Sunday, November 02, 2008

NYTIMES' GRAMSCIAN AGENDA: FULL SPEED AHEAD!

THE LEAD/FEATURED WEDDING IN THIS SUNDAY'S NYTIMES:
Vows -
Erik Hyman and Max Mutchnick
Axel Koester for The New York Times

Axel Koester for The New York Times

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF., OCT. 25 Erik Hyman, left, with daughter Rose, and Max Mutchnick, with daughter Evan. More Photos »

Mr. Mutchnick, who used the Yiddish word to describe his restless energy, didn’t become a creator and executive producer of the sitcom “Will & Grace” by being a blushing wallflower.

“I’m a big personality,” said the impulsive Mr. Mutchnick, 42, who melds borscht belt shtick and urbane wit in his writing and his life.

So it was unusual for him to be intimidated by Erik Hyman, an entertainment law associate at the Los Angeles firm Loeb & Loeb. “He’s out of my league,” was Mr. Mutchnick’s initial impression. “I’m Mel Brooks, and he is Anne Bancroft. He’s this sophisticated, elegant guy, and I’m the kind of guy who would have a piece of toilet paper stuck to my heel.”

He hid his attraction to Mr. Hyman by avoiding him when they crossed paths at social gatherings.

“He was super cute but not very friendly,” said Mr. Hyman, 40, who was dubious when a female friend suggested fixing them up in October 2006. “Sometimes, straight girls try to set up the only two gay guys they know.”

At the time, Mr. Hyman was recovering after a period of “sadness and loss,” he said, referring to the years following the death of his longtime partner, the photographer Herb Ritts.

Mr. Mutchnick was also alone, but for a different reason. “My career has been the centerpiece of my life,” he said. Then in 2006, the final episode of “Will & Grace” was broadcast, and Mr. Mutchnick found himself envying Will Truman, his fictional counterpart, who had committed to a life partner and started a family. “Will had gotten ahead of me,” he said. “I was watching the character have an experience I knew nothing about.”

So he was motivated to embrace something new as Mr. Hyman contemplated having dinner with him. Before a date could be arranged, the two men found themselves attending the same Los Angeles AIDS benefit, but it was more Keystone Kops than kismet.

As Mr. Hyman nervously extended his hand to say hello, he toppled a table of water bottles. He was crawling on his hands and knees gathering up the mess as Mr. Mutchnick rushed by, oblivious.

“Max didn’t say hello, and he didn’t help me pick up the plastic bottles,” said Mr. Hyman, who resolved they would never date.

When Mr. Mutchnick belatedly recognized Mr. Hyman, he shot out of his seat and offered a profuse apology.

The first words out of Mr. Hyman’s mouth were, “Would you like to have dinner?”

One dinner was all it took, though Mr. Mutchnick’s doubt catapulted him into monologue mode. “When there’s nobody saying anything,” Mr. Hyman said, “he will fill those moments with words.”

But when Mr. Mutchnick nervously asked how the evening was going, Mr. Hyman calmly reassured him, saying, “It’s going very well. We’re very attracted to each other.”

SAY NO MORE. 'CEPT DOMA WAS A GOOD ACT, AND MARRIAGE SHOULD BE PROTECTED AS A SACRED VOW BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN.

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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:28 AM

    Too sickening for words. Such moral depravity can only lead to another Holocaust. May G-d help us all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DOMA WAS GOOD ACT.

    OBAMA WILL "DELETE" IT..

    ReplyDelete