NEWS: Cinevegas Awards Star Line-up!

I've had this info for weeks and was only told to keep it to myself through the first week of May, so I'm ready to put it out there since I haven't seen it reported anywhere else...

This year's Cinevegas Film Festival is going to be HUGE. They've had a few solid stars in the past, but this time the wattage is off the charts, befitting its host city. It's already well-known that the Vegas premiere of "Oceans 13" will kick off the 10-day event on June 6 with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Ellen Barkin all in tow. The producer of the film, Jerry Weintraub, will received the festival's Vanguard Producers Award and the opener will benefit Weintraub's Darfur charity.

But...now it can be told. Here are three other awards:

Vanguard Director: Mike Newell (Harry Potter IV, Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral). Also, they'll show a preview of his latest, "Love in the Time of Cholera."

Half-Life Award (bestowed on a successful actor at mid-career): Oscar winner Charlize Theron, who stars in the Oscar-bait Paul Haggis flick "In the Valley of Elah" due out this fall.

Marquee Award: Oscar winner Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Closing night is June 16, when they'll show the world premiere of "You Kill Me" starring Luke Wilson, Tea Leoni and Ben Kingsley. No telling which stars will attend, but odds are high it could be all of them.

Congrats to everyone involved. Cinevegas has come a long, long way from the days when they were reduced to play old films to round out the schedule. This year they've got 91 films on the lineup from indy foreign stuff to shorts from UNLV students.

Here's hoping they dispense with the sort of pretentious, anemic live interviews that Elvis Mitchell committed with Julian Schnabel a few years back after a screening of "Before Night Falls." God, that was awful. And I actually enjoy some of the podcasts of Mitchell's KCRW show "The Treatment." That sort of pretention just plays better on the radio when you can't SEE how full of the conversers are.

Speaking of podcasts, we had Dennis Hopper, chairman of Cinevegas, on "The Strip" last year. Hear that show here now or right-click here and listen to it whenever you want.

Jennifer Aniston: Gay Icon?!?

I like Jennifer Aniston. A lot. She was terrific in "Friends," she's made a list of lousy rom-coms more palatable and she's proceeded mostly with class and dignity in the face of her crumbled marriage.

But.

A gay icon? Worthy of being in the same breath with Liza Minnelli or Liz Taylor? Really?

She's getting the Vanguard Award next week from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) or, as friends of mine used to refer to them, Gays and Lesbians Addicted to Accuracy in Diversions. It's something they give to important straight allies of the GLBT cause.

Huh? The press releases sayeth:

"Jennifer Aniston is, without a doubt, one of the most charismatic, talented, and celebrated actresses in the world today. It is all the more refreshing then, that she hasn't shied away from roles that playfully or dramatically explore the boundaries of human sexuality and relationships. For ten seasons, Jennifer Aniston played Rachel Green on Friends, a show that included, from its very first season, a portrayal of a lesbian family. In addition to her role on Friends, Aniston starred in The Object of My Affection with Paul Rudd, again telling a story of an alternative family. With her gay-friendly roles in other projects, such as the film Rockstar, the FX drama Dirt, and a music video for Melissa Etheridge, Jennifer Aniston has proven herself a strong ally of the LGBT community."

Wow. Doesn't take much anymore, does it? Get cast as a no-name in a well-written TV show, appear in a Melissa Etheridge video and stunt-cast on your BFF's uneven dramedy and you too can be Queen For A Day of Queerville. Oh, and be available to come to our awards ceremony.
What's odder still about all this is that it's her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, who has done something truly revolutionary as straight celebs go:
He refuses to get married until gays can. A superstar male actor in the prime of his career forsaking locking in Angelina for life, or however long the straights think marriage ought to last these days. Now, given, Angelina is forcing his hand. So, then, give the Vanguard thingie to her. That is, if she's not too busy trick-or-treating for orphans.

That would be an interesting stance, Angie: Don't adopt from countries who refuse to allow gays and lesbians to adopt from there. But, seeing how that would eliminate Africa, most of Asia and Central America, that might unduly handicap you in your quest to outdo Mia Farrow, hmm?