Jenny Stewart: Bio, Interviews, Articles, Etc.

The Susan Sarandon Interview

 Ask 10 people what word comes to mind when they think of Susan Sarandon, and you'll get 10 different answers: fearless, political, talented, formidable, nurturing, smart, down-to-earth. Sexy? Always. It's her contradictions that make her such a powerful presence on screen.

She's played the ingénue opposite sweet transvestites in the cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." She's been the object of Catherine Deneuve's lesbian lust in the '80s vampire flick "The Hunger." She was the no-nonsense half of a duo of women road warriors in "Thelma and Louise." She's even been a nun, though a tough and tenacious one, in "Dead Man Walking."

In her latest film, HBO's "Bernard and Doris," she's plays Doris Duke, the late megamillionaire philanthropist who forms an unlikely relationship with her gay butler, Bernard Lafferty, played by Ralph Fiennes. Gay fans are going to love Sarandon in this role: She's glam and gritty, and she may just nab an Emmy along the way. But it's her work off screen that elevates her to saint status in the LGBT world. A longtime advocate for gay marriage and other LGBT issues, Sarandon brings the same dedication to her personal causes as she does to her movie roles.

Given all that, where does one begin an interview? I only had 15 minutes -- and with "Bernard and Doris" coming up, Sarandon was obviously focused on her new film. But the ever-gracious actress granted me just enough extra time to squeeze in questions about "The Hunger," seeing "Rocky Horror" with her kids, her sexual relationships with gay men in the 70's and 80's and even a quick round of "Who would you rather sleep with?"

In-Depth with Susanna Hoffs

By Jenny Stewart, PlanetOut Director of Content

When we discovered that Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs (“Manic Monday,” “Walk Like an Egyptian”) and alt-rock vocalist Matthew Sweet were banding together for now the second of two covers albums we weren't too surprised. 

Longtime friends and collaborators, Hoffs and Sweet have guested on each other's albums and shows for years, and you might even remember their work with Mike Myers as part of Austin Powers’ on-screen band Ming Tea in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember."

Taking the name Sid 'n Susie (Sweet's first name is Sidney), they've already released '60s covers album "Under the Covers Vol. 1" (2006) and now return with an homage to the 70's with "Under the Covers Vol. 2," where they reimagine 16 power-pop, glam, classic rock and prog-rock tracks from a sultry rendition of Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning," to Hoff's gender-switching leads on Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” Tom Petty's "Here Comes My Girl" and the Raspberries "Go All the Way."

Their beautiful music-making has already garnered much notice in the entertainment world, mostly by good word of mouth.  After playing some tracks recently on his Sirius Satellite radio show, Howard Stern gave the record more than just a vote of approval -- he almost raved.

I recently chatted with Hoffs (who by the way looks amazing at age 50) about the covers albums, her dream duet with Out artist Michael Stipe, and "some of the craziest nights of [her] life" with Belinda Carlisle.

Howard Stern Pro-Gay? Yes...

He hired openly gay actor George Takei. He gave a rave on-air review to "Brokeback Mountain" a while back. He's an "L Word" fan and he's vehemently not a fan of anti-gay athlete Tim Hardaway. The most shocking thing about shock jock Howard Stern: He's not who you think he is.

Most people in the gay community -- at least those not familiar with Stern, and few have bothered to familiarize themselves -- believe him to be a loudmouth and a homophobe, a nothing-is-sacred Don Imus type who does nothing but make faggot jokes and exploits lesbians on air by reducing them to sexual objects.

But as a lesbian who's been listening to Howard daily for more than 20 years, I can say that this is so not true: Just take a look beneath his shtick, and you'll find one of the most pro-gay media personalities in the country. And his show on Sirius Satellite radio is better than it's ever been...

