Two gay-themed feature films are set to
premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
The jailhouse romance film I Love
You Phillip Morris stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as a pair
of star-crossed lovers who meet in a Texas jail cell.
The script is based on the book of the
same name by journalist Steve McVickers. The book follows the true
story of Steven Russell (played by Jim Carrey, Liar Liar) and
his improbable, but true, transformation from small-town businessman,
father and former cop to gay white-collar criminal and ingenious
jailbreaker.
After a car crash, Russell's life takes
a most unusual roller coaster ride that leads him to a life of crime,
being gay, and falling in love with his cellmate Phillip Morris
(played by Ewan McGregor, Star Wars).
Between 1993 and 1998, the clever
Russell broke out of a Texas jail four times in five years and always
on a Friday the 13th; twice landing into a six-figure job as a CFO of
a major company.
Russell's enduring love for one-time
fellow convict Morris, and the dream of being together and free,
proves to be his Achilles heel
that foils his plans.
Both Carrey and McGregor are scheduled
to appear at the film's opening.
The Park City, Utah festival will also
premiere director/writer Peter Bratt's La Mission.
In the middle of the Hispanic San
Francisco district of La Mission, Che (played by Benjamin Bratt, Law
and Order) is the baddest Chicano on the block. A hard knocks
life lived behind prison bars and Tequila shots, Che prods on for his
beloved son, Jesse.
Che's macho world is crushed when he
discovers that Jesse is gay. He responds to the revelation by
violently severing all ties with his son.
La Mission is the story of how a
proud father and a lost son mend their relationship, breaking with
the violence of the past.
Queer Lounge, the unique gay and
lesbian film networking event sponsored by GLAAD, will host a panel
on January 20 starring the cast and crew of La Mission. Panelists
will debate the role of culture in homophobia.
On the Net: Queer
Lounge website is at www.queerlounge.org