Trans in Film and Video 12/12/22

Did you see Eddie Izzard on Late Night with Stephen Colbert last Thursday? The standup comic, actor, and would-be member of parliament was on the show promoting her one-trans woman show on a New York stage, Great Expectations. Ms. Izzard performs all the characters using a technique she discovered while doing her standup act. She also revealed that she did not win in the recent British elections race for a seat in parliament but plans to keep on trying.

Ms. Izzard was greeted with thunderous applause when she came out to join Colbert at the interview desk. Regardless of what conservatives think of transgender people the majority of the public seem to be fine with a famous comedian coming out as trans.

Dear Noah: Pages from a Family Diary (premiered last month at the Meet the Press Film Festival at DOC NYC) is an NBC OUT short-form documentary which tells the story of Katie Laird and her 15-year-old transgender son Noah, of Houston, Texas, who chose to leave Texas for a hopefully more tolerant and safer home in Denver, Colorado. The documentary shows the family’s everyday life as they struggle with the restrictions Texas inflicts on them and wrestle with the idea of pulling up their roots and leaving the state. The film debuted during Transgender Awareness Week and can be viewed on Peacock. Get more info from The Statesman.

Joyland star Alina Khan.

There was much excitement over the inclusion of the Pakistani produced film Joyland when it was shown in the Cannes Film Festival and won two awards. The film did well in other festivals and was expecting an Oscar nomination. But, Joyland depicts a love affair between a man and a trans woman and because of that the government of Pakistan has revoked permission for the film’s domestic release. If it doesn’t exhibit in Pakistani theaters it will not be eligible for the Oscars. The star, Alina Khan is devastated by the decision. She said, “I’ve been very sad. There’s nothing against Islam and I don’t understand how Islam can get endangered by mere films.”

Khan and the Pakistani transgender community are hoping the government can be convinced to change its mind.

Elite (Spanish: Élite) is a Spanish drama television series created for Netflix. It is set in an elite high school in Spain. The stars of the show are three young, working class students who are at the school because of a scholarship program. In the sixth season a new character named Nico was introduced. He is newly transitioned and tries to keep his gender status a secret in his new school. Nico is portrayed by Ander Puig, who is trans in real life, and came out when he was 17. The sixth season of Elite premiered in November on Netflix.

Cover of the upcoming book Pageboy.

The star of The Umbrella Academy, trans actor Elliot Page, has written a memoir titled Pageboy. Page shared the cover of the book on Instagram Dec. 5. Why did he write the book? He wanted to tell his story in a candid exploration of trans identity, mental health and the “pursuit of joy”. He hopes that it will be an inspiration for other closeted trans people to be there true selves. He said of the cover photo, “It’s out next June, and I’m so excited to share its cover with you now. At many points in my life, it felt unbearable to be in front of a camera, but making this cover with acclaimed photographer Catherine Opie (@csopie) was a joyful experience that I will never forget.” Pageboy will be released June 6, 2023.

The next Transformers movie, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, is in production and we are happy to report that Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is making franchise history as the first openly transgender actor to be cast in the Transformers film series, and she’ll be playing one of the most unique villains. About time. Rodriguez provides the voice of a new transformer Nightbird, created by humans to fight the Decepticons, but things go bad when the Decepticons take Nightbird to use as a weapon against Earth and its defenders. The film will hit theaters on June 9, 2023.

Nicole Maines

There’s is a new film streaming on Hulu called Darby and the Dead. Thanks to a near-death experience as a kid, the Darby in the title can’t only see dead people — she communicates with them and helps them take care of their unfinished business so they can move on. When her bestie, Capri, passes unexpectedly, it’s up to Darby to talk Capri’s friends into holding a 17th birthday party for the recently departed. One of Capri’s pals is Piper, played by Nicole Maines. When Maines got the part and it was written as a cisgender role. After discussion it was decided that the character would be a trans woman. But, that wouldn’t be emphasized. Piper’s gender status is not presented as a big deal. The director Silas Howard happens to be a trans man and that helped change the character’s gender status. Learn more about the film from Yahoo Entertainment.

Tags: featured, news, trans entertainment

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment