Tom Ford’s outstanding directorial debut A Single Man is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray today. The film earned Colin Firth an Academy Award nomination for best actor and Julianne Moore should have received an Oscar nod but was somehow overlooked.
Ford should not have any trouble attracting A-List talent for his next film, whatever that turns out to be. The designer-turned-director talked to Entertainment Weekly about five stars he hopes to work with in the future:
Brad Pitt: “I’ve always admired Brad as an actor, but I think he’s even better now. I hope people take this the right way but he’s less physically perfect. His face has so much more character. He’s growing into himself.”
Tilda Swinton: “I think she’s amazing. She’s an incredible actress; she’s absolutely fearless. I loved her in I Am Love. She’s good in comedy too. There’s a huge untapped comedic actress there.”
Paul Rudd: “Everybody loves Paul Rudd. There’s something in his face and his eyes that everyone identifies with. I’d love to see him in something quite serious. I think he has enormous depth.”
Naomi Watts: “I love her always. I know her as a person, and I think so highly of her. She has star quality when she’s on screen. I’m riveted whatever [her current movie project] is.”
Justin Timberlake: “You can just feel he’s a great actor even from the few things we’ve seen him in. He has such presence and a kind of mystery. He has this enormous talent and it’s subtle
Matthew Goode found his Single Man co-star, Colin Firth, "incredibly moving." The 32-year-old actor, who plays the role of Colin's character's deceased boyfriend in the Tom Ford-directed movie, admits he was impressed by the Mamma Mia! star's ability.
"One of the finest bits of acting I've seen in a while was Colin's character getting this phone call about his partner Jim's death," Goode told the Metro newspaper. "I find it incredibly moving. Colin has been a great actor since the beginning of his career but with this performance people are going to be surprised -- which they shouldn't be -- that he's really a terrific actor."
Matthew, who has previously starred in Woody Allen's Match Point and 2008's Brideshead Revisited, admits he is unlikely to ever be cast in a leading role.
"I'm not really that leading man thing," he said. "I'm sure I'm more likely to end up playing a teacher on some sort of Rhodesian farm in the 1930s drinking gin Martinis. I hope so, actually, that will be quite fun."
Colin Firth has suggested that there are "invisible boundaries" preventing out gay actors from taking leading roles.
Firth, a straight actor who played a gay man in Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man, said he felt "complicit" in the problem of gay actors losing out on parts.
Speaking at the UK premiere of the film last night, he said: "There might be risks for a gay actor coming out. The politics of that are quite complex, it seems to me.
"If you're known as a straight guy, playing a gay role, you get rewarded for that. If you're a gay man and you want to play a straight role, you don't get cast – and if a gay man wants to play a gay role now, you don't get cast.
"I think it needs to be addressed and I feel complicit in the problem. I don't mean to be. I think we should all be allowed to play whoever – but I think there are still some invisible boundaries which are still uncrossable."
Firth made similar comments in December, when he said that "sexual taboos" in Hollywood were constraining gay actors.
Out gay actor Rupert Everett said in the same month that he would advise ambitious gay actors to stay in the closet.
He said: "The fact is that you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25-year-old homosexual trying to make it in the British film business or the American film business or even the Italian film business."
Firth has been tipped for an Oscar nomination for his role as gay college professor George Falconer in A Single Man. He won the best actor award for the performance at the Venice Film Festival last year.
Ford, better known as a fashion designer, has said his debut film is about "love and isolation", rather than being a "gay story".
Nicholas Hoult, star of A Single Man, is featured in Issue #17 of VMan magazine, on newsstands Thursday, January 28th.
Here’s what the 20-year-old British actor had to share:
On his early career aspirations: “When I was little, I wanted to be a dolphin. I only changed when I realized that wasn’t an option.”
On what draws him to acting: “What I like about this job is that you never peak. There are always new challenges. Getting older, I realize how little I know.”
On the awkwardness of nude scenes: “When you’re doing it, it’s fine because you’re in character. The awkward bit is always when they say cut.”
Designer-turned-moviemaker Tom Ford had a lot of personal drama to draw from for the suicide scene in his acclaimed new film A Single Man - it took place in his own family.
Colin Firth plans his suicide in the movie after losing his longtime partner, played by fellow Brit Matthew Goode, and Ford admits the tragedy of the movie seems authentic because he actually experienced a relative's similar dreadful death.
He said in a recent interview, "The suicide in the story comes from my family. There was a suicide that really took place in my family. It was exactly that re-enacted in the film by Colin's character with the suit and cufflinks laid out, and how he zipped himself into a sleeping bag because he didn't want to make a mess.
"I remember very vividly that there were darkly comic moments because what are you gonna do when these things happen to you in your life."
Matthew Goode who portrays Colin Firth’s deceased lover in A Single Man, chatted with Brandon Voss for The Advocate and he seems to be someone very comfortable in his own skin.
