A Taste of Sassoon

We still don't have a trailer or a U.S. release date for Terence Davies' forthcoming flick Benediction with a lovely Jack Lowden in the lead (playing the real-life WWI-era gay poet Siegfried Sassoon), but we've got a poster now so it can only be a matter of moments until we have those other things I think. I reviewed the film right here when it screened at TIFF -- I love love loved it. So stay tuned for more whenever they decide to give us more...

The Hell Where Youth and Laughter Go

My most anticipated movie out of TIFF -- since I wasn't able to virtually screen either Dune of Last Night in Soho anyway -- was Terence Davies' gay poet biopic Benediction, and I am very happy to report that it did not disappoint! My review went up at Pajiba this afternoon, check it out right here. God I loved writing about this one. Anyway that new photo from the set seen above was shared by Jack Lowden on his Instagram earlier today -- that's him alongside his co-star in cattiness Jeremy Irvine, of course. No word on when this movie is getting an actual U.S. release yet, but I will surely keep y'all informed. Beautiful and moving motion picture, this one.

Fancy Boys

I've been keeping hard track of Terence Davies' forthcoming old-timey gay flick Benediction ever since I first heard tell of it being a thing way back in January of 2020 -- a thing that was going to star hot-ging Jack Lowden as the WWI-vet turned poet Siegfried Sassoon and Jeremy Irvine as his gay boyfriend famous-actor Ivor Novello. You can see all the posts so far here. Anyway it's just been announced the movie will premiere at the Toronto International Film Fest in September, and with that announcement came these two new and official photos of the boys wearing tuxes and looking gorg. I approve this message!

Jeremy Irvine's One Man Gay Agenda

I am of mixed mind on the subject of LGBT characters requiring LGBT actors to portray them, but at a certain point it gets a little much for a not-out actor to keep taking on like one thousand gay roles without saying anything, and so I have to admit I am side-eyeing the news that actor Jeremy Irvine, who threw the first brick at Stonewall according to Roland Emmerich, is probably going to play Alan Scott, the openly gay Green Lantern character in the forthcoming HBO Max series. Yes this is the same series from Greg Berlanti that recently cast Finn Wittrock as another Green Lantern -- there will be time-jumping apparently...

"Scott was Earth’s first Green Lantern, who, true to the comics, is a gay man. He was created by Martin Nodell and made his comic book debut in 1940. A train engineer by trade, Scott derived his powers from a mystical green lantern crafted from a mysterious meteorite. He later joined the Justice Society of America, and in universe-hopping adventures would sometimes team with members of the Green Lantern Corps, including Hal Jordan. Based on the DC Comics property, the show was first announced in 2019 and was ordered to series last year. The story spans decades and galaxies, beginning on Earth in 1941 with Scott, and then heading to 1984 with cocky alpha male Gardner and half-alien Bree Jarta. They’ll be joined by a multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes."

And, listen. If it was just the one role (this year) playing a gay man maybe I wouldn't say anything. But Jeremy Irvine is ALSO playing a gay man in Terence Davies next movie called Benediction, which I've talked here about several times before -- he's playing Ivor Novello, real-world sexually-conflicted movie-star and the lover of this film's main character, the poet Siegfried Sassoon (who's being played by Jack Lowden, current boyfriend of Saoirse Ronan and future boyfriend of me). This is just getting to be a lot without addressing the pink elephant in the room, Jeremy!

I'm not the biggest fan of poking around in an actor's personal life -- I gave up most gossip of that sort awhile back and it's suited me just fine. I have no idea if Irvine is actually gay or not, and I'm not trying to shove him out of any closet if he is. Maybe -- and this is hardly a stretch! -- the Roland Emmerichs and Terence Davies and Greg Berlantis of the world just like to stare at Jeremy Irvine. Like I said -- not a stretch! I sure like to stare at Jeremy Irvine myself. 

But I feel as if we've traveled passed the rainbow rubicon with this dude at this point -- especially after the vociferous pushback that Stonewall got for feeling so white and weirdly un-gay (not to mention terrible, just terrible) -- and Jeremy Irvine needs to have some kind of a talk with us all at some point in 2021. I look forward to it, Jeremy! And until then we'll spend some more time doing what we normally do, just sitting quietly and politely and staring at you, after the jump...

