The Circuit

Oscar winning producer Bruce Cohen and NBC Universal will be honored at Outfest's 2008 Legacy Awards, the festival's annual fundraising event on September 24 at the DGA Theaters. 

Ewan McGregor will present the "American Beauty" producer with the award while Bruce Vilanch will host the evening.

Cohen is finishing up Gus Van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic, "Milk," starring Sean Penn and exec producing ABC's "Pushing Daisies." He is also prepping a feature adaptation of Takuji Ichikawa's tome "Be With You."

NBC Universal will be honored in light of their LGBT programming ("Will and Grace") and charitable efforts. NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman will accept for the network.

"NBC Universal has been at the forefront of positive portrayals of gay and lesbian characters in their programming and as a corporate citizen, has a very active LGBT employee organization, respected throughout the company," said Executive Director Kirsten Schaeffer.  "As a producer, philanthropist and activist, Bruce Cohen has been one of the singular most influential supporters of Outfest and LBGT filmmakers."

The latest from the festival scene this week.  A link exchange by indieWIRE and Variety.com.

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In their second pickup at LA's Outfest, here! Films has grabbed North American rights to Shamim Sarif's drama "The World Unseen."  Set in 1950's South Africa, pic is about a woman who runs a cafe with a black business partner under a new apartheid-led government.  here!'s Regent Releasing will roll the film out in Fall 2008.  It premiered last year at Toronto.

Noting that "The World Unseen" was written, produced, and financed entirely by women, here!'s Mark Reinhart noted, "This kind of deeply felt drama represents what the here! brand stands for in supporting stories by and for women."

here! previously bought the Outfest opener, Laurie Lynd's comedy "Breakfast with Scot." 

Outfest runs July 9-21.

Here's the trailer:

The latest from the festival scene this week.  A link exchange by indieWIRE and Variety.com.

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here! Films has picked up North American rights to the Outfest opener "Breakfast with Scot." 

Directed by Laurie Lynd from Michael Downing's novel, the comedy follows a "very straight" gay couple played (Tom Cavanagh and Ben Shenckman) who adopt an 11-year-old "who may be gay." 

here!'s sister company, Regent, will release the film in Fall of 2008.

Here's the trailer, which plays like a funny, by-the-numbers Hollywood comedy: