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

NEWS

All the news from film and the world of the gays

George Clooney Says Gay Marriage Is The ‘Final Leg Of The Civil Rights Movement’

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As George Clooney has long been known as a bit of a left wing, Democrat voting, right-on celebrity, it should come as no surprise that he’s a big supporter of gay marriage (sadly for any his admirers, that doesn’t mean he wants one). He reiterated that support last week at the Critics’ Choice Awards, where he won Best Actor for his performance in The Descendents.

As we reported a few weeks ago Clooney is headlining a stage-reading in LA of 8, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black’s play about the trial to overturn Prop 8 and make same-sex marriage legal in California. While talking to E! about that and other things at the Critics’ Choice Awards, he said he doesn’t think it’ll be too long before same sex marriage is legal.

“I think the world is changing and it’s becoming less and less of an issue and I think it shouldn’t be long now,” Clooney said. “I think younger people are looking at this like, ‘Who cares?’

“I do believe it’s generational, much like the civil rights movement. Young people started taking to the streets and things changed. This really is the final leg of the civil rights movement.”

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Golden Globes Hit By Anti-Gay Protest – But Christopher Plummer & Modern Family Aren’t Impressesed

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While acceptance of gay people is far from 100% in the UK, we have got to the point where anti-gay people almost seem silly and twee with their backwards attitudes. That’s not so in the US, where the culture wars are still raging to a massive extent, to the point where a group of anti-gay protesters decided to set up shop opposite the Golden Globe Awards yesterday, according to THR.

That didn’t impress most of those in attendance. Christopher Plummer, who won a Golden Globe for playing an elderly gay man in Beginners, told reporters “Gay characters are human beings. We’re all exactly the same. Gays are part of our society and have been since the Egyptians, the Greeks; it is part of the human condition. I know there’s an awful lot of anti-gay feeling right now, particularly at this moment, and I abhor it.”

Eric Stonestreet, star of TV’s Modern Family also had something to say to the protesters, commenting to them, “You’re an idiot. America is a great place, speech is free and you’re able to expose the fact that you’re an idiot.”

Fellow Modern Family actor Julie Bowen said backstage, “I come from a long line of straight, white Republicans who don’t like people like this,” she said, motioning to openly gay co-star Jesse Ferguson. “But even they like this show. In country clubs all across America, the doors are cracking open.”

Let’s hope that’s true.

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Vision For The Future Of UK Film Set Out In Policy Review

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After David Cameron’s comments last week that he wanted film funding to be pushed towards “commercially successful pictures”, the Department Of Culture Media & Sport has published its Film Policy Review, which is full of recommendations to the government and industry for what they believe is the way forward for the UK movie industry. While the report didn’t particularly focus on LGBT movies, its ideas will have an impact on what gay & lesbian UK films are made and where they’re shown.

The review was led by former culture secretary Lord Chris Smith, the man who set up the UK Film Council, the body whose dissolution led to this review. Perhaps because of Smith’s presence, the review pushes for many of the same aims as he has for the Film Council, although in a way that pushes for more transparency with what happens to the money. Smith commented, “British film is in prime position to make a major contribution to the growth of the UK’s economy, to the development of attractive and fulfilling careers for young people and to the creation of job opportunities across the country.”

As you’d expect, there are aims to support the film industry outside London and the southeast, to increase and improve film education and to ensure that as diverse a range of different types of film are supported. Alongside that are aims for any lottery funds put into movies to have clear goals for getting a return on the investment, although not to the point of disincentivising filmmakers and producer.

While many worried Cameron’s comments meant the indie sector was in jeopardy, the Review is keen on indie movies, encouraging the BFI to support the sector in various ways and also giving recommendations for the distribution and exhibition of indie movies, which to be honest is probably more of any issue. That’s particularly true for LGBT movies and gay and lesbian distributors, who are working on very tight budgets and have often been hamstring by the logistics and expense involved in the distribution and exhibition. The review contains recommendations to help indie distributors in this new digital age, where the fact a physical print no longer has to be shipped around offers new possibilities.

