-film/338742746158466
Twitter: https://twitter.com/movie_dirtytalk
imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2212860/

Dirty Talk trailer:

If you are in Palm Springs today, I also recommend you see the wonderful animated short Troy: Naked Boys Behind Bars Sing! I did a small voice part in this great film by my friend, the talented Mike Derry, that was adapted from his popular Troy Comics series. Head here for tickets to that film which airs before the great feature Elliott Loves. And check out the trailer for Troy below

Troy Naked Boys Behind Bars Sing! trailer

Hope to see some of you in Palm Springs and across the country for our film festival tour of Dirty Talk!
Thanks so much
Jason Boegh

I’m Baaaack

Hey readers,
Sorry for the lack of posts, but I was out-of-town at an event in Palm Springs. It was a lot of fun and now I’m all tan and pretty. I also got to meet the lovely Debbie Gibson who performed and still maintains the record of being the youngest female to write, produce and perform a # 1 hit (1988′s “Foolish Beat). I also met the hysterical musical comedy duo The Lampshades, otherwise known as Scot Robinson and Kate Flannery from The Office. They were a riot and I highly recommend you check them out when they hit your city next. Take a look at my pics with both acts below and I will have a lot more posts for ya today.
Thx.
Jason

Debbie Gibson “Foolish Beat”

The Lampshades “Mandy/Brandy”

NBC goes for Laughs with its new 2012 Fall Schedule

NBC has been mired in the ratings cellar for several years now, but with their new fall schedule, they are hoping to return to their 80′s and 90′s glory days. How are they gonna do it? Well, apparently, they are hoping to become the kings of comedy again. They did it with shows like Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls and Will & Grace. So, why not make a big play with 4 nights of comedy programming, Tuesday thru Friday? That’s what they will be doing by bringing back Community, Up All Night, Whitney (what?!) and 30 Rock  (in its final season) for 13 more episodes plus full seasons of The Office (with all the stars returning except for James Spader and Mindy Kaling who has a new sitcom on Fox) and Parks and Recreation. They will add 4 more comedies to the mix: Go On starring Matthew Perry as a sportscaster, Animal Kingdom with Justin Kirk as a House-like veterinarian, Guys with Kids from producer Jimmy Fallon and The New Normal with Justin Bartha and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon) as a gay couple who enlist a surrogate to help them start a family. The latter comedy is from Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) and costars Tony winner Ellen Barkin and looks like a riot. I can’t wait…
The network also has 3 more comedies for mid-season with Save Me starring Anne Heche, 1600 Penn (a comedy set at the White House) and Next Caller about a foul-mouthed DJ played by Dane Cook. Dramas joining later in the year are Infamous and Hannibal (yes, that’s about Hannibal Lecter!)
Also on the drama side, NBC has added Revolution, Do No Harm and Chicago Fire. Revolution will follow a new fall edition of The Voice which will now air twice a year essentially turning it into a singing version of Dancing with the Stars or Survivor, and thus further reducing the likelihood of ever producing a true music hit maker. (But it can still get good rating for the network that has such a low bar)… Also returning will be the musical drama Smash at midseason (so it can air 18 episodes uninterrupted) along with a newly reconfigured The Biggest Loser.... Cancelled shows include Awake, The Firm, Harry’s Law (boo!!!), Are You There Chelsea, Bent and Best Friends Forever. For more on the new shows and clips of them, head to TV Line here. And check out NBC’s new fall schedule below.

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “REVOLUTION”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Voice”
9-9:30 p.m. – “GO ON”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE NEW NORMAL”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”

WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “ANIMAL PRACTICE”
8:30-9 p.m. – “GUYS WITH KIDS”
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. – “CHICAGO FIRE”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “30 Rock”
8:30-9 p.m. – “Up All Night”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
10-11 p.m. – “Rock Center with Brian Williams”

FRIDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Whitney”
8:30-9 p.m. – “Community”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”

SATURDAY
Encore programming

SUNDAY (Fall 2012)
7- 8:15 p.m. — “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. — “NBC Sunday Night Football”

SUNDAY (Post-football/Winter 2013)
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “Fashion Star”
9-10 p.m. – “The Celebrity Apprentice”
10-11 p.m. – “DO NO HARM”

The Stars of NBC take you to Broadway!

NBC is pretty much an unmitigated disaster area these days. Despite having two of the best and award-winning comedies on television. 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, the network is mired at the bottom of the ratings heap. However, they are hoping two new rays of light will save the network, the singing competition show The Voice and the new Broadway musical show Smash. I think those two shows are a fantastic start. While The Voice grew into a disastrous mess last year, it was quite fun to watch and the judges are very entertaining. Plus they will be adding great mentors like Lionel Richie, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morissette and Kelly Clarkson (hello defecting from her alma matter!) to the mix; so, I’m cautiously optimistic…. And looking at the new show Smash, I’m overjoyed. The pilot is wonderful, hilarious, moving and intoxicating with a great cast (Debra Messing, Angelica Huston, Katharine McPhee and  Wicked’s Megan Hilty to name a few) tackling the making of a new Broadway musical. I gave the pilot an “A” grade and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
So, with both of those shows in mind, the NBC brass is taking to the Broadway stage again to publicize its shows. Check out this fantastic promo (airing during today’s Super Bowl) which features the stars of the network’s shows from The Office to SNL, Parenthood and beyond singing “The Brotherhood of Man” from the current hit revival of How to Succeed in Business without Trying. Enjoy it below and catch the season premiere of Smash tomorrow night at 10pm on NBC.