The actor, who has starred in such films as Brideshead Revisited, Match Point, Imagine You and Me, Watchman, Chasing Liberty and the upcoming Leap Year opposite Amy Adams, appears as Jim, the deceased lover that Colin Firth’s college professor mourns in a series of intimate flashbacks.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Tom Ford has said that A Single Man is “not a gay film.” As the actor kissing Colin Firth on-screen, how do you see it? I kind of agree with him. He wasn’t making it as a political piece, and the theme of love and loss is fairly universal. Obviously you can’t escape the fact that these are men kissing, but what’s lovely about George’s remembrances of Jim is the fact that it’s not a sweaty clinch — which would’ve been fine, because I would’ve been very happy to snuggle up to the rug on Colin Firth’s chest. It was remembrances like sitting on the sofa reading books together, and there’s a beauty in the banality of those scenes that also speaks to their universality. You can call it a gay film, but what’s really nice it is that it shows the intimacy between two adult males as absolutely normal and exactly the same as heterosexual intimacy.
Colin told me that you were a good kisser. What did you think of his skills? Right back at ’im. Sometimes you see straight actors trying to portray gay men as very aggressive, so the kissing is superaggressive and rough. I’m sure that does exist, but we liked that our kissing was sensitive.
Compared to shooting love scenes with a woman, do you find it more challenging to get intimate with another straight man? Well, I’ll let you know when I have to do something with full-frontal. But I don’t think you can have an erection in a scene, and I always find that funny: If you’re going to have sex, you can’t suddenly have the man springing into bed with a floppy knob. It should be a little bit saturated with semen and standing out at an odd angle with a few veins involved. [Laughs] Obviously I’m a man who likes women and has a child now, but I’m not squeamish and I love all people. If you’ve been entrusted to do the job, then you find something to love in the other character and you do your job.
Young American actors sometimes shy away from gay parts for fear of being pigeonholed or mistaken for gay in real life. As a British actor, is that something you’ve ever been concerned about? I’ve never looked at those kinds of roles as something to be avoided. I somehow ended up doing three in a row, really, with Brideshead, Watchmen, and A Single Man, so I steadily got more gay. I was “full gay” in this one. But the parts were all so good. I wouldn’t do a bad story with a character that was just gay for gay’s sake — which sounds like a porno, which I’m not particularly into. But I know what you mean about Americans. There’s a real problem with masculinity and sensitivity in Hollywood. I don’t blame actors for not coming out because America might then have a problem with watching them kissing Cameron Diaz. And then there are certain actors who don’t want people to think, I wonder if he’s really gay, because he did terribly well in that gay part. America’s a slightly harder country, where men are constantly trying to be men. And it’s not just Hollywood; everyone goes to the gym.
We’re going to be hearing and reading a lot about A Single Man which is getting a lot of awards buzz. A lot of the buzz surrounds leading man Colin Firth who lucky Brandon Voss from The Advocate got to chat with over coffee at Manhattan’s swanky Carlyle Hotel for an interview.
Here are some excerpts:
A Single Man is about a gay character based on a story by a gay author and directed by a gay man who grafted parts of his own life onto the story, but Tom Ford has repeatedly said that “this is not a gay film,” a statement which has understandably disappointed some members of the gay community who hunger for the next Milk or the next Brokeback Mountain. I know. But as militant as you can get on this issue is to actually say that it’s incredibly important that we get to a place where we don’t care one way or another. The world is full of battles where a minority is struggling for its rights, so of course I certainly get that you need a militant front. I’m not saying that all gays should be depicted in a way where it doesn’t make an issue of it, but it should be considered a triumph when you finally have a character whose sexuality is secondary to the plot. It’s just about human feeling, and I think that’s wonderful.
There’s been some controversy over the “de-gaying” by the Weinstein Co. of the film’s new one-sheets and trailers, which focus less on the gay love story and more on the platonic relationship between George and Julianne Moore’s character, Charley. Do you think that does a disservice to the film? Yes, I do. It is deceptive. I don’t think they should do that because there’s nothing to sanitize. It’s a beautiful story of love between two men and I see no point in hiding that. People should see it for what it is.
Whether you’re flirting at a bar or just reading together on the sofa, you appear so comfortable on-screen with Matthew Goode, who plays George’s partner, Jim, in flashbacks. Because you don’t share the same sexual experiences with men in real life, is it any more challenging to achieve that truthful level of intimacy with a man than it is with a woman? No, I didn’t find it difficult. Matthew’s a good kisser, for a start, but there’s not that much of a difference, quite frankly. If you really dislike or aren’t attracted to your acting partner anyway, it doesn’t make much difference if it’s a man or a woman. I’m still channeling something that comes from myself about what it is to ache for somebody or want to have sex with somebody, so you use your imagination regardless.
In his directorial debut, desinger Tom Ford brings to us "A Single Man", starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. It is a story that centers on an English professor who, after the sudden death of his long-time partner tries to go about his typical day in Los Angeles.
The movie will be released nationwide on December 11th after being showcased in several worldwide movie festivals, including most recently the AFI Fest.
Famed Gucci fashion designer turned film director, Tom Ford, discusses the genesis of his debut feature, "A Single Man" in an interview with OUT Magazine.
