The Gay Movie Revolution

But in the years since Brokeback Mountain, not much has changed at all. Even Entertainment Weekly has noted the continuing lack of enthusiasm in the Hollywood studios for gay projects. And the few independent gay films to make their way into theaters haven’t exactly caught fire at the box office. Quinceañera, one of 2006’s gay critical and box office hits, grossed only $1.7 million. Even more typical is the well-received gay slasher movie Hellbent (2004), which made $183,066.

Changes in the marketplace, starting before Brokeback Mountain, but accelerating since then, have made it all but impossible for an independent gay movie to break out into wide release. Ironically, the lower production costs for making a movie has contributed to the problem.

“There’s so much clutter out there,” says Maureen Guthman, Vice-President of Acquisitions and Co-Production at Logo (AfterElton.com’s parent company). “Not just movie product, but all the things that compete for our attention. I don’t get as excited when I hear that a [gay] movie is coming out.”

Meanwhile, the quality of many gay independent films hasn’t always met consumer expectations. “When it comes to my dwindling amount of personal time, I’d rather see a well-acted film about straight people than a grainy, poorly-acted film that speaks to me as a gay person,” Guthman says, speaking for many.

The Old Way of Doing Things Is Failing

Breaking through the media clutter and overcoming the bad reputation of past gay independent features requires money for promotion — money that can often actually dwarf the cost of the movie itself.

According to Colichman, the Hollywood studios have now absorbed most of the high-end independent players into their system. As a result, he says, “They’ve raised the spending bar massively.” He says the average studio-backed “independent” film now requires many millions of dollars on print and advertising alone.

Indeed, Brokeback Mountain was only technically an independent film; Focus Features is just the arthouse subsidiary of Universal Studios.

“Brokeback Mountain had all the ingredients of any big budget feature,” says George Bamber, director of 2005 gay indie hit The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green; he cites Brokeback Mountain’s big-name stars, A-list director, and an easy-to-understand concept. That, together with something in the zeitgeist and the high quality of the film itself, explains its breakout success and the fact that it overcame the stigma that still surrounds gay cinema.

George Bamber

Meanwhile, there are fewer and fewer theatrical outlets where truly independent gay films can even play. “The advent of the multiplex has killed off most of the indie art complexes,” Colichman says.

The problem isn’t unique to gay films, Hernandez says. “With all arthouse films, they [now] have to ask: what’s the potential? Is there a marketing niche?” But he agrees that independent gay films, with less “accessible” content and micro budgets, carry an extra burden.

According to Bamber, films used to have longer release windows, which allowed word-of-mouth to sometimes carry an independent film to success. Now, with more product and fewer theaters, box office success must be immediate, and that requires “name” stars, money for marketing, and an easily recognized concept. “Independent movies now basically operate under the studio model,” he says.

In other words, without enormous promotional budgets, gay films operating under the traditional theatrical release model are doomed from the start.

“You can’t just invest $600,000 in a film and expect to get your money back,” says Guthman. “We have to come up with a better model, either make better movies with fewer dollars or hold hands with someone else, foreign investors [perhaps], which may dilute the story. [But] the old model just doesn’t apply any more.”

A New Model for Gay Cinema

Faced with the diminishing box office returns and skyrocketing publicity costs, gay film companies such as here! Networks are experimenting with accelerated release schedules. In addition to Shelter, they’re releasing the new gay Tori Spelling movie Kiss the Bride on a similar schedule, into theaters in late April, but with a TV and DVD debut shortly thereafter, in early June.

Different movies require different release strategies, says Bamber. “What’s right for The Hobbit isn’t necessarily what’s right for Shelter.” here! is using exactly the right model for their films, he says. “Gay films appeal to a niche market, and the proper release strategy is one in which everyone who might be interested in that product can access that product in the platform that’s right for them.”

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