While a lot of American fast food chains have made the UK their home, Chick-fil-A isn’t one of them, and quite frankly, at the moment I’m not thinking that’s a bad thing. The second biggest chicken restaurant firm in America has been under scrutiny by gay rights groups for a while, having donated millions to groups working against equality.

A few days ago Dan Cathy, COO of Chick-fil-A, went on record to announcethe company was officially against marriage equality, saying “Guilty as charged… We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that … We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”

Now actor Ed Helms has joined the growing boycott of the firm, tweeting “Chick-Fil-A doesn’t like gay people? So lame. Hate to think what they do to the gay chickens! Lost a loyal fan.”

Several groups are now calling on those who believe in marriage equality to avoid Chick-fil-A, which now has at least one celebrity supporter in Helms. For what it’s worth, if I’m ever in the States, I won’t go there either!

It’s tough getting an indie movie made, especially one that’s gay themed. As a result an increasing number are looking to crowdsourcing to try and get into production. One that’s vurrently going down that route, is Better Half, which has a Kickstarter campaign to try and get at least $35,000 so it has enough money to go before the cameras.

You can take a look at the preview clip above to see whether you think it might be worth getting the full movie made, and then head over to Kickstarter and pledge some cash. And if you need a bit more info on Better Half, here’s their statement below.

When was the last time you saw a dramatic gay film that didn’t have a coming-out, a pulsing night club setting, a heated courtroom debate on discrimination or a HIV/AIDs PSA embedded within it? What was the last gay film where the plot focused on the human drama between people, and not the “Gay”?

They ARE out there. We want to bring you the next great one… with Better Half.

Better Half is a story about a young DC couple’s transition from couplehood to becoming a family, who also happen to be gay. Tony is the kind-hearted social worker who can’t turn a blind eye to any soul in need, much to the frustration of his practical-minded partner. Leo is a financial planner who likes his things: his loving partner, his growing small business and prefers to live quietly & simply, with as little contact with the rest of the world as possible. So when an infant is abandoned at Saint Agnes, Tony sees it as a sign. Suddenly Leo is confronted with making good on his claim that he wants a family with Tony. Family-phobic and emotionally guarded, Leo must reconcile his fear of fatherhood with the real risk of losing Tony altogether.

Over and over again, folks who have read this script insist this is something new, that Better Half is a film missing from the landscape of gay cinema. And, we wanna bring it to you, but we need your help!

We are a resourceful bunch, so it won’t take a million dollars to make a great film. At present we have a modest “guerilla filmmaker’s” budget at $257K. We are really hustling to nibble away at that number. We are already well into pre-production, nailing down locations and talking to talent about roles and shooting schedules. We need to raise a cool $75K to get us through principle photography.

As a production team, we have worked together before. We are accustomed to shooting fast and light without sacrificing quality in the storytelling or production value. We got a bunch of passionate people on board for this project; they want to see this film made. But We can’t do it with Your support!

Jennifer Tilly as Clara Bow in Return To Babylon

A few week ago we posted some images from the upcoming comedy Scenes From A Gay Marriage, which proved extremely popular due to quite how amazingly hot the cast is!

Now we’ve had news from the movie’s openly gay director, Matt Riddlehoover, who’s revealed that it’s not only Scenes From A Gay Marriage he has ready for release, but also another film called Return To Babylon. In that film ‘scandals and pratfalls abound in this satirical and sexy look at the silent movie era’. The title pays homage to Kenneth Anger’s infamous book Hollywood Babylon, which purported to lift the lid on the sex, drugs and death in classic Hollywood (although many have questioned the truth of much of what gay film pioneer Anger wrote). That gives us a hint about what we can expect from Return To Babylon. Here’s the release we received:

‘Matt Riddlehoover, 26, is a hyphenate extraordinaire. The openly gay writer-producer-director-actor-editor has not one, but two new films set for release.

‘Playing off of his likeness to [and love of] Woody Allen, Riddlehoover’s upcoming comedy, Scenes from a Gay Marriage, touches on themes such as sex, love, and adultery. The film stars Riddlehoover, Jared Allman (Sundance Channel’s Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys) and hunky newcomer Carson Nicely.

‘Meanwhile, Return to Babylon, a silent feature Riddlehoover wrote, executive produced, and edited [long before the success of The Artist], is securing distribution. Jennifer Tilly (pictured), Debi Mazar, Enrique Sapene, and Tippi Hedren are among its sparkling cast.

‘Riddlehoover will reteam with Allman, Sapene, and Bring Chase Productions for another [as of right now untitled] comedy in 2013.

‘Keep up with UK release dates and showtimes at http://www.facebook.com/scenesfromagaymarriage‘

Personally, we can’t wait to see both films!