‘Bros’ Review: Billy Eichner’s Witty Gay Rom-Com Works [TIFF]

Billy Eichner has said he 'could have easily' cast Chris Evans as his love interest in his gay rom com - but decided not to on a matter of principle.The 44-year-old comedian previously trumpeted the movie ahead of its release for having an all-queer cast even for the straight roles.Since then however the movie has bombed at the box office, with one line of thinking blaming its lack of A-list movie stars.'We could have easily thrown Chris Evans into the Luke McFarland role,' Billy said at a New Yorker Festival panel, per Deadline. 'But we didn’t because for us it was important to give a number of openly LGBT actors a chance to star in a movie even though they weren’t movie stars.' All-queer cast: Billy Eichner (left) has said he 'could have easily' cast Chris Evans (right) as his love interest in his gay rom com - but decided not to on a matter of principleBilly was on the panel with Harvey Fierstein, the acclaimed actor and Torch Song Trilogy playwright who also appears in Bros.They candidly acknowledged the movie's underwhelming performance at the box office, where its opening weekend was 40% below expectations.

Argentine tennis player Nadia Podoroska has come out as queer in a heartfelt social media post. 

Liverpool has been announced as the host city for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. 

A group of more than 200 activists gathered outside of Luther Jackson Middle School in Vienna on Thursday to object to the new “model policies” for transgender students proposed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration.

The 2022 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Court Square in Harrisonburg, Va. on Saturday, Oct. 8.

Attention, hopeless romantics! HBO Max has announced a brand new Harley Quinn Valentine’s Day special.

Partick Thistle boss Ian McCall has apologised to Scott Lambie after admitting his comments about the referee “verged on bullying”. McCall hit out after his side’s 1-0 defeat at Inverness on Friday night but vowed to say sorry to the ref’s face after he acknowledged his comments were out of order.

Basketball star Dwyane Wade has opened up about his decision to limit the comments on his daughter’s Instagram.

The Notebook’s pre-Broadway run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It is a musing on why a story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back a decade later only to eventually lose her again to dementia also resonates with queer audiences.On its face, The Notebook — the first of countless Nicholas Sparks’ bestsellers, adapted into a 2004 movie that launched both Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams into stardom — is cishet in every way.

Vintage Playbill from the 1972 opening (Image via Playbill)

My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture discusses hard topics such as fat-phobia and homophobia with smart, unapologetic humor. He brings that same energy to Bros, where he plays Henry, the fun-loving friend to Billy Eichner’s character Bobby.Guy has been working in Hollywood for over two decades. He has a lot to say about both film culture and the gay scene.

Basketball star Dwyane Wade has opened up about his decision to limit the comments on his daughter’s Instagram.

Reddit users are having a devil of a time with artwork that artificial intelligence created with the phrase “gay rights” as a prompt.The result shows a demonic face with horn-like protrusions and glowing yellow eyes. So yes, it looks like a depiction of Satan.

YouTuber Charlie McDonnell has come out as trans in a new social media post.

De 25-jarige Ahmed Abu Markhiya werd met een scherp voorwerp gedood en onthoofd. Een video van de moord werd geenuuml;pload op sociale media, vermoedelijk door de dader, en leidde tot massaal afgrijzen.

broke his 20-year hiatus, Charlie Puth discussed his constant horniness, and Lena Dunham declared herself a gay icon.

With the recent release of Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 and the resurrection of the Sanderson Sisters, the witches are out to play! We felt inspired by the mystically crisp October air this Halloween season to compile this list of must-see witch movies this month. However, a full moon in Aries approaches this month, bringing high illuminations of intensity and healing.

To the Editor: Re “Breast Removal Surgery on Rise for Trans Teens” (front page, Sept. 26): As three out of five Americans say they don’t know a trans person, your reporting contributes much-needed understanding of trans youth and the barriers they face in receiving gender-affirming medical care. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the Endocrine Society all assert that health care for trans kids, done in the right way at the right time, is safe.

We all can use a cathartic ugly-cry sometimes, and if you’re feeling that need, you could open the floodgates with a viewing of the movies and TV shows below. On the r/askgaybros forum, Reddit users said these titles — some LGBTQ-related, some not — broke their hearts.Of course, we have to preface this sob-fest with a couple of notes of caution: One, spoilers abound. And two, some of those movies and TV shows are so sad that the gay bros who nominated them won’t rewatch them again.“The end of Brokeback Mountain, where you see that Ennis still has Jack’s shirt, hanging on the same hanger with one of his.”“Yeah, this scene floors me.

