‘Behind the Lens’

Winter is dragging (see what we did there? 😏), but you can add some colour to it by joining our ‘Behind the Lens’ Film Challenge during February 2023! 🏳️‍🌈

The Library Team has cherry-picked 28 movies, one for each day of the month, so you can join in the celebrations around the topic selected this year: ‘a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate the lives and professional accomplishments of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, many of who work outside of the limelight in the fields of photography, film making, TV, music and fashion.’ (LGBT+ History Month, 2023).

We will dive right in about the amazing professionals and artists that have made the selected films possible below, and if you are watching any or all of them during this month, make sure to tweet us at @ccculibrary and use the hashtag #BTLfilmchallenge.

1. The Matrix (1999)

Directed by siblings Lilly and Lana Wachowski, who came out as trans women during the 2010’s, quite a few years after the release of the original The Matrix (1999). Lilly Wachowski revealed in 2020 how the series represents a ‘trans metaphor’ (BBC, 2020). Lana, the first sibling to self identify and transition, said in 2012 how she became public about it as she felt a sense of responsibility.

2. Love, Simon (2018)

Greg Berlanti directed the film adaptation of the young-adult novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Becky Albertalli, 2015), and it became one of the highest-grossing teen-romance movies since the 1980’s. According to Rotten Tomatoes: ‘Love, Simon hits its coming-of-age beats more deftly than many entries in this well-traveled genre – and represents an overdue, if not entirely successful, milestone of inclusion’. Greg Berlanti is married to football player Robbie Rogers and they have two children.

3. Paris is Burning (1990)

Ok, not a movie, but we had to include this one on the list! The documentary, Paris is burning, ‘chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it. Critics consider the film to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the “Golden Age” of New York City drag balls, and a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality in America.’ (Wikipedia). Livingston is an out lesbian and comes from a highly creative and talented family.

4. Coco (2017)

This gorgeous Disney Pixar animated movie based on the Mexican holiday ‘Dia de los muertos’ (day of the dead) was produced by Darla K. Anderson. The film was highly praised for its animation, voice acting, music, visuals, emotional story, and respect for Mexican culture (Wikipedia). Anderson has also worked in other renowned titles such as A bug’s Life, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, and Ratatouille, among many others. She is married to fellow Pixar producer Kori Rae.

5. Milk (2008)

Milk is a biographical film about the politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who went on to become the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, in 1977. The movie’s reception counts with universal acclaim, scoring consistent high rates across the board. It was nominated for several categories for the Academy Awards, and went on to win two Oscars, for Best Actor (Sean Penn) and Best Original Screenplay, by Dustin Lance Black. Black is a screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is married to diver and television personality Tom Daley.

6. To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

Three drag queens go on a road trip in this comedy film written by Douglas Carter Beane in 1995. It was the first major Hollywood studio movie to portray drag queens as main characters, and the critical reception was mixed at the time. However, actor performances and comedic elements were lauded. Douglas Carter Beane is a playwright and screenwriter, and is married to his frequent collaborator, the composer Lewis Finn. They have two adopted children.

7. Beetlejuice (1988)

The classic fantasy horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, won several awards – including the Academy Award for Best Makeup -, and was a commercial and critical success. The screenplay was written by Michael McDowell, screenwriter and novelist who died in 1999. McDowell was a prolific writer of horror novels, and he is best known for his works of Southern Gothic horror. His partner of 30 years until his death was the scholar, educator, and writer Laurence Senelick.

8. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The Devil wears Prada is a comedy-drama film based on the highly successful book by the same title (Lauren Weisberger, 2003). The story is a semi-fictional but highly critical view of the Manhattan elite (Wikipedia), based on the author’s experience from when she worked at Vogue. The unavoidable character parallels with real people, particularly the chief editor, added to the controversy both when the book was published, and once more when the story reached the big screen. Patricia Field was the costume designer for the movie. She is a fashion designer and a stylist too – and she was also raised in Manhattan. Some of her other work can be seen in Sex and the City, Ugly Betty, and Emily in Paris among others. She is openly lesbian and was romantically involved with Rebecca Weinberg, a fellow costume designer.

