LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items you might have missed: • SiriusXM: James Franco breaks his silence about sleeping with students of his now-defunct acting school months after settling a class-action sexual misconduct suit for $2.2 million. “Look, I’ll admit I did sleep with students,” he said adding he never thought about the power imbalance of his position as a teacher. Continue reading “News Round-Up: December 23, 2021”
In a new campaign ad by Emily’s List for Hillary Clinton, James Franco delivers his parody take on Dos Equis’ “The Most Interesting Man In The World.”
But Franco’s superlatives describe Clinton’s awesomeness.
“She didn’t just bring Iran to the table, she whittled the table from a single piece of oak,”
“Her laugh is in the Smithsonian.
“Yoda was her apprentice.
“She’s … the Most Interesting Woman in the World.”
Along the way, Franco nearly delivers the “full monty.” Watch both new spots below.
Christian Slater, who plays a gay film pornographer in Jame Franco’s King Cobra, sat down to chat with Conan O’Brien about the film.
Admitting playing a gay role, complete with gay sex scenes, was a bit “out of his wheelhouse,” Slater told Conan, “You have to feel the fear and then do it anyway.” Slater then invited Conan to touch his nipple to jokingly display his control over same-sex anxiety.
“I did have a lot of anxiety and fear about doing something like this,” he continued. “But then I just said, ‘I’m an actor!’ I asked my wife she said you should absolutely go do it. I dove right in.”
King Kobra will land in select theaters and Video OnDemand October 21.
Much excitement surrounding the release of the trailer for King Cobra, the upcoming Christian Slater/James Franco flick. And why not? With gay porn, murder and crazy/insane characters, what’s not to like?
The flick chronicles the meteoric success of gay adult film star “Brent Corrigan” and his personal/professional relationship with the producer who created him, “Bryan Kocis” played by Christian Slater.
When Corrigan decides he might be better off as a free-agent, Kocis informs Corrigan he’s legally bound to work only for him. As a cash-strapped pair of rival producers aim to cash in by utilizing Corrigan’s talents as well, things take a turn for the dark side.
Starring James Franco, Christian Slater, Molly Ringwald, Alicia Silverstone, Garrett Clayton, and Keegan Allen.
Directed by Justin Kelly (I Am Michael), King Cobra had it’s premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and was featured Outfest.
In theaters October 21st, 2016.
Nick Jonas and James Franco star in the upcoming Goat, a drama that follows two brothers who pledge the same fraternity and face the experiences of brutal hazing and “hell week” which tests the limits of loyalty to each other.
The very nature of hyper-masculine fraternities makes queer undertones unavoidable in the trailer.
Official Synopsis:
Reeling from a terrifying assault over the summer, 19-year-old Brad Land (Ben Schnetzer) starts college determined to get his life back to normal.
His brother, Brett (Nick Jonas), is already established on campus and with a fraternity that allures Brad with its promise of protection, popularity, and life-long friendships.
Brad is desperate to belong but as he sets out to join the fraternity his brother exhibits reservations, a sentiment that threatens to divide them. As the pledging ritual moves into hell week, a rite that promises to usher these unproven boys into manhood, the stakes violently increase with a series of torturous and humiliating events.
What occurs in the name of ‘brotherhood’ tests both boys and their relationship in brutal ways.
I will mention I was a brother in my university’s Sigma Chi chapter back in the day. While the pledging/”hell week” period was tough, it was actually the period of time when becoming a brother felt like I was joining something meaningful because you had to take part in activities, and the ideals of the fraternity were so front and center.
But, to be honest, after I became a brother there really wasn’t much “there” there for me. I’m certain in part because they picked up on my being gay before I did. There was clear and present homophobia constantly.
That’s not to say my entire Sigma Chi experience was bullshit. Some of the guys were really good, good guys. And god knows, I enjoyed the partying at the time.
I’m sure some of my brothers from back then ended up coming out eventually. I’d love to know who and what their thoughts were on the experience.
Oh, and practically none of my chapter’s brothers looked like Nick Jonas. But then, neither did I.
Goat lands in theaters and VOD September 23rd.
In a HuffPost Live interview on Thursday, actor Zachary Quinto sounded off on the likes of male stars like James Franco and Nick Jonas, who have been criticized for “queerbaiting” their gay fans, claiming he doesn’t have an issue with the phenomenon.
Quinto: “These guys who are, in many ways, considered very conventionally desirable, attractive leading men… lending themselves to these kinds of stories is a valuable thing for our culture.”
I personally agree with Quinto. The fact that high-level, mainstream male stars are so open to acknowledging their gay fan base doesn’t offend me at all. And it sets a tone of acceptance that I wish more major celebs would adopt.
The star also opened up about the controversy that ensued when he urged caution over the use of the HIV/AIDS prevention drug Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP.
Quinto: “I certainly like to be a part of conversations in our culture, and I’m not particularly afraid to articulate my position or my opinion on things, and if people don’t agree with it, that’s great. That fact that the backlash initiated a conversation about [PrEP] on some level — an issue that people are really uncomfortable talking about — I feel like that was my contribution.”
Watch the clip below. For the entire interview with Quinto on HuffPost Live, click here.
With over 2 million online downloads and/or rentals ($15 million) and nearly $3 million in limited theatrical release, the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy THE INTERVIEW ended it’s non-traditional first weekend with very nice numbers.
Although the number of theaters showing the flick was closer to 300 instead of the planned 3,000, Sony Pictures has to be happy at the box office numbers today considering the initial estimates for the first week of the film was around $20 million.
In addition to limited theatrical release, the film is available on demand online via YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Xbox, and iTunes.
iTunes was added to the list of online outlets after the numbers through Saturday were tallied. Netflix is reportedly working to secure THE INTERVIEW but no word yet on those negotiations.
In the newly released Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy film The Interview, rapper Eminem “comes out” during an appearance in the film’s talk show Skylark.
In the scene, when asked what his lyrics mean, Eminem tells James Franco’s talk show host character he is ‘gay’ and ‘a homosexual’.
‘When I say things about gay people, or people think my lyrics are homophobic – it’s because I’m gay.’
When Franco’s character – in freakout mode – asks Eminem to clarify, the rapper says, ‘I’m more shocked that people haven’t figured it out yet. I mean, it’s kind of like I’ve been playing gay peek-a-boo.’
In the TV studio control room, pandemonium ensues as Seth Rogen, as producer of the show, starts pulling up gay-related lyrics from Eminem’s catalog even as he’s throwing Em’s publicist out of the control room.
In real life, Em has had a love/hate relationship with the LGBT community as he’s frequently written homophobic lyrics. But the rapper has always contended he’s not an enemy of the community and the lyrics represent his performance art and not his heart.
And the James Franco/Seth Rogen flick – now of North Korean terrorist threat cancellation fame – makes it to YouTube!
(All the cool kids are doing it…)
Sony Pictures has released the film on YouTube for the low, low price of $5.99!
Here’s the synopsis: In the action-comedy The Interview, Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show ‘Skylark Tonight.’ When they discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the most unlikely candidates, to ‘take out’ Kim Jong-un.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced plans for streaming it’s film, “The Interview,” on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and its own website www.seetheinterview.com for $5.99 starting today at 10AM Pacific.
In addition, the studio announced a coalition about 250 independently owned movie theaters (known as Arthouse Convergence) plan to screen the film beginning Christmas Day.
“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment.
“With that in mind, we reached out to Google, Microsoft and other partners last Wednesday, Dec. 17th, when it became clear our initial release plans were not possible.
“We are pleased we can now join with our partners to offer the film nation-wide today.”