Extra! Extra! Read All About It

While most people like to take it easy on their days off -- maybe have lunch with a friend or catch up on some housework -- I couldn't resist the opportunity to hang out work on the set of a movie all day -- especially with the near promise of some "extra" screen time. The "Violet Tendencies!" (formerly known as "Bye Bye, Fruit Fly") shoot -- which took place on the roof of building in the West Village with spectacular views -- was lots of fun. (Way better than my previous film experience, the 1987 Morgan Fairchild classic "Campus Man," which was shot while I was attending Arizona State University.)

But why would I expect anything else from the film's star -- my pal and fellow blogger Jesse Archer (of "Slutty Summer" fame) -- who assembled a cast that included a former soap star turned stripper/Playgirl centerfold (Marcus Patrick), a baby-faced Broadway actor (Daniel Robinson, fresh from appearing in Broadway Bares), a quasi-legendary drag queen (Hedda Lettuce), a straight soap stud (Samuel Whitten) AND one of Mrs. Garrett's best students (Mindy Cohn).

Mindy Cohn plays Violet, a fag hag who just won't quit

OK, by now surely you've figured out that I ONLY went to get a photo with Natalie. But there was a HUGE hole in my Ridiculous Celebrity Photo Gallery on Facebook (right after Didi Conn and before Debbie Gibson) that just needed to be filled, so back off before you judge me. It gets even better when I tell you that Mindy, who was sweet and gracious when I got there, stormed off in a huff when a bunch of us were posing for photos with the cast later in the afternoon, refusing to be in any more telling Jesse: "There was a lot of stuff that went down earlier that I'll tell you about later." I'm praying that "stuff" makes it to YouTube soon, because it was undoubtedly when vlogger and all-around Gay About Town Mike Diamond sideswiped her during a little interview between takes in which he demanded to know, among other things, why she hated Charlotte Rae so much ("Well, that's what I've heard"). (Stephen Colbert couldn't have done a better job with her!) I hadn't seen Natalie this rattled since she went looking for her birth mother for that genealogy report in Mr. Bradley's class. (The only thing scarier than watching this low-budget breakdown was the lady on the set (the AD?) who looked just like Natalie after 20 years of crystal meth use who ran around screaming and threatening us the whole time with a cigarette hanging out of her tooth-deficient mouth.)

Marcus Patrick, Jesse Archer and me

"Bye Bye, Fruit Fly" is slated for release in 2010. Look for me in the party cum wedding reception scene. I'm the guy whose green polo shirt was deemed unacceptable by "wardrobe" so was forced to wear some black terrycloth number that was 10 sizes too big. What a BIG splash I'll make on the silver screen ...

Leading men Samuel Whitten and Daniel Miller

Jack Mackenroth can probably teach Mindy a thing or two about "The Facts of Life"

UPDATE: Mike Diamond filed this report: