Sexual orientations?

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  • Sexual orientations?

    Just wondering how acceptable any off-the-beaten-track sexual preferances are in an action movie, here.

    I have a pair of undercover cops/feds(?) of mixed gender. Early on I have the girl introduce her newly assigned male partner to a female friend. The two girls kiss in a way suggestive of a little more than just friendship going on between them.

    No further plans to inroduce anything other than that in the story, and I'm hoping this simply adds a little depth & colour to my character's personality.

    I have a few female Bi friends, and just want to borrow a little from their personalities.

    So, just how broadminded is Hollywood these days?
    "Would you take a f**k to save your president?"

  • #2
    Re: Sexual orientations?

    Originally posted by Steven Jenkins View Post
    Just wondering how acceptable any off-the-beaten-track sexual preferances are in an action movie, here.

    I have a pair of undercover cops/feds(?) of mixed gender. Early on I have the girl introduce her newly assigned male partner to a female friend. The two girls kiss in a way suggestive of a little more than just friendship going on between them.

    No further plans to inroduce anything other than that in the story, and I'm hoping this simply adds a little depth & colour to my character's personality.

    I have a few female Bi friends, and just want to borrow a little from their personalities.

    So, just how broadminded is Hollywood these days?
    So, are you borrowing from your friends' personalities, or the fact that they kiss chicks?

    Either way, you can do it. I'm pretty sure no one in Hollyweird is going to freak out about two chicks locking lips...

    ...though they might find it gratuitous if you don't exploit it in any manner.

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    • #3
      Re: Sexual orientations?

      yep - just don't exploit it or turn them into sexy caricatures.

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      • #4
        Re: Sexual orientations?

        Originally posted by ihavebiglips View Post
        ...though they might find it gratuitous if you don't exploit it in any manner.
        The fact that she snogs her friend openly in front of her new male colleague is def gratuitous - but that's just how she is - a 'This is me!' statement.

        Also allows me to include this bit of dialogue:
        "they know you come to places like this?"
        "Hell yeah! I get to have fun, and they get a free deep-cover bitch" (bitch meaning 'a sub', in this case)

        I'm sure the story will move to make this side of her more relevant, just not seen it yet. Wanted to check it was viable first.
        Anyway - Thanks for the feedback
        Last edited by Steven Jenkins; 09-27-2010, 05:32 AM.
        "Would you take a f**k to save your president?"

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Sexual orientations?

          Originally posted by Steven Jenkins View Post
          The fact that she snogs her friend openly in front of her new male colleague is def gratuitous - but that's just how she is - a 'This is me!' statement.

          Also allows me to include this bit of dialogue:
          "they know you come to places like this?"
          "Hell yeah! I get to have fun, and they get a free deep-cover bitch" (bitch meaning 'a sub', in this case)

          I'm sure the story will move to make this side of her more relevant, just not seen it yet. Wanted to check it was viable first.
          Anyway - Thanks for the feedback
          actually, it's NOT gratuitous. it just means they're comfortable. no dialogue needed. no explanation needed. that's what makes it natural. your dialogue makes no sense to me but it seems much more exploitive than then a simple kiss on the lips.

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          • #6
            Re: Sexual orientations?

            Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
            actually, it's NOT gratuitous. it just means they're comfortable. no dialogue needed. no explanation needed. that's what makes it natural. your dialogue makes no sense to me but it seems much more exploitive than then a simple kiss on the lips.
            hmm. I thought she was using irony to dismiss her male colleage's slight of her favourite off-beat/gangsta nightclub. I'll work on it.

            AH! Sorry - I see what you mean now.

            But It's hard walking the tighrope between "when mummy and daddy love each other very much..." explanation of sex, and rampant indulgant lust. I'm sure there's both manifestations of love no matter who we're talking about. I'm just trying to suggest both possibilities in as believebale and acceptable way as I can.
            Last edited by Steven Jenkins; 09-27-2010, 07:03 AM.
            "Would you take a f**k to save your president?"

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            • #7
              Re: Sexual orientations?

              easy - just don't explain it. it's more natural if you don't try.

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              • #8
                Re: Sexual orientations?

                I think having a male lead in an action movie be gay would be a problem. Some actors wouldn't want to play it, some studio execs would worry about turning off a part of the audience in a film that needs to appeal to everyone.

                A female character, on the other hand? No big deal. Female homosexuality is much more accepted. It's probably a non-issue.

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                • #9
                  Re: Sexual orientations?

                  Originally posted by Steven Jenkins View Post
                  Just wondering how acceptable any off-the-beaten-track sexual preferances are in an action movie, here.
                  Go back as far as 1977 to Joseph Wambaugh's 'The Choirboys' and you'll see that it's not a deterrent.

                  I have a pair of undercover cops/feds(?) of mixed gender. Early on I have the girl introduce her newly assigned male partner to a female friend. The two girls kiss in a way suggestive of a little more than just friendship going on between them.
                  Look at Kamo's lesbian relationship in the third season of The Wire, featuring reasonably explicit intimacy between a female detective and her partner. I know it's HBO and not Hollywood but the moral mindset isn't so different.

