Interesting article about celebrity gay gossip. Discusses Jake Gyllenhaal.

[silkncense]

Does anyone know at what age Ian McKellen came out as gay?  I seem to recall it was not when he was a young actor.  Also, was he ever a leading man type in films? 

I also wonder, based on the number of people who refused to see Brokeback Mountain & the number of complaints received by the Academy about it even being nominated for Best picture, if it isn't realistic for gay actors to be wary of loosing parts &/or popularity if they come out.

If there was no bigotry in this country towards gays, there would be no worry professionally & there would also be gay marriages in every state.

[ednbarby]

Does anyone know at what age Ian McKellen came out as gay?  I seem to recall it was not when he was a young actor.  Also, was he ever a leading man type in films? 

I also wonder, based on the number of people who refused to see Brokeback Mountain & the number of complaints received by the Academy about it even nominated for Best picture, if it isn't realistic for gay actors to be wary of lossing parts &/or popularity if they come out.

If there were no bigotry in this country towards gays, there would be no worry professionally & there would also be gay marriages in every state.

Amen to that.  As always, LJ, you've hit the proverbial nail on the head.  It irritated me how McKellan sat in judgment of Jake like that when in fact he didn't come out professionally until relatively late in his career - as if he's the epitome of the truly authentic openly gay actor and always has been.  Please.  And yes, considering all the horseshit we've all witnessed and they've had put up with on various levels since its release (and it ain't over), it's readily apparent that Hollywood is nowhere near accepting openly gay actors as completely equal players on the leading man field.

[delalluvia]

Interesting article, thanks for posting.  Yeah, I remember Ian McKellan's remarks.  We discussed it at length on IMDb.  I felt pretty much that Ian McKellan, lauded thespian elder and knight of the realm, should take it easy on those who are just starting out in their careers.

[serious crayons]

It irritated me how McKellan sat in judgment of Jake like that when in fact he didn't come out professionally until relatively late in his career - as if he's the epitome of the truly authentic openly gay actor and always has been. 

I remembered discussing this before, got curious, and did a search. Here's an earlier BetterMost thread:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=226.0

And here's a link to a (very brief) article about Ian McKellen's remarks:

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/mckellen%20blasts%20gyllenhaal_30_03_2006

My opinion hasn't changed much since then. The details are too disjointed and out of context to be very trustworthy. Ian McKellen's remarks are abbreviated, Jake isn't quoted directly, etc. etc.

Yeah, but female roles tend to be de-sexed at a younger age than male roles do, anyway.

To say the least.

But I think the problem is homophobia rather than what straight women or straight men find attractive. ... I would like to call it by name, and not pretend like it's some kind of natural behavior.

Sure. But I think that particular issue goes beyond what straight audiences do or don't find attractive. It's about what studio honchos THINK straight audiences will find attractive, or even what the star thinks that studio honchos think that audiences think ... And everyone could easily be wrong. They were in the case of BBM, hunh?

[Brown Eyes]

I think that particular issue goes beyond what straight audiences do or don't find attractive. It's about what studio honchos THINK straight audiences will find attractive, or even what the star thinks that studio honchos think that audiences think ... And everyone could easily be wrong. They were in the case of BBM, hunh?

Very nicely put, Bud.  I quite agree.  I don't know what to think about the Ian/ Jake controversy.  The fact that there was a controversy was disappointing to me... but I think you're right that what I know about the controversy is too mediated/ chopped-up/ third-hand, etc.  I really like Ian Mckellen and I'm guessing that some of this situation is taken out of context by the media.

[Mikaela]

Thanks for posting the links. I was off the net for most of March and April and hadn't seen a word about this online - but of course it had to have been picked up and discussed!  I know I bristled quite a bit when I read that magazine - others would have reacted as well.

I think Ian McKellen is entitled to his opinion and to make the comment.  It just surprises me that he didn't rather choose to focus on the obviously positive aspects of BBM and of Jake's performance. The article was of the in-depth kind that I fully assume Empire would have let him read before it was printed, so I don't think they picked some random and out-of-context statement of his in order just to include it for its "controversial value".

[serious crayons]

The article was of the in-depth kind that I fully assume Empire would have let him read before it was printed, so I don't think they picked some random and out-of-context statement of his in order just to include it for its "controversial value".

I don't know anything about Empire, though as a journalist I can say I rarely let subjects read profiles before they're published. On the other hand, I never interview big movie stars, so maybe the arrangement then is different. On still another hand, if I were to let someone read their profile, it would be because it was a private, publicity-shy person talking about something very personal, not a celebrity who is used to being in print, chatting about movies.

Anyway, assuming McKellen did say that and the remark is not out of context, the comparison of Jake kissing Heath to him kissing Helen Mirren is not a good analogy. On the larger scale, it is no doubt much harder to come out as a gay actor than it is for a straight actor to play a gay man in a movie. But as far as kissing specifically, the cultural reaction to two straight men kissing is much different than it is to a gay man kissing a woman. Nobody's going to ask McKellen 15 times a day what it was like to kiss Helen Mirren.

[ednbarby]

Nobody's going to ask McKellen 15 times a day what it was like to kiss Helen Mirren.

Ain't DAT the truth???!!!

Perhaps they should.  Or better yet, perhaps they shouldn't ask either question in the first place as they are both utterly assinine.

[silkncense]

the comparison of Jake kissing Heath to him kissing Helen Mirren is not a good analogy.

I thought Sir Ian made his point, that as a gay man, kissing a woman was not comfortable to him just as Jake as a straight man would feel kissing another man was not comfortable (presumably).

However, the point is well made that no one questions how a male actor feels kissing a female actor.  And, it is perfectly natural that just because two people are of the opposite sex they may not have any attraction whatsoever for each other.  Jake has stated that he has been attracted to some film 'love interests' that people would find surprising & not attracted to others that people would assume he would find attractive. 

Barb - thanks. 

[serious crayons]

I thought Sir Ian made his point, that as a gay man, kissing a woman was not comfortable to him just as Jake as a straight man would feel kissing another man was not comfortable (presumably).

Right, I got that. And that's probably true, from a pure sexual-attraction standpoint and in a generalized way (given that individuals differ). But what I meant is that, in addition to Jake's attraction to Heath or lack thereof, he's also confronting a cultural taboo that Ian is not. So yeah, even though we may think the taboo shouldn't exist, for now it nevertheless does, and that's going to make Jake's experience different, and potentially more uncomfortable.

Still, you're right Barb, the question is pretty inane. I keep thinking think this TV interview I happened to see with Jake, right after he made "The Day After Tomorrow," in which he talked about filming the flood scenes. The water was deep and cold and dirty in the first place, and then the cast wasn't given many bathroom breaks, so pretty soon it also was filled with pee, and they did a lot of takes and things so they all had to stand there for hours ... It sounded pretty nightmarish.

Yet I bet he didn't get asked about THAT 15 times a day.