(Credits: Far Out / MUBI / Kyle Smith)
In 2005, Ang Lee changed the course of queer cinema forever with his cowboy romantic drama. Brokeback Mountain. The film takes place in the American West. The film follows Ennis Del Mar, played by Heath Ledger, and Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, in their complicated love story. For his pioneering work in queer cinema, Lee received a Best Director award and a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
While the plot and direction were praised, the acting behind the love story was also praised. Both Gyllenhaal and Ledger were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Although the film landed ideal casts in two major Hollywood films – Ledger was so committed to the film that he boycotted the 2007 Oscars – casting for the film was no easy task.
According to director and queer film stalwart Gus Van Sant, who was initially in talks to direct the film, “nobody wanted to do it.”
“I’ve been working on it,” he said IndieWire“And I felt like we needed a really strong cast, like a big name cast. It didn’t work. I asked the usual suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. They all said no.
Diana Ossana, who produced and wrote the film’s script Brokeback Mountain, agreed with Van Sant’s statement, adding: “Yes, all these young gentlemen (at the time) abandoned the project for various reasons.” Whether it was scheduling conflicts or the actors were simply intimidated by the plot, casting the film turned out to be much more difficult than it might seem.
Van Sant himself even dropped out of the project, apparently due to creative differences: “The original story that was in New Yorkerit was so beautiful and simple, and Larry turned it into something resembling Last movie show” he explained. “I kind of wanted to go back to the simplest presentation of the story, which I couldn’t do… I didn’t really want to go and talk Larry and Diana out of what they had created, because it was great.”
Looking back on the project, It will be a good hunt The director agreed: “What I could have done, and what I probably should have done, is cast more unknowns without worrying about who the lead actors would be.” While it may have worked, Ledger and Gyllenhaal proved to be the perfect stars to adapt Lee.
In addition to the excellent performances of Twist and Del Mar, the actors took the material seriously. This further legitimized him in Hollywood and around the world, marking a monumental achievement and a turning point in modern queer cinema.
