Directed by newcomer (and Queerty pal) John Krokidas and produced by Boys Don’t Cry director Christine Vachon, Kill Your Darlings tells the story of the formation of Beat Generation with murder and hot gay sex. Call it the Sean Penn effect– hot actor boys are lining up left and right to play gay. Fantastic Four star Chris Evans will play a young football player-era Kerouac, while Jesse Eisenberg is cast as homo poet Allen Ginsberg and Ben Wishaw plays Lucien Carr, the self-destructive genius who brings them together. We’ve read the script and it’s great– a murder mystery where everyone is attractive and well-read.
Variety has the details:
“Jesse Eisenberg will play poet Allen Ginsberg in “Kill Your Darlings,” an ensembler about the murder that helped spawn the Beat Generation.
Chris Evans and Ben Whishaw will also star in the pic, which is helmed by tyro John Krokidas, who penned the script with his onetime Yale roommate Austin Bunn.
Whishaw will play Lucien Carr, the Columbia U. undergrad who brought together Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac (Evans) and William S. Burroughs.
Killer Films’ Christine Vachon is producing the pic with D/F Management; Steve Dontanville exec produces. Killer remains in business with producer John Wells, who will exec produce “Darlings.”
GC Corp., Killer’s financial partner, is teaming with CAA to arrange financing.
Eisenberg toplines Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland,” which bows this month. Evans, who just starred in “Push,” is filming “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Whishaw was in “The International” and is appearing in Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest” and Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.””
Cam
Great, another movie where a bunch of straight actors can go on talk shows and say things like “Even though I am straight working with Chris during the love scenes was not a problem, after all I am a professional, and it was a very important story to tell, and aren’t I brave for playing gay?, and gee, wiz aren’t gay people neat?”. Ugh, spare me
rogue dandelion
Bring on the sean penn effect!
first robert pattinson and now this!
I am not saying either of these will be good movies, but they sure do have interesting topics and hot casts! We’ll have to see about the acting though.
Jaroslaw
I’m sure this has been covered already to death probably, but I just re-read the Feb. Advocate – Chris won’t go to a Gay bar with his brother because a photo might be taken and he’ll never live down the rumors.
So, even though I think he’s a find actor plus drop dead gorgeous, isn’t he taking a big chance doing a Gay-ish role?
Jaroslaw
that was FINE actor (oops)
Dubwise
Who will play the most talented Beat, William Burroughs?
blake
@Cam:
Too bad actual gay actors are not given the opportunity to play gay characters in major Hollywood productions.
JR
Kids, it’s called acting for a reason. Shouldn’t matter whether the actor in question is gay or straight. I never hear the peanut gallery asking if the person playing Burroughs actually a NOVELIST, do I?
Andrew W
Yes, spare me. Ugh, I hate it when actors play people who aren’t them, and then talk about the experience in publicity interviews afterwards. Ugh! It’s so undignified.
sal
CHRIS EVANSSSSS!!!!!good,now i have that outta my system lol ….hotttt
Tallskin
JR, “I never hear the peanut gallery asking if the person playing Burroughs actually a NOVELIST, do I?”
Nope you sure don’t!
An actor can just about pull off playing a writer but I always laugh as actors are, in general, not very bright (there are exceptions).
I have never understood why actors are the ones who get all the kudos, fame and most of the money in Hollywood (and tv) whereas writers do all the damned work! Without writers there would be no films or tv.
JR
Tallskin, the answer is simple: actors are better looking.
The Gay Numbers
@Andrew W: LOL.
The Gay Numbers
@Tallskin: Uhm- they are the one we see. This is a little like saying you don’t understand why the athletes rather than the coach gets the atention in sports. It’s not that other people contribution does not matter, but an actor can make or break a movie no matter how great the writing or directing. Whereas, a poorly directed or written movie can sometimes have the material elevated by a great actor.
Charlie Olsky
and how do we know any of these actors are actually straight? that’s a big presumption to make…so i would calm down until the facts are in.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
“Shouldn’t matter whether the actor in question is gay or straight.”
