When there’s a major gay role in a film or TV show, there’s often grumbling if its played by a resolutely straight person. There are actually fairly complex arguments surrounding this – it’s not just a question of whether gay people ought to play gay roles, but whether the fact gay people are so often typecast into particular types of parts, that by casting a straight person you are both perpetuating the idea that having homosexuality on-screen is okay as long as it’s not ‘real’ and that you’re taking work away from gay actors who are often overlooked for major roles.
Conversely of course, fewer people believe in the principle that gay people shouldn’t be allowed to play straight roles, even if there’s still a perverse belief in some circles in Hollywood that audiences won’t believe a man-woman romance if they know one of the people is really gay.
Now Nathan Lane has weighed into the discussion while talking to TV critics earlier this week about PBS’ presentation of his Broadway play The Nance, he was asked about his thought on straight people playing gay. He said (via Salon.com), “We just had ‘The Normal Heart’ (with straight actor) Mark Ruffalo, fantastic job. I think who’s right for the part and most talented” should be hired.
He adds that if actors had to stick to their own sexuality, “That way only madness lies… I wouldn’t have played Nathan Detroit or Max Bialystock” if he couldn’t play straight roles.
Lane won a Tony Award recently for The Nance, about a gay burlesque performer in 1930’s New York. It recently screened in US cinemas and will air on PBS in October.
Ever since its started, Arrow has seemed more interested in luring in gay men and women than the young men traditionally associated with superheroes. However while the general shirtlessness has been close to gay-baiting, there’s been a severe lack of actual LGBT characters, other than the blink-and-you’ll miss it inclusion of Nyssa Al Ghul (Katrina Law) as Sara Lance’s (Caity Lotz) former lover. While Sara technically remains bisexual, we’ve only actually seen her in heterosexual situations since then.
A few weeks ago we reported on rumours that 
There are lots of LGBT film festivals all around the world, but the fact is that most of the time the ‘T’ in that acronym gets short shrift. While a few films of transgender interest will be shown, it often feels the festival is just paying lip service to trans* stories.
Back in February, the LGBT short film festival, The Iris Prize, announced the 
Although there’s a lot of talk about the homophobia LGBT people are exposed to from outside the community – and to a lesser extent individual, internalised homophobia – discrimination within LGBT groups is often ignored. Although there’s eye-rolling about things such as gay men’s seeming obsession with youth and large penises, the effects of such things are largely swept under the carpet.
LA’s main gay and lesbian film festival, Outfest, has come to an end for the year, but before it went out, it had awards for the best film, documentaries and shorts that screened at the during the event. The big winner was Drunktown’s Finest, which won the First US Dramatic Feature Audience Award and the US Dramatic Feature Film Grand Jury prize.
It’s been a case of co-ordination today, as the moment the BFI announced that The Imitation Game is set to open the 58th BFI London Film Festival, Studiocanal released the UK trailer and in the US The Weinstein Company unveiled theirs.
A new web series is on the horizon, Camp Abercorn, which has launched an