Were the World Mine

Last updated

Were the World Mine
Were the world mine.jpg
Promotional film poster
Directed byTom Gustafson
Written byTom Gustafson
Cory James Krueckeberg
Produced byTom Gustafson
Cory James Krueckeberg
Peter Sterling
Starring Tanner Cohen
Wendy Robie
Judy McLane
Zelda Williams
Jill Larson
Ricky Goldman
Nathaniel David Becker
Christian Stolte
David Darlow
Cinematography Kira Kelly
Edited byJennifer Lilly
Music byJessica Fogle (Songs)
Tim Sandusky (Score)
Production
company
The Group Entertainment
Distributed bySPEAKproductions
Release date
  • November 21, 2008 (2008-11-21)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$123,789 [1]

Were the World Mine is a 2008 romantic musical fantasy film directed by Tom Gustafson, written by Gustafson and Cory James Krueckeberg, and starring Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams, Jill Larson, Ricky Goldman, Nathaniel David Becker, Christian Stolte, and David Darlow.

Contents

The film is a story of gay empowerment, inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream .

Plot

Timothy (Tanner Cohen) is an openly gay student at a private boys' school. Although now in his senior year, he is still persecuted by the aggressive rugby team, on whose captain, Jonathon (Nathaniel David Becker), he has a crush. Timothy lives with his mother, Donna (Judy McLane), who is struggling with her son's sexuality and with getting a job, and his father who is not a part of his life.

Timothy is cast as Puck in the senior production of A Midsummer Night's Dream . While reviewing his lines, he discovers the recipe for creating the flower love-in-idleness. Timothy uses the flower to have the homophobic town take a "walk in his shoes". The entire town is thrown into chaos as previously heterosexual community members fall in love with their same-sex friends, bosses, and co-workers: whomever they first saw after being sprayed by the flower. The school drama teacher, Ms. Tebbit (Wendy Robie), guides Timothy towards the question of whether his actions have caused more harm than good.

Cast

Musical numbers

  1. "Oh Timothy" – Jonathon
  2. "Pity" – Frankie
  3. "Audition" / "Be As Thou Wast Wont" – Timothy, Ms. Tebbit
  4. "He's Gay" – Frankie
  5. "Were the World Mine" – Timothy, Jonathon
  6. "The Course of True Love" – Timothy, Frankie, Coach Driskill, Nora, Max, Donna
  7. "All Things Shall Be Peace" – Ms. Tebbit, Timothy
  8. "Sleep Sound" – Timothy
  9. "Pyramus and Thisbe" – Frankie, Cooper

Production

The film is a feature-length version of director Gustafson's 2003 short film, Fairies, which also stars Wendy Robie. The film was executive produced by Gill Holland, in association with The Group Entertainment.

Release

Film festivals

Were the World Mine has played or was scheduled to play many film festivals in prominent slots in 2008. Awards already won include: Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Florida Film Festival; Best Music in a Narrative Film at the Nashville Film Festival; Best LGBT Feature Film at the Nashville Film Festival; and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Turin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Were the World Mine screened at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco on June 27, 2008, and at the Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on July 11, 2008. The film opened the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 26, 2008, and closed the Reel Affirmations festival in Washington, D.C., on October 26, 2008. It was presented in November 2008 at the Gay/Lesbian Film Festival QUEERSICHT in Bern and Switzerland. The film was screened as the opening night gala at the 2009 Melbourne Queer Film Festival.

Theatrical

Were the World Mine had a limited release in North American theaters on November 21, 2008. [2]

Reception

The film holds a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews. [3]

Soundtrack

The Were the World Mine original soundtrack album was released on CD on November 11, 2008, by PS Classics. The movie also features several songs used prominently in the film that were not included on the PS Classics soundtrack release, including "Relax, Take It Easy" by Mika, "The Magic Position" by Patrick Wolf and "Rock Star" by The Guts – sung by Tanner Cohen. [4]

The Shakespearean podcast No Holds Bard uses "Pyramus and Thisbe" as their theme music. [5]

Home media

Were the World Mine was released on DVD in Europe on May 18, and in North America on June 9, 2008.

