Neil Patrick Harris says ’s ‘sexy’ for straight actors to play gay

) The h show Batman was famo for s gay-iendly gut stars like Eartha Kt, Julie Newmar, Ethel Merman, and Tallulah Bankhead. Along wh Bewched, this show helped tapult me out of the closet even whout the word “gay” ever havg been uttered.

Today, gay people on TV are out and drs! Wh the announcement this week that liberal journalist Steve Kornacki of Salon will take over weekend roundtable show, Up, MSNBC is addg s third openly gay anchor to the lp.

ANTI-GAY RIGHTS UNCILLOR AND BOW GROUP CHAIR SPEND BY CONSERVATIV

Maddow, who is gay, often lled upon Kornacki as a Roberts, who was recently married to Patrick Abner New York, also hosts his own midday show on the channel and was before that anchor for The Advote's onle newsst, which is no longer productn.

It's 2011, after all, and I live Manhattan, surround social and profsnal settgs by gay people. They didn't thk I was terted any kd of relatnship - straight or gay.

THE SURPRISG REASON WHY 2016’S BEN-HUR ISN’T GAYSCREENWRER KEH CLARKE REVEALS WHY THE FAMO HOMOEROTIC SUBTEXT IS GONE.BY JOANNA ROBSONAUGT 18, 2016CRED: LEFT, OM ALAMY; RIGHT, URTY OF PARAMOUNT PICTUR.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEDPE POSIVE REVIEWS (CLUDG ONE OM THIS SE), THERE’S A SMALL STORM OF NTROVERSY BREWG AROUND 2016’S UPDATE OF THE CLASSIC STORY BEN-HUR. “WHY HAS HOLLYWOOD PUT BEN-HUR BACK THE CLOSET?” A GUARDIAN HEADLE ASKS—NOTG THAT ANY OF THE HOMOEROTIC UNRTON PRENT THE 1959 VERSN OF THE FILM ARE ABSENT THIS VERSN. TO HEAR SCREENWRER KEH CLARKE TELL , THE REASON MAY BE MORE TECHNIL THAN YOU’D EXPECT.CLARKE WAS SPIRED TO WRE HIS OWN VERSN OF BEN-HUR AFTER WATCHG THE 1959 CLASSIC WH HIS WIFE AND MATG ON THE THEME OF FIVENS. CLARKE—WHO PREVLY WROTE THE SCREENPLAY FOR 2010’S THE WAY BACK—THEN PICKED UP THE ORIGAL 1880 LEW WALLACE BOOK BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST. . . AND THIS IS WHERE THE QUTN OF ADAPTATN AND REBOOTG GETS PLITED. WHEN ASKED IF HIS VERSN WAS AN ADAPTATN OR RETERPRETATN OF THE BOOK, RATHER THAN THE 1959 FILM, CLARKE EXPLAED: “THAT’S VERY ACCURATE, AND THERE’S A REASON FOR THAT. WARNER BROS. OWNED THE OLD MGM LIBRARY AND SO I N’T DO A REMAKE OF THAT, BEE WARNER BROS. OWNS THAT. I HAD TO GO BACK TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL, SO ANYTHG THAT’S THE 59 VERSN THAT IS NOT THE BOOK I ULD NOT E.”THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY, FOR EXAMPLE, TOBY KEBELL’S MSALA DON’T DIE THE ARMS OF JACK HTON’S BEN-HUR AT THE END OF THE FAMO CHART RACE. THAT ATH—SO FAMO OM THE 1959 FILM—WAS NOT THE BOOK, AND THEREFORE OFF LIMS TO CLARKE. SO ’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, WHEN RE-EXAMG THE GAY LEGACY OF BEN-HUR, THAT IF EVER THERE WERE HOMOEROTIC TENSNS BETWEEN MSALA AND