‘Queer’: Director on How Burroughs’ ‘Love Story, Casting Daniel Craig and On-Screen Sex Resulted in ‘Revolutionary’ Film
Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs novella, Queer, which premiered in competition at Venice Film Fest, is his most personal film yet.
The stars aligned when producer Lorenzo Mieli and Fremantle’s head of literary acquisitions Raffaella de Angelis were able to get the book rights and Guadagnino rapidly paired up again with “Challengers” writer Justin Kuritzkes. CAA chief exec Bryan Lourd brought Daniel Craig on board to play the renowned counterculture author’s alter ego, Lee, an outcast American expat who lives in Mexico, and “Outer Banks” star Drew Starkey as younger man with whom he becomes infatuated.
A24 will release Queer in U.S. theaters later this year.
Reading “Queer” at age 17?
Adapting Burroughs unfinished novel?
Adaptation process?
The novel for us was never a novel about unrequited love, or an older gentleman trying to convince a younger one, who is straight, to love him back. We felt that there was something in this book that was more about the idea of connection and disconnection and, more importantly, repression and compression. I think both me and Justin share a passion for seduction in that we like the idea of making people connect with what they see, and also be entertained by what they see. So for us, the idea that this could become not only a great love story, but possibly the ultimate love story — and a very universal one — was irresistible. What is irresistible is the idea that you take Burroughs, and you make him universal.
Once Justin wrote the script, I spoke to my agent Bryan Lourd, and I gave it to him. Bryan, who knew the book by heart, was really so sharp in understanding what we were trying to do. And we were chatting about who could be the incarnation [of Burroughs] and I said, “I don’t know. I think it should be someone iconic.” And he said, “What about Daniel Craig?” I said, “Well, I thought about him, but I don’t know. I would never dare to ask.” He goes like, “Why? He would love that.” And I said “Would you give it to him?” He said, “Sure.” He gave the script to Daniel, and Daniel and I were on the phone a week later. Then, a week passed, and he was in the movie.
I never really clicked with the negative comments about the lack of sex on-screen in “Call Me by Your Name.” I thought those were salacious comments by superficial people. It pains me that a few of these comments come from people that I worship very dearly. This idea that there was a sort of negation of gay sex in the film, it’s ludicrous. When you make a movie, the only thing that rules is the movie itself. Anyone who wants to put an agenda on top of the movie itself is stupid.
Casting Drew Starkey
Drew Starkey is another great moment of my career. I was in London for “Bones and All” and my friend Peter Spears, with whom I produced “Call Me by Your Name,” said to me, “Hey, I’m casting a movie, and I bumped into this self-tape from this young guy. Would you like to see it because I think this is someone you should consider for Allerton?” And he shows me this tape, which has nothing to do with “Queer” and I see this guy. I said, “Whoa. Arresting, incredible acting.” Then we went through the process, and we saw 300 people, and every 50, I would say to Daniel: “I think he is still the best. Yeah, but let’s keep going.” So we kept going. And after the 300th, I said: “I think he’s still the best,” and he goes like “Yes, there is nobody better than him.”
In “Queer,” Drew became a young man of the ’50s. The way he moves his limbs, the pose, everything, his gestures are so incredibly profoundly 1950s. And to see a young man from the present becoming a young men from that era, with all the articulacy of that time is fantastic.
Key to bringing this story to the screen?
Beat Generation is about youthfulness. It’s about a revolution in the making, even if it’s sometimes a sort of harsh revolution. It’s about burning down the house, and that has been the way in which every generation has behaved toward the older generation. So it’s important that when you deal with the Beats, you keep that flame very much alive. Because if you make a period drama that’s set in the ’50s, and you start to use it as an example of, let’s say, high literature that has to be arthouse moviemaking, you are immediately making huge missteps. Because you are really betraying the spirit of what the Beat Generation is. That’s why my beloved [Bernardo] Bertolucci, when he adapted “The Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles — who was peripheral to the Beats, but friends with them — he opted for the ultimate melodrama, another popular genre. He wasn’t trying to make a cerebral movie.
We wanted it to be very picaresque, very funny, very romantic and very revolutionary in spirit. But revolutionary in the sense of being young and dreaming of doing something new for the first time.
‘Queer’ Acquired by Mubi
The film had its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. Mubi will announce its release plans shortly.
“Queer” was produced by Fremantle, Fremantle North America, Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment (a Fremantle Group Company) and Guadagnino for his Frenesy Film Company, in collaboration with Cinecitta and Frame by Frame. Fremantle Group financed the film.
