Between bears, cubs, wolves, and otters, there are as many variations within this smaller niche as there are human body shapes and sizes.
#BEST GAY VIDEOS TIM FULL#
Mainstream - even independent - film and television offers a very narrow sliver of the full diversity of the gay community. While Guarino recognizes that more representation is always good news, the power of true visibility was clear from the energy in the theater. Or even worse, they make the gay guy very mainstream, so it highlights the quirkiness of the straight person.” If anything, they’re going to the opposite side of the spectrum they’re trying so hard to make the person normal that they make them kind of boring. “I used to play actual gay stereotypes, then I would play comments on stereotypes, and then I would play ‘real’ gay guys,” he said. Guarino has been playing gay for over a decade, so much so that he had a front row seat to peak television’s gradual social progress. With a recurring role on ABC’s “Happy Endings” and now starring in Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here,” he says he most often gets recognized for “BearCity.” Guarino has been beloved by gay viewers since his big break on Logo’s “The Big Gay Sketch Show” (which also starred a 21-year-old Kate McKinnon), and has worked consistently since then. Stephen Guarino may not be a bear, but he makes an endearing bear-lover as Brent Richards-Dean, one half of the trilogy’s central couple. “She’s been doing that since before it was cool. Najimy, beloved by gay audiences for ’90s camp classics like “Hocus Pocus” and “Sister Act,” has long been an outspoken ally for the LGBTQ community. “She’s always been a big fan of the gay community, and a real supporter,” Langway said of the actress. Smith, a bigger, hairier guy himself, served as executive producer on Langway’s documentary, “Bear Nation.” “BearCity” became a cult hit, and the mix of outrageous comedy with earnest storytelling attracted name talent like Kevin Smith and Kathy Najimy. As Langway put it, “We have an older clientele and they love packaging.” The team then self-distributed through their own website and through iTunes, making the bulk of their money on DVD and Blu-ray sales.
Langway partnered with gay film distributor TLA for the first “BearCity,” but self-financed the next two using Indiegogo. But there was a large, growing community. “The bear community was completely underrepresented when we started seven years ago. “These movies are for people that find a very different human body beautiful,” said Langway. Kathy Najimy and Stephen Guarino in “BearCity 3”