• ALL
  • NEWS
    • GAY MOVIE/ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
    • GAY FILM TRAILERS
    • GENERAL MOVIE NEWS & TRAILERS
  • GAY SHORTS & SERIES
  • REVIEWS
    • GAY FILM REVIEWS
    • CINEMA REVIEWS
    • DVD & BLU-RAY REVIEWS
  • BGPS BLOG
  • COMPS
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • Join The Team
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Gays On Film – A Short History

Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

When We Rise Trailer – First look at Gus Van Sant & Dustin Lance Black’s epic gay right mini-series

November 21, 2016 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

when-we-rise-trailer-slideWow, who thought a gay rights mini-series could get the American alt-right steamed up so quickly. Actually forget that, they’re sitting around waiting to get steamed up and ridiculously outraged by things, while coming up with bizarre conspiracy theories around it, all the time. You just need to take a look through the comments for the trailer for When We Rise to see that those who love to be angry about stuff in racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, homophobic and generally aggressive ways (while whining about how white men are the most oppressed people in the history of humanity), are not happy about it. But you know what? Screw ’em.

When We Rise is an eight-part mini-series due to air next February on ABC in the US, which chronicles the rise of the gay-rights movement from the Stonewall riots to the triumphs of recent year – although with the election of Trump, it’s likely to also be a timely reminder of the need to keep fighting. Written by Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black and produced and part-directed by Gus Van Sant, it is perhaps particularly angering the alt-right as it is probably the highest-profile and biggest gay-themed drama US TV has ever produced.

It’s also got a great cast, including Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker, Rachel Griffiths, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Denis O’Hare, David Hyde Pierce, Michael K. Williams, Charlie Caver and Ivory Aquino.

Black has commented, “It’s been the honor of my life to research and craft these stories of family, diversity and equality over the past three years. To have collaborators of this caliber sign on to help bring these stories to life is a tremendous vote of confidence, and I hope a testament to the relevancy and necessity of our continued march toward justice for all.”

Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Charlie Caver and Ivory Aquino, David Hyde Pierce, Denis O’Hare, Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael K. Williams, Rachel Griffiths, Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg  DIRECTORS: Gus Van Sant  FILMS: When We Rise  

Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Denis O’Hare and David Hyde Pierce Join When We Rise Gay Rights Miniseries

May 1, 2016 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Whoopi-GoldbergA few weeks ago, the likes of Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker, Rachel Griffiths were announced for major role in Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black’s major, 7-part gay rights miniseries, When We Rise. Now some more big names have signed on, with Deadline reporting that Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Denis O’Hare, David Hyde Pierce, Michael K. Williams and Ivory Aquino are set for the show. Williams and Aquino will appear in larger roles, while the others are described as ‘guest stars’.

The show chronicles the personal and political struggles, setbacks and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the US Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the successes of today. The period piece tells the history of the gay rights movement, starting with the Stonewall Riots in 1969.

Guy Pearce will star as LGBT activist Cleve Jones, who joined the gay liberation movement in 1972 and was befriended by pioneer gay rights leader Harvey Milk. Parker will play women’s rights leader Roma Guy, who co-founded the San Francisco Women’s Building, and as a public health commissioner worked with others to bring healthcare access to all San Franciscans. Griffiths will play her wife, social justice activist Diane.

Deadline adds that, ‘Williams will play African American Community Organizer Ken Jones. Aquino is transgender activist Cecilia Chung. Goldberg is Pat Norman, the first openly gay employee of the San Francisco Health Department, O’Donnell plays Del Martin, co-founder of the first Lesbian organization in the country, O’Hare is Jim Foster, openly gay Democratic party organizer, and Pierce will play Dr. Jones, Cleve’s father.’

The series reunites Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black after the Oscar winning success of Milk. Van Sant will also direct the two-hour first episode, both will also produce the other episodes. Shooting is currently underway on the ABC miniseries in Vancouver and San Francisco.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Denis O’Hare, David Hyde Pierce, Michael K. Williams, Ivory Aquino  DIRECTORS: Gus Van Sant  FILMS: When We Rise  

Whoopi Goldberg To be Honoured By HRC For LGBT Activism

January 15, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Whoopi-GoldbergThe Human Rights Campaign, the US’s largest LGBT, civil rights organisation has announced that Whoopi Goldberg will receive the 2013 HRC Ally for Equality Award at the annual Greater New York Gala dinner on February 2, 2012 at the Waldorf Astoria.

