RED WHITE and ROYAL BLUE

[+ sync]

I broke and took the Amazon Prime offer in order to view RW&RB, and I'm glad I did it.

I loved the movie each time I ran it (three times thus far).  The last two times I activated the closed caption option because there were times when I just couldn't hear/understand the more subtle utterings.

There were three times I actually got teary, when Alex returned to London and he and Henry ran to each other on the stairs, when the supportive crowd gathered outside the palace, and when the Presidential race was called for Claremont's re-election.

I pondered a good long time about which of the thirst traps I would want for myself.  They both always looked freshly showered and groomed, a look that grabs me every time.  Alex certainly owns the tall, dark, and handsome, however, I went for Henry.  In addition to his good looks, he has a sexy swagger in his walk, charming demeanor, disarming British speech, athletic ability, and piano skills...hold me back!

One little disappointment for me was the lack of the appearance of a real connection between Henry and his dog David.  Perhaps that is just me projecting my own concept of dog ownership.

[+ jeezopete]

15 hours ago, sync said:

There were three times I actually got teary

"We're gonna need some pizza." is the part that gets me every damn time!  🥲

[+ stevenkesslar]

On 9/6/2023 at 7:13 PM, sync said:

One little disappointment for me was the lack of the appearance of a real connection between Henry and his dog David.  Perhaps that is just me projecting my own concept of dog ownership.

 

Go ahead.  Project all you want.  I saw the bottom picture on some fan website and thought it was adorable.  When I just Goggled "Nicholas Galitzine dog" it of course turns out there's a website for that.  There are lots more if you Google it.

NICHOLAS GALITZINE'S PETS

Glad the movie moved you as much as it did me.  I guess in the film Nick had no time for the dog.  He was too busy pawing Taylor.  😉

[+ sync]

29 minutes ago, stevenkesslar said:

 

Go ahead.  Project all you want.  I saw the bottom picture on some fan website and thought it was adorable.  When I just Goggled "Nicholas Galitzine dog" it of course turns out there's a website for that.  There are lots more if you Google it.

NICHOLAS GALITZINE'S PETS

Glad the movie moved you as much as it did me.  I guess in the film Nick had no time for the dog.  He was too busy pawing Taylor.  😉

Many thanks.  This completes my obsession with "Prince Henry."  🥰

[+ sync]

14 hours ago, sync said:

Many thanks.  This completes my obsession with "Prince Henry."  🥰

Well, it happened again this morning.  While snooping around Amazon Prime I happened upon the movie "Cinderella" featuring (sigh) Nicholas Galitzine.

Unbelievable, he has been a competitive rugby player, he plays guitar/piano/violin, speaks Greek fluently, comes from a titled family, is a high-end fashion model, an able singer, an animal lover/supporter, and probably many other achievements of which I'm not aware.

This is one of the most intense infatuations I've ecperienced.  I hope it ends, or at least diminishes soon...so I can get on to the next one. 😄

 

[+ sync]

I'm just curious to know if anyone else was taken by the music in RW&RB.  The lush orchestrations and their variations throughout the film really enhanced it for me.  🙃

Also, kudos to Taylor Zakhar Perez for keeping his concentration during the love scene with Nicholas Galitzine.  I would have licked and sucked Galitzine until he disappeared.  😛

I hope the sequel doesn't screw it up, as most sequels do.  🫤

[pubic_assistance]

On 8/30/2023 at 12:57 PM, dutchal said:

‘Did Kit Connor’s Experience Also Teach People Nothing’: Scrutiny Over 'Red, White and Royal Blue's Taylor Zakhar Perez’s Sexuality Is History Repeating Itself

WEGOTTHISCOVERED.COM

---

The 'Red, White & Royal Blue' star remains vigilant with his privacy, but how long can he hold out?

 

I hope he learned his lesson from Kit Connor and tells everyone to piss-off. Actors have a right to privacy, same as everyone else. ( Abeit I will allow the often cited exception for homophoic hypocrites).

