TIFF Diary #4 - 'My Policeman' and 'Banshees of Inisherin'

by Baby Clyde

7 hours of glorious sleep at a festival! Knowing that nothing could compare to my Tanya T adventure the day before, I sensibly hadn’t booked any further films for the evening, so I was home in bed by midnight. I know it sounds ridiculous when some people work in mines and on 16-hour shifts of emergency wards, but film festivals are exhausting! Not proper, real-world exhausting but certainly no-time-to-do-anything-else or call your mum exhausting. I also of course have to find time every day to send these lightweight bulletins for the millions of you eagerly awaiting my next update. All refreshed at 7am I was ready for the days entertainment. As you will discover that early start came back to bite me by the end of the day. 

I started my viewing in style, Harry Styles in point of fact. After dabbling in acting the last few years, he’s been handed actual leading-man status. By the evidence of this offering, it may be a bit too soon...

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Kit Clarke as Rupert Everett? Good casting!

We totally missed sharing this story that is now a bit old but it might be news to you! 

Rupert Everett will be played by Kit Clarke in a new film

Rupert Everett was one of our first heroes. The now 62 year-old actor is the first movie star in our lifetime that came out of the closet. It was such a ballsy move for a leading man in 1989, you can't even imagine if you weren't alive at the time. While it's still a brave move in some ways for today's actors, it's no longer at all unusual and large pockets of the media, Hollywood, and fan culture are supportive enough that we have dozens of famous  out actors in 2021! (The closet still exists in Hollywood, too, of course). Everett was the only one back in the day. (Sir Ian McKellen came out a year before Rupert but he was not yet a movie star and the stage has always been more accepting of gay talent.) Everett doesn't always get the credit for being a pioneer, partially because of his repeatedly sharp tongue and controversial statements (including his own coming out) as well as that "difficult" reputation. But we will forever love him for paving the way.

We forgot to share the news from a month back that the star is moving behind the camera for his latest which will be an autobiographical film called Lost and Found in Paris...

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Gay Best Friend: Robert in "The Next Best Thing"

A series by Christopher James investigating the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

Both Madonna and Rupert Everett made some key mistakes in "The Next Best Thing."Gay men love their one named divas, and with good reason. Madonna is in the upper echelon of gay icons. Her outspoken nature, incredible discography, ever-evolving persona and culture-defining fashion have given her a remarkably enduring legacy that should be lauded. Still, every gay icon has a few flops in their closet. 

The Next Best Thing has been virtually wiped from the world. Unavailable from all streaming platforms (including transactional video on demand services), in order to gaze upon this Sodom and Gomorrah of filmmaking I had to order a used DVD from an Amazon seller. The Next Best Thing both did and did not disappoint. It's an epically misguided trainwreck not just in scope (the film takes place over a 7 year period) but in the colossal ways it fails its characters, stars, director and the media of filmmaking itself. Adding insult to injury, it also is an early digital film, making it look like part home movie and part snuff film. Move over The Room, The Next Best Thing is a midnight trash-terpiece...

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Gay Best Friend: George Downs in "My Best Friend's Wedding"

NEW WEEKLY SERIES!

by Christopher James

The trope of the “gay best friend” proves that not all representation is created equally. In the 90s especially, we finally got to see openly gay characters in big Hollywood movies, specifically romantic comedies. Before that, queer characters were often only coded as such. While this representation was a step forward, the types of LGBTQ+ representation were always the same: white, cis gay men without an interior life. Throughout this series, I want to revisit these characters and examine the good, the bad and the ugly of their portrayal and how it has shaped the culture of today.

George Downs (Rupert Everett) embodies a lot of what is bad about the “gay best friend” trope. So why do I love him so much? It’s not just because Everett is incredibly charming and handsome. George starts out as a sidekick and becomes the “love interest.” Sure, we never get to spend time with him a queer man and learn more about his love life and relationships. Still, he's the force that shapes and defines the narrative. That this happens in a $100 million plus Julia Roberts blockbuster is no small feat...

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Remember "An Ideal Husband"?

This picture poppd into my head quite unexpectedly this morning. So many delicious actors were in this (Blanchett, Moore, Everett, Lindsay Duncan, Simon Russell Beale, etcetera). Oh, and a very happy 50th birthday today to the ever-undervalued Minnie Driver!