little ashes Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The 21st Annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards ceremony took place last night in New York, and the stars were out in force. The GLAAD Media Awards elevate and promote fair, accurate and inclusive stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, people and allies that have increased awareness, and understanding and respect for the lives of LGBT people. Cynthia Nixon and Joy Behar were the night's honored guests, but awards were presented to countless other individuals for their contributions in promoting acceptance and tolerance of the LGBT community.

Sex and the City's Nixon was presented with the Vito Russo Award. The award is named after GLAAD founding member and The Celluloid Closet author Russo, and is presented to an openly lesbian or gay member of the entertainment or media community for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia. Behar, meanwhile, received the Excellence in Media Award for her continued efforts in educating the public about the lives of gay and transgendered people through her HLN talk show.

The film community was well-represented at the event, with Paul Morrison's Little Ashes winning in the Outstanding Film: Limited Release Category. An impressive win, particularly since the film features Twilight's Robert Pattinson as Salvador Dali. That's a bold casting choice to say the least.

Sigourney Weaver was on hand to accept the award for Prayers for Bobby, which won in the Outstanding TV Movie or Miniseries category. The film was directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a true story about a gay rights crusader (Weaver) whose son commits suicide over her religious intolerance.

[After the jump: what about Kirby Dick's film, Outrage?]

Anyone who doesn't expect Robert Pattinson to have much of a career beyond the Twilight franchise, or at least a quality one, may be proven wrong by his potential casting in Fox 2000's adaptation of Water for Elephants. According to Variety, the actor is "circling" the film, along with Sean Penn, who could hopefully be a good influence on Pattinson's acting skills. Both men would join the already cast Reese Witherspoon in the film, which is based on Sara Gruen's best-selling historical novel and will be directed by I Am Legend helmer Francis Lawrence.

The book, which is being adapted by Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King), is set during the Great Depression, specifically in a circus. It tells the story of a last-minute veterinary school dropout who finds himself caring for the animal performers of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth following the death of his parents. I'm assuming Pattinson will play the 23-year-old lead, while Penn would play the abusive animal trainer, August. And Witherspoon is likely August's wife, who Pattinson's character falls for.

I know I'm one of the few people who saw Pattinson's portrayal of Salvador Dali in Little Ashes. And even fewer, I'm one of those who thought he did an impressive job, in spite of all its intentionally hammy silliness. I may not be able to stomach his little vampire series, but I'll come out and admit I see great things in his future, of which Water for Elephants could be another big step in the right direction. I mean, if he doesn't really bring it here, he's going to look pretty terrible opposite the talents of Penn and Witherspoon (as anyone would), so at least he better try to prove his worth as an actor.

I don't know why, but vampires are back in vogue (I once read it had something to do with bad economies, but that might be stretching it). So even though we all knew this was coming, today it's official: Robert Pattinson (better known as dreamy bloodsucker Edward Cullen) will be returning for the fourth and final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Pattison is "committed to starring in the final outing to date but doesn't know when backers Summit Entertainment will begin production because of the actor's jam-packed shooting schedule." The final book in Meyers series centers on *spoiler alert* Bella and Edward's marriage and her subsequent pregnancy -- and let me tell you, I read the book, and it's pretty out there.

Parts two and three of the series are already in production in Vancouver, and as much as I giggled my way through Twilight (and brother, did I giggle), I have higher expectations for New Moon. But that has a lot to do with the addition of Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning as the kind of vampire I'm a little more familiar with -- you know, the kind that are a little more bad-ass. In New Moon, Bella (Kristen Stewart) is struggling with the loss of her pigment-challenged boyfriend and growing closer to her childhood friend, Jacob. But don't worry girls, Pattinson's role has been beefed up in the second installment, and he told THR it was no easy task to make the role a little more exciting: "You're playing a figment in Bella's imagination so I was trying to do it in a 2-D way. I hope it doesn't translate onscreen as being boring." Pattinson's schedule is filling up, and he will take a break from all that 'glittering' to start work on the romantic drama Remember Me before heading back to Vancouver to start work on Eclipse (the third film in the series) in October.

