Oscilloscope Laboratories One person who did audition via what you called a “provocative” videotape was Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She thought it was solipsistic and writing about people who aren’t you is the beginning of empathy, and that’s my goal. She didn’t let any of her students write about themselves. I love all my characters and there are parts of me in each. And today, I believe a response would be, “What right do you have as a white cis male gay shooting an Asian straight woman having an orgasm? That’s not your story to tell!” Well, I understand that character. I want it to be organic, I want the best actor for the role. I’m not one for shoehorning representation.
I wanted to have a lesbian couple, but I couldn’t find one who wanted to do it and could act. Paul and PJ were an existing couple which was a timesaver. But a couple of people were like, “Why didn’t you have an asexual character?” “Why didn’t you show a dick going into an asshole?” Guys, I only have 90 minutes! Today, they might also say, “Your cast isn’t diverse enough!” God knows I tried to have as diverse a cast as possible, but I was working with actors who wanted to do this, and there was a limited number. It was sort of off the right-wing’s radar.
Were people totally cool with Shortbus at the time, or were there criticisms and controversies?īack then we didn’t get much pushback. The making of the film is your life, while the film is a byproduct of your life. Everyone feels in retrospect that was their favorite creative experience, and that to me is perhaps even more important than the film itself. Forget it! I just played Joe Exotic and the counselor would ask, “Is it OK if he touches your shoulder?” Can you imagine me asking, “Is it OK if he cums in your mouth right now?” But I was the intimacy counselor and everyone felt heard, loved, and part of the making of it. Imagine the squadron of “intimacy counselors” I would need. I think I would have been MeToo-ed if I made this film now. Could you make a Shortbus in 2022, and if so, what would the major differences be besides Justin Vivian Bond’s pronoun?
I meet a lot of people who say ‘ Hedwig helped me a lot,’ and then I meet some who feel Shortbus was their touchstone. We had an amazing trans colorist who saw the film when they were younger and was thrilled to be part of it. The restoration looks amazing, like the film was shot yesterday, and the animated sequences are even more vibrant and detailed!
Speaking with Logo, Mitchell – recently recovered from a bout with Omicron, of which he quips, “It’s my favorite variant!” – discusses Shortbus (which also costarred musicians Jay Brannon, Justin Vivian Bond, and JD Samson) his turn as Joe Exotic in Joe vs Carole, Peacock’s upcoming limited series and the details of his role in Netflix’s hotly awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comic series Sandman. Weaving together the stories of a gay couple at a crossroads (Paul Dawson and PJ Deboy), a therapist who can’t have an orgasm (Soon-Yin Lee), and a dominatrix seeking real connection (Lindsay Beamish), Mitchell’s sophomore effort as feature director following Hedwig and the Angry Inch (which the Criterion Collection restored and released in 2019) blends humor, emotional intensity, poignancy, animation, and a portrait of a based-on-real-life New York City pansexual arty “sex salon” scene that has since vanished. Long out of print on DVD and never available via streaming or Blu-ray, the cult classic now sees a theatrical rerelease with a Blu-ray drop to follow later this year.
Thanks to a new 4K restoration and rerelease, courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories, the movie is about to be introduced to a new generation. Real sex, real orgasms, and an unforgettable rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” sung into a guy’s ass during a gay threeway made John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus stand out at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where it first premiered.