Reverend's Interview: Getting Intimate in "Blue Film"

After initially being rejected by US film festivals due to its “controversial” storyline, the striking Blue Film is being released in theaters beginning May 8^th. It ended up having its world premiere at last year’s Edinburgh (Scotland) International Film Festival and garnered considerable attention. I recommend it most highly precisely because of its provocative content.

When fetish camboy Aaron Eagle (Kieron Moore, who recently caught our attention on the gay-themed Netflix series Boots) visits a client in exchange for $50,000, he discovers a masked man (Tony Award-winning veteran actor Reed Birney) with a camera and a series of increasingly probing questions. But when the man reveals a disturbing connection to Aaron’s past, the two drop their personas and gradually reveal their true desires in this seductive, sexy thriller.

Blue Film is coming to us courtesy of Obscured Releasing. It marks the feature film debut of talented young writer-director Elliot Tuttle. In his director’s statement found in the film’s press notes, Tuttle writes: “Blue Film is an essay on perversion…I feel frustrated that sex in contemporary film is so conceptual. I want to take sex out of the conceptual space and make it feel uncomfortable, scary, and laced with significance. Blue Film is the accumulation of a lifetime of private thoughts regarding sex, fetish, and relationships.” 

Tuttle recently sat down with Reverend on Zoom to discuss his work. Some questions and answers below have been edited for length and/or clarity. They are also as spoiler-free as possible.

Hi Elliot! Great to meet you and congrats on the film, which is…

Beautiful.

(Laughs) Yes, and obviously a very powerful film. Disturbing at times, very moving at times. I kind of felt a roller coaster of emotions watching the movie. I read in the press notes about how this middle school teacher you had was kind of the inspiration. Can you talk a little more about that experience or your feelings at the time that led you to want to put this on film?

Yeah, I mean, that was its inception, and I think that the film kind of developed in a lot of ways past that. The original point of conception was I had been watching a lot of these Catherine Breillat films that are pretty much exclusively about adolescent sexuality. I was thinking about my own adolescence and, in particular, this one teacher that I had who I was so in love with. I had also done a lot of journaling about this while watching the Breillat films and, at the time, I really did want him to… to have sex with me. You know, kind of warped adolescent thinking that you do as a 12- or 13-year-old, but thinking about it retroactively or later in life and kind of interrogating, okay, who was I actually fantasizing about? I feel like that led me down a whole path of thinking about the way that sex kind of molds the way we live our lives, and the film developed kind of out of that.

You know, I think that's pretty universal across all genders and sexual orientations, actually. But not too many of us really stop to think about it, or how it impacts us later in life.

Yeah, everything. I mean, obviously, I'm also trying to not speak kind of flippantly about it. Like, it's so good that nothing did happen, you know? But I think it's kind of fair game to interrogate that pain to see and be honest about what it was at the time, and to think about it as an adult.

Absolutely. Your actors, Reed and Kieron--who are both great in it--obviously had to feel very comfortable with one another for such vulnerable and intimate scenes. What steps did you take, or did they take, to really help them reach that point of comfort or intimacy?

They did, for sure. I knew that they needed to be comfortable with each other but they loved each other from, like, the minute that they did a chemistry read together. They were texting all the time, emailing all the time. They are friends; they love each other. And so, it started pretty immediately. It didn't require a lot from me although it was something that I had been thinking about, that these two people need, one, to feel really comfortable with me and, two, need to feel really comfortable with each other. If they hated each other, there'd be no escape. (laughs) But that's probably the part I'm most proud of: how they are.

That's great. Speaking of intimacy, the scene where Hank shaves Aaron in the shower is a standout, at least for me. Was that real? Did Reed actually shave Kieron?

That was real. Reed had a little razor and a little bucket of water that he could dip it in, like, off-screen.  And then, I mean, he… we… you know, we filmed what we needed to get for coverage and then, because Kieron kind of has to be hairless for the rest of the movie, sent him to go get professionally waxed. 

Wow, that was impressive. Just the intimacy of it, I mean. I just think that's one of the most intimate things anyone could do to me, or that I could do to somebody else, so oh my gosh.

