‘Gay moment’ generates buzz
Actor, director proud of scene that has stirred controversy in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
To be clear: Brokeback Mountain, this isn’t.
The so-called “gay moment” in Disney’s new live-action version of Beauty and the Beast is subtle — so subtle that one could easily miss it with an ill-timed sneeze or glance away from the screen. And it may sail over the heads of young viewers.
But the cast and director say it is indeed a gay moment — one they’re proud of. And advocates are calling it a big step forward for Disney and for youth entertainment.
Mere word of it was also enough to lead one Alabama drive-in theatre to cancel plans to show the film.
The scene in question involves the character of LeFou (Josh Gad), the timid and lovable sidekick to the preening villain Gaston (Luke Evans). Without spoiling too much, it’s safe to say that LeFou spends much of the film in Gaston’s thrall, and toward the end has a moment — a few seconds, really — where the same-sex theme is more overt.
At the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Thursday evening, Gad said he was “very proud” of the scene.
“(Director) Bill Condon did an amazing job of giving us an opportunity to create a version of LeFou that isn’t like the original . . . but that makes him more human and makes him a wonderfully complex character to some extent,” he said.
“And there’s a moment at the end of the film that I don’t want to ruin . . . because I want the surprise to be intact, but I’m very proud of it. I think it’s an incredible moment and it’s subtle, but I think it’s effective.”
Condon suggested that descriptions of LeFou as the first Disney gay character go too far.
“I keep saying it’s more like the first gay moment,” he said. “Because I think it’s a very fluid character.
“You can’t help but wonder in his adoration of Gaston . . . (is there) something more going on?”
The length of the scene — or scenes, since LeFou’s fluid orientation is hinted at elsewhere — is not what’s important, said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy group.
“It’s a wonderful step forward,” she said. “And this is incredibly important for the youth of today. They need to see themselves reflected in the media they consume. More and more, as studios want to appeal to youth audiences, they’re going to have to include LGBTQ storylines and characters.”
Ellis noted that in the annual survey
One Direction member arrested in airport scuffle
LOS ANGELES — One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has been arrested for allegedly attacking a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport, an incident the singer’s lawyer described as “provoked” by paparazzi.
The incident happened Friday after Tomlinson, arriving on a flight with his girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, asked a photographer to stop filming.
Police responded and took Tomlinson into custody. He was later released, with a court date set for March 29.
Martin Singer, his lawyer, in a statement said the paparazzi “provoked and caused the altercation” and that Tomlinson came to his girlfriend’s defence after she was being “attacked.” that GLAAD puts together on LGBTQ inclusion in movies, “we have struggled year after year to find any content in major studio films. We’re usually the punching bag or the laughingstock. So this is an enormous step forward for us.”
In the past, many have speculated on what they see as “coded” gay characters, or winking references to gay characters or themes in Disney and other youth-oriented films.
Ellis said the difference here is that “we’re moving from coded, where you have to put together the pieces, to this being in the spotlight . . . It shows the direction America is moving in.”
Evans said the scene in question is “about unity. It’s about never judging a book by its cover, but digging a little deeper and understanding to not be fearful of things you don’t know, people that are a little different to you. Fear is not a good thing to fuel.” African-American high school in western North Carolina west of Asheville.
When finished, the 6.5-acre property will provide multiple services, from a music centre to counselling for people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
Nap time moves to high school with ‘sleep pods’
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Taking a power nap has never been easier for some high school students in New Mexico.
“Sleep pods” have been installed at a few high schools in the Las Cruces area. KRQE reports that the pods let students lie on a recliner while listening to music as colourful lights shine inside.
Linda Summers is an associate professor at New Mexico State University. She wrote a federal grant that awarded the college $128,000, and the university donated the pods to the high schools. At the time, the pods cost $14,000.
Summers tells KVIA that they’ve found agitated adolescents responded well to the sleep pods. She says they could be having an argument with someone, go into the pod for 20 minutes and be able to return to class.