[BSR]

54 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

I hope he learned his lesson from Kit Connor and tells everyone to piss-off. Actors have a right to privacy, same as everyone else. ( Abeit I will allow the often cited exception for homophoic hypocrites).

I find the obsession to know all about an actor's private life rather creepy and sad.  "Creepy" because such obsession is stalkerish, "sad" because an obsessed fan has absolutely zero chance of dating Alex Zakhar Pérez, regardless of his sexual orientation, because AZP is light-years outta their league.

Edited September 16, 2023 by BSR
Added last bit

[+ stevenkesslar]

7 hours ago, BSR said:

I find the obsession to know all about an actor's private life rather creepy and sad.

Then again.

‘Bros’ star Luke Macfarlane on coming out: Honesty is more important than Hollywood

Quote

“I think so many of the people I saw were tortured and ruined by the lies that they had to tell,” Macfarlane — who came out in 2008 — tells us. “Hollywood is very important, work is very important but I think being honest is much more important.”

I think I must have missed it.  When did "honesty" become "creepy"?  At least from a Gay actor's perspective?

It is interesting that in the interview above McFarlane argued being Gay got him roles.  Which I guess makes sense, if we are talking about Bros.  When I first read that article a month ago, because I was really happy about the positive impact RWRB is having on Gays and Bi's in Hollywood, it felt savvy but not quite true for McFarlane to say being Gay is somehow a positive in Hollywood these days. 

When I Googled to find the article above again, I found this other one where McFarlane talks about the other side of the coin. Like, sorry.  Why would anyone actually cast a Gay man as Superman?  Like really?  GAY?  Like GAY?  Superman?  GAY?  Come on.  WTF?  Everyone knows Superman can't be a homo, right?  Next thing you know we'll have Gay princes and shit!

So that is the world we live in.  Still.  But apparently McFarlane doesn't think it's "creepy" to be honest about being Gay. 

In the same article, he was asked about his romantic life, and he answered like this:

Quote

“I’m not going to talk about that at all,” he exclaimed. “I give you my performance and you give me my privacy!”

Arguably, the first quote contradicts the second.  But I think McFarlane is one of many Gay actors who are poster children for how to do it right.  Now that he is a Daddy, in real life, it is kind of hard to hide that, too.  So like every Straight star in Hollywood who is know for treasuring family privacy (Matt Damon comes to mind), he makes whatever accommodations he makes to let fans know some things.

What seems really ridiculous to me is the idea that fans should not be fans, and Hollywood should not be Hollywood.  I just hope, like McFarlane does, Gays and Bi's can now fit more openly into the system as it has always been. 

Kit O'Connor can't be used as fodder for any "one size fits all" solution.  There is a big difference between being 18, and being a 31 year old Gay married man.  Lots of the biggest Gay stars, like McFarlane,  seem to have come out in their late 20's. Which makes sense to me.

The push me/pull me they express between wanting to be honest and also be a Gay or Bi role model, on the one hand, but not wanting to destroy their careers, on the other hand, also makes sense.  The problem is not that actors want to be honest about being Gay.  The problem is they feel being honest about being Gay could destroy their career.  Again, though, I don't think it helps much to compare Kit O'Connor to TZP in terms of what they are or are not emotionally ready for.

Here's a perfect example of where it gets complicated, and even ridiculous. 

Google "Joey King wedding" and see how many pages you come up with.  And, yes, arguably the definition of "stalker" in 2023 is "a fan who cares about Joey King's wedding."  Why is it anyone's business?   (For the record, I do not personally give a shit about Joey King, or her wedding.)

Then again, if that's what stalking is in 2023, why is Business Insider, let along every fucking fashion or entertainment or gossip magazine or website in the world, running articles titled, "Joey King Shares The First Photos Of Her Engagement Ring."  Does that mean Joey King is inviting invasions to her privacy, and even stalking?  Or does it mean she is savvy about how Hollywood works, and what her fans want to know?  I'll guess the latter.