After the jump; how Pattinson is trying to beat the curse of typecasting...

One thing is for certain -- it'll be hard for anyone that sees Little Ashes to think of Robert Pattinson only as the young heartbreaker from Twilight. But it also looks like it just might successfully keep him out of the supernatural type-cast rut. Above you can check out the trailer for Little Ashes, the film that has him donning Salvador Dali's classic 'stache and getting sexy with Federico Garcia Lorca.

The film follows a young Dali as a student in Madrid during the '20s, hanging out with Lorca and Luis Banuel on the eve of the Spanish Civil War. From the looks of the trailer, this film will deliver much more than a look into the sexuality of two noted Spanish thinkers, but also the environment of Madrid in 1922 and how Dali's persona came to be -- something entirely welcome in my book. The earlier twentieth century is rife with great material from the artists and authors of the time, and we don't get a taste of it nearly enough.

I just wish that this could've come out before the Twilight freakout so that it would be like some random guy becoming Dali, rather than Pattinson putting on the Dali mushtache. But I'm hoping that it's just something you get used to as the world of vampires fades away.

What do you think?

Back in October of 2007, when Robert Pattinson signed on to play Salvador Dali in Little Ashes, he was merely Cedric Diggory, the slain cutey from the Potter series. Now he's the vampire hottie of Twilight, and is gearing up to make all the young vamp lovers squee. But he's also going to show us a saucy side of Dali next year, and to the right you can get a glimpse of what that will be like, courtesy of EW. (And more over at MTV.)

Little Ashes focuses on the relationship between Dali and the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Dali swore that Lorca's lust for him never became physical, but screenwriter Philippa Goslett's take on the relationship is much steamier, insisting that they did consummate the relationship in some way.

There has got to be something in the water over at Hogwarts, or something in the air on the sets of darker teen fare. Rather than sticking with fluffy musicals or succumbing to celebrity, these guys are branching out and really challenging themselves. That's refreshing to see.

But back to Mr. Salvador: Do you buy Pattinson as Dali?

Those crazy artists, always experimenting sexually. Big deal. Nothing new. Right? Oh wait, the idea still has people intrigued. Remember those lesbian scenes in Frida? Of course you do -- they're the only reason you watched the film. But will you be as interested in seeing a young Salvador Dalí make it with a man, specifically Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, as you were in seeing Salma Hayek kiss Ashley Judd? A UK-Spain production must be hoping so; it not only has the distinction of being about the 100th Dalí film in the works right now, but it also describes itself as the "racy" and "sexy" one, and will likely be released into the public reception as "the gay Dalí movie".
According to Guardian Unlimited, the film is titled Little Ashes, named for one of Dalí's paintings, and it isn't exactly based on any definite evidence. In fact, Dalí reportedly acknowledged being the object of Lorca's homosexual affection multiple times, but denied they ever became physical and insisted that he continually rejected the poet. However, the film's screenwriter, Philippa Goslett, stands by her depiction of the events. She claims to have done enough research to believe that the men consummated in some way. The way the script apparently shows it, as far as Guardian Unlimited relays it, is Dalí wants to have sex with Lorca but can't and then ends up merely acting as a voyeur, watching while Lorca sleeps with a woman.

Little Ashes is apparently done shooting, having been filmed primarily in Barcelona on a low budget of £1.4 million (roughly $2.9 million -- I think). Paul Morrison (Solomon and Gaenor) directed the film, with Robert Pattinson, best known as "Cedric Diggory" in the Harry Potter movies, playing Dalí. Spanish newcomer Javier Beltran is Lorca and Matthew McNulty (Control) portrays a young Luis Buñuel. On a related yet personal note, I must address to all my friends that this news will have no impact on my long-decided plan to go as Dalí for Halloween this year (I'm broke, and it's cheap -- you only need a long mustache and a suit!).