They laughed through it, though. I remember that being a fun day of filming. Nothing was particularly tough in the production process--which was kind of a surprise, I think, to all of us--but that day, I remember as being particularly fun. They were giggling the whole time because it is a funny and intimate thing. It's very….eww. (laughs)

That's great. What have been some audience reactions to the movie at some of the screenings you've had thus far? How have people responded?

I've been really pleased that most people seem to be responding to it in good faith and, if anybody doesn't, I guess they're not talking to me about it. We've had a couple walkouts one time, but the audience reaction is really interesting. I feel people kind of giggling for the first 10 minutes at maybe how confrontationally it begins, and then they settle into it. No one talks for, like, 80 minutes or something. You feel the room change in a really interesting way. And so I've been really enjoying sitting in (on screenings) and then talking to people about that feeling afterwards. I also remember in Edinburgh, at our premiere with people watching the film for the first time, the theater was very hot because they don't really have AC in the UK in their movie theaters. And I remember that kind of adding to, like, the discomfort.

That would not be pleasant, no. (laughs) You know, I could really see the movie sparking conversation in the gay or LGBTQ community but also in the community of those who have been abused, or have kind of been in the situation that the boys were in the film. I wonder, if you haven't gotten any of those reactions yet, are you kind of prepared for them?

We have gotten a few reactions and they've all been very thoughtful. It's such intimate and private subject matter that people are not always offering up their personal experience but I see it in, like, Letterboxd reviews or in some of the ways in which people have resonated with the film. It's often really moving, how engaged with the film they are, and how it resonates in some way with them. I think the reason that anybody makes a film is for an audience to hopefully resonate with it.

Sure. Any thought about when the film is released? It did cross my mind watching it: Should there be a trigger warning? A warning for folks who might be extra sensitive, or maybe have experienced some of the things that the characters experience.

It's a good question. Actually, no one's asked me that question yet. I think that the idea of trigger warnings is, like, everyone has their personal feelings about it. I recognize their use for some people, totally. I don't love when a film gives me a trigger warning. That's just me. I think that an audience member is totally valid to walk up and leave the theater at any point they choose, and no hard feelings. But my personal feeling about trigger warnings in general is that (they) can defang a film a little bit, or it makes cinema kind of like fodder for something else.

I'm trying to find the right words. (pause) I think cinema, kind of at its essence, is a place for people to be absent of feeling embarrassed. You're in a theater alone, kind of. Like, you're there in a dark room and you're able to look into an actor's eyes so intimately and not feel self-conscious. I think cinema is a place for people to get lost in that and to be confronted by things they are scared of, or excited by, and it's a place to do it kind of without any judgment, because it's just you and the screen, really. But, again, this is my opinion, and a lot of people have use for (trigger warnings).

I think that's fair, what you just said. And when you think about it, every movie made today has negative content that could trigger something for someone.

Fascinating. I mean, it's kind of what the--in some kind of tangential or lateral way--what the rating systems are for.

Yeah, absolutely. Without spoilers, have you thought about what becomes of Aaron and Hank after your story ends?

Yeah, like, yes and no. Yes, in the way that how both of their arcs land is meant to hopefully aid the audience in imagining where these two characters go. I at least had to think about how I wanted the audience to think that their lives progress. So yes, in that way, but every film has an end. Every film has a beginning and an end, and I feel like my job is to tell that story to the best of my ability and to have that arc hopefully be resonant. In that way it's only after filming that I think, like, both of their endings kind of mean something to the characters. So I would hope that kind of informs where an audience thinks those characters go. No plans for a Blue Film 2 though.

(Laugh) What is next for you? Are you working on anything already, or waiting for this to get out there, or…?

I've been really focused on the release of the film but I've been writing a lot. I wrote (Blue Film) when I was 23, made it when I was 24, had a festival premiere when I was 25, and now releasing it in theaters when I'm 26, and so I've had a lot of time to, like, play. I've been cooking up some stuff and I'm really itching to make another thing. I've had enough time since the production of Blue Film that I want to get back in the saddle and do it all over again.

That's great! I wish you well with this, and I wish you well with your future endeavors.

Thank you so much for your time.

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Reverend’s Reviews: "Screams from the Tower"…and from Broadway!

