Good Afternoon, Gratuitous George MacKay

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I can't remember what it was I was watching with the boyfriend the other day but he expressed a wish for more movies set during in World War I, and I immediately knew just what he meant - he meant that the military uniforms of WWI are really fine and don't get utilized on-screen by having attractive young actors wear them nearly enough. And I concur. Anyway today's news...

... that George MacKay here is going to star in a WWI movie for director Sam Mendes reminded me of that. It's to be called 1917 and MacKay will co-star with Tommen himself (aka Dean-Charles Chapman from A Game of Thrones) as "two young soldiers who have to trek across dangerous terrain." Certainly not a new story for a war movie, but what matters is execution, of course. And I tend to trust Sam Mendes' execution.

If you're wondering what you know MacKay from he was the oldest son in Captain Fantastic with Viggo Mortensen, and he was the oldest son in this year's horror film Marrowbone (read my review right here) and he was the ostensible lead (as much as the film had a lead) in Pride, the very good small-town gay-movie from 2013. It's felt like MacKay has  been waiting for his break-out year for a bit now, and maybe this'll do it.

(That photo is not from Pride but it should have been. Dammit.) But anyway even besides starring in the new Sam Mendes movie he's also co-starring opposite Charlie Hunnam and Nicholas Hoult in The True History of the Kelly Gang from Snowtown director Justin Kurzel, so yeah, it's gonna be a big couple of years for George MacKay, it seems. Although really it's all downhill from that time he did a super homoerotic photo-shoot with Theo James and Douglas Booth...

... where does one even go from there? Kidding aside I think MacKay has proven himself to be really very talented already, and I'm glad that casting directors seem to have noticed that as well. The best of luck to him and let's all hit the jump for over eighty (yes indeed, over eighty) more pictures as a way of communally celebrating his good fortune...

From Mackay To Munich

Okay okay okay, instead of refreshing Twitter for the 10,000th time today I am gonna try to write a post! Let's see how this goes! Ahem. This is me clearing my throat. Or you know, the throats in my fingers. Because I am typing. (God it's going great already.) George Mackay has had a new film announced! Moving on up from the WWI of his Best-Picture-nom last year 1917 Mackay's now primed to star in the WWII thriller Munich -- and I do hope they change the title because we already have that Munich where Eric Bana cried while orgasming, that's plenty -- for The Crown director Christian Schwochow. They might not change the title though because it's based on a book by bestseller-list-mainstay Robert Harris and they might not want to confuse his fans? 

(thx Mac) Anyway this Munich is about an emergency conference set up in 1938 by the British PM (played by Jeremy Irons) between a British civil servant (Mackay) and a German diplomat (Jannis Niewöhner) who are old friends, seeing if they can avoid The War. (Something tells me it doesn't work!) Even more exciting than those boys are the two female cast-members announced, though -- there's Toni Erdmann legend Sandra Hüller...

... and there's Babylon Berlin actress Liv Lisa Fries, and if you're unaware I am a maaaassive Babylon Berlin fan. She kicks ass. (Gah I hope we get another season soon.) Anyway in summation here are some (occasionally NSFW) photos of actor Jannis Niewöhner, who in case you were unaware you should be rooting for this film to have a gay subplot where Mackay & Niewöhner are actually former lovers who fall back into bed with great sweaty ease, after the jump...

George MacKay's Graffiti Kid Gone Wrong

When Under the Shadow director Babak Anvari's sophomore follow-up Wounds finally made its way to Hulu in late 2019, after months of skittish delays, it was a big disappointment -- not just box-office-wise (since it didn't really have a box office) but to me, personally, as I had very high hopes! Shadow was so terrific! As I said in my review, "It's not precisely terrible -- these are all talented people involved; it's just one or two degrees off from working, but those one or two degrees, with a project this high-wire, defeats it." I've considered revisiting it since but maybe it's best to just move it along, especially with today's news of a new project from Anvari, starring some more faves -- maybe his George MacKay / Kelly Macdonald movie will be the one! 

