THIS BOOK, as noted in the preface, owes its entire existence to my late companion, Rob Remley. My vivid memories of the lively and lovely experience of seeing these movies with him have nourished and sustained me in some tough and hard times.
I have enjoyed tremendously attending the world premieres of many of the movies, and interviewing the five directors who made them, at various press conferences and events at the Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto Film Festivals, or in more intimate forums, such as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
To the best of my knowledge, there have been three or four books in English about Almodóvar (many more in Spanish and French). I especially learned from the expertise of Paul Julian Smith and Mark Allinson, who published their volumes over a decade ago, thus covering only half of Almodóvar’s output. Robert James Parish is the first and sole biographer of Gus Van Sant; his informative volume was printed over 15 years ago. John Waters has written several personal books, and I benefited from the 1992 volume that John G. Ives wrote based on lengthy interviews with the director. There are no biographies or comprehensive books about Terence Davies or Todd Haynes, but several scholars have done exemplary analyses of some of their films, particularly Michael Koresko and Leonard Quart in Davies’s case, and Justin Wyatt in Haynes’s.
Many colleagues and friends have contributed to the research and writing of the various drafts. I would like to thank in particular Thomas Doherty, Pamela Griffin, Molly Haskell, Fred Katz, Bill Shepard, Ed Sikov, Edward Turk, David Van Leer, all distinguished critics and scholars. Though I did not set out to write an auteurist volume about gay directors, during the process it became clear that my book could not have existed without Andrew Sarris’s seminal criticism and pioneering book of 1968.
Over the past three decades, I have shown many gay-themed features in various film classes at Wellesley College, Columbia, New School for Social Research, ASU, UCLA, and NYU. The students of these schools have helped immeasurably in shaping my ideas and focusing my views with their bright comments and challenging criticism.
Much gratitude goes to three of my loyal research and media assistants, Jeff Farr, Beth A. Mooney, Lisa Plinski, and especially Ariel Adler. Valerie Todesco, who was born in Spain, helped me with translations of Spanish dialogue (and slang) in Almodóvar’s films. My friend and HFPA colleague Jorge Camara, who hails from Mexico, improved the quality and accuracy of the language.
I would like to thank the personnel of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, particularly its director Linda Maer, Barbara Hale of the Special Collections, and the friendly librarian Sondra Archer.
Finally, I have benefited immensely from the methodical work and continuous support—and remarkable patience—of the entire team at Columbia University Press, beginning with its gracious director Jennifer Crewe, and continuing with Associate Editor Kathryn Schell and Senior Manuscript Editor Roy Thomas, Editorial Services Manager Ben Kolstad and others at Cenveo. My very first book, The Habima—Israel’s National Theater, was published by Columbia University Press, so in many ways Gay Directors, Gay Films? is sort of a coming home (Volver, to borrow the title of Almodóvar’s 2006 film).