‘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.”
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
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.
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