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When he was in his late 20s, Franco realized he wasn’t happy with his life. “I can’t relate a lot of specifics to Michael’s story, but I think a lot of people do go through a similar type of crisis, granted often to a smaller degree than what Michael went through.” He also tapped into feelings he experienced about where his career was leading early on. What was important was what he went through, not how he sounded.”įor the role of Glatze, Franco communicated with Michael via email and Skype before filming, “more to get his final blessing … so he could look me in the eye and see that I wasn’t out to vilify him and all that.”īut his acting decisions, he said, were informed by Kelly, the director. “With James Dean, everybody knows what he looks like, everybody knows what he moves like and sounds like, so taking on the physical behavior and mannerisms was part of that role,” he said. Some are very public figures such as James Dean and Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and some are just known for what they did, like Aron Ralston (who famously cut off his own forearm when he got trapped bouldering) in “127 Hours,” or Scott Smith (iconic gay activist Harvey Milk’s boyfriend) in “Milk.” He’s played a variety of characters based on real people, some alive, some from the past.
The 37-year-old actor says he approaches how he researches roles based on the individual he is playing. To prepare for the role, Franco consulted with director Justin Kelly, who also wrote the screenplay for this, his first feature- length film. But he believes that anybody reading this as a pro-conversion narrative is willfully misreading the movie. “From the beginning, it was definitely the intention that we present the facts of his life, rather than trying to vilify him.”ĭoing so led to a few conversations about whether the filmmakers needed to “clarify even more that we don’t necessarily agree with what Michael said,” he recalls. “As long as we were going to tell the story in a very evenhanded way,” Franco said. Glatze, now a minister living with his wife in Wyoming, was open to having his life portrayed on screen, with one condition.
The Dartmouth graduate who championed gay youths while working at XY magazine and then co-founded the Young Gay America publication with boyfriend Ben (played by Zachary Quinto in the film), went through a spiritual crisis that resulted in his denouncing gay life and converting to conservative Christianity. The filmmakers understood that “I Am Michael” required a careful approach in realizing Glatze’s journey and radical turnabout. “If Gus Van Sant thinks it’s going to potentially be a good movie, then you kind of listen.”Ĭertainly the audience will listen and likely have something to say about the even-keeled “I Am Michael,” a bold opening night film choice at Frameline39, the Bay Area’s 11-day festival that kicks off Thursday and showcases movies with pertinent LGBTQ themes.įranco, a Palo Alto native, is not the only Bay Area tie to “I Am Michael.” The article the film is based on, “My Ex-Gay Friend,” was written by former Contra Costa Times reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis, who had worked with the real-life Glatze at the San Francisco-based XY magazine.