‘Scripts like this don’t come along very often’ – Luca Guadagnino and Daniel Craig on Queer
Daniel Craig says he would jump at the chance to work with Luca Guadagnino again.
The English actor closed the book on his chapter of playing James Bond in 2021 and has since been quite selective in his artistic choices.
In Queer, he plays William Lee, a fictional character based on the real life of his author William S Burroughs.
Inspired by the 1985 novella of the same name, it follows Lee who is on the pursuit for love in 1950s Mexico City.
The Skyfall actor tells Sky News he had no doubts about taking on the role with Luca Guadagnino at the helm.
“My career has been quite long and varied, and I’ve done all sorts of things and to expect a script like this to come along at this stage in my life is just a little bit too much [to ask] really,” Craig says.
“I guess I have to be specific about [choosing roles in the future] because scripts like this just don’t come along very often.”
He adds: “My expectations are quite low now because I can only work with him to get better.” Turning to Guadagnino he says, “I mean, you know, if you ask me to do something, I’ll do it.”
Craig plays William Lee, who is in pursuit of love in 1950s Mexico City. Pic: Mubi/A24
Guadagnino’s cinematic bucket list
It has been a busy year for Guadagnino. In April, he released the tennis drama Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Tipped for awards success over the coming months, the intense sports romance has been shortlisted for best original score and original song with nominations being revealed for the 97th Academy Awards on 17 January.
Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor in Challengers. Pic: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
Queer takes a slower pace. Almost entirely shot on a soundstage, Guadagnino sees the film as a “box ticked” in his journey as a filmmaker.
“I’m proud of the idea of the outcome of this. We could play with the tools of cinema fully,” he says.
“When I got the book when I was like 17, 18, I also wrote a draft of the script, and I remember that I put a note to myself that it had to be shot entirely on stage because I immediately realised that Burroughs is a great writer of imagination and his own imagination.
“So I never thought even remotely that by approaching the mise en scene of a Burroughs book, you could do a realistic movie.”
Referring to choosing a straight actor to play a gay man, he says “the depth that Daniel Craig brings is profound”.
“It’s quite insulting, as a homosexual man myself, to consider the possibility that casting a homosexual man to play the role of Lee would make it more real, as if one person is defined entirely by their gender identity or their sexuality.”
Craig said he had no doubts about taking on the role. Pic: Mubi/A24
Film banned in Turkey
The film itself garnered publicity in November after Turkish authorities banned the film from being shown at Mubi Film Festival hours before the event was due to begin.
Standing by the project and its team, Mubi made the decision to cancel their entire festival in Istanbul, telling Sky News they believed the ban was a “direct restriction on art and freedom of expression”.
Reflecting on the moment, Craig says it inadvertently “gave us lots of free advertising” but it was a pity for the “other filmmakers who were going to show their movies” there.
Meanwhile, Guadagnino still questions the reason behind the strong reaction to the film.
“I am still wondering whether they had seen the movie and decided to censor it or not,” he says.
Turkish authorities banned Queer from being shown at Mubi Film Festival hours before the festival started. Pic: Mubi/A24
The festival instead moves to Milan, but the pair hope Turkish audiences will download the film and make their own decisions.
Originally meaning strange or peculiar, the connotations of the word queer have changed in the 40 years between the novella being written and Guadagnino bringing the feature to the screen.
Craig says he doesn’t believe the word queer has “got anything to do with sex, it’s a state of mind, it’s a feeling”.
“Queer can mean so many things. I mean, in Italian, the book was called Diverso which is different.”
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He adds: “I don’t know if it’s been reclaimed, I can’t speak to that but it’s a beautiful word and it’s all the connotations that go along with it are sort of deeply personal to a lot of people.
“It’s been used as a slant, as a derogatory word. Language is always to be reclaimed, and it goes in cycles and every 10 years it’s reclaimed again.
“So I’m sure in 10 years’ time it’ll mean something else.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
Entertainment
Stalker who believed Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas was his aunt avoids jail
A man who stalked Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas for six years has avoided jail.
Kyle Shaw, 37, got a 20-month suspended sentence and a lifetime restraining order on contacting Ballas, her mother, niece, and former partner.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that he thought Ballas was his aunt and “began a persistent campaign of contact”.
“He believed, and it’s evident from what he was told by his mother, that her late brother was his father,” said prosecutor Nicola Daley.
The court heard there was no evidence he was wrong, and “limited evidence” he was correct.
Ms Daley said Shaw’s messages had accused Ballas of being to blame for the death of her brother, who took his own life in 2003 aged 44.
He also set up social media accounts in his name.
Shaw had pleaded guilty to stalking the former dancer between August 2017 and November 2023 at a hearing in February.
Incidents included following Ballas’s 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping and telling her she was his grandmother.
The court heard in messages to Mrs Rich, Shaw had asked: “Where’s my dad?”
Ballas was so worried for her mother’s safety that she moved her from Merseyside to London.
Kyle Shaw outside court on the day of his sentencing. Pic: PA
In October 2020, Ballas called police after Shaw messaged her and said: “Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?”
Posts on X included one alongside an image of her home address that warned: “You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone’s around you.”
Another referenced a book signing and said: “I can’t wait to meet you for the first time Aunty Shirley. Hopefully I can get an autograph.”
The court was told Ballas’s niece Mary Assall, former partner Daniel Taylor and colleagues from Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s Loose Women were also sent messages.
‘I know where you live’
On one occasion in late 2023, Shaw called Mr Taylor and told him he knew where the couple lived and described Ballas’s movements.
The court heard the 64-year-old TV star become wary of socialising and stopped using public transport.
Prosecutor Ms Daley said: “She described having sleepless nights worrying about herself and her family’s safety and being particularly distressed when suggestions were made to her that she and her mother were responsible for her brother taking his own life.”
Ballas has been head judge on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017. Pic: PA
Shaw cried and wiped away tears as he was sentenced on Tuesday.
The judge said the stalking stemmed from his mother telling him Ballas’s brother, David Rich, was his biological father.
“I’m satisfied that your motive for this offending was a desire to seek contact with people you genuinely believed were your family,” he said.
“Whether in fact there’s any truth in that belief is difficult, if not impossible, to determine.”
Shaw pictured at court in February. Pic: PA
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Defence lawyer John Weate said Shaw had been told the story by his mother “in his mid to late teens” and had suffered “complex mental health issues” since he was a child.
He added: “He now accepts that Miss Ballas and her family don’t wish to have any contact with him and, importantly, he volunteered the information that he has no intention of contacting them again.”
Shaw, of Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, also admitted possessing cannabis and was ordered to undertake a rehab programme.
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