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.