It's a perfect example because when TZP was interviewed by Glamour magazine when Kissing Booth 2 hit, he did what seemed like a very Gay thing.  He deflected a question about whether he would date a fan by saying he wishes Joey King would date him.  It's the Rock Hudson strategy, I guess.  Again, if this is stalking, why is every magazine and website in the world making money by asking such questions? 

The happy ending to me is Joey got married, and the world knows.  TZP attended her wedding with his husband, and it wasn't a big deal.  Happily, he did not have to pretend he was Joey's groom, or wishes he could be.

In general, it seems Taylor's strategy is to neither hide it, nor announce it.  Which makes sense to me. In a perfect world, unlike the one we actually live in, it wouldn't be a big deal whether he is Gay or Straight or Bi.  

I take it as a victory that we can cast Gay actors to play Gay or Bi characters, at least.   I also take is a victory that Gay directors like Lopez can cast Straight actors like Galatzine to play Gay princes in wildly popular movies.  A Gay Superman - meaning either the character in the movie, or an actor like McFarlane who is cast to play him - may still be as hard as leaping tall buildings in a single bound. 

Forgive me for being optimistic.  But it seems like we're actually making progress from the way Hollywood used to be.  🙂

Edited September 16, 2023 by stevenkesslar

[+ stevenkesslar]

13 hours ago, sync said:

I'm just curious to know if anyone else was taken by the music in RW&RB.  The lush orchestrations and their variations throughout the film really enhanced it for me.  🙃

I loved it, and downloaded it.  In this case I'm not sure I would have been drawn to the music on its own.  I like the music now because it emotionally resonates with the scenes in the movie.

Titanic is the first movie that came to mind when I thought about other movies that many people loved, but many just thought was an over-rated mediocre film with a trite script and cartoonish characters.  A simple answer to me is that fairy tales work well, if you want to believe in the fairy tale.  If you don't, it just seems like a shallow fairy tale.

I loved Titanic, which I took as a fairy tale, and was crying at the end.  It won Best Song and Best Score in 1998.  RWRB won't be winning many awards.  But my guess is for those of us who were moved by the fairy tale, the score and borrowed songs like If I Loved You just deepened scenes that already resonated emotionally.  It may not be quite the same as Jack and Rose on the boat.  But the score from the scene in the museum is the one that really sticks with me.

In terms of a sequel, speaking of Titanic, I hope they hire Lopez again and give him a bigger budget.  Some of the things I liked least may have been rookie errors.  But  some were probably the budget he had to work with.

The criticism made the most by fans of both the book and movie is it should have been a series.  They could have gone both deeper and broader if they had ten hours rather than two.  We'll see.  But Lopez and Casey McQuiston both have made it clear they would love to collaborate and bring us more of Alex and Henry.  I'm in for that.

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by stevenkesslar

[pubic_assistance]

2 hours ago, stevenkesslar said:

I take it as a victory that we can cast Gay actors to play Gay or Bi characters, at least.

I fail to see "victory" in type-casting.

"Out" Gays being cast to perform straight roles is the greater accomplishment with more job opportunities.

I personally admire straight men who don't shy away from playing gay. An actor should challenge themselves, not seek roles that are closer to home.

Edited September 16, 2023 by pubic_assistance

[+ stevenkesslar]

13 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

I fail to see "victory" in type-casting.

Neither do I.   I did not say Gays should be typecast.  Of course they shouldn't.  But they should be cast, period.  I don't think we are close to equality on that score, yet.

But we are making progress.  There's some video I saw online of some unknown actor who comes out of Gay Casting Central - meaning he sounds very Gay - bitching about how neither of these queer RWRB roles actually went to Gay or Bi actors.  It's a legitimate concern, I think.  Turns out one of them did.  But it is a sign of the times that even though it is 99.99 % clear that one of these actors is Gay and married, it is kind of sensitive to talk about it.  

I'll repeat my central point.  I think since The Celluloid Closet came out in 1995 we have learned a lot about how to represent fictional queers on film.  I think we're just starting to figure out how to talk about, and cast, actual queers in Hollywood.  

