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  • OPINION | what’s wrong with being Mr Average

    Pride season is well and truly underway, and we have many reasons to celebrate this year but why do I feel increasingly isolated from my community?

    As a gay community we were supposed to be inclusive and non-judgemental of other people but these days there really is no truth to that anymore. As a homosexual in his late 30s I’m practically already dead, over the hill etc etc, and as stupid and wrong as that is, it is only the tip of the iceberg of the problems that are currently infecting the gay community all over the world.

    SOCIAL MEDIA
    One of the biggest issues I have today is Gay / Social media and the constant in your face pictures of “muscle men” as being the ONLY form of male that is apparently attractive, it’s so constant and aggressive that I think the younger generation have developed a skewed perception of what makes an attractive man.

    Every single day on my friends’ timelines and news feeds, anytime a picture is posted of an “attractive” man (famous or a cheeky pic of someone on the train) you can absolutely guarantee it’s somebody muscles or a digitally enhanced six pack, yes it’s lovely to look at a nice body, but it’s also incredibly tiresome when you see picture after picture, day after day of men with bodies that look exactly the same as each other.

    It all has a ripple effect and that’s never more apparent when you’re using a gay dating app. The amount of times I have been asked for a “body pic” and when I say no, it’s either usually no more reply or “is it cos you’re fat?” and by “fat” it now generally means you don’t have a toned or muscled body. I find that incredibly sad and worrying.

    There are plenty of attractive men out there that don’t have 6-day-a-week-gym-bodies but you wouldn’t know they existed, and you won’t see them on the cover of magazines or in silly “Top 10 Hunks” columns.

    We have been wiped out in terms of media, we don’t exist anymore, we are dead.

    Perhaps it’s time for the gay media to take some responsibility and start including people who don’t have those “desirable” muscles and bodies in their photo-shoots, imagine how incredible that would be, how liberating the positive long-term effects it would have.

    In the 21st century we are finally starting to be awarded the equal rights that any human being should have, but what good is equality when a large part of the community is increasingly being isolated or forgotten about by gay / social media.

    Most gay men don’t have the perfect body, or the perfect job with a jet-setting lifestyle that all gay men apparently seem to have and if we don’t we are constantly trying to be sold that lifestyle whether you like it or not.

    There is nothing wrong with being “Mr Average” with a perfectly normal non-gym body.

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • Steve Martin Dismisses Gay Father Of The Bride

    The web was abuzz yesterday with reports that Steve Martin would be returning in a Father Of The Bride sequel, which would feature a gay wedding.

    Funny man Steve Martin however, dismissed these rumours by taking to Twitter to say, ‘So excited to read I’m doing Father of the Bride 3 since I haven’t seen a script or been offered the role!’

    The original film was first distributed in 1991.

    It had been suggested that the new film would feature the parents played by Steve Martin and Diane Keaton organising a wedding for their gay son, played by Kieran Culkin in the 1995 Father of The Bride Part 2.

    Shame….

  • Gay Men At Greatest Risk Of Sexually Transmitted Infections

    A shocking new report from Public Health England (PHE) shows that gay men and young adults are most at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.

    There were 446,253 sexually transmitted infections (STIs) diagnosed in England in 2013, according to new Public Health England (PHE) data out today – close to the number diagnosed in 2012 (448,775 cases).

    Chlamydia was the most common STI, making up 47% of all diagnoses (208,755), while gonorrhoea diagnoses saw a large rise, up 15% from 2012 to 2013 (29,291).

    Among heterosexuals diagnosed in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in 2013, young people (15-24 years) experienced the highest STI rates – 63% of chlamydia cases (56,034), 54% of genital warts (36,312), 42% of genital herpes (12,450) and 56% of gonorrhoea (8,122).

    Gay men were also disproportionately affected, accounting for 81% of syphilis (2,393) and 63% of gonorrhoea (13,570) cases in male GUM clinic attendees. Gonorrhoea diagnoses rose 26% in this group, nearly double the national rate, which is of particular concern as harder to treat gonorrhoea strains emerge.

