Are queer cowboys having a moment? Not that we’re complaining! In fact, the announcement that Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar’s next project will be a gay Western has us feeling hotter than a two-dollar pistol!
In an exclusive interview with Indiewire, the celebrated auteur confirmed he’d be following up Parallel Mothers—the drama that earned Penélope Cruz a Best Actress Oscar nomination—with a 30-minute short called Strange Way Of Life, and he’s lined up a scorching-hot cast.
Related: 7 songs to help you live out your gay cowboy fantasy
Silver-screen daddy Ethan Hawke and The Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal, will star as two “middle-aged gunmen” who were friends in their youth that re-connect over mysterious circumstances. As Variety all-too-vaguely reports, the pair will “celebrate” their reunion and—yeehaw—the thought of that has sent our minds racing!
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But what’s really got our chaps chapped is that Almodóvar has said this rare English-language film could be his “answer to Brokeback Mountain,” referencing the landmark gay Western from Ang Lee that went on to score a whopping eight Academy Award nominations.
As many film buffs know, Almodóvar was once considered to direct Brokeback Mountain, but the filmmaker ultimately passed because of one specific reason: He knew he wouldn’t be able to make it as explicit as he wanted.
Back in 2019, Almodóvar revealed to Vulture that his version of the classic cowboys-in-love narrative would’ve been more “animalistic,” which, oh my god! He continued, “My vision of that short tale was much more physical than it was in the movie. That’s what it’s about in the story—there’s something very animalistic about their love, they’re searching for warmth in each other, and it has that twist to it. I was sure that I couldn’t do it as physical as I wanted to.”
Related: Before ‘Brokeback:’ that -other- gay cowboy movie…
There’s no sense in mourning what could’ve been because we’ll have Strange Way Of Life to drool over soon enough—and we encourage Almodóvar to make it as animalistic as he possible! The director has plans to begin filming soon, mounting the project before his first fully English-language feature, A Manual for Cleaning Women, with Cate Blanchett.
This man really does give the gays everything they want!
But wait, there’s more! In addition to veritable hunks Hawke and Pascal, Almodóvar has beefed up his cast with plenty of other hotties—like Jason Fernández, José Condessa, and George Steane—in supporting roles. And, as huge Elite fans, we’re perhaps most excited to see that the gorgeous Manu Ríos is part of the ensemble. Well, saddle us up and call us a horse!
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Putting a feather in the cowboy hat, the whole thing will by costumed by Saint Laurent, meaning these gunslingers will be slingin’ in style.
There’s no release date set for Strange Way Of Life yet, but we’re already ready to saddle up!
bachy
If this is half as good as Almodovar’s ‘Pain and Glory’ (which was also about two older gay men reconnecting) I’ll be there with my $14,995.00 Lucchese boots on, handmade in Texas entirely of American alligator!
monty clift
“landmark gay Western” is an over reach, it wasn’t even that, it was watered down garbage for the straights. We deserve to have a real gay Western that isn’t bogged down with the homophobic tropes of the past.
thebaddestbabby
amen!!!
RKthegay
It makes me sad that you feel that way about BBM. Because it was a landmark gay movie. It reached people that would never have seen anything remotely gay. I know first hand how it effected people, myself living in a rural western state. It opened a lot of dialogue and went a long way for “the straights”, as you put it, to accept gay relationships and eventually marriage. Even if you yourself didn’t like the movie, don’t discount all the good it did.
Godabed
the very fact that Cowboys were originally black and brown people, and our stories were co-opted by white people. Our historical characters written out of the pictures and now all we get is all these cis hetero white gay Cowboy stories… give us a break. I’m am glad brown people are telling more of their stories, but where is the melanin? There are dark skin latinx, south and central Americans, they do exist.
Brokeback was basic and troupie as f*ck. It was not a great film by any means, it was just more accessible. It should not be anyone’s standard for a gay cowboy film.
thebaddestbabby
The consensus among historians seems to be that in the second half of the 1800s, when many of “classic” cowboy tropes became popular, upwards of 25% of cowboys were black. There is a significant number of famous black cowboys, people such as Nat Love. There were a lot of different jobs involved in cattle-raising, though. And “brown people” is not a good way to describe vaqueros, who were of varying degrees of remove from Spanish (= European) descent. But while it is true that the mid-century image of white (more specifically, Northern European) cowboys was enforced for racist reasons by movies and TV, it’s also true that lots and lots of Anglo people, men and women as well, were cowboys, not to mention all those northern European homesteaders.
The “co-opting” that happened first was much more literal and violent. It was a set of injustices that cannot be accounted for by some Hulu or Netflix show, or even by an Almodovar film (Pain and Glory was indeed incredible). I’m talking about Spaniards and then Anglos taking land and enslaving and/or killing off tribal peoples.
scotty
well yippee kai ayyy
ethan hawke and another gorgeous guy? yes please
sounds devastatingly sinister. i cant wait.
Prax07
Ew. Not into any of the guys listed on this. Big Pass on this.
dbmcvey
Is that why you see movies?
Kangol2
This seems to be your response to everything. We get it. Why not list the 5 actors you’re into and just see movies starring them?
Diplomat
Ethan Hawke killed it in Dead Poets Society long ago. He’s so hot. Can’t wait to see him play a hot gay guy.
Man About Town
Cameron Scheetz continues to sound like a 12-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
dbmcvey
I love Almodovar! I would see anything he directed!
firebolt87
Damn. Ethan AND Pedro? Throw Oscar Isaac in there too and this movie will have more hot zaddies/DILFs than I can handle.
barkomatic
This sounds great–I can hardly wait to see it!