• 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

Writer Ron Nyswaner Says That His Lesbian Drama Freeheld Was ‘De-gayed’

November 10, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

ron-nyswanerRon Nyswaner may not be a household name but with his scripts for the likes of Girl’s Soldier and his Oscar-winning Philadelphia he’s an important figure in bringing LGBT stories to the mainstream. However while at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Vanguard Awards on Saturday he was keen to point out that that the battle isn’t over, telling the audience that one of his recent gay-themed scripts ended up ‘de-gayed’.

That script was presumably for the recent Freeheld, which stars Ellen Page as Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner, Dane Wells (Michael Shannon), was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Stacie. Steve Carell meanwhile plays the lawyer who helped take the case to court.

However the movie version wasn’t what Nyswaner had original intended, saying in his impassioned speech that, ‘For those of us who have that privilege I spoke of, earlier, of being artists — we have our challenges too. We must take care to protect our history and our culture. We must be careful — as we become mainstream — that we don’t forget we’re the descendants of outlaws and rebels. We must resist the tendency to be de-gayed.

‘One of my recent gay-themed projects had a lot of potential. But the producers became fearful. The gay characters were idealized. Their edges were smoothed out. The conflict between them was softened. Over my vigorous objections by the way, for the record.

‘The main characters were turned into Lesbians with lower case l.

‘Because God forbid someone might think we were making a movie about a couple of dykes. Out of fear, they were normalized. We must remember — and insist that others honor — our history and our very specific gay culture. We are the inheritors of a culture that was created from pain and invisibility. From being different.

‘And from that difference we created a powerful community that changed the world. Art about gay people has to recognize that power. The power of being different. We don’t have to be normalized to have all of our rights. And we don’t have to be normalized to be the main characters of film and TV shows. We can still be fags and dykes.

‘We need to have the courage to insist that our gay characters are created within the fullness of their humanity with all their flaws. Just like straight characters.

‘Tonight, I make this pledge to you. I’m done with fear. I will never work on something in which I don’t have some measure of artistic authority. I will create art in which gay characters are not normalized. Art that features LBGT characters who are fearless, powerful and scary motherf—ers. Maybe next year on ‘Homeland,’ Dar Adal will finally come out of the closet. Then, we’ll learn the true meaning of Special Ops.’

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Ellen Page, Julianne Moore  FILMS: Freeheld  

Freeheld Clip – Ellen Page wants Julianne Moore’s number in the lesbian themed film

September 10, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

freeheld-slideIt’s time for a meet-cute, this time between Ellen Page and Julianne Moore in the upcoming Freeheld, which is one of the gay-themed films coming out over the next few month which is hoping to be in contention when awards season arrives.

The first meeting between the two is the subject of the new clip, which you can watch below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘

Inspired by actual events, Julianne Moore and Ellen Page portray the beautiful love story in FREEHELD. After being diagnosed with cancer, Laurel wishes to leave her pension to her domestic partner Stacie, until she is denied by the local county officials. With the help of her allies, including Laurel’s longtime colleague detective Dane Wells [Michael Shannon] and activist Steven Goldstein [Steve Carell], Laurel will do anything she can to support her partner and fight for equality.’

The film is due out in the US on October 2nd, 2015. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Ellen Page, Julianne Moore  DIRECTORS: Peter Sollett  FILMS: Freeheld  

Ellen Page Suggests It’s ‘Borderline Offensive’ To Call An Actor Brave For Playing Gay

August 31, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

ellen-pageA few years ago whenever an actor played a gay role, the word ‘brave’ would be routinely used. However more recently that designation has come under some scrutiny for suggesting someone should be praised for their ‘bravery’ simply because a character is LGBT – as if they’re doing something extraordinary.

It’s something Ellen Page has taken issue with when asked by Time magazine that, “Yours is the sort of performance people tend to call “brave.” What do you make of that word as relates to actors?”

She answered: ‘Maybe this is a bad thing to say, but I have a hard time when people call actors brave. I don’t really get that, because our job is to read something on a page.’

Time continued their line of questioning, suggesting that, “There really aren’t many movies about LGBTQ people, so it makes it more likely that actors are seemingly taking a career risk by appearing in one.”

Page countered, “When people are [called] brave in regards to playing LGBTQ people, that’s borderline offensive. I’m never going to be considered brave for playing a straight person, and nor should I be. It’s hard to say this, because the context of the film is so deeply tragic, but for me there was a deep sense of peace on set that I had not felt in a really long time, potentially since I was a teenager and first having these really beautiful, fortunate moments in films. There was something about being out, getting to play a gay character, and getting to play a woman who is so inspiring to me—it was such an amazing experience for me. Honestly, if I played gay characters for the rest of my career, I’d be thrilled. I wish I could, honestly!”

She also engages with the difficulty of terminology when asked what films she’s working on as a producer, including whether we should call something a ‘gay’ film. Page says, “I have two [upcoming projects] that are… ‘gay.’ That’s even a pain to have to call it that, but it’s about two people of the same sex. I’m interested in these stories. Needless to say, I’m thrilled to play a character who’s heterosexual, if it speaks to me. But I’m gay, so when I get to sit in a theater and watch Blue Is the Warmest Color, what an utter joy that is! Because you’re getting to watch something that’s at least close to something you’ve experienced as a gay woman. It’s probably more selfish.”