I agree with you that Straight men like Galitzine should not shy away from playing queer roles.  I've been a fan since Handsome Devil.  As I have made clear, I think it is a small victory that he came out as a Straight actor who plays queer roles.  Given that it was an interview with a Gay reporter, I am pretty sure it was intended to get ahead of any possible nastiness like Kit O'Connor faced over the incredibly stupid idea of "queerbaiting."  In addition, I don't think it's obsessive or stalking for what I'm guessing is about 99 % of his fans to wonder whether he is Gay.  I do respect him more for just being honest about what he correctly said is a sensitive issue that many queers feel conflicted about.

One fairy tale I think is incredibly stupid is the idea that fans won't be fans.  Or that the Hollywood Fan Complex won't keep thriving by writing a gazillion articles about Joey King's wedding.  I guess in theory "equality" would mean people are just as gaga about learning about all the details of Taylor's wedding.  Mostly, if I were him, I'd just want to be able to go to Joey's wedding with my husband and be left the fuck alone.  I don't blame him for wanting privacy.  They all do.

We agree more than we disagree, I think, based on what you have posted in several threads.  I'm not sure whether I like RWRB more because it is a moving queer fairy tale.  Or because it is very effective LGBTQ propaganda.  Happily, I don't have to choose.  But as far as propaganda goes, you have made the point that it is really nice to have explicit Bisexual representation, via Kit O'Connor in Heartstoppers.  Matthew Lopez would emphatically agree.  He's made a point in interviews to emphasize that G and B are two very different things.  You've also made the point that what happened to O'Connor, at the age of 18,  was truly cruel.  I'll post again what Harry Styles, another victim or queerbaiting, said:

Quote

Twitter is "a s---storm of people trying to be awful to people."

We can have a debate about which is more cruel:  queerbaiting, or X/Twitter.  Both seem mostly cruel and stupid to me.

In terms of Gays being typecast as Gays, here's another great example of the complexity:

How Red, White and Royal Blue star Polo Morín bounced back from being outed

Quote

How did you feel when your images were leaked?

My first reaction was freaking out and just being really scared. But now, when I look back, I’m positive that I was relieved. There was this huge pressure in my chest because I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, and I was so scared.

Quote

And I thought, ‘Either this goes really badly or it goes really good. Or I don’t even care anymore. This is me, so I have nothing to hide anymore.’ Whether you like me or you hate me, this is me.

Quote

I never dated girls publicly to fake it or anything, but I didn’t come out before, so I wouldn’t believe them [fans who told him they admired him]. And then after this happened, I do believe them, so I do feel relieved.

That outing goes back to 2014.  But it seems we are in pretty much the same place in 2023.  As TZP just demonstrated.  Specifically, on this point Morin made:

Quote

“I was already talking about doing it [coming out] with my bosses and my producers, because it was something that I did want to do for younger Polo, because I never had that example in my youth. I wanted to be that person for someone else. But I was not ready, because I was really scared that I would never work again in Mexico.”

If you read the whole story it gives several good examples of how, after coming out, Mexican TV did try to typecast Morin.  As the Gay comedy character.  Or as the "respectful" Gay character who did not kiss, act sexual, or do feminine things.  On that basis, I don't think Lopez typecast TZP as the "respectful" Gay character who was asexual.  We also agree that they just should have had more sex in the movie.  Oh well.  Maybe in the sequel.  😉

I think coming out is still a big issue for queer actors.  And typecasting is at the core of it.  

Sadly, I may never get to see Luke McFarlane as a hunky Superman, being tormented with a kryptonite dildo in some Marvel blockbuster.  Or something like that.

Talk about an invasion of privacy!  Another thing I think we are learning from this is that Straight women who are fans of movies like RWRB are not really that into learning all the details of Gay sex.  Fine with me.  They can just think of us as sweethearts who want to get married.

But hell.  Even Marvel is getting the memo.  Maybe there is still hope for McFarlane, and my dildo fantasy.  😉

All Of The LGBTQ Characters In The MCU So Far

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by stevenkesslar

[Kenny]

Bros is a way better movie than the RW&RB streamer - funnier, riskier, weirder. RW&RB Is mainstream RomCom trash - and don’t get me wrong, I enjoy RomCom trash, and I enjoyed RW&RB. But I’d never watch it a second time, while Bros, I would.

