By BetteAndTinaForever
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Since the time was running late already we were told to ask only
two questions. I had a few I prepared so I had to choose the ones
I thought were important. Sorry, if they are not important to you.
B&TF: Ok. I guess I can only ask two questions, that’s
it.
Jennifer Beals: Go ahead. This is going to be about Bette &
Tina I can tell (laughing).
B&TF: Yes, of course. What are your expectations for Bette
& Tina in Season 6?
JB: Excuse me, but I think you asked me that question already.
B&TF: No, no. I asked if you were happy that they got back
together but now I want to know what are your hopes or expectations
for the Bette and Tina storyline in season 6.
JB: There’s got to be some merriment. That’s all I
can say.
B&TF: That’s what Laurel said to me. She wants to have
some fun.
JB: I want to have some merriment. I want to have some happiness.
I would like to have some joy. My expectations are that it will
be a mixed bag of things because you know, 24/7 merriment doesn’t
make great drama. But let’s see. Let’s see what happens.
B&TF: And the second question… you are a really great
photographer and we saw some of your images on Our Chart –
some behind the scenes shots from the show. Are you planning to
publish a book?
JB: Pfft (making a sound and then repeating it to my tape recorder)
Pfft (laughing)
B&TF: I don’t even know how I’m going to put this
on paper. (Someone standing next to me spelled it out, while everyone
is laughing, “P F F T.”)
JB: I have no plans to publish a book.
B&TF: Well, I think you should. I’m going to buy five
copies, at least.
JB: Thank you. Thank you.
I stood for a few more minutes listening to questions from other
interviewers. I thought I’d share that with you as well.
Other interviewer (from AfterEllen) asked about the increase in
the visibility of lesbians, gay men, and transgender stories and
she was wondering if those stories help to get marriage equality
and more acceptance. Jennifer replied that all communities are connected
and in some way we are all similar, in some we are different and
the stories they are telling can only help increase the visibility
and the possibility of equality. Jennifer also added that she feels
connected to the LGBT community because she herself always felt
like the ‘other’ person.
Another interviewer asked about the explicit sex scenes with Laurel
and Jennifer said that there’s a lot of rehearsals and technique.
Each scene is like choreography and it’s all about what the
camera sees. She also mentioned that in her opinion, the sexuality
is important to show.
I listened a little longer and then moved away to take a few pictures
of Sharon Stone doing her interview. It was really interesting to
note that even when she showed up, only the photographers were busy
taking photos; everyone else was attached to Jennifer. Sorry, Sharon!
Jennifer was talking to more reporters when I noticed Ilene standing
behind us; waiting for Jennifer to finish her interviews. I smiled
and approached her.
Ilene asked me, “So, what did Jennifer tell you?”
B&TF: That she wants Bette and Tina to have fun in season 6,
and Laurel told me the same thing last time I saw her.
Ilene: Then I will have a few minutes of them in each episode.
I thought she meant that if we want happy, drama-less Bette and
Tina, we’ll only get limited scenes with them, so I said,
“No, one minute of TiBette in each episode wouldn’t
be enough but a sex scene in each episode would be good.”
Ilene laughed and I added, “I just want them to be happy
without too much drama.”
“I know you do, I know,” was Ilene’s reply and
then she was called to have her picture taken with Jennifer, so
that was the end of that conversation.
They were posing for pictures, and as you all know, Ilene is short,
even shorter than I. They began joking about it and Jennifer stooped
to make it look like Ilene was taller. How cute was that!
Finally, I gathered my stuff and went to the dining room, happy
to know that the ceremony hadn’t begun yet. It was nice to
know I could eat and enjoy the show at the same time. Billy Baldwin
was doing a life auction and he was great and funny. There were
a few presenters and I took some pictures of people who were giving
and receiving awards.
Alan Cumming was presenting a Vanguard award to Sharon Stone and
he was joking a lot about everybody seeing all of Sharon already,
referring to her role in “Basic Instinct” and uncrossing
her legs. Sharon joked about it too after she accepted her award.
She was really funny in her speech, when she told a story of filming
a love scene with Ellen DeGeneres in “If These Walls Could
Talk 2”.
She said that the script only mentioned them kissing and the scene
ended with a lamp being broken.
Sharon began laughing and said, “How does anyone know anything
about gay sexuality from that? I mean, I’m straight and we
make out but there’s not a lot of furniture that gets broken!”
And then Sharon said that she suggested going all the way and filming
a love scene. Once it was approved, she spent a lot of time asking
Ellen what to do to make it look real.
Ilene was the last person of the evening to receive her award with
Jennifer Beals as the presenter. I mentioned a few times already
how gorgeous Jennifer was this evening but when she went on stage
and put her glasses on to read her speech, she looked so cute and
adorable, it was breathtaking. She joked about her glasses while
putting them on. She said she looks like a librarian in them but
she needs them to could read and said hopefully she’ll invest
in contact lenses some day.
I didn’t record her whole speech but here’s part of
what she said, after mentioning that Ilene was getting a Davidson/Valentini
award, “Tonight, we bestow this prestigious honor on my beloved
boss and The L Word creator, executive producer and director, Ilene
Chaiken.” After applause, Jennifer proceeded to talk about
Ilene’s accomplishments and her work. Here’s
the short clip I recorded.
After Jennifer finished, they showed a little video with clips
from The L Word and interviews with Ilene. Then Ilene came on stage
and she talked about other shows that might come after The L Word
is over, like a lesbian cop show or comic book superhero (homosexual
billionaire industrialist) show. She was talking about her hope
that when The L Word goes off the air in 2009, the LGBT community
will be represented in a big way and not just by recurring secondary
characters. At the end she was telling how she first pitched The
L Word to Showtime and pretty much told them that she needed their
money to make a smart, sexy TV show about lesbians with Jennifer
Beals in the lead role. It was a wonderful rant, as Ilene called
it and you can find her full speech on Our Chart: http://www.ourchart.com/content/ilene-rants-a-little
Finally, the dinner and the presentations were over and I went
outside the room to take a break. When I was going back, I saw Jennifer
walking out of the dining room and decided to be brave (or annoying,
as some might think) and told her, “Jennifer, remember you
told me in LA that you would take a picture with me the next time
you saw me. This is the next time, is it okay to take that picture?”
Even though she was ready to leave, she said that it was okay and
a security guy took our picture. The whole time I was thinking,
‘Please, make it turn out good because I won’t have
the guts to ask Jennifer for another one.’ It turned out good
but don’t ask me to post it. Jennifer Beals looks like a goddess
and it was proven once again that I’m so not photogenic…so
nothing will make share that picture with the world (that and of
course, I have to hide my identity so the Russian Mafia won’t
find me).
Jennifer took the elevators upstairs to her room. I had heard that
she was leaving San Francisco as soon as possible to get back home
for Mother’s Day. So did Ilene because I didn’t see
her in the After-Party room either. I went to my room, changed and
went back to the Marriott for the Celebrity After-Party. Alan Cumming
was there with his partner. They actually just got married in the
UK and Alan was talking about it in his presentation speech. Rex
Lee from the HBO series Entourage was there and a few other, less-known
celebrities who were either honored or presenting. Free drinks,
dancing, chatting, relaxing – the party was fun and I still
have a headache to prove it.
PS. By the way, here’s a little clip of Jennifer
Beals and Ilene Chaiken on the Red Carpet in Los Angeles.
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