Still from My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Ever since it was first released in 1985, the gay-themed British movie My Beautiful Laundrette has stood out as a unique, idiosyncratic and rather special entry in the LGBT cinema canon. Now it may be getting a new life as a TV series, according to Variety.
Perhaps most interesting is that it involves Kumail Nanjiani, who’s just coming off the much-praised and Oscar-nomination tipped, The Big Sick. Nanjiani is on board to co-write, produce and star in the TV adaptation of the movie.
The original film starred Gordon Warnecke as Omar, a young British Asian man, keen to make a success of himself. He takes on the running of a lauderette, and around the same time reunites with an old school friend, Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis), who’s since become involved with a bunch neo-fascists. Despite that, the two of them find themselves getting closer until romance erupts.
We may be over 30 years after the film was first released, but the issues of fascism, sexuality, and the problems faced by second and third generation immigrants are more alive than ever in Trump’s America.
Also producing is Hanif Kureishi, who wrote the original screenplay for the 1985 movie, and Steven Gaghan, best known for writing Traffic and directing Syriana. It’s early days yet though, with no info on what changes they might be making for the TV version, and no TV channel or streaming service currently attached to finance or air it.
It’s certainly an idea with potenitial, so hopefully we’ll get to see it sometime soon.
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