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

I Am Happiness On Earth (DVD Review)

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The run of gay-themed films involving dancers as major characters (such as Test and Five Dances) continues with the Mexican drama I Am Happiness On Earth. The film comes from director Julian Hernandez, who found acclaim with earlier queer cinema arthouse faces such as Broken Sky (2006) and Raging Sun Raging Sky (2009). His new movie doesn’t veer off too far thematically from his earlier work, but once more offers an intense, erotically charged look at love and sex. [Read more…]

Peter de Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn Clip – The erotic film pioneer explores Underground (NSFW)

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peter-de-romeHardcore gay sex isn’t the sort of thing major film organisations traditionally spend much time promoting, but a couple of years ago the British Film Institute devoted a season to the work of Peter de Rome, a man often dubbed the ‘grandfather of gay porn’.

They also released The Erotic Films Of Peter De Rome on DVD, collecting together many of his works and giving properly scholarly attention to them. De Rome couldn’t have ever expected that the BFI would give him that sort of respect, especially when he was making his hardcore-yet-arty short films in the 60s and 70s, many of which were just personal projects he only initially thought would be shared with friends and acquaintances.

However since then they’ve come to be seen as part of the beginning of modern gay porn and important windows into a part of the pre-AIDS gay experience that few others documented.

The exposure from the BFI has now led to the feature-length documentary Peter De Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn, where the filmmaker (who sadly died recently) and others look back at his life and work, and how his hardcore sex films became respected as works of art.

The movie is currently screening at film festivals, but you can take a look at a NSFW clip from the documentary below. This particular clips focuses on the short film, Underground, where de Rome filmed two men having sex on a subway carriage.

And if you are interested in the point where porn and art intersect, I’d highly recommend getting hold of a copy of The Erotic Films Of Peter De Rome. [Read more…]

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James Franco Shares First Pics In Role As Ex-Gay Activist

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michael-james-francoI sometimes think we should just change the name of this site to the ‘What Is James Franco Up To? Blog’, as he’s so keen on everything gay that it sometimes feels like we’re keeping a minute-by-minute log of his exploits.

However now he’s done something else that’s worth sharing, as the very busy man has shared the first image from Michael, in which he plays a man who went from being on the frontlines of the fight for gay rights to becoming a prominent ex-gay activist.

Franco will be Michael Glatze, who started out as a young gay man who was passionate about helping LGBT youth, including marching in gay rights rallies and urging young people to celebrate their non-traditional sexualities. He also launched the magazine Young Gay America after working at XY, becoming a leading voice in the gay rights fight.

However in 2004 he had a health scare involving a possible heart defect, which caused him to turn to conservative Christianity. Shortly afterwards he completely renounced everything he had previously stood for and said that he was now ‘ex-gay’. The 38-year-old is currently married to a woman.

Zachary Quinto and Chris Zylka also star as Glatze’s former lovers, with Emma Roberts as his girlfriend.

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Reclaim Trailer – John Cusack is getting dodgy around Ryan Phillippe

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reclaim-slideJohn Cusack and Ryan Phillippe are sometimes allowed in major Hollywood movies, but they spend a lot of time grafting away in the endless line of thrillers that get made and hope to do well enough on DVD to make their money back.

Reclaim certainly seems like one of those movies, with Cusack as a man involved in a dodgy adoption agency, which cause huge issues for Phillippe and Rachel Lefevre after they get a child from him.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘After their newly adopted daughter goes missing in a small town, Steven and Shannon will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her disappearance and the dangerous secret behind the adoption agency they trusted. Risking their own lives, they will discover just what being a parent means and how far they will go to get their child back.’

Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

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Two Night Stand Trailer – Annaleigh Tipton gets trapped with Miles Teller the morning after

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Two-Night-Stand-PosterEver wanted to do the walk of shame but couldn’t? Well, that’s the premise of Two Night Stand, where Analeigh Tipton wants to get away from Miles Teller, but simply can’t.

