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

Gay Film I Am Banned From Public TV In India

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I’ve mentioned before that one of the biggest public debates in the world over homosexuality is going on in India, where decriminalisation has finally allowed many to express their sexuality but also set off a backlash by more conservative elements.

Earlier this year the film I Am, directed by Onir, surprised many when it picked up Best Hindi Feature Film at the National Film Awards, India’s most prestigious film awards ceremony. I Am tells four separate stories, one about child abuse, one about gay rights, one about Kashmir and one about sperm donation, all of which are big issues in India today.

However the movie has now been banned from public TV channel Doordarshan by the Indian Censor Board, which deemed its themes too adult for the station. The film could be shown on satellite channels but not on the major channel with the biggest potential audience.

Director Onir told The Times Of India, !The Censor Board had asked us to make a few cuts in the film and despite having cut seven minutes of the film and all abuses we are refused whereas the same TV shows other much more adult stuff. I am dismayed at the double standards of the censor board… I’m angry at this because, when so many regressive films screen on DD, a national award film is denied the same! I am appalled when a gay relation is termed abnormal. Isn’t it a violation of the Delhi High Court’s judgment three years ago on IPC 377 legalising same sex relationships and despite that the Indian Censor board still does not respect the decision? I mean come on, kids learn about sperms in school and children need to learn to respect diversity from a young age to be able to respect everyone.”

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Brad Pitt’s Mom Is Against Gay Marriage!

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Brad Pitt is well known as one of the biggest proponents of LGBT equality in Hollywood, and previously stated he wouldn’t get married to Angelina Jolie until the right was extended to all couples (although more recently they decided to get hitched anyway). However it appears his mother may not share his sentiments.

Pitt’s mum, Jane, wrote a letter to her local Springfield, Missouri newspaper, the News Leader (which confirmed it was indeed her and not someone using her name), outlining her opposition to President Obama, including his support for equal marriage.

In trying to argue that Christians should vote for Mitt Romney, even though he’s a Mormon, she writes, “Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama – a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage.”

At least her son doesn’t share those sentiments.

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‘Where The Bears Are’ Web Series Hitting In August

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Creating a web series is becoming an increasingly popular way for those looking to get their work to the public outside the controlling hand of big media. It’s even better for those working in low budget areas where getting financing and distribution by traditional methods can be incredibly tough.

That seems to be the philosophy behind Where The Bears Are, a gay mystery web series that’s due to hit the internet in August. Created by a group of film and TV veterans, they decided not to have the door of Hollywood continually slammed in their face while seeking funding. Instead they went out and did it all themselves, simply buying an HD camera and getting the job done.

From the creative team of Rick Copp (The Brady Bunch Movie) Joe Dietl (The Thin Pink Line) and Ben Zook (Jack and Jill), Where the Bears Are is a comedy mystery web series. Copp describes it as, “This is basically The Golden Girls meets Murder, She Wrote about three bears living together in Silver Lake in Los Angeles, who attempt to solve the murder of a party guest that turned up dead in their bathroom.”

The series consists of 26 four-minute episodes, with the mystery eventually reaching its climax in the desert outside of Palm Springs. Featuring guest appearances by Bruce Daniels, Tuc Watkins, Jackie Beat, and Shawn Pelofsky, the series is designed to appeal to both gay and straight audiences alike, and will premiere online August 1st, 2012 at wherethebearsare.tv.

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Bryan Singer Releasing H+ The Digital Series On August 8th

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X-Men director Bryan Singer has been busy working on Jack The Giant Killer, which is due out March 2013, but the gay helmer has also found time to produce H+ The Digital Series, a 48-part sci-fi show, offering over three hours of entertaining, which will be released online, starting August 8th.

H+ takes viewers on an episodic, apocalyptic journey into the future where consumers are rapidly installing a chip called H+ into their nervous systems that allows them to access the Internet 24 hours a day – by just thinking it. One day, a virus is released – causing a third of the world’s population to die instantly. The series deals with the massive political and human changes that take place, the fight for survival and the mystery to discover who is behind this atrocity.

