“It was making me feel something that I couldn’t quite identify.” “It was filling a void I didn’t even know that I needed filled,” Mr. Working on the film was an emotional experience for him.
#Most romantic gay movies movie
Berlanti remembered telling studio executives in his initial meetings with 20th Century Fox, “I think it’s so cool that you guys are committing to making a movie like this.” He also said, “I’m sort of surprised that one doesn’t already exist.” One of those creative types is Greg Berlanti, the director of “Love, Simon.” An executive producer of television shows starring DC Comics heroes, Mr. Albertalli said, “It was almost as if all these creative people read that line and they were like, ‘O.K., Simon, let me prove you wrong.’” Simon thinks, “In reality, I’m not the leading guy. Albertalli’s novel is especially resonant.
“It’s really exciting seeing the conversations in YA that are happening around representation.”įor gay readers, one line in Ms. Albertalli made note of the website LGBTQ Reads, curated by the author Dahlia Adler, which suggests books for all ages. (Forgive the personal aside, but this is the type of movie I’ve been looking for since I was growing up - my first encounter was a small, tragic gay character in “Pump Up the Volume,” from 1990 - and I’m sure I’m not alone.) Ms. audiences want to see characters who reflect their lives and experiences. “At the very least, whoever he turns out to be, if he needs this message from his mom, this book will be here,” she said. Her work with gay and lesbian children also gave her, she said, “a general sense of some of the issues that some kids in the community were grappling with.” But her true inspiration for the novel was the birth of her first son in 2012. Albertalli, who is also a clinical psychologist, said she based Simon on herself and her high school experiences. The film, opening March 16, is based on Becky Albertalli’s 2015 young adult novel, “ Simon vs. “Love, Simon” is a romantic comedy and a coming-of-age story and also a mystery as Simon tries to discover the identity of the online pen pal he has grown to love. Likewise, specialty divisions of major studios produced “ Brokeback Mountain” and “ Call Me by Your Name.” But the 17-year-old Simon Spier is reminiscent of the characters played by Molly Ringwald in the 1980s heyday of teenage romances like “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink.” Films closer to the tone of “Love, Simon,” like “Edge of Seventeen” (1998) or “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012), were released by boutique studios. An IMDB list of the best gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teenage movies, for example, begins with “My Own Private Idaho” (1991), about two hustlers. That is, unless he’s walking a darker path. Typically the gay character in a studio-backed teenage romance is the supportive best friend spouting quips and offering sage relationship or fashion advice. The result is a $17 million film that feels timely but also raises the question, Why did it take so long? That he gets one could almost be considered revolutionary: With “Love, Simon,” 20th Century Fox becomes the first major studio in recent memory to take a chance on a movie anchored by a gay character. 'Touching, uplifting and strikingly honest.' - Ga圜elluloid.In the new teenage romantic comedy “Love, Simon,” the title character, played by Nick Robinson, proclaims, “I’m done living in a world where I don’t get to be who I am. With its authentic and perfectly poignant tone Boys ranks as one of the most wholesomely romantic gay teen films ever. The romance between them unfolds with a palpable sense of longing - and an aching sequence of heartache as Sieger tries to fight the inevitable. In their boyish summer courtship the two of them swim, bike, run - and share ice creams and kisses as they gradually find the courage to be vulnerable with one another. Equally handsome Ko Zandvliet co-stars as his love interest, the spirited and outgoing Marc. Chiseled Dutch phenom Gijs Blom stars as Sieger, a thoughtful 15-year-old who grapples mightily with his emerging gayness. In this beautiful and uplifting gay romance, two teen track stars discover first love as they train for the biggest relay race of their young lives. One of the most romantic gay teen movies ever