Way back in the early 1990’s, Reverend was attending a Roman Catholic seminary in rural Indiana. Saint Meinrad School of Theology, as it is known today, had a college then with a radio station! This priest-in-development had a radio hour on either Thursday or Friday nights during which I previewed and invited discussion of movies being released that weekend. Little did any of us realize then that I would eventually develop into the fabulous Father Flick/Reverend Review!

The new indie movie Screams from the Tower, now available on Dekoo and VOD, brought back a lot of memories. It is a Midwestern coming-of-age dramedy that follows Julien Rosdahl, his best friend Cary, and their outcast friends through high school in the mid-1990’s. When Julien (who is secretly gay at first) and Cary’s dream of having their own show on their school’s radio station is finally realized, it brings them a popularity and infamy they never imagined. But it also raises conflicts between the two young men.

Writer/director Cory Wexler Grant shared the following about his very good film: “I set out to write Screams from the Tower as a teen comedy, a comingof-age story, very much in the style of John Hughes. I thought ‘What if John Hughes had centered one of his films on two closeted gay high school boys? What would that look like?’ His films defined my youth, were filmed where I grew up, and made such an impact on generations of kids. I don’t think anyone has done it better.”

He continued: “Above all, (the movie) is a love letter to my best friend--we met when we were eight years old–my gay brother from another mother. This film is a romantic comedy about our lifelong friendship. I hope audiences enjoy it. I hope they see themselves in it. And I hope they watch it and share it with their best friends.”

The filmmaker’s sentiments reflect my experience of his film nicely. Reverend highly recommends it to those of “a certain age” like myself.

Reverend’s Rating: B+

Here in the greater New York City vicinity where Reverend now resides, the end of April marks the conclusion of the annual theater season. Tony Award nominations have just been announced and die-hard Broadway fans/obsessives are screaming! They’re screaming about new shows they love, new shows they hate, shows that were nominated, shows that weren’t nominated, and the price of tickets for some of the most popular shows we are doing our best to see!

Here are my brief takes on several new Broadway shows Reverend was able to weasel myself into, with huge thanks to a few hard-working NYC publicity reps:

Beaches: The Musical (now playing at the Majestic Theatre)

Speaking of best friends, as Cory Wexler Grant does most eloquently above, this adaptation of the 1988 movie that memorably starred Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey arguably works way too hard at capitalizing on its “besties” vibe. It also arrives on Broadway feeling dated stylistically, not surprising given that it had its first, out of town production 10+ years ago. 

Jessica Vosk’s terrific performance as wannabee star Cee Cee Bloom is the best thing in the show, although the precocious Samantha Schwartz runs a close second as Little Cee Cee. Kelli Barrett is fine in the admittedly less showy role of straight-laced Bertie White. The songs—which are all new with the exception of power ballad Wind Beneath My Wings—are serviceable but unmemorable. Beaches on stage retains the plot’s climactic tear-jerking effectiveness but it all feels been there, done that. Tony nominators apparently agreed, as it received no love from them. : (

Reverend’s Rating: C

Schmigadoon! (now playing at the Nederlander Theatre)

Speaking of been there, done that, the two-season run of Apple TV’s delightful series that venerates and skewers classic Broadway shows in equal measure was a fairly recent success. I loved both seasons (the second was appropriately subtitled Schmicago!) but adapting it for the stage so quickly reeks of a cash grab. 

Although the theatrical Schmigadoon! adds nothing to the first season of the series aside from a couple of new songs, it offers many delights to the unitiated. These include snappy direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli, vibrant scenic design by Scott Pask, and a very funny if redundant book by series creator Cinco Paul. Best of all, though, is a cast headlined by such Broadway notables as Alex Brightman, Sara Chase, Brad Oscar, Ana Gasteyer and, reprising her role as Mayor Menlove’s wife from the TV series, the always welcome Ann Harada. This show also benefits from the hardest working chorus currently on Broadway.

Reverend’s Rating: B

The Balusters (now playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre)

There is usually at least one show each season that everyone walks into knowing next to nothing, and this entertaining new play by previous Tony and Pulitzer winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Kimberly Akimbo) likely qualifies as our 2026 entry. An element of surprise and/or audience ignorance can definitely work in a show’s favor. So can a top-notch cast that includes John Boy Walton himself, Richard Thomas; Anika Noni Rose; Margaret Colin; Carl Clemons-Hopkins; and Marylouise Burke. 