The trailer for the movie has now arrives, which you can see below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘A no-strings-attached, online hook-up turns into a morning-after disaster for twenty-something New Yorkers Megan (Analeigh Tipton) and Alec (Miles Teller). When a paralyzing blizzard hits the city trapping them in Alec’s cramped Brooklyn apartment, they are forced to get to know each other far beyond the confines of a typical one-night stand. Marking the directorial debut of Max Nichols, Two Night Stand is a sexy, romantic comedy about finding love in the digital age.’

The movie is out in the US in September, but no UK date is currently set. [Read more…]

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Mark Ruffalo & Rachel McAdams Go Into The Spotlight For A Film About Priest Sex Abuse

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mark-ruffaloAfter the huge ructions over the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Catholic Church, it’s almost surprising the film world has only nibbled at the edges of the scandal – probably because it’s such a hot button and difficult topic.

However now Tom McCarthy (Win Win) is planning to direct a film about the decades-long cover-up of paedophile priests in Massachusetts, and THR reports he’s living up a great cast including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Stanley Tucci.

The film, called Spotlight, is based around the year-long investigation by The Boston Globe that uncovered the fact the Church knew it has abusive priests in its midst, but systematically hushed it up. The investigation by the paper’s ‘Spotlight Team’ led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, who had hidden years of serial abuse. It helped expose the way the Catholic Church dealt with abuse, with has since become a major scandal around the world.

Ruffalo and McAdams will play reporters, but it’s not clear who Tucci and Keaton will be. Josh Singer wrote the script, which landed on the Black List of the best unproduced screenplays.

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The 30 LGBT Short Films Competing At The 2014 Iris Prize Festival Are Revealed

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boygame-iris-prizeThe always worthwhile Iris Prize Festival is coming on October 8th – 12th in Cardiff, Wales, and with only a couple of months until the parade of some of the best LGBT-themed short films line up to try to take home the illustrious prize, the 30 shorts that will be competing this year have been revealed.

The prize, supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation, is worth £25,000 prize and offers the winning filmmaker funding and support to make another movie. It continues to be the world’s largest international gay and lesbian short film prize.

A late night search for Viagra by two aging strangers for a one night stand is just one of the stories tackled by the finalists for the world’s largest short film award. The shortage of the desired blue pill turns out to be a blessing in disguise as the two strangers get a chance to exchange the pleasures of the flesh with the pleasures of the heart.

“Once again the shortlist for the Iris Prize represents the best of the best. Half of the short-listed films have been nominated by our partner festivals – film festivals from around the world that have their fingers on the pulse of upcoming gay and lesbian filmmaking talent. I’m confident that amongst this year’s shortlist of live action, documentaries and three animated films we have yet another winner deserving of the Iris Prize,” said Andrew Pierce, Festival Chair.

“It’s great to see films from all over the world represented in the shortlist with entries for the first time from Cambodia and Chile joining work from Canada, Germany, Brazil, Israel, Norway, Ireland, India, Sweden, Australia, US, Belgium, Portugal, and the UK all making it through to the final. The US has once again secured the largest number of films in competition with an impressive seven out of the final 30,” said Andrew.

The winner of the Iris Prize will be announced on Sunday 12th October 2014 during the Iris Awards hosted by Amy Lamé. This year, alongside the main Iris Prize, a new Best Of British award is being offered. You can find out more about the films up for than gong by clicking here.

The 30 films competing for the Iris Prize are: [Read more…]

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Manchester Pride Fringe Secret Cinema Screenings Coming This Week Ahead Of All-Star Pride Q&A

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pride-slide2Fancy seeing a movie before its release, even if you don’t know what it is? Well, Manchester Pride is holding two intimate secret cinema screenings at the Moston Miners Community Arts & Music Centre this week, giving audiences a viewing of a new and highly anticipated feature ahead of its release date in September 2014.

