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

What Men Want Trailer – Taraji P. Henson reads men’s minds in the gender-flipped remake

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It’s a bizarre thing, but for several years the 2000 Mel Gibson movie What Women Want was the highest grossing rom-com ever. Its $374 million worldwide means it remains one of the most successful romantic comedies in history.

Now it’s getting a remake/reboot which look very timely in the #metoo era, with Taraji P. Henson taking over the role of the person who can hear the thoughts of members of the opposite sex. That gives plenty of potential to look at ideas of gender and race, although from the evidence of this trailer, it’s not clear how deep it will go.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful sports agent who’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When Ali is passed up for a well-deserved promotion, she questions what else she needs to do to succeed in a man’s world… until she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts! With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best friends and a potential new love interest (Aldis Hodge) to the test.’

Tracy Morgan, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Josh Brener, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson and Max Greenfield also star, with Adam Shankman directing. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

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Hairspray’s Adam Shankman Plans 1960s Gay Rights Drama For HBO

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adam-shankmanHBO has certainly been on an LGBT roll recently, winning ratings and awards for Behind The Candelabra, backing the TV series Looking and documentaries such as The Case Against 8 and making The Normal Heart, which debuted to above average viewing figures for the pay-cable network last weekend.

Now it’s getting back in the gay business and it’s teaming up with Hairspray, Wedding Planner and Rock Of Ages director Adam Shankman to do it, according to THR. The former choreographer has sold Open City to the network, based on a script by feature writer David Kajganich.

The project ‘is set in the vibrant, turbulent John Lindsay-era New York of the late 1960s and explores characters from disparate corners of Manhattan as they navigate the cultural revolutions and political turmoil of the era. The drama will also examine the unlikely alliance between the Mafia and the city’s gay community in the opening of a West Village nightclub.

It has the potential to be an interesting look at the pre-Stonewall world, a time when, as that synopsis suggest, the mob was heavily involved in gay venues. It’s not because they liked gays, but because those wanting to start gay bars and nightclubs knew getting into business with the mob could actually help prevent the police shutting, due to the ‘protection’ they offered, which the Mafia would get a heavy chunk of the cash the place made.

Open City is getting some help from someone who was there at the time, as Ronnie Lorenzo, one of the original owners of the Stonewall Inn, will serve as a consulting producer.

It’s not clear exactly when the project will air.

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Hairspray & Rock Of Ages’ Gay Director Adam Shankman Heads For Rehab

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adam-shankmanAdam Shankman, the openly gay director of Hairspray, Rock Of Ages and Bedtime Stories, has surprised many in Hollywood by announcing that he’s headed off to rehab to deal with an unspecified substance abuse issue. It was particularly unexpected as last weekend he directed and executive produced the Trevor Project’s TrevorLive event in Los Angeles.

US Weekly published a statement from Shankman’s representatives, simply saying, ‘Adam Shankman is currently seeking treatment in a rehabilitation center. His friends and family support him and wish him well on his journey to recovery.’

We wish him very well in his recovery.

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Vin Diesel Enters The Machine With Director Adam Shankman

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riddick-vin-diesel-shirtlessAlthough most people have tried to forget The Pacifier, director Adam Shankman and star Vin Diesel must have had a decent time making is, as they’re re-teaming for The Machine, according to Deadline.

The movie is about a human-like robot (Vin Diesel) that the U.S. government creates in hopes it will become the perfect weapon, although the project ultimately gets buried. 20 years later, a young boy discovers the machine and reactivates it. When the government comes to shut The Machine down once and for all, the robot protects the family that took him in.

Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant wrote the original screenplay, with Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar signing on to rewrite the script last July. There’s no news on when it might shoot.

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Rock Of Ages (DVD)

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The film adaptation of the 2009 Broadway musical is two hours of high energy 80s rock music coupled with laugh out loud comedy, as we see a young girl search for fame and fortune in the bright lights of Hollywood, set against the underside of the rock music industry.