 

 

Marcia Brady's Gay Interview

Here’s the story:  A year after “The Brady Bunch” went off the air, Maureen ("Marcia") McCormick went to a Laurel Canyon party with her boyfriend, where she encountered, for the first time, cocaine.  She tried it. Nothing happened. She did a second line. Nothing happened. When she snorted the third line, she felt so euphoric and "sane" that she became hopelessly addicted for the next six years.

And I mean hopelessly: McCormick became known as "Hoover" in certain circles -- and one night, she was so desperate for cocaine she let a man film her having sex. (Don't worry, we'll definitely get to that part later.)

It’s no wonder she spent six years lost in the snow: When she was young, her father walked into her bedroom one night and told her matter-of-factly that both of her maternal grandparents had died -- in mental institutions -- of syphilis. He also told her that her mother was born with syphilis. From that moment, she more or less walked around feeling like she could go crazy at any moment.

Fast forward to 2008. McCormick kicked her addiction years ago -- and now, she's ready to talk about it -- all of it. In her autobiography, "Here's the Story," the actress chronicles the drug years, discusses Robert Reed's hidden homosexuality, reveals the "Brady" set romances, and much, much more.

Trust me -- this is not the annoying kind of "tell all" autobiography you finish and think, "Huh – so that was it?" She reveals it all...

Talking with Maureen McCormick is definitely a surreal experience. She may be 53, but McCormick still sounds exactly the way Marcia did at 17. I'm not just talking about her physical voice -- McCormick still talks just like Marcia. She answers questions with the breathy enthusiasm of a California teenager, and words like "Totally!" "Wow!" and "Oh, my God!" pop up frequently.  [Note: When I asked her about same-sex marriage, her answer was, "I totally support it. Totally!  I think it's great and I definitely support it."].

And there's something oddly comforting about hearing her pronounce the word "cool" -- even now -- as "kew-ell."

I recently chatted with McCormick about the book, Ellen and Rosie -- and she even played a great game of "Who Would You Rather Sleep With?" that's not to be missed...

The Cloris Leachman Interview

While young celebrities are often eager to spill their dirty laundry in sordid bios, actors of Cloris Leachman's generation have tended to stuff their secrets in locked and closely-guarded hampers that'll travel well with them into eternity.   But in her new book, "Cloris: My Autobiography," Leachman reveals so much that you almost have to read it twice to let all the juicy stuff sink in. 

What makes Leachman's book even more interesting is that she reveals things that have never even been rumored, much less written about.  (Side note:  Leachman wrote the book with Hollywood impresario George Englund, her on-again/off- again husband of many years.  The couple had five children together, one of whom passed away in the 1980's.  Though now unmarried, the two remain extremely close.)

In "Cloris," Leachman outlines the evolution of her life from a simple, wide-eyed Midwestern girl to that of one of the most acclaimed, versatile and cherished actresses of her generation.  She includes as much detailed introspection on her personal life – regardless of whether the memories are good or bad.  In one especially painful excerpt, Leachman recounts one particularly painful night where her father beats her for no apparent reason.  It took place in the family bathroom when she was 17, naked and just about to bathe.

Then there are the Hollywood years. For instance, she describes a one night stand with Gene Hackman in 1970's San Francisco -- so animalistic that they practically tore each other apart. 

The Kim Deal Interview

Interview by Jenny Stewart, Editorial Director, PlanetOut Inc.

Back in the 1980's Kim Deal was the quintessential cool alt-rock chick. She was a female bassist in one of the best, smartest bands around -- the Pixies -- but she always seemed accessible.  You could imagine sitting around with her in a bar drinking pitchers of beer, being goofy, singing along to the bad songs that came up on the jukebox.

After the Pixies disbanded, Deal became a real star in her own right in the early 90's when she launched her own band, The Breeders. Seeing The Breeders play live at the height of their popularity in the mid 90's was a transcendent experience. 

From a musical perspective, the band's talent was undeniable, but they also had an ace up their sleeve that no other band had -- Deal's identical twin sister, Kelley, was also in the band. There's always a strange fascination in general when it comes to twins, but seeing hot identical twin sisters play rock and roll right next to each other?  That's something you don't see everyday.

