Viva Sex's Mysterious Movie

When working with legendary Madonna impersonator, Viva Sex to add credits to her IMDb page, she told me about a film that she acted in and also did makeup for called, "High Heels on a Lady" that she most likely did in the early 1990's. Viva told me that the movie had Jessica Hahn and Julie Strain in it, but after a simple Google search yielded no answers on the movie, it's almost as if it doesn't even exist!


After looking on both Jessica and Julie's IMDb and Wikipedia pages I couldn't find it and since these ladies are hard to contact, I figured I'd turn to my blog in the hopes that someone could let me know more about this film! And no "High Heels on a Lady" is not the 1991 Spanish film, "High Heels".

UPDATE: Well, that was fast! After speaking with Viva a little more on the film, she told me that Tommy Chong produced the project and that the piece has similarities to the 1988 comedy musical, Earth Girls Are Easy starring Geena Davis, in that High Heels on a Lady is about "alien girls coming to L.A." The film was most likely released in 1992.

Victoria Beltrans' "Earle and Fat Rhonda" scoops up awards at iPhone Film Festival

Victoria Beltran is a New York-based transgender actress most known for her role as the non-speaking Virgin Guard in the hit 2012 comedy, The Dictator but what you may not know is that Beltran is also a screenwriter and promising talent! If only producers allowed her character to speak in The Dictator who knows where she'd be now? With visibility in the transgender community becoming a recent topic in today's society, Victoria was a trailblazer; being cast in a big-budget Hollywood film! (And you probably didn't even know she was trans!)

Despite being on screen for only maybe one minute out of the film's 83 minutes, Beltran has done numerous featured extra roles (prior and after) The Dictator for shows such as: 30 Rock, Royal Pains, Lights Out, Rescue Me, White Collar, and Law and Order to name a few!

It was only time before she went on to write and star in her own short film, (alongside handsome hunk, Dean Dempsey) in the comedy, Earle and Fat Rhonda, about a young couple expecting a child, but will Earle refuse parental duties to go off into the rodeo? The short won Best Comedy Duo at the 2015 iPhone Short Film Festival. Other awards won by the pair that night include: Best Comedy, Best Actress (Runner Up, Beltran), and Best Actor (Runner Up, Dempsey).

Pictures courtesy of Victoria Beltran

Joseph Herrera is Gonna Make You Cry with His First Feature Film

Dallas-based filmmaker, Joseph Herrera recently announced the pre-production stage has begun on his first feature film! The drama entitled, One Day We'll Be Old is tentatively due for release in 2017 and is set to begin filming in June of this year.

The movie's storyline is described as a coming of age drama about a young man named Alex whom upon receiving an eviction notice learns his roommate has been spending the rent money on drugs, with Alex and his other roommate having to come up with 2,000 dollars in two days. The only way for Alex to come up with his share of the money is to go on a road trip with his older sister and distant mother; along the way he learns who is to blame for mistakes he's made over the last two years.

Krystal Summers (Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives, Alone Inside) played the role of Veronica in Herrera's previous project, Alone Inside, a drama short about teen depression. Summers will return as Alex's on-screen mother with Julianna Briscoe (Alone Inside) portraying Krystal's on-screen daughter. Richard Curtain (Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives) will be portraying the role of Samantha, a glamorous drag queen. Most of the other cast have yet to be announced; however some roles have yet to be filled; those being Betty, a comical landlord and Alex's grandmother, a wealthy woman with a proposition for Alex.

If you've ever wanted to be in a movie well here's your chance! Joseph is holding a casting for three main characters and one featured extra position. Incentives include travel and lodging being provided, along with credit in the film and a copy of the DVD. Filming will mainly take place in Dallas, Texas, with some scenes filming in Florida.

Here's the casting notice for more information:  http://www.shortfilmtexas.com/2016/casting-call-dallasfort-worth-texas-feature-film-one-day-well-old-paid/

Who Exactly Were The Cosmetics?

The Cosmetics (also stylized as The Cosmetiques) were an American glam rock performance group who did weekly shows at Peanuts, a nightclub described as the "Los Angeles Premier Transgender Club available every Friday night with two shows nightly and gorgeous go-go dancers", according to a dedication page created using Facebook. The group was produced by the late Kim Fowley.

The Cosmetics known band members so far are Viva Sex, a legend in the Los Angeles drag circuit; having performed on The Joan Rivers Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The other known band member at this time is the late Michael Angelo, a DJ and performance artist.

Viva, a movie extra who has appeared in: Never Too Young to Die, Vamp, and Skin Walker, also appeared with the band in the 1989 action film, One Man Force. They were credited as Leather Bar Band.

It isn't known if The Cosmetics had any albums or singles, however they do have what looks to be an album cover (which I included in this article). Photo courtesy of Viva Sex.

What Was Israel Luna's First Film?

So you may have asked yourself, with all of the success that filmmaker Israel Luna has been getting lately with his high-quality films on a budget "what was his first project?" and "did it look as amazing as his current works?" well! According to Israel in an impromptu interview I had with the star, he claims, the independent Dallas feature, Str8 Up, was his first feature-length project.

The movie is described by Luna as a "look into Dallas, Texas' gay nightlife". The project was done with a non-professional production company that is no longer in business. According to Israel, the as-of-now unnamed company "didn't know what they were doing" and it showed, as years later they went out of business; but with that Str8 Up is no longer in circulation, Israel doesn't even have a copy of the film.

Thankfully of few of the movie's stars own it and most likely on VHS. Str8 Up was released direct-to-video in 2001 but was filmed in 1999. It wasn't in the best quality, having been taken "right off the camera" as I phrased it- No sound mixing or color correction I meant.

The only actor to be confirmed (to me) to be in the film, is Miranda Martinez, an actress that has appeared in a couple of Israel's other film projects, including Is Anybody There (2002) and the film's re-make, The Ouija Experiment (2011). The Ouija Experiment and its sequel, The Ouija Resurrection, have been doing very well at Redbox; getting into stores like Walmart nationwide, a first for Luna who has prior to this mainly been releasing his work to online retailers after a few festival screenings.

As of now I do not have a trailer or a theatrical poster for the film. Thank you Israel Luna for the interview!

Boobs, Boys, and High Heels

Boobs, Boys, and High Heels is a television show which aired on a local TV station in Dallas, Texas.

It was written and directed by Israel Luna. The show is described by Israel as "a gay soap opera". Boobs, Boys, and High Heels only aired two episodes and according to Luna via Facebook, "most of the actors didn't make it to the first episode", going on to explain, "the actors realized how hard acting really was/is".

The show is one of Israel's first entertainment-related projects and his first and only show to date. The only actors featured in the show that I know of (as of now) is Copa Lamay, an African-American actor who played a drag queen in the series. Lamay is the actor in the blue and black-striped shirt.

Talking on his beginnings with the show, Luna says he joined Dallas Community Cable Television (presumably in 1993 when Israel moved from Wellington to Dallas) because they let you use the equipment for free and air the artist's projects on
Dallas TV channels.

Photo(s) courtesy of Israel Luna.

Charli Waters Biography

Charli Waters (also stylized as Charlie Waters, Charilie Waters) (? - January 1, 1989) was a pornographic actress; working as a prostitute.

According to several online forums Charli was killed in 1989 by a homicidal client while working as an escort. Not much is known about her case or herself in general. Hopefully with this article published more information will come out.

I've tried reaching out to Ron Jeremy (whom Charli frequently worked with in porn) and former adult actress, Shelley Lubben, but got no response.