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Hot Sheet: Rebel Realness in the Empire

Hot Sheet: Rebel Realness in the Empire

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Madonna, Cinderella, and Empire all want your attention this weekend.

Bjork-x633_010. MUSIC: Bjork "Lionsong"
The video for "Lionsong," the first single off the new Bjork album Vulnicura, is beautiful and surprisingly sexy. The Icelandic musical legend looks like an alien in love, riding around in a leather catsuit with a Native American-inspired headpiece that wraps her head and torso. Meanwhile, shots of the artist's heaving breasts look like a heart about to burst. Zen out to this. -- Neal Broverman


Hs150313-09_09. TV: One Big Happy

Ellen DeGeneres is throwing her hat back into the scripted television game with the premiere of her new show One Big Happy. The show, which Ellen executive produces, premieres Tuesday, March 17 on NBC and stars The Girl Next Door's Elisha Cuthbert as Lizzy, a lesbian who's having a baby with her best guy friend Luke (Nick Zano). The catch? Luke just got married to a girl named Prudence (Kelly Brook), and now the three have to learn to work together as one big happy family. Check out the trailer below. -- Raffy Ermac


Hs150313-08_08. THEATER: Breaking the Code
If you want to learn more about Alan Turing, the subject of last year's much-honored film The Imitation Game, you can do so via San Francisco's Theatre Rhinoceros, which is presenting Hugh Whitemore's play about Turing, Breaking the Code. British scientist Turing deciphered Germany's Enigma code during World War II, helping the Allies achieve victory, and he's considered the father of the modern computer. But the thanks he got from his government was persecution for being gay. John Fisher (pictured, right, with Justin Lucas) plays the tragic hero in the Rhinoceros production; he also directs. The show runs through March 21 at the Eureka Theatre; order tickets here. -- Trudy Ring


Hs150313-07_07. BLU-RAY: The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary Edition

The Sound of Music has given so many iconic moments to pop culture. Even in 2015, you can find memes and GIFs of Judy Andrews mixed with Beyonce on Tumblr. Who hasn't belted out "the hills are alive with the sound of music," and pretended like they were Maria skipping through the green hills of Austria? This 50th anniversary edition comes with five discs, packed with behind-the-scenes images, on-screen lyrics, trivia, and a quiz to test your knowledge of this classic film. --Yezmin Villarreal


Hs150313-06_06. EVENT: A Conversation With Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison is theatrical royalty. On Broadway, she created the role of Lilli/Kate in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, and she took over for Gertrude Lawrence as Anna opposite Yul Brynner in the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I. She's performed in many other shows on tour and in London. She has a long list of film and TV credits too; while most of her films were so-so, they brought her into contact with such stars as Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, Jennifer Jones, and Dirk Bogarde. Morison will reminisce about it all for an audience from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the University Club of Pasadena, Calif. She's also scheduled to sing a couple of songs from Kiss Me, Kate. And it takes place just four days before her 100th birthday. It's a benefit for the Pasadena Playhouse, where she was in the audience on opening night of its production of Kiss Me, Kate last fall. Reserve a seat here. -- Trudy Ring

Hs150313-05_05. TV: Dancing With the Stars

It's hard to believe that it's already been a decade since the launch of the stateside version of Dancing With the Stars, but on Monday, March 16, everyone's favorite star-studded reality dancing competition returns for its 10th anniversary season on ABC. Included in this round of celebrity contestants is Michael Sam, the first openly gay man drafted into the NFL, and other stars like Patti LaBelle, Suzanne Somers, and Rumer Willis. -- Raffy Ermac

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4. EVENT: Outfest Fusion

The annual Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival, presented by HBO, comes to Los Angeles March 13 and 14. Legendary LGBT films such as Paris Is Burning will be screened in a new digital restoration, and the critically acclaimed film Dear White People will be presented, followed by a Q&A with Justin Simien (one of The Advocate's 40 under 40 last year), the out writer and director of the hit film. The documentary shorts program at the festival will showcase emerging filmmakers depicting queer figures, including writer Staceyann Chin in Truth. Be. Told., and Nancy Valverde, whose history facing discrimination growing up as a Chicana lesbian in East L.A. during the mid-20th century is profiled in Nancy From East Side Clover.See the full lineup of films and discussions here. -- Yezmin Villarreal

Hs150313-03_03. FILM: Cinderella

For all of the Disney fans out there who have been dying to see Cate Blanchett give everyone life as the wicked stepmother, the wait is finally over! Cinderella hits theaters this week as part of Disney's recent campaign to revamp all of its classic animated movies into dramatic live-action versions. Starring alongside two-time Oscar winner Blanchett is Helena Bonham Carter, Stellan Skarsgard, and Downtown Abbey's Lily James as the titular fairytale princess. -- Raffy Ermac

Hs150313-02_02. TV: Empire Season Finale
It's been a fantastic first season for Fox's Empire, the hit musical drama about a hip-hop mogul (Terrence Howard) and his family. The show has been a critical and commercial success, with viewers tuning in weekly to see brothers Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray), Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and Andre Lyon (Trai Byers) vie to be the successor to the head of the family business, as well as the sass, smarts, and and style of their mother Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). LGBT viewers and their allies have also applauded the storyline of the gay singer Jamal, who came out in the show. The actor who portrays him followed suit, recently coming out on Ellen. Tune in Wednesday for what executive producer Danny Strong promises will be an "explosive finale" on March 18. -- Daniel Reynolds

Hs150313-01_01. MUSIC: Madonna's Rebel Heart
It's here! Madonna's 13th studio album is building much better buzz than her last effort, the insipid MDNA. You can't argue with the foot-stomping joy of lead single "Living for Love," while forthcoming single "Ghosttown" is a haunting ballad that harkens back to her creative peak in the early 2000s. The rest of the album never retains that pop brilliance, with too many frivolous songs that include name-dropping celebrities and listing off various illegal substances. It's not Madonna's age that has people critiquing a song like "Holy Water," an ode to her nether regions; it would be beneath Rihanna or Katy Perry, too. There is fun to be had -- like "BodyShop" and "Unapologetic Bitch" -- but we're still waiting for her to prove that entertaining and smart aren't mutually exclusive, like she did so masterfully on Like a Prayer, Ray of Light, Music, and Confessions on a Dance Floor. -- Neal Broverman

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