The Gays Are Ever Present
I thought it was really sweet how, at the end of the Oscars last night, as Scott Rudin accepted the award for Best Picture, he thanked his partner…and added a ‘honey’ in there to clarify and distinguish him from the business kind.
It’s important, I think, to always remind people of the simple ways a gay committed relationship is just the same as anyone else’s committed relationship. And when you’re standing in front of an untold number of people, accepting Hollywood’s highest honor, you want to thank the person who has stood beside you. So this year’s Oscars didn’t have an overtly gay showing (it was certainly no 2006), but I think that’s good. Sometimes subtlety is stronger than a hammer to the head. And a man should be able to thank his partner for being with him and it should happen in the simple way that it did.
The LGBT community is obviously an ever-present force in Hollywood. And so even though there was no “Brokeback Mountain” or “Transamerica” this year, it doesn’t mean the gays took a break from making films. Members of the community are so entrenched in this star-studded system, you couldn’t swing a cat in L.A. without hitting one.
I loved Scott Rudin’s simple thanks. It wasn’t calculated, it wasn’t activist, it wasn’t said to cause a stir. It was a man winning an Oscar and excitedly thanking the most important person in his life. Congratulations, Scott!
Also, I just want to give a shout-out to Diablo Cody for winning Best Original Screenplay, and to all of the families who love their children just the way they are. Go see Juno!
Sara
