u/Loud_Ninja_7537

Andrew Scott has a new movie coming out about him playing Ian Charleson, who was secretly dying from AIDS while he played Hamlet at the biggest theatre in England. It looks really good and I hope it is good

However I can't help but notice the need for stock female characters being pushed. All over the press tour are the two actresses and Andrew Scott is hardly getting a word in

I remember it was the same with It's A Sin, they made a big deal about having an 'all gay cast' then heavily pushed the 2 actresses instead of the 5 men, and all anyone could talk about after was those women rather than the gay stories. I lowkey think its crazy how every AIDS story has to focus on the mother or the nurse, it's like a gay man's own life and struggle isn't enough unless there's a woman crying for him. Makes u think

Recently been seeing a lot of trans girls who I assumed were HSTS getting into relationships with trans men. Kind of fascinating - all of these trans are kind of ambiguous, some AGP signs but not overwhelmingly so. Are they having PIV sex? Much to contemplate

I know there's a big industry here but what about people who are starting out? I'm 21, I want to make ultra low budget shorts. I know NI Screen funds shorts but not your first one so I'm looking to try make an initial one as cheaply as possible. I do have some experience with script writing and theatre from uni in England but I don't really have film contacts in Belfast. Are there Facebook groups or ways to meet people? I know there's film degree at Queen's so there must be grads from that looking to do films.

This was my first year submitting. Specifically this post is aimed at people who have submitted multiple years and had vastly different results; what was actually the difference in your script? Is it marketability? Programmability? Are they really looking for something ultra niche or something ultra generic? Is it about the best writing or is it about the closest to what they already have on i.e. Line of Duty and the like. Is it a formatting thing, is it genre, do they want 'wow' impressive dialogue? If anyone has any links to scripts that made it through or got close to the end it would be greatly appreciated to have an idea of what it is they are looking for.

I've been working on a show showing elsewhere and I'm hoping to get funding for the 2027 Fringe (I would NOT have the money or capabilities to have gotten it to the 2026 festival by myself; I was shortlisted for one opportunity but didn't get it in the end). I am young and don't have much money so I would be greatly helped out by Arts Council funding, which I am intending to apply for even if I don't necessarily expect to get it. Is anyone willing to privately share example budgets and the like, or even DM me rough ballpark costs of things? From rough calculations, I have accom and ticket sales roughly worked out (drawing up plans on the assumption of ticket sales at 20-30%) but it's all the other various costs I'd like more context and discussion on...

If anyone's willing to share it'd be super appreciated!

When I was younger like all gay teenagers I had many crushes on the boys around me, many of whom inevitably turned out to be straight. I would hold out hope they could be gay like me, look for evidence, etc. Of course, as I became an adult I started to let go of silly things like this. Once I was able to have actual sex with actually gay men the appeal of forbidden fruit died pretty much overnight.

Besides one half-hearted crush on a straight man who was nice to me at the very start of university, I've done a really good job of not having inapropriate crushes on straight men. Like, I find plenty of them hot, but I know they're straight and I don't waste time thinking of them.

Until now. I met this guy who I did initially believe was gay. He is very beautiful and manicured but not in an annoying or effeminate way, just clearly cares about his appearance. He has beautiful curly blond hair and long eyelashes and he has definitely been flirty with me. Initially I thought he was gay because of this flirtiness but he is just generally outgoing, charming and cheeky, that's his personality. Which is definitely my type. Luckily in my interactions with him I can generally banish any thoughts about him but he is just so beautiful, sweet, funny, kind, talented, interested in me as a person.

I don't actually have evidence he's straight but I just get the vibe he is sadly. His sense of humour and general energy make me think he's a straight guy. I just think since he is already quite pretty-boy and not overly masculine, that if he was a gay guy that would be more pronounced. I've realised over the years that I hate how many gay men stylize themselves into these pornified extremes of either a (visually) ultra masculine or ultra feminine i.e. a James Charles twink in makeup or an ultra ripped gym bunny or a hairy bearded tattoo bear guy. I know you guys are going to call me a pickme again but I just like guys who are normal, who sit somewhere inbetween and aren't ultra-stylized. Like I like guys in bands and photographers and artsier guys, I'm jealous of how women get all the cool softly-masculine men while most gay guys have neurotic relationships with gender performance

I had also largely accepted that straight men do like women, as horrifying and grotesque as that may seem, but the image of this beautiful Adonis being with a woman is so hurtful to my soul. Women are so mean and horrible about men, he probably has some hag complaining about how he's giving her 'the ick' or how he's bad in bed or something, as if he isn't too good for her. It makes me sick to think of how straight women treat these beautiful men like trash because they don't have any appreciation for male beauty. They don't know how lucky they are.