    Dr Catherine Lowndes, consultant scientist in PHE’s STI surveillance team, said: ‘Sustained efforts to encourage people to regularly get checked for STIs means we are now finding and treating more infections – which is good news. Nevertheless these data show too many people are still getting STIs each year, especially young adults and gay men.

    ‘Investment in promoting good sexual health awareness, contraception and condom use, and STI testing is vital, as is ongoing investment in easy to access sexual health services that meet the needs of local populations. Not only will this help bring down STI rates but abortion rates and under 18 conceptions as well.’

    National guidance recommends local services routinely offer chlamydia screening to young adults but only 15% of young men and 35% of young women were tested in 2013. Wide variation across the country were seen in rates of chlamydia testing and diagnoses – with only around 1/3 of local authorities reaching the recommended chlamydia screening outcome (2,300 diagnoses per 100,000 young adults per year).

    Dr Lowndes, PHE, continued: ‘Chlamydia can have serious consequences, including infertility, if it’s not treated. These data show we need to do more to encourage young adults to ask for testing every year when they attend health services.

    ‘Local areas can look at embedding screening into a variety of settings to make it as easy as possible for this group to get tested. Offering a young adult a chlamydia test opens the door to conversations about other important aspects of good sexual health, such as contraception and condom use.’

    Individuals can significantly reduce their risk of catching or passing on an STI by consistently and correctly using condoms until all partners have had a sexual health screen, by reducing the number of sexual partners, and by avoiding overlapping sexual relationships.

    If in one of the highest risk groups, getting screened regularly will lead to early identification and treatment, as these infections are frequently asymptomatic:
    · Sexually active under 25-year-olds should be screened for chlamydia every year, and on change of sexual partner
    · Gay and bisexual men should have an HIV/STI screen at least annually or every three months if having unprotected sex with new or casual partners
    · Black African men and women should also have an HIV test and a regular HIV/STI screen if having unprotected sex with new or casual partners.

    Cary James, Head of Health Improvement at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: ‘These figures show we now have more gay men testing more regularly, and that’s a good thing. However, it’s not the whole picture. Too many men are taking risks with their sexual health, more often than not because they believe they share a HIV status with their partner. Even if they’re right – which many of them aren’t – eliminating HIV risk does not make you immune to other STIs. The sharp increase in rates of both gonorrhoea and syphilis is concerning, especially in the context of emerging drug-resistant strains of gonorrhoea.

    ‘Part of the problem is that the current approach to sex education in schools is leaving gay and bisexual men out in the cold. Gay men will continue to be disproportionately affected by sexual ill health until we have a proper programme of sex and relationships education in all schools, that is fit for the 21st century and covers all types of relationship. Taught properly, sex and relationships education has been shown to delay sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase the use of condoms. Having that bedrock in place is a vital step to give gay and bisexual men the confidence as adults to make healthy decisions about sex.’

  • FILM REVIEW | Advanced Style

    ★★★★★ | Advanced Style

    Five years ago Ari Seth Cohen took to the streets of Manhattan armed with his camera looking for old ladies. Not just any elderly dears but photographing fashionable women in their ’70s, ’80s and beyond having being inspired by his own grandmother who made him appreciate senior style icons who life live to the fullest.

    His blog which became de-rigour reading for myself and many of my friends developed into a book and is now a delightful documentary. A project that started out with Cohen being inspired by this tight band of eccentric women with a zest for living and a passion for their fashion has almost turned full circle as they are now enjoying the fame and celebrity that his attention has brought them from a curious world.

    The ladies’ stories are inspirational and a sheer joy to listen too, and the highly individual and colourful personal styles their adopt in their traffic-stopping outfits are just part of their well-conceived mantras of living every moment of the lives to the hilt, especially as they recognise that they are now in their twilight years. Tiny red-headed 92-year-old artist Illona Royce Smithkin with the biggest eyelashes I have ever seen sums it up aptly when she say that she no longer buys green bananas as she simply cannot afford to wait for them to ripen.

