10 Questions for Richard Andreoli

by Neil de la Flor

1. Well, Richard, I thought I'd start with the most controversial question first: Can you give us the inside scoop on Bo Derek, who stars in your upcoming show Fashion House, which premieres September 5th? Is she fabulous or what?

Seriously, this job was a dream come true. It’s my first mainstream TV credit and it got me out of the magazine writing rut. While I enjoyed writing entertainment interviews and restaurant reviews, it was exhausting. This is like entering into a new phase of my career and it’s pretty exciting.

In terms of Fashion House itself, Bo is brilliant as Maria Gianni, the ruthless head of a fashion empire based in Los Angeles (Go with us on that plot point, okay?). Maria was a delicious diva to write, but add in Morgan Fairchild as her arch enemy and you’ve got a series loaded with bitchy dialogue and awesome cat fights that will have people laughing for days.

The show will run Monday through Friday (with Saturday recap episodes) at 9pm on MyNetworkTV, and you can go to www.mynetworktv.com to find where it’s playing in your city. After three months, though, the series ends. They may repeat it, but I don’t know the details on that. Two new series will then start up to replace Fashion House and its sister show, Desire.

2. What else can you reveal about the show and will Joan Collins make a cameo?

Dearest Joan will not make a cameo, though much of our inspiration came from women like her, Heather Locklear, and other soap opera sisters whose over-the-top antics entertained us years ago. On the plus side, pretty much everyone in the show is a gorgeous model and they are constantly taking off their clothes. For example, I box twice a week so I added in some boxing work outs for the male lead in the show because a hot, sweaty, shirtless man in shorts who's punching a big hanging bag makes for good TV. Oh, and there's a certain Alfred Hitchcock leading lady who plays a pivotal role as well, but you won't see her interacting with Bo or Morgan.

3. Readers may not know you edited the book, Mondo Homo, a collection of queer lit. Tell us about your experience putting the book together-what was your selection criteria, most interesting works you stumbled across, and how has the book informed your fashion sense?

Mondo Homo was an attempt to capture a snapshot of the evolving queer culture. It's sort of a paradox to even say that, but I wanted to talk about what makes homos excited now, as opposed to the ancient stereotypes of Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand and all that. I assembled writers whose work I loved and whom I thought really embodied a vision of what was happening with queers today. I basically handpicked the writers I wanted and what topics I wanted them to hit. I also had them write in first-person-discussing queer culture from their personal experiences-because that made it more intimate and real. What I loved was how the writers really opened themselves up to an audience in ways they hadn't done before. David Ciminelli writes about using steroids and thus we get a reflection of how gym culture and body-image among homos, Dave White uses his acerbic wit to hit sex and gives the readers a real wake up call, and Smith Galtney captures that drug-induced experience of going to after-hours clubs and falling in love on a dance floor. These are the elements that shape our culture and I think it's good and important that we did it.

And will there be a Mondo 2: Electric Boogaloo? I get lots of requests but mostly from other writers or artists. I've been thinking about it, but at the moment I'm too busy on other projects.

More than my fashion sense-of which there is little-the book actually strengthened my overall philosophy that society's trappings are bullshit. Wear what you want, be who you want, and it doesn't matter. I know fags love a sexy body-God knows I do, too-but you shouldn't destroy your life trying to become this mythical uber-gay creature. Enjoy life, love yourself, and there will be tons of people out there who will toss the love right back at you.

4. Describe your biggest fashion faux pas?

My mullet. It was the 1990s. I had no excuse. And yes, there are photos but my husband has them and I fear he may use them against me some day if I ever piss him off.

5. With your extensive knowledge of pop culture and, specifically, queer culture I'm curious if you see trends in queer culture that alarm you? Surprise you? Encourages and/or inspires you?

