I was wondering if you'd heard anything more about the Slash film from the director? I only ask as I stumbled across his tumblr blog and I get the impression he's getting really annoyed with all the negative press his film is getting, so I was intrigued about what you'd heard.
Well, I have bad news, good news, and great news.
[For those of you just joining in, you can follow along with the discussion in my “slash the movie” tag]
bad news
I haven’t received anything to convince me that this movie isn’t as offensive as the PR and overall synopsis makes it sound. I have, however, accumulated some links to help us determine what we’re up against.
The filmmaker himself linked me to one of his shorts, My Mom Smokes Weed (I watched it, and while I appreciate the premise and see the appeal for audiences who like that kind of awkward, stuttered humor seen a lot nowadays, it’s not my cup of tea)
Here’s an article in which the filmmaker condescendingly says of fanfic: “There’s a low-fi quality at work here. Something very cobbled together, and in a strange way, dangerous. Dangerous in that sexy way that something can be when you don’t quite know where it’s coming from or what its intentions are,” among many other disrespectful gems.
And here’s another where he says, “That stuff [Harry Potter erotica] is out there. It’s not hard to find. It’s just hard to erase from your mind afterwards.”
Lastly, this is an interview where he discusses the inspiration for his main character as such: “The easy thing to do is say, ‘Look how bad this person is and ridicule and deride.’ That’s extremely easy and therefore not interesting. Solondz actually makes you sympathize with these characters that are almost unsympathetic.”
emmagrant01 was kind enough to reblog my last ask with her personal run-in with this film, where a PR person (not the filmmaker) spoke with her about slash fic.
The Daily Dot posted an article about the film, confirming that the “male lead’s sexuality is genuinely undefined in traditional terms,” which basically means we don’t get any solid queer representation, either.
good news
I’ve had a few one-on-one discussions with the actual filmmaker (not a PR person), and he does seem like a really nice, chill dude. I really appreciate that he reached out to me, and I appreciate his willingness to have a discussion around the concerns of fandom.
He offered to send me some more info on the actual film based on what his producers will allow, and he said he’d send that to me when he could. I’ll let you know when I know more.
GREAT NEWS!!
So in this whole whirlwind of activity around turning fandom into the subject of a movie, I had the amazing opportunity to read a script WRITTEN BY A FANPERSON FOR FANPEOPLE.
I laughed. I cried (twice!). I picked it up thinking I’d just read a couple pages and then I couldn’t put it down.
shipitmovie is everything I’ve ever wanted in a movie. I’m basically willing to set myself on fire to get it made. Please follow the blog for updates on the project, and read a few of the script pages to see for yourself!

























