Using The Advocate‘s cover story as a springboard, The Los Angeles Times explores the “obvious — and growing — gay appeal” of superheroes, and whether the Man of Steel’s supposed “gay vibe” will broaden the audience for Superman Returns:
An informal poll of six veteran Hollywood marketing executives at rival studios revealed sharply divided opinions over how — or even if — Superman’s gay attention would affect the film. Two of the executives said the focus could actually expand the film’s audience, much as gay moviegoers have responded to the X-Men superhero series, which has been praised for its metaphorical plots about acceptance.
… But four of the movie marketing executives, all of whom declined to speak on the record, said gay Superman Returns interest presented two potential box-office problems. First, teenage moviegoers, especially those in conservative states, might be put off by a movie carrying a gay vibe; among some teens, these executives agreed, saying something “is gay” is still the ultimate put-down. Second, the attention threatens to undermine the film’s status as a hard-edged action movie, making it feel softer, more romantic, and thus less interesting to young ticket buyers who crave pyrotechnics.
The article also touches upon Joel Schumacher’s notoriously campy Batman & Robin, which barely grossed $100 million in U.S. theaters.
June 4th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
[...] Anyway, back to E! Online, which has quotes from Gay League’s Palmer, The Comics Journal’s Michael Dean, and Alonso Duralde, who wrote the “How Gay Is Superman?” cover story for The Advocate. (”For the record,” E! notes, “Duralde, who wrote the cover story, doesn’t think Superman ‘has ever been remotely gay-ish — I think he’s a square’.”) [...]
June 6th, 2006 at 12:14 am
I saw the headline and figured they were outing Brandon Routh. It’s been rumored for some time that he’s gay. And so what if he is, I say.
June 6th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
[...] By this point, everybody knows about Batwoman. Even my Mom. And the mainstream media have been abuzz this week with talk of Superman’s sexuality and “gay appeal.” Fred, Barney and friendsBut at Cracked, comedian Vinnie Penn is more interested in other figures — namely, “10 Movie and TV Duos That Were Probably Gay.” [...]
June 7th, 2006 at 9:31 am
[...] With Superman Returns, there’s been a lot of speculation about size: How massive is the budget? (”Well south of $200 million,” director Bryan Singer says). How broad is the character’s “gay appeal”? Um, how big is Brandon Routh’s codpiece? Superman ReturnsAnd now, how long is the movie’s running time? [...]
June 9th, 2006 at 10:10 am
[...] Newspapers sure do like that “How Gay Is Superman?” story — but not as much as they love “lesbian Batwoman.” [...]
June 20th, 2006 at 9:47 am
[...] Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen claims of Superman as a Jesus metaphor, Superman as Jewish allegory, and Superman as gay icon. [...]
June 23rd, 2006 at 11:10 am
[...] ‘Superman’s off-duty pursuits are nobody’s business’ Friday June 23, 2006, 11:10 am Superman #12I was content to let the curious “How gay is Superman?” angle fade away, because it’s lost a lot of steam in the mainstream press. [...]
June 24th, 2006 at 10:42 am
he’d better be gay. that’ll rake in more millions for the movie worldwide. of course, this is a well-oiled studio plot knowing fully well the spending capacity of gays + the pulling/drawing power they have over women consumers. gays queer-eye everything and stand as authorities on so many grounds. so why no cater and slant the character, if not the costume, towards gay hints or pokes. if that’ll do the job of raking in the money, then brandon has the biggest dick in hollywood at present, bar none. he had a very sweet homoerotic experience when he was a teen, and could never forget it even though he’s now a str8 guy. oh, isn’t that the sweetest and sexiest spin on a movie star. damage is only being done to those who won’t admit that they all went through the gay casting couch. mwahahahaha
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May 22nd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
[...] Bites: He’s not gay, so stop asking Monday June 12, 2006, 10:10 am After seemingly endless speculation, we can finally put those rumors to rest about the Man of Steel’s sexuality (yeah, right): [...]