    Each of the group has a swathe of stories to tell and none with more than a hint of regret of lives well led (‘I wish I had children’ says one coyly, but adds quickly that ‘taking care of all her handmade clothes is much more hard work than playing house.’ There’s 81-year-old Jacquie ‘Tajah’ Murdock who was one of the original ‘Apollo Girls’ in Harlem and during the course of the film, is chosen by Steven Meisel no less to be the new face of his campaign for Lanvin. And Lynn Dell Cohen, also in her 80s, who has run a Vintage Frock Store Off Broadway for 40 years and still politely hectors each of the customers to find their own style.

    It’s refreshing and a real treat not simply because these elderly women look so ravishing but because they dare to be different and are such a delightful anti-dote to mainstream UK who slavishly try to keep up with ever-evolving fashion trends that few can afford and most look hideous in. But they are also up there on a pedestal as wrinkled and challenged as they are (‘at my age for everything in my body that I have two off, one hurts like hell’) simply refusing to either act the way society expects them too, or just die quietly in the corner. In fact one of their number, Zelda Kaplan a mere 95-year-old had a heart attack whilst she is the front row of a fashion show. Zelda must be so happy in heaven now.

    Style, as these elderly icons will show you, is much more than just about fashion. It’s an innate quality that not just enriches your own life, but also those of the people that are part of yours too. And each of these irrepressible ladies reminds us yet once again that life is not a dress rehearsal.

    Unmissable.

  • Londoners Set To Star Alongside Pride In London Celebs

    Londoners to star alongside celebrities supporting Pride in London’s #FreedomTo multi-channel ad campaign

    With just two weeks to go until the main Pride in London event celebrating the LGBT+ community, the event organisers can today unveil a celebrity-backed evolving campaign in which Londoners will be invited to become part of the marketing to promote this year’s #FreedomTo theme.

    The 2014 Pride in London Parade will take place on Saturday the 28th June. This year’s theme is #FreedomTo, which is all about celebrities and members of the public alike communicating what Pride means to them.

    In a first for Pride, members of the public could see themselves being used in the promotional activity in the run-up to the Pride in London parade. Handling the user generated content and display element of the campaign is digital out of home agency Enigma – www.enigmacode.co.uk – whose founder, Andrew Newman, helped to devise a commercial strategy for Pride in London.

    Celebrities including Sir Ian McKellan, Kylie Minogue, Graham Norton, Sir Elton John and Ben Cohen have already backed the campaign. Of the 150+ messages already submitted, examples include:
    Sir Ian McKellan: “#FreedomTo be who you are and what you would like to be”
    Graham Norton: “#FreedomTo be camp!”

    Funmi Iyanda: “#FreedomTo support equality without fear and harassment”
    To get involved, members of the public are asked to write their own personal #FreedomTo messages on a large piece of paper. By sharing this photo on Facebook or Twitter using the #FreedomTo hashtag, the Pride team will pick it up. Submissions that catch the eye of the team will be invited you to a photoshoot. More information can be found here: www.prideinlondon.org/freedomto.

    Media owner Exterion Media has become a campaign partner, contributing more than half a million pounds worth of support. This commitment means the multi-channel campaign featuring the personal #FreedomTo messages and sponsors’ logos will be prominent across London’s bus and tube network, reaching millions of Londoners in the event build-up every single day.
    This video introduces the #FreedomTo campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_fiQefoSL8

    The media campaign will evolve over the course of the two weeks leading up to Pride day. The first week will include a call to action asking members of the public to submit their own personal #FreedomTo messages. The people behind the best entries will then be filmed and included in animated panel adverts alongside the supporting celebrities.
    The second week – Pride Week (Commences Monday 23rd June) – the panels will also show highlights of supportive Pride parties, galas and live events – all of which are detailed here: http://prideinlondon.org/plan/whats-on/. This content will all be filmed by attendees themselves using filmmaking app Seenit, and in a user generated content first, the footage will then be edited by Enigma to be shown on the Exterion screens.

    On Pride Day itself, the tube ads will change to say ‘Happy Pride’, including geo-specific information about how to travel to the Pride event from that station.

