It’s that time of the year when queer folks enthusiastically celebrate the month of Pride- Out Proud. What makes this month extra special is the quintessential amount of exclusives that we are getting. Western media is growing fond of LGBTQ stories and we are here to deliver the latest news. Join us, as we walk you through the corridor of the most “Anticipated LGBTQ/Queer Dramas/Movies” in 2023!
First Look Photos of ‘Red, White & Royal Blue
The first look photos of the upcoming adaptation “Red, White & Royal Blue” (shared exclusively by Glamour Magazine) are out and we are jumping in joy; they are literally everything that we wished for. Starring Taylor Zakhar Perez (The Minx) and Nicholas Galitzine (Cinderella) in the lead roles as Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry; Red, White & Royal Blue is a star crossed love story between the American President’s son and a grumpy English Prince. Those who have read the original source countless times (yes, the novel is addictive) will confirm to the fact that the magic is this storyline lies in the unlikely dynamics between the two main characters. They are loud, boisterous and yet madly in love.
Talking about the same, director Matthew López shared that the most important element to maintain from the book was Alex and Henry’s individual personalities as well as their shared story together.
“If there was one lesson I kept learning over and over while making this film it’s that if it’s not about Alex or Henry, it doesn’t belong in the film.”
The film is rated R, which means it will contain “language, some sexual content, and partial nudity”. Talking about the romance, intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt’s help was enlisted to ensure that the physical intimacy between the main couple was told in the best possible way.
The movie will also stars Uma Thurman as Ellen Claremont, mother of Alex Claremont-Diaz and President of the United States alongside Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Stephen Fry, Ellie Bamber, Thomas Flynn, Malcolm Atobrah, Akshay Khanna, Sharon D Clarke, Aneesh Sheth, and Juan Castano.
‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ is set to premiere globally on Prime Video on 11 August 2023.
Source- Glamour Magazine
Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine Featured in GQ Magazine
The hype has begun, and we are living for the excitement. ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine were recently featured in GQ Magazine. As the duo sat down for a cozy conversation, they were bound to spill beans about the romance in the most anticipated movie of 2023. Taylor and Nick’s camaraderie is off the charts, and they have a fresh chemistry that is indescribable.
“I don’t like Nick,” Zakhar Perez jokes. “But I respect him.”
“Mine’s the other way!” Galitzine counters. “I don’t respect your game, but I do like you very much.”
While filming the intimate scenes between their characters, to fight the awkwardness of being surrounded by the film crew, Zakhar Perez and Galitzine would whisper jokes and try to make the other one crack up.
“There’s a playful teasing that never veered into anything nasty, which was a lovely dynamic to be a part of,” says Robbie Taylor Hunt, their intimacy coordinator. “But also they just treated each other like colleagues and co-creatives in a really nice, collaborative way.”
“There’s so much choreography to sex…ual scenes,” Zakhar Perez says, laughing, recounting the sheer amount of time and energy (and the occasional blow-up mattress) that went into rehearsals. “It’s a crazy thing to be intimate in that way with your friend,” says Galitzine. “And we want people to fall in love with these characters, because their love has to be real.”
“Our guards were down during the rehearsals,” Zakhar Perez adds. But as soon as someone would yell “Cut?” “One of us would say something stupid, like, Get off me!”
Source- GQ Magazine
Opening Scene for Heartstopper Season Two
Netflix’s got this peculiar habit of releasing promos which encompasses the first few minutes of their upcoming dramas. They did that with Young Royals S2 last time and this time around, Heartstopper S2 will join the ranks.
Adapted from Alice Oseman’s coming-of-age graphic novels, Season Two is based on Volume 3. Talking about the new season, Oseman was quoted saying-
“So we had a good foundation. But there’s not enough in the book to take a whole season of TV, so there had to be a lot of creation of new stuff.”
So it’s safe to say that the summer of 2022 “was a very intense summer of writing and getting the show together.”
The new season will focus on Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) navigating their new relationship, Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) face unforeseen challenges and Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) work out if they can ever be more than just friends. With exams on the horizon, a school trip to Paris and a prom to plan, the gang has a lot to juggle as they journey through the next stages of life, love and friendship.
But at the root of it all, Heartstopper is about “exploring real, serious issues that can be dark, but trying to balance that with that feeling of hope that things can and will get better,” said Oseman. “From a writing perspective, that can be really difficult to achieve without making it too dark or without skimming over the darker elements of the story. But striving for that balance is the point of Heartstopper.”
Netflix has also released the titles of all eight episodes of the season:
Episode 1 — Out
Episode 2 — Family
Episode 3 — Promise
Episode 4 — Challenge
Episode 5 — Heat
Episode 6 — Truth/Dare
Episode 7 — Sorry
Episode 8 — Perfect
Apart from the original cast, there are lots of fresh faces that will be joining the Heartstopper cast for Season 2, including Leila Khan as Higgs student Sahar Zahid and Nima Taleghani as Truham teacher Mr. Farouk. Bradley Riches (who played a Truham student in Season 1) will also return as James McEwan. We’ll meet more of Nick’s family in Season 2, including Jack Barton as Nick’s older brother, David, and Thibault de Montalembert as Nick’s father, Stephane. Bel Priestley as Naomi and Ash Self as Felix will both play new friends of Elle.
