VIP Fave Q Movie Pick
Where we ask today’s hottest queer and queer-friendly filmmakers, stars and community leaders to answer the question:
“One of my favorite LGBT movies is...”
Witi Ihimaera (writer, KAWA)
“I love movies that have complex stuff going on! For instance, my own film KAWA, isn’t just about being gay, it also crunches on other stuff like being Maori and married with kids. So one of my favourite LGBT films is LATTER DAYS because while its a hot love story, it involves religion in the mix and you can’t get much crunchier than that. A lot gets worse in the film before things get better.”
Look for Witi’s new film, KAWA on DVD and digital May 8th from Wolfe. Check out the film’s trailer below!
The Cast of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
We asked the cast of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT to share their VIP Q Movie Picks. Feel free to add ALL of these to your video store list!
Wendie Malick – Elise
My favorite is THE CHILDREN’S HOUR. How a rumor of homosexuality destroyed the lives of two women… It’s both beautiful and terrifying. I also loved MILK and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.
Jon Lindstrom – Paul
I am only answering if they include my complete list, but my all time favorite would be THE CRYING GAME. It has all the elements: great story, character, political intrigue, explosive violence and people that actually care about each other. And Neil Jordan can do no wrong. I think it’s a movie that stands up against any other ever made. My complete list of favorites are: GODS AND MONSTERS, MILK, THE GREEN, TORCH SONG TRILOGY and MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE.
Christopher David Murrah – Andy
It’s not a gay movie necessarily but when I was a kid I loved it and I cling to it as an early sign that I was gay. AUNTIE MAME with Roz Russel is the greatest. What little gay boy doesn’t want to believe that there is some madcap aunt just waiting to broaden his horizons with gin and art and trips to Macy’s? The cast is amazing and practically crying out for drag impersonators and on top of it all the score is gorgeous. If you own it, watch it. If you don’t, order it, and tag on a copy of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT — my second favorite gay film also with a stellar cast.
Short and sweet from Megan Hilty – Ruthie
My favorite is LOVE, VALOUR, COMPASSION!
Ariel Shafir – Brian
I like films by Pedro Almodovar such as BAD EDUCATION and THE SKIN I LIVE IN. I also thought I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS was rather brilliant and funny… Mainly because of the ambiguity – I wouldn’t call these “gay” films or “straight” films. They are films that play upon our ideas of orientation or what we think we know about gay lifestyles and challenge us with stories that are much truer to the complexities of life. So that after seeing these films, it becomes more difficult for an audience to compartmentalize gay issues from human issues and hopefully that translates into the kind of society that can no longer separate gay rights from human rights.
James Duke Mason – Zack
Although there are plenty of great LGBT-themed films, I would have to say that THE TRIP is my favorite. It isn’t a perfect film, but I owe it my entire livelihood, as it was the movie that singlehandedly inspired me to come out. It gave me the courage to be who I am, and it made me realize that if I could have the kind of loving relationship with another man that was portrayed in the movie, then it was absolutely worth it, regardless of the consequences. A truly beautiful film.
Jay Arnold – Director
There are so many I love, but A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD is at the very top of my list. I think Michael Cunningham is simply brilliant. Everything about the film is unconventional. Unconventional love and the changing nature of families. Tender and beautifully acted, I believe this by far Colin Farrell’s best work ever. This film was not well accepted by critics, and yet I find it to be astonishingly touching, honest and authentic. The time line also mirrors my own age, so I very much related to growing up in the late 1960s, 70s and early 1980s. Another favorite film is BIG EDEN, a really sweet, upbeat and beautiful film that’s a must see.
Check out the trailer for WHAT HAPPENS NEXT below and get your hands on the DVD — freshly available from fine retailers everywhere!
