Last week it was was announced that Dome Karukoski has signed on to direct a biopic of famed homoerotic artist Tom Of Finland. Many wondered what that meant for a rival movie, which released a teaser earlier this year.
Now it’s become clear that directors Vesa Kuosmanen & Henri Huttunen are still planning to make their movie, simply called TOM, as they’ve released a sexy new teaser to coincide with the launch of an IndieGoGo campaign to raise cash for the film.
The teaser sees Tom Of Finland working away while we see his fantasies of men in leather, cowboy outfits and sailor suits. Very nice! It also promises a movie that is ‘sexy, humorous and masculine’.
Here’s the synopsis: ‘Until the year 1971, being gay in Finland could land you in jail for years. There was a boy born in 1920. In his childhood he drew pictures of naked men. While drawing, he wore only leather boots. As a young man he fought in the war and had sex with his fellow soldiers, both Finnish and German. During his adulthood he lived a double life: by day, a talented advertising artist and a pianist, by night a genius creator of erotic drawings. We remember him through leather, huge muscles, even larger cocks and humour — empowering the masculine gay man. You know the artist Tom of Finland. Now meet Touko.’ The film will concentrate on the period in the 1950s when Touko Laaksonen became the homoerotic Tom Of Finland.
The teaser also takes a sideways swipe at the other film, making a point of the fact that TOM is independent, while its rival is a ‘official’ biopic, being made in collaboration with the artist’s estate.
His stature has grown over the years to the point where the likes of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) hold his images.
TOM is looking for 40,000 Euros, with plans to shoot the film next summer for release in 2015. Olli Rahkonen is set to play Touko/Tom. If you want to help out, head over to IndieGoGo. [Read more…]