This is a very funny, perceptive and unpredictable critique of gentrification via its depiction of the Home Owners Association from Hell. Longtime fans of new Tony nominee Thomas will surely agree it is worth the price of admission just to watch his character lose it at one point and smash up parts of Derek McLane’s meticulously designed set. Lindsay-Abaire has also been nominated once again for Best Play. Reverend prefers The Balusters over the other Best Play nominees I have seen.

Reverend’s Rating: B+

Now I'm screaming: Go see a show and watch the Tony Awards on June 7th!!!

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Reverend's Reviews: Bloodsuckers On Broadway & Off

The NYC theatre scene has historically not been kind to vampire-themed musicals. Lestat, Dracula: The Musical and Dance of the Vampires all flopped despite multi-million dollar investments. Bunnicula, adapted by drag legend Charles Busch from the children’s book, was a bit more successful off-Broadway.

Things may be about to change, based on the reception accorded The Lost Boys (now having its World Premiere at Time Square’s recently refurbished Palace Theater) during the preview performance Reverend recently attended. Based on the 1987 movie, which was not a blockbuster at the time but gained a following on home video, it depicts a seaside California community besieged by flying bloodsuckers wherein a newly divorced, unsuspecting mother and her two teenaged sons find themselves. Mayhem ensues.

This new musical’s ace in the hole is two-time Tony Award winning director Michael Arden (Parade, Maybe Happy Ending), although actress Shoshana Bean runs a close second. Despite his recent Broadway misstep The Queen of Versailles, much of which I enjoyed during its Boston tryout, the out Arden has proven himself to be an innovative crafter of modern musicals. He does not disappoint here. Bean, meanwhile, is smarter and stronger in the single mother role played by Dianne Wiest in the movie, with some help from the musical’s more progressive book by David Hornsby and Chris Hoch.

After attending the musical, Reverend streamed and re-watched the original Lost Boys movie for the first time in nearly 40 years. It endures as a time capsule for several young actors who went on to have big careers including Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, the Coreys (Haim and Feldman) and, most notably, Kiefer Sutherland as lead vampire David. But one wouldn’t say it screams out for musicalization.

Perhaps because of this, I was impressed by many things about The Lost Boys new musical. First and foremost with any musical is the score. The composers here are The Rescues, a 20-year old group I had vaguely heard of, so I was most dubious about their songs going in. I was pleasantly surprised. If anything there were too many good but extraneous songs, some of which may have been cut or modified since.

Standouts that need to be retained are the opener (later reprised) “No More Monsters,” the rockin’ “Have to Have You,” Bean’s fun VHS-era homage “Be Kind, Rewind” and the climactic “If We Make it Through the Night.” More questionable but still good were “Wild,” “War” and the queer-positive but length-extending “Superpower.” Regarding the latter, let’s just say this 21^st-century take gleefully runs with the fact that colorfully-dressed younger brother Sam (well played on stage by Benjamin Pajak) has a shirtless Rob Lowe poster hanging in his closet in the movie.

The best elements of The Lost Boys on Broadway are Dane Laffrey’s astounding scenic design (an additional Tony award is virtually guaranteed following his win for Maybe Happy Ending last season) and the flying effects or aerial design by Gwyneth Larsen and Billy Mulholland. Indeed, we see more of the vampires actually flying on stage than we saw in the movie, and the results are spectacular.

The preview performance I attended on April 8^th ran nearly three hours, including a 10-minute interruption due to an unspecified issue. That was way too long for a fairly slight story, no matter how impressive the visuals. But most of the audience--including the three teen girls and their talkative, Kiefer Sutherland-loving mother seated next to me—seemed unbothered and received the show enthusiastically. (Of note, Sutherland is one of the musical’s many big-name producers.) Perhaps the vampire musical is about to rise from its longtime casket?

Reverend’s Rating: B

David J. Glass’s play Spare Parts is also marking its World Premiere through April 30th at Off-Broadway’s Theater Row. Literal vampires might not figure in this timely original tale, but there’s still some significant bloodsucking/manipulating going on.

