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The ‘James Dean Is Gay’ Biopic You’ve Been Waiting For

Like, whatever if you’ve already seen this trailer for Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, but I didn’t until reader Andy sent it our way. Written and directed by Matthew Mishory, and starring The Gates‘ James Preston, it looks to be the gayest feature on James Dean you’ll ever see. Gayer, even, than Rebel Without a Cause (hah). Scoping peters in the pool and boys at the bar? Well! The cinematography looks swell too.

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By:           JD
On:           Aug 30, 2010
Tagged: , , ,
22 Comments

No. 1 · Ben

This definitely looks promising.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 12:10 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 2 · alex

was that a trailer or a herb ritts video for chris isaak?

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 12:39 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 3 · Jason

Wow, this looks amazing! Finally and honest and revealing film about James Dean. Anyone know when this will be coming out?

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 2:20 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 4 · Elana

That trailer is mesmerizingly beautiful.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 2:43 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 5 · Joe

This is great! Hard to see tell from the trailer precisely what position (if any) the film takes on Dean’s sexuality, but at a time when our civil rights as LGBT Americans are being taken away, any film that addresses our place in history is important.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 3:01 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 6 · glasshouses · Member · 71 comments

Gorgeous images, all around, and more than a few hints as to James Dean’s sexuality being hard to exactly pigeonhole. Hopefully, it won’t fall into the “no! He **has** to be straight/gay/bi” meme.

On a slight historical tone: Is that an absinthe brouilleur on the bar? If so, kudos to the director for noting the double illegal of the gay bar and the drink, both stupid regulations if there ever were.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 3:22 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 7 · Marcus

Trailer looks awesome. I wish James Franco was playing Dean again, though LOL

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 4:28 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 8 · Louis

I’ve been waiting almost thirty years for this. Kudos!

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 6:29 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 9 · Philipe

Where can I get this movie? It looks beautiful and James is HOTTIE. Also cool to see some glam black and white.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 7:02 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 10 · Chris

@Marcus: Yeah, I don’t think anybody played James Dean better than Franco :D

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 7:26 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 11 · alan brickman

James was bisexual and a great lay….

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 8:02 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 12 · Jake

Wow, stunning cinematography. This does look like a Herb Ritts masterpiece video (Chris Issack’s Wicked Game, Madonna’s Cherish, Janet Jackson’s Love Will Never Do Without You for those under 25). Love James Dean and this film looks amazing.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 8:27 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 13 · D'oh, The Magnificent

Feels too much like A Single Man in terms of the trailer.

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 9:44 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 14 · Rock the Casbah

Good-looking cast, good-looking film. More please!

Posted: Aug 30, 2010 at 10:18 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 15 · Lefty · Member · 47 comments

OMG, I cannot wait to see this!
It looks like a 2011 release but various sites say it’s still in production.
Maybe the trailer has been released to attract finance or something?
There are some great photos on this James Preston site: http://james-preston.net/photos/index.php?cat=6

And I found these two; James Preston is gorgeous!

[IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/2zg84l5.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i36.tinypic.com/iylnj4.jpg[/IMG]

Posted: Aug 31, 2010 at 7:25 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 16 · Lefty · Member · 47 comments

@Lefty:

err, I’ll try that again.
Ditz! Fingers crossed….

[img]http://i38.tinypic.com/2zg84l5.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i36.tinypic.com/iylnj4.jpg[/img]

Posted: Aug 31, 2010 at 7:27 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 17 · PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS · Member · 1696 comments

[img]http://crashteams.com/Images/Crash-Reconstruction/James-Dean/James-Dean-Porsche-Wreck.jpg[/img]

Just like Brokeback Mountain, unfortunately this one ain’t gonna have a happy ending……….

Cant’ we for once pretty pleeeeze have Hollywoods produce a picture ’bout the Gays where they end up old and Gay happily eva after………….

Posted: Aug 31, 2010 at 9:15 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 18 · David Ehrenstein

@glasshouses: James Dean’s sexuality isn’t “hard tp peigeionhole” at all.

He was gay.

PERIOD!

The best book about him is “Live Fast, Die Young — The Wild Ride of The Making of Rebel Without a Cause” by Lawrence Frascella and Al Weisel. It deals with everything,including Dean and his boytoy/s&m slave Jack Simmons’ attempt to lure Jack Larson into a three-way.

Simmons played the gang member who gives Dean the knife in the Griffith Observatory fight scene.

Simmons wasn’t much of an actor. He went along with Dean to auditions and got small parts because of it. When Dean died he was inconsolable. He left acting and made quite a nice pile for himself in real estate. He bought and rented many properties, including Errol Flynn’s place, known as The Castle. He rented it out to And and the Factory gang who shot several films there including “Imitation of Christ” and “Heat.”

Posted: Aug 31, 2010 at 10:05 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 19 · David Ehrenstein

That trailer is pure Bruce Weber. “Devil in Disguise” was memorably used by Kenneth Anger for “Scorpio Rising.” They obviously saw that too.

Posted: Aug 31, 2010 at 10:22 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 20 · Jeffrey Jacobs

David Ehrenstein is right to point out that Dean’s S&M lifestyle and motorcycle inspired Kenneth Anger in part to both write Hollywood Babylon and direct Scorprio Rising (and, in turn, likely inspired the makers of this new film), but he is probably historically inaccurate in suggesting that Jack Simmons was the most important of Dean’s many male lovers. The relationship with Simmons was brief and never passionate, as most biographers have pointed out, while his “friendship” with William Bast lasted five years. And of course there were his many “mentors,” like Clifton Webb and Rogers Brackett. Fascinating times!

Posted: Aug 31, 2010 at 3:53 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 21 · Billy

I was shocked not to see James Franco jump out of this one. He has always had a James Dean-esque + flamboyance that could relate to this role. Def on my list of up coming to watch though.

Posted: Sep 2, 2010 at 1:28 pm · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]
No. 22 · Johann

Looks like this is finally coming out next year! Perhaps the studios found it “too hot to handle,” as it were.

Posted: Dec 23, 2011 at 2:06 am · @ReplyReply to this comment · [Flag?]

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