Movies Houston gay and lesbian film festival Houston’s got a wedding, Divine, Russell Crowe, & more!

These are only a few of the many films being screened throughout June at Angelika Film Center, Aurora Picture Show, DiverseWorks, Landmark’s Greenway Theatre, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and Rice Cinema. For more info, visit www.hglff.org, call 713/524-3818, or see the guide inserted in the May issue of OutSmart magazine.

• MYRA BRECKINRIDGE Rex Reed is Myron Breckinridge, a disgruntled film buff who decides to have a sex change, emerges as Raquel Welch, changes his name to Myra, moves to L.A., and terrorizes the awful acting students at an equally awful acting school owned by his egomaniacal uncle, Buck Loner (John Huston). In the pursuit of liberating the students (and the film industry!) from the grips of middle-class American values, Myra/Myron seduces a young Farrah Fawcett and her bozo boyfriend Rusty in a scene that should have garnered Welch at the very least an Oscar nomination! And don’t forget Mae West as Leticia (LeTITia) Van Allen, L.A.’s finest casting agent with a casting couch old enough to have seen the likes of a very young Tom Selleck! This 1970 film was directed by Michael Sarne, who will be in attendance at the screening. 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 15, @ Rice Cinema, Rice Univ. Campus, entrance #8, 713/348-4853.

• THE SUM OF US Oscar-winning heartthrob Russell Crowe stars in this delightful 1994 Australian comedy about a young gay man living with his widowed father (Jack Thompson), who tries to understand the dating game–with his father’s help. The Sum of Us won Australia’s Film Institute Award for best adapted screenplay and was nominated for best film. Directed by Kevin Dowling and Geoff Burton. June 14—20 @ Angelika Film Center, 500 Texas Ave., 713/225-5232.

• THE MONKEY’S MASK Based on Dorothy Parker’s verse novel, this erotically charged murder mystery stars Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis. Private investigator Jill Kirkpatrick (Porter) accepts a job exploring the disappearance of Mickey, a young female student and aspiring poet. Soon Jill meets the alluring Diana (McGillis), Mickey’s sexually aggressive poetry teacher. Together they embark on a search for clues. Distracted by her attention to Diana, Jill’s investigation is compromised. June 14—20 @ Angelika Film Center, 500 Texas Ave., 713/225-5232.

• FEMALE TROUBLE Restored Print! "Nice girls don’t wear cha-cha heels!" Need we say more? Divine leads a delightfully debauched life, stopping at nothing to live out her philosophy, "Crime is beauty." Director John Waters’ regulars David Lochary, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey, and Mink Stole also star in this 1975 classic, shot on a shoestring budget of $25,000. June 16 and 19—23 @ Rice Cinema, Rice Univ. Campus, entrance #8, 713/348-4853. No one under 17 will be admitted. • The Houston Lesbian & Gay Community Center is co-sponsoring the June 16 screening of Female Trouble. Prior to this screening only, the center will host a Divine Look-Alike Contest. A panel of judges will award prizes to the most divine Divine.

• THE WEDDING VIDEO Norm Korpi, real-life celebrity of MTV’s The Real World, co-directs and stars in this spoof of the genre that made him famous. Norm is getting married, and this ain’t no normal wedding. Norm’s mother refuses to attend, instead sending him a $10,000 write-off check, his soon-to-be-spouse Sky (conveniently rhymes with guy) is packing a secret, and Norm’s back-stabbing friends travel from far and wide to witness the spectacle unfold. Caught in the middle is the hired videographer (co-director Clint Cowen), who captures every juicy moment of scandal. Directors Cowen and Korpi and select cast members will attend this screening. A mini-interview with the directors follows. 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 14, @ Rice Cinema, Rice Univ. Campus, entrance #8, 713/348-4853.

• THE WEDDING VIDEO’S GAY GUYS

Clint Cowen and Norm Korpi are co-directors of The Wedding Video. Korpi is a former inhabitant of MTV’s The Real World and is the star of the film; Cowen is the videographer.

by Blase DiStefano

OutSmart: When and where were you born?

Clint Cowen: Tulsa, Oklahoma … in the early morning.

Norm Korpi: I was born during the summer of love in a little hamlet called Wakefield, Michigan.

OS: When did you realize you were gay?

Cowen: At a sleepover with a really dirty boy in my neighborhood … he was hot. We shared a bed that he usually slept in with his brother. I woke up in the middle of the night and he was spooning me.

Korpi: When I was fingering a Sports Illustrated magazine, I came across some randy photos of the L.A. Dodgers after a game in the locker room being interviewed in their jockstraps. Total boneage.

OS: Was it easy/difficult to deal with?

Cowen: Well, at the time I didn't deal with it at all; I didn't come out till I was 24. It wasn't hard once I made my decision.

Korpi: I came to terms with my sexuality shortly after college when I had a secure group of friends that I called my family. My natural family followed my lead once they knew I was happy and this was something that was true to me.

OS: How did you meet Norm/Clint?

Cowen: I met Norm in L.A. at a mutual friend's house watching movies on one of the only rainy days.

Korpi: I met Clint during a round of Joan Crawford films on a Saturday afternoon.

OS: I read that you two are partners. Is that business and/or otherwise?

Cowen: Business.

Korpi: You couldn't ask for a better friend than Clint, but he knows I am a whore, and things would never work between us because we are both tops. We keep things clean, wolf-pack like.

OS: How in the hell did you get this entire group together? It must have taken ages.

Cowen: Actually, Norm made that part really easy. He got to know everybody from the MTV reunions and such. Everybody was really gung-ho to work on the project. We're all friends in real life, so it was just like messin’ around.

Korpi: Well, our favorite word is "free." And I just rang the dinner bell and the kids came a-running. Really, these people did this out of love for me. They believed in me. And thank you for recognizing their talents and wacky little film.

OS: You’re welcome. If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could have only one celebrity or famous person with you–not a friend. lover, or family member–who would it be?

Cowen: That one's easy … Richard Hatch.

Korpi: The ROCK.

Cowen and Korpi will attend the June 14 screening of The Wedding Video at Rice Cinema. For more info, call 713/348-4853 or visit www.ruf.rice.edu/~cinema.