                  No further plans to inroduce anything other than that in the story, and I'm hoping this simply adds a little depth & colour to my character's personality.
                  A friend of mine had a similar discussion with a well known director who said, "You're in the wrong business to be coy."

                  And informing your story with authenticity gained from experience with bi friends' behavior is good, it's what writers do. Good writers tend to be keen observers of human behavior.

                  The only practical limitations you might encounter could be with casting, where some actors will not want to play certain roles. Some actors have certain moral or religious codes that mean they won't accept a role which they feel conflicts with those codes. But there are always plenty of great actors who will take those roles and some of the most macho actors have played homosexuals. Burt Reynolds - who would have thought.

                  How the marketing team would react to the lead being gay in an action movie would probably depend on many factors.

                  In short, don't limit yourself.
                  Last edited by DavidK; 09-28-2010, 11:11 PM. Reason: unnecessary reference
                  "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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                  • #10
                    Re: Sexual orientations?

                    Originally posted by DavidK View Post
                    Mel Gibson allegedly doesn't even want any gay people employed on his productions at all - which is sad if it's true.
                    It's not. I don't even need to reference my own personal knowledge regarding people who've worked with him -- rather I can just point to Jodie Foster and The Beaver.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Sexual orientations?

                      What I hate is when it's just chucked in there for the sake of it - then it's pointless and comes across as expolitive.
                      I also don't like it when characters only express depth via sexuality, it's another way of saying "BIG COP OUT!" Characters should have personalities, but only saying on screen, "Okay, so this is Amy, she's bi and kicks the crap out of a lot of men in this screenplay" is totally pointless.
                      Really, all we need to know is that this is Amy and she kicks the crap out of a lot of men in this screenplay.

                      Amy striving to live life with her gay lover while her co-workers pass judgement, her dad is too ashamed to visit and her bi girlfriend slowly develops a crush on her hunky new male partner, while she kicks the crap out of a lot of men is altogether a hell of a lot more interesting.

                      Hmm, I'm suddenly getting ideas for a new character...
                      Cufk, Tish, Sips.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Sexual orientations?

                        Originally posted by jcgary View Post
                        -- rather I can just point to Jodie Foster and The Beaver.
                        Wait, Jodie Foster's GAY?
                        Damn, I've been wanting to bang her Silence of the Lambs.
                        Cufk, Tish, Sips.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Sexual orientations?

                          Originally posted by DavidK View Post
                          Look at Kamo's lesbian relationship in the third season of The Wire, featuring reasonably explicit intimacy between a female detective and her partner. I know it's HBO and not Hollywood but the moral mindset isn't so different.
                          I'm not sure this is a particularly appropriate model.

                          THe problem is that an HBO show like "The Wire" is a far cry from a mainstream Hollywood movie. A mainstream feature needs to appeal to a very wide audience. Something like The Wire is much more like an independent movie. It's a success if it garners critical recognition and a relatively small number of viewers.

                          The issue isn't, for the most part, whether or not the producers would care as far as their personal morality is concerned. The vast majority of Hollywood producers and executives simply don't care if someone is gay or not. The problem is that big Hollywood films are mainstream entertainment, and to be successful they also have to play in flyover country. Actors are worried about damaging their brand - will an audience see them as less manly if they play gay?

                          Ultimately, this is much less of an issue for female roles, because female bisexuality or homosexuality is often seen as titillating to a straight audience. In a lot of places in this country there's still a pretty heavy "squwick" factor when it comes to thinking about gay male sex.

                          If you're writing something that's fundamentally an independent movie (and there are plenty of independent action films) you have a lot more leeway. But mainstream Hollywood films don't like to rattle the cage very much. But when you're talking about a movie where a $40m box office is probably a failure, then, unfortunately, there are some things which one still needs to steer clear of.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Sexual orientations?

                            And don't forget action movies have a huge market overseas, and play in various cultures.

                            But on one hand I hate the thought of limiting what's being explored because of potential audience bigotry. OTOH just throwing in a "this character's gay" without exploring that seems a bit off too.

                            I think Grandmaster had a good example of how to think about and flesh out the character. They don't have to be lengthy scenes but just have some more on how being gay affects this person in their career and life.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Sexual orientations?

                              Network TV has a lot of gay characters too, it's not just cable (WILL AND GRACE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, GREY'S ANATOMY) and you even see them kiss from time to time. But, these are also shows that are about relationships.

                              I agree that if there's no relationship subplot in your action script (for instance, typical B story about male cop's strained relationship with his wife due to long hours, exposure to danger, etc), then why put something in your script that may make it less marketable and doesn't have much to do with the story? I mean it's no big deal, but if you're asking yourself the question, then you're probably not sure about it, and if it really doesn't have anything to do with the story then I would say scratch it. You can go write your own BOUND after you collect the cash on this one

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