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

Win The Gay Short Collection Boys On Film 18: Heroes On DVD!

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The award-winning gay short film compilation reaches its coming-of-age with Boys On Film 18: Heroes. The release features ten uplifting and powerful tales recounting the lives of everyday gay, bi or transgender heroes, fighting for the right to be be themselves.

The shorts include the docudrama The Colour Of His Hair starring God’s Own Country’s Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country), the Egyptian animation Half A Life, and Iris Prize 2017 winner, Mother Knows Best.

The collection is out now in the UK on DVD, and we’ve teamed up with distributor Peccadillo Pictures to give away three copies on DVD. You can enter below.

For your chance to win Boys On Film 18: Heroes on Blu-ray, answer the question below and fill in your details, then press submit! The competition closes on May 21st, 2018, so get answering and good luck. [Read more…]

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A Very English Scandal Trailer – Hugh Grant & Ben Whishaw get involved in gay intrigue

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Although largely forgotten today, the saga of Jeremy Thorpe and Norman Scott was the biggest British political scandal of the 1970s – indeed some dubbed it the case of the century. It had everything the tabloids loved to feast on – a major party leader, the hint of homosexuality, a court case involving incitement to murder and even a dead dog! John Preston’s 2016 novel about the case, A Very English Scandal, has now been made into a three-part TV series, with Queer As Folk’s Russell T. Davis on scripting duties for A Very British Scandal, and Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette, The Queen) directing,

Ben Whishaw is playing Norman Scott, while Hugh Grant takes his first TV role in 20 years as Jeremy Thorpe. The show itself will follow the rather complicated affair, which involved a secret relationship between Thorpe and the younger Scott. Thorpe’s political star rose as the leader of the Liberal Party through the 1970s, to the point where the party picked up almost 20% of the vote in the February 1974 election. It was the biggest success for a third party in decades and threatened to break down the two-party system (Conservative and Labour) that had been in place for decades.

However, as Norman began to feel increasingly as if he’d been mistreated by the politician, things began to get unravel, especially when rumours about the affair between the two started to circulate. Thorpe and those around him knew that if stories about the politician and Scott hit the mainstream press, it would probably be the end of the married Thorpe’s career, as well as ruining the best chance the Liberal Party had to became a major political force again. This led to beatings and an attempt on Scott’s life, which resulted in his dog being shot. Thorpe later went on trial accused of being involved in the conspiracy to murder his former lover. He denied that he knew anything about the ‘hit’, as well as denying he’d ever been in a physical relationship with Scott.

Alex Jennings, Patricia Hodge, Monica Dolan, Adrian Scarborough, Jason Watkins, Eve Myles, Michele Dotrice and Blake Harrison will also star. The show will air on the BBC in the UK soon, and is likely to debut on Amazon Prime in many other territories. [Read more…]

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No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics Documentary Needs Your Help

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In 2012, cartoonist Justin Hall curated the anthology book, No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, which featured a varied array of contributions from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer comics creators.​ Now he’s hoping to be able to bring No Straight Lines to the screen as a documentary, looking at the history of queer comics, and some of the current key figures behind the LGBTQ comic diversity that’s on the page but hasn’t really been seen in the big budget comic book movies.

In order to get it made, a Kickstarter has launched to get some funding for the film. Much of the filming has already taken place but it now needs help to get across the finishing line.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘NO STRAIGHT LINES tells the story of 6 queer cartoonists as they develop a unique underground art scene in the early 1970’s through today’s greater recognition and acceptance. The film follows these artists’ work and their personal stories as they tackle complex issues of identity and a changing society with intelligence, humor, and imagination. Marginalized for decades, queer comics existed in a parallel universe, appearing in LGBTQ newspapers and bookstores but isolated from mainstream distribution and comic book stores. These comics are an uncensored conversation within queer communities, commenting on everything from the AIDS crisis, workplace discrimination, and marriage equality, to the search for love, solidarity, and a good haircut. With bigotry decreasing and comics commanding greater respect, queer cartoonists are now coming into their own; NO STRAIGHT LINES follows this remarkable journey.

