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

Full Kill Your Darlings Trailer – Daniel Radcliffe falls into a strange beat-generation world

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A few weeks ago a brief 30-second trailer snippet for Kill Your Darlings emerged, followed yesterday by a minute-long clip. Now a full trailer has popped up online, giving us our best look yet at the movie. However like many mainstream promos for films that take in gay-themes, it only hints at the homo underpinnings of the story.

Based on a true story, Kill Your Darlings charts how a murder helped shape the lives of a group of young men who went on to become the beat generation. Chronicle star DeHaan plays Lucien Carr, the man who introduced Howl writer Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe) to the likes of William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) and Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston).

During these early, hedonistic days, a man called David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) fell for Carr, with his infatuation becoming increasingly obsessive and unhinged – the gay Ginsberg once discovered Kammerer trying to murder Jack Kerouac’s cat. It eventually resulted in Carr stabbing Kammerer to death him and going to prison for his murder. The violent event is said to have indelibly changed all the people involved and etched its way into the published works of the Beat writers.

At the film’s Sundance debut, there was much talk about Radcliffe’s gay sex scene in the movie, so don’t worry, the film will be a lot gayer than the trailer. The film’s out in the US on October 18th, with a November 8th UK date set. [Read more…]

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Dallas Buyers Club Trailer – Matthew McConaughey fights back against AIDS in the mid-80s

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It looks like Matthew McConaughey may be going for an Oscar run with The Dallas Buyers Club, losing huge amounts of weight to play Ron Woodroof, who fought back against government inaction over the introduction of HIV medication in the 1980s. Now the first trailer for the movie has arrived.

Woodroof was an ordinary man who found himself in a life-or-death battle with the medical establishment and pharmaceutical companies. In 1986, Ron was blindsided by being diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live.

With the US still internally divided over how to combat the virus and restricting medications, Ron grabbed hold of non-toxic alternative treatments from all over the world by means both legal and illegal. Seeking to avoid government sanctions against selling non-approved medicines and supplements, he established a “buyers club,” which fellow HIV-positive people could join for access to his supplies.

Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto (as a gay transvestite, no less), Dennis Hare, Steve Zahn, Dallas Roberts and Griffin Dunne also star. Focus Features will release the movie in the US in December, while it’ll reach the UK on February 7th. [Read more…]

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Divergent Trailer – First proper look at the young adult adaptation

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Last night at the MTV VMAs, the first trailer for Divergent debuted and now you can take a look at it right here. The movie initially concentrates on the look of the movie, before getting far more action-packed.

Neil Burger is directing the adaptation of Veronica Roth’s best-selling novel, which takes place in a dystopian future made up of five factions that are based on different personality types. As they come of age, everyone must join the faction they fit into, but certain people are ‘divergents’, showing traits from more than one group. Tris (Shailene Woodley) uncovers that these people are seen as dangerous and the government wants to get rid of them.

The likes of Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Ashley Judd and Maggie Q co-star.

The movie will be bidding to be the new Twilight when it hits cinemas next March. [Read more…]

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Interview: Pedro Almodovar Talks I’m So Excited & Why He’s Not A ‘Gay Director’

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Pedro Almodovar is one of the most prominent European directors in the world. He’s also one of the most prominent gay directors – or rather director who happens to be gay, as he’d probably prefer it put. He’s back with I’m So Excited, a movie which perhaps has the most overt gay sensibility of any of his films.

The film hits DVD in the UK on August 26th, and to celebrate that we have an interview with Pedro, where he talks about the movie, how it’s a metaphor for modern Spain, and what it was like being gay as a young man in the era of General Franco.

Your new film, which is a great joy to watch and a great joy to experience. It was really great fun. I really enjoyed it.
Yeah, it was very funny to do it. I actually thought that making this film would be a much lighter experience for me than the films I’ve been making. But that was actually silly to think that. It wasn’t like that at all. Why should I ever think that? Because in fact comedy is perhaps one of the most difficult genres of films that you can make because it requires much more precision. It’s much tougher to make. And for me, in fact, that whole process of filming was a process where I had to have eyes on everything. I had to have eyes in the back of my head to watch what was going on, but in fact the film itself was a celebration for all of us.  It was a joy for all of us to make, particularly because it took me back to the tone of the first films that I made when I started off my career: The comedies. [Read more…]

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Pompeii Teaser Trailer – Kit Harington mixes Gladiator with a disaster flick

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Just a couple of days ago, the first image from Pompeii arrived, with Kit Harington showing off his abs. Now it’s been followed up by a trailer, which initially concentrates on the famed remains of human found in the ruins of Pompeii, before going rather Gladiator with Harington, Emily Browning and some disaster movie volcano visuals.

The movie is set days before the historic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. It centres on former slave Milo (Harington), who must race to save his true love Flavia (Emily Browning). Jessica Lucas is playing a slave who is a confidante to Flavia. Jared Harris, Kiefer Sutherland, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje also star.

Janet Scott Batchler and Lee Batchler wrote the original screenplay, which was recently revised by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Paul W.S. Anderson’s movie is out early next year. [Read more…]

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Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller Officially Comes Out In Protest At Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws

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wentworth-millerFor years there has been speculation around the sexuality of Prison Break star Wentworth Miller. Now he’s decided to put those rumours to rest by coming out as gay and doing so as part of a statement about Russia’s anti-gay laws.