[marylander1940]

On 9/15/2023 at 10:07 PM, BSR said:

I find the obsession to know all about an actor's private life rather creepy and sad.  "Creepy" because such obsession is stalkerish, "sad" because an obsessed fan has absolutely zero chance of dating Alex Zakhar Pérez, regardless of his sexual orientation, because AZP is light-years outta their league.

Is using google to find the wikipedia page of an actor stalking? 

Was your last sentence necessary... isn't it obvious he's too handsome to date any of us including younger folks like yourself? 

I remember once upon a time someone joking about using alcohol to "seduce" a disable former congressman, that statement was certainly borderline stalking. 

Edited September 27, 2023 by marylander1940

[dutchal]

On 9/26/2023 at 6:48 PM, Kenny said:

Bros is a way better movie than the RW&RB streamer - funnier, riskier, weirder. RW&RB Is mainstream RomCom trash - and don’t get me wrong, I enjoy RomCom trash, and I enjoyed RW&RB. But I’d never watch it a second time, while Bros, I would.

Very mixed views of Bros in this thread:

My view is the opposite of yours.  Although I don't regret having watched Bros, I would never waste the time to see it a second time, while I would consider watching RW&RB again.

 

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, dutchal said:

My view is the opposite of yours.  Although I don't regret having watched Bros, I would never waste the time to see it a second time, while I would consider watching RW&RB again.

 

I couldn't make it through the first half hour of Bros.

 

[+ sync]

I've concluded that "Bros" is an acquired taste that I don't have.  I barely escaped with the aid of fast-forward.

I did get a chuckle from the Debra Messing scene.

[pubic_assistance]

I saw an article today where the director was busy defending the chemistry between Perez and Galitzine. Apparently I am not alone in feeling it was lacking. But I don't agree with some of the comments that a gay actor would have had more chemistry. I think a gay actor would have definitely had more hard-ons..but you either have chemistry on set of you don't. There have been plenty of straight actors who "had chemistry", even in non-romantic roles with their cast mate.

Edited October 3, 2023 by pubic_assistance

[+ sync]

I was close to quelling my urges for "Prince Henry" when I happened upon some images of Nicholas Galitzine sporting his natural dark hair:

Now those urges have descended back upon me front and center (lower front and center).  

[pubic_assistance]

5 hours ago, sync said:

I was close to quelling my urges for "Prince Henry" when I happened upon some images of Nicholas Galitzine sporting his natural dark hair:

Now those urges have descended back upon me front and center (lower front and center).  

Definitely better without the Barbie-doll blonde hair.

[+ sync]

Just watched the movie titled High Strung, which features (sigh) Nicholas Galitzine as a talented violinist playing in the NYC subway as he meets and begins a relationship with a beautiful ballet student named Ruby.  They enter a talent violin/dance competition together and are victorious.  It's a pleasant feel-good movie.

In the film Nicholas Galitzine is sporting his natural dark brown hair and a roguish brooding look, (sizzling).

I was smitten by Nicholas Galitzine's hotness in Red, White and Royal Blue, but I should have donned my oven mitts before watching High Strung.  😍

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by sync
Spelling

[+ Lucky]

13 hours ago, sync said:

Just watched the movie titled High Strung, which features (sigh) Nicholas Galitzine as a talented violinist playing in the NYC subway as he meets and begins a relationship with a beautiful ballet student named Ruby.  They enter a talent violin/dance competition together and are victorious.  It's a pleasant feel-good movie.

In the film Nicholas Galitzine is sporting his natural dark brown hair and a roguish brooding look, (sizzling).

I was smitten by Nicholas Galitzine's hotness in Red, White and Royal Blue, but I should have donned my oven mitts before watching High Strung.  😍

 

Is it streaming? Where?

[+ sync]

6 hours ago, Lucky said:

Is it streaming? Where?

Yes, I found it on Amazon Prime.