Lord Smith, who is gay himself, wanted to assure people the review “advocates support for the widest possible range of films from the overtly commercial to the overtly arty and much in between,” rather than just the commercial movies David Cameron talked about, and that they weren’t “trying to dictate an artistic vision”

The real question now though is what the government does with the review. The PM has already suggested he wants a more commercial focus, which is fine as long as that doesn’t mean ignoring the review’s other suggestions. Indeed the idea of marketing British Film as a brand and holding a British Film Week to celebrate the UK industry, which the review is very keen on, is very much in line with David Cameron’s ideas, and would allow for support for all types of British movie.

There have already been several responses to the report, with Iain Smith, Chair of the British Film Commission, saying: “The recommendations in the Film Policy Review show an understanding that ambitious, big budget, international movies choosing to shoot in the UK play a significant role in supporting our domestic industry as well as helping to build a world-class skilled workforce, while also generating vital income for the economy. I believe that if the UK successfully services the international industry, it plays an important role in helping to develop our home grown talent and supporting a healthy and growing domestic industry. Quite simply the UK’s highly skilled film-making talent represent some of the best in the business; they are one of the UK’s greatest assets and something we must value and ensure we support and maintain.”

Lord David Putnam, President of the Film Distributor’s Association commented: “We welcome the review’s acknowledgement of the fundamental issues for film distributors that arise, in particular, on break-out or limited releases, where the costs of keeping films on digital screens can be higher. If the audience for film is to grow and develop, it is important that there is sufficient flexibility in the digital value chain to maintain and develop the hugely diverse range of films that are brought to market – today and in future.

“Finally, I hope the review will trigger a series of bold new steps in embedding the role of film in education. The Report’s clear message that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with film, and that watching, exploring, understanding and creating film is important for young people and the audience as a whole, is as admirable as it is welcome.”

If you’d like to read the report you can find the DCMS Film Policy Review here (PDF), and if you just want the recommendations, flick to page 91.

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Full Casa de mi Padre Trailer Hits

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Will Ferrell deciding to make a Spanish-language movie always sounded like a strange proposition and that opinion is unlikely to be changed by the trailer for Casa De Mi Padre. The film, made in the overblown, melodramatic style of Latin American telenovelas, see Ferrell as Armando Alvarez, who has lived and worked on his father’s ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando’s younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiancé, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul’s success as an international businessman means the ranch’s troubles are over, as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul’s business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal). The film should hit cinemas later this year.

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New Images From Prometheus, The Hobbit and Gangster Squad

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New pics have popped up online from some of this year’s most anticipated movies, with Noomi Rapace giving us a glimpse at the Space Jockey (above) in Prometheus, as well as Bilbo looking a little weary in The Hobbit and Josh Brolin striding manfully in The Gangster Squad.

The Prometheus pic comes via the LA Times, who also spoke to screenwriter Damon Lindelof, who had a couple of interesting titbits to add. He says, “The movie is definitely epic in its scope. One of the filmmakers that we ended up talking about to a fair degree of redundancy was David Lean, who directed Lawrence of Arabia. We wanted to make the movie feel big by having the characters be small in big spaces. That connected to the larger themes we were talking about – that we’re all just these little gnats crawling around on our little planet.”

The writer also talked about the secretive nature of Prometheus, relating it to his TV series Lost. “Coming out of Lost, I was like, ‘What a relief it’ll be to leave mystery and secretiveness behind.’ “Then I found myself in the same situation, and I thought, ‘Here we go again.'” The Ridley Scott film arrives in cinemas June 1st.


Poor old Bilbo look like he’s been in the wars in this new pic from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The hugely anticipated film will be on screens December 14th.


We had one pic from The Gangster Squad a couple of months ago, and now another has arrived, featuring Josh Brolin looking very period as he strolls along in front of the iconic Beverly Hills Police Headquarters. The real-life story centres on a high-profile unit of the LAPD in the 1940s, whose mission is to rid the streets of East Coast organised crime. The main action will be between Ryan Gosling’s cop and Sean Penn’s gangster kingpin, with Josh Brolin, Michael Pena, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Holt McCallany and Emma Stone also starring. It’ll be out November 9th.

