Word: mckellen
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...risky. Besides, think of the names we can get. Ya' know the Industry--in all its Hollywoodagain-stAIDS glamour--will support us bigtime: I'm sure we can get RichardGere, AnjelicaHuston, Lily-Tomlin, and BDWong. Oh yeah, and what about that Brit?....ya' know, the gay one...McKellen. And I'm sure MatthewModine, AlanAlda, PhilCollins, SwoosieKurtz, and SteveMartin will atleast be interested. I'm tellin' ya'. I smellahit. It'll be a smash. Whuddayathink...
...Band Played On," ostensibly the subject of this review, is a good drama. Ian McKellen (playing Bill Kraus, a gay San Francisco political aide) and Lily Tomlin (playing Selma Dritz, a San Francis-co Health worker torn between her conflicting concerns for the heath and the freedom of the gay community) display exceptional talent. Matthew Modine plays the "young, handsome doctor" passionately, although he probably won't win an Oscar...
...cinemetography is good, direction OK. The closing scenes (namely McKellen's acting) make me cry. I shiver as the cold numbers (the "Butcher's Bill"), like ticker tape, flash periodically at the bottom of the screen. Elton John's "The Last Song" haunts me. Reagan's inglorious ascent parallels perfectly the disease's inaugural progress. Gays are bestowed some sympathetic representation. Best line: "I'm not afraid of dying anymore. I'm afraid for the people who live...
...AIDS crisis was first acquired by NBC, which later dropped the project. HBO picked it up but had trouble finding stars willing to appear in it until Richard Gere led a parade of big names who signed on -- among them Steve Martin, Anjelica Huston, Lily Tomlin, Phil Collins, Ian McKellen and Matthew Modine. Later, director Roger Spottiswoode clashed with HBO over changes made without his approval to tone down the film's portrayal of gays in the promiscuous pre-AIDS era. Added to this was the provocative subject matter: Shilts' harsh critique of the U.S. government and the medical establishment...
THEATER Ian McKellen begins a U.S. tour as Richard...