Matthew Montgomery (star: PORNOGRAPHY: A THRILLER)
“My favorite LGBT film is probably MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. Aside from the fact that River Phoenix gets sucked off in the first scene of the film which left much to the imagination and subsequent “spank bank” of a certain teenage boy at the time, I also came to really appreciate the subtle homoerotic aspects of the film coupled with the gritty and unapologetic eye of Gus Van Sant. It kinda makes me wanna quit acting and become a hustler. Is that bad? BEAUTIFUL THING is a close second.”
Enjoy Matthew’s acting talents in the exciting Wolfe release, PORNOGRAPHY: A THRILLER. You can also see him in his most recent film, I WANT TO GET MARRIED, as well as: ROLE/PLAY, REDWOODS, SOCKET, GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN and BACK SOON).
Hilary Rosen (political pundit)
“Hmmm… IMAGINE ME & YOU because I loved the traffic scene at the end. I fantasize about someone chasing me down and swearing they can’t live without me. Also BOUND because I love both Gina Gershon (who is incredibly incredible) and Joey Pantoliano. Platonically I mean. Joey that is.”
Become a fan of Hilary’s politics blog at HuffingtonPost.com today!
And click through to WolfeVideo.com to watch the trailer for IMAGINE ME & YOU (or buy it on DVD)!
Lillian Faderman (scholar and historian)
“My favorite LGBT movie? One of my favorite movies period (not just in the LGBT category): AIMEE AND JAGUAR. I thought the movie was even better than the book—and how often does that happen? The movie captured so well the insanity and terror of Nazi-Germany in the early War years—life ostensibly going on for Aryans, as usual, in nightclubs and restaurants and on the streets, while some Jews and homosexuals (and homosexual Jews like the lesbian Jaguar) tried to find surreptitious ways to live and love in the belly of the beast. Powerful.”
Find out more about Lillian Faderman and her important work as a lesbian historian and writer at LillianFaderman.net and get your hands on the recently re-issued paperback of her pioneering volume, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America.
Del Shores (Writer/Director, SORDID LIVES)
“Well, for obvious reasons SORDID LIVES has certainly been very good to me, so I have to list it as my favorite. Seriously, when I think of having the most fun at a gay movie, I’d have to go with TRICK. First of all, I love go-go boys and Coco Peru‘s “It burns” line still makes me laugh when I think about it.”
Get your hands on Del’s modern gay classic, SORDID LIVES and don’t miss the brand new DVD release of Del Shores: My Sordid Life — Del’s hilarious one-man show (new on DVD April 3rd).
Hale Appleman (co-star, PRIVATE ROMEO)
“My favorite is Before Night Falls. It’s just exquisitely directed, with a masterful performance by Javier Bardem (as poet Reinaldo Arenas) and a shape-shifting turn by Johnny Depp. I’m a huge fan of these actors, and Julian Schnabel‘s direction is seamless. Total transformation of the actors into their roles, total transportation to Cuba over several decades, following an artist who perseveres, through imprisonment and exile, to artistic freedom. Must watch.”
Discover Hale’s amazing performance in PRIVATE ROMEO. Coming to DVD and digital June 5th from Wolfe. Hale also gives a terrific performance in PEDRO — the popular drama about the late HIV+ gay reality TV star Pedro Zamora.
Enjoy the trailer for PRIVATE ROMEO:
Alison Bechdel (Dykes To Watch Out For, Are You My Mother?)
“My favorite LGBT film is MAURICE. I’m a sucker for MAURICE. All that repressed longing and guilt and boys in beautiful Edwardian suits and starched collars sitting around their rooms at Cambridge translating Plato. The scene where Maurice strokes Clive’s hair, and Clive leans his head back against Maurice’s perfectly creased white flannel knee, and they almost kiss but get interrupted? That’s my favorite sex scene ever, even though Hugh Grant is in it.”
Legendary cartoonist and writer Alison Bechdel is best known for her long-running comic strip, Dykes To Watch Out For and her highly acclaimed graphic novel/memoir, Fun Home. Alison’s new graphic memoir, Are You My Mother? is coming in May from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Find out even more about Alison at DykesToWatchOutFor.com!
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