HIS CHILDHOOD IEND, JUDAH BEN-HUR, THEY WERE THE VENTN OF GORE VIDAL, ONE OF THE MANY SCREENWRERS ON THE 1959 BEN-HUR. IN AN UNFETTABLE SECTN OF THE 1995 DOCUMENTARY THE CELLULOID CLOSET, VIDAL CLAIMS HE RE-WROTE PART OF THE 1959 FILM TO HEAVILY IMPLY THAT CHARLTON HTON’S TLE CHARACTER AND HIS CHILDHOOD IEND (AND LATER BETRAYER) MSALA (STEPHEN BOYD) WERE MORE THAN JT IENDS GROWG UP. CCIALLY, ACRDG TO VIDAL, BOYD WAS LET ON THE SUBTEXT AND HTON—A STNCH NSERVATIVE—WAS NOT.VIDAL’S STORY—WHILE ENORMOLY ENTERTAG—HAS BEEN HOTLY NTTED. DIRECTOR WILLIAM WYLER SAID HE ULDN’T RELL HAVG THIS KD OF DISCSN WH EHER VIDAL OR BOYD, WHILE HTON, AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, WROTE A BLISTERG RPONSE THE LOS ANGEL TIM STNCHLY NYG VIDAL’S STORY. JT THIS WEEK, ACTRS ROMA DOWNEY—A PRODUCER OF THE 2016 BEN-HUR AND SEVERAL OTHER FAH-BASED PROJECTS—SAID OF THE ALLEGED BEN-HUR/MSALA ROMANCE: “I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF THAT WAS TE THAT FILM.”BUT CLARKE THKS THE TTH OF VIDAL’S STORY IS UNASSAILABLE. “I’M VERY FAIAR WH THAT, WHICH I THK IS GREAT,” HE TOLD VANY FAIR. “HOW N YOU NOT WATCH THE ‘59 VERSN, AND HEAR GORE VIDAL SAY WHAT HE SAID, AND THEN LOOK AT THE HUGGG, AND THE WAY MSALA THAT MOVIE JT LOOKED AT JUDAH? IT’S LIKE, Y, THERE WAS SOMETHG ELSE GOG ON OTHER THAN, ‘HEY, BUDDY. I’M BACK OM THE WAR.‘”BUT THERE’S NONE OF THAT THIS VERSN. INSTEAD, “JUDAH IS LOVE WH HIS SERVANT, ESTHER. MSALA IS LOVE WH JUDAH’S SISTER,” CLARKE SAYS FIRMLY. VIDAL SAYS HE CREATED THE HOMOEROTIC PLOT ORR TO MAKE MSALA’S HATRED FOR JUDAH SEEM MORE BELIEVABLE. BUT STEAD OF THE FIRE OF A SPURNED LOVER, KEBBEL’S MSALA IS DRIVEN BY FAIAL ANIMOSY— THIS VERSN, VIDAL’S WOULD BE EX-LOVERS ARE NOW ADOPTED BROTHERS. THAT NOT ONLY MAK THE IA OF ROMANCE A NON-STARTER, BUT ALSO TI TO CLARKE’S VISN OF A STORY OF FIVENS. “IT’S BROTHERS FIGHTG BROTHERS. I JT FIGURED THAT THE CLOSER THEY ARE, THE GREATER THE BETRAYAL. IF YOU EXTRAPOLATE THAT OUT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, YOU HAVE THE GREATER THE BETRAYAL THE GREATER THE S. THE GREATER THE S, THE GREATER THE FIVENS HAS TO BE FOR HIM TO ACTUALLY END UP FIVG HIS BROTHER.”MOST POPULARAND JT LIKE THAT… PREPAR FOR ITS LAST SUPPERBY CHRIS MURPHYRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHTHE TV MOVIE IS MAKG A WEIRD, WONRFUL COMEBACKBY DAVID CANFIELDACRDG TO KEBBEL, GAY RIGHTS HAS ADVANCED SO MUCH THAT THE NOTN OF HOMOEROTIC SUBTEXT ISN’T SOMETHG WE NEED FILM NOW. “IN 1959, THE GAY NTEXT WAS VERY IMPORTANT,” HE SAID AT THE BEN-HUR PREMIERE. “THEY NEED A VOICE. YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO HI THE DARK ABOUT SOMETHG YOU FEEL AND YOU’RE GROWN WH. THAT WAS THEIR OWN THG THEY WANTED TO PORTRAY AND WE DIDN’T NEED TO. IT’S A DIFFERENT TIME, THANKFULLY."BUT WHILE WE CERTALY ARE LIVG