Accolades

Audience Awards

Related Research Articles

<i>The Pink Mirror</i> 2006 Indian film

The Pink Mirror, titled Gulabi Aaina in India, is an Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. It is said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's attempts to seduce a man, Samir. The film explores the taboo subject of transsexuals in India which is still much misunderstood and ridiculed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inside Out Film and Video Festival</span>

The Inside Out Film and Video Festival, also known as the Inside Out LGBT or LGBTQ Film Festival, is an annual Canadian film festival, which presents a program of LGBT-related film. The festival is staged in both Toronto and Ottawa. Founded in 1991, the festival is now the largest of its kind in Canada. Deadline dubbed it "Canada’s foremost LGBTQ film festival."

Patrik-Ian Polk is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African-American LGBT people. In 2016, Polk was included in the Los Angeles Times Diverse 100 list, which described him as "the man bringing black gay stories to screens large and small".

The Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is a movie screening event that takes place each October in Tampa, Florida. The primary venue is the Tampa Theatre, but several other cinemas in or near the downtown area and in St. Petersburg simultaneously host the event as well. While most of the films focus on homosexual themes, some films explore other areas of human sexuality including transgender issues and gender roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thom Fitzgerald</span> American film director

Thomas "Thom" Fitzgerald is an American-Canadian film and theatre director, screenwriter, playwright and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Balderson</span> American film director

Stephen Clark Balderson is an American film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Dunye</span> Liberian-American actress and director

Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye's work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland, California.

Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in launching the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.

<i>A Year Without Love</i> 2005 Argentine movie

A Year Without Love is a 2005 Argentine drama film directed by Anahí Berneri, and written by Berneri and Pablo Pérez, adapting Pérez's autobiographical novel of the same title.

Su Friedrich is an American avant-garde film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She has been a leading figure in avant-garde filmmaking and a pivotal force in the establishment of Queer Cinema.

Todd Stephens is an American film director, writer, and producer. He was raised in Sandusky, Ohio, which has served as the setting for several of his films, many of which are gay-themed. He both wrote and produced the autobiographical coming out film Edge of Seventeen, which was released in 1998. He has directed the 2001 film Gypsy 83 as well as Another Gay Movie, which was released in 2006, and the follow-up Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!, which premiered at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco on June 28, 2008.

<i>Gaudi Afternoon</i> 2001 film by Susan Seidelman

Gaudi Afternoon is a 2001 American-Spanish comedy film starring Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, Juliette Lewis, Christopher Bowen and Courtney Jines. The film is based on Barbara Wilson's detective novel and directed by Susan Seidelman.

<i>By Hook or by Crook</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Harry Dodge

By Hook or by Crook is a 2001 buddy drama film written, directed by, and starring Harry Dodge and Silas Howard. The story follows two unlikely friends as they commit petty crimes and figure out their places in the world.

<i>The Big Gay Musical</i> 2009 American film

The Big Gay Musical is a 2009 gay-themed musical-comedy film written by Fred M. Caruso and co-directed by Caruso and Casper Andreas. The film follows a brief period in the lives of two young actors, one who is openly gay, the other closeted to his parents. The openly gay actor struggles with whether he should be sexually promiscuous or seek a life partner, while the closeted one wonders if he should come out to his conservative, religious parents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanner Cohen</span> American actor and singer

Tanner Cohen is an American stage, film and television actor, and singer.

<i>Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!</i> 2009 American film

Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! is a 2009 comedy film directed, co-written, and produced by Evgeny Afineevsky and starring Lainie Kazan, Saul Rubinek, Vincent Pastore, John Lloyd Young, Jai Rodriguez, Bruce Vilanch, Fred Swink and Carmen Electra. The theme song, "The Word Is Love" was written by Desmond Child and performed by Lulu. "The Word is Love" was contending for nominations in the Original Song category for the 82nd Academy Awards.

<i>Hannah Free</i> 2009 film by Wendy Jo Carlton

Hannah Free is a 2009 American lesbian romance film, adapted from Claudia Allen's play of the same name and starring Sharon Gless, Maureen Gallagher, Kelli Strickland, Ann Hagemann, Taylor Miller, and Jax Jackson.

Dylan Riis Verrechia is a Barthélemois award-winning film director, auteur, screenwriter, and producer. He grew up in Saint Barthélemy, French West Indies, and was bedridden at age 8 from severe ankylosing spondylitis for ten years. A graduate with honors of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Verrechia's movies have screened at film festivals around the world.

Enlightenment Productions is multi-media entertainment company based in London and founded in partnership between producer Hanan Kattan and writer and director Shamim Sarif in 2001.

<i>Getting Go: The Go Doc Project</i> 2013 American film

Getting Go: The Go Doc Project is a 2013 pseudo-documentary film written and directed by Cory James Krueckeberg.

References

Further reading