Aids Fonds ‘Campagne 2016 Carlton Wilborn’ video from ‘Strike A Pose’
campagne 2016 Carlton from Aids Fonds on Vimeo.
The Gay Men Who Carried Madonna, 25 Years Later
In the 1991 movie Madonna: Truth or Dare, the titular superstar plays the role of her lifetime: herself. Filmed during her 1990 Blond Ambition tour when the then-31-year-old pop star was at her commercial peak, the Alek Keshishian-directed concert film/backstage documentary finds Madonna reveling in the cult of her personality. “She doesn’t want to live off-camera, much less talk,” her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty remarks in one scene, delivering a perfect capsule review. Seemingly baring all, at least in terms of her personality’s facets, she is unafraid to come off as a demanding asshole, just as often as she promotes the idea that she’s the nurturing mother in the “family” of employees that support her.
My worship of Madonna was why, at age 12, I bought a ticket to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and attempted to sneak into the theater playing Truth or Dare. Management found me and forced me to sit through Kevin Costner’s other bland performance of 1991 (he briefly appears in Truth or Dare to declare the Blond Ambition Tour “neat”). Madonna’s the hook that got me into the movie, but when I finally saw the movie after it came out on video, the depiction of her dancers left a richer impression on my young mind. Truth or Dare was my first exposure to a group of openly gay men merely existing. They hang out backstage, they bond, they gossip, they laugh, and at one point, during a climactic game of “truth or dare,” two of them make out on a dare.
Now when those same guys play “truth or dare,” they almost always choose truth. Or at least, that’s how it goes during the climax of Strike a Pose, a documentary currently playing the Tribeca Film Festival that turns cameras back on the surviving members of the troupe over 25 years after Madonna and Keshishian did.
Strike a Pose is far less a daring documentary than Truth or Dare was, thanks in part to social progress: It’s easier, in 2016, to access stories of gay men (as five out of six of them are) than it was in 1991. Gay identity alone rarely has the power to shock the masses that it once did. So whereas Madonna was “pushing buttons,” as dancer Kevin Stea puts it, with matter-of-fact depictions of gay men in the early ‘90s, European filmmakers Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan are providing a platform in their affirming Strike a Pose. Separately, the men and the mother of Gabriel Trupin (who died of AIDS in 1995), discuss their lives after Madonna, including their continued commitment to dance as well as hardships they’ve faced like addiction, homelessness, and HIV.
Gould and Zwaan’s pledged gentler approach helped sway initially resistant members of the troupe, like Luis Camacho, to get back in front of the camera. That said, it’s somewhat surprising to see Stea and Oliver Crumes (the lone straight guy) show up. They along with Trupin, sued Madonna in 1992 for invasion of privacy, among things, and eventually settled out of court. Trupin specifically accused charged Madonna in the suit with “exposing his sexual orientation,” before he was openly gay. Assured by Gould and Zwaan’s “humanist” angle, Stea said he had no such concerns this time around. He points his lawsuit boiled down to a contractual dispute. He was, after all, hired as a dancer first, not a documentary subject.
To read the full article visit Gawker.com
Making of Who’s That Girl (French electronic presskit) Video
We have just added this French electronic presskit to Who’s That Girl to our Who’s That Girl Filmography page.
Hilarious outtake video Madonna and Molly Meldrum in 1985
Unfortunately we cannot embed this hilarious video, so we’ll have to share it like this. We all know Madonna and Molly Meldrum have great chemistry and it just goes to show in this rare video with outtakes during an interview in 1985.
Madonna is trying to perfection her ‘Merry Christmas’ wish, but not all goes to plan. Check it out HERE
Madonna hits the town with son Rocco days after he was pictured drinking and smoking under a bridge
©Fame Flynet
MADONNA’s son Rocco has swapped boozing under a bridge for partying at celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse with his famous mother.
The 15 year old was pictured leaving the fancy venue with the pop veteran last night.
The pair’s outing comes just days after Rocco was spotted smoking and swigging from cider bottles under a bridge in Central London.
Madonna, 57, recently jetted to London in a bid to make amends with her son after months of estrangement.
Reports suggest she threw a party for the teenager at her London home on Thursday night and invited all his friends.
Now she appears to have stepped up her efforts to win over Rocco by taking him to the most exclusive celeb hang-out in town.
Read and see more at The Sun
New in our Filmography: Madonna as Mae in A League Of Their Own (press, memorabilia, videos and more)
Back in 1992 ‘A League Of Their Own’ hit movie theaters, starring none other than Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell and yes…Madonna! The movie about an all women baseball team was a huge success and yes even Madonna was praised for her part as ‘All the way Mae’.