The series is directed by Stewart Hendler (Sorority Row), and stars an acclaimed international cast that includes Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Amir Arison (Law & Order: SVU) and David Clayton Rogers (Jane By Design). Bryan Singer comments, “Our first venture into the digital space gives us the freedom to engage fans with new content that is immersive, interactive and is tailored to be enjoyed online, H+ The Digital Series on YouTube provides us with a strong two-way dialogue with our fans, creating a deeper and ongoing connection.”

Fans can subscribe to the H+ The Digital Series channel on YouTube. In the coming days and weeks leading to launch, viewers will have access to exclusive new content which will provide insight into the origins of H+ and details about this ambitious and innovative digital series.

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My Night With Andrew Cunanan Short Film Trailer

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Here’s a short that could be interesting It’s based on the true story of a man who ended up becoming involved with Andrew Cunanan, the gay serial killer who went on a cross-country killing spree that ended with the murder of Gianni Versace and Cunanan’s suicide. A docudrama crime thriller based on real life events in San Francisco in 1997, where one young gay drunken man encounters Cunanan days before he would begin the spree that earned him the dubious honour of being the youngest serial killer on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list. Could one decision made during that encounter have prevented the murder of five men? This cautionary tale invites us to consider whether fate can be changed by exploring ‘What if…?’ The film has already screened at several festivals, and will be seen at more in the coming months. You can find out more about it at the film’s official site.

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Cal Trailer – Take a look at the follow-up to gay Brit flick Shank

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While not perfect, 2009’s Shank was a hard-hitting and incredibly involving look at being young and gay on the streets of a big city. Now a follow-up has been filmed, following the story of lead character Cal (Wayne Virgo). He’s back at home, facing his troubled past and seeing student Jason, while the city disintegrates around them, with law and order dissolving and the angry youth ready to riot. Cal also has to deal with the fact his mother is dying in hospital. Take a look at the trailer, and you can read our review of Shank here.

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Barbra Streisand & Larry Kramer Spar Over The Normal Heart

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In the world of film, it often takes years for a movie to get from script to screen, while even more are put into development and never get turned into a movie. For many years, Barbra Streisand was attached to direct an adaptation of Larry Kramer’s award-winning play, The Normal Heart, about the early days of the AIDS crisis. However it never actually got in front of the camera.

However rather than resigning himself to this fact, Kramer has decided to reinstigate a war of words with Streisand over the that fact she couldn’t get the film up and running, comparing it to Glee creator Ryan Murphy, who’s now planning to turn Normal Heart into a movie. He decided to write a response after he sent positive notices for the current tour of the play, and she replied, “Why make me sad that I’m not directing your wonderful play??”

Kramer has written a public letter to Streisand, published by the New York Post, saying ‘Dear Barbra . . . My fellow warrior against good and evil, all those many years you could have directed it — what happened to all that time? When your options lapsed, I said you could buy it for a million dollars and do whatever you wanted with it . You kept telling me I wanted too much money. I kept telling you this is my only asset to sell and live on for the rest of my life. (AIDS activists don’t make much money.) You couldn’t tell me what you didn’t like about my screenplays. (God knows I wrote enough drafts for you.).

‘Ryan has wonderful ideas that jell and enhance my work. You said you couldn’t get financing. He has his financing. He said if he couldn’t get it, he’d finance it himself. (You chose to remodel and redecorate your houses.) This is a man whose driving passion to make this movie is extraordinary.’

Barbra has since responded on her website, saying ‘Larry Kramer does not need me to publicize his beautiful play. It stands on its own. For the last time – I will answer his complaints, which rewrite history.’

Streisand says she tried very hard to get it made and even took the project to HBO, which offered Kramer $250,000, but he would not agree to anything less than $1 million. She also says that she often worked on it for free (even when she no longer had the rights) and at one point lined up Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo and Bradley Cooper to star.

‘I think it’s unfair to keep blaming me for the movie not getting made,’ she writes. ‘I worked on it for 25 years, without pay. Larry had the rights for the last 15 years and he couldn’t get it made either. Those are the facts, and none of this is news to Larry. More recently, he sent me a note before giving the project to another director, asking me again if I wanted to direct it – but only with his screenplay. As a filmmaker, I couldn’t have my hands tied like that. What if I needed changes? Sadly, I turned his offer down and wished him well.’

