Gay Thursday: Breakfast With Scot

In his infinite bovine like wisdom, Pookie sent this reminder over about what is happening in the great progressive neighbour to our north. An obviously great little film that has a lot to say about masculinity.

Here's the trailer

Here are media links.

Cutting Edge Comedy Makes The Big League
NHL Endorses New Feature Film

Toronto, ON (February 6, 2007) –

Miracle Pictures and Capri Releasing announce the release of their feature comedy Breakfast With Scot.

Laurie Lynd ... directed Sean Reycraft’s script based on Michael Downing’s novel. A funny and touching story about what—and who—makes a family and the surprising lessons of self-acceptance a child can teach an adult, Breakfast With Scot stars Tom Cavanagh (‘Ed’, ‘Scrubs’), Ben Shenkman (‘Just Like Heaven’, ‘Angels in America’) and newcomer Noah Bernett (‘Gothica’) as Scot. Paul Brown produced and Howard Rosenman and Nadine Schiff executive produced the film. Capri Releasing/Mongrel Media is handling domestic distribution. Production assistance was provided by Telefilm Canada, The Ontario Media Development Corporation, The Harold Greenberg Fund and Movie Central. The twenty-five day shoot in and around Toronto wrapped on December 15, 2006.

BREAKFAST WITH SCOT is about a very “straight” gay couple - Sam (Ben Shenkman) a lawyer, and Eric (Tom Cavanagh), an ex-NHL player-turned-sportscaster, whose lifestyle and relationship are turned upside down when they become the temporary guardians of Scot (Noah Bernett), an unexpectedly excitable, pink preferring, ascotwearing, kind of girly boy. Reluctant to get involved in the first place, Sam and Eric find themselves in conflict with each other about bringing Scot into their already full lives. Feelings change, however, as the pair are caught off-guard by this unique young character who is joyously and unashamedly himself. This thoughtful comedy takes a look at homosexuality in professional sports and society’s resistance to accepting gay heroes. The National Hockey League has taken a progressive step by endorsing Breakfast With Scot and granting the production rights to use NHL and Toronto Maple Leafs’
names and logos in the film. Paul Brown says: "I am thrilled to be making a film that is groundbreaking, entertaining, and about something. We've crafted a fantastically accessible story from Michael Downing's wonderful novel. A budding film, a budding director, a budding queen of an 11 year old. Lots of fun."




From IMDB:

This is a fantastic script - hilarious with heart. Ed and Sam have been in a committed relationship for four years. Ed's a former hockey player turned sportscaster and Sam's a sport's lawyer. But when Sam's adventure seeking brother Billy, takes a job in South America, his ex-girlfriend, Julie, is discovered dead from a drug overdose leaving her son Scot (not Billy's son) to Billy. But Billy is missing in action so Sam is left to pick up the pieces. But the problem is Ed never wanted kids. When 11 year old Scot arrives and they open his duffle bag, inside they find... one pink musical hairbrush, two plastic containers of beads and faux-gold chains, a pink poodle belt, and four pairs of white sock-ettes with lacy fringe at the top... they realize Scot is more out of the closet then they are even though he does not know it yet. A unique boy in an even more unusual situation, Scot throws Ed and Sam's life into complete disarray. When Billy finally show's up to take Scot back to South America - Ed and Sam can't bear the thought of losing Scot. In the spirit of ABOUT A BOY, BILLY ELLIOT and MA VIE EN ROSE, BREAKFAST WITH SCOT explores what it truly means to be a family, hilariously contrasting familial stereotypes with the realities of family life and showing how it feels to be a boy who doesn't quite fit into the role society has prepared for him. Written by Anon

from cbcnews.ca:



This story originally ran during the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.

Breakfast With Scot has a sitcom-sweet premise with a twist: a semi-closeted gay couple inherits a precocious little boy who seems gayer than they do. Director Laurie Lynd is unabashed about making a family movie that brings the margin to the mainstream. To help, he drafted Tom Cavanagh — that guy from Ed — to play the lead: a former Toronto Maple Leaf who’s not exactly in touch with his inner gay man. Lynd talked to CBCNews.ca from his home in Toronto.

Q: It’s rare to see an actual NHL logo in a movie, but the main character is a gay former Leaf, and often he’s head to toe in Leaf paraphernalia. How did you get the league's corporate approval?

A: It’s the first time any professional sports league has allowed their logo to be used in a gay themed film. My producer, Paul Brown, approached the NHL in 2006 and we were just so floored when they said yes, because apparently they get dozens of scripts per week. For example, Bon Cop, Bad Cop didn’t get permission, so we never thought we’d get it, and we were thrilled. I thought it was a big deal but I didn’t realize just how big it was until the Toronto Star broke the story in November of last fall, and it triggered articles in the New York Times, The L.A. Times, Sports Illustrated. It’s been a breakthrough decision, and the NHL has been really low-key about it. They just say they liked the script, and thought it was a family comedy and they wanted to support it. Makes me proud to be a Canadian.

Q: We’re beginning to see depictions of effeminate boys and masculine girls, on television, in Ugly Betty and The Riches, but not so much on film. Were you interested in breaking that barrier?

A: For me, the movie is very much about self-acceptance, and that’s a universal thing, but it’s also a celebration of the sissy. I was a sissy when I was a kid, and I was called that but I’ve never seen a kid like I was depicted in a film. Even in C.R.A.Z.Y., a film I loved, it’s a much straighter gay kid. I was delighted to bring a character like Scot to life, this kid who loves musicals and feather boas. Interestingly, that side of gay life is underrepresented these days. A lot of the gay culture today is about being macho. We all wanted [Scot] to be pre-sexuality, though, because once you get into sexuality it gets more complicated. I think kids should go to this movie. It’s a comedy for families about two gay guys who are changed by a gay kid. In the States, it would be two gay guys changed by a thuggish straight kid.

Q: Will some people find it too gentle, too much of a pander to a straight audience?

A: Of course, I worried: How will the gay community react? Will they say it’s pulling its punches by not having more explicit scenes between the couple? But it would be equally out of place in a heterosexual family comedy to have anything more explicit. Part of the journey of the character Tom Cavanagh plays is to reach a point where he can be more comfortable with his partner in public. I actually think this film is quite subversive because it’s a mainstream family film that’s really about a gay man having a second coming out. It’s a comedy about internalized homophobia, and that’s a very nuanced point. As a gay man, I think coming out is a lifelong journey. There are so many stages to it.

Q: How did it test with audiences?

A: Before we locked the picture, we played it at a cinema in Mississauga. It was a weird event. We had technical glitches, and the audience had to wait, and they were grumpy when they got in there, but they loved it. And that was a very average, suburban audience. They laughed, commented on how touching it is. That’s great. I want it to get out in the world to the broadest audience possible.

Q: When you’re working with a straight actor playing gay, are there certain clichés you need to overturn? What was his comfort level?

A: I’ve enjoyed Tom as a comedian. He’s so warm and I wanted the character of Eric to be really likeable. He’s also a wonderful dramatic actor, it’s a tour de force for him. And he was completely comfortable playing a gay character. The only thing was, he wanted to change the name of the character to Eric because the character was originally named Ed, and he was famous for that TV series called Ed. He didn’t want it to be: “Ed Turns Gay.”

Katrina Onstad