    A media relationship has been struck with TV channel London Live, which will see the channel take the user generated content to create community profile films to be serialised during Pride Week.

    Andrew Newman, co-founder of Enigma had the following to say, ‘We’re delighted this campaign has attracted the imagination of celebrities and members of the public alike, bringing people together for a common cause. Not only can you support Pride as before, you can now be a part of the campaign around it!

    ‘As Pride requires commercial support to be held, we needed to strike a balance to ensure that our diverse community was represented, while giving real value to sponsors and brands. We feel the #FreedomTo campaign achieves that and is something we can all be proud of.’

  • Iconic Lesbian Night To Close Again

    Iconic lesbian night in London, Lounge is to close its doors once again.

    Organisers of the Lounge event at Voltaire have issued a statement saying that the evening will no longer run after the 4th July 2014.

    They said, ‘We had hoped to come back in the autumn after a break but unfortunately, it’s not viable to run a monthly night. We’ve had a ball getting to see Loungers old and new come through the doors of our fabulous venue, Voltaire. Thank you to those who supported us.

    ‘We may well look into running something on a less frequent basis, but in the meantime let’s focus on making Friday 4th July the best Lounge ever.’

    The rebirth of Lounge was announced in December 2013,

  • Green Party Calls For The End To Blood Discrimination

    As the law stands in many parts of the UK, gay and bisexual men and MSMs (men who have sex with men) are forbidden from donating blood if they’ve been in a sexual relationship within the last 12 months.

    Green councillors on Brighton & Hove City Council are calling for an end to the bar against gay and bisexual men donating blood within 12 months of sexual activity.

    In 2011 a lifetime ban on donating blood by gay and bisexual men was lifted in most of the UK (except Northern Ireland); however any man who has had sex with another man within the last year is not permitted to donate blood.

    To coincide with World Blood Donor Day (14th June), Green councillors announced they were tabling a motion at the next city council meeting (17th July) urging the Government to change the rules.

    The time it takes for tests to show whether someone is infected with HIV and most other serious blood-borne infections is now three months and for Hepatitis C is six months so infection is detectable much earlier than 12 months.

    Green Councillor Alexandra Phillips, proposer of the motion, said: “We welcome the 2011 change lifting the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood but it doesn’t go far enough to end discrimination and help the supply of safe blood.

    ‘The current rules are still discriminatory and are not backed by logical analysis of risk. Good science would support a six month window before donating blood after a possible risk, for all donors, on the basis that tests for HIV and Hepatitis C can detect infection within that time. The health service desperately needs safe blood donations, but this discrimination bars perfectly healthy men from helping to save lives.

    ‘It is possible to have a safe donor system based on the prevention of harm yet which does not discriminate. Anyone wanting to donate blood should be asked the same basic questions irrespective of their sexual orientation. It is unethical to prevent a whole group of healthy people from donating blood when a blood donation might save a life.

    ‘”Now the council has responsibility for public health, we hope this motion will help reassure gay and bisexual men in our city that the council is set against such a discriminatory health policy and that the government should act.’

    Councillor Mike Jones, who is an NHS sexual health adviser and is seconding the motion, said: ‘It’s absolutely crucial that blood supplies are safe and there should be proper measures in place to deal with risky individuals – but these rules mean in practice the vast majority of healthy gay and bisexual men are prevented from donating blood.

    ‘The result is we cut the supply of safe blood to the NHS while high-risk heterosexual donors remain free to donate. The blood of a healthy gay man who is in a monogamous relationship and who has only had oral sex will not be used whereas a heterosexual man who has had multiple opposite-sex partners and who refuses to take safe sex precautions will not usually be questioned about his behaviour or have his blood excluded.’

    Mike added: ‘Given that only around 5% of healthy people actually donate blood, rather than discriminating against large sections of the population, it would be far better and fairer to treat donors on a case-by-case basis using precise questions so that those gay and bisexual men who are willing to give blood would answer questions that accurately identify their degree of risk, so we aren’t turning away people who could be saving lives.’

