In the new Blumhouse-produced horror film They/Them, a mysterious masked killer stalks a gay conversion-therapy camp.
The film’s cast also includes Claws/True Bloods: Carrie Preston, Anna Chlumsky, Quei Tann, Anna Lore, Darwin Del Fabro, Theo Germaine and Kevin Bacon, who portrays Owen Whistler, the owner of the conversion-therapy camp and brings his career full circle from Camp Crystal Lake.
They/Them premieres Aug. 5 on Peacock. Watch the film’s teaser trailer below.
Gay actor-comedian Billy Eichner is set to play TV icon Paul Lynde in the upcoming biopic Man in the Box,
Eichner and producer Tom McNulty have optioned a script by Edwin Cannistraci on Lynde life. While Lynde never officially “out,” his sexuality was well-known in front of and behind the camera throughout a run on television beginning in the ’50s up until his death in 1982.
Said Eichner in Deadline:
One of the main reasons I want to do this is…because gay actors are never, hardly ever, I should say, allowed to play our own gay icons. Harvey Milk, Freddie Mercury, Elton John. Where are the gay actors? When it really comes to some big project about a gay icon, the one everyone’s throwing awards at…we love the spectacle of rewarding a straight actor, for quote unquote, transforming himself into a gay person.”
Eichner also talked about the very real consequences for actors coming out and how they are often career-ending:
When someone comes out of the closet, we celebrate them. We applaud them. We put them on the cover of magazines. We say, thank you for living your truth, and thank you for being brave, and you’re such a role model for our gay kids. And then instantly, that actor gets taken off so many casting lists in the business,” he said. “This is exactly what happened to Paul, and it’s still happening today, which I can tell you from my own career, having lived it on the day to day, for almost 20 years now.”
In addition to “Man in the Box” Billy will also be writing and starring in an upcoming gay romantic comedy from Judd Apatow’s production company for Universal Pictures. The untitled project will be the first major studio movie with a gay lead since last year’s “Love, Simon,”
A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Billy Eichner on his much needed upcoming gay themed projects! Also Billy if you are reading this and need a gay historian for research on the Paul Lynde project I am available.
I’ll be waiting to be called on in the center square.
Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend Velvet Buzzsaw is the latest thriller from Nightcrawler’s Dan Gilroy. The movie re-teams Gilroy with actor Jake Gyllenhaal here who plays a snobby gay art critic in Los Angeles (stereotype much?) whose life get weird when some paintings by a virtually unknown artists become a hit. But the creator, and his works, might be more sinister than any of them realize…
The film also stars Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Zawe Ashton, Tom Sturridge, Natalia Dyer, Daveed Diggs, Billy Magnussen, and John Malkovich.
Velvet Buzzsaw debuts on Netflix February 1.
Plans for a revival of the beloved ’90s series,Xena: Warrior Princess, which was slated to focus more on the lesbian relationship between the Amazonian heroine and her sidekick Gabrielle are officially dead.
The reboot plans hit a major bump in April, when writer and showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach (of Lost fame) left the project citing “creative differences” which many believe to be Grillo-Marxuach’s desire to put the romantic relationship between Xena and Gabrielle in the forefront of the story and network executives pushing back at the idea.
NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke has confirmed the revival won’t be going ahead at all.
“Nothing is happening on that right now,” Salke told the Hollywood Reporter. “We looked at some material; we decided at that point that it didn’t warrant the reboot.
The cancellation of the project comes at a time when new LGBT representation on television is at a low. The original show was beloved for its emphasis on female strength and friendship. While it did receive criticism for unwillingness to be open about the nature of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship. The 2017’s reboot was expected to be out and proud.
Source: Slate.com
Pearl Mackie, who plays the newest companion, Bill, on the upcoming season of Doctor Who, was interviewed about her character and revealed that Bill will be the first openly lesbian companion in the show’s 54 year history.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal in the 21st Century. It’s about time isn’t it?” Representation is important, especially on a mainstream show. Mackie said
“I remember watching TV as a young mixed race girl not seeing many people who looked like me, so I think being able to visually recognise yourself on screen is important.”
“[Being gay] is not the main thing that defines her character — it’s something that’s part of her and something that she’s very happy and very comfortable with,” Mackie confirms.
While Bill may be the first openly gay character, she’s not the first one to represent the LGBT community in Doctor Who. Jack Harkness, portrayed by John Barrowman, was the show’s very first openly queer character but his sexuality was never explicitly clear and we were also introduced to Vastra and Jenny, an interspecies lesbian couple who lived in Victorian London. Those were all recurring characters, though, so Bill will be the series’ first openly gay series regular
Bill and the Doctor return to small screens on April 15 in “A Star in Her Eye,” written by Steven Moffat and directed by Lawrence Gough.
DC Comic’s ONLY gay superhero character comic series Midnighter will end next month as the company readies for its new “Rebirth”.
Midnighter, recounts the adventures of a kick ass gay vigilante superhero and while some believe like Dan Avery of NewNowNext that is not just another in a long line of recent a #BuryYourGays situation many disagree.
Fans of the character and comic claim that DC Comics itself is to blame for not really caring about the comics run. While the reviews for Midnighter have been nothing but positive, the company itself was the brunt of quite a bit of homophobic backlash online when they first announced the gay superheroes run last summer and afterwards did nothing to promote the comic. Not even in the LGBT and gay-geek community.
The character of Midnighter first appeared in Stormwatch (vol. 2) No. 4, in 1998 before appearing in various other comics before getting his own title in June of 2015.
Warren Ellis described Midnighter as “The Shadow by way of John Woo”. Midnighter is rarely seen without his costume and mask. With recurring themes in Midnighter’s adventures being about his love of violence and killing, as well as comments on his sexuality.
In his 2015 stand alone comic run, Midnighter having broken up with (husband) Apollo, has to come to terms with being newly single, as well as tracking down a thief who stole exotic technology from the God Garden and is openly selling it to different individuals. Amongst the items stolen are files containing the origin of who Midnighter really was before the Gardener abducted and created him. After teaming up with Spyral agent Dick Grayson (yes Robin gone rouge) to track down Russian vampire thrill-killers.
It’s reported that in the last issue of comic will reunite Midnighter with his superhero ex, Apollo, and together they will battle his evil creator, Henry Bendix.
In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Midnighter as #17 on their list of the “50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics”.
#BuryYourGaySuperheroes
Television newcomer Casey Cott has landed the role of Kevin Keller in Riverdale , the CW Networks upcoming TV show twist on the long-runing Archie comics series.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics Publications, made the official announcement. He tweeted, “And last but certainly not least–KEVIN KELLER (@CaseyCott) joins the ever-expanding Riverdale universe!!”
Keller is the first openly gay character in the history of Archie Comics. He made his first appearance in Veronica #202 (September 2010). His debut was so popular that the comic sold out and Archie Comics did something it had never done before: issued a reprint. In February 2012, Keller received his own ongoing title, but it came to an end in 2014.
The CW describes the show: The live-action series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica, and their friends, exploring small-town life and the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade. The show will focus on the eternal love triangle of Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper, and rich socialite Veronica Lodge, and will include the entire cast of characters from the comic books—including Archie’s rival, Reggie Mantle, and his slacker best friend, Jughead Jones.
The CW has already cast the rest of the core Riverdale line-up, including; KJ Apa as Archie, Ashleigh Murray as Josie, Camila Mendes as Veronica, Lili Reinhart as Betty, Cole Sprouse as Jughead