9. The Shining (1980)

Martin Richards was the associate producer, together with Stanley Kubrick of the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining. The film has become a classic of psychological horror in its own right, even though King himself and some reviewers resent the many deviations from the original story and its characters. Richards was gay, but he still married Mary Lee Johnson Richards, heiress of Johnson & Johnson and Broadway producer. They had a happy marriage regardless, and passed away respectively in 2012 and at 1990. Richards produced many award-wining films, including the musical Chicago (2002), for which he won the Oscar for Best Picture.

10. Sister Act (1992)

Sister Act was one of the most financially successful comedies in the early 90’s; it produced a sequel, a musical, and a third movie is currently under development by Disney+, which will also count with Whoopi Goldberg as star and producer. The original 1992 film was directed by Emile Ardolino, who won an Academy Award (1983) for his documentary He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’ and also enjoyed commercial success after directing Dirty Dancing (1987). Ardolino was openly gay, and he sadly passed away in 1993.

11. The Watermelon Woman (1996)

Cheryl Dunye directed this partly autobiographical film when she was researching 1930’s and 40’s black actresses in Hollywood and the ‘mammy’ roles they were relegated to play at the time. She noticed how the actresses were often unnamed and lacked proper credits and recognition, so she set up to produce the fictionalised documentary, or dunyementary, as many of her early works are known due to her unique style and relevance. She became the first ever openly lesbian and black woman to direct a feature film with The Watermelon Woman, and has done many other shorts and documentaries, awarding her a long list of accolades. Her contributions are key to the New Queer Cinema movement in the 90’s.

12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Scott Chambliss was the production designer for the sequel of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). This highly-rated saga is full of action, irreverent humour, and beautiful visuals, and after the great critical reception of the first film, Vol. 2 managed to live up to the hype. Scott Chambliss has also worked on the film adaptations of Star Trek (2009 and 2013) among other big productions. He was the partner of actor Tom Villard, who tragically died in 1994.

13. Mamma Mia (2008)

The hugely successful musical based on the book by Catherine Johnson and the songs from the pop band ABBA, came to the big screen in 2008 and became a commercial boom. It is the thirteenth highest-grossing movie of all time in the UK, and the biggest-selling DVD too. The critical reception was somehow mixed, due to the casting of some inexperienced singing actors and its ‘campy’ tone. Phyllida Lloyd, film and theatre director and producer, has been nominated and won several awards. She has also worked as an opera director, and lives with her partner, the writer Sarah Cooke.

14. Inception (2010)

This mind-bending, science fiction box office hit won several awards, including four Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. Lora Hirschberg is a sound engineer, and she was part of the sound department of the film who received the awards. The film, co-produced by Christopher Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas, is a clever and satisfying mix of genres: science fiction, heist, and film noir, and has become a part of many popular culture references. Hirschberg, who is an out lesbian, has worked in many major motion pictures since the 90’s, including some Marvel films such as Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). She campaigns for the visibility and mentoring of women into film careers from her post at Skywalker Sound.

15. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Moulin Rouge! is a jukebox musical romantic drama, meaning the songs in it were already popular instead of the film counting with an original score. The plot has inspirations from the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the fin de siècle opera La bohème, by Giacomo Puccini. One of the most memorable songs, Lady Marmalade, was a version especially created for the movie, based on the original 1974 song by Bob Crewe. Crewe, who died in 2014, was a songwriter, singer, manager, record producer and fine artist, and his career spans mainly from the 50’s into the 70’s. In 1985, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his contributions to the musical heritage in the English language. Crewe was gay, but he was not open about it at the time. However, he created a foundation to help people with AIDS, supporting gay rights and bringing music and art to children in poor communities (The Guardian, 2014).

16. Saving Face (2004)

Alice Wu directed the film Saving Face, after spending five years creating the story. She was originally a graduate in computer science, but enrolled in a screenwriting course after realising that the novel she was writing would work better as a movie. Saving Face is a romantic comedy-drama film that portrays the lives and experiences of Asian Americans, and is a particular representation of the director’s experience, when coming out as a lesbian to her mother. The film plays with important concepts for the Asian community, such as the one of ‘face’, a value central to many Chinese families where family members are ‘expected to perform his or her role properly to maintain the family reputation …and [is] strongly monitored by the community.’ (Qijun Han, 2019).

17. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The musical comedy horror film is considered a cult classic, and it was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, for being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’. It was based on a musical stage production and is both a parody of and tribute to many kitsch science fiction and horror films. The costume styles created by Sue Blane, are considered the template looks for punk rock fashion, and Pierre La Roche was selected as the make-up designer for each character in the film. He had previously worked in Elizabeth Arden in London, and then moved on to become the make-up artist for Mick Jagger and David Bowie, helping create their iconic looks which inspired the glam rock scene. He died in 1991 in Paris, after suffering many years from AIDS.

18. Boys don’t Cry (1999)

The movie, directed by self-identified dyke and genderqueer Kimberly Peirce, was based on the tragic true story of its protagonist, Brandon Teena. Teena was a trans man, and after his dire young and teen years, he moved to a different town from his native Nebraska, where he could fully present as a man to new acquaintances. The movie focuses on this time of his life until his murder in 1993, making Teena the main focus and moving away from the vicious press headlines of the time. The critical reception at the time was controversial but positive with very high ratings. However, in more recent years, some members of the LGBT community believe that portraying the brutality of the crime committed against Teena was traumatic and unnecessary, as well as protesting that a cis woman (Hilary Swank) was chosen for the role. Nevertheless, the director stands by these decisions and hopes that Teena’s story was amplified instead and hence, contributed to ‘adding to humanity’ (Indie Wire, 2019). Billy Hopkins was the casting director, and he is a very prolific one too, having worked often with his former partner, director Lee Daniels.

19. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Lilo & Stitch is a highly rated animated, science-fiction, comedy-drama, praised for its charm and originality. The movie treats topics like grief, family trauma and relationships, but it is also infused with great humour and well-liked characters. Canadian animator, screenwriter, producer, and director Dean DeBlois wrote and directed the Disney animated movie. He also worked on the story adaptation of Mulan (1998), and in the highly successful saga of How to Train Your Dragon. He is openly gay, and he supported the plot turn of one of the major characters in the trilogy (beloved Viking mentor Gobber) coming out as gay too.

20. Singing in the Rain (1952)

The acclaimed musical depicts the transitioning time from silent to voice-acting movies in the 1920’s, with well-known and loved songs, actors, and dancing numbers. Sydney Guilaroff was the most popular hair stylist of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and he worked within the make-up department for the film. He worked in over a thousand films over forty years, creating signature hairstyles such as the bob worn by Louise Brooks in the 1930’s, or the styles worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, among many other stars, also including James Stewart, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Fred Astair. Mr. Sydney, as he was fondly known by the stars at the time, acted not only as their finest stylist but also confidant, granting him widespread fame and the position as the first stylist ever to be credited on screen. Due to the times he was living in, he was always a very private person. However, many close people to him revealed how he had gone to great lengths to create a public persona and conceal his true sexuality.

21. Being John Malkovich (1999)

Being John Malkovich is a surreal fantasy comedy film with the actor John Malkovich playing a dramatized version of himself. The movie explores the bizarre possibility of a group of people travelling through a portal into the mind of another person, in this case John Malkovich, and the wild ramifications of the characters’ relationships with each other and themselves. The movie was both nominated, but also won many awards and was received very positively by critics. Producer Sandy Stern worked together with Michael Stipe among others in the film, and they collaborated together in other projects, having created the production company Single Cell. He came out as gay after deciding to pursue filmmaking and abandoning his career in clinical psychology, and he is a mentor for students at Film Connection.

22. Charlie’s Angels (2000)

The action-comedy film was a continuation of the 1970’s television series of the same name, where three women work in a private detective agency for Charles ‘Charlie’ Townsend, the mysterious and always unseen millionaire investigator. Randy Gardell worked in the costume department for the film, and he also worked in the 90’s Batman movies, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), and Hocus Pocus (1993) among others. The information available of him online is very limited, especially regarding his private life, but he has been included in IMDb’s Damon Charles: 1st List of Gay/Lesbian/Bi Industry People, Both in Front and Behind the Camera and at Playbill’s “StageStruck” Exhibit Featuring Gay and Lesbian Broadway Design Talent Begins Nov. 14.

23. Jurassic Park (1993)

The original Jurassic Park film was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Michael Crichton, who also became part of the screenwriting team for the movie. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, and it featured ground-breaking computer-generated imagery and life-size animatronic dinosaurs. Bonnie Curtis was an assistant to the director during the film making, and since 1989 she has collaborated multiple times with Spielberg. She became the associate producer to the sequel (The Lost World), and produced other blockbusters such as Saving Private Ryan, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Minority Report among many others. She was interviewed by the LGBT magazine The Advocate, where she talked about her experience about coming out as lesbian to her parents.

24. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

The 1994 Australian road comedy film follows two drag queens and a transgender woman in their road adventures through the remote and vast Australian Outback. Priscilla is the name given to the bus in which the characters travel and encounter various groups and individuals. The film was a surprise worldwide hit and its positive portrayal of LGBT individuals helped to introduce LGBT themes to a mainstream audience (Wikipedia). However, it also came under criticism for its stereotypical and harmful portrayal of the Filipina character, Cynthia, and because of this the film has gained an ambiguous reputation since. Stephan Elliot is the film director and screenwriter who directed and wrote the movie. He came out as gay during his presentation at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, and has been in a relationship with his partner Wil Bevolley since the late 80’s.

25. Onward (2020)

Onward is a computer-animated, urban fantasy adventure film that follows the journey of two brothers on a quest to find an artifact that will temporarily bring back their deceased father. The story is inspired by the director’s own experience when his father died in a car accident, and he (Dan Scanlon) was with his older brother at the time. Scanlon started writing the story for the movie after he heard a recording of his father’s voice. The critical reception was very positive, even though the film’s theatre run was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film was produced by Kori Rae, who is married to fellow Pixar producer Darla K. Anderson. Brandi Carlile, who is an out lesbian, recorded the end credits song Carried Me With You. She is married to Catherine Shepherd and they have two daughters.

26. Amadeus (1984)

The dramatised take on Mozart’s life in Vienna during the second half of the 18^th century was written by Peter Shaffer, originally as a theatre play, which later was adapted with his collaboration into the movie of the same name. The main theme in the plot focuses on the fictionalised rivalry between composers Mozart and Salieri.  Both Shaffer and director Miloš Forman expressed how the drama was loosely based on reality and called the story a ‘fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri’. The movie is considered by many as one of the best films of all time and won eight Academy Awards among many other accolades. Peter Shaffer was a playwright, screenwriter and novelist and wrote several award-winning plays, many of which were adapted into films. His partner was voice teacher Robert Leonard, who died in 1990. After his death in 2016, they were buried together in Highgate Cemetery in London.

27. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The classic musical fantasy film is the most seen film in movie history, according to the Library of Congress, and it often ranks on critics lists of greatest films of all time. It is the most successful adaptation of the book of the same title by L. Frank Baum, and it follows Dorothy, a teenager, and her dog Toto to the land of Oz after a tornado takes her home up in the air in Kansas. She goes on a journey to find the wizard of this land so that she can return home, and is joined by different much-loved characters and adventures along her way. Adrian Greenberg, also known just as Adrian, was the costume designer that worked on the movie. He was often credited as ‘gowns by Adrian’ on screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood and went on to become a fashion designer outside the movies too. He was married to actress Janet Gaynor despite him being openly gay. Theirs was a lavender marriage, for convenience, as Gaynor was herself rumoured to be bisexual or gay too. Nevertheless, they still had a happy marriage and they had one son, Robin Adrian (The Hollywood Reporter, 2019). They are buried next to each other at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

28. Hotel Transylvania (2012)

This computer-animated monster comedy film is the first instalment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, and it tells an alternative story of Count Dracula in which he is a hotel owner for monsters so that they can take a rest and hide from the human world. However, a human accidentally finds his way into it, and he falls in love with the Count’s daughter, Mavis. All the monsters in the movie are based on traditional monsters and known stories. Rebecca Sugar is an animator and screenwriter, who is also famous for her work in the popular TV series Adventure Time. She also uses they/them pronouns and identifies as bisexual, non-binary, and genderqueer, and is married to fellow animator and artist Ian Jones-Quartey. Sugar’s queerness has served as the inspiration for her to stress the importance of LGBT representation in the arts, especially in children’s entertainment (Wikipedia).

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Thank you for reading and for being a part of the Library’s ‘Behind the Lens’ Film Challenge – LGBT History Month February 2023. We hope you enjoy the selection, and we can’t wait to see your comments on social media! Tweet us at @ccculibrary, and use the hashtag #BTLfilmchallenge.

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