On one hand I’m inspired by how the gay movement has progressed so rapidly. If you look at Stonewall as a big coming out moment for homos, we’ve really made tremendous progress in a short time. Admittedly, I’m a “glass half full” sort of guy, but I do think that lesbians and gay men coming out really helped change the face of homosexuality from being this shameful, secretive lifestyle into being what it really is: just a part of life. My one concern is the growing apathy in the gay community because young queers take a lot of our current life for granted. That could become our downfall.

It’s also been inspiring to see so many queer faces on TV, especially on reality shows because they bring homosexuality to America. Like Steve, my partner, and I were just on HGTV’s show Urban Outsiders. We’re a happy gay couple living in our first house, and if I were a young queer I would think that was awesome. It’s these shows that have created a quiet queer revolution in pop culture. I find it fascinating that the gay gym culture has changed so much since I moved to LA in the early 1990s. Now it’s about being thin and pretty, whereas when I was in the scene it was so much more about muscles and hyper masculinity. Part of that may have had to do with AIDs and the fact that so many of our brothers were wasting away so we responded with adoring the opposite extreme, but it’s interesting and fun to see that evolution.

By the same token, I’m surprised by the sexual stupidity of some young homos. I mean, it’s great that they don’t have as many coming out hang-ups that we did, but in terms of safe sex they’re really lagging. STD infection rates are increasing, and there’s no reason for it. As an “elder” faggot let me spell it out: if you have unprotected sex you can get HIV! And even without HIV there are tons of really annoying STDs that will jack up your tool, so stop being stupid.

6. What impact do you think queer culture or any subculture can have on the mainstream?

Queer culture is the new mainstream. I think that’s one of the reasons why we are considered a threat by conservatives. We come from every walk of life— artists, writers, and musicians, executives and consumers, every race and nationality—and we influence culture in such a way that mainstream society adopts it as the norm. Look at how gaydar got scrambled when straight men embraced metrosexuality, or how shows like Dynasty and Fashion House aren’t gay, per se, and yet have a distinctly queer sensibility that mainstream audiences adore. Perhaps it’s that ability to subtly influence society that has allowed the LGBTQ community to advance so rapidly within the mainstream.

7. Gay marriage by 2008?

Okay, I know some people won’t like this, but please follow along before judging me… No, I don’t think it’ll happen. Gay marriage was one of the things that really hurt the democratic election in 2004. Bush supporters called swing States and lied. They said John Kerry was going to institute gay marriage, and that definitely swung some voters to the right. So I think the Democrats will avoid the issue as much as possible in 2008 so that they can get someone in office. And, frankly, I hope that tactic works.

Let me be clear: I’m all for gay marriage. My partner and I have it pretty good in California but we’re keenly aware of the battles lesbian and gay couples face in this country. But if we don’t have an ally in the White House then we can’t do anything for gay rights. Look at what’s happened under Bush. Nothing. We’re a joke they ignore. At least with an ally we can be heard.

8. You started out as a writer. How did you make the transition from writer to screenwriter to producing/participating in television shows?

I actually started out working in film and television development after graduating college— I thought it was the closest job I could get to being an actual writer. But basically I read scripts and told people they sucked, then I helped get those scripts into shape and produced. Eventually I realized I was unhappy because I wasn’t actually writing, so I gave that up to get into the magazine world. Mondo Homo came about mid-way through that, and then the transition to Fashion House was pretty easy.

9. Do you have a favorite Frivole item?

I have a love for Wonder Woman, so of course the Wonder Boy brief is my favorite. Unfortunately, I have a muscle butt (but if you love a man with an ass, there ain’t nothing unfortunate about it), so I don’t think I can wear it. That’s why I go for the Leather Suit because, well, I loves me some leather.

10. If you had to choose, Bionic Woman or Wonder Woman?

Wonder Woman, because she knew how to work those satin tights.

Links:

FRIVOLE – Return to Frivole.com, shop the collection, take the poll, tell us what you think.
Richard Andreoli – Everything you ever wanted to know about Richard can be found here.