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

Director Martin Campbell Takes Over Umbra

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When news of the movie Umbra first surfaced in 2009, Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job) was set direct, before Joe Carnahan took over the reins in 2012. Now it’s all change again according to Deadline, with Endgame Entertainment moving forward by hiring Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Green Lantern) to direct and Paul Haggis (Crash) to rewrite the film’s script (which was originally by Steven Karczynski).

Carnahan only recently dropped out of the project, but it is said that his departure was amicable. The film is about a businessman who gets caught up in a conspiracy when a strange package arrives at his home. Soon he’s in over his head as a government cover-up swirls around him.

Film is scheduled to begin this spring.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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James Franco In Talks For The Game

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James Franco sure is a busy bee. He constantly signs on for new acting roles, as well as directing and producing gigs and seems to be able to fit a lot into his hectic schedule. Now THR reports that he’s close to signing to appear in The Game, an adaptation of Neil Strauss’ best-selling guide to picking up women.

The book is part how-to, part memoir, and recounts Neil’s efforts to become a pick-up artist, as well his stay at a Sunset Strip mansion that found him competing with a group of likeminded individuals all trying to find love. James Franco is set to play Mystery, a man who serves as Neil’s teacher in the art of seduction throughout the book. The real Mystery later served as the host of VH-1’s reality game show The Pickup Artist.

A film based on Strauss’ book, ‘The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists’, has been in the works since 2005, but it finally seems to be going ahead now at MGM.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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George Clooney To Direct The Monuments Men

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George Clooney is busy looking for directorial projects at them moment. A few weeks ago it was reported that he’s working on a film about the Smothers Brothers, and now TheWrap says George is set to tell a story about artwork stolen by the Nazis during WWII.

Clooney has optioned the nonfiction book, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel and will adapt the project with producing partner Grant Heslov for Sony Pictures. The filmmaker hopes to direct the film and may also star.

The book tells the story of the US government’s efforts to retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis and the art experts whose skills were put to use in the campaign. The title comes from the name given to the American and British art historians and museum curators who helped the military track down the stolen pieces.

“I’m not opposed to doing a commercial film, I’m just opposed to doing a commercial film that doesn’t feel organic to me,” George Clooney told the The Wrap at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Saturday. “So if we’re going to do a commercial film, we thought ‘Let’s do something that seems fun and actually has something to say.'”

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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The Devil Inside Tops The US Box Office

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Paramount’s decision to set up a unit to make and purchase micro-budget genre movies for under a million dollars certainly seems to be paying off. They decided on the strategy following the success of Paranormal Activity, and with The Devil Inside it’s working far better than they expected.

The studio predicted an $8-$10 million opening for the horror film (which they bought for only a million), but in the end they got a $34 million weekend, which is the most any film has ever opened to in early January. It’s an impressive achievment, which many believe is down to a good marketing campaign that attracted young men, who’ve been conspicuous by their absence at the box office recently.

There were no other new openers in the top 10, although Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy made its first appearance in the top 10 after it expanded from 50 to over 800 screens. The movie added another $5 million to place ninth, and with the per screen average holding up extremely well during its expansion, it could become a significant indie hit as the awards season gears up.

Rank Title Weekend Gross
(millions)		 Total Gross to
date (millions)
1 The Devil Inside $34.5 $34.5
2 Mission: Impossible –
Ghost Protocol		 $20.5 $170.2
3 Sherlock Holmes: A
Game Of Shadows		 $14.0 $157.4
4 The Girl With The
Dragon Tattoo		 $11.3 $76.8
5 Alvin & the
Chipmunks: Chipwrecked		 $9.5 $111.5
6 War Horse $8.6 $56.8
7 We Bought A Zoo $8.4 $56.5
8 The Adventures Of
Tintin		 $6.6 $61.8
9 Tinker, Tailor,
Soldier, Spy		 $5.7 $10.4
10 New Year’s Eve $3.2 $52.0

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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Disney’s Maleficent Gets Director Robert Stromberg

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Disney is busy mining its history, with movies based on Sleeping Beauty villain Maleficent and also the Disneyland rollercoaster Matterhorn. Now both those films have found directors, with the studio going for first-timers on both, which should give them a bit more control and also keep costs down.

