Singer to helm live action Ambiguously Gay Duo

[Paul MacLean]

Who knows, this could be Singer's big comeback...

Vareity, April 1, 2021

Director Bryan Singer, best-known for his work on the X-Men pictures and the recent Bohemian Rhapsody, has signed a new deal to direct a live-action adaptation of The Ambiguously Gay Duo. Based on the short animated cartoons originally seen on Saturday Night Live, The Ambiguously Gay Duo features the exploits of a pair of crime-fighters - whose personal interactions perpetually raise question regarding the exact nature of their relationship. Justin Bieber and James Marsden are set to star as the titular duo, with Sir Ian McKellen cast as the film’s villain.

Singer, who is himself gay, has previously used superheroes to explore gay issues (albeit surreptitiously) in the X-Men pictures, drawing parallels between the mutants’ feelings of alienation and issues which affect gays in the real world. Singer however drew fire for being “too agenda-driven” after making Superman Returns, with accusations that he “made Superman gay”.

Asked if The Ambiguously Gay Duo makes a mockery of gay issues (or is even homophobic), Singer is quick to defend the project. “Gays are often accused of being self-pitying. This is an attempt to show that we can laugh not only at ourselves, and more importantly at the awkwardness of a straight world which is far-more accepting and well-meaning than it used to be -- but still not sure how to take us.”

First proposed in 2007, Singer enlisted Gore Vidal to adapt the material. The picture was subsequently put in turnaround, but has restarted with a finished script by Armistead Maupin. John Ottman will handle editing chores. Ottman however will be passing the music scoring reigns to Academy Award-winning composer John Corigliano. Corigliano (who won two Grammy Awards for his 1990 Symphony #1, written as a response to the AIDS crisis) is proud to be a part of the film. “I’ve only worked on four movies but have already experienced all the highs and lows of in this profession. My first score was nominated for an Oscar, my second movie bombed, my third score won an Oscar and the last one was rejected!“ he notes with good humor. “I was reticent about returning to films, but this was too good to pass-up. I’ve never scored a comedy or a superhero film.” The score will be recorded by the San Fransisco Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson-Thomas. Elton John will provide the title song "Ambiguously You".

Production is set to roll at the Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, with location work to be filmed in West Hollywood, San Francisco’s Castro District and Provincetown, MA.

[Edmund Kattak]

Somewhere, Smiegel is laughing.