An aging billionaire summons a genetic researcher and his young assistant to his compound to discuss how to extend the billionaire’s life, ideally for eternity. The financier introduces them to his queer personal assistant, who falls for the researcher’s also queer assistant. Romantic and ethical complications ensue.

I don’t want to spoil things by giving too much away but Spare Parts ends up being prescient and thought-provoking, to say the least. Of note, the playwright is an MD who also works as a biotech researcher and educator. Glass previously wrote Love + Science, which Reverend reviewed here: https://moviedearest.blogspot.com/2023/06/reverends-reviews-love-science-plus.html. He knows his medical/scientific stuff, which gives the play more credibility even as it remains speculative.

 

Spare Parts runs an intense, intermission-less 95 minutes. The cast comprised of two-time Tony Award nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin, Mrs. Doubtfire), Michael Genet, Jonny-James Kajoba and Matt Walker is excellent. I was especially pleased to see McClure (pictured above) play a more serious role, and intrigued that Walker is seemingly the playwright’s muse/stand-in since he previously headlined Love + Science as a similar character.

Michael Herwitz’s taut direction and Scott Penner’s futuristic, multi-functional set are also attributes to this memorable production that boasts at least one big plot twist. If you’re in NYC, catch it while you can.

Reverend’s Rating: B+

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Reverend's Interview: Reach Out and Touch Jordan Gavaris

Who wouldn’t want a hot, polysexual guy dedicated to saving the world from climate change as a lover? But the fact that he also has tentacles and is devoted to “cross-species intercourse” could give one pause.

Such is the dilemma faced by longtime, co-dependent friends Joey and Craig in the wild new horror-comedy Touch Me. Written and directed by queer filmmaker Addison Heimann, it will be available on demand and digital April 7^th following a limited theatrical release.

After a series of unfortunate events leaves their house uninhabitable, Joey (played by Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Craig (Jordan Gavaris) find themselves homeless and out of options. That’s when Joey’s mysterious ex Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci) resurfaces. He wants her back. Along with being hot, Brian also happens to be an alien whose touch makes anxiety and depression disappear. Craig and Joey venture to his compound for the weekend with the hope of being healed from past traumas, but underneath Brian’s veneer of healing is a sinister plot filled with murder, mayhem and sex.

“Touch Me came from a place of astounding depression, as I suppose all my stories come from,” says writer-director Heimann. “I made my first film (2023’s Hypochondriac) about how mental illness can be overcome by learning to exist with it instead of against it. And here I was standing waist deep in my own sadness not taking my own advice. I wished, begged even, for something that could zap away my OCD, so I would never have to deal with the pain again.” 

He continued: “I also happened to be going through a profoundly sad friendship breakup at the time, and ultimately found that those were the two themes I wanted to explore. And what better way to do it than through the wacky, weird and stylistically feverish lens of Japanese hentai cinema of the 1960s and 70s? This film is a love letter to that style of cinema, it is a love letter to those suffering with things the eye cannot see, and it is a love letter to myself.”

Out Canadian actor Jordan Gavaris co-stars in the film as Craig, who along with Joey finds himself wrapped up in Brian’s tentacles. Gavaris previously starred in the comedy series The Lake. That show, which ran for two seasons, was the first scripted Canadian Amazon Original. Gavaris played Justin Lovejoy, a gay man returning from abroad in the hopes of reconnecting with his 16-year-old daughter. The actor first came to prominence in BBC America’s cult hit Orphan Black, in which he starred alongside Tatiana Maslany. His portrayal of Maslany’s foster brother Felix earned him fan-favorite status, as well as a Canadian Screen Award (Canada’s equivalent to an Emmy). He can also be seen in Hulu’s PEN15 and Max’s critically acclaimed series Hacks.

Gavaris recently sat down with Reverend via Zoom to talk about his new movie in advance of its release. Though he is still relatively young at 36, Gavaris shared during our interview that he has been acting professionally for an impressive 20 years now. Please note: Some of his answers have been edited for space and/or clarity.

Touch Me is a very interesting movie, to say the least. (Both laugh.)  I don’t know that I quite enjoyed it but I was definitely engrossed by it and found it interesting. What drew you to this story or this project?