Deadline reports Robert Stromberg has been set to to direct Maleficent. He has served as production designer on big-budget projects such as Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful, so he certainly knows how to create a fantastical world. His background in visual effects on the likes of 2012 and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End won’t hurt either.

The project has been without a director since May, when the loosely attached Tim Burton stepped away. High-profile directors such as David Yates, Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell, and Guillermo del Toro were rumored as possible replacements over the past few months.

Linda Woolverton (Alice in Wonderland) wrote the screenplay for Maleficent, which puts a revisionist spin on the Sleeping Beauty villain, telling the story from her perspective. Angelina Jolie is still attached to portray the title character.

The Matterhorn film, which is currently going by the less than catchy name of Untitled Disney Mountain Project (the studio says that it’s not officially based on the theme park ride), has signed music video and commercials director Brian Beletic, according to Deadline.

Jason Dean Hall is on scripting duty for the film, which revolves around a group of thrill-seeking adventurers who head to the alps for skiing, snowboarding, and mountain climbing. Along the way, they discover a deadly mountain secret, fighting for their lives against a covert organization, not to mention the harsh conditions. Disney is hoping to create some incredible mountain footage, hiring professional snowboarding filmers as consultants.

There’s no news on exactly when the projects might go ahead,

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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First Lovelace Image Surfaces

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It’s only just started shooting, but with two indie biopics of Linda Lovelace both going head-to-head, the one starring Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard wants to stake it’s claim to be the first out of the gate. EW has debuted the first pic from the movie, which shows the two stars looking loved-up as porn star Linda Lovelace and her husband Chuck Traynor.

It may be a bit of a misleading pic as after Lovelace become famous due to the hit 1972 hardcore movie Deep Throat, she later renounced her porn past and claim Traynor was a monster who pretty much forced her into pornography and would beat her mercilessly. It does seem he was a bit of a bastard, eve if Lovelace exagerated what he did.

The other Linda Lovelace movie, Inferno, is due to start shooting soon, with Malin Akerman in the lead role.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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Tim Burton & Downey Jr. Circling Pinocchio

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There have been various Pinocchio projects mooted in the last few years, including one Guilermo Del Toro has been working on, but now another major version is in the works, with THR reporting that Tim Burton and Robert Downey Jr. are currently circling it.

The live action project would see Robert Downey Jr. as Geppetto, a woodcarver who creates a puppet that comes to life only to dream of becoming a real boy. This version will follow Geppetto’s quest to find his missing puppet, rather than focussing on the puppet itself. Bryan Fuller is responsible for the screenplay.

Neither Tim Burton nor Robert Downey Jr. have a deal in place for the Warner Bros. movie, but it’s believed both are extremely interested in making the film. Warner Bros. wants to go into production soon, so it may end up being the Burton’s next project after Dark Shadows. However we’ll have to wait and see if that happens.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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Ian McKellen Says He Thinks Shakespeare Was Gay

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He’s not the first person to say it, but Sir Ian McKellen has backed the idea that William Shakespeare was gay or bisexual, telling the New York Post that, “Shakespeare obviously enjoyed sex with men as well as women.”

Although it’s difficult to prove 400 years after the fact (especially when the historical Shakespeare is rather enigmatic), McKellen is convinced, saying “No doubt Shakespeare was gay. His predilection was evident from his works. An unmistakenly feminine portrait of his patron Henry Wriothesley adds evidence that early sonnets to ‘fair youth’ were probably meant for males.” For many years critics have noted that many of his poems to seem to have been written to or about a man (while others insist this doesn’t mean he’s gay, just that he referred to things using male pronouns, or was talking about abstract ideas of love rather than an actual man).

McKellen adds, “Married, with children, he left his wife in Stratford to live in London. I’d say he slept with men. The Merchant of Venice, centering on how the world treats gays as well as Jews, has a love triangle between an older man, younger man and a woman. And complexity in his comedies with cross-dressing and disguises is immense. Shakespeare obviously enjoyed sex with men as well as women.”