The Ally for Equality award is given to allies outside the LGBT community who stand up on behalf of equality. An outspoken advocate for equality worldwide, Whoopi has never been afraid to stand up and support LGBT people, campaigns and causes. She has publicly called marriage equality a ‘no-brainer,’ and has made the case for equality in her role on ABC’s daytime show, The View.

She’s been speaking up on LGBT causes for a long time, as even back in 1987 she spoke at the March on Washington for gay rights, saying “Mr. Reagan, did you explain…that sometimes ignorant people act in such a way [toward people with AIDS] that it is frightening.… How long is it going to take before people get smart…educated people? We’re not talking about illiterate people. We’re talking about senators and congressmen and the fucking president.”

HRC President Chad Griffin commented, “We are proud to honor Whoopi Goldberg with the Ally for Equality Award for her commitment to the LGBT community through her public support of marriage equality, including taking part in our successful New Yorkers for Marriage Equality video campaign in 2011. Whoopi is always willing to stand up for our community and is a longtime friend of HRC.”

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Whoopi Goldberg  

Spielberg Talks About Softening Lesbian Sex In Color Purple

December 6, 2011 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

When Steven Spielberg took on directing Alice Walker’s acclaimed novel The Color Purple in 1985, many wondered whether he was the man for the job, as back then he was just known for his big entertainment pieces.

While most felt he dealt pretty well with the story of a young African American woman in the 1900s, he got a lot of criticism for pretty cutting down the lesbian aspects of the relationship between Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) and Shugg Avery (Margaret Avery). While there is a single scene where the two kiss, that’s about it.

With both Tintin and War Horse due out in the US in the next few weeks, Spielberg has been talking to Entertainment Weekly, and during the interview he touched on how he’d toned the lesbian aspects of The Color Purple.

He says, “There were certain things in the [lesbian] relationship between Shug Avery and Celie that were very finely detailed in Alice’s book, that I didn’t feel we could get a [PG-13] rating. And I was shy about it. In that sense, perhaps I was the wrong director to acquit some of the more sexually honest encounters between Shug and Celie, because I did soften those. I basically took something that was extremely erotic and very intentional, and I reduced it to a simple kiss. I got a lot of criticism for that.”

However, when asked if he do it differently if he had the chance, he says, “I wouldn’t, no. That kiss is consistent with the tonality, from beginning to end, of The Color Purple that I adapted.”

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery  DIRECTORS: Steven Spielberg  FILMS: The Color Purple  

The Celluloid Closet (DVD)

November 2, 2011 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, Tony Curtis
Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Running Time: 101 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: May 4th, 2009

It’s a bit of a surprise that it’s taken so long for The Celluloid Closet to make it to DVD. The 1995 documentary, which looks at the history of gays and lesbians in film, won numerous awards and was a major success on its release, and yet it’s only just appearing on DVD now. Based on the book by Vito Russo, which was the seminal work on the subject, it’s a fascinating trawl through a topic that has always been present in cinema, but for most of its history was hidden away and never openly mentioned.

Starting right at the earliest days of moving images, The Celluloid Closet charts the different ways cinema has tried to deal with homosexuality, from Marlene Dietrich dressing in a tux and kissing a woman in 1930’s Morocco, to how The Hay’s Code insisted that any suggestion of homosexuality was stripped out of film adaptations of Tennessee Williams. [Read more…]

Search this site:

We're Needy, Be Our Friend

RSSTwitterFacebookStumbleUponMySpace

E-maily Stuff

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Most Recent Posts

Young Hunter Trailer – First teen gay love takes a dark turn into blackmail

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Trailer – The hit gay, drag West End musical is coming to the screen

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 3 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 2 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 1 (Short Film Reviews)

The Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2020 Has Opened, & It’s Online Across The UK

The Iris Prize LGBT Short Film Festival Returns Next Week, & It’s Online & Free!

An Apology From Big Gay Picture Show

Win The Miseducation of Cameron Post DVD & Book!

Seventeen Trailer – The vagaries of teen romance erupt in the lesbian-themed film

My Best Friend Trailer – Gay romance flickers between two teen boys

New Sauvage Trailer – The gay prostitute movie that divided Cannes is coming soon

We're Needy, Be Our Friend

RSSTwitterFacebook

E-maily Stuff

Get all the latest from BGPS in our daily e-mail

Blogroll

  • Blinkbox – Gay & Lesbian
  • DoorQ
  • Movie Muser
  • Peccadillo Pictures
  • Peccapics Blog
  • TLA Gay (UK)
  • TLA Releasing (UK)
  • TQS Magazine

Copyright © 2025 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...