Via THR comes word of I Came By, which Anvari's making for Netflix -- they're calling it a "Neo-noir Thriller" and say it follows "a rebellious young graffiti artist who targets the homes of the wealthy elite, but discovers a shocking secret that leads him on a journey endangering himself and those closest to him." Also set to co-star is Downton Abbey and Paddington daddy Hugh Bonneville; I imagine he will be a rich bad guy? Anyway to go along with this news I found this somehow-missed and typically-stellar photoshoot of MacKay for the great Zoo Magazine (home of several former hot photoshoots of note) and I will now share it with you, after the jump...

Evil Does Not The Beast

If you thought the four killer movies that Criterion announced for a December release last week -- No Country For Old Men, baby! -- were enough then you don't know Criterion. Or more specifically their off-shoot line of Janus Contemporaries releases, which has been dropping its own stellar roster for a year or so now. Today JC has added two more wicked good flicks to the December line-up, including one of my favorite movies of this year (by way of last year -- I first saw it at the NYFF in October of 2023), Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Evil Does Not Exist. The latest from the Drive My Car director is a slow burn but when it lands it's the sort of thing that will haunt you for life -- I've said it several times on social media whenever this movie comes up but this one has drifted into my mind often over the past twelve months, and sends a chill down my spine every damn time it does. It's so good! I'm also deeply and profoundly in love with its poster art (I made sure to snag a copy of the poster when Posteritati had them for sale) and I am extremely happy they used that art for the blu-ray cover. This drops on December 17th.

The second movie getting a December drop (a week before on the 10th) is Bertrand Bonello's somewhat unfathomable The Beast, which confounded me at NYFF last year and yet I have been really wanting to see it a second time and wrestle with its many, many ideas and images and oddnesses. It stars Léa Seydoux and George Mackay (mmm Mackay) as... well, several different people across several different timelines, all weaving and bumping up against one another. It's certainly a singular experience (as most of Bonello's works are) and if any of you have seen it I'd love to hear your thoughts. One day when I have time it'll push its way in front of me again and I'll be able to sort out some of my own. Maybe. Or maybe I'll just enjoy George Mackay being hot and perfect. So many possibilities.

Starving Hysterical Naked

This movie was on my list of movies I wanted to see at TIFF last month, but they didn't end up screening it virtually for critics who didn't travel to Toronto and so I had to shave it off my list, scratch "TBD" into its place -- well the "D" is here with the trailer for Wolf arriving yesterday! No not that "D" pervs -- although George Mackay did give an interview where he mentioned being naked a lot for this movie, so I guess we'll see -- I just mean the "determined" part of "to be determined." That's been determined. Oh god is this day over yet? My sentences are no longer making sense to me. 

Aaaanyway Wolf stars Mackay as a young man suffering from "Species Identity Disorder" (i.e. he believes himself a wolf), who gets sent to a clinic to be cured of his so-called delusions. But it looks like getting a bunch of similar-thinking people together might backfire? To be honest this trailer reminded me So Very Much of Park Chan-wook's oddly forgotten 2006 film I'm a Cyborg But That's OK, which had Lim Soo-jung as a young woman who believed herself to be a cyborg, who got sent to a clinic to be cured of her delusion, only to fall down the rabbit hole of delusions whilst around similarly-minded people (including pop star Rain, looking real good). Judging by this trailer Wolf could be the exact same movie, just with more naked George Mackay? I am okay with this.

George Mackay Thirteen Times

And this year's winner of the annual "This photoshoot full of heavy fabrics and beautiful sweaters means that Fall is finally fucking coming, hooray!" award goes to George Mackay for Flaunt Magazine -- hooray! I think I can finally start thinking about wearing clothes again, and not sweat-rags with leg-holes. So many corduroys and wools -- just looking at them I wanna cry happy tears. 

Also it's nice to see George! Let's not discount George. He mostly talks about True History of the Kelly Gang in the attached chat, but two future projects -- Wolf (which I told you about here) and Munich (a WWII thriller based on a Robert Ludlum book) -- come up as well, so check it out. And then hit the jump for all the Mackay-based autumnal goodness...

George Mackay Eight Times

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I wish I'd had this new photo-shoot from Esquire (thx Mac) of the 1917 and True History of the Kelly Gang actor last week when I told you about his next project, which'll have him thinking himself a wolf instead of a man, but I suppose we'll make due, spreading George Mackay everywhere all of the time. Somehow! Hit the jump for the rest of this colorful Mackay cornucopia...

