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

The Imitation Game (Blu-ray Review)

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Despite eight Oscar nominations The Imitation Game only walked away with one award, Best Adapted Screenplay. To be honest that wasn’t a shock, as quite a few Oscar watchers had thought it would get nothing. And there are also some, including myself, wondering if the one Academy Award it did win was the right one.

The movie tells the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), a socially awkward, somewhat irascible mathematics prodigy who, after the Second World War breaks out, applies to the government to help break the infamous Enigma code, something many believe is impossible. However he doesn’t want to continue with the traditional method of codebreaking, where smart men use pens, paper and just their brains, as he has an idea to use a machine to break down and then check the billions of possible combinations until it finds the right one. If he can do it, it will allow the Allies to read the German military’s secret communications and possibly win the war. [Read more…]

Imitation Game Director Defends The Film’s Lack Of Gay Sex

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imitation-game-slideJust about everyone else involved with The Imitation Game has stepped up defend the fact it’s about a gay person but doesn’t portray its main subject as being particularly gay. While it doesn’t pretend Alan Turing was straight, in the movie he doesn’t have any sex and the only relationship we’re shown is a schoolboy infatuation.

Now it’s the turn of director Morten Tyldum to defends the lack of a gay relationship to Variety saying, “First of all, the time period we’re all focusing on, he didn’t have one. He described it in his own words as a ‘sexual desert’ in a letter. The whole thing is his relationship with Christopher [Turing’s male crush seen in flashbacks in grade school], about unfulfilled love.”

When pressed about the fact Turing did have relationships with men in real life, Morten says says, “He had people he had sex with, yes — especially in the time after the war, when he’s living in Manchester. The break-in that happens in the film is a male lover, which is discussed. It was actually someone he paid to have sex with. It was more of a hustler.”

Tyldum also says he doesn’t gay relationship and sex it would have enriched the film, adding, “The whole movie, the way it’s structured, we don’t know anything about this man. The whole investigation starts because he’s hiding something, but he’s not hiding what we think. It can’t start off with him having sex. It was not because we were afraid it would offend anybody. If I did the structure and had this thing about a straight character, I would never have a sex scene to prove that he’s heterosexual. If I have a gay character in a movie, I need to have a sex scene in it — just to prove that he’s gay? I’m not shying away from it. His whole relationship, how he falls in love and the importance of him being a gay man, was all about secrecy.”

However, rather like previous defenders such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Matthew Goode, Tyldum seems to acquaint showing someone being a fully gay person with filming them in bed with another man. What none on the defences have addressed is that most of the criticism is that some believe the movie presents Turing’s sexuality in a perfunctory way as a small adjunct to his personality, rather than as a key part of who he is. And seeing as he has increasingly become iconic for many LGBT people, they view this as a major problem with the film.

That said, it’s not like the movie pretends that he’s straight, so perhaps Tyldum has a clumsy point.

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Birdman Takes Best Picture At The Oscars, With Only One Win For Imitation Game

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neil-patrick-harris-oscars-underwearIn the last few weeks many thought Boyhood had overtaken Birdman as this year’s Best Picture Oscar frontrunner, but in the end it was the latter that took to the podium at the end of ceremony, with Alejandro González Iñárritu also winning Best Director.

However everything didn’t go to Birdman, as while it took two other prizes, it actually tied for most wins with The Grand Budapest Hotel, which took Best Makeup, Best Production Design, Best Costume and Best Original Score.

On the acting front, while a few months ago many critics had already pretty much given the award to Michael Keaton for Best Actor, it was actually Eddie Redmayne who won for The Theory Of Everything. Julianne Moore won Best Actress for Still Alice, while both supporting acting awards went to the frontrunners, Patricia Arquette for Boyhood and J.K. Simmons for Whiplash.

The ceremony itself was ok, although Neil Patrick Harris struggled after a rousing opening, largely due to weak writing. It’s a shame as NPH himself was good, but he had little to work with in a job that’s thankless at the best of times.