Another Taste of Benediction

Earlier this afternoon on his Instagram the actor and Saoirse-beau Jack Lowden was kind enough to share with us the above snap from the shooting of his film Benediction with director Terence Davies -- that's the great Simon Russell Beale he's dancing with, who's obviously been around forever but will always and forever be the prissy ginger poof Ferdinand Lyle from Penny Dreadful to me. Benediction we have talked about a'plenty at this point -- it's the bio-pic of the homosexual WWII-era poet Seigfried Sassoon that co-stars Jeremy Irvine as famed old-timey actor (and rumored lover) Ivor Novello; see some pics of him on a horse on set here! And here's a photo of Jack trying on a uniform! This movie will have it all, it seems! All if it! Everything!

Pic of the Day

Actor and Saoirse-beau Jack Lowden this morning shared this photo of his latest costume fitting for Terence Davies' upcoming biopic Benediction, about the poet and noted homosexual Siegfried Sassoon -- we've posted on this film a couple of times previously, to announce it here and then to share the first official photo from it here. That second link also came with a few set photos, including ones of Jeremy Irvine, who's playing the actor and also noted homosexual Ivor Novello and yes, one can assume their affair figures prominently into the story here, since I have faith the openly gay Terence Davies won't let us down. Anyway I am surprised filming is still happening on this -- those early set photos were from November! Quite the shoot!

Pics of the Day

Oh and speaking of beautiful actors in uniform (as I just was five minutes ago) former Dunkirk Twink and current Saoirse beau Jack Lowden has just shared with us this the first photograph of him in the movie Benediction, a movie which we're real excited about! We posted about it back in January when it was first announced (ha, remember January? Me neither) -- it's the new film from Terence Davies, and it has Jack playing WWI-fighter turned poet Seigfried Sassoon. The important bit being that Sassoon was gay and had an affair with the actor Ivor Novello, which brings me to the following news which I'd missed until now...

... that Novello will be played in the film by the actor Jeremy Irvine. In fact I'd guess the following photos that Jeremy posted five weeks ago on his Insta were probably from the filming of this (Deadline reports today that filming has just now ended, after COVID delayed everything) giving us a look at him in character:

Also of note! Siegried Sassoon also had an affair with an actor named Glen Byam Shaw, who was Ivor Novello's former lover -- it's not really surprising that these things got incestuous, because things still get incestuous in the gay community even now and it's far far easier to find other homosexuals now than it was back then. Anyway Shaw is a character in the film too, and he's being played by Tom Blyth, a relatively new young actor, but Blyth's Instagram offers us a look at him in character too:

With a little digging you can dig up half a film these days! 

Alongside this photo Blyth shares this info:

"I was going for DiCaprio in Gatsby but [Jeremy Irvine] reckons I captured more of a “Richard E. Grant in Withnail And I”... which is, y’know, a bit less flattering and makes me question my imitation skills."

Everybody's Altar Boy Jeremy Irvine

.

Jeremy Irvine really came super close to capturing the essence of my mood with that photo, although it could use just a hint more drool and panic. Note to self: Drool and Panic is the best autobiography title you've come up with yet. All the drool and panic aside I am only now a week late seeing the below photo of Jeremy hanging out in tuxedos with the dueling hot priests James Norton and Andrew Scott, which seems absurd...

... you'd think the second this photo was taken all of my limbs would have immediately fallen off my body or something equally appropriately momentous? I suppose it's for the best. I like having limbs. Anyway (yes I am reaching the goofy state of mind time of day, why do you ask) if y'all want to Do Dump or Marry this photo in the comments I wouldn't be against that necessary distraction...
.

Good Morning, World

.

Morning and happy Monday y'all -- it's the last week of Pride Month (Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots here in NYC) and what better way to kick it off than with the twink who threw the first brick at Stonewall, Jeremy Irvine... send your hate mail care of Roland Emmerich, cuz I still haven't even seen this whole damn movie okay? Okay. All I know is I'd like that beer that Jeremy's holding, and then we can work out what else I'm gonna put my hands on from there. On that note, happy Pride! (pic via)
.

View this post on Instagram

Since I was in the neighborhood #stonewall50 #gaypride

A post shared by Jason Adams (@jasonaadams) on Jun 23, 2019 at 12:42pm PDT

Do Dump or Marry: Mamma Mia Babies

.

