The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner has apologised for suggesting that Freeheld, his recent drama that follows the story of a lesbian couple played by Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, was “degayed” by producers against his wishes.
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Nyswaner appeared to take the blame for the independent drama’s failure to mount an expected awards season run following middling reviews.
“At last week’s Vanguard Awards Gala, in the glare of the spotlight and the excitement of the moment, I made some remarks that need to be corrected and explained,” he said. “In a speech that was meant to be a reflection on internalised gay-shame and self-censorship, I denigrated the courage and integrity of my colleagues on the movie Freeheld. These comments were inaccurate and unfair.
“The producers never suggested that the characters should be anything but thoroughly and proudly gay. We disagreed over the amount of conflict that should be present in their relationship; I won some arguments and lost others. The movie is satisfying and beautiful in many ways, particularly in the performances of the leads. The script that made it to the screen is weaker than it ought to have been and for that I must accept responsibility. I apologise to my colleagues for the pain my comments have caused.”
Nyswaner had claimed at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Vanguard awards that Freeheld’s producers stepped in to ensure the film, which stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page as a gay couple, featured “lesbians with a lower case ‘l’ … because God forbid someone might think we were making a movie about a couple of dykes”.
He added: “Out of fear, they were normalised … The gay characters were idealised. Their edges were smoothed out. The conflict between them was softened. Over my vigorous objections by the way, for the record.”
Freeheld stars Moore as critically ill New Jersey detective Laurel Hester, who finds obstacles in her path after trying to leave her pension benefits to domestic partner Stacie Andree, played by Page. The drama was based on an Oscar-winning documentary short, also titled Freeheld, which followed the real-life Laurel Hester in her battle to convince Republican authorities in Ocean County, New Jersey to extend pension benefits to registered domestic partners seven years before the state enshrined gay marriage in law.
Nyswaner, one of Hollywood’s best known gay film-makers, was nominated for the best original screenplay Oscar in 1993 for his work on the Tom Hanks Aids drama Philadelphia.
