Role models of greatness.

Here you will discover the back stories of kings, titans of industry, stellar athletes, giants of the entertainment field, scientists, politicians, artists and heroes – all of them gay or bisexual men. If their lives can serve as role models to young men who have been bullied or taught to think less of themselves for their sexual orientation, all the better. The sexual orientation of those featured here did not stand in the way of their achievements.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Filmmakers Rob Williams & Rodney Johnson

Here’s a gay movie plot that sounds intriguing:
Doug (Eric Dean at top) is dating two very different men – 50-year-old Jacob (Michael Nicklin, middle) and 30-year-old Colton (Benjamin Lutz, bottom). What Doug doesn’t know at first is that the two men are father and son.

Awkward.

Writer/director Rob Williams and his partner, writer/producer Rodney Johnson, are making this movie, to be called The Men Next Door.
In 2005 they co-founded Guest House Films, which has since produced five queer features: Long Term Relationship (2006), Back Soon (2007), 3-Day Weekend (2008), Make the Yuletide Gay (2009) and Role/Play (2010). The sequel to Make the Yuletide Gay is currently in pre-production. From writer/director Rob Williams on his newest project, The Men Next Door: “I can’t wait to get on set with these three actors – individually, they are each extremely talented and charismatic, but when we put them together during the audition process, we immediately saw something special that should translate into amazing on-screen chemistry.”
Principal photography on The Men Next Door is expected to begin this month and will be distributed by Los Angeles based Guest House Films after a film festival run.










Writer/producer Rodney Johnson (at right) is a descendant of both Chief Sitting Bull and Edith Wharton. I swear I’m not making this up. He is the author of a young adult series of books featuring a Lakota teen solving mysteries on the Rosebud Indian reservation. As a screenwriter, he worked on the cult hit Wasabi Tuna and the Lifetime Original Movie “Queen Sized,” starring Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray) and Annie Potts. As a freelance writer, Rodney also worked for the Disney Channel, Toon Disney and Jetix.

Writer/director Rob Williams (at left) graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in finance, and received an MBA in marketing from the University of Texas. Following a move to Los Angeles, he worked in the public relations field for over a decade. But when he realized the industry seemed to be lacking in creativity, he began studying screenwriting at the Twin Bridges Screenwriting Salon. At present Rob is working on his first novel (stay tuned). After the release of their first three Guest House films, Rob and Rodney were named to Instinct magazine’s “Leading Men of 2008” for their contributions to gay cinema. They live in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, where they are pursuing numerous projects.




Have a look at Role/Play (above), a Guest House Films 2010 release (1 hr. 24 minutes):
Plot summary: An outed soap opera actor (played by Steve Callahan, on his back above) hides out at a queer Palm Springs resort, where he finds himself staying next door to a gay marriage activist (Matthew Montgomery, on top), whose very public male/male marriage has recently failed. Written and directed by Rob Williams and shot on location at the Alexander Inn in Palm Springs. Williams and Johnson self-distributed Role/Play through Guest House Films.

Click this link to see the entire film (free of charge):
http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi3607143193/

No comments:

Post a Comment