"I’m sitting with my family watching Ellie Simmonds take to the Strictly dance floor in a beautiful gold dress.The Paralympian smiles from ear to ear as she performs her incredible cha-cha – and I’m grinning right back at her. As the audience applauds Ellie, I feel like it’s one of the best moments of my entire life. My excitement has been building up to this moment since August, when it was announced she’d be taking part.

Originaria de Batuco, Chile, Alejandra González, 54, sobresalió por ser la primera mujer trans elegida para un cargo público, no solo en su país, sino en América Latina. La concejala fue encontrada el 5 de octubre en su domicilio sin vida, a consecuencia de una falla cardiaca.

Related: Jonathan Bennett speaks out on this unhealthy thing so many gay men doHe attended the Shin Imaging Center in Los Angeles and shared a video on his social media on Wednesday.The 41-year-old wore pink. Not only is pink the color of the ribbons to highlight breast cancer but—as the famous lines from Mean Girls states—on Wednesdays we wear pink.“October is #breastcancerawarenessmonth and I’m showing you what getting a mammogram looks like for me,” Bennett wrote.

(Image via Venfield8)

Disney Channel star Bella Thorne has had many scandals and had quite a few discussions when it comes to sex. Since shooting to fame on Disney Channel alongside Zendaya in Shake It Up, Bella has well and truly shed her child star image and moved on to much more adult areas.

supports HTML5 videoDame Kelly Holmes has spoken out how scared she was to come out as gay after previously having her room ransacked while serving in the army, saying she carried a ‘fear of going to jail’ with her even years afterwards.At the age of 18, Dame Kelly – who recently joined Loose Women as a new panelist – enlisted in the British Army.Serving from 1988 to 1997, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner recalled how her room was ‘ransacked’ and she was ‘interrogated’ over the possibility of being gay, as prior to 2000, the armed forces had a ban in place against homosexuality, before the archaic law was changed.Speaking on Monday’s Loose Women, the 52-year-old – who came out as gay in June this year – explained that the fear she had of going to jail continued to impact her when she continued keeping her true identity hidden from the public.‘I was scared witless. When I came out in June this year publicly, I had to resolve these issues that had been in my life,’ she said.‘I was scared that if I ever came out and admitted being gay while I served, that I could still go to jail.

a factor? Yes, in certain parts of the country, I think it was a factor,” he said.In its opening weekend, “Bros” made just $4.8 million, despite a 3,500 screen wide release; most of that money came from New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. On Sunday Oct.

A New Yorker Festival panel with actor and comedian Billy Eichner and playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein, who both appear in Bros, turned into an onstage post-mortem about the gay rom-com’s disappointing opening.

Financial Times “you can’t win ‘em all” when asked about earlier this year being disowned by his teenage transgender daughter. He blamed “neo-Marxists” for their estrangement.In the interview that ran Friday, he said that the American left is responsible for “full-on communism” that leads to the “general sentiment that if you’re rich, you’re evil.” He said, “[The relationship with my daughter] may change, but I have very good relationships with all the others.

Darren Hayes is opening up about homophobia that he faced in the music industry.

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers will be on assignment in Brazil through Oct. 11.

Twitter Friday after a trailer for the new season of his talk show was posted showing a glimpse of an interview with Republican Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.In the six-minute video posted by The Problem with Jon Stewart, Rutledge is grilled by Stewart over her state's ban on gender-affirming care, which the talk show host argues "overrides" the guidelines laid out by health care professionals.Early in the clip, Rutledge claims that the state law was based on several doctors who testified before the Arkansas legislature who claimed "98 percent of young people" have gender dysphoria, and that "they are able to move past that" once they "have the help that they need.""Wow," Stewart says in response to Rutledge's data point. "That's an incredibly made-up figure.""That doesn't comport with any of the studies or documentation that exist from these medical organizations," Stewart continued.Jon interviewed Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas Attorney General, about why her state banned gender-affirming care for minors - ignoring the guidelines of major medical organizations and taking the decision out of parents’ hands.

Queerty reader, put your records on; it’s finally the weekend.This week has kinda been music to our ears: Johnny Manuel dropped a killer R&B video, Saucy Santana and Trina dropped the voting song to end all voting songs, and Charlie Puth dropped something other than his pants (though we may still get a bit of that for the album roll-out, fingers crossed).In honor of Queer History Month, we’re gonna be taking a look back to each week in queer music all month long! This week was a great spread, from an unintentional trans anthem in ’08 to a fruity little number back in ’55.From a queen who slays to Janet’s love for the gays, here’s your weekly bop rewind:With an legendary scat catchphrase that Rolling Stone once called “the most inspired rock lyric ever recorded,” Little Richard made his mark on rock & roll history. Sixty-seven years later and those slamming keys still make you wanna shake something.

