How often do you see James Franco“, “gay’ and “leather bar” in a sentence? Well, this year, it’s been pretty often.
Though formerly known as 40 Minutes, the multi-tasking multi-hyphenate has been steadily publicizing Interior. Leather Bar., his homage to William Friedkin’s Cruising, for the past few months and finally there’s an official trailer to salivate over.
Be forewarned, there are slight flashes of man-butt. Not that that’s a deterrent, or anything.
A bit more about Interior. Leather Bar.:
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In order to avoid an X rating, 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was rumored to be cut and destroyed from the 1980 film, Cruising. Inspired by the mythology of this controversial film, filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews collaborate to imagine their own lost footage.
Amid the backdrop of a frenzied film set, actor Val Lauren reluctantly agrees to take the lead in the film. Val is repeatedly forced to negotiate his boundaries during scenes on and “off camera,” as unsimulated gay sex happens around him. The film itself is constructed as a play with boundaries remaining queer in subject and form. As much a film about filmmaking as it is about an exploration of sexual and creative freedom, Interior. Leather Bar. defies easy categorization.
Spike
Aren’t trailers supposed to make you want to see the movie?
MikeE
@Spike: no, no, no… you’re confusing “commercial film” with “independent art film”.
You should want to see it just.. because it’s supposedly subversive.
The fact that no one is interested in seeing it should be the major draw. because you are “above them” for seeing that this film must be seen… no matter how pointless or boring it is, and you WILL scream “au génie!” when you see it, no matter how many times you fell asleep during the projection.
Spike
@MikeE: Oh, silly me. So to clarify, the trailer’s intent is to make me and others not want to see it, and as an independent art film, the more people that that don’t want to see it leads to more people wanting to see it. Correct?
I recall seeing the original Cruising, whatever it was . . commercial, art, forgettable. Some things are best left to real life rather then film. I’m guessing this independent art will be similar, for those who see it, because I don’t want to see it.
M
Oh Franco.
boring
Looks intriguing enough.
Dionte
I can’t tell what’s its about from that trailer.
queertardo
I find it funny that based on a trailer, people who actually know little to nothing about the significance and controversy of the movie CRUISING respond so negatively! Did anyone during the release and rerelease to cable TV of CRUISING come out to their father, only to hear such moronic musings as “are you the boy or the girl in the relationship?” Or “Do you ever fear you will be out looking for sex and be beaten or killed?” Well Spike and MikeE, gay cynics like you are nothing more than pot-shards of history that often relegate themselves to the TAR PITS of history. This Franco film may turn out to be advantageous for all of us EQUALITY MINDED LGBTQ folk hoping to keep our award winning place in history without the ugly interruptions from GAYS like you!
MikeE
@queertardo: I’m sorry, say what? “people who actually know little to nothing about the significance and controversy of the movie CRUISING”?
Sonny, I was at one of the very first showings of Cruising. So no, I didn’t see it on “cable TV”. I’m probably old enough to be your dad. And I SAW the film before joining the hundreds who picketed and protested the film.
I thought the film was utter drek back then, and I STILL think it’s complete crap.
It fed into every bad stereotype possible, and pretended to show a “dark underbelly of gay subculture” that in essence did NOT exist. At least, not the way it was shown in the film.
The film had the most ridiculous and risible dialog, and set the characters in ridiculous situations.
Like I said, the film was crap then, and it’s STILL crap today…. that Franco wants to fuel his masturbatory fantasies by filming what he imagines were cut scenes from a bad film, well, that’s HIS issue to deal with.
But please keep your pathetic insults regarding where you think our places in history stand. You have NO idea who I am or what I’ve done or what my standing is in the community or on the international scene. Fantasize all you want. But this film has NOTHING whatsoever to do with “equality”. It’s nothing but more voyeuristic trash.
Daggerman
….James Franco somehow exudes a lot of sex appeal physically and just by doing all his kinds of roles—I envy him and would very much like his manhood inside me!!