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

Rian Johnson To Direct Star Wars Episodes VII & IX

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rian-johnsonThere had been an assumption that when JJ Abrams signed up to make Star Wars Episode VI, he would also make part VII and IX too. However it turns out he won’t, as it’s been announced that Looper and Brick director Rian Johnson has been hired to write and helm Star Wars: Episode VIII and Star Wars: Episode IX, according to Deadline.

It’s not clear why Abrams isn’t returning, but there’s speculation that while Disney wants Episodes VII and IX in 2017 and 2019, JJ’s tends to like to take his time putting all the pieces in place, so either he or Lucasfilm could have been worried he’d be unable to hit those deadline.

Johnson will also write the movies, which will be his primary focus for the next several years.

Abrams is currently on set helming Star Wars: Episode VII, with Josh Trank (The Fantastic Four) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) recently hired to direct to direct Star Wars spin-off movies, which will be released in the years between new instalments of the central story arc.

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Jamie Dornan Is Looking Fine In The First Official Fifty Shades Of Grey Pic

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fifty-shades-pic1Although we’ve had some staged shots of Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson for Fifty Shades Of Grey, to celebrate Christian Grey’s birthday the first official in-movie pic from the film version has been released, which you can see above.

However while you might hope it would tease some of the film’s kinkier aspects, it’s a pretty safe shot.

The movie follows 27-year-old billionaire Christian Grey (Dornan) and his S&M filled affair with young college student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson). Jennifer Ehle, Victor Rasuk, Eloise Mumford and Max Martini also star. Sam Taylor-Johnson is directing from a script by Kelly Marcel, Patrick Marber and Mark Bomback.

It’s due out February 13th 2015.

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Guardians Of The Galaxy UK Trailer – Including our best look yet at Rocket Raccoon

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guardians-of-the-galaxy-uk-posterIt seems like we’ve been waiting forever for Guardians Of The Galaxy, but it’s just a month and a half until Marvel’s space opera gamble arrived in cinemas. To make sure our interest doesn’t flag a new UK trailer has been released, which includes plenty of new footage, including what’s probably our best look yet at Rocket Raccoon.

And there’s also a rather cool new poster, which you can see above.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

‘Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector. James Gunn is the director of the film with Kevin Feige, p.g.a., producing. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman and releases in UK cinemas in 3D on Thursday July 31, 2014.’ [Read more…]

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New Father Of The Bride Film Plans A Gay Wedding, With Steve Martin Returning

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father-of-the-bride-1991How do you make a Father Of The Bride movie without a bride? As a result, don’t be surprised if the film changes its name to Father Of The Groom, but a third movie in the Steve Martin franchise is being planned, which will revolve around his gay son.

According to nikkifinke.com, a follow up to 1991’s Father Of The Bride and its 1995 sequel is in the works, which will see Steve Martin back as George Banks. While the first two movies followed Banks as he gave away his daughter and then had to learn to accept that she was now a woman, the third instalment will shift the focus to his son, Matty (originally played by Kieran Culkin), who’s now 29 and lets his parents know he intends to marry the son of a Navy SEAL.

George is apparently “thunderstruck and speechless”, as he’s not a big fan of all things gay. However in a show of solidarity with her child, George’s reaction results in his wife Nina (Diane Keaton) kicking him out of the house.

There are rights issues to be sorted, as while Disney/Touchstone made the 1991 and 1995 movies, Warner Bros now owns the original 1950 Father Of The Bride, starring Spencer Tracy, that the Steve Martin films were based on. Disney is apparently keen to make the new film and are currently trying to get the rights issues straightened. And with more and more US States allowing gay people to get married, it may allow them to catch the Zeitgeist (if the film is good).

Assuming everything is sorted out, original director and co-writer Charles Shyer will return to helm this third movie.

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It’s Two Tom Hardys For The Price Of One (Including A Bisexual One) In The First Pic From Legend

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Tom-Hardy-LegendThe crime thriller Legend started shooting this week and to get us excited the first pic has been released, via ThePlaylist, which shows us not one but two Tom Hardys, as he’s playing both of the infamous London gangsters the Kray Twins.

The film will ‘chart the tortured and unique relationship between gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, the identical twin brothers infamous for their criminal exploits in London during the 1950s and 1960s… The script takes in associates, rivals – such as notorious gangster Jack “the Hat” McVitie, who was murdered by Reginald in 1967 – politician Lord Boothby, and the brothers’ nemesis in the police force, DS Leonard “Nipper” Read, who made it his life’s ambition to put the Krays behind bars.’

The brothers were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults, and several murders, and became infamous in the Swinging Sixties, mixing with celebs and giving off an aura of immunity. However they were eventually arrested in 1968 and sentenced to life in prison.

In the pic, Ronnie is the one with glasses and Reggie is the one without. What’s not known is how the film will deal with the sexuality of Reggie Kray, who was bisexual (while some say he exclusively slept with men, he identified as bisexual). He is believed to have been quite open about this even at the height of his gangster exploits. However it is known the film will deal with him trying to keep his brothers’ psychotic tendencies in check.

