So... Why is there no Big budget-Hollywood yaoi-movie?

[Terrible Opinions]

Why hasn't Hollywood maid a big-budget entry into an extremely niche genre of pornography that would be controversial as all fuck if people who weren't horrible nerds actually knew it existed?

Couldn't guess.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Not certain about the big budget part, but if you're willing to dive into the independent and/or foreign market I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. Hell, Otto, or Up With Dead People basically was yaoi Warm Bodies, and it predated it.

Or, you know, wait for a (non concert) Glee movie to come out.

 

[Darken12]

Not certain about the big budget part, but if you're willing to dive into the independent and/or foreign market I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. Hell, Otto, or Up With Dead People basically was yaoi Warm Bodies, and it predated it.

Or, you know, wait for a (non concert) Glee movie to come out.

Yeah, that's basically Bruce LaBruce's shtick.

There's a pretty significant gay indie film niche, with movies from pretty much every genre. Slasher has Hellbent, Rom Com has Eating Out, Drama has, well, everything ever, Horror has Cthulhu, Romance has everything ever too. The only genres more or less untouched were Action and Suspense/Thriller, though I think the latter had a few entries as well.

 

[micahrp]

If you need a fix of it, I'd point to Velvet Goldmine. A very early Ewan McGregor and Christian Bale movie set in the 70s Glam movement.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Hollywood (or, more specifically, the big six studios [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_film_studio#Today.27s_Big_Six] that can put a film in more than a couple hundred theaters) would not make a "yaoi movie" without the gayness being the only thing it's about because for all the talk of "liberal Hollywood", the vast majority of those with power are very prejudiced, intolerant, and cynical. If you watch more than one or two films a year, you'll notice very quickly they're attached to the idea of the white American heterosexual cisgender male as the default viewpoint for everything and refuse to normalize[footnote]When I say normalize, I mean presenting a situation as an accepted fact rather than a plot point. An example would be how Alien normalized the idea of a woman as a warrant officer and respected member of a ship crew by showing her as that without anyone commenting on her gender.[/footnote] much of anything else. To them, homosexuality is a joke, a threat to a straight protagonist, or a "serious issue" that brings good publicity every couple of years.

Also, as seen in the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, the MPAA ratings board is notoriously homophobic and slaps higher ratings for merely involving homosexual characters. (There is some grey area there because they were also shown to give independent films higher ratings as what amounts to an anti-competitive form of censorship.) The empty-nest parents making up the board would fight the idea of a movie about gay men targeted to t(w)een girls no matter how tame its content is.

Exactly.

I'd also add that this also applies even when it'd make financial sense not to do it. They know what the audience want, and won't be told otherwise. You can see this in the list of superheroes that get movies made of them. DC is getting the people that did the Green Lantern to make an Aquaman movie.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Gee, really, I didn't know that ¬_¬
Please, do tell me more things I already know.
The point I was making, was Brokeback Mountain is about as close as Hollywood is gonna get

Well, to be fair here, I honestly had no idea if you'd actually seen the film. It has a rather overblown reputation, particularly amongst people who haven't actually watched it, but assume it's wall to wall gay sex scenes. From what you said, I had no way of knowing if you'd actually seen the film or were just going off of it's rather bizarre reputation.

As far as Hollywood, meh, that's changing. Give it another 20 years and I don't think it will be as big of a deal.

Of course, since I find Yaoi rather pandering, I don't particularly want a yaoi film. Just more gay characters on screen in general.

 

[Screamarie]

Being as someone that has invested a good deal of her money in yaoi manga (though I prefer the term boys love), I'll explain some things as I, personally, have seen them. Anyone who has evidence to the contrary is certainly welcome to correct me.

1. It is not generally considered accpetable to like boys love in western culture. Some women and girls do find it attractive...but there are also many more that tell you your weird for liking it...and telling a GUY your into is....well it's really fucking awkward and all of a sudden your the creepy girl from The Loved Ones movie in their eyes. (In fact, I've heard things to indicate that it's not all that acceptable in Japan either, tolerated, but not well liked, but having never even been to Japan, this is only hearsay so take my words with a grain of salt and anyone who can confirm or deny is welcomed to do so.)

2. It is not very widespread in the states. I have even known anime and manga lovers who had NO IDEA what I was talking about when I mentioned popular boys love titles such as Ai no Kusabi and FAKE or even the word yaoi. If your not part of the group, a lot of times you don't hear about this stuff. Seriously there is such a thing as a Yaoi Convention and I wouldn't be surprised if hardly anybody on the escapist, some of the nerdiest of the nerds, had any idea it existed.

3. There is a lot of "rape but it's okay because he likes it in end" style of stories in boys love. I will admit it, even if others will not. Note that the rape is rarely done in any kind of malicious or hateful way, it's usually the thought of "I'm just showing you that your really gay" and I feel that this shows that the author and audience aren't intending for anyone to really be hurt but that doesn't really make it any better, rape is rape. I can only assume that this storyline is generally done because it's a cheap and fast way to get a story out and make money and I admit I read a lot of it...when I was younger and didn't know any better. Giving credit where credit is due though, this is not ALL boys love ever is, if you find a good mangaka you can get really good stories with in depth characterization and motivations and sweet, romantic love stories or drama or angst or whatever your into, but you gotta wade through a lot of shit to get to it.


