The fabulous stupid world of "Another Gay Sequel"

In 2006, indie writer/director Todd Stephens shook up gay cinema in Another Gay Movie. With a wink and a nod to "American Pie", the raunchy "Another Gay Movie" followed the misadventures of four gay teens preoccupied with something much more advanced than coming out: losing their virginity. Now Stephens ups the ante with "Another Gay Sequel", sending his horny homo heroes to Florida for a wild spring break. Stephens spoke with Bay Windows about the clich?s and comedy of gay movies.

Brian Jewell: Let's go back to Another Gay Movie. You took a very straight genre, the teen sex comedy, and gayed it up. That was bold and unexpected. What was the inspiration?
Todd Stephens: Well with my second film, Gypsy 83, I had a hard time getting distribution. A lot of distributors said it wasn't gay enough. That kind of made me angry, and I basically said, OK, you want something gay? I'll make the gayest movie ever!

BJ: I think you succeeded!
TS: Well, that's what I set out to do. I was ticked off when I wrote it.

BJ: That's interesting, because it's not an angry movie at all. It's very warm hearted, I think.
TS: You don't actually see it in the movie, but anger fueled me to push limits and push buttons.

BJ: So how did you connect being pissed off with a cute teen sex comedy?
TS: I wanted to make something that would be marketable. And I'm really influenced by straight teen sex comedies, like "Risky Business" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Porky's" ... that's what I grew up with.

BJ: When I watched Another Gay Movie, I thought you must really know your '80s movies. Even the forgotten ones like Up the Creek and Stewardess School.
TS: Oh, I don't know those! Should I check them out? "Stewardess School" sounds really good.

BJ: Uh, I don't recommend it. Unless you're really desperate for an idea for another sequel!
TS: Well, I always loved movies like that, especially when I was a teenager. And I always wished there were gay versions. So I modeled the plot on "American Pie", a straight coming of age movie, to kind of make the point that gay teenage boys want the same thing as straight teenage boys. They want to get laid. I found it fascinating that the film kind of polarized people in the gay community. Some people thought it went too far, or showed gay people in a negative light and only wanting to have sex. But I was essentially doing the same film we've seen 50 straight versions of. Yet somehow the gay version was more shocking.

BJ: Don't you know you're supposed to make a dignified coming out drama? Oh wait, you did that already.
TS: I did that. I wanted to do something different. As much as I love coming out movies, and angsty gay movies, I thought it was time to make something that allowed us to laugh at ourselves.

BJ: Part of the fun of it was that we hadn't really seen a gay movie like that before.
TS: Exactly. But I remember being in a restroom after a screening at a film festival, and hearing these two guys having a massive argument with each other. One loved it and one thought it was complete shit. And I've seen some of the comments online, and it seems to be a love it or hate it movie. And to me that's an achievement. I made a piece of work that provoked a response in people, so I'm glad for that. Some of us are not ready to laugh at ourselves in that way, and I understand that.

BJ: Because we've been laughed at by straight people in very similar ways.
TS: Exactly. I get that.

BJ: So why a sequel?
TS: Well the first one did well. And I enjoyed living in that silly world, that kind of fabulous stupid world. I guess I didn't want to leave it. I also felt like I wanted to take the characters to the next level and see how they grew and where they went. I actually developed it with some of the actors from the original film, who dropped out at the last minute. But we were already in pre-production, so we decided to keep going.

BJ: I'm glad. Though I will miss the original cast.
TS: I do too. It certainly wasn't planned. We had done some readings with the original guys. But the new guys did a fabulous job and brought something different to the table. And the last thing I wanted to do was just make a remake, so it's nice to have these guys give it a fresh spin.

BJ: So have you pushed the boundaries further in this one?
TS: Yes. I felt I had to take it further. And I wanted to take the characters further. It's all about being confronted with being promiscuous, and how that fits into our lives as gay men. Are we going to be promiscuous or monogamous or somewhere in between? That's really what the film is about.

BJ: I read a review that surprised me, that said the ending pretty much comes down against promiscuity. Is that accurate?
TS: No, not at all. At the end some of the guys have decided to be monogamous and some haven't. Everybody needs to make their own decision in that regard.

BJ: You have more fabulous cameos in Another Gay Sequel.
TS: I had the pleasure of working with some of my idols like RuPaul and Lady Bunny. Scott Thompson came back and he's even funnier than he was in the first film. And we have some really good performances by the porn stars, actually. I enjoy casting people that most mainstream films wouldn't cast.

BJ: And it's not too bad, to surround yourself with all those people.
TS: It's a nice way to go to work every day!

BJ: The character Muffler was a real scene-stealer in the original. Is she back too?
TS: She has a cameo at the beginning, but Ashley wasn't able to do more because of scheduling. She got cast in The Ritz on Broadway.

BJ: What about the future? Another Another Gay Sequel?
TS: As long as people support theses films, I'll keep making them. I literally just finished this one, and now we're working on bonus features for the DVD. So I'm still deciding what to do next.

BJ: Take a vacation?
TS: I want to! I went to Florida but didn't get a vacation.

BJ: You're in a very select group, having made a sequel to a gay movie.
TS: I think Eating Out 2 is the only other gay sequel.

BJ: If more gay filmmakers follow your lead into genre movies, maybe we'll get more gay sequels. A gay Jason Bourne, or something.
TS: I think that would be really fun. It's hard to make these films, especially with good production values, because it is a niche market. A gay James Bond thing might not be financially feasible.

BJ: And there's more competition now.
TS: Yes. Not just with movies, but all sources of media. I think the theatrical gay independent film is pretty much done. People don't go out and see them like they used to. They don't need to. I guess we're getting to the point where we can see our lives reflected in TV and other types of media. Things have definitely changed in terms of gay feature films. There are less and less of them released, and they're less well attended.

BJ: What does that mean for you as a filmmaker?
TS: I don't know! I love making gay films, but I don't know how much longer I can do it, honestly. So I'll probably move into other things that aren't totally gay. A girl has to earn a living!