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Chris Pratt’s Star Lord & Dave Bautista’s Drax Get Guardians Of The Galaxy Posters

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Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Star-Lord-posterIn the last couple of days we’ve had Guardians Of The Galaxy character posters for Rocket Raccoon and Groot, and Zoe Saldana’s Gamora. Now the set is complete the release of promo pics for Chris Pratt’s Star Lord and Dave Bautista’s Drax.

We’ve also been sent character descriptions for most of the non-human characters, which you can read below, accompanied by the UK versions of the posters.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

‘Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969). James Gunn is the director of the film with Kevin Feige producing, and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. The story is by Nicole Perlman and James Gunn, with screenplay by James Gunn. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” releases in UK cinemas on August 1, 2014.’

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Gamora-uk-posterGamora (Zoe Saldana) Gamora is an orphan from an alien world who was raised by the mysterious Thanos to become the perfect weapon. As Thanos’ personal assassin, Gamora has earned a reputation as a formidable warrior. Gamora now seeks redemption for her past crimes.

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Drax-posterDrax (Dave Bautista) A physical brute, Drax has a personal vendetta against Ronan, who killed his family. Now fueled by pure rage, Drax will stop at nothing to take his revenge on the most dangerous being in the galaxy.

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Groot-Rocket-uk-posterGroot (Vin Diesel) Groot descends from a race of walking flora and resembles a sentient tree. Despite his strange appearance and limited communication skills, Groot proves to be a valuable ally and a loyal friend—not only to his fellow bounty hunter Rocket but to the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy as well.

Rocket (Bradley Cooper) Rocket is a bounty hunter and mercenary whose mastery of weapons and battle tactics make him a formidable warrior, despite being a genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced, talking raccoon. The result of traumatic biological experimentation, Rocket is a genuine gun-toting badass and mechanical genius who has a huge chip on his shoulder.

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Peyton Reed Announced To Direct Marvel’s Ant Man

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peyton-reedAfter Edgar Wright’s departure and Adam McKay saying he couldn’t do it, Marvel has been scrambling to find a replacement director for Ant Man. As they want to keep their Summer 2015 release date, there’s only a short list of directors with the right experience and who might be free.

Now it seems they’ve found one they think can do the job – Peyton Reed. He has plenty of experience with comedy, having helmed the likes of Bring It On, The Break-up and Yes Man. However he hasn’t really done much on the major tentpole action or, special effects front, so this will be something rather different for him.

He’s not a name that’s likely to get that many people excited (and indeed some will undoubtedly say he’s been brought in more by necessity than that he’s truly the right man for the job), but he’s a decent director and if he’s got the right people around him to help with the more technical FX side, there’s no reason to say he can’t make a success of it.

Along with the news of who will direct came a bit more of a plot synopsis, which says, ‘When Marvel’s “Ant-Man” hits theaters July 17, 2015, director Peyton Reed will help shepherd the hero into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a cast led by Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, with writer Adam McKay contributing to the film’s script.

‘Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.’

It’s interesting news that while McKay won’t direct, he will put the final touches on the script, especially as it was the changes new writers had added to Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish’s script that resulted in Wright walking. Hopefully when the film’s released Edgar will let us know how close it is to what he was planning.

It also means that Reed will have to push back his work on The Fifth Beatle, about the legendary music group’s gay manager, Brian Epstein.

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Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Ron Perlman Join Roland Emmerich’s Gay Rights Drama, Stonewall

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jonathan-rhys-meyersA couple of months ago Roland Emmerich promised he’d start shooting his gay rights movie Stonewall soon. Now he’s making good on that, as filming is about to kick off and more cast members have been announced.

Jeremy Irvine and Caleb Landry Jones are already onboard, and now Variety reports they’ve been joined by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman and Joey King. Jonny Beauchamp, Karl Glusman, Vlademir Alexis, and Alexandre Nachi will also star.

The film will centre around Irvine’s Danny, a young man whose political awakening happens against the backdrop of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which have since become a touchstone for the gay rights struggle. Caleb Landry Jones will play an eccentric gay street hustler named Orphan Annie who at first resists then warms up to Danny and later participates in the Stonewall uprising.

It’s not clear who the other actors will play. Shooting is starting now in New York.

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The Normal Heart (TV Review)

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In the last few years there seems to have been a renewed interest in the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. There have been documentaries, films and books, as well as major re-stagings of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart. The reason for this is probably twofold.

Firstly there is a whole generation of LGBT people who weren’t even born when AIDS first emerged, many of whom know little about it. Even if they do know about it, they often treat it like something from the dim and distant past that has nothing to do with them (as I’ve said before, the fact gay-history isn’t taught in schools tends to make many people, including many gay people, think there isn’t one or that it isn’t important). Secondly, those who survived the emergence of ‘gay cancer’ are now getting older (Kramer is now 78) and so it’s not surprising that they should want their stories recorded to ensure that it’s those who lived through it who control the narrative. [Read more…]

Maleficent (Cinema Review)

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At long last one of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2014 has arrived. However it’s one of those films that could either have been excellent or a total mess. Thankfully Maleficent is in fact magnificent!

Disney has released a few very expensive live-action movie in the Spring and Summer in the last few years – Alice In Wonderland, John Carter, Lone Ranger etc – some more successful than others. However this time they will have the jackpot, despite a budget of an estimated $200M. If there’s any justice Maleficent will make that back in spades. [Read more…]