Should it matter whethter the actor in question is black, when playing Malcolm X; Ray Charles; Martin Luther King? Your impling that its acting when a straight person plays gay, but what?; it’s NOT acting when a queer plays gay? That implies that straights are better than us in everything, even palying gay. And that is crap.
RS
@Cam said: “Great, another movie where a bunch of straight actors can go on talk shows and say things like “Even though I am straight working with Chris during the love scenes was not a problem, after all I am a professional, and it was a very important story to tell, and aren’t I brave for playing gay?, and gee, wiz aren’t gay people neat?”.
I totally agree it can get annoying. But I’d much rather have that than what they used to say, back in the 70s and 80s, about how gross it was and how they can to close their eyes and fight to keep from throwing up.
RS
@Mr. Enemabag Jones: But the flip side is that it would mean gay actors would never be allowed to play straight characters, a la Neal Patrick Harris. It sure seems like there are more gay actors (albeit not all openly) than gay roles.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
“But the flip side is that it would mean gay actors would never be allowed to play straight characters”
That’s a spurious argument.
Bill
I agree with Cam and Mr. E Jones. I don’t watch movies where haterosexual actors play gay people.
hardmannyc
Kerouac wished he had a carcass like that.
Sarina
Will the film deal with Jack Kerouac’s rumoured bisexuality ? I hope so.
mb00
Hmmm…I don’t know, as an avid fan of the Beat Generation, I tend to get really defensive when movies are made about them. I have a feeling the title of the movie says it all. Lucien Carr murdered his much older gay stalker David Kammerer and disposed of his body in the Hudson River. He went to Burroughs and then to Kerouac afterward and confessed to the murder. Kerouac disposed of the knife he used down sewer, thus incriminating him along with the crime and wrote about it in his two books “The Town and The City” and his last book “Vanity of Delouz”; as in “And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks”, which is a book that was written by both Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs before the because infamous and was released for the first time late last year.
My guess is that’s why the project is called “Kill Your Darlings”.
All that being said, Chris Evans as Jack Kerouac?!!! Why, why would the do that? WHY????!!!!!
Ziggy
Kimberley Pierce directed “Boys Don’t Cry,” not Christine Vachon.
afrolito
Who cares whether the actors are straight or gay? It should be about the best actors for the job…..And in any case, I can’t think of ONE hot openly gay actor to play ANY of these roles. You guys constantly gripe about good gay roles going to straight actors, as if there was a sea of bankable gay talent being passed over.
In any case, this will probably suck, since Chris Evans has ZERO acting talent. You can add him to the “hype for no reason” list along side Robert Pattison.
The Gay Numbers
@afrolito: Agree with your post. Although in fairness to Mr. Evans, he’s only been in crap so maybe that’s a factor. I will reserve judgment.
mb00
@afrolito: THANK YOU!!!!
Charlie Olsky
chris evans and kerouac are both jocks from boston who wanted to be artists. and they both are hot. say no more.
Jaroslaw
Reply to #13 Gay Numbers – of course you are right, the actors are the ones we see; but it also has to do with being a looks obsessed society, perpetual youth etc. Other societies revere the aged, some other things and so on. Very much related but slightly different – people KNOW the main newscasters seldom get in the street & beat the bushes, pound the pavement; they only READ the news (which is what they are called in Europe “Newsreaders”) but they are ALL good looking and make much more money than the people behind the scenes.
So as long as looks are the only thing that matters,or the main thing, the trend will continue.
Mr. Enemabag Jones
“You guys constantly gripe about good gay roles going to straight actors, as if there was a sea of bankable gay talent being passed over.”
And why do you think that is, afrolito? I remember an interview from years ago, where Sidney Poitier talked about a director asking him why he thought he was a good actor, if he had never been in anything. Poitier responded that how can he become a good actor, if he is never given the opportunity, simply because all the roles avaiable are for white actors. We would see more out competant actors if they were given the chances–the same chances–as straight actors. But they are not ebcause everyone beleives in the garbage that it’s not real acting if a gay person plays gay. So i ask you, is it not acting when Sidnet Poitier plays a black teacher in, “To Sir With Love”?