Opening Scene Trailer-
Source- Netflix
Bottoms
The trailer for the upcoming sapphic teen romance “Bottoms” is out and the comic flair is real.
Bottoms tells the story of two high school senior girls who set up a fight club so they could impress and eventually hook up with cheerleaders. It stars Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby) as PJ and Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth) as Josie. The two have been best friends since first grade, but as they enter their senior year in high school, they realize that they’re pretty much at the bottom of the food chain — losers, lonely, and lesbians. Their solution to their problem? A fight club.
The movie originally premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 11, and it will be available in cinemas on August 25.
Aside from Sennott and Edebiri, “Bottoms” has an ensemble casting which includes Marshawn Lynch (Murderville), Ruby Cruz (Castle Rock) Havana Rose Liu (No Exit), Kaia Gerber (American Horror Story), and Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White, & Royal Blue) as supporting actors.
Official Trailer-
Source- Diva Magazine
Fellow Travelers
The first teaser for the anticipated gay romance “Time Traveler” is out and the chemistry between the main leads is electrifying. Starring Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in the lead roles, the show is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon. The storyline focuses on Hawkins Fuller (Bomer), who, for the longest time, has avoided romance until he meets Tim Laughlin (Bailey). They fall in love and begin an affair just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants.” Their story will span decades, from the Vietnam War protests to the hedonistic culture of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
Both lead actors identify as gay and it’s obvious from the teaser that the show will be an intimate projection of gay love in tumultuous times where homosexuality was considered as taboo.
Official Teaser-
Nimona
Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, Netflix and Annapurna Pictures’ queer animation series Nimona (based on ND Stevenson’s graphic novel) is set to premiere on 30th June. The official trailer is out, and the queer themed animation is thoroughly action packed.
Nimona is being voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, Ballister Blackheart by Riz Ahmed, and Eugene Lee Yang will voice Ambrosius Goldenlion. Queer stars like RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, and Julio Torres are also a part of the voice cast.
Synopsis-
“When Ballister Boldheart, a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy,” the film’s official description reads.
“But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc — for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to…just wreak serious havoc.”
Official Trailer-
Source- Advocate
Glitter & Doom
Directed by Tom Gustafson and written by Cory Krueckenberg, the queer musical romance “Glitter & Doom” debuted at Frameline47, the longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in the world recently (14th to 24th June, 2023). Starring Filipino star Alex Diaz and rookie actor Alan Cammish in the lead roles of Glitter & Doom, the film also stars veteran actresses Ming Na-Wen and Missi Pyle as their mother’s. The film also features a star-studded queer supporting cast which includes Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro, Kate Pierson of The B-52s, Drag Race alum Peppermint, Broadway star Beth Malone, and even the Indigo Girls themselves, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.
Synopsis-
Serious musician Doom (Alan Cammish) and free-spirited circus kid Glitter (Filipino musical superstar Alex Diaz) start a budding summer relationship filled with camping trips, late-night conversations, and plenty of song and dance. Their relationship is put to the test as they deal with trying to make it in the music biz, their mothers (Ming-Na Wen and Missi Pyle), and finding what feeds each of their souls and dreams.
First Look-
Elite 7
Netflix just dropped the first look teaser and release date for their uber successful Spanish teenage romance “Elite 7”. The show’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that Netflix renewed it for the seventh season, even before the sixth season premiered on 18th November, 2022. Created by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona, the show follows the group of students at the prestigious high school, Las Encinas. Each season is encapsulates a murder mystery which gets solved towards the end of the season.
Elite 7 is set to premiere on 20th October, 2023. The cast features old members like Omar Shanaa (Omar Ayuso), André Lamoglia (Iván), Valentina Zenere (Isadora), Adam Nourou (Bilal), Carmen Arrufat (Sara), Álex Pastrana (Raúl), Álvaro de Juana (Dídac), Ander Puig (Nico), Ana Bokesa (Rocío), and Nadia Al Saidi (Sonia). New additions include Mirela Balic, Fernando Líndez, Gleb Abrosimov, Iván Mendes, Alejandro Albarracín, and Maribel Verdú. Leo Sbaraglia will be playing Isadora’s father. It doesn’t look like Carla Díaz (Ari), Martina Caridd (Mencía), Manu Ríos (Patrick), and Diego Martín (Benjamín), with Rios having officially bid farewell to the show.
I Kissed A Girl
Following the success of its first gay dating show, BBC Three has announced its sapphic spin off, I Kissed A Girl.
Pop icon Dannii Minogue, the host for the first season, will continue to play the match-maker for the lesbian version as well. She was quoted saying-
“After showing love truly is for everyone with I Kissed A Boy, I am thrilled to have the chance to be Cupid again for girls in this second series. I’m so excited to see if we can find more connections, chemistry and hopefully love sealed with a kiss- here come the girls!”
Following the same format as its predecessor, the show will have 10 episodes where 10 single women will jet off to a European villa looking for love. The women will be matched up with their ideal partner and before a single word is exchanged, they will seal their relationship with a kiss.
Casting is open for the series. Interested candidates can apply via the BBC Take Part website or through an online application form.
Source- BBC, The Pink News
Stay tuned, for further updates!
The BL Xpress 