‘NO STRAIGHT LINES will profile the stories of 6 major artists, among them Alison Bechdel (Fun Home) and her mentor Howard Cruse, as well as Jennifer Camper and Rupert Kinnard (creator of the first black queer comics). The film will focus on literary comics and will span the gamut of LGBTQ identities and expressions.’

Take a look at the crowdfunding video/trailer below, and if you like what your see, head over to Kickstarter to help out. [Read more…]

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Pose Trailer – Ryan Murphy brings us one of the biggest LGBTQ casts ever

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Back at the end of October, Ryan Murphy’s planned TV series, Pose, caused a lot of interest due to the news that it was set to feature five major trans roles in the show, all of them to be played by trans actors – that’s more than any mainstream US series before it. Alongside them there are numerous other LGBTQ roles, with Murphy saying, “I’m so proud that Pose and FX has made history right from the beginning by featuring the most trans series regular actors ever in an American television production. Additionally, the first season Pose will feature 50-plus LGBTQ characters – a record in American television history. I can’t wait for people to see this incredibly talented, passionate cast.”

The show itself has a period piece set in the mid-’80s in New York City, examining the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in Manhattan: the emergence of the luxury Trump-era universe, the ball culture world, and downtown social and literary scene. The trans and other LGBTQ characters will mainly feature in the ball culture section of the show, which will focus on the the LGBT subculture that emerged in the 1980s, and sees different ‘houses’ and people competing against one another in lavish balls.

MJ Rodriguez (Blanca); Indya Moore (Angel); Dominique Jackson (Elektra); Hailie Sahar (Lulu) and Angelica Ross (Candy) are playing the major trans roles, with James Van Der Beek, Kate Mara, Evan Peters, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter, and Dyllon Burnside also set to star. Pose arrives on US TV in early June. It’s not clear when we’ll get to see it in the UK. [Read more…]

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McQueen UK Trailer – An intimate look at the rebellious & innovative gay fashion designer

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Synopsis: ‘Mirroring the savage beauty, maverick originality and vivacity of his design, “McQueen” is an intimate revelation of Alexander [Lee] McQueen’s own personal and professional world, both tortured and inspired. It is a film which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence and shows his rags-to-riches story as a modern-day fairy tale laced with the gothic.

‘As a self-described “unremarkable” working-class boy from East London, he harnessed his demons and went on to become a global one-man fashion brand and one of the most iconic artists of the century. He was a punk rebel, celebrated for overturning the silver-spoon world of Paris haute couture and ushering in the heady, revolutionary era of ‘Cool Britannia,’ as well as provoking and subverting the fashion industry in ways that often caused controversy and scandal.

‘Portraying his life from his debut collection through to the tragedy of his premature death, “McQueen” is a film that evokes Lee McQueen’s unique vision, originality and maverick sense of humour. The transformative impact of his personality and his work is captured in never-before-seen home movies, audio tapes and “behind-the-scenes” footage shot throughout his career. This material is stitched together with deeply personal interviews from close family, friends and collaborators and cinematic original material that takes us on a journey into McQueen’s mind. His fears, dreams, obsessions, desires and nightmares are on screen for the audience to re-live along with the most memorable and iconic moments in his shows – like nothing the fashion world has ever seen before, or since. The film allows us to search deeply into what made the man a unique artist of his times, as well as helping us to understand the mystery of why, at the height of his acclaim and power, he shockingly made the decision to end to it all.’

McQueen is in UK cinemas on June 8th. [Read more…]

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The Misandrists (DVD Review) – Bruce LaBruce takes us into a rather gay world without men

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Bruce LaBruce has long been a provocateur, making the sort of movies that seem designed to push buttons and get people talking. Often they’re so busy pressing thosee buttons that there seems little point to the film other than to get people out of their comfort zone – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’s mixed explicit gay sex and Nazi skinheads in Skin Gang, gay porn and zombies in Otto, and even when he went comparatively ‘mainstream’ with Gerontophilia (and I use the word mainstream advisedly, as it’s merely mainstream for LaBruce), it’s about a relationship between a teen and an octogenarian.

