Virginia Madsen looks so fresh on the red carpet as she arrives at the premiere of her new film 1985 in the 2018 Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival at the DGA Theater on July 16 in Los Angeles, California. She was supported by her boyfriend the actor Nick Holmes also being joined at the event by fellow cast members Cory Michael Smith, Aidan Langford and Christopher Racster. Take a look to all the photos added on the photo gallery, you can see some previews below!
The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) released it’s complete lineup for the 11-day celebration, taking place August 9-19, which includes artists visiting from India, Philippines, United States, and Canada. More than 70 films from 15 countries are featured at this 30th anniversary Festival presented by RBC, along with 11 visiting filmmakers, 27 local directors and numerous local performing artists, in addition to parties and talkback sessions. Festival passes and tickets are available online today.
Curated by Co-Artistic Directors Anoushka Ratnarajah and Amber Dawn, VQFF 2018 opens at the Vancouver Playhouse with Malaysian-born writer and director Yen Tan’s 1985, brought to life by an acclaimed cast including Cory Michael Smith, Michael Chiklis, Virginia Madsen, and Jamie Chung. Yen Tan will be joining the Festival from Texas. This year’s Festival will feature LA-based comedian, writer and actress Vivian Bang, who co-wrote and stars in VQFF’s Centrepiece Gala Film, White Rabbit. In this comedy that premiered at Sundance Film Festival, Vivian Bang plays a Korean-American performance artist who tries to remain dedicated to her art and struggles to pay the bills by doing odd jobs on “TaskRabbit”. Vivian Bang will join audiences for both screenings of her film – August 15 and 16.
Festival program guides are now available at Festival venues as well as Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium and Black Dog Video. The complete Festival lineup can also be viewed online at www.queerfilmfestival.ca. Full ticketing details, including pricing, can be found at www.queerfilmfestival.ca/tickets.
In her latest film, Virginia Madsen plays a mother whose closeted gay son comes home to let the family know he’s dying from AIDS complications.
The 1980s have enjoyed a recent surge in relevance, from the spectacle of Ready Player One to the nostalgia of Stranger Things. But the era remains one marked in sadness in the history of HIV, a time when the still-misunderstood virus claimed countless lives.
Actress Virginia Madsen launched to stardom in the mid-‘80s thanks to roles in Dune and Modern Girls, becoming one of Hollywood’s sexiest stars. Even as her fame rose, she was well aware of the growing tragedy. Now, as she promotes her new film, the nostalgic AIDS drama 1985, Madsen remembers the loss of life, telling press and film festival audiences about the deaths of close friends — and an uncle she never got to truly know.
“It was talked about in hushed tones,” she recalls. “People were trying to hide when they were terribly ill. If somebody developed a bad respiratory infection, people wanted to move away. Nobody knew anything. They wondered, could you get it from touching or from tears?”
Families, including her own, suffered irreparable ruptures. She recalls her uncle Chicky, who moved away from the family’s small Illinois community while Madsen was just a child.
“I didn’t know him well, but remember him as a little kid because he was extraordinarily beautiful,” Madsen says. “But he had to leave and move to San Francisco. I was robbed of knowing him because no one could accept who he was in our community.”
A cool and classic beauty with a vibrant blonde mane and an exuberant flair for the dramatic, talented actress Virginia Madsen is one of Hollywood is most versatile and unique actresses. Not only did she received amazing reviews for her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated performance in Sideways but this Independent Spirit Award-winning actress has an illustrious resume of roles alongside the most notable and respected actors in the business.