Goss Out Of Cannes Says Daniel Craig’s Super Gay New Film is “Fantastic”
Image: Source: 'Casino Royale', MGM
Daniel Craig (James Bond series, Knives Out) has apparently turned in the best performance of his career in Queer (2024), according to a scoop at the Cannes Film Festival.
In a conversation with a producer at the French film festival, World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy heard the news that Luca Guadagnino’s second film for 2024 is three hours long and “fantastic”, adding that Daniel Craig is doing career-best work in the film.
The film is based on the William S. Burroughs novel that shares its name, a semi-autobiographical tale of the author’s life as he struggled with addiction and navigated his own sexuality. Though written in the 1950s, it wasn’t published until 1985 because of its “homosexual content.”
Queer should garner some further buzz in the aftermath of Challengers, also directed by Guadagnino and released in April this year to critical, commercial and cultural success. It’s a real possibility that the director could have two films making serious awards plays at the end of the year.
Who’s involved with making Queer?
It’s the latest in a long career of explicitly queer films from the Italian filmmaker. Be it Call Me By Your Name’s overt depiction of a fleeting romance or the subtext of the stomach-churning Bones and All, this year’s Queer is the latest in a long line of films tackling what being queer means – especially at different points in the past.
Guadagnino was announced to be directing the film in December 2022, with Craig (a surprising gay icon in his own right) attached from the project’s inception. That time spent in the oven appears to have paid off, if the words of this producer are anything to go by, praising the film as “fantastic.”
The wider cast includes Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzmann and Lesley Manville, while Challengers screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are also involved.
When will Queer release in Australia?
The unnamed producer also explained that Queer will likely premiere at August’s Venice Film Festival, since Challengers was pulled from Venice last year amidst a delay caused by the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes.
A local release date is, unsurprisingly, currently unavailable. Based on the Australian release dates of films that premiered at Venice last year, it would be safe to expect Queer to release at the very end of 2024, or the start of 2025.
