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

BGPS Blog

The Big Gay Picture Show general blog where we assault your eyes with with we've got to say, from fun film finds and gay shorts to homo silliness and general sexiness

Crush Of The Day: Keep The Lights On’s Zachary Booth

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29-year-old Zachary Booth has been turning a lot of heads this year in the gay hit Keep The Lights On, playing Paul, the drug-addicted boyfriend of the film’s central character, Erik. It wasn’t his first time playing gay though, as he was also queer teen Ethan in the short-lived 2007 TeenNick series, What Goes On.

He’s also been busy being handsome in various other things over the last few years, and is probably best known for playing Glenn Close’s son in the TV series Damages.

Booth has popped up in movies such as of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and The Beaver, as well as having a small but very naked role in Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock. In the future, he’s got quite a few things in the works, including the movies Big Words, Never and Last Weekend.

With Keep The Lights On now in UK cinemas, we thought it was a good time to admire Zach with a few cute pics of him. You can click on the images below for larger versions, and you can check him out in action in his actor’s reel (including a scene from Keep the Lights On) underneath that. [Read more…]

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Chatting With Keep The Lights On Director Ira Sachs

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Ira Sach’s Keep The Lights On has been getting massive amounts of praise on the festival circuit, with rave reviews and adoring audiences. It even won the Teddy award for the best gay-themed film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The movie, about a relationship between two men which faces huge difficulties over the course of a decade, has now reached UK cinemas (you can read our review here). Director Ira Sachs was in the UK last month for the movie’s screenings at the London Film Festival, so we took the opportunity to catch up with him.

You’re in the UK for the London Film Festival. I believe there was a screening of Keep The Lights On last night. How did the audience react?
I think the audience was really engaged with the film, and they had lots of good questions. It always sort of sparks the viewer’s introspection, I think. [Read more…]

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Giving Thanks: Q Allan Brocka

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In the same way that gay characters have gained prominence in an abundance of television shows they have also gained exposure in animated television comedies. This is why the person we’re giving thanks to this week is Q Allan Brocka.

There have been a selection of gay and lesbian themed shows around the world in recent times and gay characters have gained prominence in a wide variety of television series – just look at British soaps. But one genre that has increased over the last 10 years is the animated comedy show. Initially we had The Simpsons and then South Park, and then along came Seth MacFarlane with a whole host of animated shows in the shape of Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show. But there has only been one gay-centric animated comedy, and that was thanks to Brocka.

Originally born in Guam, Brocka developed a love of film at a young age before moving to America. While growing up in States he gained a Masters in film from the California Institute of Arts.

After this he directed a queer public access television show for a number of years, and then in 1999 his animated short Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In The World made its debut, when he submitted it to Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. It went on to win several awards at a number of different film festivals.

Nearly ten years later in 2007, an animated series based on the short debuted on the Logo cable network in the US and ran for two seasons. The show itself was original as it focused on a group of gay characters in an animated world. Gay characters had been used in animation before, but it was mainly for extra comic effect. This was the first time an animated comedy show centred on gay characters.

Brocka has also contributed to a number of LGBT live-action films during his career, such as the romantic comedy Eating Out and the drama Boy Culture, both of which he wrote and directed. Those films did extremely well on the festival circuits and won a number of awards. Eating Out spawned a number of sequels, including Eating Out: Drama Camp and Eating Out: The Open Weekend, which Brocka co-wrote and directed in 2011.

As well as his work for the screen, Brocka contributes a column to the gay magazine, The Advocate. It’s easy to see that over his career Brocka has dedicated himself and much of his work to proving that sexuality is an important subject that should be depicted more on both film and television, and that gay people deserve entertainment specifically made for them.

It’s a shame that his animated gay-themed comedy didn’t run longer, but then again Family Guy got cancelled before it came back, so perhaps there’s still hope.

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Apropos Of Nothing: The Making Of Les Dieux De Stade 2013

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Although there may not be that many out sportsmen, it appears that a lot of them don’t mind being ogled by gay men, as Dieux De Stade is now in its 11th year, and still has no problem getting a load of beefy sports people to strip off for nude and semi-nude shots for the annual calendar.

Dieux De Stade started out in 2001 as a beefcake calendar featuring players from Stade Français, a Paris-based domestic French rugby team. However over the years the whole thing has expanded, taking in players from other rugby union clubs and athletes from other sports, all of whom have been happy to strip off and look hot in artfully posed nude shots.

As well as the calendar, there have been hardback books, and in France, even a range of cosmetics. And since 2004 there’s been a ‘making of…’ DVD released every year, which has proved very popular with those who’d like to see more of the studs than the slightly cocktease calendars normally offer. A two-minute look at the making of this year’s calendar has now been released, which certainly feature a lot of hot guys getting homoerotic. Take a look at it below. [Read more…]

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Giving Thanks: Alan Ball

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This week I’m heading across the pond back to America to give thanks to one of the gay heavyweights working behind the scenes in film and television, Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe award winning film, theatre and television producer, writer and director, Alan Ball.

After finishing college in 1980, Ball began working as a playwright at the General Nonsense Theatre Company in Sarasota Florida. Although we may be skipping a few years ahead, by the 1990s he was working in television and contributed to a number of shows such as Oh Grow Up, Grace Under Fire and Cybill, which starred Cybill Shepherd.

In 1999 Ball’s first film as a screenwriter, American Beauty, exploded at the box office grossing over $350 million worldwide and won five Oscars at the 72nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a Best Screeplay gong for Ball. Although the film was a huge success, most of a hefty gay subplot was removed from the film until the very end, which is slightly disheartening, but luckily for the LGBT community it wasn’t entirely ripped from the film.