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Ellen Page  FILMS: Freeheld  

Ellen Page & Julianne Moore Get Freeheld Posters

August 31, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

freeheld-poster1There’s going to be a bit of a battle of high profile gay-themed films in the next few months, and one of the most interesing-looking of those is Freeheld. We got a trailer for the movie a couple of weeks ago and now that’s been followed by a couple of posters, which you can see above and below.

In the true life tale, Page plays mechanic Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner, Dane Wells (Michael Shannon), was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Stacie. Steve Carell meanwhile plays the lawyer who helped take the case to court.

The movie arrives in US cinemas in October, and it looks like it may also be trying an awards run.

freeheld-poster2

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Julianne Moore, Ellen Page  FILMS: Freeheld  

Freeheld Trailer – Julianne Moore & Ellen Page fight for gay rights

July 22, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

freeheld-slideThere are going to be a few gay-themed movies lining up in the hoping of scoring award nominations (and perhaps wins), including Roland Emmeric’s Stonewall, as well as Freeheld. The trailer for the latter has now arrived, and you can watch it below.

In the true life tale, Page plays mechanic Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner, Dane Wells (Michael Shannon), was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Stacie. Steve Carell meanwhile plays the lawyer who helped take the case to court.

Director Pete Sollett told Buzzfeed, “The political story and the personal story are one for me. It’s always our own sort of issues that pop up when we’re falling in love. But unfortunately on top of those, these women had to deal with the prejudice and the obstacles set up for them by their local government. But for me, they’re one in the same: The personal is the political.”

The movie is out in the US in October. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Steve Carell, Michael Shannon  DIRECTORS: Pete Sollett  FILMS: Freeheld  

Ellen Pages Talks About The ‘Joy’ Of Playing A Gay Character In Freeheld After Coming Out

June 14, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

ellen-pageJames Franco in I Am Michael has been taking the early running for being the highest profile gay-themed movie of the year, but there’s another film we should be hearing a lot more about in the coming month, Freeheld. The film stars Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Luke Grimes and Steve Carell, and now Page has been talking to EW about how happy she was to be playing a gay character so soon after she came out publicly in February 2014.

She says, “It got to the point where it didn’t matter what I was doing in my life, there was always this cloud. And to be shooting the movie so soon after coming out was some of the most joy I’ve ever felt on a film set, which is a tricky thing to say because we’re telling a story that’s incredibly tragic.

“But the feeling of being out and playing someone who’s gay, and someone whose courage has allowed me to live my life, that feels amazing. People like Laurel and Stacie are the reason I feel so happy in my life now.”

In the true life tale, Page plays mechanic Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner, Dane Wells (Michael Shannon), was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Stacie. Carell meanwhile plays the lawyer who helped take the case to court.

Of the story and the 2007 Oscar winning short documentary it’s based on, Page says, “I remember just seeing the trailer for the documentary and I was instantly brought to tears. Tremendous love stories between women have been made, of course. Some of them are my favourite movies. But to have a love story that brings up the civil rights issue, in relation to women—that we haven’t seen enough in the forefront.”

Freeheld, which has a script by Philadelphia scribe Ron Nyswaner, is due out in the US in October, all ready for a potential Oscar run of its own.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Ellen Page  FILMS: Freeheld  

Steve Carell Replacing Zach Galifianakis In The Gay Rights Drama Freeheld

August 27, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Steve-CarellEarlier this year Zach Galifianakis signed up to star in the gay rights drama Freeheld. However a slight slip in the start of shooting has forced him to leave. They’ve found a strong replacement though, as Steve Carell has stepped into the breach, according to Deadline.

Julianne Moore and Ellen Page are still onboard though. Freeheld is based on a 2007 Best Documentary Short winner of the same name, about a landmark LGBT equality case.

Page is set to play mechanic Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner, Dane Wells, was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Andree.

Galifianakis is set to be Steven Goldstein, a Garden State Equality activist who played an important role in the case.

Philadephia screenwriter Ron Nyswaner has come up with the script, while Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) will direct.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis, Julianne Moore, Ellen Page  FILMS: Freeheld  

Julianne Moore & Zach Galifianakis Join Ellen Page In The Gay Right Drama Freeheld

February 14, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Julianne-MooreFor a very long time, Ellen Page has been attached to Freeheld, but it’s been held up while they try to finalise funding and get it ready for the cameras. Hopefully though now it’s moving forwards, as Julianne Moore and Zach Galifianakis have both joined the film.

The movie is based on a 2007 documentary of the same name, about a landmark LGBT equality case, which won the Oscar for documentary short.

Page is set to play mechanic Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner Dane Wells was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Andree. The person playing Wells is yet to be cast.

Galifianakis is set to be Steven Goldstein, a Garden State Equality activist who played an important role in the case.

Philadephia screenwrite Ron Nyswaner has come up with the script, while Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) will direct. The current plan is to shoot this summer.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Julianne Moore, Zach Galifianakis, Ellen Page  DIRECTORS: Peter Sollett  FILMS: Freeheld  

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...