‘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.”
Read more from Sky News:
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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.”
John Lennon’s son Julian has had emergency surgery after he was diagnosed with cancer.
The musician and photographer said he underwent a seven-hour surgery after discovering a mole on his arm.
The 61-year-old urged his social media followers to “please get yourself checked out by your doctor”.
Julian Lennon with his father John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968. Pic: PA
In a post on X, Julian Lennon explained how his dermatologist said he “should be operated on ASAP” over concerns about the skin on his shoulder and forearm, one of which had melanoma.
He said the doctor, who he called “Dr Tess”, had “saved his life” during a previous cancer scare in 2020.
He visited her for a routine appointment in Los Angeles before flying to New York for a series of events – but said soon after arriving, he got a message telling him to return “with some urgency”.
He wrote: “So instead of going home to put my Christmas tree up and happily finish the year off, relaxing at home, I flew directly back to Los Angeles, after all my work in New York was done, and went directly from LAX airport, to surgery, with a surgeon recommended by Dr Tess.
“The operation was a success, but we have yet to have the results of the biopsy, which we may not receive before Christmas.”
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The surgery site on his arm. Pic: Julian Lennon
He continued: “First of all, I’m very thankful to Dr Tess and Dr Tim, for being able to coordinate this surgery at such short notice, but for once again, hopefully Saving My Life…
“One can never be too confident in circumstances like this, but we all believe that Dr Tim has saved the day… So fingers crossed for now.”
He added: “Obviously good news, would be the best Christmas present ever… Which I’m hopeful for…
“But I just want to say, this is also a timely reminder to all, to please get yourself checked out by your doctor… It only takes a short while to do so, and you may just be saving your own life, at the end of the day… so please, for the sake of yourself, your family and friends just go to your Dr and do what must be done…
“I love life and I want to live for a very long time and this is one way, and a choice, that could determine your future…
“I wish you all happy holidaze and a healthy long life… Love to all.”
In February 2020, Lennon revealed he had a mole that had been on his head throughout his life removed after a biopsy revealed it had turned cancerous.
Lennon inspired three Beatles songs: Hey Jude, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and Good Night.
He is best known for the song Too Late For Goodbyes.
An emotional James Corden and Ruth Jones have said working on Gavin & Stacey has been a “privilege” and a “wonderful journey”, as they prepare to say goodbye after 17 years.
The beloved sitcom, which they created together, follows the love story of Gavin from Essex (Mathew Horne) and Stacey from Barry in Wales (Joanna Page), and the lives of their families and friends.
It ran for three seasons between 2007 and 2009, becoming one of the most successful British comedies of all time, before returning after 10 years for a Christmas Day cliffhanger episode in 2019.
More than 18 million people watched as Jones’s character Nessa got down on one knee and declared her love for Corden‘s Smithy, but never got to find out his answer.
Jones and Corden pictured at the Gavin & Stacey: The Finale launch event. Pic: PA
Now, the BBC show returns at Christmas once again for what Corden and Jones have said really will be the final episode, giving viewers the chance to see how their characters’ unconventional off-more-than-on romance pans out.
The co-writers introduced Gavin & Stacey: The Finale at a special screening in front of cast and crew members in London on Wednesday, with Jones becoming emotional as she told the audience that a “sense of love” had remained throughout the series.
“Love between friends, love between family members, conventional boy-meets-girl love stories, and unconventional relationships,” she said. “I think that’s kind of remained the same. And the lack of cynicism has remained the same – all the characters in the show really do love each other.”
Corden said it had been a “dream come true” to have a show successful enough to be “considered worthy of a Christmas special” the first time around, let alone again.
Both have remained tight-lipped on how the story ends.
The first look at the final ever episode. Pic: Tom Jackson/PA
Reflecting on why Gavin & Stacey is so beloved, Corden said: “The more I’ve thought about it, I wonder if actually it’s a lesson in patience. We’re sort of told now, particularly in television, or the way we consume stuff – we talk about content and we talk about consumers and we talk about speed.
“Here’s a show that ended 15 years ago, waited 10 years to tell another hour of the story, and waited five more years to end it. Maybe the lesson for all of us – for people that write about television, for people that talk about television, for people that write television – is actually maybe time and patience and care might be the answer for things to have a longevity outside of what we consume on our phones.”
Both Corden and Jones said that after the Christmas 2019 cliffhanger, they did not know whether they would bring the show back. But in the summer of 2023, they decided to work on some ideas together.
“We both had the same idea, didn’t we?” Jones said.
Joanna Page, who plays Stacey Shipman (left) and Jones, pictured during filming for the special. Pic: PA
Gavin & Stacey also stars Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman as Gavin’s parents, Mick and Pam, Rob Brydon as Stacey’s uncle, Bryn, and Melanie Walters as her mother, Gwen.
“It may sound like complete nonsense [but] it doesn’t really feel like we’re in charge of writing it,” Corden said. “I feel like we just have to be together, and we sort of open a portal and the characters arrive and tell us.”
“Our cast just inhabit those roles,” Jones added. “I think it’s been very much a joint venture, in more ways than one.”
Jones praised the Gavin & Stacey crew for “making it so special, this final foray”. She also thanked Corden “for being my travel companion on this wonderful journey”.
Corden added: “What a privilege to have an idea with someone for whom it is just a joy to write with. I love you very much. I’m very proud of all of it. Thank you.”
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale airs on BBC1 at 9pm on Christmas Day
Gregg Wallace will be replaced by restaurant critic Grace Dent in the next series of the BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef.
Dent, a Guardian columnist and former I’m A Celebrity contestant, will join regular MasterChef presenter John Torode as a judge during next year’s 20th season of the TV cooking competition.
Wallace is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period.
It was announced last month that he would step away from his presenting role on MasterChef amid an external review into historical allegations of misconduct.
‘So excited I can’t eat’
Dent, 51, has appeared regularly as a guest on the show and last year took part in MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics.
She is The Guardian’s restaurant critic and also hosts the Comfort Eating podcast where she chats with celebrities about food.
In a statement after the announcement, she said: “I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent – and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me.”
She added: “I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef. I can’t wait to meet the fresh celebrity faces for 2025.”
Torode said: “I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges. Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges.
“The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series.”
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From 2 December: Gregg Wallace apologises for video
MasterChef executive editor David Ambler also hailed Dent’s “expertise”, as well as her “wit and finely-honed palette”.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC, added “energetic” Dent is the “perfect choice”.
The most recent series of MasterChef: The Professionals continued to air amid a storm of allegations against Wallace.
However, two MasterChef celebrity Christmas specials, a Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook Off and a MasterChef Strictly Festive Extravaganza, featuring Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers, have been pulled from the BBC’s festive schedule.
Wallace’s lawyers previously told the BBC: “It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.”
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Gregg Wallace responds to allegations
Downing Street criticises Wallace’s remarks
Shortly after the allegations first emerged, Wallace recorded a video where he dismissed his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.
His remarks were met with huge criticism – including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic”.
Wallace responded by posting a follow-up clip where he apologised and said he “wasn’t in a good space” when he posted the comments.
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