Openly gay Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino first came on to our radar when he directed Desire trilogy, which consists of the films I Am Love (2009), A Bigger Splash (2015), and Call Me by Your Name (2017). The latter introduced the world to Timothée Chalamet, who, like the film itself was nominated for an Academy Award. They may not have won but veteran filmmaker James Ivory did for his adapted screenplay.
Fast forward to 2024 and Guadagnino’s latest movie CHALLENGERS is about to be released. This is not per se a queer movie BUT one of the stars is JOSH O’CONNOR who stole very gay man’s heart with his performance in Francis Lee’s wonderful queer romance God’s Own Country. He then went on to win an Emmy for his portrayal of Prince Charles in the TV series THE CROWN.
In Challengers, O’Connor plays Patrick a washed up tennis player who must face off his best friend a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist). Its all been arranged by his wife Tashi (Zendaya) who is also Patrick’s ex girlfrend. You’ll have to watch the movie to see. who wins the game and/or Tashi.
Challengers is being released in the US by United Artists on April 26th
PS Josh O’Connor is in talks to star in Luca Guadagnino’s new drama “Separate Rooms,” an adaptation of the eponymous novel by the late Italian writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli. The story follows an Italian writer named Leo who is mourning the loss of his boyfriend.
In “Separate Rooms,” 30-something Leo travels across Milan, Paris, London and Florence, while Thomas is a young Berlin-based pianist who is temporarily living in Paris when he first intersects with Leo. The book is divided into three parts, called “movements,” which alternate between flashbacks and reflections. After meeting in Paris, the lovers begin a long affair, meeting and traveling together in different European cities over a three-year period. The two meet when they wish, but live separately, secluding themselves in their respective loneliness, though they often write each other. At one point, Thomas starts an affair with a girl, which makes Leo deeply jealous. Then Thomas is diagnosed with an illness that will lead to his death in his hometown of Munich.
A large portion of the book, which begins with Leo being called to Munich to say goodbye to his former lover, details Leo’s mourning and his gradual recovery as he reminisces while traveling to England and the U.S. The book’s author, Tondelli, died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 36.
