Wanna Be Popular? Get It With Darren Stein's "G.B.F."

Look, Caught In A Popularity War, It's The "G.B.F.!" 

Hey? Have you heard about the latest must have have Teen Queen accessory, The G.B.F.? Well in case you have been living under a rock...

"The acronym G.B.F. stands for “Gay Best Friend” which has recently been deemed the 
hottest new fad at North Gateway High School; the Queen Bees need a G.B.F.! But there is 
one big problem: none of the gay guys at their posh suburban high school are out of the 
closet. The vicious lady monarchs of the school, a.k.a. the three lead prom queen 
candidates, are not going to let this minor glitch get in their way; a G.B.F. is just what they 
need to give them that edgy, high-fashion appeal and win over the ultimate prize: the high 
school popularity crown."

Here to tell us more juicy details is the Director of  "G.B.F." and the cult hit "Jawbreaker" Darren Stein!

MS: Hey Darren I really enjoyed "G.B.F." you and writer George Northy are really simpatico.

DS: Yes, it definitely felt like something I could have written. It's not like I'm only out to make "Teen Films" it's about the characters and the story a script tells, and this is a story I wanted to tell.

MS: One of the things I am quite shocked by is "G.B.F." got an "R" rating.

Director, Darren Stein

DS: That was unfortunate. We definitely went out of our way in the writing and the direction to make sure th film had a "PG-13" tone. It was never my intention to make an "R" rated movie, I made one before, and this is not that.

MS: It really wasn't. There was a gay scene on "Scandal" that was more explicit than anything in your movie.

DS: Well I was told that when it comes to ratings the MPAA is really behind TV. I was even told by our MPAA consultant that they are harsher on films with gay content or characters. My opinion on what "hurt" "G.B.F." from the beginning was it was a High School Movie that told it's story from a gay perspective. The fling is still intense, but I think because it is a gay oriented fling it's more taboo.  

MS: Wow! I really like your use of actors making cameos in the film. I'm a teenager of the 80's, like yourself. I  Loved the Jonathan Silverman and Megan Mullally cameos. 

DS: Jonathan brought so much soulfulness to his role he was awesome! I've always been a fan, but when I got to work with him I was truly blown away by his talent. 

MS: I agree, Jonathan's role is such a small one, but you remember it.

DS: Megan was really great too!

MS: Sasha Pieterse was a draw to the film for me as I am a big "Pretty Little Liars" fan.

DS: She is so brilliant. Sasha has this wiseness that is beyond her years, and she is gracious, intelligent and lovely. When she started "Pretty Little Liars" she was really young, I think she is eighteen now. They were looking to potentially cast her as "Hanna" but because of her age they couldn't, I would work with her again in a heartbeat, she brings so much loveliness to the role. 

MS: It's nice to see the flip side of her talent, because on "Pretty Little Liars" she is a total bitch.

DS: Her character "Fawcett" is really sweet. It's a twist in the movie that she's a bitch at school, but she makes conditioners and shampoos in her bathroom. She's the science nerd at home, that's so not "R" rated, you know?

Get Yourself One!

MS: Yeah, I agree, the only other reason I can think of that you got slapped with an "R" rating is the content regarding the Mormon Religion, but...

DS: There is the scene where the Mormon character grabs "Tanner's" hand and puts it on his crotch and says "Does this feel straight to you?" Like I said the level of playing and sexual situations are not anymore extreme than other "PG-13" straight films. It's because it takes place between guys, like you said "Scandal" is more provocative with the gay content, but it's also adults, "G.B.F." is teenagers.

MS: "G.B.F." is the kind of movie, as gay men, you or I wished we had when growing up. Younger gay guys today have it a lot different than we did.

DS: Yeah, they live in an all access world. Which is why I think the screenplay is great, because screenwriter George Northy is a whole decade younger than me. To read lines like "I knew how to clear the Internet History when I was twelve" - It's like "I don't know how to clear the Internet History now!" (laughs)

MS: I don't either! (laughs)

DS: One of the great things about "G.B.F." is it presents a typical High School mainstream romance, like "Mean Girls." Yet it's from this gay protagonist and his perspective, I think it's important. I think people are going to look back at it ten years from now and see it was the first film to do that and had a tiny little release. (laughs) 

"G.B.F." Hits select theaters and Video On Demand this Friday January 17th

Love your "G.B.F." at: https://www.facebook.com/GBFmovie