A League Of Their Own has now been added to our Filmography!
We have gathered the following for you to enjoy from our own collection:
- Facts
- Press – tons of scanned articles from newspapers and magazines
- Memorabilia – used props, display, VHS and DVD covers and more
- Trailer
- Making Of Special
- The Video to This Used To Be My Playgound
- Buy the movie
Direct link HERE
Record Store Day 2016 report – Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits EP
Many people queued up overnight to be one of the first to buy a copy of the incredibly gorgeous pink vinyl re-issue of Madonna’s Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits EP. While in the UK true die-hards started queuing from eight o’ clock the day before, here in Amsterdam it depended on the store you planned to visit. Some stores had a lot of visitors while at others there was no queue at all.
The Like A Virgin re-issue was very popular and sold out quickly, the one copy per person rule was completely ignored at most stores with a lot of fans walking away with more than one copy.
While doing some questioning around, we found out that Like A Virgin was one of the more popular items at Record Store Day, most had received 4-10 copies per shop. Record Palace in Amsterdam had only one copy left when the clock hit 09.30. Remember that only 750 copies of this record have been distributed to the Benelux!
For the serious collectors among us, there is a European (Made in EU) and USA edition (no ‘made in’ on the back and different barcode).
Happy Record Store Day!
Confessions Of A Celebrity Hairstylist
The following is an interview with Andy LeCompte, a celebrity hairstylist who has worked with Madonna, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Richie, and more celebrities, as told to Taylor Bryant.
On The Job
Starting out, I was mainly cutting and styling; now, I’m a jack-of-all-trades. My weeks are crazy! I jump from magazine shoots, to styling celebrities for music videos, to behind the chair at the salon. I was on tour with Madonna since July 2015 — I just returned this past month. Touring is the most stable part of my job because, normally, my life is a roller coaster.
I’ve met a lot of interesting and exciting creative people. Tina Turner’s life story inspired me. Madonna inspired me to believe in myself. I remember watching Truth or Dare before I met her. Her message helped me be fearless and go after my dreams, and know that I could achieve anything. So it’s not a surprise that I later became her hairstylist.
It’s All About Timing…
The craziest situations are when I have to book jobs back-to-back with no breathing room and little time to prep — something always seems to go wrong. One time, I was shooting a music video for Fergie in L.A. and had to go straight to the airport to go shoot V magazine for Madonna in New York. There was no room for error, but my flight was cancelled. As a repercussion, I had no time to prep for a Steven Klein production that required a ton of wig options. My hotel room turned into a hair studio, with myself and my assistants working all day and all night. No sleep and crazy hours.
To read the full thing, please visit Refinery29
Watch ‘Illuminati’ Rebel Heart Tour backdrop video snippet
To view a snippet of the official ‘Illuminati’ backdrop video used during the Rebel Heart Tour, visit Soderberg.tv
Reminder: Madonna ‘Like A Virgin’ pink vinyl EP for Record Store Day 2016
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow the limited edition of Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits (with only 750 copies made available for the Benelux) will go on sale for Record Store Day 2016.
Please be aware that according to the official rules, it is one copy per person and only available from the store’s opening times (09.00 or 10.00) please check this with your local record store!
Even though it is against the rules, some dealers have been selling the re-issue on pink vinyl today. Most stores will receive no more than five copies of the record! Please note that there is a European and an American version!
Good luck
Warren Beatty Is “Serious” About Making Dick Tracy 2
Warren Beatty spoke to attendees at CinemaCon this week to once again reiterate his desire to sequelize his big-budget, B-movie inspired, 1990 action/comedy film Dick Tracy.
In the 26 years since the undoubtedly unique, ultra-stylised and loony adaptation of the pulp comics classic first hit the screen, Beatty has teased an unlikely follow-up that looks more impossible with each passing year.
However, the screen legend, now 79 and semi-retired, won a lengthy lawsuit a few years ago to reclaim the film rights to the brightly coloured, square-jawed private detective and seems keen to have made the fight worthwhile with his unwavering desire for a follow-up.
“I’m serious about it, but I am slow about these things.”
The original movie starred an electric cast that included notable names such as Al Pacino, Madonna, Dustin Hoffman and Dick Van Dyke. Critics couldn’t make up their mind on whether the movie worked or didn’t and the box office was equally as puzzling; despite being the 9th biggest film of 1990, it was still thought to have been a big disappointment for Disney who only saw $100 million from domestic ticket sales, which was about how much it cost to make, a hugely expensive film for the time.
Reportedly back then, Disney thought they had their own Batman on their hands but Beatty’s movie never caught the pop culture wave that Tim Burton and Michael Keaton did the year earlier.
