One of the ironies about film history is that several of the biggest male idols have, in fact, been gay. She was cast opposite Richard Gere in Sommersby but the majority of her roles have been as tough, self-reliant single woman. Look through her roles and you will that she has rarely appeared in romantic comedies or dramas. If she had "come out" publically her career would almost certainly have been affected.
Jodie Foster was a major movie star being paid millions of dollars for performances in films like The Silence of the Lambs and The Accused. Quite understandably, the stars have argued that their private lives are their own business. The gay community in America has felt betrayed by stars who've refused to come out. "I think these people (the stars) have good intentions but once their agents get their hands on them, they are like 'don't you dare come out!'" Often, the stars themselves have little choice over how their images are moulded. You would ruin your mainstream appeal as a heterosexual red-blooded male." Leading directors of action movies couldn't reveal they were gay because it would undermine the image of machismo that their films projected.Īs for the big-name stars, "they are making films for Middle America first and foremost. What might have been an open secret in the Hollywood community was still concealed at all costs from the wider public.
Once he started his research, he very quickly discovered that "even the ones you know are gay can't be outed". One gay writer (who covers the film industry in Hollywood) recalls putting together a list of the most powerful gay and lesbian figures in Hollywood. There are still some marriages of convenience today. In the heyday of the studio system, publicists and agents used to "arrange" marriages for gay and lesbian stars so as to reassure fans that they were heterosexual. Those who have worked in Hollywood talk about the elaborate culture of deception that still exists. Agents put pressure on their clients not to "come out". When a studio spends $100m on a mainstream movie and an equivalent amount in marketing it at home and abroad, anything that can jeopardise its box-office performance is frowned on. Even so, Hollywood is still in the business of making "four quadrant movies" – that's to say ultra-mainstream films appealing to males and females, young and old.