    The Department of Health’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissue and Organs partly justifies the ban on the higher incidence of Hepatitis B in gay and bisexual men than the rest of the population since this infection could remain undetectable for several months under current testing. However advocates of a non-discriminatory approach say this could be addressed by a targeted Hepatitis B vaccination programme among gay and bisexual men.

    Green councillors say health authorities should implement a ‘Safe Blood’ education campaign targeted at the men who have sex with men to ensure that no one donates blood if they are at risk of HIV and other blood-borne infections arising from unsafe sexual activity. This should be backed by a health promotion campaign for Hepatitis B vaccination within the gay and bisexual community.

  • New Charges For Street Access During Brighton Pride

    Brighton Pride today announced that access to the gay scene during the Pride weekend will ticketed.

    The Brighton Pride organisation announced today that they were excited to be trialling a new venture which will effectively make the seafront road, Marine Parade a ticketed area costing £5.00 for a 2-day wristband, £1 of which will be donated to The Rainbow Fund. The trial was green lit by Brighton and Hove council and the Police, for one year.

    The area between St. James’ Street and Marine Parade is currently home to over 29 bars, clubs and hotels, which are aimed at the gay community.

    Residents and people working within the Zone will receive free access wristbands and information is being circulated by letter and will be posted on a residents information page on the Pride website.

    Brighton Pride CIC, is already the UK’s most expensive one day prides costing £20, Manchester Pride is £22.00 for the weekend.

    In an email from Brighton Pride organisers said, ‘Two days of fabulous community celebrations in a safe and welcoming environment, the Pride Village Party will deliver a unique fundraising event that we can all enjoy. Safe in the company of proud others, working with local businesses, acknowledging the needs of local residents and happy in the knowledge that we are raising much needed funds for The Rainbow Fund and supporting local LGBTQ charities and organisations, the Pride Village Party is ready to complete your Brighton Pride weekend.

    ‘With so many of Brighton’s favourite local bars, venues and businesses supporting the Pride Village Party and The Rainbow Fund there will be plenty of choice of where to meet up with friends and raise a toast to your Pride weekend. Please support our local businesses that are directly supporting the Pride fundraising effort for the Rainbow Fund selling the pledge bands and Pride tickets.’

    You will need to purchase these tickets seperately as tickets for the Pride have been on sale since February.

    Launching the new charges have been rumoured as a solution to attempt to control and curb problematic drinking and anti-social behaviour during the Pride event. In May, GayStarNews reported that Councilor Geoffrey Bowden, who represents the St James’s Street area, said, ‘Over the years the Pride Street Party has become more and more problematic – especially for residents.

    ‘Uncontrolled access and irresponsible attitudes to alcohol have turned what should be a celebration into something of a headache and, for some, a nightmare.’

    The street party will run from 6pm on 2nd August through to 3rd August at 8:00PM. You can buy your wristbands here

  • COLUMN | Football Is Crazy, Football Is Mad

    I’m sorry to be a gay stereotype but football bores me senseless.

    I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of any sports match and I don’t intend to change that now. For the duration of the World Cup I’ll be avoiding the TV and newspapers (it seems to have pervaded everything, even Google has football themed graphics). I’ll definitely be staying out of any pub that has a huge flag draped outside and a television the size of a standard door. I’ll be wincing at pound shop nylon flags draped on cars or people wearing face paints.

    My family weren’t sports viewers and we grew up without the presence of competitive sport anywhere in the house and with a healthy disinterest in people running round in rash inducing nylon. Surely there are more important things to put your competitive energy into like fighting for the right man, a good place to live or the killer job. I’ve sustained the disinterest and taken it to a slightly higher level (i.e. hatred of all sports). I just don’t get why people become such fanatical crazed monsters. My worst public transport nightmare isn’t the slurry drunk or the youth playing music and spitting. It’s the two men avidly discussing sport and becoming increasingly shouty and loud as their tempers and passions rise. I feel like I may as well be hearing a Martian language for all the sense it makes to me.