It was a crazy film, perhaps the Sin City of its time in terms of its hyper stylistic direction and grotesque characters but its hard to see anyone getting excited about a sequel today.
The world clearly isn’t crying out for another Dick Tracy movie, at least not from Beatty who many thought was too old back in 1990 to portray the cult classic character and financing seems a long-shot but, at least right now, Beatty and New Regency’s Milchan production company seemed confident it will happen.
Here’s Beatty talking to famous film critic Leonard Maltin back in 2008 about his Dick Tracy movie, which, bizarrely, he decided to dress and portray in character for…
More at WhatCulture
Madonna’s Backup Dancers Speak: What She’s Really Like to Work With
With more than 30 years of experience in pop stardom, Madonna‘s earned a reputation as one of the hardest-working people in the biz – but what was she actually like to work for?
Madonna ca. 1991
MIRAMAX FILMS
PEOPLE caught up with the backup dancers from her legendary 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, who are the focus of the new documentary Strike a Pose (premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday), and they dished on collaborating with the queen of pop.
Keep up with your favorite celebs in the pages of PEOPLE Magazine by subscribing now.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘Was she bitchy?’ No!” says Oliver Crumes, who adds “there’s nobody who can touch’ Madonna’s work ethic. “She was a great person to work for … I guess they think she’s a diva, and ‘diva’ is a nicer word for ‘bitchy.'”
Clockwise from bottom: Jose Gutierez, Oliver Crumes, Luis Camacho, Kevin Stea, Donna De Lory, Carlton Welborn, Madonna, Gabriel Trupin and Salim Gauwloos.
GETTY
Most of her Truth or Dare-era dancers agree that her perfectionism and expectations motivated them to up their game.
“She was tough!” says Luis Camacho. “When she needed to beMadonna, she was. But we also knew that she had a lot at stake, and we never took any of that for granted or to heart because she had to get her job done. And we were about that as well: getting the job done for her and with her.”
Indeed, the icon served as a maternal figure for many in her troupe – and an inspiration.
“My life was given an unprecedented amount of freedom from the moment that I met her. That is not only in the space that she provided for me to be myself and to express myself creatively but also in her example,” says Kevin Stea. “I look at her as a really powerful example of willpower, strength and someone who can be incredibly outspoken in the face of a lot of criticism and No’s.”
In rehearsals then on the road during the oft-controversial show, her dancers maintained a sense of respect and even awe.
Says Salim Gauwloos: “Just being on stage with her, as a woman, she had so much power and was in control of everything. It was mostly men, and you see this woman captivate so many – and she doesn’t miss a thing on top of it. At the time, it was like: Don’t try to pull anything on her because she doesn’t miss a beat.”
Clock-wise from left: Salim Gauwloos, Oliver Crumes, Carlton Wilborn, Kevin Stea, Jose Gutierez, Luis Camacho
CTM DOCS / THE OTHER ROOM
Still, the performer and her gaggle of seven dancers developed a bond – and she was very present for them.
“When you hang out with her, when we were backstage, when we were on the road: She was single, she was childless, so she was very accessible to us, and we spent a lot of time together. She was just a cool, arty chick,” says Carlton Wilborn, who had more experience at the time in the industry than his fellow dancers. “We were definitely peers. Creatively, we were sharing out art.”
And while most of the Blond Ambition crew haven’t talked to Madonna in more than 10 years, they insist there’s no bad blood.
“She’s still doing it,” says Jose Gutierez. “She’s the queen – the queen of pop.”
More at People.com
‘ICONIC’ Rebel Heart Tour backdrop video snippets
Read moreLarge article on ‘Strike A Pose’ in Dutch newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’
There’s a large spread in Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant today on Strike A Pose, including an interview with Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan.
Click HERE to read the article (in Dutch)
New in our Filmography: Madonna in Shadows And Fog (press pictures, memorabilia, video & more)
Now that the Rebel Heart Tour has wrapped up we can finally focus on continuing the Filmography.
While we are busy working on other things relating to MadonnaUnderground which might explain the lack of news lately, we have the following addition for you to enjoy:
Madonna starred as Marie in Shadows and Fog, directed by Woody Allen..a film quite unknown to many. It was only a cameo for Madonna so didn’t have a lot of screen time. The movie met mixed reviews but was never considered a success.
