Director of queer classic 'But I'm a Cheerlear' wanted to 'make a gay "Cluels"'

Contents:

• DIRECTOR OF QUEER CLASSIC 'BUT I'M A CHEERLEAR' WANTED TO 'MAKE A GAY "CLUELS"'
• BETIFUL THG IS A MASTERPIECE OF GAY STORYTELLG
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

DIRECTOR OF QUEER CLASSIC 'BUT I'M A CHEERLEAR' WANTED TO 'MAKE A GAY "CLUELS"'

In the flossy, glossy high school mil “Everybody’s Talkg About Jamie, ” Max Harwood plays the tle character, a gay teen livg Sheffield, England, untg the days until he leav high school to pursue his life’s goal of beg a drag film opens on Jamie’s 16th birthday, when his proud and lovg mum Margaret (Sarah Lanshire, beloved by “Last Tango Halifax” fans everywhere) prents him wh his dream-gift: a pair of sparklg red stiletto pumps, suable for any pole dancer who feels pelled to channel her ner Dorothy Gale. Grant, who troduc his new young iend to the history of drag the movie’s ept, most shatterg set piece: a flashback set to the song “This Was Me, ” durg which he remds Jamie of the gay rights activists, AIDS patients and everyday urageo souls on whose shoulrs the new generatn stands.

The villas — a homophobic stunt named Dean (Samuel Bottomley) and an uptight teacher played by Sharon Han — are too broadly drawn to be believed, which is jt as te of their evable third-act, ’s impossible not to be cheered by Jamie’s domabily “Everybody’s Talkg About Jamie, ” jt as is impossible not to be moved by the film’s closg creds sequence, where the dience gets to meet the real character and his mother. ” The movie centers on a lbian high school cheerlear (played by Natasha Lyonne), whose parents send her to a nversn therapy mp to cure her homosexualy.

And I thk the muny was so vastated by AIDS that there wasn’t a lot of edi gog on gay cema. I wanted to skewer not only my muny, but also jt the absurdy of gay nversn.

BETIFUL THG IS A MASTERPIECE OF GAY STORYTELLG

It’s ridiculo to say that jt bee you bee more feme means you’re gog to be ls gay. I loved “Cluels, ” and I wanted to make a gay “Cluels. For sure — and sexism and homophobia.

I read that your first choice for the lead role turned down for relig reasons, and other st members were utned by their agents agast playg gay characters. Are gay actors still beg dissuad om playg gay characters?

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

I thk ’s better, but there’s a lot of homophobia the actg realm and that agents would still advise some of their clients not to take gay rol, pecially if their clients is gay and the closet. As someone who mak a lot of queer ntent, I still see a lot of closeted actors who don’t want to play gay rol bee they feel like they won’t pass or somethg. She wore a red sequned drs and my head her hair was bigger than Dolly Parton’s, although is highly likely that uld be me leang to the gay fantasy.