The life – more precisely the
closeted life – of Hollywood star Rock Hudson returns to the screen
in 2010.
German filmmakers Andrew Davies and
Andre Schafer will premier Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger
next month at the Berlin International Film Festival, also known as
Berlinale.
“The film will reveal a gay star
doing a secret balancing act between the heterosexual world of an
obviously very male-looking star and the dark side of forbidden
sexuality as a closeted gay [man],” producers said in a release.
Hudson, who died of AIDS complications
in his Beverly Hills home in 1985, would have celebrated his 85th
birthday in November. “Rock Hudson's death gave AIDS a face,”
Morgan Fairchild once said.
Through revealing interviews with
former co-stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Paula Prentiss, Heather
Locklear and Linda Evans, as well as family members and friends –
including openly gay novelist Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City)
and Tom Clark, Hudson's assistant of 10 years – the documentary
aims to shed light on the life Hudson was forced to live underground
as a gay man.
Hudson was someone “who always needed
to tell lies,” producers say, then add, “Was he also lying to
himself?”
Gay Entertainment Report is a feature
of On Top Magazine and can be reached at
ontopmag@ontopmag.com.