Another example of how a little support can go a long way, these events form part of the Manchester Pride fringe spanning the month of August. Manchester Pride is a series of diverse events combining music, theatre, art, culture, comedy and sport to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life.

However not everything at the Manchester Pride Fringe is secret, as a series of exclusive events will take place ahead of the release of British film Pride, which stars Imelda Staunton, Andrew Scott and Bill Nighy. Based on the unlikely relationship between a group of LGBT activists and striking miners in 1984, the film tells the true story of an LGBT group which raised money for the miners and marched alongside them at London Pride.

Cast members will take part in a Q&A session on Friday 22 August at Selfridges Exchange Square and will march in the Pride Parade the following day, with banners from the miner’s march in 1984. There will also be a Q&A session with some of the original gay and lesbian activists at the People’s History Museum on Saturday 23 August. An exclusive preview of the film will be shown as part of Pride Fringe at the Printworks.

The Fringe’s screen-theme continues with Coming Out: from Script to Screen, which takes place at The Lowry, MediaCity:UK, on Tuesday 19 August. The joint creator of Coronation Street, Tony Warren, soap actress Brooke Vincent and writers Jonathan Harvey, Damon Rochefort and Debbie Oates, will discuss the concept of characters in soaps coming out and how the story moves from script to screen at this unique talk.

You can find out more about the many other events taking place at the Manchester Pride Fringe at the official website.

Here are the details of the secret cinema screenings (and by the way, while the image above is from the movie Pride, we have no knowledge that this will be the secret screening movie, as it may well be something else):

PRIDE FRINGE SECRET SCREENINGS
WHEN: FRIDAY 15 AUGUST 7.30pm & SATURDAY 16 AUGUST 2.30pm

WHERE: THE MOSTON MINERS COMMUNITY ARTS & MUSIC CENTRE, 35 TEDDINGTON ROAD, MANCHESTER M40 0DJ

TICKETS: £8 (FRIDAY) £6 (SATURDAY)

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The Always Wonderful Ian McKellen Helps A Man Propose To His Boyfriend

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ian-mckellen-proposalIt seems to be universally agreed that Ian McKellen is a lovely man, but he’s also a very busy guy. Even so, the X-Men star has taken time out to help Brett Lotriet Best propose to his boyfriend Khalid Shawwa.

It’s particularly good of the actor, as it would appear from the video that in an ideal world they’d have liked Patrick Stewart, due to Khalid’s love of all things Star Trek and Captain Picard. However Stewart’s best buddy McKellen was more than happy to step in to explain that Patrick won’t be available to marry the couple, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get get wed.

It’s sweet and cute and well worth watching to bring a smile to your face. Take a look at the proposal video below. [Read more…]

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Mexican Actor Luis Gerardo Mendez Comes Out (Or At Least His Gender Usage Does)

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luis-gerardo-mendezFor English-speaking people, the idea that everything needs to have a gender in many other languages can seem odd. Many a young person has been baffled when learning French as to why a table is feminine but a sofa in masculine (and also why French people care).

While not quite the same, it appears Mexican actor Luis Gerardo Mendez has come out as gay, but we can only tell because he used a word that’s two letters different if you like boys to if you like girls.

According to NewNowNext, while chatting in a recent interview with Moi magazine, Mendez talked about his problems with fidelity, saying “If the agreement is that you can sleep with anybody, there are no problems, but if it’s not, it’s not cool. I was not faithful to many, I struggled a lot with it, but I have redeemed myself.”

And that’s how you come out in Mexico – not because infidelity means you’re gay, but because the actor used the world ‘muchos’ instead of ‘muchas’, which means he’s talking about guys instead of woman (not being an expert on Spanish I’m taking that on trust).

Mendez is best known for the likes of Nosotros Los Nobles (We are the Nobles) and played a gays character in No se si cortarme las venas o dejarmelas largas (I Don’t Know Whether to Slit My Veins or Leave Them Long). He’s a fairly familiar face in Mexico and Spanish-speaking US households, even if he’s not that well known elsewhere.

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