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

Edgar Ramirez Has Joy Alongside Jennifer Lawrence In David O. Russell’s Biopic

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edgar-ramirezAfter a few years flirting on the edges of Hollywood following his acclaimed performance in Carlos, Edgar Ramirez is in talks for a major role in David O. Russell’s joy, according to THR.

He joins Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in the movie, which is a biopic of Joy Mangano, a struggling Long Island single mom of three who became one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs with her self-wringing Miracle Mop invention. Annie Mumolo wrote the script about a woman who was working three jobs to try and support her family, and had to fight to get her invention recognised, but it eventually became a home shopping sensation, including her becoming one of the Home Shopping Network’s most successful presenters. Robert De Niro will play Joy’s father.

Assuming he signs on Ramirez will play her husband, Tony.

The actor has had small roles in the likes of Wrath Of The Titans, Zero Dark Thirty and The Bourne Ultimatum. However with his upcoming appearance as Bodhi in the remake of Point Break and now Joy, his star could be about the break big.

The film is due to shoot next February and may well be making an Oscar run at the end of 2015.

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Gay-Themed Pride Wins Big At The British Independent Film Awards

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andrew-scott-bifa-prideBrit flick Pride certainly had a good night at the British Independent Film Awards, where it picked up Best British Independent Film, while Andrew Scott and Imelda Staunton won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.

Pride follows the true story of a group of gay men and lesbians who comes together during the 1980s miners’ strike to raise funds to support those who Margaret Thatcher’s government is trying to put out of work. However they discover that most miners don’t want to be associated with lesbians and gays, until they contact a small Welsh village who agree to take their money. While the villagers are unsure about this new association, an unexpected bond begins to grow between the small-town miners and the big city gays.

The Imitation Game, about gay mathematician and computing pioneer Alan Turing, was up for four awards, but despite some saying it’s likely to score Oscar noms, it walked away with nothing at the BIFAs. However Benedict Cumberbatch did pick up the Variety Award, which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to shine the international spotlight on the UK.

Also missing out was Hong Khaou’s Lilting, which stars Ben Whishaw as a man trying to looking after his dead boyfriend’s Chinese mother, despite the fact she doesn’t speak English, dislikes him and didn’t know her son was gay. It was up for Best Debut Director, Best Actress for Cheng Pei Pei, and Best Achievement In Production, but sadly lost out.

Other major winners include Yann  Demange,  who picked up  Best Director for ’71, while Gugu Mbatha-Raw  won Best  Actress for Belle and Brendan Gleeson got Best Actor for Calvary. You can find more about the BIFA winners and nominees of the award’s website.

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In Their Room: San Francisco/Berlin/London (DVD Review)

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Travis Mathews certainly hasn’t had a traditional film career. He started out with the semi-documentary art project In Their Room, which led to him teaming up with a gay porn company for the short film I Want Your Love. That short was then made into a feature-length movie, which led to Travis’ highest-profile project yet, his collaboration with James Franco, Interior Leather Bar.

However it was the first In Their Room project that brought him to the film world’s attention. It started as a series of separate five-to-ten minute films, each going into the bedroom of a different gay man, where they discuss their lives and desires, and most particularly their sexual thoughts. The shorts became known for their sexual frankness, with some including masturbation and many featuring at least a little nudity. However what impressed most was the surprising intimacy and seeming honesty that Mathews managed to capture about gay men’s lives. [Read more…]

Out To Kill (US DVD Review)

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I have to admit that for about 20-minutes I didn’t hold out any hope for Out To Kill. It starts out following Justin (singer/songwriter/actor Tom Goss), who lives in an apartment complex full of gay people and believes he’s just about the best thing that’s ever happened to the planet. He’s the type of guy who thinks looking good is all that matters, treats nearly everyone else with disdain, and just about everything he says is a sexual come-on.

It appears he’s going to be the lead character – and an intensely annoying one he’d be as well. Therefore it almost comes as a relief when he’s found dead in the communal swimming pool (that sounds like I’m being nasty, but if you watch the movie you’ll know what I mean). The police are quick to blame the death on a drug overdose, but Justin’s friend, Gene (Rob Moretti), thinks it was murder. He hires new resident and private eye Jim (Scott Sell) to investigate. [Read more…]

The Dark Place (US DVD Review)

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It’s certainly been noticeable in the past year or two that an increasing amount of gay-themed thrillers have been released. Some have been good, some have been dreadful and now we have The Dark Place, which sits somewhere in the middle.

Keegan Dark (Blaise Embry) is a young man who’s long been estranged from his family, but agrees to go with his boyfriend Wil (Timo Descamps) to see his mother at her vineyard. His first shock is that when he arrives he discovers that his mom, Celeste (Shannon Day), has a new husband, Adrian (Andy Copeland), and as a result Keegan suddenly has a stepbrother, Jake (Sean Paul Lockhart). [Read more…]

Big Gay Love (DVD Review)

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What would Willow think? Xander from Buffy has gone gay (he likes to call himself Nicholas Brendon, but he’ll always be Xander to me, whether he likes it or not).