Good Morning, Mackay

Learning about a new movie starring George MacKay is always cause to stop dead in one's tracks and find out more, as he's easily slid into the role of one of our most intersting and daring young actors working today -- this thing I am just finding out about is called Mission and it reunites Georgie-boy with the director of his 2013 (he was just a wee babe he was) movie For Those in Peril, which I have never seen but which co-stars Kate Dickie and so I probably should seek that one out, ehh? Anybody seen it and know? Anyway Mission got a teaser trailer this week and...

... it looks good! Looks like a good role for Mr. MacKay, it does. He plays a young man who finds out he's dying and decides to go rampaging through life while he still can -- it co-stars Rosy McEwen, who I've dug ever since The Alienist but after that went on to make the very fine horror flicks Harvest and Rabbit Trap with Dev Patel. She has one hell of an interesting and watchable face -- just like George actually. Anyway the reason I just heard about this movie is it's playing at the Edinburgh Film Festival in the next few days so I guess we'll hear more after that. I wanna see it though! Let's make that happen. 

Say it With MacKay

Hey look it's two more photos of George MacKay in that mesh shirt everybody's wearing! May the mesh never rest. Aaaaanyway to get to the point (and prepare your bodies for a real exciting story of intrigue) -- there was a water main break outside my office yesterday and my office building hasn't had water for two days. So we're working from home today, i.e. I wouldn't expect much from me here on the site because if I'm not being forced to be strapped to my desk per usual I've got a million other things I could be getting done at home. So this'll probably be it for today. And looking at the calendar I've got another dentist (sigh) appointment tomorrow afternoon, and so tomorrow will probably be a half day as well. I have failed you all! When you tar and feather me just be kind. That's all I ask.

George Mackay Three Times

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Per usual when it comes to Awards Shows there were a lot of highs at last night's Golden Globes -- Michelle Williams' speech! Tim Cook getting told he exploits labor! -- and a lot of lows -- basically everything else Ricky Gervais sneered! -- but the show ended on a note of grace, i.e. me getting to finally see 1917 star George Mackay in his tux. Would I personally award 1917 the top prize? Um, no. Is it an abomination? Um, no. Don't forget -- Joker could have won!

1917 is pretty good, and any anti- narrative that forms is pure Awards Season blather meant to push forward that person's faves. But tis the season, I s'pose. I feel good and left out of this year's arguments -- what's new -- since my faves ain't getting nominated for shit, which gives me all this moderate minded wisdom, see? Anyway you can read our Georgie boy's interview with GQ UK, which is where these photos come from, right here. I'm hoping there are more photos forthcoming since he wears this white sweater real well...

Sing Me a Song of Beautiful Men

Well here's some news tailor-made (heh see what I did there) for MNPP -- former designer turned movie director Tom Ford (now you see what I did there) has announced his next film and it's an adaptation of Anne Rice's book Cry To Heaven about 18th Century Italian Opera. None of those things are really the specific things that make this a tight fit onto our interests -- it's all about the cast, baby. Namely it will star (among others) Nicholas Hoult, George MacKay, Colin Firth, Paul Bettany, Mark Strong, Theodore Pellerin, Daryl McCormack and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Phew! Several of those people have worked with Ford before: Hoult and Firth were both in A Single Man of course....

... sorry I can't mention that fact without posting that gif; it's written into my contract. And then Aaron Taylor-Johnson memorably wiped his ass while sitting on an outdoor toilet in everybody's favorite movie of the millenium Nocturnal Animals. Don't worry -- I am not sharing that gif. And the rest of those names will be served wonderfully by Ford's eye I have no doubt -- I especially can't wait to see how he shoots the outrageous angles of Pellerin & MacKay's faces. Oh and Daryl McCormack, who's just soooo dreeeeeeamy.

