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    Lionsgate

    Rosario Dawson as Becky, Clerks 3
    Brian O’Halloran and Rosario Dawson as Dante and Rebecca, Clerks III

    SUMMARY

    Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under the Lionsgate, GLAAD has given Lionsgate a Failing grade.

    Unfortunately, the only film with LGBTQ representation from Lionsgate was a brief moment in Clerks III where the protagonist’s deceased wife mentioned the men and women she slept with in heaven. It reads as more a throwaway joke than real representation. GLAAD urges Lionsgate to make efforts for solid and meaningful LGBTQ representation in future projects.

    HISTORY

    Canadian businessman Frank Guistra founded Lionsgate in 1997. Over 25 years later, the studio has produced and distributed major blockbusters such as Twilight, Hunger Games and the John Wick franchises. Lionsgate also owns a variety of subsidiaries such as Summit Entertainment.

    An early inclusive Lionsgate release was The Pillow Book (1997), in which Ewan McGregor plays a bisexual man. Additional LGBTQ-inclusive films from Lionsgate include Gods and Monsters (1998), But I’m a Cheerleader! and Urbania (2000), Lost and Delirious and All Over the Guy (2001), Happy Endings (2005), Precious (2009), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), American Ultra, Freeheld (2015), Un Padre No Tan Padre (2017), and Bombshell (2019).

    CLERKS III

    WIDEST THEATRICAL RELEASE: 1,089 THEATERS

    Vito Russo Test: FAIL

    Clerks III continues to tell the story of Dante and Randal working at the convenience store and their attempt to make a movie about their experiences. Part of the film includes Dante grieving his ex-wife, Becky, who appears in several of Dante’s dreams. During one of them, she lists all the famous dead people in Heaven that she is having sex with, including Cleopatra. Becky’s bisexuality is played more as a joke than real development, feeding into the notion that being bisexual means a person is inherently promiscuous.

    THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT

    WIDEST THEATRICAL RELEASE: 3,036

    Vito Russo Test: FAIL

    There were no LGBTQ characters in this film, but a couple references to the LGBTQ community. Nicholas Cage, as himself speaking to a hallucination of himself, talks about playing a “gay uncle” as a film role to be taken seriously. He also passionately kisses the hallucination of himself, but that is more an expression of self-love than any actual queer identity. Cage also expresses trepidation for a moment about if a rich businessman will ask for sexual favors, but that does not occur.

    OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

    This summer saw the release of horror comedy The Blackening which was written by and co-stars out comedianDewayne Perkins, whose character Dewayne is also gay in the film. Another summer comedy film was Joy Ride, which includes nonbinary character Deadeye in the ensemble. 

    There are several Lionsgate major franchises that could feature LGBTQ characters, including the John Wick films, that have included nonbinary actor Asian Kate Dillon in the past, and have the chance to revisit their character or introduce a new queer character into the franchise. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the prequel to the wildly popular Hunger Games series, contained minor queer characters in the book and has the opportunity to introduce more into the film series. 

    In past iterations of the Studio Responsibility Index, GLAAD has pointed to upcoming LGBTQ-inclusive projects including Memetic, a horror film starring a hard of hearing gay man; Ride, a biopic of Sally Ride; The Guncle, a dramedy following the gay uncle of his deceased sister’s children; and more. GLAAD hopes that all of these projects still get produced and distributed by Lionsgate, as they promise interesting and new LGBTQ stories.

    In the past, GLAAD had counted films released by the theatrical distributor Lionsgate with Roadside Attractions inclued as an owned subsidiary. This year, GLAAD is counting films distributed under Lionsgate, but does not include releases from Roadside which Lionsgate owns a minority stake in and does not oversee operations of day-to-day.

    Summary of 2022 Findings

    6

    Total films released in 2022 under studio and official imprints

    1

    Total number of LGBTQ-inclusive films

    17%

    Percent of LGBTQ-inclusive films of studio total releases

    0

    Number of films that pass the Vito Russo Test

    STUDIO RATING OVER TIME

    1/5

    2022

    FAILING

    1/5

    2021

    FAILING

    3/5

    2020

    N/A

    1/5

    2019

    INSUFFICIENT

    1/5

    2018

    FAILING

    1/5

    2017

    FAILING

    1/5

    2016

    FAILING

    2/5

    2015

    ADEQUATE

    2/5

    2014

    ADEQUATE

    2/5

    2013

    ADEQUATE

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    The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in films released by eight major motion picture studios during the 2019 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, STX Films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros., as well as films released by four subsidiaries of these major studios. The report is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation in film.

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