- Title: USA: "BILLY'S HOLLYWOOD SCREEN KISS" HAS ITS WORLD PREMIERE IN HOLLYWOOD
- Date: 9th July 1998
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 9) (RTV) EXTERIORS OF ORPHEUM THEATER IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES CROWD ENTERING OPENING NIGHT GALA AT THE ORPHEUM ACTRESS JENNIFER TILLY ARRIVING AT PREMIERE JENNIFER TILLY SAYING, "I THINK WHAT WE'VE IN CINEMA LATELY IS A LOT MORE POSITIVE PORTRAYALS OF GAY CHARACTERS AND, WHEN YOU HAVE A GAY CHARACTER NOW, THEY'RE NOT JUST SO
- Embargoed: 24th July 1998 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAEODZBUQ6CM1O6MOBN1W4CCVEL
- Story Text: After 10 days and 250 films from more than 25 different countries, the 16th annual Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, known as Outfest, came to a close on Monday (July 20) at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood with the World Premiere of gay romantic comedy "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss." Monday night's premiere was billed as "historic" because it marked the first time a gay-themed film has ever enjoyed the red carpet treatment at the downtown Hollywood landmark theater.
But the festival actually started ten days earlier, with an opening night gala at the equally historic Orpheum theater in downtown Los Angeles.The film that kicked off the festival was director P.J.Castellaneta's comedy "Relax, It's Just Sex." Starring Jennifer Tilly and Lori Petty, it's about a tight-knit group of thirty-somethings, gay, lesbian and straight, who struggle to live, love and stay friends in modern day Los Angeles as circumstances conspire to tear them apart.
That same night featured a Lifetime Achievement Award tribute to veteran stage and screen actor Sir Ian McKellen, who, despite publicly declaring his homosexuality years ago, has continued to play both straight and gay roles in both mediums.
The festival continued on three different screens and was coordinated at the Director's Guild of America building.The programming represented a broad range of the gay community, from children to seniors.Family programs were added for the first time for gay and lesbian parents to bring their kids to.
In a year marked by gay-themed mainstream studio films like "In and Out," "As Good As it Gets" and "The Object of My Affection," some have questioned whether gay film festivals are no longer neccessary.
But Outfest's director Morgan Rumpf disagrees, saying there will always be a need for a festival like Outfest to give young filmmakers a chance to have their work seen by a wide audience that normally might not get a chance to see it on a big screen.
Rumpf says Outfest is different from all the other gay film festivals around the world because it is located in the heart of the entertainment capitol of the world and therefore receives tremendous support from mainstream film companies like Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Gramercy Pictures and Fine Line Features.
Many of these same companies also send their acquisitions executives to the festival in order to pick up for general release films that don't yet have a distributor.In this way, Outfest is much like any other film festival around the world, gay or straight.
As for this year's batch of films, "Relax, It's Just Sex" is one of those that went into the festival looking for a backer and walked away with a lot of interest from major film companies.On the other hand, "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" already has a distributor, Trimark Pictures, the same company that most recently released the critically-acclaimed independent hit "Eve's Bayou." "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" features newcomer Sean Hayes as Billy, a struggling Los Angeles photographer who is looking for personal and professional happiness at the same time.He thinks he finds it when he meets Gabriel, a handsome musician who models for a series of Billy's photographs.As their friendship deepens, Billy is forced to figure out if he has fallen for a straight man, or if Gabriel is still trying to figure out his own sexuality.
The director of the comedy is Tommy O'Haver, who has already secured work for himself after "Billy's." He will next direct the big screen version of the popular comic strip "Archie" for Universal Pictures.
"Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" opens in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco on July 24 and throughout the United States on August 7. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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