Entertainment :: Movies
"Noah’s Arc" Jumps to the Big Screen by Fred Topel
EDGE ContributorThursday Oct 23, 2008
The feature length "Noah’s Arc" movie, Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom, may not have as much fanfare as "Sex and the City: The Movie," but it is important for the community. Series creator and the film’s director, Patrik-Ian Polk, hopes releasing the film weeks before election day can positively impact ballots on gay marriage.
"It’s very important in this current political climate to show that all of us would like to have this as an option, have our unions recognized by the government in this way," said Polk. "I hope that there are some people that will look at this film and if they’re on the fence on this issue, might be swayed to be the side of tolerance and equality."
My Big Fat Gay Wedding
In the film, Noah agrees to marry Wade, and travels with their friends Alex, Ricky and Chance to the ceremony. Perhaps it is "My Big Fat Gay Wedding."
"I think it’s really nice to see a black gay wedding movie. The wedding movie has been explored in many, many different ways but this is certainly a first."
However, with states like California voting on Prop 8, Polk is more interested in the political possibilities than the artistic cinematic ones.
"I’m curious to see how that issue affects us. The movie’s only playing in LA right now when it opens next weekend so I don’t know. I would imagine it might have more of an effect if it were playing in more locations but who knows what’s going to happen in the weak after. If there are any people, especially in the LA area, who see the film, like I said, if they’re really on the fence on this issue, who knows? Maybe our movie can pull them over to our side."
Already the "Noah’s Arc" show has been a milestone. It was the first original series on the first all gay network.
"It’s been a little bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s great to be part of something that’s so ground breaking and certainly it was an honor to be Logo’s flagship scripted series, but at the same time, it’s a little bit bittersweet because we would like to continue the series. So although I accepted the challenge to turn the show into a movie, I was really operating on a leap of faith that hopefully Logo’s vision is a strong one and that it will win out in the end. It’s an interesting experiment and I’m curious to see how the movie will do and what the response will be after that, if they will indeed bring the show back but obviously, in a perfect world, I’d love to be going into season five right now."
Still, with two seasons and a movie, that is a nice representation of the African-American gay community.
"Well, a lot of times as an artist, I’m really just making projects that I would be interested in seeing. As a black gay man a show like "Noah’s Arc" was an interesting to me, and something that I think we were definitely missing. And I still think we’re missing shows like and projects like that or shows and projects that explore the full breadth of the gay experience from the perspective of people of color. Hopefully we’ll see more. Hopefully I’ll do more. It’s not all I’ll do but it’s certainly an area that interests me."
Top photo: members of the cast of "Noah’s Arc."
Bottom photo: Patrik-Ian Polk
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