Proud To Have PRIDE On My Side
June is PRIDE Month and it’s very important to me to recognize my friends who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community. These 3 gifted artists have played a huge part in my journey to bring happiness and laughter to our universe.
Byron Lane has been a friend of mine for 20 years. We worked together at KALB TV. Byron is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has become a brilliant author, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. His 1st novel, A Star Is Bored received rave reviews by the New York Times Review as “wildly funny and irreverent.” Byron’s latest novel, Big Gay Wedding is rapidly becoming a bestseller! In 2015, I had the honor of making a cameo in his breakout web series, Last Will & Testicle. I will forever be grateful to Byron for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It would take several pages to write about all the phenomenal projects and accomplishments Byron has achieved and still achieving. For more information on Byron Lane’s books, movies, and web series, log onto byronlane.com - you’ll be glad you did!
Norman Korpi and I go way back. I first met him back in 2003 when I was an entertainment reporter doing a story on reality television. Norman is best known for being one of the original cast members on the first season of the MTV reality show, The Real World. He is also the first reality star to come out on national television. Norman is an extremely talented artist, and he created the A/STAND which is a mobile and transformable workstation for your smart devices. Because of Norman’s creation, is how the title of my short film A Stand for Damaged Fame originated, and Norman plays himself in this off-beat comedy. In fact, he was nominated and won several Best Actor awards in film festivals nationwide for his role! To see Norman’s beautiful artwork, visit his website at normankorpi.com.
Dan Forest is from my hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana and he is an artist who wears many creative hats including actor, playwright, director, and makeup artist. Dan is known for his outstanding work in motion pictures and live theater. Dan made all the characters come to life in Brunch Before Baptism and the upcoming Death by King Cake by using his extraordinary hair/makeup skills. Check out Dan Forest’s impressive body of work by logging onto productionhub.com and typing his name in the search column.
I can’t thank these three magnificent men enough as well as the entire LGBTQIA+ community for their support in making my creative projects come to life!
Thank you all so much,
David
Byron Lane
David & Norman Korpi
Dan Forest