I posted a picture of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again's younger stud contingent Jeremy Irvine and Hugh Skinner and Josh Dylan (mooning in the background there) in the bath together last week but what I should have done was post a "Do Dump or Marry" post -- I suppose it makes more sense this week though, specifically for those of you who've seen the movie, because otherwise they're just kinda three similar white dudes on their own. But perhaps they have individual personalities? All I know...

... is that Jeremy Irvine has been real helpful in giving 

us gratuitous Mamma Mia content via his Instagram,

and for that we're thankful. Thanks, Jeremy!

Here's a clear picture of our threesome:

Now make like you're Lily James and pick! Oh wait... isn't the whole idea of the Mamma Mia universe that she doesn't pick, she just fucks everybody? Dammit! Just for today don't be like Lily James, okay? 

Good Morning, Mamma's Boys

.

Thanks to Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again star Jeremy Irvine for sharing this shot of himself and his co-stars Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner having some bath-time fun after the grueling interview rounds. Jeremy plays Young Pierce Brosnan, and Dylan plays Young Stellan Skarsgård, while Skinner plays Young Colin Firth. Even though MM2's gotten far better reviews than its predecessor (well except for the New York Times) I doubt I'll ever see it - hell I've never seen the original and that's the one with half-naked Dominic Cooper in it. Still I'm glad that ABBA music gets a showcase because ABBA music rules (I'm waiting for the Muriel's Wedding musical to play New York myself) and I'm also glad the boys got to have some hotel-room fun. Glad, glad, glad.

What Do You Think...

.

... Richard Madden whispered 

in Jeremy Irvine's ear? (via)

.

Today's Fanboy Delusion

Today I'd rather be...

... parking with Jeremy Irvine & Karl Glusman.

I think these two have... intentions!

Yup.

They sure do.

I still haven't bothered watching Stonewall but I saw this scene going around on Tumblr and I wanted in on that action. It's been out on home video for a bit - have any of you bothered catching it yet?

Taken out of context this scene, at least on a visual level, is an appealing sight. I'm sure Roland Emmerich ruins all of that once dreaded context is layered over it, but let's at least enjoy this much, here and now.

The way God intended.

Good Morning, World

.

Stonewall came and went and it seems like everybody would rather just forget the experience so god forbid I peel off the scab but I stumbled upon this shot of star Jeremy Irvine in just tighty-whities the other day (it's from this behind-the-scenes video on the set) and you know what, fuck it, I am posting this. I didn't see the film so I can't say whether the furor that greeted it was on point or not but this image is only about love, not hate, and acceptance, not rejection. Feel the love, y'all.

.

Jeremy Irvine Wishes You...

.

... a happy weekend. Also

are there any good movies out, he wonders?

Stonewall aside (and that's apparently a big aside, judging by the ridiculous online hysteria the destined-for-awfulness flick's faced) there are a few movies of interest in theaters this weekend -- I reviewed Mississippi Grand, which is terrific, plus there's both Eli Roth's The Green Inferno and Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes, both of which I've been dying to see for ages...

... but I'm gonna be so busy with New York Film Fest stuff I don't know when I'll be able to go. Before the weekend is through I'll have seen Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster (TWICE!), Robert Zemeckis' The Walk, and Ridley Scott's The Martian. Wowza. And speaking of NYFF, there will actually be updates here on the blog over the weekend as my first few reviews from the festival go live over at The Film Experience. I will keep you tuned! 

I Quit Smoking Seven Years Ago Today

.

Tis that time of year again, when my allergies are in full bloom and I celebrate the memory of the days when I purposefully made them worse by sucking down carcinogens. It's now been seven whole years since I touched a cigarette, and it's gotten to the point where I don't even think about having been a smoker any more - indeed it seems strange to me, an echo from another person. My many past lives!

This annual post was what I was cryptically referring to in that "Hugh Dancy is smoking in bed" post I did this morning, in case that wasn't clear. In case you're new to this - every year we post a gallery of pictures of hot dudes smoking to commemorate the anniversary of my quitting. You can see Year 1 right here, you can see Year 2 right here, you can see Year 3 right here, you can see Year 4 right here, and you can see Year 5 right here, and you can see Year 6 right here.

I don't miss cigarettes, but as I say every year that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the beauty of a beautiful man putting it between his lips and... you know the rest. Hit the jump for lots more...

Good Morning, Gratuitous Jeremy Irvine

.

Two days in a row with Jeremy! What a lark. What a coup. What a whimsy! Well yesterday's underwear-extravaganza sent me off on a little scavenger hunt and it turns out Jeremy's been posing for some very agreeable photo-shoots as of late...

