Been on a bit of a James Dean reading kick lately. Next up is another reread that Iām really looking forward to revisiting.
This paragraph about how director Nicholas Ray and James Dean coaxed an even more homoerotic performance out of Sal Mineo in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (Natalie is Natalie Wood, their co-star, who played Deanās love interest and also had a crush on him):
I was so hung up on the name Griffith J. Griffith, the rest of that paragraph almost gave me whiplash.
A very relatable story in which poet Frank OāHara nearly ended a friendship over his friend having NOT had a gay threesome with James Dean:
I actually wish more people today knew how gay #RebelWithoutACause is because it really is a key film in LGBTQ+ cinema history, arguably the first to centre on a sympathetic portrayal of a (coded but very clearly) gay character.
...not to mention a protagonist whose sexuality is, at the very least, ambiguous or open to interpretation.
Reading my 4th James Dean book in a row
Me skimming thru this section quoted from Elia Kazanās memoirs