Rob Epstein is out and makes groundbreaking gay films, yet rather than
being shunned by Hollywood, he's won two Academy Awards, three
Peabodys, four Emmys, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among many other
honors. And let's not pretend his work was somehow easy just because
his subjects are so important; his timing has always been ahead of the
zeitgeist. He made The Times of Harvey Milk when people wanted to avoid gay rights; then, with Jeffrey Friedman, Common Threads - Stories from the Quilt
when many wanted to demonize aids; The Celluloid Closet
when most wanted to ignore Hollywood's hypocrisy, and Paragraph 175
when some would have rather overlooked the fate of gay men in the
Holocaust. Despite the hurdles, the co-directors convinced stars to
narrate those last three films: Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, and Rupert
Everett. Coming this fall is Epstein's and Friedman's first feature, Howl, a biopic of Allen Ginsberg starring James Franco, Jon Hamm, and David Strathairn. Four short clips below. [Epstein appears on the left, Friedman in glasses.]
when people wanted to avoid gay rights; then, with Jeffrey Friedman, Common Threads - Stories from the Quilt
when many wanted to demonize aids; The Celluloid Closet
when most wanted to ignore Hollywood's hypocrisy, and Paragraph 175
when some would have rather overlooked the fate of gay men in the
Holocaust. Despite the hurdles, the co-directors convinced stars to
narrate those last three films: Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, and Rupert
Everett. Coming this fall is Epstein's and Friedman's first feature, Howl, a biopic of Allen Ginsberg starring James Franco, Jon Hamm, and David Strathairn. Four short clips below. [Epstein appears on the left, Friedman in glasses.]
Comments