Primarily Addison, our director. I had met with him about something else and I was getting ready to go to England to go to a wedding. He had talked about this film that he was putting together and he was in the throes of the casting process, which had been kind of riddled with a couple of ups and downs. I left the Coffee Bean with like “Good luck with the movie.” He had pitched me the concept and, as a big genre fan and as a person that really likes movies that try to do something different and are provocative, the movie sounded great.

Then, a few weeks later, he just offered me the film. I didn’t really have a lot of time to prepare, so I think that was the scariest part about jumping in. I had seen his first movie too—my partner Devon Graye is one of the stars in it—and I just knew there was promise to this filmmaker. I thought he was really gifted, and hearing him talk about the film and hearing his inspirations for it and what he wanted to do. Particularly the practical effects, which are kind of a lost art and nobody does them anymore because it’s so easy to lean on VFX. I couldn’t say no to something that was so bold. I just thought I would be crazy to not go and have fun for a month and try to realize this really intensely wild idea.

I actually wanted to ask you about the practical effects because, yeah, you don’t see that very often anymore.  Did that require anything different from you as an actor or an approach you hadn’t taken before?

Yeah, I would say so. Just spinning technical plates while also juggling the emotional. I remember doing on Orphan Black years ago and just the emotion control element of that show, dealing with the multiples of the characters. That kind of required a little extra imagination but this was different. This was very physically technical. I was even describing a scene where I had to stab somebody’s face and there are so many things where you have to, like, sell the moment and you have to be in the scene and feel your feelings while also not going too deep on a prosthetic in case you actually hurt yourself or, God forbid, you hurt somebody else. There’s just more to juggle, so I think having my brain kind of in split focus where I don’t just get to release and be in a scene where I’m talking to another person, that’s tricky. It’s much more complex. Oh my god, even handling multiple props—which is, no lie, a challenge sometimes—if something requires a lot of physicality in the blocking. This was next level, just trying to do two things at the same time.

You mentioned that your husband worked on Hypochondriac with the director. Did you and Devon compare notes, either while you were in production or afterwards, about your experience of Addison?

I’m not sure if we compared notes so much as he just had to talk me down because, once you get offered something or you’re joining a project, there’s that rush of excitement where you’re like “I’m gonna do something new, this is really great!” And then there’s the flood of fear, which is “Oh my god, what if I let everybody down? What if I’m really bad? What if I let Addison down and I’m not what he’s actually looking for?” So I think, more than anything, poor Dev just had to reassure me the entire way. He was, like, “Addison will steer you, you’re gonna be fine, he’s a really good director.” Dev just kept saying over and over again how great Addison was, and his experience on Hypochondriac was really, really positive.

Addison is really decisive, and I think (not being decisive enough) tends to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks with younger, newer directors. It’s no fault of theirs whatsoever. I cannot imagine being in that position. I don’t have the vision or the decisive nature in order to just say “Yeah, we got it; we’re moving on.” I’d want to stay on something for the entire day which, of course, you can’t because you don’t have the money. (Laughs) I was really impressed with Addison’s ability to know what he wanted. And by his vision. What is on screen is what was executed on the day. There wasn’t a lot of fussing and editing. He knew what he was going for and we didn’t shoot much more than that. I think that’s really impressive.

That’s great. I think we have like 30 seconds left. Any quick advice for young, gay or queer, aspiring actors?

Oh man, be yourself. I know, that’s so stupid! That’s the dumbest thing. But here’s the real truth: You can play anything, you can change your physicality, you can change the way you walk, you can change the way you speak. You can do all of those things and that’s fine, that’s part of the craft and it’s great. But your heartbeat, the thing or the stuff that queer people—and I’m speaking mainly from my personal experience—try to hide is the stuff that looks really, really good in front of a camera. That’s the secret sauce. It’s your vulnerability, and it’s really scary when you’re a queer person because that vulnerability is weaponized against us a lot. But if you can find a way to dig it out and just put it on camera—you don’t have to walk around the world with it—if you can just sit in front of a camera…Oh my god, it looks great. 

To watch the film’s trailer and for more information, visit www.touchmemovie.com

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.