McGregor gay film too risque for cinema
I Love You Phillip Morris, which features a graphic homosexual romp, has failed to find a US distributor
Toby McDonald
A prison comedy starring Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey as gay lovers may not be shown in American cinemas because it is considered too risqué.
I Love You Phillip Morris, in which the stars play inmates who find love behind bars, has failed to find a US distributor and is expected to go straight to DVD.
Film industry insiders said the movie, which features a graphic sex scene and frequent references to gay sex, had fallen foul of anti-gay prejudice in America.
Carrey plays Steven Russell, a married policeman from Texas, who comes out of the closet and then becomes a conman to fund his flamboyant gay lifestyle.
He is sent to prison, where he meets and falls in love with Morris, played by McGregor. Following Morris’ release, Russell escapes from prison four times to be reunited with him.
The $13m (£9.3m) film is based on the true story of Russell, who was sentenced to more than 100 years behind bars because of his repeated escape attempts.
The independent movie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, has attracted mixed reviews, with one critic for Variety, the movie bible, remarking that the “clingy physicality of Steven and Phillip” and “spectacular, ride ’em-cowboy sex scene” would give some fans of Carrey’s mainstream movies a heart attack.
Lewis Tice, director of publicity and marketing, at distributors TLA Releasing, said he believed the graphic homosexual sex depicted in the film had turned off distributors.
“The depiction of the sexual activity was far more than I’ve ever seen in a mainstream film with a mainstream celebrity,” he said. “There’s a graphic sex scene in the first 10 minutes that I was surprised to see.”
Tice added: “Lesbian gay bisexual and transvestite cinema is still seen as an underground, specific genre. When it comes to Hollywood mainstream, they want the widest audience possible for the amount of money they spend.”
Scott Stiffler, author of Why Hollywood Avoids Gay Movies, added: “Mostly straight, multiplex-going audiences don’t want to see a romantic comedy in which two dudes get it on; unless it is meant as a joke.
“Even Brokeback Mountain, which grossed $83m domestically, couldn’t come close to the $120m gross that I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry [about two heterosexual men who enter into a civil partnership as part of a pension scam] made in the US.”
Britain is one of only a handful of European countries where a deal has been secured to show the movie, which is due for cinema release this summer. The film is currently being re-edited in a last ditch attempt to find an American distributor. If it fails to do so, it will go straight to DVD.
The failure of the movie to secure a cinema deal in the US will be a blow for both Carrey and McGregor.
Carrey, who was paid more than £10m per film following the success of The Mask, has had a string of recent flops.
Meanwhile, McGregor’s political thriller, Incendiary, in which he starred alongside with Michelle Williams, failed to set box offices alight.
Yesterday Andrew Lazar, the producer of I Love You Phillip Morris, insisted a deal will eventually be found.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5908016.ece
