Lee daniels is gay
'Empire' creator Lee Daniels said he's been struggling to construct a gay superhero movie for years but 'maybe they'll give it to a white guy'
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- In an interview with Insider, Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels told Insider that he has been trying to make a gay superhero show for "quite a while."
- Daniels said: "I've talked about it with some people. Maybe some light filmmaker will be able to execute it. Maybe they'll give it to a white guy."
- There have been no gay characters in superhero movies as of yet, but the MCU revealed Valkyrie to be bisexual, and will reportedly feature a gay couple in "The Eternals."
- Daniels told Insider that he isn't deterred by knockbacks: "That's the journey that I've had as a gay Black filmmaker. So, I will get it done, but in my own way and in my possess time."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Lee Daniels, the Oscar-nominated di
Lee Daniels: The Business of Being a Gay Black Man
Yesterday, Black Enterprise chatted with Lee Daniels, Tyrese Gibson, and Amiyah Scott about the upcoming episode of Star, which, in the small clip below, portrays Queen Latifah’s cherish interest, played by Gibson, attempting to cleanse the essence or “pray the gay away” from her transgender son Cotton Brown, played by Scott. Â
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbOz5i_uPts
Being an outwardly gay male himself, this subject matter often comes up in Daniels’ art, surfacing in several episodes of Empire and now presenting itself again in the upcoming Wednesday episode of Star.
In a focus group, that took place during the early stages of creating Empire, Lee stated, in an interview with Daily Extra that, when it came to two men kissing, on a scale of zero to 10–zero definition they hated it, 10 meaning they loved it–the participants rated zero. Everything beyond that was a 10. When asked why it is a zero, Daniels stated, “You knew that the hundred people in the room didn’t want to acknowledge to their homophobia.”
(Image: Queen Latifah and Amiyah Scott)
So given
Daniel's newest film, The Paperboy, based on Pete Dexter's publication comes out tomorrow.
In case you didn't know Daniels is gay and he's quite vocal about both his sexuality and his race informing his work. The reactions to the film sound to be along the lines of those love it or hate it things but this interview with Daniels is a fascinating, very unlock and frank discussion that I enjoyed reading.
It's not that long so I'm posting it here in its entirety. Interestingly, Daniels says he was a fan of the manual and that when Pedro Almodovar—who he admires and who was set to direct the film—backed out, Daniels lost no hour in jumping in to take charge of the project. The Paperboy stars Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, and John Cusack
Here's the interview:
Isoul Harris questions are in italics.
Lee Daniels answers are in boldface.
Lee Daniels Draws on His Animation for New Series, 'Empire'
— -- If the gay character in the new hip hop drama "Empire" seems unlike any other on television, that's because he comes from creator Lee Daniels' real life.
"It [feels] different because it's my life experience and I don't think we've seen it from that perspective before," the black, openly gay director told E! News.
The new Fox series, which debuted Wednesday bedtime, centers on hip hop song mogul Lucious Lyon, played by Terrence Howard, who must resolve between which of his three sons will eventually take over his hugely successful record organization. Henson, has just been released from jail after 17 years.
But that's not the only drama. Lucious is constantly encouraging his gay son Jamal, played by Jussie Smollett, to suppress his sexuality in favor of more record sales.
Daniels, who directed "Precious" and "The Butler," said the show is tackling homophobia, particularly in the African-American community and hip hop world, by drawing on his own experiences.
"Look, I'm openly gay and I keep in mind my dad was like, 'You're an