Jennifer C. Pizer has been named permanent chief legal officer of Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization working for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV.

Registration for the 11th Gay Games is now open for those who wish to join the rainbow Olympics. The games will take place next year from 3rd November to 11th November.The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) were thrilled to announce that the games will be co-hosted by Hong Kong and Guadalajara, along with being the first Gay Games in both Asia and Latin America.FGG has urged those who wish to participate to sign up quickly as due to the current world circumstances, they are “working to a much tighter timeframe.”“Ensuring that everyone whoever they are, whatever their background, sexual orientation or gender identity, have the right to take part in their chosen identity being the most inclusive games, with personal best, participation and above all inclusion, at its heart,” the statement read.  A post shared by Federation of Gay Games (@gaygames)Gay Games Guadalajara’s Monica Sanchez said that after recent world issues, it was time “to meet again, to hug each other and with pride celebrate our freedom.”“The appointment is in Guadalajara, at the XI Gay Games 2023.

More than 100 U.S. senators and representatives, led by Sen.

ABOVE: Tower half full.

Although she’s been a major staple within the LGBTQ+ community for a number of years, Ts Madison is finally being recognised as a “voice and a global phenomenon”.

Luke Macfarlane, left, Billy Eichner star in Bros, directed by Nicholas Stoller. (Photo by Nicole Rivelli/Universal Pictures)

also prides themself on not being emotionally available?”In the R-rated comedy, already being cited for its realistic depictions of gay men having sex, Eichner plays Bobby, a brash, blunt podcaster who spearheads an LGBTQ+ museum and falls for Macfarlane’s Garth Brooks-loving estate lawyer Aaron, who is quite a different representative of the community they both inhabit.“It’s interesting to see, as an actor, how many flaws I can have [with a character] and still get away with making the love story happen,” Macfarlane said, adding that he sometimes pushed back on his character’s rougher edges, thinking they might be too off-putting. “I saw the movie yesterday and I thought, ‘Aaron, you are such a dick!'”Eichner agreed, noting that Bobby and Aaron are “both dicks at various points, but that’s how people are.”Stoller assured Macfarlane he was in good stead: “I remember telling you, the more flawed and real you are, the more the audience is going to root for you for figure out your shit.”Apatow, a veteran of film exploring minefield relationships and stubborn male growth (“Knocked Up,” “This is 40”), commented on the historic nature of “Bros.” “It’s a very special experience, but it starts out with Nick and Billy having this really great idea,” Apatow said.

The major studio romcom is back with a flourish, but it took Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller to prove the format still works, even if this time it is two gay men who are the ones who  find love against all odds.

Billy Eichner’s “Bros” just make history at the Toronto International Film Festival? It certainly felt like it. The Universal movie is breaking all kinds of barriers: It’s the first gay rom-com ever made by a major studio, the first with an all openly LGBTQ cast and Eichner is the first openly gay man to ever write and star in a studio movie. Audiences finally got to see the movie for themselves in Toronto on Friday night and, judging by the shrieks of laughter throughout the screening, it was a hit. “I want to thank TIFF for letting a comedy into a movie festival!” Eichner yelled into the audience before the film rolled, making a valid point about the dearth of studio comedies that world premiere at top international film festivals.

The Trans Film Mentorship has announced that its first Trans Filmmakers Summit will take place at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11th. The summit will be held at 2 p.m. ET, following the Inside Out TIFF Queer Brunch on Malaparte’s Rooftop at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Last week, Billy Eichner raised eyebrows with some comments he made during his press tour of the upcoming movie Bros, which seemed to be throwing shade at the film Fire Island. Now that film’s writer and star, Joel Kim Booster, has responded.While speaking with Variety last week, Eichner talked about the film making history.

Fire Island star Joel Kim Booster has reacted to comments Billy Eichner made last week about LGBTQ content on streaming platforms.Eichner is currently promoting his movie, Bros. The studio-backed gay rom-com will hit theater screens later this month.

Fire Island’s Joel Kim Booster issued a lengthy Twitter statement where he addressed remarks made by Billy Eichner.

Joel Kim Booster is speaking out.

Billy Eichner has clarified his previous comment regarding LGBTQ+ streaming movies. 

(CNN) — Billy Eichner, co-writer and star of "Bros," one of the first major studio romantic comedies to star a primarily LGBTQ cast, clarified comments he made about streaming content starring LGBTQ actors feeling "disposable."In a new interview with Variety, Eichner praised the scale of his film: "This is not an indie movie," he said. "This is not some streaming thing which feels disposable, or which is like one of a million Netflix shows.