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Billy Eichner says it's 'infuriating' it took so long to get his upcoming LGBT rom-com 'BROS' made

Jacob Sarkisian   

Billy Eichner says it's 'infuriating' it took so long to get his upcoming LGBT rom-com 'BROS' made
  • Billy Eichner is producing, co-writing, and starring in the upcoming LGBT rom-com "BROS."
  • Set to be released in 2022, the movie is the first ever studio rom-com about gay men.
  • Eichner said he is grateful he is the one heralding the film but it's frustrating it took this long.

Billy Eichner will be the first-ever openly gay man to write and star in their own studio movie. "BROS," will also be the first-ever studio romantic-comedy about gay men.

At the time of writing, Eichner has this information pinned on his Twitter, sarcastically thanking Hollywood for the 100-year wait.

In an interview with Insider promoting his partnership with Neon Zebra, PepsiCo's new non-alcoholic cocktail mixers, Eichner called the situation "bittersweet" - an exciting moment for his career and a huge boost for LGBTQ representation in the movie industry, but the frustration of celebrating such a basic milestone in the year of 2021 remains.

"I can't help but be excited. I'm very flattered that it's me. I could never have imagined that," Eichner told Insider of being the first openly gay man in his own studio movie.

"A lot of these statistics I didn't even realize when we sold the movie to Universal or as we've been working on the movie, which we've been developing for years now."

The movie will be produced by comedy king Judd Apatow and will be directed and co-written by "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Bad Neighbours" director Nicholas Stoller, with whom Eichner has been writing the movie "as far back as 2017." Eichner will star in the movie as well as serve as co-writer and producer.

"It's very exciting, but at the same time, yes, it is bittersweet. It also is a little infuriating at the same time, because there's just no reason it should have taken that long. I mean, the first gay man to write and star in his own studio movie, how is that even possible?"

Eichner continued: "These studios have been in existence for a century, some of them, and yet it took this long. I think we need to acknowledge that it should not have taken this long, but also celebrate the fact that it's finally happening."

Hollywood has faced a reckoning of increasing intensity in the last few years with fans and critics demanding better representation. The 2021 Oscars showed signs of improvement as the most diverse ceremony yet, while Marvel movies "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Eternals" will also offer greater mainstream representation for minorities with the first leading Asian superhero in a Marvel movie and the first openly gay superhero and queer couple, respectively.

But there is still work to be done, with the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" a perfect example. The film, which features a cast made up of Latinx actors, has faced accusations of colorism and not quite getting its representation right after a lack of Afro-Latinx actors in key roles.

Eichner, however, is positive that the cast for "BROS" will get it right. While unable to reveal specific names of cast members to Insider, Eichner said that it is the cast that excites him most about the movie.

"We're casting all straight people," Eichner joked. "Just kidding. We're not doing that. "It's unlike any cast of a studio, film, comedy, drama, or otherwise that you've ever seen."

"That's really important to me, especially I've been an openly gay actor for my whole career," Eichner said. "I just was from the beginning, way before it was like a cool, chic, acceptable thing to be. So I'm excited that I get to give people in our community that opportunity."

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