OUT: Your first movie turned out to be the toast of the Venice and Toronto film festivals. Is this the start of a second career? Tom Ford: I certainly hope it’s the start of a parallel career. It was a lot of work when I was both shooting and designing, but if I were only making films, the lag time between different projects would drive me crazy. I’d like to make a movie every two or three years, which is about as quickly as you can get a project off the ground anyway.
How do you think those two sensibilities -- fashion and film -- come together in the way you approached this movie? They are very separate things for me. Making this film is the first time in my life that I have been purely expressive or artistic. Fashion, for me, is certainly creative, but it’s ultimately a commercial endeavor.
On paper, certainly, A Single Man sounds like an unlikely project. It’s a story about a middle-aged gay man preparing to take his own life. Even [my partner] Richard, when he first read what I wanted to do, said, “Are you sure?” I said, “Yes, I’m positive. I have a feeling.”
The focus on love between two men seems so apposite given the debate around gay marriage and the glaring need for better representations of gay relationships. I didn’t even think about it, but I created the kind of relationship on screen that I have and that [the writer] Christopher Isherwood had with Don Bachardy for 43 years. So it just seemed very natural to me. It was funny to me when one of my agents said, “This is a gay story.” I said, “Really? It is?” I’m just blind to gay/straight at this point in my life. I am gay -- I’ve always been completely open about that—but first and foremost I’m human and live the same human condition that every other human on our planet lives. Christopher Isherwood was one of the very first people to treat his gay characters in the same way that he treated the straight characters. They were always just people interacting.
It’s clear that this is a personal movie. If you read the novel, you can see that I’ve had my character and personality grafted on to the central character of George. The book A Single Man is kind of The Power of Now before The Power of Now was written. And going through a certain midlife crisis of my own -- having spent an enormous amount of my life concentrating on the material world -- this book spoke to me in my mid-40s in a way that it didn’t speak to me when I read it in my 20s. At this point in time a great message for all of us is to appreciate the small things in our lives and to try to be very present for them, because they are the big things in life -- that’s what we get, that’s it.
In contrast to your sexually provocative advertising and Gucci-era persona, A Single Man reveals a deeper, more romantic side that may have escaped people’s notice. I agree. One thing that most people wouldn’t believe about me is that I’m incredibly shy, and I don’t think I’ve ever allowed people in that close. So the fashion side of me is the surface side, really. It’s also taken a bit of coming to terms with the fact that I do spend so much of my life working in the material world. But as long as you keep it in perspective and don’t take it too seriously, I think fashion is a great thing that adds quality to our lives. It doesn’t mean that a beautiful pair of shoes isn’t still beautiful. But if you lose them, big deal, because they don’t really mean anything other than to be able to say, “Wow, look at my feet. Aren’t they pretty?”
How did your partner react when he saw this movie? Well, he saw it in many stages. He read every incarnation of the screenplay, he came on the set a few times, he saw the dailies, he saw the first cuts. And I think he loves it. He’s very rarely particularly demonstrative about things I’m working on. Many, many fashion shows where I got great reviews—he didn’t say a word about them. It was almost as if they didn’t exist, and that used to drive me crazy. But he’s been much more vocal about this.
How did you come to choose Nicholas Hoult for the movie? Originally, I had cast someone else in that role, someone well known, who pulled out at the very last minute. He just didn’t show up at the costume fitting five days before we were due to start shooting. About two weeks earlier, I had received, via e-mail, an audition by Nicholas, who wanted to read for it even though the part was taken. I remember thinking Fuck, he’s so good, he’s so right for this, but the part had already been cast. And then oddly -- and this happened a lot with this film -- things just moved. Colin Firth wasn’t available originally -- I had cast someone else in the role -- and we had a shift in schedule, he had a shift in schedule, the other person dropped out, and all of a sudden things lined up. The same thing happened with Nicholas. Now I can’t imagine anybody but Nick in that role.
There’s something very serene about his presence in the movie. And angelic. And in a way he is a bit of an angel who saves George (Colin Firth). What’s interesting is that Nicholas was 18 when we started filming; Colin was 48. They were exactly the ages of Chris and Don when they met.
Come with me as I explore the emtertainment, music, travel and news world.
Read all about our favorite stars of the "Entertainment World", visit picturesque places through the "Windows of the World", enjoy great "Culinary Experiences", or just sit back and enjoy my views on life.
MAKE SURE YOU VISIT OFTEN! New updates are posted daily.
Tom Ford’s outstanding directorial debut A Single Man is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray today. The film earned Colin Firth an Academy Award nomination for best actor and Julianne Moore should have received an Oscar nod but was somehow overlooked.
Whether you’re flirting at a bar or just reading together on the sofa, you appear so comfortable on-screen with Matthew Goode, who plays George’s partner, Jim, in flashbacks. Because you don’t share the same sexual experiences with men in real life, is it any more challenging to achieve that truthful level of intimacy with a man than it is with a woman?
