We Are Afraid Austin Butler May Have Blown His Chance to Play James Dean in New Biopic Detailing His Alleged Gay Romance
- Writer-filmmaker Guy Guido is planning on making a James Dean biopic.
- James Franco portrayed James Dean is TV movie titled James Dean.
- Fans push Austin Butler to portray James Dean in the movie.
Austin Butler started his career with being a part of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 and later went on to star in The CW’s Life Unexpected. Butler gained recognition with his work on The Carrie Diaries. But the actor rose to wider prominence after he starred as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. He was highly appreciated for his work and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Butler, after portraying Elvis, became a household name, and thus, Time Magazine named him as one of the most influential people worldwide. The actor has been a part of Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya starrer Dune: Part Two and portrayed the character of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Austin Butler would have been perfect for a role that was recently announced, but maybe he blew his chance.
Guy Guido is working on a James Dean biopic focusing on alleged gay romance
According to reports by The Hollywood Reporter, writer-filmmaker Guy Guido is planning on making a James Dean biopic, which is based on William Bast’s 2006 novel titled Surviving James Dean. Guido acquired the right for the memoir and has already started looking for his potential candidates. Guido shared,
I have been a fan and history of James Dean since I was 18 years old, so I knew about ‘his friend’ Willie, even when information about their relationship was straight-washed by the Hollywood machine. As a filmmaker, I love telling the story of a celebrity’s life in their coming-of-age period. As a gay man, I was particularly drawn to Bast’s unique story.
In the memoir, Bast describes meeting James Dean at UCLA at the age of 19 and how they became roommates, close friends, and eventually lovers. He wrote that they had to keep their fling private to not hurt Dean’s career and held onto the hope that they’d live together soon. Five years after meeting Bast, James Dean passed away in a car accident in 1995.
The filmmaker is going to follow the story from their first meeting, followed by their relationship to Dean’s eventual death. The movie is also going to focus on William Bast’s challenges with coming to terms with being gay in the 1950s. The filmmaker is adamant that he is going to do justice to the story by casting the right people to portray Dean and Bast in the movie, along with Bast’s single mother. He added,
I am obsessed with getting the look right when it comes to casting and directing a film about a famous person. I want people to feel as if they are watching the real James Dean on-screen.
Actor James Franco had portrayed the late actor in James Dean, a 2001 TV movie. Despite having a short-lived career, Dean’s impact on acting can be felt to date, and several actors, including Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and more, have cited the late actor as their inspiration.
Fans push Austin Butler’s name for the James Dean biopic
The announcement of James Dean’s biopic in the works thrilled the fans who admire the late actor. They were quick to share their opinion on who would look perfect in the role, and well, Austin Butler’s name popped up. A user wrote, ‘Well, Austin Butler looks just like him.’ Another user suggested that Butler should play Dean, whereas José Condessa seems perfect for the role of William Bast.
A user wrote, ‘I’m glad James Dean’s bisexuality is being addressed. Dizzy Sheridan, a former girlfriend, has spoken about Jimmy confessing to her about his same-sex experiences.’ A lot of fans were just excited to know that there was going to be a James Dean movie. Some also went on to acknowledge James Franco’s work in James Dean.
But a user pointed out that since Austin Butler had been a part of Elvis, in which he portrayed Elvis Presley to a point that fans even forgot how Butler sounded in real life. They added that because he has already been a part of a biopic, it’s very unlikely that he’d be picked up for another famous and popular actor to be portrayed on-screen.
Austin Butler, in his interview with Oscars, shared that watching James Dean at the age of 11–12 blew his mind. He added that on one hand, the fans had Montgomery Clift saying ‘Help Me’, and on the other, Marlon Brando stating ‘f**k you.’ James Dean came as a cocktail of both. Butler’s performance as Elvis is described as intense and brooding, which is why some fans suggested that he might not be picked up for the part.
Who according to you would justify James Dean on-screen?
Elvis is available to stream on HBO Max.