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New Woman In Black Poster Goes Old-School Hammer

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While the reborn Hammer Films has been around for a few years now (getting involved in the likes of Let Me In), The Woman In Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, is probably the closest to the films the company was famous for in the old days. They’re playing that up with the fab new poster above, which was inspired by the classic poster images for the old-school Hammer horror movies.

It’s great fun for a film that promises plenty of jumps and chills when it’s released on February 10th.

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan Gets Stuck Into The Rut

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan, whose star has certainly risen in the past couple of years, is set to join young actress Chloe Moretz (whose been attached since 2010) in director Karyn Kusama’s (Jennifer’s Body) indie drama The Rut, according to Variety.

Described as a cross between Winter’s Bone and Sean Penn’s Into the Wild, the story follows a young girl who sets out into the wild by herself to hunt deer, hoping to win the approval of her father. It’s a very American story as you can’t imagine many British parents being impressed if their kids wandered off by themselves to kill an animal (indeed for most it’d be time to call the shrinks in).

It’ll be a while until we see The Rut though, as it isn’t set to start shooting until this October.

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Fantastic Four Reboot Eyes Chronicle Director Josh Trank

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Sony is testing the waters for rebooting a superhero franchise only a couple of years after the previous incarnation ended with The Amazing Spider-man this summer. Assuming that goes well, 20th Century Fox is planning to follow suit with a new take on Fantastic Four.

According to Variety, plans are moving forward as the studio is currently eyeing Chronicle director Josh Trank to helm the movie. However, the studio is waiting to see how his directorial debut, Chronicle, does at the box office before officially offering him the job.

Chronicle is a found-footage faux-documentary about a group of three high school friends who acquire an extraordinary set of telepathic powers. The superhero thriller has gained a lot of buzz and 20th Century Fox things they may have a hit on their hands, but they want to check audience reaction before giving Trank the big budget franchise.

Fox is currently awaiting the latest draft of Fantastic Four from Michael Green, who previously worked on Green Lantern. The idea is to give things a complete overhaul, offering a tweaked spin on the mythology and an entirely new cast.

Alongside Fantastic Four, 20th Century Fox is also continuing to move forward on the stand-alone R rated X-Men spin-off Deadpool, as well as a revamped Daredevil. 20th Century Fox owns these Marvel properties in perpetuity as long as they keep making films based on them. It is likely that Fantastic Four will be the next Marvel adventure from the studio.

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Golden Globe Winners Announced – Christopher Plummer Wins For Beginners

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If anyone was hoping that the Golden Globes would reveal a frontrunner for the Oscar, they’ll be disappointed, as that awards went pretty much across the board when they were handed out last night. The big winners were The Descendants for Best Picture (Drama) and The Artist for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy).

Although The Descendants has been a bit of a quiet success, there are many who feel it could do well at the Oscars and may win George Clooney a Best Actor award (as he got at the Globes on the Drama side).

On the LGBT side, the only film winner was Christopher Plummer, who picked up the Best Supporting Actor awards for playing an elderly gay man in Beginners. While Glenn Close was nominated for playing a woman living as a man in Albert Nobbs, she was beaten out by Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady in the Best Actress (Drama) category. In the TV categories, gay-friendly Modern Family did well, winning Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

Interestingly, while Best Director normally goes to someone who helmed one of the Best Picture winning films, in this case Martin Scorsese won for Hugo, which was that movie’s only award. It would be surprising if that patterns followed again at the Oscars. Other films to get at least one gong include Tintin, W.E., and A Separation. However overall it was The Artist that did best, with three awards, although it certainly didn’t sweep the boards and while it puts it in a strong position for the Academy Awards, it is by no means a cert.