NBC “Brotherhood of Man” Promo

First Look~ Crazy Stupid Love!

Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner Steve Carrell is about to finish his run on NBC’s The Office on April 28th with a super sized episode that will tell us what happens to the one and only Michael Scott… However, you won’t have to wait long to see Carrell again as he’ll be appearing in one of the most anticipated comedies of the summer Crazy Stupid Love. This romantic comedy features Carrell dealing with a broken marriage to Oscar nominee Julianne Moore and learning how to date again with lessons from a young playboy in the form of Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling. Other big names in the cast include Golden Globe nominee Emma Stone, Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon and Oscar winner Marisa Tomei. The film which opens July 29th looks like it could be a breakout hit among a sizable audience and actually a good movie to boot… Besides that, there’s Gosling’s abs… which are pretty much ridiculous…. Check out the trailer below for proof.

Crazy Stupid Love

Emmy Awards Preview: Comedy Series

Here’s the latest installment of my series looking at this year’s competitors for the Emmy Awards. Today, it’s the big shows vying for the Outstanding Comedy Series trophy. 30 Rock has won it the past 3 years, but I smell an upset coming…

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES:

Locks~

Glee: This unstoppable phenomenon is riding high with big ratings, Madonna tributes and Golden Globe and SAG Award wins. I think it has the buzz, the creative cache and a great mix of heart, humor and wit with an acerbic edge which all adds up to the strongest shot at stealing the title this year.

Modern Family: However, in this corner is the other new comedy that has great buzz, incredible reviews and non-stop hilarity. The first great family sitcom to come around in years may also be ABC’s first shot at winning this awards since the early 90’s and Roseanne.

30 Rock: After three-peating last year, this train shows no signs of slowing down. The jewel in NBC’s tarnished crown (sorry Office) still has more jokes per minute than any other show on TV and the heat of its multiple award-winning stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. Look for it to compete with Glee for the most overall nominations for a comedy this year.

The Office: After winning the prize in 2006, the show has been a bridesmaid the last 3 years. I doubt that will change but who can be sad with a 5th consecutive nomination, right?

Good Bets~

The Big Bang Theory: Ready to grab its first series nomination, Bang continues to grow in the ratings and remains a critic’s favorite. Revenge of the nerds indeed.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry David can’t be ruled out at the Emmys. After 5 nominations, Curb is still a threat, especially coming off a season that featured the lauded Seinfeld reunion storyline.

Likely Contenders Battling for the last spot~

Nurse Jackie:  another freshman show with a dark edge, Jackie is a breath of fresh air as it tackles a complicated woman juggling her home and work life and an addiction to pills. The show mixes humor, tragedy and absurdity beautifully, but may suffer from people thinking it’s just the “Edie Falco” show.

Weeds: Everyone’s favorite show about a pot dealing mom, Weeds was the jewel in Showtime’s comedy crown til those pesky ladies Jackie and Tara showed up. Will they grab a nomination for the second year in a row?

Two and a Half Men: despite Charlie Sheens personal troubles, Men has been nominated for the big prize 3 times and could still contend this year. It is the highest rated comedy on television after all.

How I Met Your Mother: Grabbing it’s first series nom last year, Mother continues to get strong ratings despite CBS often treating it like a bad stepchild. The first true successor to the Friends throne could find itself back in the race again after another creatively brisk year. It also has added advantage of Neil Patrick Harris!

Lovable Longshot~

Ugly Betty: previously nominated in its first season, Betty fell out of favor with the academy soon after.  Instead its actors, costumers, and production department continued to garner nominations. Will their final creatively rejuvenated season put this deserving and already sorely missed gem back in Emmy’s good graces?

Outside Chance~

Entourage: after 4 comedy series nominations and no wins, will HBO’s Entourage still be in the game this year? I wouldn’t count it out. The biz loves satires about the biz. However, it looks like this year the boys may finally be out of luck. (And on a personal note, the show is just not funny. Bam, I said it!)

Cougar Town: A show whose name confuses too many viewers, Town has grown into a wonderful ensemble with a fiercely funny Courtney Cox Arquette leading the way. If people will give the show a shot, they’d realize it has all the brilliance of its creators work on the early years of Scrubs.

Parks and Recreation: the most improved show on TV this season, Parks is quickly rivaling 30 Rock for NBC’s best sitcom. Amy Poehler leads a cracker jack ensemble that deserves more attention and kudos by the second.

Family Guy: this animated Emmy winner shocked the industry by landing in the running for Best Comedy Series last year. However, the buzz has faded and I think it may be returning to the “Animated” category in the future…

On the ballot but not gonna happen: Better Off Ted, Scrubs, New Adventures of Old Christine, The Middle, Hung, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Chuck, United States of Tara, Community, Party Down, Desperate Housewives.

~Now, here’s how I’d rank my top 10 favorites from this list…

1. Glee

2. Modern Family

3. 30 Rock

4. Ugly Betty

5. Nurse Jackie

6. Parks and Recreation

7. The Office

8. Cougar Town

9. The New Adventures of Old Christine

10. Better Off Ted

~And finally these are the big 7 contenders I think will actually land the nominations for Best Comedy Series:

30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Glee, Modern Family, Nurse Jackie, The Office 

(I’d say How I Met Your Mother and Weeds are the most likely to usurp a spot)