"I read the script and immediately identified with Aaron," Macfarlane told FOX Television Stations.
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WATCH FREE ON TUBI: The camp queer classic "But I’m A Cheerleader" - get the app (from left) Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) and Bobby (Billy Eichner) in Bros, co-written, produced and directed by Nicholas Stoller. This meant finding right person to play the deceptively intelligent Aaron, a hunky dreamboat Bobby chooses to "be emotionally unavailable together" with. Of course, no rom-com is complete without a love interest. WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in the acclaimed LGBTQ romance "Carol" In doing so, he followed the old adage of "write what you know," while incorporating a host of other performers from the LGBTQ community - whom Eichner stressed "are all hilarious and all deserving of movies of their own." And if "Bros" does well at the box office, he pointed out, it might make the powers that be in Hollywood realize that "funny really is funny, straight people will show up for this," which will hopefully lead to "more movies like this from different perspectives." And while the story isn’t identical to my story, it is very much drawn from my real life, and that’s the life I know." "It’s a lot to navigate," he admitted "The LGBTQ community is dealing with its own internal issues, and straight people are just like, ‘Oh, LGBTQ! You’re all one big thing! And we’re here to support you!’"Īnd as a cis white gay man ("no one’s proud of it," Eichner joked), his primary focus was writing an authentic screenplay rooted in his own experiences: "All I could do is write a story that I could tell with nuance and authenticity and specificity.
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Like his character, Eichner wrestled with how to set his story underneath that broader queer umbrella. Eichner doesn’t ignore this tension in "Bros." Quite the opposite, in fact: His character receives the "Cis White Gay Man of the Year" award, and many of his queer castmates are trans and nonbinary people of color. WATCH FREE ON TUBI: "Bob the Drag Queen: Live at Caroline’s" - get the appĪnother challenge for Eichner: Writing a mainstream queer rom-com from a place of privilege at a time when representation is an ongoing and vital conversation.
And if is eye-opening for straight audiences, then that’s what’s part of the fun for them."
"Nick and Judd always said, ‘honesty is the best policy’ - the audience can feel when it’s being lied to, and they can feel when something’s coming from a real place. "There were some times I was like, ‘Is this too much? Do you guys understand this?’" Eichner said he described the pair as great sounding boards, who were ready to let him know when to make things clearer (but "not less authentic") for straight audience members who may not be up on the lingo (and other elements of gay culture). Stoller and Apatow, who Eichner noted are "both straight men, married with kids, leading very heteronormative lifestyles," helped him navigate that tension. RELATED: ‘Fire Island’ review: You’ll ardently admire and love this queer Jane Austen adaptation Some indie or streaming films avoid that tension, but the bright spotlight shining on "Bros" thanks to its wide release added an extra element of pressure. "In the rare occasions we get gay characters, often walking on eggshells."
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"My focus was, ‘let’s make the funniest movie we can make, but also a movie that is authentic, that is honest," said Eichner. WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Hugh Grant in the queer period romance "Maurice" - get the app Other gay rom-coms exist, of course - a fact Eichner was quick to acknowledge in an interview with FOX Television Stations - but they’ve often been sidelined to the indie circuit or streamers, as with Joel Kim Booster’s "Fire Island," which was released straight to Hulu earlier this year.
30, co-writer, producer and star Billy Eichner hopes to change all that.Įichner’s new film, produced by comedy titan Judd Apatow and directed by co-screenwriter Nicholas Stoller ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall"), is being billed as the first mainstream gay romantic comedy to receive a wide theatrical release.
With "Bros," which arrived in theaters on Sept. Yet all too rarely are queer people the ones actually falling in love on-screen, getting their hearts broken and patching things up with a grand romantic gesture. Writer/star Billy Eichner and fellow leading man Luke Macfarlane on their new buzzy new rom-com, "Bros."ĬHICAGO - LGBTQ+ people have helped to make romantic comedy the important, influential movie genre that it is, both on screen (often as comic relief, or the lead’s best friend) and off, by buying tickets and championing new classics. Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane on "Bros"
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