A DIFFERENT TIME THAN 1959, GAY RELATNSHIP ARE STILL LARGELY ABSENT OM BIG BLOCKBTER MOVI. IN FACT, THIS YEAR’S BIG SUMMER FILMS WERE FULL OF CHARACTERS WHO WERE ALMOST OR VAGUELY GAY—BUT WE’VE STILL YET TO SEE EXPLICLY GAY CHARACTERS AT THE CENTER OF A BIG-BUDGET SPECTACLE FILM SPE VERY VOL MANDS OM ADVOCY GROUPS LIKE GLAAD.BUT PERHAPS BEN—HUR—WHICH, REMEMBER, RRI THE SUBTLE A TALE OF THE CHRIST—WAS NEVER GOG TO BE THE FILM TO GIVE THAT. J HIMSELF PLAYS A FAIRLY SIGNIFINT ROLE BOTH THE ORIGAL BOOK AND THIS 2016 ADAPTATN. IN THE 1959 VERSN, CHRIST WAS PLAYED BY A FAIRLY UNKNOWN OPERA SGER, CL HEATER, WHO DIDN’T GET HIS NAME THE CREDS AND NEVER SHOWS HIS FACE ON-SCREEN. THE COEN BROTHERS SPOOFED THAT HANDS-OFF APPROACH TO THE MSIAH THIS YEAR’S HAIL CAAR!.BUT CLARKE’S VERSN, THE CHRIST IS PLAYED BY BRAZILIAN ACTOR RODRIGO SANTORO (300, LOVE ACTUALLY), WHOSE FACE IS ALL OVER THE MOVIE. “FOR ME, HE WAS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT FIGURE THE BOOK,” CLARKE SAID. “I’M OKAY NOT TO SHY AWAY OM THAT. IN MY ORIGAL DRAFT, HE WAS MORE.” AND WHILE CLARKE SAID HE WAS HOPG TO WRE A STORY THAT WOULD APPEAL TO MORE THAN JT A CHRISTIAN DIENCE, HE SAYS THE FILM WAS SCREENED EARLY FOR FAH-BASED FOC GROUPS. THE VOLVEMENT OF DOWNEY AND HER HBAND/PRODUCG PARTNER MARK BURT, ALSO MEANS THAT THE STUD, AT LEAST, WANTED TO PCH THE PROJECT TO THE POTENTIALLY LUCRATIVE AND CCIALLY ANIZED BLOCK OF RELIG MOVIEGOERS.“I THK THAT THE FAH-BASED DIENCE IS GOG TO GET WHAT THEY WANT OM AND WE DON’T HI THAT,” CLARKE SAID. “BUT I WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO WALK AWAY AND SAY, ‘WOW, THIS IS A BIG SPECTACLE, A LOT OF ACTN, WONRFUL PERFORMANC. IT’S GOT A NTEMPORARY NTEXT.‘ I THK THAT’S WHAT A SECULAR DIENCE WILL WALK AWAY WH.” AND GIVEN THE POSIVE RECEPTN, MAY BE THAT THIS BEN-HUR—STRIPPED OF ANY POTENTIALLY NTROVERSIAL GAY SUBTEXT, AND GIVEN A HAPPIER ENDG THAN EHER THE BOOK OR THE 1959 VERSN—WILL PULL A LARGER DIENC. BUT SOMETHG TELLS ME GORE VIDAL MIGHT NOT APPROVE.JOANNA ROBSON

From 2000 to 2005, Queer as Folk was Ameri's first TV seri to exclively foc on the liv and lov of gay and lbian characters.

Mr Gay UK Ben Harris - The Exprs Newspaper May 29th 1998… | Flickr

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MSNBC HIR ANOTHER GAY ANCHOR (WHO JT CAME OUT 2 YEARS AGO)

GAY UK MAGAZE PUT STRAIGHT, WHE BEN HARDY ON COVER OF ISSUE ON RACE AND MEDIA

MR GAY UK BEN HARRIS - THE EXPRS NEWSPAPER MAY 29TH 1998

THAT’S WHY I’M NNG –SO THAT EVERY KID HARRIS COUNTY N LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE WH A SENSE OF HOPE AND BELONGG. IF ELECTED, I WILL BE THE FIRST ASIAN AMERIN AND FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON TO SERVE ON HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSNERS COURT. MY PROFSNAL EXPERIENCE