Mar 202009
 

>The Museum of Sex and Magnolia Pictures invite CineKinksters to a special advance screening of American Swing, the new documentary about the rise and fall of the infamous NYC swing club, Plato’s Retreat…

Monday, March 23rd @ 7:30PM

Museum of Sex
233 Fifth Avenue, NYC

RSVP required to:
sylvia@ddanielspr.net

Please note ‘CineKink” in your RSVP – we have a limited number of seats available, so act quickly!

The year was 1977 and New York City burned. As the metropolis hurtled into bankruptcy, the city’s nightlife hit unprecedented heights. In midtown, the ultra-exclusive Studio 54 was a cocaine-fueled celebrity playhouse. Downtown, at the spartan CBGB’s, punk rockers set out to destroy everything Pop. Meanwhile, in the basement of the prestigious Ansonia building on the conservative Upper West Side, Plato’s Retreat opened its doors to ordinary couples who came to dance, to swim, and…to swap.

Includes a post-screening Q&A with co-directors Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart.

American Swing will open in New York on March 27th at the Quad Cinema and in Los Angeles on April 3 at the Sunset 5.

Sep 052008
 

>Photobucket

Whether tonight’s epidode of Swingtown will be the last of the season or the last ever still remains to be seen. Either way, creators are promising some type of denouement for the evening. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly earlier in the summer, executive producer Alan Poul reported that while the season ends with a cliffhanger, “… it’s also a completely satisfying ending. So, if we go forward, there are many new things that are set up to explore. And if we don’t go forward, there’s no feeling that we’ve been left with something incomplete.”

The program’s community forum is abuzz with either prospect, with many planning to participate in tonight’s CBS-planned online block party. (Bring your own potato salad?)

CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler reportedly remains a fan of the show, but has been disappointed with its ratings and has been shopping it to various cable outlets, where it might have a better chance to flourish away from prudish broadcast standards and the pressure of right-wing extremists placed upon program advertisers.

Reasonable speculation could see the series going to Showtime, a corporate partner of CBS, which yesterday signed a two-year development deal with Swingtown creator Mike Kelley. Primary in the deal will be a new series, BiCoastal, which centers on a man trying to juggle a wife and kids in a Los Angeles and a new male love in NYC. But as enticing as that possibility might be, the Hollywood Reporter quotes Kelley on a continuing loyalty to his current series: “Swingtown is my priority, and I believe there is a home for the show, hopefully it’s on CBS. But if not, we’d be happy just to be able to continue to tell these characters’ story.”

If you’d like to help in that worthy endeavor, please drop a note of support to CBS right here.

And some pleading encouraging words to Showtime while you’re at it.

Jul 172008
 

>Rachel Kramer Bussel, whose previous literary offerings, He’s On Top/She’s On Top graced the swag bags for the CineKink kick-off party back in February, has a brand, er, spanking new opus available…Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. And, with her finger ever on the pulse of the latest publishing trends, she’s just put out a trailer for the book:

And if you’re looking for some other hot reading to toss into the beach bag, be sure to check out Tantra for Erotic Empowerment from Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson (CineKink NYC/08) and the very latest on consensual non-monogamy, Tristan Taormino’s Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships.

Update 7/21: Vimeo removed Rachel’s original trailer, so we’ve replaced our links for the version available on YouTube.

Jun 102008
 

>Conservative media watch-groups and religious political extremists are already hard at work trying to get Swingtown pulled from the air. While we don’t necessarily like to send them traffic, from the America Family Association there’s this and from the Parents Television Council we have this little gem.

To counter the form letter complaints that are right now making their way into the FCC folders of various local CBS affiliates, now would be a good time to send a brief note of your support of the show. As a former programming director for a small-town station in a largely conservative market, we can assure you that your positive input will be most welcome!

See below for the how-to particulars and feel free to spread this info widely:

***
NCSF Entertainment Media Update for “Swingtown”

Show Title: Swingtown
Episode Title: “Pilot”
Original airdate: June 5, 2008
Series continues: Thursday, 10 pm
Network: CBS
Produced by: CBS Paramount Television
Executive Producers: Michael Kelley, Allen Poul and Carol Barbee

Description:
From the program’s website – “SWINGTOWN, from the director of ‘Big Love’ and ‘Rome,’ traces two generations of friends and neighbors as they forge intimate connections and explore new freedoms during the culturally transformative decade of the 1970s. It portrays the ever-shifting “swing” of the pendulum that reflected the change in America’s collective value system — morally, politically and socially. After moving to an upscale lakeside Chicago suburb in July of 1976, Susan and Bruce Miller must confront temptation in the form of their provocative new neighbors, Tom and Trina Decker, while not abandoning their old friends Janet and Roger Thompson. As the adult couples evaluate whether to embrace or avoid newfound personal freedoms, the curious Miller and Thompson children begin to discover and assert their own morality and sexual identities as they come of age in a world on the precipice of change. In a shifting social climate — defined by its music, fashion and style — everyone in SWINGTOWN is confronted with personal choices, experimentation and varying attitudes.”

More info, including clips and the most recent episode of the show, can be found at:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/

NCSF Reviewer’s Note:
Originally intended for a cable network outlet, “Swingtown” has obviously been retooled to meet broadcast standards and withstand certain scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nonetheless, while it shies away from nudity and direct depictions, the show still manages to take a refreshingly positive approach to sexual exploration and freedom. The most adventurous couple of the three featured, the Deckers, is presented as sharing a mutual enjoyment of their open marriage and seem to have a healthy, affectionate relationship. Similarly the Millers, introduced to the swing lifestyle in the first episode, are shown to be in love, but just seeking a little something to rev up their sex life.

It’s a little difficult to predict where the series will go over the course of its initial 13-episode run, but given how quickly the Millers jump into the action – counter to what most swingers themselves would counsel – there are sure to be complications ahead. While there are likely some consequences to be faced down the line, hopefully the show will maintain the sex-positive tone it exhibited in its premiere episode.

In light of complaints already being registered from media watch groups and religious political extremists, the CBS network and its local affiliates deserve commendation for airing “Swingtown” and should be encouraged to continue its broadcast. (Reviewed by Lisa Vandever, NCSF Media Committee)

CRITICAL ACTION – GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO YOUR LOCAL CBS AFFILIATE:

Find your station here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/utility/main517034.shtml

(Hard copy letters are generally more effective, but sending an email is better than nothing.)

ADDITIONAL ACTION – GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO THE CBS NETWORK:

CBS Television Network
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

(While hard copy letters are generally more effective, you can also send a direct email to the network via a form on their website – http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml.)

YOU CAN ALSO LEAVE INPUT VIA THE “SWINGTOWN” COMMUNITY MESSAGE BOARD:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/community/
(requires email registration)

HOW TO WRITE VIEWER FEEDBACK
Viewer letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging or polyamory. Your feedback can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices, and may influence the future decisions of programmers and producers about the entertainment they provide. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.

For more information and suggestions of points to include in your letter, see:
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/index.php?option=com_keyword&id=182

Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org

***
A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org