It was also up to NPH to largely hold the fort for the gays, as while we normally make a strong showing, amongst the nominees it was only The Imitation Game that had any chance of winning. Many had thought that despite eight noms it wouldn’t win anything, but it did manage to pick up Best Adapted Screenplay for Graham Moore. The writer gave what was probably the most moving speech of the evening, saying “I tried to commit suicide at 16 and now I’m standing here. I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere. You do. Stay weird. Stay different, and then when it’s your turn and you are standing on this stage please pass the same message along.”

Oh and if you’re wondering why NPH is in his undies in the pic above, it’s not because the show was going so badly he decided to try stripping, he was re-enacting a scene from Birdman – and looking fine while doing it.

Take a look below for the full list of Oscar winners. [Read more…]

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Pride Picks Up A BAFTA, But Imitation Game Loses Out

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EE BAFTA Rising Star winner Jack O'Connell

EE BAFTA Rising Star winner Jack O’Connell

It was a big night at the EE British Academy Film Awards, where Boyhood was named Best Film with Richard Linklater winning Director and Patricia Arquette receiving the award for Supporting Actress. The Awards were hosted for a tenth year by Stephen Fry and held at London’s Royal Opera House.

While Pride lost out on Best Supporting Actress for Imelda Staunton and Best British Film, Writer Stephen Beresford and Producer David Livingstone received the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for the movie.

However the big loser on the gay-themed front was The Imitation Game, which had high hopes due to its 10 nominations, but walked away with absolutely nothing. To be honest that won’t be surprising to many, as few thought it was likely to do particularly well, but there was hope it would pick up a couple.

The Grand Budapest Hotel won five awards: Costume Design, Production Design, Make Up & Hair and Original Music, with Wes Anderson winning his first BAFTA for Original Screenplay.

Leading Actor was presented to Eddie Redmayne for his portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, which also received the awards for Outstanding British Film and Adapted Screenplay.

Whiplash received three BAFTAs: Supporting Actor for J. K. Simmons, Editing and Sound. Leading Actress was presented to Julianne Moore for her role in Still Alice, meaning all four of this year’s performance awards went to first-time BAFTA winners.

Writer Stephen Beresford and Producer David Livingstone received the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for their first feature film Pride. Previous Outstanding Debut winner Pawel Pawlikowski picked up the award for Film Not in the English Language for Ida.

Emmanuel Lubezki received the BAFTA for Cinematography for Birdman, having won this category twice previously, most recently in 2014.

The Lego Movie received the BAFTA for Animated Film, and Special Visual Effects was presented to Interstellar. The award for Documentary was won by Citizenfour.

Boogaloo and Graham won the British Short Film award and the British Short Animation award was presented to The Bigger Picture; both shorts are nominated for this year’s international short film and animation categories at the Oscars later this month.

The EE Rising Star Award, voted for by the public, was presented to Jack O’Connell.

The special award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema was presented to BBC Films in their 25th year. Mike Leigh, whose films include Naked, Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake and Mr. Turner, received the Fellowship, the highest honour the Academy can bestow.

You can take a look at the full list of winners below:

[Read more…]

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The Oscar Nominations Are Here, With Imitation Game Leading The LGBT Charge!

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oscars-neil-patrick-harrisThe race is on! The Oscar nominations have been announced, so we now know the people and movies that will be vying for a win when the gongs are handed out February 22nd at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

As expected it’s a relatively open field, with no films looking like it’s going to sweep the board, but quite a few now teed up to go for Oscar glory. As expected there was a good showing for both Birdman and Boyhood. However there are others who’ve done well too, including The Imitation Game, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Theory Of Everything and American Sniper.

All of those movie showed up in the Best Picture race, which also includes Selma and Whiplash. Likewise they dominated the Best Director race, with only Theory Of Everything’s James Marsh and Oscar fave Clint Eastwood (American Sniper) missing out on nominations.

In the Best Actor race there were no surprises – indeed it was exactly as most predicted – with Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). It’s a slightly more unpredictable race in the Best Actress race, with Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and Reese Witherspoon (Wild).

It’s a rather mixed picture for LGBT movies, as while The Imitation Game’s eight nominations is undoubtedly good, that’s pretty much it, especially amongst the major categories. There had previously been high hopes for some gay-themed movies in both the Best Documentary and Best Foreign Language Film categories, but in the end none of them made the cut. And with Imitation Game not expected to win any major awards, it could be a bit of a gay drought. Well, sort of, as with Neil Patrick Harris presenting, we won’t be completely forgotten.