Here he’s teamed with Jonathan Lisecki, who’s best known as the writer, director and co-star of Gayby. Lisecki takes on the lead role of party planner Bob, who’s looking for his big gay love, especially as everyone he knows seems to be in a relationship. However his insecurities make things difficult, so that he initially can’t see why hunky chef Andy (Brendan) would be interested in him, and even after they start dating he seems sure the fact he’s a bit overweight will inevitably ruin things. [Read more…]

Eastern Boys (Cinema Review)

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I’m not a big fan of French cinema. Although the country has produced some magnificent movies, I find most of it to be ponderous and far too impressed with itself. However after Stranger By The Lake and now Eastern Boys, I’m starting to think France may be becoming the premier place for gay-themed cinema.

Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin) solicits a young Eastern European man, Marek (Kirill Emelyanov), for sex at the Parisian train station, negotiating a price and arranging to meet at Daniel’s place later that week. However when the time comes it’s not Marek who turns up, but all his ‘friends’, led by their intimidating boss (Daniil Vorobyov), who proceed to party in the apartment and then completely clear it out, threatening that they will accuse Daniel of being a paedophile if he does anything. [Read more…]

Win Travis Mathews’ Explicit In Their Room On DVD!

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In-Their-Room-Double-SleeveIn Their Room is out from Peccadillo Pictures on DVD and On-Demand in the UK from December 8th, and we’ve got three copies of the DVD to give away, so that you can take a look at Travis Mathews’ acclaimed and rather sexy films.

Travelling to three of the most progressive cities in the world; San Francisco, Berlin and London, Mathews captures the raw emotion and essence of gay men’s lives in a provocative, sensual and unique way.

The series veers from bedroom to bedroom, watching these men navigate relationships with themselves and those around them; lovers, partners, friends. Some single, others coupled, some hooking up – all over the course of one day.

For the first time ever, all three of Mathews’ real-life narratives are brought together in one intimate collection. You can watch the trailer here.

For your chance to win one of the three copies of In Their Room on DVD that we’ve got to give away, answer the question below and fill in your details, then press submit! The competition closes on December 19th 2014, so get answering and good luck! [Read more…]

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Short Film Pick Up, About Living With HIV, Seeks Funding

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pick-up-short-film-slideIt’s crowdfunding time, this time for Pick Up, which is seeking $36,000 on Kickstarter to fund a short film which hopes to take a realistic look at living with HIV in the modern world.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Jesse Ritter has been living with a secret. What begins as a quiet evening of driving for Pick Up (the latest car service to share the road with Uber and Lyft), turns into a life changing journey filled with conversations about life, sex, stigma, and guilt, as Jesse falls for one of his passengers and is forced to confess the truth…that he’s HIV positive.

‘Pick Up is a unique coming out story, a coming of age story, and a story about acceptance. It’s awkwardly funny, romantic, relevant, realistic, heartbreaking, and hopeful.’

Travor Thompson and Brandon Crowder will play Jesse and the passenger, with Joshua Alan Rogers writing and directing.

Rogers recently told Huffpo, “A couple years ago, a very close friend of mine asked me to dinner and came out to me as HIV positive. This conversation, and the many that followed, is what inspired me to write a screenplay about a character named Jesse Ritter, a driver for Pick Up who falls in love with a passenger and has to tell him he’s HIV positive.”

Find out more below and then head over to Kickstarter to find out more. [Read more…]

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Lily Tomlin Talks About Her Reasons For Waiting To Come Out

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Lily-tomlinComedienne/actress Lily Tomlin spent much of her career in an interesting netherworld where pretty much everyone knew she was gay, her resume was full of LGBT and gay-friendly projects and there were even several occasions when it was said she was going to publicly come out –  except that she didn’t. It’s only been in the last couple of years that she’s spoken openly about her sexuality, and since then she’s also gotten married.

So why did she wait? Well, talking to the Washington Post she says, ‘I wanted to be acknowledged for my work. I didn’t want to be that gay person who does comedy.’

Tomlin certainly has an interesting history in the semi-closet. For example, she was offered the cover of Time magazine way back in 1975 to announce her sexuality, but she turned it down. There was also a bit of controversy in 1995 when she narrated the documentary The Celluloid Closet. The filmmakers suggested that to coincide with the movie’s release Lily was going to come out, but then she didn’t.

Through most of it she’s been with the same woman, Jane Wagner, her partner of over four decades, who she married last New Year’s Eve. She says of her marriage ‘We upped and did it. We thought we should get married because we can.’

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