Venturing back into television, Ball created the hugely successful HBO drama series Six Feet Under, which was a rating’s smash and ran for five series. The show included a major gay character that broke the mould of the traditional stereotype, in the shape of David Fisher, played by Dexter’s Michael C. Hall. After the series ended his next huge hit came in the shape of vampire series True Blood.

Throughout the show a number of LGBT issues have been at the forefront, with the openly gay Layfayette, a lesbian relationship involving Tara, and at the end of the latest series a blossoming vampire lesbian relationship between Pam and Tara. We’ve even seen male vampires engaging in sex together, which despite them being dead all helps towards normalising LGBT characters on TV.

The whole show has been read as an allegory for LGBT rights, with vampires ‘coming out of the closet’ and fighting for equal rights. Although Ball has dispelled this comparison as laziness, the author of the books the show is based on has said this was the case when she wrote them. Either way it’s great to be able to see the fight for gay rights being represented in a way that isn’t overly forceful on an audience.

Along with all this Ball been named one of the most impressive gay men and women in Out magazine’s annual 100 list, and has been lauded as a strong voice for the community. As he left his position as show runner at the end of series five of True Blood, it will be interesting to see what Ball does next and whether he will continue to channel gay characters on his shows and challenge stereotypes that have existed for far too long.

Writer: Lewis Shepherd

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Crush Of The Day: Daniel Craig

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There’s a new James Bond film out on Friday in the UK (I know that may come as a shock to most of us Brits, as it’s barely been mentioned except in every TV show and advert), before it hits the US on November 9th. The World Premiere is tonight, so it’s pretty much compulsory that my crush of the day needs to be Daniel Craig.

Although now most famed as James Bond, he’s been looking hot on our screens for almost 20 years, including playing gay in the likes of Love Is The Devil, and appearing in everything from Elizabeth to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. However it was definitely 007 that propelled him onto the a-list.

We’ve gathered together some hot pics of Daniel to revel in, including some proof he isn’t afraid to get his kit off when the role requires. Click on any of the images to launch the slideshow. [Read more…]

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Zac Efron Gets His Dance On In A New John John Denim Ad

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It’s only a few years ago that the idea of a top Hollywood celeb doing an advert outside the likes of Japan was unthinkable. The perceived wisdom was that it would be seen as crass and beneath them, but now it’s the other way around and getting top endorsements and ad deals is another way of proving you’re at the top of the tree. Last week we had Brad Pitt flogging perfume and now Zac Efron is hawking jeans.

In the new ad for John John Denim above, he’s shaking his booty to try to convince us to wear the funky gear. Whether you’re convinced by the clothes or not, it’s good to see Zac getting a bit musical again. It’s just a shame that selling clothes means he has to wear them.

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Crush Of The Day: Grimm’s David Giuntoli

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While TV’s Grimm has a tendency towards being a bit silly, one major consolation when it’s going a bit too far with it’s monsters and mystery is the dark and handsome presence of David Giuntoli as Det. Nick Burkhardt. However David hasn’t always wanted to be an actor. In fact his degree is in International Business and Finance.

Then in 2003 MTV found him in a bar and signed him up for their reality TV show, Road Rules, and later Real World Road Rule Challenge. However after his brush with reality TV, he decided he did want to be an actor and so moved to LA, soon scoring guest roles in the likes of Nip/Tuck, Veronica Mars, Ghost Whisperer, Privileged, Without a Trace, and Cold Case. He even played a gay soldier having issues with his boyfriend’s family in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy (you can see some pics of him locking lips with a guy below).

However he only really found fame with Grimm. Season 1 of the hit show hits DVD in the UK on Monday (October 22nd), with Season 2 kicking off on the same day on TV, at 9pm on the channel Watch.

Click on the pics below to enlarge some great shots of David, and there are a couple of vids underneath those as well. [Read more…]

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Matt Bomer Gets His Butt Out In A Magic Mike Deleted Scene

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magic-mike-bomer-deleted-scene1
The Magic Mike DVD promises deleted scenes, and if you’re hoping that will involve more male stripper action, it looks like you’re in luck. Screencaps have popped up online (via SuperHeroFan.net) of a strip scene that didn’t make the final cut, featuring everyone’s favourite dreamboat, Matt Bomer, and his extremely well filled G-string. It’s a Bomer bum alert!

Magic Mike reaches DVD & Blu-ray in the UK on November 26th. [Read more…]

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Crush Of The Day: Jesse Spencer

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With House – Season 8 hitting DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on Monday October 22nd, and Chicago Fire starting on Sky Living at 9pm on October 24th, it seems a very good time to take a look at the hotness that is Jesse Spencer.

For many of us Brits, our first exposure to the 33-year-old Aussie actor was as Billy Kennedy in Neighbours in the mid-to-late 1990s. After he left the soap, he appeared in a few TV series (including some nude swimming in the Adam Dalgleish mystery, Death In Holy Orders, which you can check out below), before US TV producers spotted his potential and cast him as the plucky, sexy and rather duplicitous Dr. Robert Chase in House.

Now that the medical show has come to an end after eight season, he’s jumped from the Hugh Laurie frying pan into the Chicago Fire. In the show, he plays fireman Matthew Casey, ‘a strong, intuitive lieutenant who is still coming to grips with the loss of one of his men and grappling with relationship problems’. As the pics below attest, it does appear he’ll be getting his shirt off, so that’s a big bonus for the show!

Click below to enlarge the images, and enjoy the often shirt-free (and sometimes all clothing-free) hotness that is Jesse Spencer. [Read more…]

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