It’s a particular shame that Pride got nothing, as with the right marketing the movie should have had a good showing amongst the nominations, as it’s undoubtedly one of the best movies released in the past 12 months. Unfortunately it got absolutely nothing.

But then, it wasn’t the only way the Academy showed they were morons this morning, as they missed the awesome Lego Movie off the Best Animated Movie list, while including the far inferior (but still decent) Big Hero Six. If that wasn’t evidence they’re not very good at this nominating business, I don’t know what is.

You can take a look at the full list of nominees below: [Read more…]

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Nominees Announced For Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics’ Dorian Awards

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dorian2015-nomineesThe Golden Globes may be over and the Oscars may be a month away, but what is undoubtedly the most important gongs of the year have just announced their nominees – the Dorian Awards, as handed out by GALECA (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association). And yes, part of the reason it’s the most important is that I’m a member, but of course that doesn’t sway my opinion of it at all.

GALECA is comprised of over 100 critics and entertainment journalists, who’ve picked their nominations across 25 categories, from mainstream to LGBTQ-centric, including four newly-added runs, such as Film Director of the Year, TV Director of the Year and Music Video of the Year. GALECA’s mission to honor content ‘from mainstream to gaystream’ has led to an unusually wide variety of nominations and winners since its inception in 2009. For example the organisation’s previous choices for Film of the Year include those that have gone on to Oscar success, such as 12 Years a Slave and Argo, along with less lauded (but equally worthy) fare like Weekend, I Am Love and A Single Man.

Amongst this year’s nominations, Birdman has the edge with four noms in the movie categories, including Film of the Year, while Michael Keaton is up for for Film Performance of the Year – Actor. Just behind are The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game and the crowd-pleaser Pride, about blue-collar miners and LGBTQs standing united for a cause.

In the TV categories, the transgender-comes-out-to-their-family dramedy, Transparent, leads with five nominations, including nods for star Jeffrey Tambor and creator Jill Soloway (for TV Director of the Year). The Normal Heart, Orange is the New Black and the new drama How to Get Away with Murder (for TV Drama of the Year, star Viola Davis and Campy TV Show) are also well-represented.

LGBTQ-specific categories for TV and film have their own surprises. For example in the LGBTQ Film Of The Year category, the mainstream success The Imitation Game is nominated alongside the likes of The Way He Looks – a movie that grossed less than $100,000 on its US release.

One winner is known already, as Star Trek icon and LGBTQ-rights activist, George Takei, has been named Timeless Star. GALECA has previously awarded such luminaries as Lily Tomlin and Sir Ian McKellen with this career achievement honor.

This winners will be announced on Tuesday, January 20th, with the group’s annual, free-wheeling Winners Toast set for Sunday, March 1, in Los Angeles.

Check out the full list of nominees below. [Read more…]

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Imitation Game & Pride Lead LGBT Interest Amongst The BAFTA Nominations

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imitation-game-poster2-slideThe BAFTA nominations are out, with The Grand Budapest Hotel leading the way (perhaps surprisingly) with 11 nominations. However LGBT interest hasn’t been ignored with The Imitation Game picking up nine nominations, while Pride has three nominations and Lilting picked up a Best British Debut nom.

The Grand Budapest Hotel’s impressive line up of noms include Best Film, Director and Original Screenplay for Wes Anderson, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair and Sound. Ralph Fiennes is nominated for Leading Actor.

The Imitation Game is nominated in Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design and Sound. Benedict Cumberbatch is nominated for Leading Actor and Keira Knightley is nominated for Supporting Actress.

On the Pride front, Imelda Staunton is nominated in Supporting Actress, while the film also receives nominations in Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Stephen Beresford (Writer) and David Livingstone (Producer).

The nominees for the EE Rising Star Award, announced earlier this week, are Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jack O’Connell, Margot Robbie, Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.

The EE British Academy Film Awards, hosted by hosted by Stephen Fry, take place on Sunday 8 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.