With The Misandrists LaBruce keeps pressing buttons but focuses on something that hasn’t played a huge part in his career so far – women. The film is set in a dystopian world where the FLA – the Female Liberation Army – has holed itself up isolated in the woods as it plots its revolutionary take on a world without men. Unsurprisingly no men are allowed inside the building, but when new recruit Isolde spots an injured young man who she knows is also being persecuted by the authorities like they are, she decides to hide him in the FLA’s stronghold. [Read more…]

Cas (DVD Review) – A triple helping of gay threesomes

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Dutch couple Sjors and Pepijn invite the younger student Cas to stay on their couch for a couple of days until he finds a place of his own. Pepijn is initially uncertain about this arrangement, especially when he discovers his boyfriend of seven years has already met up with the young man a few times before and hasn’t mentioned him. However, the tension soon begins to develop into something else as both men start to fall for Cas’s charms. As the barriers come down and the couple moves towards becoming a throuple, it could either destroy Sjors and Pepijn’s relationship or take it to places neither expected.

Although relatively short at 50 minutes long, Cas is an interesting and at times a rather sexy movie about three good-looking guys who aren’t afraid of wandering around in their underwear or hopping into bed with one another. It’s also a smart look at one of the issues that seems to be becoming more pressing in modern gay culture, of whether the tendency to separate sex from relationships and to be more open to bringing in a third (or more) person – either for the night or for longer – has consequences and issues that need to be looked at. It may seem like a good idea, or even a desirable political statement, but is there more to it than that? [Read more…]

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Blu-ray Review) – A game (and gender-swap) like no other

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Every so often a film comes along that beats all expectations at the box office. Film commentators then race to come up with reasons for its runaway success. They tried to do that for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, but generally came up short. After all this is a film that initially people thought would be lucky to clear $200-$300 million worldwide at the box office, but which ended up with $900 million+ and is now the highest grossing film Sony Pictures has ever made.

Is it down to the box office power of The Rock? Was it because there wasn’t much family film competition at the time it was release? Did box office watchers underestimate the love people had for the 1995 Robin Williams Jumanji movie, especially as many of those that grew up with that film now have kids of their own? [Read more…]

Pitch Perfect 3 (Blu-ray Review) – The Bellas are back for a final acapella adventure

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When the plot of a sequel is that the characters are being sent off on a holiday, it’s usually a good time to start to worry. It’s typically the point in a franchise when the makers have run out of ideas and so they put the characters in a new environment in the hope that people won’t notice that they couldn’t really decide what the movie should be about.

That’s pretty much true of Pitch Perfect 3, where the former Barden Bellas get the opportunity to participate in a USO military tour, performing with other bands in different countries. To add a little random competition to the mix, the best of those bands will be chosen by DJ Khaled to open for him on his tour. That’s the cue for the Bellas to go into crisis of confidence of mode as they realise that being the best at acapella-ing doesn’t necessarily mean they can go toe-to-toe with an all-female pop-rock group, a country artist and a couple of rappers. [Read more…]

Ferdinand (Blu-ray Review) – A little bit gay or just a load of old animated bull?

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I sometimes think the people who panic about ‘the gay agenda’ really ought to pay more attention to kids’ movies. If you’re looking for queer narrative – which never say they’re queer – you don’t have to look much further. For a start, nearly every animated movie revolves around the theme of being true to yourself. You also have numerous movies about parents finding it difficult to accept difference in their child, that child being a misfit who’s not the same as others and is often bullied for it, and who will eventually win by accepting themselves and being proud of it.

All that could just be coincidence, but then there are things such as the fact that a lot of animated movies consciously deal with ideas about chosen families, something you normally only hear about in a queer context. It was this that got me considering the queer side of Ferdinand. Partway though the film, the titular character is insisting the dog he grew up with is his ‘brother’, while the dog says he can’t be the family of a bull because that’s not the way things work. Ultimately that becomes the main theme of the movie – a bull rejecting the toxic masculinity that the other bovines believe is their only choice, and learning that you can choose your own way and your own family, and it doesn’t matter if others think it’s ‘queer’. [Read more…]