Ask the Flying Monkey: Are There ANY Gay Movies Coming Out This Year?

Today: What’s coming up in gay film? Plus, when will Logo go HD?

Have a question about gay male entertainment? Contact me here. (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)

Q: I know Brokeback Mountain didn’t really change anything in Hollywood, but I’ve been surprised by how it really didn’t change anything. Is there anything we can look forward to in the year ahead? – Matt, Carmel CA

A: Disturbingly little. The most high-profile release is Beginners, coming this June in the U.S., about a young straight guy (Ewan McGregor) and his terminally ill father (Christopher Plummer) who has decided to come out at age 75. The buzz is good.

Also look for The Broken Tower, the movie James Franco wrote, directed and is starring in about poet Hart Crane, but probably not until 2012.

On the indie movie front, Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean looks intriguing. I thought the gay “alternate dimension” movie Judas Kiss had its moments, and Make the Yuletide Gay 2 might please fans of the first movie. I’ve heard mixed things about current festival entrants A Few Days of Respite (about two gay Iranians on their way to France) and Three (about an older couple both unknowingly in love with the same younger man, from Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer).

Q: O, cercopithecoid or platyrrhine, can you shed some light on the sorry state of the Logo network signal? Their web site FAQ states that Hi Def programming is being shot, but not being shown because broadcasting in HD is apparently expensive, and Logo is frugal. But other networks have been broadcasting in HD for years. With the current investment in the full run of Absolutely Fabulous, why is it still not possible to provide viewers with the best picture possible? -- Art, Clovis, California

A: Because of the break-out hit RuPaul’s Drag Race, I think some people think Logo (which owns AfterElton.com) is bigger than it is – and they expect resources commensurate to older, more established networks and channels. But Logo is new, launched in 2005, and is still only available in less than a quarter of U.S. homes.

“Very few smaller and younger channels are offering a full-time HD signal,” says Marc Leonard, Senior Vice President of Multiplatform Programming at MTV Networks / Logo. “And in fact, there are much older and more established nets that still don’t offer one.”

But they’re working on it. They’re currently shooting on all their shows in HD in anticipation of a time when they do offer such a channel – that’s what the FAQ is referring to.

Q: Do these pants make me look fat? – Malinda, San Francisco CA

A: They actually do. Try the black skirt instead.

Have a question about gay male entertainment? Contact me here. (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)