Harvey Fierstein

A kids' show host, Rainbow Randolph, is fired in disgrace while his replacement, Sheldon Mopes, A.K.A. Smoochy the Rhino, finds himself a rising star. Unfortunately for Sheldon, the business of kids' television isn't all child's play. Fired in disgrace, kids show host Randolph Smiley finds himself out on the street, while his replacement Sheldon Mopes, finds himself on the fast track to success with a new hit show as the proud purple rhino Smoochy. But things take a turn for the worst when Sheldon finds out that some of the people that he works with, and some he doesn't know he's working for, are all in it for the money. Meanwhile, Randolph is slowly turning insane with his only thoughts focusing on killing Smoochy and getting back to his life of luxury. —MonkeyKingMA In the cutthroat world of children's television, Rainbow Randolph, the corrupt, costumed star of a popular children's TV show, is fired over a bribery scandal and replaced by squeaky-clean Smoochy, a puffy fuscia rhinoceros. As Smoochy catapults to fame - scoring hit ratings and the affections of a jaded network executive Randolph makes the unsuspecting rhino the target of his numerous outrageous attempts to exact revenge and reclaim his status as America's sweetheart. —Sujit R. Varma

Claire Goldstein is a gifted pianist, but the same week that none of her friends pass a major competition, including her boyfriend Jeremy, he dumps her. An earthquake in San Francisco damages her apartment, so she must cross town to live with her parents. Her sister is about to get married; her mom is into the occult; her dad is withdrawing and losing his job. Claire obsesses about Jeremy, despite her girlfriends' advising her how to interest other men ("look mysterious, like Mona Lisa") and taking her to parties. Her sweet teacher, Bennett, gets her auditions, but she blows them off. Then, she meets Eddie. Is he the key to her rejoining the human race?

A barbarian warrior becomes a king and battles with a resurrected evil sorceress to keep his newly inherited kingdom. A barbarian named Kull unexpectedly becomes a king after an old king (whom Kull has just killed in a battle) gives his crown to him. But direct heirs of a killed king, trying to topple Kull and regain the throne, bring an old witch-queen Akivasha back to life. Their plan backfires, however, as Akivasha is going to allow their lords - demons - to rule the kingdom. The only thing that can stop her now is a breath of the god Volka. —Boris Shafir <shafir@hsi.com> In the kingdom of Valusia, Kull is a barbarian who heirs the crown of the kingdom from the previous king. But General Talibaro and Prince Ducalon want to be king and accept the offer of wizard Enaros for resurrecting evil Akivasha to defeat Kull, not realizing the consequences of their deal. —Chockys Kull of Atlantis is a former slave and retired pirate who volunteers to join the elite Dragon Legion of the "civilized" kingdom of Valusia. Despite nearly matching General Taligaro in a sword-fight, Kull is refused entry into the Legion. The Valusians see him as a mere "barbarian", and dislike him because of his lack of noble blood. Shortly after, the paranoid King Borna personally slays most of his potential heirs. Kull tries to stop the bloodshed, and ends up in a battle-to-the death with Borna. The mortally wounded Borna decides to bypass the surviving members of the royal family (who he dislikes), and to appoint Kull as his heir. Kull soon learns that being a king means having people constantly scheming against you. A necromancer manages to resurrect the long-dead sorceress-queen Akivasha of Acheron, in order to use her against Kull. Unfortunately for the necromancer and his allies, Akivasha is using her considerable powers in an attempt to rebuild the destroyed empire of Acheron. She has no intention of serving their cause. —Dimos I

A documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film. A comprehensive documentary of the history of gays and lesbians in cinema, from negative to positive reflections of gay characters and the troubles of actors and actresses. —R. John Berggren <jberg@nina.pagesz.net> The history of the portrayals of homosexuals in the movies, especially mainstream ones widely distributed in the United States, is presented, this topic important as movies were and are how audiences, the general public, heterosexual or homosexual, often learned about societal mores and norms. It has only been quite recent that homosexual characters could be the stars, they more often on the fringes. While such portrayals were more open in the early stages of movie making, they became more coded - the terms gay or lesbian never used - starting in what is considered the Golden Age of Hollywood, especially with the onset of the Hays Code and the Legion of Decency in the 1930s. In filling gender stereotypes, the gay male was the harmless effeminate - a source of humor - in making straight men more masculine and straight women more feminine, while lesbians, in their masculinity, were more sinister characters. As the restrictions through the Code and by the Legion became more relaxed, homosexual characters, now more openly so, became the unhappy, self-loathing, tragic figure that needed to meet a gruesome end, except when the homosexual nature was done in subtext. The character of the homosexual victim, a decade or so later, became the character of the societal menace. The more diverse characterizations over the past 10 to 15 years are discussed, as is the acceptance of general audiences to see two women being affectionate with each other compared to two men. —Huggo

A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor. 2 Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by recently resigned Supervisor Dan White on Monday, November 27, 1978, approximately 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.. Milk's life leading up to his election, his successful efforts to politically represent San Francisco's gay community, and the city's reaction to the assassinations are documented with extensive news film and personal recollections. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> Monday morning, November 27th, 1978, approximately 8:45 AM to 9:15 AM, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Board of Supervisors Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by Milk's former fellow Supervisor Dan White. Underlying the assassinations were White's social conservatism, Milk's open homosexuality (Milk being the first openly gay elected official in the United States), and Moscone's support of Milk. Friends and supporters (some of whom were homophobic before meeting Milk) speak of Milk's life as a social crusader in the Castro District, a want-to-be politician, and his astuteness as an elected official in the position of what most would consider a political outsider. Although Milk fought for gay rights, he also worked toward general human rights. His biggest political battle was fighting against Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Proposition, which would have restricted the rights of openly gay teachers in California. This fight seemed to be a losing battle in an era when gay rights were being repealed across the U.S. A more complete story of White, the reasons for the assassinations, and the public response to the verdict in his murder trial also are presented. —Huggo