Gay kissing, Torchwood and Hollywood...
Dec. 11th, 2008 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tencrushThis article has been linked to extensively on my flist: Why Can't A Kiss Just Be A Kiss?, which I am now linking to as well, because it's an interesting read and all about the American media's EWWGROSS!! approach to onscreen male/male kissing. The Letterman interview with James Franco mentioned in the article is here, watch it:
Wow. Just... wow. When did Letterman turn into Leno with the crowd-pleasing homophobia, by the way? I've been out of the Yank loop for so long. That uncomfortable, embarrased attitude, dudes, it's like Leno and Ryan Phillipe all over again. (If you don't know what I'm talking about just google the phrase "gayest look" and work it out from there.) Just for once, I wish people like Franco wouldn't stoop to tittering along with this homophobic bullshit. He's a young, good-looking actor, who obviously doesn't have a problem with onscreen ghey, and he's in a prime position to call someone like Letterman out on it and tell him it's a stupid fucking question. Someone on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alba17's journal (which is where I've snagged most of these links from) asked the question why nobody's asked Sean Penn what it's like to kiss a guy. I have to say, I firmly believe it's because Penn would, in fact, probably say "That's a stupid fucking question and you're a pathetic little man for asking it. I'm an actor" (Yeah, I have a bit of a soft spot for Penn. Don't judge me.) Because it's true. Nobody's ever asked Toby Maguire what it was like kissing Kirsten Dunst when she has a face like a slapped arse, yet asking a bloke what it's like to kiss Sean Penn, and implying that it must be really goddamn awful is a perfectly acceptable thing to say. It's fucked up.
Anyway, the interesting counterpoint is of course provided by Teh Barrowman:
And that Welsh beefcake GDL here (I'm referencing this article because I NEVER KNEW IT HAD A PAGE 2. Yeah, I'm a dumbass. Thanks toandreth47 for the link.):
"It's not as much of an issue [in the U.K.] at all. I don't get it, I don't understand why it's controversial, I don't understand why it's anyone's business or why it becomes anyone's problem where you stick your dick. Because it's not an issue for me, I don't really see us as pioneers. If we are viewed as pioneers, I just feel sorry for the people that are just coming 'round, because the wankers should have grown up much longer ago.
There's nothing wrong with [two men kissing] and the fact that people are interested in [Jack and Ianto's] relationship – I'd like that to be because of the chemistry. That's the reason I want it to be popular, not because, oh my God, it's a SciFi show with a gay relationship. I know people are going to be like that, but because it's not an issue for me, I sort of haven't got time for people it is an issue for."
Bless you, my son. (I'll just be really quick about saying that GDL might be veering a bit far to the other side of the debate in his vehemence about it "not being an issue", a slight appreciation of the fact that it is an issue for some people, especially across the pond, and therefore, in some circles, an important thing he's involved in here might not be misplaced. Honeypie. Just sayin'.)
And that, my friends, is why LB and GDL will never make it in Hollywood. The acceptable Tinseltown answer to the question of what it's like to kiss a guy is "It made me do a sick in my mouth a little." TRY TO REMEMBER THAT.
Just to prove not all of those crazy yanks are crazy, and to reassure everyone that today's generation of American kids will grow up JUST FINE. Here's Neil Patrick Harris on Sesame Street. As the Shoe Fairy. That's SHOE. FAIRY. Oh, yes. Watch as he imprints on the fragile minds of today's kiddies. GO NPH!
Wow. Just... wow. When did Letterman turn into Leno with the crowd-pleasing homophobia, by the way? I've been out of the Yank loop for so long. That uncomfortable, embarrased attitude, dudes, it's like Leno and Ryan Phillipe all over again. (If you don't know what I'm talking about just google the phrase "gayest look" and work it out from there.) Just for once, I wish people like Franco wouldn't stoop to tittering along with this homophobic bullshit. He's a young, good-looking actor, who obviously doesn't have a problem with onscreen ghey, and he's in a prime position to call someone like Letterman out on it and tell him it's a stupid fucking question. Someone on
alba17's journal (which is where I've snagged most of these links from) asked the question why nobody's asked Sean Penn what it's like to kiss a guy. I have to say, I firmly believe it's because Penn would, in fact, probably say "That's a stupid fucking question and you're a pathetic little man for asking it. I'm an actor" (Yeah, I have a bit of a soft spot for Penn. Don't judge me.) Because it's true. Nobody's ever asked Toby Maguire what it was like kissing Kirsten Dunst when she has a face like a slapped arse, yet asking a bloke what it's like to kiss Sean Penn, and implying that it must be really goddamn awful is a perfectly acceptable thing to say. It's fucked up. Anyway, the interesting counterpoint is of course provided by Teh Barrowman:
And that Welsh beefcake GDL here (I'm referencing this article because I NEVER KNEW IT HAD A PAGE 2. Yeah, I'm a dumbass. Thanks to
andreth47 for the link.):"It's not as much of an issue [in the U.K.] at all. I don't get it, I don't understand why it's controversial, I don't understand why it's anyone's business or why it becomes anyone's problem where you stick your dick. Because it's not an issue for me, I don't really see us as pioneers. If we are viewed as pioneers, I just feel sorry for the people that are just coming 'round, because the wankers should have grown up much longer ago.
There's nothing wrong with [two men kissing] and the fact that people are interested in [Jack and Ianto's] relationship – I'd like that to be because of the chemistry. That's the reason I want it to be popular, not because, oh my God, it's a SciFi show with a gay relationship. I know people are going to be like that, but because it's not an issue for me, I sort of haven't got time for people it is an issue for."
Bless you, my son. (I'll just be really quick about saying that GDL might be veering a bit far to the other side of the debate in his vehemence about it "not being an issue", a slight appreciation of the fact that it is an issue for some people, especially across the pond, and therefore, in some circles, an important thing he's involved in here might not be misplaced. Honeypie. Just sayin'.)
And that, my friends, is why LB and GDL will never make it in Hollywood. The acceptable Tinseltown answer to the question of what it's like to kiss a guy is "It made me do a sick in my mouth a little." TRY TO REMEMBER THAT.
Just to prove not all of those crazy yanks are crazy, and to reassure everyone that today's generation of American kids will grow up JUST FINE. Here's Neil Patrick Harris on Sesame Street. As the Shoe Fairy. That's SHOE. FAIRY. Oh, yes. Watch as he imprints on the fragile minds of today's kiddies. GO NPH!
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-11 06:48 pm (UTC)But what's really kind of stupid is... it's in the script. I've kissed someone (because it was in the script) of the opposite gender to whom I was not attracted, but "make it look good" is what you're there to do. Kissing someone when you're acting is part of the job, just like fighting with another character.
So if Jessica Lange kisses King Kong and it looks convincing, what does that mean, she has a Furry fetish? Hello. It's acting.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-13 07:25 am (UTC)http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0204/24/lkl.00.html
"KING: What's the hardest part, Robert, for you, about playing a gay person?
GANT: You know, I think at the end of the day, acting is acting. And you know, our lives -- the whole point is that there's no real difference, that we tend to focus on how we're not the same.
And what people are noticing about the show is they're starting to see our similarities. They're starting to see how we're the same. About how people at the end of the day, love the same. They argue the same. They have sex very similarly. And so really as an actor my job is to take my life experiences and to put them into, you know, into the scene that I'm playing.
You know, there was -- when I was having a love scene with -- a romantic scene with Leah Thompson or Lisa Kudrow, kissing them, it is no different than kissing Hal in that I'm not in love with any of these people. I am looking inside of myself and finding those places where I remember being in love and bring that into the scene."