We have compiled a Shadows & Fog page for you in our Filmography including:
- Facts
- Press Pictures (do not share please)
- Memorabilia
- Trailer
- Movie scene
- Buy the movie
Direct link HERE, ENJOY
MADONNA’S BLOND AMBITION DANCER JOSE: ‘PEOPLE STILL TELL ME THAT DOCUMENTARY SAVED THEIR LIVES’
It’s been 25 years since Madonna released her documentary film In Bed With Madonna, which profiled the star on and off stage during her legendary Blond Ambition Tour of 1990. The film also shone a spotlight on her troupe of mostly gay dancers, whose presence in her life and on her stage preached a powerful message of acceptance to her huge mainstream fan base.
Now, a quarter of a century later, their stories are being revisited through a new documentaryStrike A Pose, by film makers Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, and Attitude has taken the opportunity to catch up with five of them.
We’ve already caught up with Slam, Kevin, Carlton and Oliver, and in this fifth and final interview with Jose, he says people still contact him to praise the original film, and that he’s currently working on the eagerly-anticipated Baz Luhrman Netflix series…
You were one of the youngest dancers on the Blonde Ambition Tour weren’t you?
I was 18, and I celebrated my 19th birthday on tour. Imagine that, right? I felt like it was not only the opportunity of a lifetime that was given to a lot of us, but it was such a huge job to be so young. Dancers work for all of their lives, and it takes years to try and achieve enough credibility to be even considered for a job like that.
You are one of the most prominent faces in the ‘Vogue’ video, and you already knew the dance style at that point?
Yes, yes. It was very big in the ballroom and underground club scene here in New York, in the Harlem balls, you know? Because of the fact that I was trained professionally – I studied ballet and stuff like that – I was able to incorporate, and make it really more of a form of dance. It wasn’t originally as creative as it has evolved to be throughout the years. I did a lot of the dancing for the ‘Vogue’ video, and the choreography. I also brought it to the ‘Like A Virgin’ number on the tour.
That was the famously raunchy moment where you were wearing a big gold bra, and she was masturbating.
Yeah, it was! We were like, censored, and we were gonna get arrested. I remember. But everybody loved it, you know? Everybody is still like, “That’s one of the best scenes on the tour!” So, you know, I’m very proud of wearing those cones!
‘Vogue’ is so iconic. How does it feel to still see it after all these years?
Yeah, it’s so great even still, because its timeless, you know? David Fincher shot it and he’s amazing. All of the stars aligned, and we put out some great visual movement, and the wardrobe, the costumes, everything just gelled you know? That’s all what makes the video so timeless.
As well as ‘Vogue’, you were the gimp in the ‘Justify my Love’ video too.
Yes, I continued to work with her after the Blond Ambition Tour. It was great. We also released a couple of club tracks, and stuff like that.
In a way, that was just the start of your career. What have you been doing since then?
I’ve done so much! I’ve continued to teach. I’ve been teaching at The Door, which is an organisation funded by the board of education for minorities – urban minorities, and gay youth. It is so they can go somewhere to practice art and dance. I’ve also just finished working with Baz Luhrman on a Netflix project (The Get Down) that’s coming out soon, as an assistant choreographer, and I’m also in it so it’s been really good.
How does it feel when you consider the lasting impression of the Blond Ambition Tour, and the documentary In Bed With Madonna?
I can’t believe that after so many years, people are still like, “You saved my life – watching that movie and seeing you” and you forget that! Because you don’t set out to touch people that way, and here were are 25 years later and people are still moved by it, words can’t express like really. I was crying through out the whole premiere! It just felt so good to be appreciated like that still.
As you say, a lot of people took inspiration from seeing you guys on screen, just living your lives as gay men. Did you know at the time that Madonna was putting you on screen for that purpose?
No and I think she was also very unaware. We didn’t set out to show us at a gay pride parade, or kissing, it was all just free, like whatever happens happens. I don’t think she set out to really move everyone the way everyone was moved. It wasn’t part of the plan.
When you guys all get together again, after all these years, is there a strong sense of camaraderie?
Yeah, it’s crazy because it’s like we never left. It’s like brothers when they grow up, you know? You grow attached because you’re young and learning about relationships and friendships and stuff like that, and I think that it was like we were going through our puberty together or whatever.
What have you thought of Madonnas career in the years since then?
I think she’s still being creative of course. From a dancer’s point of view, I went to a couple of shows since the Blond Ambition Tour, but I think that her latest stuff got repetitive, you know? A little bit. As far as having 30 something dancers, and trapeze artists and big LCD screens. When we did it it was just 7 of us, and 2 singers, and that was it, and so everything else was creativity from within. It was more theatre, I think, and the dancers had more importance in the actual show. And I guess that’s why we’re still remembered.
Strike A Pose receives its US premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 15. For more information visit tribecafilm.com.
More at Attitude
