Without a Hitch (well, one minor one)

That's how Outfest 2008 kicked off last night at Downtown L.A.'s Orpheum Theatre. Margaret Cho sashayed out and gave a quick intro before Outfest staffmembers and Here's Stephen Macias (a pro at the whole public speaking thing) gave additional introductions and explained the mission of Outfest (showcasing hard-to-produce and distribute LGBT films) and it's legacy project (restoring LGBT celluloid classics).
Next up was Jane Lynch who presented the Outfest Achievement award to Desert Hearts director Donna Deitch (embarrassingly enough, my cell phone rang in the middle of Jane's intro; I was horrified, I thought I had the stupid thing on vibrate). Donna gave an incredible speech where she talked about how different the world was in '85, when she made DH. What a freakin' accomplishment, right? Producing such a beautiful, gay love story in the middle of Reagan-hell??
Next up was the premiere of Laurie Lynd's Breakfast With Scot. Very cute film about a gay couple (starring the underrated Tom Cavanagh and the handsome Ben Shenkman) who wind up caring for a very flamboyant child. Dialogue was funny and unforced. The general feeling of the crowd was thumbs-up.
OK, the after-party. Fun, of course. In attendance were T.R. Knight, Perez Hilton (who complimented my shoes [sneakers purchased at the Liberace museum in Vegas]), Here! CEO Paul Colichman, Thea Gill from Dante's Cove, Transamerican Love Story's Andrea James, Sally Kirkland, writer Jasmyne Cannick, out former basketball player John Amaechi, Noah's Arc's Darryl Stephens, and plenty of visiting New Yorkers like The Advocate's Sean Kennedy and our magazine's editorial director Aaron Hicklin. My one complaint: the music was way too mellow. As I mentioned yesterday, last year I freakdanced to "Umbrella." This year: Neil Diamond?? Photos: Getty Images