The actor, who recently turned screenwriter with the movie Stoker, had been invited to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, however he felt the need to decline the invitation, sending a letter to the organisers telling them why.

It reads: Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes.

However, as a gay man, I must decline.

I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.

Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I’ll be free to make a different choice.

St. Petersburg is the perhaps the centre of the increasingly homophobic laws in Russia, as it was one of the first cities to clamp down on so-called ‘gay propaganda’, which has since been taken up and copied in national laws.

GLAAD spokesman Wilson Cruz noted in a statement, “Wentworth’s bold show of support sends a powerful message to LGBT Russians, who are facing extreme violence and persecution: you are not alone. As people from across the globe continue to speak out against Russia’s horrific law, more celebrities and corporations should follow his courageous lead in openly condemning Russia’s anti-LGBT law.”

Miller’s sexuality has been an open secret in Hollywood for several years and he has been active with several pro-gay organisations, although he has generally side-stepped the question in interviews (and back in 2006 issued flat-out denials) – until now, that is. He will next be seen in the film The Loft, and also has several scripts in development, including one based on Vlad The Impaler, who was immortalised as Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Let’s hope we see much more of him soon.

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The US Dominates This Year’s Iris Prize LGBT Short Film Prize Shortlist

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Antonio Da Silva's Gingers

Antonio Da Silva’s Gingers

The line-up for this year’s Iris Prize has been released. The LGBT short film prize list is dominated by the US, who’ve taken nine of the 30 slots, with four Australian shorts included and 12 other countries (Canada, Germany, Brazil, Israel, France, Norway, Austria, Ireland, India, Sweden, Thailand and the UK) also represented.

The shortlist also includes the first short from a filmmaker based in the Iris Prize’s home city of Cardiff, with Jay Bedwani making the international shortlist with his film My Mother.

The eclectic list includes a celebration of everything ginger and male, the fears of a father with the sexual awakening of his teenager son living with Down’s syndrome, the alarming increases in secondary school bullying and a forced coming out story while shopping for a new bed.

The Iris Prize is the world’s largest international gay and lesbian short film prize, with the winner offered a chance to make a new short film with the prize valued at £25,000. The films will screen during this year’s Iris Prize Festival which takes place from October 9th-13th in Cardiff.

“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 we have yet another winner deserving of the Iris Prize,” said Berwyn Rowlands, Iris Prize founder.

Take a look below for the full shortlist, and you can find out more over at the Iris Prize website. [Read more…]

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire International Trailer – Katniss & Peeta head back to the arena

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The November release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is drawing closer, and now a new international trailer has been released, giving us plenty of new footage from the film. It certainly looks dramatic, with rebellion fermenting in the districts and the Capitol trying to quell that by putting former champions back in the arena – including Katniss and Peeta.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever.’

The film’s due out November 22nd.

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Kevin Zegers Talks About His Gay Character In The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones

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You don’t often get gay character in major mainstream movies, except perhaps playing the fool in romantic comedies. However, after the very straight worlds of Twilight and The Hunger Games, the upcoming The Mortal Instuments: City Of Bones is shaking things up in the young adult world with the inclusion of the gay Alec Lightwood, played by 28-year-old Kevin Zegers.

Now the recently married actor has been talking to Bello, via E!, about the role and his attitude towards gay characters in major movies like this. “The thing that I didn’t want was for him to be some generic, prototypical character, what people would expect from the gay character,” Zegers said. “For me, it was about creating a character whose sexuality didn’t matter…I actually don’t think it’s that big of a fucking issue anymore. Certainly not with me, and especially not with the generation that read this book. So it wasn’t something that we really focused on.

“But one thing I was aware of was the fact that there haven’t been many great examples of a really strong gay character, one of the leads in a really big movie who happens to be gay and who’s also kind of a bad-ass.”

The movie is about Clary Fray (Lily Collins), who thinks she is an ordinary teenager until she discovers that she’s part of a secret cadre of half-angel warriors – the Shadowhunters – who are tasked with protecting humanity in an ancient battle against demonic forces.

When Clary’s mother is kidnapped, she discovers a secret connection to fellow Shadowhunter Jace Wayland (Jamie Campbell Bower) and that beneath surface of the city exists another world…one she unknowingly belongs to. As both Clary and best friend Simon (Robert Sheehan) are drawn into this dark and dangerous world, Clary realises Jace is both the key to uncovering her past and protecting her future.

Assuming the movie follows Cassandra Clare’s books, Alec is another Shadowhunter. He starts out being in denial (at least publicly) about his sexuality, which makes him rather angry. He’s initially attracted to Jace, but later in the series, when he realises his feelings will never be returned, he starts to date and falls in love with Magnus Bane, a warlock who is immortal and 800 years old.

We also have to say, Zegers is looking good on the Bello cover! [Read more…]

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The Lone Ranger (Cinema)

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When I saw that adaptation of The Lone Ranger was being made starring Jonny Depp, Armie Hammer and directed by Gore Verbinski, I couldn’t help but wonder whether a humorous western could really work with a young film audience who’ve being spoiled by huge Sci-Fi effects ridden blockbusters? Would the modern filmgoer still flock en masse to this type of film? Unfortunately, as US audiences have already proven, they won’t. But perhaps they should. [Read more…]