Wait what were we talking about? Oh right this is a movie. I have never read this Anne Rice book but one assumes that the big headline here is the person I have not yet named in the cast -- the singer Adele is making her acting debut in a movie about opera singers. I imagine she's the lead and all of these insanely good looking men will be circling around her? I don't know; maybe Tom will give her a light load on her first film and some of these gorgeous men will pick up the slack. Whatever. GIMME! Other names in the cast -- that kid Owen Cooper from Adolesence, Ciarán Hinds,  Thandiwe Newton, Hunter Schafer, and Lux "sister of Pedro" Pascal. This sucker's loaded up yo!

The Age of Mackay is Upon Us

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A happy 28 to 1917 actor George Mackay today! We've been familiar with him since Pride in 2014 but it wasn't really until Captain Fantastic in 2016 and especially the horror movie Marrowbone the following year that we really sat up in our chair -- then this past year, with Sam Mendes' film and the True History of the Kelly Gang hitting it's, well, become a real thing. And we're hardly alone in that given the severe up-tick in photo-shoots we've been privy to share over the past several months. Speaking of here's another new one, after the jump...

Pic of the Day II

About a week and a half ago I shared with you the first image of George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett in Femme, the forthcoming queer erotic-thriller that just premiered in Berlin -- well here is a second image and it's way sexier than the first. MacKay plays a closeted gay-basher who beats up the wrong drag queen. Gimme gimme gimme this movie! I know there are reviews out there from that Berlin premiere but I'm avoiding them -- not until I lay my own eyes upon it will I read a word. Hoping this plays Tribeca here in NYC in a couple of months, or hell even gets properly released soon, but as of now we will just wait, SIGH. 

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Revolutionary Road (2008)

John: The hopeless emptiness? Now, you've said it.
Plenty of people are on to the emptiness;
but, it takes real guts to see the hopelessness. Wow.

Do other people love this movie? I love this movie. I was actually thinking about it this past week because I think that it contains Leo DiCaprio's last Great Performance before Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Him and Kate are just knock-out good in this. Oh that they'd work together at least one more time.

Anyway I was looking at Sam Mendes' IMDb page about ten minutes ago because it's his birthday today and I wanted to do a post wishing him a happy one. (Psst that's what you're reading right now.) I thought maybe there was something new about him I could share as long as we're here, and I couldn't remember what he was working on, so I checked...

... and saw he's got his WWI picture called 1917 coming out at Christmas. The IMDb page for 1917 had what looked like a trailer for the film and I mentally chastised myself -- "Oh Jason, you missed another big trailer drop; you're terrible. It's probably been out for weeks, you suck, I hate you, Jason, you piece of literal shit." But then I checked a little further and the trailer's actually only been out for ten minutes! I don't suck! I am not literal shit! Hooray!

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1917 has a killer cast -- Richard Madden and Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Strong and Andrew Scott and Colin Firth and George MacKay and lil' Tommen from Game of Thrones... it's got everybody! Well... everybody but ladies, anyway. That's okay! More of a chance Dean-Charles  Chapman will have to make out with George MacKay this way. Reenact the kissing scene from Wings, you cowards!

George MacKay Eight Times

I think I'd convinced myself that I was only attracted to George MacKay with short hair because he's had short hair for all the recent films he's been in where he won me over -- see The Beast, Femme (especially Femme), True History of the Kelly Gang, on and on. But now I'm looking at these new luxuriously-coiffed photos of George for Esquire UK and I'm realizing -- gee golly he's got some pretty hair doesn't he? What a man, what a mane! Anyway he's got two very good movies coming out this year, both of which I've seen but neither of which I've reviewed -- there's Rose of Nevada (with Callum Turner!) and Broken English (with Tilda Swinton!) and I recommend seeking both out when the time comes. Until then, seek of these fresh-locked photos of George right after the jump...

Pic of the Day

I don't know how this mo0vie escapes my eyeballs until now -- perhaps it's the fact that this movie isn't even listed on the director Mark Jenkin's IMDb page yet -- but there is apparently a movie called Rose of Nevada being made that co-stars George Mackay and Callum Turner! Two of my most favorite white boys of the moment, smooshing themselves like chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness -- I can hardly wait. The movie, according to The Film Stage where I found this photo, is called Rose of Nevada and it's a time-travel thriller -- if you've seen either of Jenkin's previous films Bait of Enys' Men then you know that prospect is hardly a simple one in his wildly weird hands. Here is their plot description:

"“In a forgotten fishing village, a boat mysteriously appears in the old harbour. The Rose of Nevada, lost at sea with all hands 30 years ago, has returned. For the few who remember, it’s a sign. The Rose of Nevada must go out to sea again, maybe then the luck of the devastated village will turn. Nick (MacKay) takes a job aboard the boat in an attempt to provide for his young family. Alongside him, newly arrived Liam (Turner) joins the crew, desperate to escape his past. They head to sea and after a successful trip return to harbour. But something is amiss. They’ve slipped back in time and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew.”"

