PRODUCERS, DIRECTORS FIND MORE ACTRESSES WILLING TO PLAY GAY THESE DAYS; Shift Attributed to Limited Roles for Women and Success of Films and TV Shows like The L Word" and Monster"
Directors and producers who a few years ago couldn't convince many well-known or up-and-coming actresses to even look at lesbian roles are now turning them away in droves, according to a new article on AfterEllen.com.
(PRWEB) June 22, 2004 -- Directors and producers who a few years ago couldn't convince well-known or up-and-coming actresses to even look at lesbian roles are now turning them away in droves, according to a new article on AfterEllen.com entitled More Actresses Willing to Play Gay These Days."
Through interviews with producers and directors like Angela Robinson (Herbie the Love Bug," D.E.B.S."), Maria Maggenti (Us, Them, and Me," The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love"), Jamie Babbit (But Im a Cheerleader") and Nancylee Myatt (Nikki & Nora"), and actresses like Erin Daniels (The L Word"), Olga Sosnovska (All My Children"), and Iyari Limon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), AfterEllen.com has discerned a recent shift in actresses attitudes towards playing lesbian roles.
Only a few years ago, actresses still expressed some resistance to lesbian roles, as Babbit discovered when her first choice for the lead in But Im a Cheerleader" turned the role down because she was too concerned about what her family would think about her playing a lesbian. When Maggenti was first casting her bisexual-triangle film Us, Them and Me" five years ago, "there were several actresses trying out for the film who were concerned about kissing another woman."
But recent years have seen a major attitude change--when Magggenti was recasting her film this year, resistance to kissing another woman didn't even come up once," and when Myatt was casting for the UPN lesbian-P.I. drama pilot Nikki and Nora" several months ago, not only was she barraged with actresses wanting to audition for the lead roles, but "some women were actually disappointed that they weren't going to be making out at the session. Some had even been sizing up the other women in the waiting room." Robinson had no difficulty casting the lesbian roles in D.E.B.S.," either, something she doesnt thing would have been so easy five years ago.
This shift is also evident in the The L Words" all-star guest list in its first season--which included Jennifer Beals, Rosanna Arquette, Lolita Davidovitch, and Kelly Lynch--and in the roster of well-known actresses like Heather Graham, Kelly Preston, Famke Janssen, and Monica Belluci playing lesbian or bisexual women in upcoming films.
Directors and actresses attribute the shift in part to the limited roles available to women. I was taking a break from acting because I was frustrated that all the parts for women were so shallow," explained Daniels (One Hour Photo"), "then 'The L Word came along and I thought 'OK, this is something I could do.'"
But since womens roles have always been somewhat limited, it is the recent success of movies like Monster" and Boys Dont Cry" and shows like The L Word" that appear to be largely responsible for the change, as actresses "see that Charlize Theron and Hilary Swank continue to make films, that you can even win awards" according to Babbit.
For more details, read the full text of More Actresses Playing Gay These Days" on AfterEllen.com at http://www.afterellen.com/Movies/62004/actresses.html
AfterEllen.com is the leading source of news, reviews and commentary on lesbian and bisexual women in entertainment and the media, and has been mentioned in publications like USA Today, the LA Times, Girlfriends Magazine, and Emmy Magazine.
AfterEllen.com
Contact: Sarah Warn
editor@afterellen.com
(206) 604-7819
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