Trans in Film and Video 7/24/23

Romijn as Alexis on Ugly Betty.

When Rebecca Romijn was offered the part of a transgender woman on Ugly Betty in 2007 she jumped at the chance to play the character. 2007 was a different time. Romijn admits that if the show was being made today the part would go to a trans woman. In a recent interview she said she “really wanted to do that character justice” and “make her as hot as possible.” The character was Alexis Meade, the transgender sibling of the editor of the Mode fashion magazine. “Alex” faked “his” own death to return after gender confirmation surgery as the beautiful Alexis. Romijn hopes that the role did “open doors for the trans community.” She can be seen currently on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Aria Jara

Aria Jara is a transgender actress from Columbia. She worked as a model in Bogotá and made some connections to the television production community. But with no acting resume it was a tough task break in to the business. Her break came when she was given an audition for the Gabriela/Lady Massacre role in Prime Video’s dystopian film Los Iniciados. When she learned she got the part she said “I was in shock for several days after being told I had the role.” Learn more about her from Microsoft Start.

Amanaki Prescott-Faletau

Inky Pinky Ponky is a queer Polynesian love story written and starring transgender actress/writer Amanaki Prescott-Faletau. The story is set in New Zealand and is about the relationship between a transgender high schooler and the captain of the First XV rugby team. Prescott-Faletau grew up in New Zealand, but hails from Vava’u and Tongatapu in Tonga. She identifies as a fakaleiti — Tongan for transgender woman — and has had enough experience being treated badly by others who don’t understand why she and other trans people are the way they are. Read more about the film and the writer in the NZ Herald.

Evangelicals seem to among the most gullible citizens of the USA. And when they get gulled by   manipulative politicians they seem willing to believe anything—and get good and worked up about it. Even something as inoffensive as the new Barbie movie can set them off. One minister, Kent Christmas (what?), cursed the Barbie movie “in the “name of the Lord” and said it’s, “full of transsexual and transgender and homosexuality.” It does feature trans actress Hari Nef and there are some handsome young men on screen but “full of transsexual”? Chill out pastor Christmas.

Nawazuddin-Siddiqui as Hari.

An Indian film titled Haddi stars actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, a cisgender male, in a trans woman role. Hari is a small town boy who dreams of growing up to be a woman. The film follows Hari’s gender journey and also covers the history of India’s transgender citizens. While the star was portrayed by a cisgender male the background was full of actual transgender people—300 of them. The producers say the hunt for trans women was itself an adventure. The film is touted to be a landmark film in the representation of the queer community in Bollywood. In the course of the film Siddiqui wore 80 saris. Each one took 30 minutes to drape properly. He is reported to have said he has greater respect for actresses and what they go through. The film is now streaming on Indian TV.  Here is the official trailer.

Neil Patrick Harris and hubby David Burtka are executive producers and judges on a new drag TV show called Drag Me To Dinner. To promote the show to a wider audience the cast, a selection of the show’s standout drag queens, not to mention drag king Murray Hill and the producers, themselves appeared on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud. Steve Harvey was hosting when at one point in the show Willam Belli pulled a banana out of her wig and started eating it. For Harvey’s reaction check out the video of the segment.

This is a column about transgender people in movies and television shows but we’re betting that some of the eight music albums released by drag queens this year are going to inspire music videos. Check out their music on Spotify.

The cast for RuPaul’s Drag Race Philippines Season 2 has been revealed. Check them out on Yahoo.

The host of Drag Race Brazil has been announced and it’s one of the queens who just released an album: Grag Queen. She will guide the contestants who are seeking to win the crown and become Brazil’s next drag superstar. Get more info from Broadway World.

We’re not here on We’re Here.

The HBO drag makeover docuseries We’re Here is changing  for season 4. The hosts Shangela, Eureka and Bob the Drag Queen have sashayed away to be replaced by RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9 winner Sasha Velour, Season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall and Canada’s Drag Race Season 1 winner Priyanka. Why the shakeup? Read the article on AOL. It spills the tea.

Jeopardy! Champ Amy Schneider has written a book. Her memoir will drop this October. She isn’t going away to become a writer. Her Jeopardy! career isn’t over. She’ll be back in the first Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, which will draw the best contestants from past seasons as a qualifying tournament for the next Jeopardy! Masters tournament. Learn more from Cinemablend.

Tags: drag, featured, Transgender

Category: Media, Transgender Fun & Entertainment