'Love, Simon' Marketg Campaign Tak Gay-Themed Film Mastream - Variety

Contents:

• POT BREAK IS GAY
• ZORRO, THE GAY BLA
• FOX 20TH CENTURY- UR GAY
• FOX HOP GAY TEEN FILM ‘LOVE, SIMON’ GO MASTREAM

POT BREAK IS GAY

(Wele to Movi Are Gay, a Pri Month seri where we explore the tentnal, or accintal, ways LGBTQIA+ them, characters, and creativ have shaped cema. I knew "Pot Break" was gay before I ever saw . To be fair, even if I hadn't had the heads up, I would've ught onto the simmerg homoeroticism of "Pot Break" pretty quickly.

It stars a young Keanu Reev (who would star "My Own Private Idaho" two months later, but had already played gay by this pot) and Patrick Swayze (still a few years off om "To Wong Foo, " but already cshed-on by men and women aplenty), both radiatg full movie-star wattage.

The movie's excellence is extrible om s homoeroticism. When Vega spras his ankle and nnot figure out how to ntue his mpaign agast the rpt Capta Esteban, luck stays wh Vega when his long-lost tw brother Ramon, who was sent off by their father to the Brish Royal Navy to make a "man" of him, whom is also flamboyantly gay, and now known as Lt. Bunny be 'the Gay Bla' which his new sus are lemon, plum, and srlet lored, and Bunny sists on g a whip.

ZORRO, THE GAY BLA

But when Vega is pacated by an jury, he asks Ramon, his very gay, long-lost tw brother (now llg himself 'Bunny'), to replace him as the ped hero, who mak some drastic chang to his Zorro persona.

I love Zorro, The Gay Bla was so funny and Gee Haton was very funny a dual role as the ma character and his brother also. “Love, Simon” director Greg Berlanti had jt two marketg requts for 20th Century Fox, the stud behd the gay teen romantic edy that bowed this weekend. As the first mastream teen romantic edy wh a gay lead character, there’s prsure on “Love, Simon” to prove whether a film wh LGBT subject matter n fd broad acceptance.

While the trailer and other promotnal material don’t hi Simon’s sexualy, marketg materials don’t necsarily read as gay. As part of the digal mpaign, the stud held screengs for gay celebri and social-media fluencers, cludg Ellen Degener, Anrson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

FOX 20TH CENTURY- UR GAY

The PG-13 film arriv at a time when gay acceptance is at an historil high and when dienc are mandg more diverse reprentatn film and televisn. The 2018 Wter Olympics also ma stars out of openly gay athlet, skier G Kenworthy and figure skater Adam Rippon. Berlanti is openly gay and married to former L.

He rells the disfort over the years by some dienc around LGBTQ sexualy and said films often featured homophobic jok or slurs. Now, “you look at people appldg a gay kiss, feels great… ’s nice to see that that’s where we are now, ” though he adds that spe the stris, “there’s too many kids that still feel a much darker versn of what Simon go through the film.

Semal gay die films like “Call Me By Your Name, “Moonlight” and “Carol” were all crilly acclaimed but had only most box-office succs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli.

FOX HOP GAY TEEN FILM ‘LOVE, SIMON’ GO MASTREAM

The Atlanta-based wrer said that the film featur a story that still needs to be told, even 2018, when gay acceptance is higher than ever.