Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBT-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend.
1) The Jeffrey Schwartz documentary I Am Divine, which follows the life of the bad taste drag icon famous for her roles in John Waters' films, has been released both digitally and on DVD. Following the film's many successes at a number of film festivals, I Am Divine is an important contribution to LGBT pop culture history and shouldn't be missed. You can purchase the DVD, as well as rent or purchase the digital version of the documentary, here.
2) The Tribeca Film Institute announced the grant recipients of its annual Sloan Filmmaker Fund, which supports movies that focus on science, math, and technology, and the highly anticipated upcoming film Imitation Game was named as one of them. Imitation Game is a biopic about the genius WWII code-cracking Alan Turing, who is widely considered the father of modern computer science. Turing was recently posthumously granted a Royal Pardon of Mercy, after having been convicted and chemically castrated for being gay in 1952. The Weinstein Company paid a record $7 million dollars for the European film starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley, which had previously topped the 2011 Black List of Hollywood best unproduced screenplays.
3) ABC's newly scheduled reality show Sing Your Face Off is set to begin airing in May and will be hosted by out actor and singer John Barrowman. Most recently known for his role in the BBC sci-fi thriller Torchwood, Barrowman will watch as celebrities are trained to perform as various musical icons with the hope of impressing judges Debbie Gibson and Darrell Hammond. You can look out for Sing Your Face Off on May 31 at 9pm on ABC.
4) Orphan Black, the BBC clone-war drama starring Tatiana Maslany, is returning for a second season on BBC America. The show has received a lot of support from the LGBT community for its positive and complex portrayal of LGBT characters, including Felix and Cosmia, (portrayed by Jordan Garvais and Tatiana Maslnay respectively), and is a 2014 GLAAD Media Award nominee for Outstanding Drama Series. You can catch the new season April 19 at 9pm on BBC America.
5) Hot in Cleveland, the rollicking comedy about the Los Angeles single ladies who settle down in Cleveland, will feature Glee's Chris Colfer in a guest appearance as Victoria Chase's son Tony. TV Land produces the show, which won a GLAAD Media Award in 2012 and has just entered its fifth season. Look out for Colfer sometime soon!
6) Speaking of Chris Colfer, the current season of Glee will be sadly reduced by a couple of episodes. The news comes following Cory Monteith's unexpected passing last summer, which caused a hiatus of the cast and crew. Fans of Glee still have five more episodes to look forward to, including the season finale set to air May 13 on Fox.
7) Princess Charming: Books for Awesome Princesses needs your help to produce a series of children's books at different reading comprehension levels and featuring a diverse set of princesses. With the goal of creating "princess stories with characters who are brave, capable," the project not only resists cultural constrictions around race and gender roles for women and girls, but recasts women and girls as the narrator of their own stories. Among them is Fayola, a clever princess who falls in love with a queen, and who also happens to be a transgender woman of color. Four different characters at three different reading levels are slated to be the longer-term products of the project. You can learn more about the project and make a donation here, and watch the video below!