News, Reviews & Commentary on Gay and Bisexual Men in Entertainment and the Media

Will Smith

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When should the community react to real and perceived slights?

Bird, plane, "homo": Like we need another reason not to see "Hancock"

 

Forget the awful posters, feverdream commercials, hasty re-shoots and sinking feeling that the entire cast is slumming it for a paycheck. (Update: Allow me to add the array of stellar notices that have lifted the film to a soaring 34% approval rating on RottenTomatoes.) If you need yet another reason to skip the ill-conceived Will Smith superhero vehicle Hancock this weekend, GLAAD may have it for you:

At approximately 24 minutes into the film, while Jason Bateman’s PR whiz works to rehabilitate the superhero’s tarnished image, he shows Hancock three comic book images in an effort to inspire him. But Hancock rejects the traditional image of costumed superheroes as he responds to each one: “Homo. Homo in red. Norwegian homo.”

Shades of 300, only without all the codpieces to help the insults go down. I'm sure (or would at least hope) Bateman and Smith don't personally have any ill will toward gays, but a summer movie that is meant to be enjoyed by everyone just flat-out should not be so backhanded to anyone in its audience. 

Ah well, saves me my curious $11. 

The Boys of Summer: 12 summer movies and the hotties that star in them

Ah, summer. It's the time for having friends over in the back yard for some lemonade and barbecue, catching a game at the ballpark and meeting up at the local megaplex to catch the latest blockbuster film. 

Given that today is also the last day to cast your votes for the AfterElton Hot 100, we thought we'd provide you with a handy list of summer's box office hunks for inspiration.

Enjoy! 

Robert Downey Jr.
in Iron Man (In theatres now)

As a Marvel comics reader, I was never a big fan of Tony Stark (except for that issue of The Avengers where The Molecule Man destroyed his power armor and Tony spends the issue wearing only a blazer wrapped around his waist), but Robert Downey Jr. has me reconsidering. He certainly makes Tony Stark look good.

Emile Hirsch and Matthew Fox
in Speed Racer (In theatres now)

When I first heard that the Wachowskis were adapting anime classic Speed Racer for the big screen, my first reaction was my standard "remake shrug". I started paying attention, however, when I heard that Hirsh had been cast as the titular character; there's something about his features that make him perfect for playing a classic anime hero. Speed Racer also stars Matthew Fox (who came in at number 46 in our Hot 100 last year) who, sadly, will be covering his face up as Racer X. Still, you can still easily identify him by his strong jaw.

Ben Barnes
in Prince Caspian (Opens May 16)

When I read the Narnia books as a kid, I always imagined Prince Caspian as looking like one of those stiff and stern-faced guys from the Prince Valliant comics I tried to follow every Sunday. Well, the posters for the new Prince Caspian film certainly changed that. Barnes is a new name to most of us, having been in only a few other films, but I suspect we'll be hearing his name a lot, judging from the way I can't help but stop and stare every time I see a Prince Caspian poster.

Shia LaBoeuf and Harrison Ford
in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Opens May 23)

At some point I blinked and that kid from Holes suddenly became a good-looking young man able to pull a film to the top of the box office (too bad one of those films was Transformers). Now he's getting a shot at the Indiana Jones torch by playing the sidekick in the latest Indy film. Shia's not the only hottie in the film, of course, as Harrison Ford has aged well and is still mighty nice to watch.

David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis and Chris Noth
in Sex and the City: The Movie (Opens May 30)

When Sex and the City was one of the main reasons to have an HBO subscription, the show was a hot topic among gay men who liked to argue whether they were more like Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte or Samantha. When the series ended, all four of the SatC ladies had found a guy they could love for the long term. Since each guy represents a different type, both physically and in personality, that raises a new question: which boyfrind could you see yourself ending up with? Laid back regular guy Steve (Eigenberg)? Career-minded and emotionally guarded Mr. Big (Noth)? Sweet but sometimes schlubby Harry (Handler)? Hunky and supportive Smith (Lewis)?

Gay roles by straight actors we could've lived without


For a straight actor to successfully play a gay character is not as easy as one might think. Not everyone can pull a Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, a River Phoenix in Private Idaho, or even a Robin Williams in The Birdcage. When I see a movie about gays with a straight lead and director and it fails, I often wonder how the voice would have been different with a gay director or gay actor. Would Cruising be the same film if the director were gay? Here are just a few gay characters played by straight actors that we all could’ve lived without.


Will Smith wasn't a terrible actor in the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation; however, it was obvious he was a little green for the role. Smith played the role of Paul, based on the true life story of David Hampton, a con man who managed to convince many people he was the son of Sidney Poitier. The character of Paul was openly gay and was represented as such in the 1990 stage play.

When Will Smith signed on to do the role, director Fred Schepisi begged Smith to do a kissing scene with another man. Smith adamantly refused saying a male kiss would "gross out" his fans. Over ten years later, Sir Ian McKellen, who played the role of Geoffrey Miller in the 1993 film, blasted Smith, saying his remarks were homophobic: "He thought he was saying something very individual but what he was actually confirming was that he's got the disease so many people have - homophobia." There were also rumors that Denzel Washington urged Smith to not do the kissing scene. For me, the refusal to kiss another man completely ruined Smith's already shakey performance and it's definitely a gay role I could've done without. Will Smith later said he regretted not doing the kiss.

Ten Hollywood stars who took on gay or bisexual roles.

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