Like so many gay men we do find we so overuse the word ICON when talking about our favorite divas and queer heroes,   BUT no excuse this time these two are ‘the real thing’ and about to be further immortalized once again on the silver screen.

First, in US movie theaters  & UK Cinemas this week finally comes Baz Luhrmann’s highly anticipated ELVIS.  This Australian auteur has already stunned us musically with Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge ….. and we can never forget his stage production of La Boheme on Broadway in 2002 which blew us away.

When it premiered at Cannes it received very mixed but enthusiastic reviews.  Time wrote ‘Elvis Is an Exhilarating, Maddening Spectacle—But One Made With Love’.  Young Austin Butler in the title role is described thus:  an unlikely Elvis, tightly grips the reins by providing one show-stopping note after another. There isn’t a hint of fakery in anything Butler does. That sincerity uplifts “Elvis” even as it tumbles.    

Look out too for young Kodi Smit-McPhee a rising star after his breakthrough performance in The Power Of The Dog.  Here he plays Jimmie Rodger.

 

 

And hot on the heels of The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes  Netflix’s compelling documentary that was released recently, comes BLONDIE.   This feature film directed by Andrew Dominik and based on Joyce Carol Oates‘s legendary novel of the same name reportedly does not shy away from the most controversial pieces of Monroe’s life and her status as the sex symbol of the 20th century.

Will this iconic women’s memory ever be left to rest in peace ?

PS Netflix is set to release BLONDIE on Sept 23rd