Take a look below for all the winners in all the categories at this year’s Golden Globes.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
WINNER:
The Descendants

Nominees:
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
WINNER:
The Artist

Nominees:
Bridesmaids
50/50
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
WINNER:
George Clooney for The Descendants

Nominees:
Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender for Shame
Ryan Gosling for The Ides of March
Brad Pitt for Moneyball

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
WINNER:
Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady

Nominees:
Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis for The Help
Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
WINNER:
Jean Dujardin for The Artist

Nominees:
Brendan Gleeson for The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50
Ryan Gosling for Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson for Midnight in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
WINNER:
Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn

Nominees:
Jodie Foster for Carnage
Charlize Theron for Young Adult
Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids
Kate Winslet for Carnage

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WINNER:
Christopher Plummer for Beginners

Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks for Drive
Jonah Hill for Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WINNER:
Octavia Spencer for The Help

Nominees:
Bérénice Bejo for The Artist
Jessica Chastain for The Help
Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs
Shailene Woodley for The Descendants

Best Director – Motion Picture
WINNER:
Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Nominees:
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
George Clooney for The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
WINNER:
Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen

Nominees:
The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Ides of March: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moneyball: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
WINNER:
W.E.: Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry(Masterpiece)

Nominees:
Albert Nobbs: Brian Byrne, Glenn Close(Lay Your Head Down)
Gnomeo & Juliet: Elton John, Bernie Taupin(Hello Hello)
The Help: Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas(The Living Proof)
Machine Gun Preacher: Chris Cornell(The Keeper)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
WINNER:
The Artist: Ludovic Bource

Nominees:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Hugo: Howard Shore
War Horse: John Williams
W.E.: Abel Korzeniowski

Best Animated Film
WINNER:
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Nominees:
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film
WINNER:
A Separation (Iran)

Nominees:
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid with a Bike (Belgium)
The Skin I Live In (Spain)

Best Television Series – Drama
WINNER:
Homeland

Nominees:
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Boss
Game of Thrones

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
WINNER:
Modern Family

Nominees:
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
New Girl

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER:
Downton Abbey

Nominees:
Cinema Verite
The Hour
Mildred Pierce
Too Big to Fail

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
WINNER:
Kelsey Grammer for Boss

Nominees:
Steve Buscemi for Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad
Jeremy Irons for The Borgias
Damian Lewis for Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
WINNER:
Claire Danes for Homeland

Nominees:
Mireille Enos for The Killing
Julianna Margulies for The Good Wife
Madeleine Stowe for Revenge
Callie Thorne for Necessary Roughness

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
WINNER:
Matt LeBlanc for Episodes

Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
David Duchovny for Californication
Johnny Galecki for The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane for Hung

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
WINNER:
Laura Dern for Enlightened

Nominees:
Zooey Deschanel for New Girl
Tina Fey for 30 Rock
Laura Linney for The Big C
Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER:
Idris Elba for Luther

Nominees:
Hugh Bonneville for Downton Abbey
William Hurt for Too Big to Fail
Bill Nighy for Page Eight
Dominic West for The Hour

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER:
Kate Winslet for Mildred Pierce

Nominees:
Romola Garai for The Hour
Diane Lane for Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern for Downton Abbey
Emily Watson for Appropriate Adult

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER:
Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones

Nominees:
Paul Giamatti for Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce for Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins for Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet for Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER:
Jessica Lange for American Horror Story

Nominees:
Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith for Downton Abbey
Sofía Vergara for Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood for Mildred Pierce

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Tim Burton May Return To Direct Beetlejuice 2

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Back in October, Beetlejuice 2 screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith said that he had the blessing of original Beetlejuice director Tim Burton for his planned sequel, but we didn’t whether that meant Burton was being active or passive in the process. Now MTV reports that Burton is involved enough that he may come back to direct Beetlejuice 2.

The filmmaker says, “Yes. I love that character, and Michael (Keaton) is so great in it. I always think about how great and fun that character was, so I just said to (writer) Seth (Grahame-Smith), ‘If you have some idea about it, go for it, and then I’ll look at it freshly.’ In the past, I tried some things, but that was way back when. He seemed really excited about it. I told him to try some stuff, but he hasn’t come back to me yet. Michael was so great in it. I’m sure he’d strangely tap right back into it.”

Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg came on board to write Beetlejuice 2 back in September. The project is still in early stages of development, but the prospect of getting Tim Burton and Michael Keaton to reunite for the sequel is quite intriguing – we’re still quite a long way from that happening though.

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