 |
|
| "Laughing Matters" Press Release Media Contact: LKPR, 22549 SE 261st St., Maple Valley, WA 98038 Phone: (425) 432-4203 Fax: (425) 432-4208 LKPR5@hotmail.com LOS ANGELES LKPR SEATTLE Docu-comedy Showcases
Heart, Humor of Veteran Lesbian Comedians For Immediate Release: March, 2004—No, Ellen DeGeneres
was not the first openly lesbian comedian! For an average of 20 years
Kate Clinton, Karen Williams, Marga Gomez and Suzanne Westenhoefer have
given voice to gay and lesbian issues while reaching national audiences
on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, CNN and the Late Show With David Letterman. Their stories—and their biting
humor—are captured in the award-winning docu-comedy “Laughing Matters,”
which premiered last year to a sold-out audience in San Francisco. The
film won the audience award for
Outstanding Documentary Feature at Outfest
2003 in Los Angeles and Best
Documentary at ImageOut
in Rochester, NY. As their careers coincided with
a volatile period in gay and lesbian history, the veteran comedians
gave voice to issues ranging from gay and human rights to the AIDS epidemic
to racial equality—all while hitting the audiences where it counts—on
the funny bone. In the film they use their wild and witty words to describe
what it was like to be out from the beginning—long before gay characters
landed on prime-time TV. They reveal how their families reacted and
what happened to their careers when Ellen DeGeneres, perhaps the most
mainstream lesbian comedian, came out on national TV. “I don’t think anyone should
take it lightly how important it is to our community that these women
were openly gay in their careers,” says “Laughing Matters” producer-director
Andrea Meyerson. “I have met so many people in the entertainment industry
that won't come out for fear of it hurting their careers. These women
didn’t wait until they were established, they were courageous and took
the far greater challenge to build careers without hiding who they are.”
The interviews in the film were
conducted by Los Angeles Times reporter Laurie K. Schenden. Emmy-winner
Nancy Rosenblum edited the film. --END-- |