On Friday November 24, 2006, Reel Pride Film Festival presents its Night Out! screening of Another Gay Movie by Todd Stephens at the Tower Theatre at 8:00pm. General admission is $10 per person and $5 for Reel Pride VIP Members.
Director Todd Stephens (writer/producer of Edge of Seventeen, and the writer/director/producer of Gypsy '83) breaks new ground in queer cinema by taking the straight teen comedy and reinventing it as a lavender extravaganza that features a who’s who of gay celebrities like Lypsinka (doing her best Mommie Dearest); Graham Norton as Mr. Puckov, their prodigiously endowed, anything-goes exchange teacher; Scott Thompson as Andy’s uncomfortably accepting father with a secret of his own; Darryl Stephens (“Noah’s Arc”) as a sexed up aerobics instructor and Matthew Rush, who “rises” to the occasion as a date gone bad.
As if that isn’t enough, there’s even a naked cameo from naked guy Richard Hatch (“Survivor”). Along the way, the film spoofs not only American Pie and gay movies from Trick to The Broken Hearts Club, but also the entire gay lifestyle. Yet beneath the film's sex-romp exterior beats the true heart of the story – one of friendship and loss of innocence. Each character experiences his own rite of passage on a journey that spans from boys to men. With 100 jokes a minute and a delicious looking cast, Another Gay Movie is a 100% gay, in-your-face spoof that will have you giggling with glee and gasping from the uncensored outrageousness.
Reel Pride Night Out! Is sponsored by Déjà vu Nightclub and Here! Films. For more information or to order advance tickets online, visit www.reelpride.com.
Director: Todd StephensCast: Michael Carbonaro, Jonathan Chase, Jonah Blechman, Mitch Morris, Scott Thompson, Graham Norton, Ashlie Atkinson, Stephanie McVay, John Epperson, Megan Saraceni, Darryl Stephens, Matthew Rush, Mink Stole, Richard Hatch, Angela Oh, Alyshia Osche, Kristen Novak, Ant, James Getzlaff Screenwriter(s): Tim Kaltenecker, Todd Stephens Producer(s): Jesse Adams, Karen Jaroneski, Todd Stephens Cinematographer: Carl Bartels Editor(s): Jeremy Stulberg Todd Stephens's Filmography: Gypsy 83 (2001); Edge of Seventeen (1998) (writer)
The funny thing is, I was actually very angry when I wrote ANOTHER GAY MOVIE. After the relative success of EDGE OF SEVENTEEN, I had loads of trouble getting my next film (GYPSY 83) out into the world. Despite the fact that festival audiences seemed warm to our little movie, distributors said they didn’t know what the movie poster was (who knew a gay, Goth, fag hag, Stevie Nicks road movie would be such a tough sell?!). They also said the film wasn’t “gay enough.” I remember standing in my underwear folding laundry with my boyfriend (and co-story writer Tim Kaltenecker) and discussing how frustrated we were with the current state of gay cinema. How, as much as we love angsty coming-of-age dramas and homo-romantic comedies, the queer genre really needed a kick in the ass. Tim said, “What if we made a gay SCARY MOVIE?” “How ‘bout a gay PORKYS?” I replied. “They want something gay? Let’s make the GAYEST FILM EVER MADE.” Thankfully, George Bush proved to be a huge inspiration. Completely disgusted with the right wing agenda and FCC crackdowns, I decided I wanted to really shake things up. I popped my hero John Waters’s FEMALE TROUBLE in for inspiration and vowed to flip censorship the bird. Easier said than done. Trying to get the film produced proved to be a real challenge. I optioned the script to a producer who swore he was down for making the no-holds-barred film I had in my head. But after more than a year of development, when the time came actually shoot the film he wanted to completely water it down. I got myself out of the option and waited to make it the way I wanted. Thank God for my best friend Jesse Adams. Jess and I have known each other since our teens, and he helped with my first two films (including saving the day by finding locations on EDGE). ANOTHER GAY MOVIE would not have happened without Jesse’s unfailing passion and dedication. The same can be said for our distributor, TLA Releasing, who co-financed the film and agreed to release it unrated. Together with capital from our fabulous independent investors, Jesse and I were off to Los Angeles to make a movie. Inspired by the idealized Southern California suburban dream, I developed a look for the film which I dubbed “Tomorrowland Today.” I wanted to set the picture in a world that not only WILL be, but should have ALWAYS BEEN. Kind of a retro-modern BRADY BUNCH. Thanks to my wonderful collaborators, including Production Designer Chris Miller, D.P. Carl Bartels, and costume Designer Jim Hansen, I could not be happier with how we pushed the boundaries of our low budget to achieve the dream look. All in sixteen days. I think working with so many talented (and fearless) actors was my greatest joy. It took forever to assemble the four lead boys, but once we were shooting I sat in awe as they played and improvised the script to the next level. I specifically wanted to cast out gay actors, and working with icons like Scott Thompson and Graham Norton was a dream come true. The icing on the cake was having my all-time idol Nancy Sinatra sing the theme song Marty Beller and I wrote, “Another Gay Sunshine Day.” There is a line in Nancy’s song that goes “Chickens will dance with bears.” In the fine teen movie tradition, we checked political correctness at the door and played with stereotypes. But I tried to flip those archetypes to my advantage. In my world, the sissy can actually go on a date with the muscle man (and is allowed to get laid — for once!), the big bulldyke is a cheerleader magnet and the gay nerd has a chance with the Abercrombie jock boy. I long for a world where gay folks of all shapes, colors and sexes mix and play together. A “new rainbow Milky Way…” While I was in LA, I had the privilege of living at the Ravenswood…in an apartment literally one door down from Mae West’s residence of fifty years. Mae was my first gay-boy icon, and I always loved the way she reveled in her sexuality. In the spirit of Miss West, I set out to make a film where gay sexuality could be both celebrated and poked fun of (and there is certainly a LOT of poking goin’ on here!). And, like Mae, my main goal was to make people LAUGH. Between the cracks, I tried to create a galaxy hopefully not so far-far away. Where no one is tormented, tortured, or agonizes about who they are. Where “gay” is as normal as THE BRADY BUNCH, and queer virgins want the same thing as their straight counterparts – to get LAID! I set out to make the film I desperately wanted as a gay teen and the film Jerry Falwell desperately wants to ban. Todd StephensJuly 2006
