Trans in Film & Video 4/3/23
Jason Donovan stars as Frank “N” Furter.
The Rocky Horror Show, the stage production, celebrated its 50th anniversary on March 30 in Sydney, Australia. We include the event in the film and television column because the 50th anniversary performance was live streamed from the Theatre Royal Sydney to movie houses across Australia. The show premiered in England at the Royal Court Theatre on June 19, 1973. The film version, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, was released in the U.K. on August 14, 1975 and in the U.S. on September 26, 1975. Bravo Rocky Horror! For more information on the Australian production visit Playbill.
Julia Scotti
Transgender comic Julia Scotti is the subject of a documentary film titled Julia Scotti: Funny That Way. Scotti was getting laughs on the comedy circuit in the ‘80s as a male stand up. She says in the documentary that she always felt that something was wrong and it wasn’t until talking with a friend after a bad date that her friend told her things weren’t working out for her as a man because she was actually a woman. That started Scotti on the road to transition and she returned to comedy in a big way with a win on America’s Got Talent in 2015.
Trans Day of Visibility was celebrated by the Sundance Institute with a list of nine of the best films by transgender filmmakers. Check out the list on the Institute’s website.
Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen (2020)
Chella Man is a trans masculine actor, director, model, and social media influencer who has produced a short film titled The Device That Turned Me Into a Cyborg Was Born the Same Year I Was. The device was a cochlear implant that Chella Man received after being diagnosed as profoundly deaf at the age of 13. Around the age of 19 he began his gender transition. The film showcases his experience as a deaf, transgender, Chinese-American man. Chella Man is best known for playing Jericho on DC’s Titans. Learn more about him and the film from Pride.
Lucy Clark is England’s first out transgender soccer official. When she started her transition she expected that she would have to give up refereeing football but to her surprise she was accepted as a woman ref. She is featured in a documentary film that looks at ten different match officials as they navigate what it takes to run matches in grassroots football. Learn more about the film, The Middle, on the Outsports website.
Norman Lear, Laverne Cox, George Wallace.
Laverne Cox stars in a new Amazon comedy series now in production. It’s called Clean Slate and also stars comedian George Wallace. It is produced by Norman Lear and tells the story of a father in Alabama who is thrilled to learn that his estranged child is coming back home after being away for 17 years. What he doesn’t know is the child is a transgender woman, not the son he knew. The show is based on Laverne Cox’s real life story. Learn more from GPB News.
The Trevor Project has a YouTube series called Sharing Space that debuted on March 31. The debut episode of the series features trans ally Daniel Radcliffe talking with six trans or nonbinary young people about their lives and experiences. Learn more from UPI.
Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment
About the Author (Author Profile)
Angela Gardner is a founding member of The Renaissance Transgender Assoc., Inc., former editor of its newsletter and magazine, Transgender Community News. She was the Diva of Dish for TGF in the late 1990s and Editor of LadyLike magazine until its untimely demise. She has appeared in film and television shows portraying TG characters, as well as representing Renaissance on numerous talk shows.Subscribe
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