NOW whether or not you would make your money back on a boys love movie, which there is some evidence that you might, seeing as movies such as Brokeback Mountain and Magic Mike did well I believe(not saying that either of these are ANYTHING like boys love), it would still be a BIG risk and while the controversy that came from it (and there WOULD be people screaming in the streets and waving around signs) might be good...it could also really fuck your studio over, especially if people feel your movie is portraying men being raped as okay, which it most certainly is not.

Honestly I wouldn't want to see a big budget hollywood boys love movie because more than likely it would either be very stereotypical...or incredibly bland so as to do it's utmost to NOT be stereotypical.

 

[saintdane05]

We need a film based off Okane Ga Nai.

Yeah, that would be cool. And yes, those are both dudes.

 

[VanQ]

But there are absolutely dozens of movies that fit your description, OP. Just because they don't use the word yaoi it doesn't mean it's not the same thing. I mean come on, that word is not even English.

Here's a nice list for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lesbian,_gay,_bisexual,_or_transgender-related_films_by_storyline

We need a film based off Okane Ga Nai.

Yeah, that would be cool. And yes, those are both dudes.

My vote is for a full, feature length Boku no Pico trilogy.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

I'd say it's to do with demographics. Big budget movies tend to be made to appeal to a large audience so that the film makers will be able to achieve a profit. With this in mind, Yaoi is a very niche market. Even more so in the West. The amount of people who would pay to see it just wouldn't be worth the cost of making the film.

My vote is for a full, feature length Boku no Pico trilogy.

Have this directed by Michael Bay and turned into a musical and I will fully second this notion!

 

[SadisticFire]

I would believe the main thing keeping people away from doing gay(or yaoi) movies would be just the bad PR they will get in the short run. The loud mouth conservatives/Christians(not all of them, just the ones that can't be quiet) will be condemning it, saying it is the pure work of the devil, and no one should watch it.

 

[Screamarie]

We need a film based off Okane Ga Nai.

Yeah, that would be cool. And yes, those are both dudes.

What's funny about that is that 50 shades is getting a movie....but Okane ga Nai would not.

But there are absolutely dozens of movies that fit your description, OP. Just because they don't use the word yaoi it doesn't mean it's not the same thing. I mean come on, that word is not even English.

Here's a nice list for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lesbian,_gay,_bisexual,_or_transgender-related_films_by_storyline

We need a film based off Okane Ga Nai.

Yeah, that would be cool. And yes, those are both dudes.

My vote is for a full, feature length Boku no Pico trilogy.

I just wanted to let you know that that is both a horrifying and wonderful suggestion and it made laugh to think of that being on the big screen...but my vote is for Boku no Sexual Harrasment because no one would be able to eat corn again.

 

[Vigormortis]

Wait, you're telling me there was a big budget Hollywood Yuri movie???

Thelma and Louise?

[sub]No[/sub]

Because there's very little demand for big budget Hollywood yaoi movies.

Pretty much the only reason that matters. If there was a large enough demand for such a film, this thread wouldn't exist.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

There is no real actor physically proportionate to accurately portray a Yaoi star.

Their hands need to be at least four times the size of their head.

 

[piinyouri]

They already did that, it's called Brokeback Mountain.

Besides, I'm guessing only a small minority of teen girls (or boys, whatever), are into yaoi, and I doubt Hollywood is ready to make a movie about 2 'pretty boys' in love, aimed at teenage girls.

The flames would be intense.

Was Brokeback mountain trying to appeal to specifically girls, though? Or even women?

I would say definitely no.
Not to say it was aimed specifically at gay men either. Or straight men, or...any one in specific.
It's a put together well enough that anyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender can connect with the foundation of the story, which is love and loss.

 

[Auron225]

Are... are you serious?

You're asking why Hollywood, the masters of play-it-safe, don't make a yaoi blockbuster movie... aimed at a mainstream audience? There will be several decades at least between Hollywood making a blockbuster ANIME movie let alone a yaoi one. Yaoi and blockbuster don't even belong in the same sentence together. Not now and not for a long long time.

 

[JemothSkarii]

But there are absolutely dozens of movies that fit your description, OP. Just because they don't use the word yaoi it doesn't mean it's not the same thing. I mean come on, that word is not even English.

Here's a nice list for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lesbian,_gay,_bisexual,_or_transgender-related_films_by_storyline

We need a film based off Okane Ga Nai.

Yeah, that would be cool. And yes, those are both dudes.

My vote is for a full, feature length Boku no Pico trilogy.

MAn, I'd heard about Boku no Pico and decided to watch it without research. I'm straight mind...it was...different. I'm just glad I'm quite heavily into anime, otherwise things would have been really weird. That and I'd had an earlier bi-curious phase and watched stuff like Loveless etc.