To be honest, the whole thing is a bit unseemly, and quite why Kramer decided to take it public (especially as the whole thing doesn’t reflect entirely positively on him) is anyone’s guess, especially now that things are going ahead and it finally looks like he’s getting his movie made.

Assuming Murphy’s film version goes ahead as planned, it will star Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Julia Roberts, Alec Baldwin and Mark Ruffalo.

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Shailene Woodley Takes The Lead In Gregg Araki’s White Bird

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Gregg Araki’s movies  – which have tended to be of major gay interest – have ranged from the wonderful to the incredibly messy, but they’re never less than interesting. Now he’s plotting a new one, White Bird, and according to Variety he’s cast Descendants star Shailene Woodley in the lead role.

There’s now a vast amount of info on the plot, although Araki’s film will be told through the perspective of Woodley’s character, a ‘troubled young woman whose life is upended following the mysterious disappearance of her mother.’

Araki has a loyal following on the indie and gay cinema circuits with the likes of Kaboom! and The Doom Generation, but only Mysterious Skin has found a wider audience (and even then not a huge one). It’s unclear whether casting Woodley is an attempt to embrace the mainstream, or if the actress is simply interested in going into the director’s weird world.

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Leave It On The Floor UK Trailer – A great gay musical full of dance

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The ball-busting, in-your-face and very gay musical Leave It On The Floor hits UK cinemas on August 2nd and then comes to DVD on September 24th, Peccadillo Pictures has now released the UK trailer for the movie, which busts a move and shows off the film’s insatiable energy.

If you’d like to know a bit more about the film, you can read our interview with director Sheldon Larry, who we chatted to when the film screened at the London Lesbian & Day Film Festival.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘High flying and low down, LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR is a one of a kind celebration – a gay African-American musical about finding your true family.

‘In the spirit of PARIS IS BURNING, Sheldon Larry’s audacious, raunchy and big-hearted musical — with songs by BEYONCE’s  music director Kim Burse and choreography by BEYONCE’s dance master Frank Gatson Jr. – takes us into the fabulously funky world of vogueing. Here the setting is contemporary downtown L.A.  Our hunky, homeless hero Brad, discarded by his homophobic mother, falls in with the members of the ‘House of Eminence’, a troupe of wild and unforgiving dancers and artists ruled by the stern diva Queef Latina, who keeps a careful, loving watch over her makeshift family of runaways and throwaways. When two of her crew fall for Brad, the Queef is royally un-amused, and with a dance-off showdown fast approaching, things are going to get seriously heated.  STEP UP and STREETDANCE move aside, there’s a new beat in town…’

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Chuck Norris Says Obama Is Trying To Make Boy Scouts Gay!

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He may have a reputation for being cool and one of the hardest men on the planets, but when it comes to gay rights issues, Chuck Norris is, well, an ass. His latest assault on equality is a column he wrote on the TownHall website, in which the conspiracy minded, avowedly conservative Republican argues that President Obama is trying to force the Boy Scouts Of America to be gay.

The BSA currently has a ban on openly gay people serving in leadership positions, or indeed been Scouts themselves, but has recently agreed to review this proscription – just review it, as it hasn’t said it’ll overturn it. Norris is a bit up in arms about this and blames connections he sees between Obama and business executive James Turley, a member of the Boy Scout’s national board, who has pledged to try to end the ban on gay scouts and leaders.

Norris asks, “Is Turley working on his own initiative, or has the White House prodded him with perks and favors?” Perhaps unsurprisingly Chuck can’t answer that question in his scaremongering piece, which poses a series of unanswered, “Is it a coincidence?” questions.

However, Chuck doesn’t bother to offer a reason why it would be so terrible if Obama were pushing for a pro-Gay scouts, or why the current ban is reasonable (other than spouting on about first amendment rights). It is perhaps the most insidious homophobia when someone doesn’t even argue why something is bad, simply assuming people will agree that the word ‘gay’ makes it so, and indeed that you can smear Obama by trying to attaching him to it.

Since his post GLAAD has pointed out that “Norris ignored the fact, however, that Republican candidate Mitt Romney spoke out in favor of allowing gay Americans to participate in the Boy Scouts of America in a 1994 debate when he stated: ‘I believe that the Boy Scouts of America does a wonderful service for this country. I support the right of the Boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue. I feel that all people should be able to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation.'”

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