Greg Berlanti — the gay TV producer behind Riverdale, Sabrina and The CW’s super heroic Arrowverse — will direct a biopic about Rock Hudson, the closeted heartthrob who was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars during the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Berlanti, who directed the gay rom-coms The Broken Hearts Club (2000) and Love, Simon (2018), will base his Rock Hudson film on All That Heaven Allows, Mark Griffin’s upcoming biography of Hudson. A screenwriter for the film has not yet been named.
Griffin’s book — which comes out Dec. 4, 2018 — reconstructs Hudson’s career and private life through “100 interviews with co-stars, family members and former companions … [and] unprecedented access to private journals, personal correspondence, and production files.”
As far as we know, Berlanti’s film will be the first theatric biopic of Hudson.
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The Rock Hudson film will have lots of material to work with
Hudson was the one of the most iconic actors of his time, appearing in 64 films, often as the romantic lead.In one of his most famous romantic comedies, Pillow Talk (1959), Hudson’s character briefly pretends to be gay while toying with the female romantic lead, played by Doris Day.
He also appeared in a few TV shows including the ’70s police procedural McMillan & Wife and the campy ‘80s primetime soap opera Dynasty.
Related: My Sad And Trivial Night With Rock Hudson
Throughout Hudson’s career, tabloids threatened to publish second-hand accounts of his rumored homosexuality, something that would’ve ended his career. Hudson briefly married a woman named Phyllis Gates in 1955, but they divorced three years later. Neither remarried.
In 1984, Hudson appeared on the Christian cable network talk show Doris Day’s Best Friends. Hudson was 59 at the time and visibly ill. Although he didn’t say it, people speculated he was dying of HIV.
The following year, Hudson’s French publicist confirmed rumors, just three months before he died. At one point, Hudson collapsed in France and reached out to his friendly acquaintance Nancy Reagan to help him get specialized medical care, but Reagan refused.
Hudson’s death focused international attention on the disease and turned his close friend and former co-star Elizabeth Taylor into a vocal advocate for HIV research.
While Hudson’s story may sound like a vintage Hollywood throwback, Hollywood stars continue to closet their LGBTQ identities and health issues in search of mainstream fame.
Donston
Greg isn’t particularly talented. Pretty much all his projects have been middling, have been heavy with sentimentality and are fairly conventional and broad. But at least he’s not another out filmmaker who’s ethnically sketchy or someone who seems to contend with shame, self-resentment and/or internalized homophobia. So, we’ll see how it ends up. Interested in seeing who gets casts as Rock.
dbmcvey
Wow. No alarm bells with your post. “Ethnically sketchy?” WTF does that mean?
geb1966
All that “middling” work has made him one of the must successful producers currently works in Hollywood. So I doubt he cares.
TommyIL
Everwood and Jack and Bobby were some of the best TV made. What’s wrong with sentimentality? Isn’t that why people love This Is Us so much?
Steve9999
Hey Donston–
Go ahead and post your IMDB credits and then we’ll decide whether your comments are just bitchy or jealously bitchy. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, how about you “put up or shut up” and hopefully just go away.
Saps48
I think Donston meant ethically challenged…
Donston
Yes, I meant “ethically”.
You’re allowed to not be a fan of someone. It’s not like I went in or got particularly disrespectful or name-called. I did enjoy some of Everwood growing up. Brothers and Sisters, Jack and Bobby, Love Simon- all fairly decently made, light weight stuff to me. And this seems like an unusual project for him to tackle. I do worry about it being treacly. But I certainly hope it’s good.
MikeM
I agree about the quality of some of his work, but it has been groundbreaking. The Jack character on Dawson’s Creek really broke down stereotypes and was a good role model for teens at the time who may have been struggling with coming out. To his credit, too, there aren’t any horror stories of him taking advantage of actors. He’s led an exemplary life and settled into a life of domesticity that seems pretty enviable from the outside looking in. He seems really hard working and prolific with his shows, which is a good thing when it comes to positive representation of gay men and lesbians on television.