... which we really need to share. Seeing as how we've shot our gratuitous load with Jeremy a couple times previously (yesterday and then this post from June) this post's slightly smaller than usual, but I think it will do you just fine. Hit the jump for over 20 more...

Good Morning, World

.

You know, I remember hearing rumblings when Beyond the Reach came out that it had something to do with its leading man getting stripped down in the desert and chased by Michael Douglas, but for some reason I was distracted, and didn't really pay much note.

I choose to believe I didn't know it was Jeremy Irvine getting stripped down, because I'd like to think I would've made a mental note of that. So Beyond the Reach really is what I said it's about, and Jeremy Irvine spends nearly the entire movie in some state of undress. And don't worry, the War Horse star is 25 now - it's okay to look, and look hard.

I didn't cap the entire movie - even though I could have, he is really undressed that much - but I did cap this entire scene where he strips down. You'll find over 40 pics after the jump...

I Am Link

.

--- Mount Hunnam - If I'm seeing the words "Charlie Hunnam" and "Mountain" in the title of an article I either want the story to be telling me that Charlie Hunnam is going to star in a 300 million dollar At the Mountains of Madness movie for Guillermo Del Toro, or I want to hear that Charlie Hunnam's mountain of buns are on view. One of those two! None of this "Charlie Hunnam and Margot Robbie are playing stranded (but sexy!) plane crash survivors in a movie called The Mountain Between Us."

--- Rave On - I hope to see Eden, the movie about the club scene in the 1990s from director Mia Hansen-Løve and co-starring Greta Gerwig and Brady Corbet, at the New York Film Festival in a couple of weeks, but it's also showing at TIFF and so we've got the first trailer now, which you can see here. Greta Greta Greta! Although I fear Greta's part is smaller (much smaller) than I'd like judging from the trailer. But then unless the movie's called Frances Ha 2: The ReFrancesIng it's never gonna be enough Greta for me.

--- Super Skirt - TV producer Greg Berlanti - who dates out soccer player Robbie Rogers (that's the adorable couple there) and is therefore luckier than most of us before we even get to his professional successes - is swiveling from his good fortune with boys in spandex (like Arrow) to finally try and give us a girl one. A super girl one. Yup we're talking Supergirl, which is so well past overdue at this point I really feel as if I can't even give him a ton of credit for finally giving it the extra push into possibility. I mean really, what the hell has taken these fools so long? Although as I said on Twitter, Supergirl is nothing without Faye Dunaway. So they need to hire her. And while they're at it, Hart Bochner can probably still fit into those jeans.

--- Lonely Planet - I'm pretty excited about The Martian on paper at least - an adaptation by Buffy and Cabin in the Woods' Drew Goddard of the best-selling book by Andy Weir, to be directed by Ridley Scott, it's about a man stranded on the red planet it's already set to star Matt Damon, and now comes word that Jessica Chastain and Kristen Wiig are in talks to be his co-stars. Although not having read the book (should I? Have any of you?) I had been picturing something closer to Gravity with a lone protagonist so I'm not sure where all these admittedly awesome ladies are fitting in.

--- Ghost House - The second The Woman in Black movie just got snapped up in Toronto, so we'll probably see it some time next year; it's set forty years after the first one during WWII, when a group of children are evacuated from the bombings out to the scary house in the marsh we've come to know and love so well after the original TV film and the surprisingly good remake with Danny Radcliffe. So many creaky boards! I actually think that's a fab idea for the sequel though, and now I'm looking forward to it not just for pretty Jeremy Irvine.

--- Gummy Drop Lane - I've been looking forward to reading Neil Gaiman's take on Hansel & Gretel for awhile now - it comes out on October 28th, just in time to stuff your Halloween stockings! - and I'm not at all surprised to read that it's already being optioned for a movie. Isn't it weird that H&G has never been turned into a decent movie? No, the stoner one with Lara Flynn Boyle does not count.

--- Get Filthy - John Waters has been making the media rounds this week since his big retrospective begins tonight here in New York (I'll be there with my cha-cha heels on!) - I linked to that interview he did with The Dissolve earlier this week, but here's one with The New York Times and here's one with TimeOut and here's one in the latest issue of Interview magazine. I could go on and on and on, but I have places to be, darling... like at John's side tonight. SO EXCITED.

.