‘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.”
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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