    I see the appeal of football for some gay men: men in skimpy shorts frolicking about on a field. That can be found elsewhere though. Why bother watching the game? Just take it to another level and search for one of the multitude of sport related porn flicks on the Internet. At least you don’t have to watch the dull bit and the action is more interesting than a few men kicking a ball to each other. If you’re unlucky the film will have a ‘plot’ a.k.a. a couple of South Londoners shouting across to each with lines they’re reading off a card whilst they ineptly kick a ball just before the shower scene when the fellatio starts.

    Last night I was kept awake till the early hours. I don’ t know what the result was but they were either happy/sad/angry/elated/disappointed. It seems to translate into the same way: drunken people shouting at 2am. I love that people have a passion but what the f**k? I get very excited by literary awards but you don’t catch me running down the High Street shouting about them in the small hours. It strikes me that sport lacks decorum at times.

    I can waffle on for hours about things I hate, like orange skinned W.A.G.s, bizarre hairstyles and hideous tattoos. I can bemoan overpaid dunderheads and managers in car coats. Let’s maybe just leave it that football is not my thing and I can choose to avoid it and will try really hard (except when I’m in the supermarket, looking at social media, in the street, at work, reading the news, on the train or anywhere out of the house at all when I can’t avoid it all as it’s being rammed down my throat). If you need me for the next month I’ll be in isolation with a pile of books and a pot of coffee or maybe partaking of my own particular sport: competitive complaining and griping.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Rock The Ballet, Peacock Theatre, London

    The Bad Boys of Dance’s new show “Rock the Ballet” bills itself as “a high-octane intersection of classical and contemporary set to a soundtrack of popular music”, so you wouldn’t be expecting much poetry or lyricism, and you’d be right. These dancers twist and turn and gyrate in a display of virtuososity, which is both breath-taking and exhausting to watch.

    That said, it got off to a rather slow start. The first act, labelled Beautiful Day, with the boys in casual jeans and polo shirts, tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to meld a boy meets girl, falls in love with girl, falls out and falls back in again storyline to a pop soundtrack of U2, Coldplay and Donny Hathaway.

    Choreographed by Adrienne Cantera, who also brilliantly danced the central female role, this first act didn’t really coalesce until the final U2 “Beautiful Day”, when finally Cantera and all the boys came together in a dazzling whirl of energy. It was here too that the choreography most matched the music it was set to. Till then there had been bursts of invention, punctuated by too many moments of what I can only describe as mark till ready filling in. I also rather unkindly w ondered if we got a bit too much of Canterra, superb though she is. After all it was the guys we had come to see, and this first act harked back to old fashioned glorification of the prima ballerina. Apart from a few thrilling sequences from James Boyd, the boys took something of a back seat.

    All this was put to rights in the second act, when all the boys were at last given their chance to shine, and there was no doubting it was the boys the audience had come to see. It opened with a darkly atmospheric rendering of Brotzjor’s “Olafur Ornald”, and I had rather hoped that this more lyrical opening was an indication of how things were to go. However it wasn’t long before we were back to the energetic, pumping pop of the first act, only this time it was sexier, the boys in tight black pants and white vests. In particular, Blake Zelesnikar, who had caught my eye in the first half, was finally given his moment, first in a sexy duet with Canterra and then on his own. Judging from the audience reception, and the screams of delight from some of the girls (and no doubt some of the boys), I wasn’t the only one to notice him. This boy has sexual charisma in spades. James Boyd too got some amazing solo work in this half, and was the first one to show off his rippling torso. When all the guys finally got their shirts off and danced topless, there was no doubting that this is what the audience had come to see. It was also at this point my critical faculties deserted me. So who cares if it’s not exactly artistic? When Zelesnikar is flexing his muscular torso, nothing else seems to matter. Putting their jackets back on, they came out for an encore of (fittingly) “Sexy and I know it”, one by one stripping off their jackets again and flirting with the audience. By this time everyone was screaming for more, and I couldn’t really blame them.

