Sunday, May 25, 2014

1. ADAM BRAUN......2."THE NORMAL HEART"


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The handsome & brilliant Adam Braun is inspiring.
 He was on "KATIE" last week and set forth a message of hope and selflessness from which we can all learn.
Instead of taking the easy path-which his pedigree could have allowed-he took the one less traveled.

(His brother is Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun. He is an American talent manager and businessman. He owns two record labels: School Boy Records[ and Raymond-Braun Media Group (RBMG).
 RBMG is a joint venture with R&B performer Usher. 
The most prominent artist Braun represents is Justin Bieber.
For School Boy Records, his represented acts include Psy, Carly Rae Jepsen .)

 I only mention this because Scooter has been able to help his brother by using his clients-especially Beiber and Sophia Bush-to help the "PENCILS OF PROMISE" movement.

To date he has been able to open 200 schools & they are growing almost daily.

ROCK ON !

Recently married, Braun has been very public promoting same sex equality as well.

He states:
"Seven weeks ago, on the greatest night of my entire life, I asked the woman I love with every ounce of my being to marry me.

The next morning the gravity of it all began to hit me, and I just couldn’t stop smiling. It seemed like everyone around us wanted to celebrate our love for one another. And as happy as I was, strangely, I found myself thinking about gay rights.

Over the past decade of my life many of those I’ve become closest to have been in love with members of the same sex. Some hid this for years, others came out. I never thought of their sexuality as their most identifying factor. I realized that those who are gay cannot experience what I’d experienced the night before in many parts of our nation. And suddenly, the gay marriage debate became personal..."

(read the complete article: http://adambraun.com/how-getting-engaged-changed-my-views-on-gay-marriage)

ROCK ON AGAIN & THANK YOU ADAM !
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 HBO movie "THE NORMAL HEART" (2014)

 Mark Ruffalo was brilliant !!!  He was fearless in his acting & took chances few would.  Yes, it made me relive unwanted memories and I even accepted a lot of its poetic license; the message was clear, the screenplay was average. At one point it seemed every gay Broadway actor made an appearance. Julia Roberts was great too. Overall, it was a stellar cast.
If Michael Douglas got all those accolades for the campy "Behind the Candelabra", Ruffalo better get as many, if not more.

Because I was around at the beginning of this pandemic disease it really hit home but I feel many people will find it to be another "disease of the week TV movie".
After years of this script/play being passed around Hollywood (even Barbra Streisand wanted to do it) I was hoping for something meatier & more substantial. 
In other words, a more universal appeal. Obviously the LGBTQ community will clearly latch on to all the events, especially if you were around in the 1980s gay scene.

Like "Philadelphia", (which I hated), I'm  glad this was made & shown on HBO where more people in the general public will get to see it, not only the LGBTQ community, but I wish someone else would have constructed it. Where "Philadelphia" mostly ignored the social support system Tom Hank's character has, in "The Normal Heart" they should have focused-and dramatized more- how the straight world of politicians/media, etc. wasn't doing enough. The frivolous white party in Fire Island lent little to what could have been an opportunity to showcase the numerous fund raisers other parties had; and continue to have. Also, why doesn't the film end with Kramer/Weeks/Ruffalo starting ACT-UP instead of him basically with his tail between his legs in a hospital room. Murphy could have gotten some tips from Roger Spottiswoode in " And the Band Played On" (1993).
  Ron Howard who possesses a better way of telling a human interest story would have been a better candidate than Ryan Murphy as well.  Gus Van Sant who so beautifully directed "MILK" would have made "The Normal Heart" have more heart too.
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