In 1970 the Stonewall riots had only just happened and if you were famous – or wanted to stay that way – you didn’t even hint you were anything but straight. However, Dusty Springfield didn’t care about that. In 1970 the British singer, who’d already had vast success with songs like I Only Want to Be with You and Son Of A Preacher Man, came out as bisexual, telling the London Evening Standard that, “I know that I’m as perfectly capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy.”
She is a fascinating figure, and now it looks like she’s getting a long overdue biopic, currently titled So Much Love. It doesn’t look like it will cover her whole life, instead concentrating on the period when she was recording her legendary 1968 album, Dusty In Memphis. The official synopsis (as reported by The Guardian) says, “It will follow her as she navigates her way through the politics of the recording studio and the city, and will also explore her encounter with the music of Motown, her stand against apartheid policies during her aborted South African tour and her thorny brushes with men in the music industry.”
Although that synopsis might typically make us thing the film would ignore her sexuality, the fact that it’ll be written and directed by Phyllis Nagy, who scored an Oscar-nominated for her screenplay for the decidedly queer, Carol, should mean it’ll be a better rounded portrait. Gemma Arterton has already been lined up to play Dusty.
The Their Finest and Prince Of Persia actress commented, “I have been an admirer of Dusty Springfield since I was a teenager: her effortless husky voice, the way she conveyed emotion through music, how she helped bring Motown to the UK. Dusty was ahead of her time in many ways and inspired so many future artists. She was generous, witty, mercurial, shy, extroverted and a true English eccentric. I simply cannot wait to play her.”
The film should shoot in the UK and US next year, and may be in cinemas by the end of 2019 (presumably hoping for an awards run).
There’s been a bit of speculation about the sexuality of Garrett Clayton, the young actor who first got noticed in Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Party. Clayton has played several queer roles, most notably playing gay porn star Brent Corrigan in King Cobra, and on several occasions has suggested he’s gay, while refusing to actually say it – leading some to suggest he was the latest inhabitant of the glass closet.
The Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody was in the works for years, working its ways through numerous directors and potential stars before it finally settled on Bryan Singer behind the camera and Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. However, drama hit when Singer was sensationally fired after problems on set and then taking an unscheduled break. He was replaced by Dexter Fletcher.
Tab Hunter, the 1950s star of the likes of Damn Yankees!, who came out as gay in his 2005 memoir, has died, aged 86. Born Arthur Andrew Kelm on July 11th, 1931, Tab was a talented ice skater and horse rider as a teen, who joined the coastguard and then almost accidentally segued into acting.
Amandla Stenberg is part of a generation of young artists and performers who seem more comfortable talking about their sexuality than has been true for many of those older than them. The actress has previously talked about being queer, bisexual, pansexual and/or gender fluid, but now the 19-year has said that she currently identifies as gay.
Of all of Disney’s planned live-action versions of their animated classics, Dumbo has been one of the most unexpected and potentially risky. Now the first teaser has arrived, which is both intriguing and rather eerie, although may not be that good a guide to the tone of the actual film.
It was tough being gay in the 1950s, and even more so if you were in the public eye and one of the most famous men in the world. That’s the position Hollywood teen idol Tab Hunter found himself in, living one life publicly – incuding going on studio mandated dates with women – and another privately. Hunter recounted his experiences of coming to terms with his sexuality and his experiences of being a gay star in the 50s in his memoir, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star.
Robin Campillo’s 120 BPM (aka 120 battements par minute) has been winning praise ever since it debuted at Cannes last year, including winning the Grand Prix and Queer Palm at the festival. It’s gone on to win multiple other awards, including Best Film at the Cesar Awards (France’s equivalent of the Oscars). Now it’s arriving on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on June 4th, and to celebrate we’ve teamed up with Curzon Artificial Eye to give away three copies of the movie on Blu-ray.