Personally I’m not sure we can really say much about Shakespeare’s sexuality now, especially as ‘being gay’ in the way we’d understand it (culturally as well as sexually) didn’t exist back then. However there is a fair amount of evidence that the writer appreciated the masculine as much as the feminine.

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Win A Copy Of Cell 211 On DVD

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Spanish cinema has been getting better and better and now the latest thriller to arrive from the country, Cell 211, is coming to the UK and hitting DVD on January 9th, 2012. We’ve got two copies of the prison riot drama to give away in this comp!

In the film, Juan Oliver is knocked unconscious during a prison tour on the day before he begins his new job as prison officer. He is rushed to the empty cell 211 and left to come around. Meanwhile, inmates of the high security wing break free and riots break out. When he awakes he realises he’s trapped and has to pretend to be a new prisoner in order to survive…

Engaging and intense, Daniel Monzón’s gripping prison drama swept the board at the Goya Awards (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars), winning eight awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor. Paul Haggis (Crash) has already been asked to write the US remake and is rumoured to direct the project.

If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning, fill in your details in the form below and answer the multiple choice question. The competition closes on January 19th 2012, so get answering and good luck!

HOW TO ENTER: Fill in the entry form below and click send. All fields need to be completed correctly for an entry to be valid. This includes your address, which will only be used if you win a prize. None of your details will be passed to any third party and will only be used for this competition (if you opt to receive a daily e-mail from Big Gay Picture Show, we will use your e-mail address to set that up, but you will be able to unsubscribe at any time), Multiple entries from the same ip address/computer risk being disqualified if we believe they break our rules on multiple/automated entries – we reserve the right to block ip addresses we believe may be engaged in trying to break the rules. This competition closes at 11.59pm on January 19th, 2012. Competition open to UK residents aged 18 or over. (For general competition terms and conditions, privacy policy and site T&Cs, CLICK HERE)

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Loquax Competitions
The Prize Finder – UK Competitions

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Director David O’Russell Accused Of Groping Transgender Relative

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David O’Russell is known for being difficult to work with (his argument with Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees is legendary), but now the director of The Fighter and Three Kings is having issues of a different kind after being accused of groping a transgender relative.

According to a police report that The Smoking Gun got hold of, last week O’Russell was at a Florida hotel gym with his adopted sister’s child, Nicole Peloquin, who was born a male and has taken female hormones to grow breasts but has not undergone male-to-female surgery (and is referred to as male in the police report).

After O’Russell offered “to help…with ab exercises,” Peloquin told the police the director’s hand was above her “private parts”. After this, O’Russell allegedly asked Peloquin about the transgender transformation. Peloquin replied by telling Russell about “the hormones to increase his breasts.” At that point,O’Russell is alleged to have put his hands under Peloquin’s top “and felt both breasts.” While Peloquin said he felt uncomfortable, “he did not ask Russell to stop at any time.”

Peloquin said he left the gym a few minutes later, and subsequently told his mother that her brother “came onto her in the gym.”

Police later spoke to O’Russell, who denied he had done anything that amounted to battery (which is what he was accused of), saying that Peloquin was “acting very provocative towards him.”

O’Russell said that he spoke with Peloquin about the “transgender transformation and the breast enhancements he had done.” Curious about this, he says Peloquin allowed him “to feel both of his breasts,” adding that his relative “asked him to ‘pinky swear’ about her letting him touch his breasts.”

O’Russell seem to think it’s his relative just causing trouble, saying that “he had asked Peloquin several times if he was uncomfortable and he did not ask him to not touch him.” He also told the deputy that Peloquin is “always causing drama since the transgender transformation and has become very provocative and seductive.”

There wasn’t enough evidence for the police to make an arrest, but Peloquin can pursue the matter further with the state attorney.

Even if we believe O’Russell’s side of the story, what the hell is he doing touching his niece’s breats in the first place, whether he’s got permission or not?