BGinBigD
Shuddup, girl! By the way, your comment is as “sketchy” as it gets.
Lacuevaman
never seen the original Rock with a beard. Looks very nice.
misterjack
Agreed!
skibunny
Check out the movie “Lover Come Back” with Doris Day and Tony Randall. He has a beard for a good part of the movie.
Tombear
I think Rock was a bear want to be. All of his lovers were hairy chested. Bette Davis was another famous person with a furr fetish. I’m telling you the Twink look is going on the wayside.
Jackrabbit
Nope, beard sucks. I hate beards.
Juanjo
Wonder if they will cover Rocks numerous trips to SF to hit a certain bathhouse South of Market back in the 70s? It was exactly a secret. It even made it into an episode of Tales of the City when it was a serial in the Chronicle.
Lacuevaman
Miss Blojo, was that your ugly ass working the cum clean-up dirty towel pick up duty there? You were then… and I’m sure now a zero. Just saying.
Virpilosus
Casting Rock Hudson will be a plum role if its a good script…!
gaym50ish
But who do you know who could possibly play the role?
msc1208
From the headline I thought they were making a movie about John Travolta.
Tombear
If Rock had a hairier chest with that beard he would be classified as an otter. Rock loved hairy men!
Lacuevaman
honey, he loved smooth tall blue-eyed blonds. trust me, I know for sure. hehe
Jackrabbit
Nope loved just the way he was, no hair chest, no beard!
Fenix443
I could definitely see Ryan Reynolds casted to portray Rock. Both have very similar eyes…
justyouandi
If the Reagans had granted his request they would have been accused of nepotism and favoritism. For them it was a no-win.
Tombear
@Lacuevaman. True he did like blondes but they were all hairy chested. Maybe he had sex with you at a weak moment, a very weak moment. He must of been drunk!
nm4047
I do find (Donston) comments about sentimental etc, isn’t making a (un-authorised) bio-pic just that, is there really anyone in the age group that Riverdale etc target interested in let alone aware of who Hudson was?
Hotflesh
Check out the documentary Home Movies about Rock Hudson which came out in 1992.
Doug
Great documentary!!
girldownunder
In everything I read about Rock Hudson, all I can be is monumentally sad.
Am I honestly the only person who feels gutted at him having to waste his entire life pretending 24/7?
FFS
I’m sad 🙁
Jackrabbit
yes
batesmotel
Unfortunately that was common those days. Most anyone that was gay you didn’t really know it. It was in secret. But lots of things were in secret back then. People didn’t get divorced or they’d be ostracized. They pretended to be happy in marriages they were unhappy in.
Billy Budd
He was totally and genuinely masculine, and a total bottom as well.
o.codone
As the story goes his friend called from NY and begged Rock to come to the St. Regis to hook up with this guy who was as big as a, well, donkey. Rock was a bottom, and he did. Then the guy died, then Rock died. IDK if it’s a good idea to profile Rock Hudson after he’d been through so much. He died a frightening death. Sadly, he was sick at a time when HIV was untreatable. Maybe we should let him rest in peace.
RetiredHRGuy
Sad that the title includes the phrase “Hollywood’s biggest closet case”
We were very good friends with a now passed elderly couple who lived in West Hollywood in the 40’s and 50’s. They stated that in those days, they had to be so careful, because two men holding hands on the street in West Hollywood could be arrested. Only Studio Publicity Departments, Lawyers, and contrived hetero marriages protected many in these days.
I hope that this film is very respectful!!
batesmotel
Rock Hudson was a babe.
MuscleJoe
“As the story goes” Please…..Did you know that he had a blood transfusion in 1981? BEFORE BLOOD was tested? It’s very likely he could have gotten it that way, so stop your crappy, unproven gossip.
Scout
A blood transfusion for what? And isn’t your assertion that he “very likely” could have gotten HIV that way fly in the face of his intense sexual promiscuity?