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

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Watch Benedict Cumberbatch’s Emotional Film Festival Speech About ‘Gay Icon’ Alan Turing

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imitation-game-slideOne of the honorees at this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival is Benedict Cumberbatch, who turned up on Sunday night to pick up the ensemble cast award for The Imitation Game and took the opportunity to give an impassioned speech about the film’s subject, Alan Turing.

As the movie shows, Turing was gay at a time when that was illegal in the UK. He helped the Allies crack some of the most fiendish German codes during World War II, with many crediting his work with shortening the conflict by two years. However in the early 1950s he was convicted of taking part in homosexual activity, chemically castrated, shunned from academia and he later killed himself.

In part he said, “Alan Turing was a war hero, he was a gay icon and he was and is the father of modern computing science. He is a man who died tragically early due to a Government that he helped free from fascism by his work in the Second World War in cracking the enigma code, rewarding him for his nature, for confessing to who he was as a gay man in a time of intolerance in the 1950s.”

You can take a look at the speech below.

Although there have been some who feel The Imitation Game underplays Turing’s sexuality, there is little doubt about Cumberbatch’s pro-LGBT credentials, having even officiated a friend’s same sex wedding. [Read more…]

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Imitation Game, Pride & Normal Heart Lead A Great Year For LGBT Entertainment In The Golden Globe Nominations

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pride-better-slideIt seems far too early for the Awards Season to have started, but with the Oscars recently moving earlier in the year it’s pushed all the other shows up as well. That means that while 2013 hasn’t ended yet and several of the big award contenders are yet to be released, the Golden Globe nominations are already out, ahead of the ceremony on January 11th, 2015 (which is deliberately timed to be handed out just a few days before Oscar nomination ballots are due).

Often seen as the biggest (or at least noisiest) bellweather for the Academy Awards, this year Birdman led the movie list with seven nominations, while Boyhood and The Imitation Game got five each.

On the TV side Fargo led the way with five nominations, while True Detective scored four.

There were some surprises, with Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken being completely shut out, while Pride getting a Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical nomination was impressive for a film that had little awards buzz and which scored just $1.4 million on its US release (despite near universal rave reviews). The hope is that the Golden Globe buzz may encourage a few more Oscar voters to check out the British film about a group of gay men and lesbians who form a bond with the small Welsh villagers during the 1980s miners’ strike.

Imitation Game and Pride led a great year for LGBT entertainment at the Globes, which also included Transparent scoring a nomination for Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical, and the series’ star, Jeffrey Tambor, being acknowledged in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical category.

The Normal Heart was also included with a Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television nomination, while both Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer amongst the acting nominees. Similarly Orange Is The New Black is up for Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical, with acting noms for Taylor Schilling and Uzo Aduba.

You can take a look at the full list of nominations below: [Read more…]

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Gay-Themed Pride Wins Big At The British Independent Film Awards

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andrew-scott-bifa-prideBrit flick Pride certainly had a good night at the British Independent Film Awards, where it picked up Best British Independent Film, while Andrew Scott and Imelda Staunton won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

Pride follows the true story of a group of gay men and lesbians who comes together during the 1980s miners’ strike to raise funds to support those who Margaret Thatcher’s government is trying to put out of work. However they discover that most miners don’t want to be associated with lesbians and gays, until they contact a small Welsh village who agree to take their money. While the villagers are unsure about this new association, an unexpected bond begins to grow between the small-town miners and the big city gays.

The Imitation Game, about gay mathematician and computing pioneer Alan Turing, was up for four awards, but despite some saying it’s likely to score Oscar noms, it walked away with nothing at the BIFAs. However Benedict Cumberbatch did pick up the Variety Award, which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to shine the international spotlight on the UK.

Also missing out was Hong Khaou’s Lilting, which stars Ben Whishaw as a man trying to looking after his dead boyfriend’s Chinese mother, despite the fact she doesn’t speak English, dislikes him and didn’t know her son was gay. It was up for Best Debut Director, Best Actress for Cheng Pei Pei, and Best Achievement In Production, but sadly lost out.

Other major winners include Yann  Demange,  who picked up  Best Director for ’71, while Gugu Mbatha-Raw  won Best  Actress for Belle and Brendan Gleeson got Best Actor for Calvary. You can find more about the BIFA winners and nominees of the award’s website.

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