    It’s not a show that’s likely to appeal to dance purists, and in all honesty it’s a bit safe, especially when you consider what Michael Clark was doing to pop music twenty odd years ago. But if you want to see some sexy boys, strutting their stuff and showing off their virtuosity (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) then this is the show for you.

    Rock the Ballet runs until June 28th at the Peacock Theatre.

    3 stars for the show (that’s the critic in me)
    5 stars for Zelesnikar (OK, so I can be shallow.)

  • INTERVIEW | Cory Krueckeberg

    Getting Go – The Go-Doc Project is one of the hottest and sexiest independent films we have seen in a very long time and it is finally being released here on DVD and VOD. To celebrate we caught up with Cory Krueckeberg, the director and writer who sat down with THEGAYUK to give us this exclusive interview.

    Firstly congratulations on the film that THEGAYUK review was happy to give a well-deserved 5 out 5 rating. We are intrigued to know how you actually came to making this film in the first place.
    Well, the whole process of getting a movie off the ground can take years and requires not only a lot of money but a great deal of patience too. I had many projects in the works but was getting so frustrated with waiting so I pitched the idea of Getting Go to Tom (Gustafson) my filmmaking partner as something to do whilst we waited.

    We raised $10,000 quickly via Kickstarter, and polished off a script and then he and I spent the summer filming. Just us, the two actors, and no crew whatsoever. Real hard-core guerilla filming at its best.

    And where did the idea of the slightly nerdy film student boy pursuing this hot go-go dancer that he obsesses over come from?
    To be honest, it was slightly autobiographical, as I had spotted someone online that was as hot as Go and I was thinking about how to meet him, but the way it panned out in the movie, especially the hot make-out scene, was purely fictional.

    Are you sure?
    Sadly yes! Lol.

    And how did you find your two leading actors who were so key to the success of this film?
    Well, I found Matthew Camp online via a NY nightlife blog and I reached out to him with a very similar email as Doc does in the film. I quickly discovered that beyond the dancing he is also a successful clothing designer and a very committed artist and he was more than happy to come onboard once I outlined my idea to him. Tanner Cohen had worked with us before and starred in ’Were the World Mine’ and was a natural fit as Doc once we had signed up Matthew.

    There was not only a great on-screen chemistry between the two actors, but all of their scenes were very fluid. Were you shooting from an actual script or just an outline?
    A little of both. It seemed natural to let them improvise at times especially when they both got so into their characters.

    How important was it to you that the two men were more multi-dimensional than we could have expected in a low budget film of this genre?
    Well with Matthew in particular as he is an artist off the screen it seemed an easy fit to make that part of his character. I also always look for something in culture to help root my movies in real life and in this case I was doing a wee homage to Warhol which seemed very relevant also in how this film was being made.

    The lovemaking scene was tender, extremely sensual and very hot. Was that easy for the actors to play?
    Matthew wanted to shoot that scene right away to get it over and done with, but Tanner favoured leaving it to the end hoping that the connection they made by then would propel them along.

    Well, who won?
    We actually filmed the entire movie in sequence as you see it on the screen, which is a very rare organic thing to do.

    Well, it certainly worked as by the time that these two very different characters were getting down to it, we were all rooting for them to succeed.
    Thank you.

    You mentioned your reasons for why this was made on a micro-budget using video cameras and even laptops to feel, but did you have any sense at the beginning of this whole project that the end product would be hailed as part of this breakthrough of new queer cinema?
    We set out to make something that was both informing and entertaining but more importantly to me we treated their sexuality as part of their psyche and not what totally defined who these men are. That made it much easier for audiences to relate to them and the fact as characters they were very related.

    And why do this story in particular?
    This story follows a path we all wish we could take. To come face to face, body to body, with our obsessions, our idols… and I felt this particular connecting of a naively academic country boy to the object of his desire, who turns out to be a nuanced, thoughtfully provocative soul, could satisfy the audience’s need for both sex and substance.

    Oh, and I wanted to meet Matthew Camp.

    GETTING GO is out on DVD and on demand from Peccadillo Pictures. It can be ordered now from Amazon.

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