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BAFTA Awards Longlist Revealed

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It’s just over a month until the BAFTA Film Awards are handed out on Sunday February 12th, and a couple weeks until the nominations are announced on January 17th. Ahead of that, BAFTA has released the longlist of potential nominees in each category.

The list has already sparked controversy for including the likes of the tepidly received Iron Lady and My Week With Marilyn in Best Film, while missing out Shame. Much acclaimed gay indie hit Weekend wasn’t longlisted in any category. Apparently Arthur Christmas was one of the 15 Best British movies of the year, but Weekend wasn’t, despite winning several film festival awards and ending up on a slew on critics best of 2011 lists.

Weekend’s snub is undoubtedly a result of the fact that while major awards ceremony like to pat themselves on the back for recognising smaller films, they’re actually heavily weighted towards the mainstream, irrespective of the quality of the actual movies. Without the weight of a major (studio-backed) distributor who has big pockets to launch an expensive campaign for a movie, it’s very tough to get a look in (and let’s not forgot most of those voting are heavily tied into the mainstream Brit filmmaking community).

So how is the longlist produced? According to BAFTA, ‘The Longlist is the result of Round One voting by members of the Academy. With 285 films entered this year, the first round of voting reduced the list of eligible films to 15 in each category. Round Two voting, which opens today, will reduce these 15 contenders down to the five nominations in each category. Appearing on the Longlist does not constitute a nomination.

‘Over 6300 members of the Academy vote in three rounds to decide the Longlist, Nominations and Winners. All members vote in the first two rounds for all categories barring Documentary, Film Not in the English Language and Outstanding British Film, which are voted for by Chapters. The asterisks in the Longlist denote the top five selection of the relevant Chapter. In the final round, winners are voted for by specialist Chapters in all categories except for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Documentary and Film Not in the English Language and the four performance categories, which are voted for by all members.’

We’ve included the longlists for Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Film below, but if you want to see all the categories, you can get them in PDF form by clicking here.

Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Leading Actor
Antonio Banderas (Robert Ledgard) – The Skin I Live In
Brad Pitt (Billy Beane) – Moneyball
Brendan Gleeson (Gerry Boyle) – The Guard
Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Eddie Redmayne (Colin Clark) – My Week with Marilyn
Gary Oldman (George Smiley) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney (Matt King) – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar Hoover) – J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender (Brandon) – Shame
Owen Wilson (Gil) – Midnight in Paris
Peter Mullan (Joseph) – Tyrannosaur
Ralph Fiennes (Caius Martius Coriolanus) – Coriolanus
Ryan Gosling (Driver) – Drive
Ryan Gosling (Stephen Meyers) – The Ides of March

Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller) – The Artist
Carey Mulligan (Sissy) – Shame
Charlize Theron (Mavis Gary) – Young Adult
Emma Stone (Skeeter Phelan) – The Help
Helen Mirren (Rachel Singer) – The Debt
Jodie Foster (Penelope Longstreet) – Carnage
Kate Winslet (Nancy Cowan) – Carnage
Kristen Wiig (Annie) – Bridesmaids
Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady
Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) – Jane Eyre
Michelle Williams (Marilyn Monroe) – My Week with Marilyn
Olivia Colman (Hannah) – Tyrannosaur
Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tilda Swinton (Eva) – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis (Aibileen Clark) – The Help

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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Liam Hemsworth & Dwayne Johnson Circling Empire State

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Who’s gonna end up the biggest of the Hemsworth brothers? Chris overtook Liam’s early lead thanks to Thor, but the younger brother is hitting back this year with the likes of the Hunger Games and The Expendables 2 (while Chris will be saving the world in The Avengers). Now Liam’s got another project he’s hoping will push him up the fame ladder – Empire State.

Deadline reports that Liam Hemsworth is finalising a deal to star in the movie for director Dito Montiel, with Dwayne Johnson in talks for another role as well. Adam Mazer (Breach) wrote the screenplay, based on the true story of a 1982 armored car company robbery in New York City. At the time the heist was believed to be the largest in US history.

Liam Hemsworth will play Chris, and Dwayne Johnson is portraying Ransone, although no further details have been given about their characters. Production is scheduled to begin in April.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser

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