Filled with great songs of the classic rock era – which has no doubt led it be being one of the last decade’s most popular musicals – the film makes you want to dance around and sing for the whole duration of the film. Although the music in the film is great, credit has to be given for the themes, of which several run through the film, with a sweet young love story evolving whilst the upside and downside of fame counterbalance each other in the background. Another theme that the film touches on is the clear mockery of the right wing with their wholesome image hiding a few dirty secrets. [Read more…]

Rock Of Ages (Cinema)

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I have a horrible feeling a lot of critics are going to rip into Rock Of Ages, but I for one loved it. While it has its problems, it made me smile about 30 seconds in and I was beaming when I came out. It’s silly, cheesy and sometimes verges on the ridiculous, but it’s also a hell of a lot of fun, with a plethora of hair metal hits being shoe-horned in, Glee-style (or Mamma Mia! style, if you prefer).

The plot (which to be honest there isn’t a huge amount of) follows Sherrie, who arrives in LA from Oklahoma full of dreams of making it big in the City of Angels. She’s barely off the bus when she bumps into Drew (Diego Boneta), who gets her a job at the famed club, The Bourbon Room. Soon Sherrie and Drew are falling in love, but as the big time beckons for Drew, the course of true love won’t run smooth. [Read more…]

Zac Efron & More May Join This Is Where I Leave You

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Gay director Adam Shankman is heading to cinemas next month with Rock of Ages, but he’s already planning his follow-up, as Deadline reports that he’s working on This Is Where I Leave You, and already has Jason Bateman, Zac Efron, Goldie Hawn and Leslie Mann in talks to star.

The film is an adaptation of the Jonathan Tropper comic novel about four siblings who come home to sit ‘shiva’ for their deceased father. They are trapped in the house for seven days, and all their skeletons are laid bare. Hawn, who hasn’t appeared in a movie since 2002′s The Banger Sisters, is in talks to play the clan’s mother, while Bateman, Efron (who Shankman directed in Hairspray) and Mann would play the siblings.

It’s a great cast, and while the premise doesn’t sound that much fun, there’s plenty of humour in the tale.

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Rock Of Ages – ‘Any Way You Want It’ Mary J. Blige Music Video

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Rock Of Ages hits cinemas on June 15th, which sees the likes of Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand and Alex Baldwin belting out 80s hair metal hits as part of a musical about Drew and Sherrie (Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta), two young people chasing their dreams in the big city. When they meet, it’s love at first sight, though their romance will face a series of challenges. Now a music video featuring Mary J. Blige taking on Journey’s classic ‘Any Way You Want It’, so take a look – it certainly suggest the film, from gay director Adam Shankman, is gonna be pretty camp.

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New Rock Of Ages Trailer

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Rock Of Ages is one of those movies that could either be inspired genius or absolutely awful and from this trailer it’s tough to tell which. Coming across as a rather camp, tongue in cheek spoof on the 80s, filled with the music of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and more, it’s certainly an unusual beast. Now a new full trailer has arrived, which largely seems to be about making us wait to hear whether Tom Cruise can sing (and when he does, it appears the autotune has been working overtime). The film tells the story of a small town girl called Sherrie and city boy called Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams, all mixed in with the fortunes of a club and the rock star Stacee Jaxx (Cruise). The film, from gay director Adam Shankman (Hairspray) is set for release on June 15th.

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Adam Shankman Helming This Is Where I Leave You Adaptation

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News of an adaptation of Jonathan Tropper’s funny novel, This Is Where I Leave You, first emerged in 2009, when Life As We Know It helmer Greg Berlanti signed up to write and direct. He’s since moved on, but Variety reports Hairspray and Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman is now in talks to to take on Tropper’s book.

Tropper’s darkly comic book is about a father who dies and requests that his dysfunctional family sits Shivah for him for seven days. Judd Foxman is thrown into a downward spiral when he gets word of his father’s death, hot on the heels of the revelation that his wife is cheating on him. Forced to return to his hometown and face his family, Judd must confront who he’s become and figure out who he wants to be, while dealing with a never-ending parade of family conflict.

It’s not known when the movie might shoot, especially as the film is just one of several Shankman is developing. Other projects include a new version of The Nutcracker.

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