05/14/2009
Movies: Bromances and Cannes Fever
Nathaniel Rogers would live inside a movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience.
Take One: Cannes Kick Off
I love New York in June but since it's still May, I'd rather be in the south of France for the 62nd annual Festival de Cannes. The festival opened yesterday with the premiere of Disney/Pixar's UP. Lou Ye's Spring Fever (pictured above) was the first official competition movie to premiere. Huge heaps of films play during the festival but only 20 fight for the coveted Palme D'Or prize. Lou Ye's last film, the politically and sexually provocative Summer Palace got him banned from filmmaking in China for five years. It happens to the best of them in Asia -- remember how much trouble Ang Lee got in for his Brokeback follow up, Lust, Caution? He's only three years into that five year ban but he isn't going to be let off early for good behavior. Spring Fever is also sexually explicit but this time the love affair is between two men. Expect this one to crop up at gay film festivals soon.
Prolific Gay Filipino director Brillante Mendoza is also competing for the Palme D'Or. Mendoza's films are often explicit and gay themed but his new one, Kinatay, is about a young man (Mendoza's hunky muse Coco Martin, left) who is eager to earn a quick buck so he can marry his girlfriend. The problem is that his latest job for hire is a murder. Other gay interest films at Cannes include Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces and the latest from the director of O Fantasma, called To Die Like a Man which is about a Portuguese transvestite.
Take Two: Bromance Fever
Three's a crowd. Step out of the frame Rachel McAdams.
Just how gay is Sherlock Holmes going to be, anyway? More, AFTER THE JUMP...
A few months back Rachel McAdams raved about the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr's "Sherlock" and Jude Law's "Watson", saying
They're really perfect together. That's kind of the love story, actually. I play supposedly Sherlock's love interest, but it's really Watson.
And people are still talking about the homo-eroticism of the famous, er, "couple." The Bosh and The Playlist, working from Jude Law quotes, think it'll definitely be there and visible too. But Hollywood Elsewhere thinks they might be overstating. My favorite take comes from My New Plaid Pants who, indulging his understandable Jude Law fetish, would like to rechristen the movie Dr. Watson's Sexy-Time Adventures.
We won't know until we see it how far Guy Ritchie has taken this much speculated upon friendship but it's easy to imagine that the actors are willing to go there. Robert Downey Jr has been a hustler (Less Than Zero) and a proud marrying gay (Home for the Holidays) onscreen. Jude Law is even less shy about a flexible onscreen sexuality having worked in drag roles (Rage), gay roles (Wilde, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and the kind of overtly sexualized roles (The Talented Mr Ripley, Alfie, AI: Artificial Intelligence) that are usually reserved for actresses.
But when you look like Jude Law... how can that be avoided?
Whether or not Sherlock Holmes and the upcoming buzzing indie Humpday (previously covered on Towleroad) further popularize "bromance" fever, I think we can all agree that the term is getting as annoying as "metrosexual" once was. Can we not?
Take Three: Final Cut
Whoa! when did Mariah Carey learn how to act? I suspect Precious is going to be a big deal when awards season rolls around this fall.
Man Candy! Battle of the Blockbuster Boys Wolverine vs. Star Trek.
Stifler! Has Boy Culture solved the latest gay celebrity 'Blind Item'?
Be Italian! Nine the musical starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman and other Oscar winners finally gets its first trailer.
Posted 12:00 PM EST by Nathaniel_R in Film, Nathaniel Rogers, News | Permalink
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Andy,
Love your blog. But what's with the talking ads today? Two different ads were running loud audio about oven cleaners and such. Since I had several browsers open and I was looking at something else while waiting for your blog to load it was a real surprise and took awhile to figure out what was going on and find some way to turn the racket off. Please make it stop.
Thanks.
Posted by: Hugh | May 14, 2009 12:26:02 PM
I saw Lou Ye's 'Spring Fever' this morning (it's just too hot to wear the mandatory tuxedo). It was ok but not great, quite boring actually considering the material. Yet it's encouraging to see gays, transvestites and bis in China. There's 3 more LGBT related movies at the Director's Fortnight. 'Humpday' tomorrow (straight guys making a gay porn), 'the king of escapism' on monday (a gay guy falling in love with a girl)and 'I heart Phillip Morris' tuesday. There's also 'Precious' tomorrow which is not about gay people yet is featuring Mariah Carrey, so there.
Posted by: arn0 | May 14, 2009 2:39:33 PM
Ooops, didn't read the article through (with Humpday and Precious nod). Oh well, see you at the movies, Nathaniel.
Posted by: arn0 | May 14, 2009 2:50:03 PM
no problem ARNO. I'm a center/center guy in the theaters but if that's taken i'm usually a right aisle boy, if you're trying to find me ;)
Anyway thanks for the note on King of Escapism (that one is news to me). I knew that Phillip Morris was playing but I've become so discouraged about it ever seeing release that I'm trying to ignored it.
Posted by: Nathaniel R | May 14, 2009 3:04:23 PM
I wanted to let you know that MovieSet has sent our top correspondents to Cannes to gather great still photo, video and interview content and you are welcome to share it! Please feel free to provide your audience with any and all of our content (please provide a link/trackback to our Cannes Sitelet) and if you have any requests for our correspondents please let me know.
Posted by: Blaine | May 14, 2009 4:04:16 PM