Breeders shows became legendary for many things, but most of the fun was watching the onstage bickering, teasing and general fun between the two sisters.  "Oh look everyone!  Kelly's tuning her guitar, isn’t that cute?"

Besides her musical talent, Deal also possessed another admirable quality.  Unlike most rockers, she's always copped to her addictions and has always spoken openly about her many vices during broadcast and print interviews.  Which made it all the more surprising when we learned that hard drinking, hard rocking, hard toking Kim Deal had gotten completely clean and sober?

First, you think, "Oh that won't last," but that was 2003, and five years later, Kim Deal is not just clean and sober, she even just gave up smoking. 

When fans learn their favorite rock stars have gotten sober, the usual reaction is, "Uh-oh, party over.  The music's going to suck and they're going to be boring."  It does happen to some artists, but it certainly hasn’t happened to Deal.  The Breeders latest CD, "Mountain Battles" was released to rave reviews, and the band has been successfully touring the US and abroad for the past six months to sold out venues.  The band rocks harder than ever, and the Deal twins still have that onstage flair.  There's certainly nothing "soberly dull" this time out.

Still, despite all that, I have to admit that right before I interviewed Deal, I was nervous that I'd be bummed out afterwards.  What if the hyper rock chick who used to talk-a-million-miles-a-minute-about-anything-that-popped-into-her-head-and-it-was-always-hilarious-and-entertaining was now…slow-talking and boring?  Would this interview ruin all of my memories of Kim Deal forever?

 

Linda Ronstadt's Gay Mission

By Jenny Stewart, PlanetOut

You’ve had the fantasyas a teen: You’re in a room with your favorite rock star -- someone whose every hit you know by heart, whose voice made you close your bedroom door and turn the music up as you hold a hairbrush up to your mouth as a microphone and sing along with them. In the dream they’ll share their most intimate thoughts with you.
 
For me, that singer was Linda Ronstadt, who cut me to the quick with her heartbreaking “Different Drum,” roused me with her sexy, soulful “You’re No Good,” and, at 14, made me dread the heartbreak I had yet to experience with “Blue Bayou.”
 
This isn’t a dream, though it’s utterly surreal – 25 years later, Ronstadt and I are actually sitting in beach chairs in the otherwise empty master bedroom of her newly-purchased, still-unfurnished San Francisco home. We’re surrounded only by her freshly painted swatch samples on the walls, as the rest of the house is being renovated. 

Although I’m there to chat with her about her position as Artistic Director of the upcoming San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival, along the way we discuss her status as a rock goddess and Latin American icon, her YouTube obsessions, and her commitment to equality for gays and lesbians. 
 
As I discovered, over the course of our interview, unlike many big-time straight celebrities whose support for the gays seems insincere, Ronstadt’s commitment to our community is no mere lip service. In fact, the legendary singer may be doing more for gay rights than anyone in Hollywood – and nobody knows it.

Catching Up With Kim Deal: 2009

If musicians were only as dynamic in Q&A's as they are on record, then music interviews would remain as unforgettable as classic albums.  But those are few and far between.

During one recent interview with a world-renowned pop star, I asked a simple question:  "What part of the creative process do you enjoy most when making a new album?"  Granted, the question was a bit cliche, but hardcore music fans tend to be interested in those kinds of things. After three minutes of silence, I thought we'd been disconnected.   

"Are you still there?" I asked. 

"Yes," she responded.

Another minute went by before she finally added, "I think it's nice that [name of record label] took a chance with this album. It’s like, nice that they did."

Two weeks later I met with a bona fide female rock legend for an interview.  But after a series of uncomfortable pauses and countless one word answers, I just gave up.  I've never published the piece, and I've never been able to bring myself to listen to the playback. That's how disastrous it was.  Sadly, I can barely listen to her music anymore without having flashbacks of the silence.