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Pride (2014)

Bromley: They called us perverts.

Mark: Bromley, it's time for an important part

of your education. Hands up, in this room, if you've ever

been called a name like that.  [all the guys raise their hands]

Mark: There is a long and honorable tradition in the gay

community + it has stood us in good stead for a very long time.

When somebody calls you a name... am I right Jonathan?

Jonathan: Dead right.

Mark: You take it and own it.

Today is the 26th birthday of the actor George MacKay (he played "Bromley" in Pride and he was the oldest son in Captain Fantastic too) - I just saw MacKay in the horror flick called Marrowbone a couple of weeks back (which I reviewed right here) and got to thinking about Pride and what a lovely nice little movie it is and how we need to enshrine that sucker - not let it fall through the cracks like it kind of seems to be doing. So go buy a copy of Pride, people. Support good gay cinema. And a happy birthday to George!

Cuz This Is Gay Thriller

Now we are talking! I'm so over gay coming-of-age movies and gay-romances -- gimme a goddamned gay thriller! And that's what we're getting as British actors George Mackay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett are set to star in a movie called Femme, which Variety is billing somewhat hysterically as a "drag queen revenge thriller" but also, well, truthfully, as that's exactly what it is...

"Femme tells the story of Jules, who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack, destroying his life and career. Not long after, however, Jules encounters Preston – one of his attackers – in a gay sauna. He quickly realizes he has the perfect opportunity to get revenge on the “deeply-closeted” Preston and seizes the opportunity."

"Drag Queen Revenge Thriller" just sounds a step too descriptive somehow -- it's like using "homosexual" instead of "gay" know what I mean? Anyway I want me some Angry Gays, I want them all over media. Angry Gays fucking up the straights and burning down the world, baby! That's what I relate to, and more with every goddamned day on this fuck-all planet. 

Anyway loving these photos of Mackay, who'll play the closet case Preston -- as for Nathan Stewart-Jarrett you should definitely know who he is -- I saw him in the Candyman remake most recently, and he was on that Generation show (which I didn't watch). And I saw him on stage in the recent re-do of Angels in America (opposite Russell Tovey in the UK and then with Lee Pace here in the US). But I also know him from way way back and best of all with the series Utopia, which is one of my forever faves. Please tell me y'all have found a way to see Utopia by now? I speak of the original British version of course, and no it didn't get any proper release here in the US because they were trying to remake it for a decade and then when they finally did it flopped real hard. But the original rules; I just re-watched it at the start of the pandemic and it still rules. Find it and watch it and you'll get it. ETA it's been brought to my attention that Utopia is on Amazon Prime now -- watch it here! No seriously, watch it. Don't make me come over there and make you, I will.

Pics of the Day

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I was fortunate enough to see Sam Mendes' latest film the WWI one-take action-drama 1917 this weekend -- it's not out until Christmas so I might not properly review it for a bit but I will say you should plan on seeing it, and seeing it on as big a screen as you can. The cinematography from the genius Roger Deakins is fairly mind-blowing, especially a scene at about 3/4s in set in a burning village. Anyway as you see above there was a Q&A at the screening I attended that included the film's leads Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen from Game of Thrones!) and forthcoming-fave George Mackay -- not to mention Mendes and Deakins, holy shit -- and I posted some snaps and video on my Insta, enjoy:

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View this post on Instagram

The cast and crew of #1917Movie including actors Dean-Charles Chapman and George Mackay, cinematographer Roger Deakins and director Sam Mendes #deancharleschapman #sammendes #film #georgemackay #rogerdeakins

A post shared by Jason Adams (@jasonaadams) on Nov 23, 2019 at 7:12pm PST