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Ganatra had reason to be tentatively optimistic.
To me, thats a very antiquated way of thinking.
Ultimately, the networks passed on the project.
It still feels like tokenism that theres only one of everything, and thats enough.
But no, I dont think its easy to sell a queer project today.
Executives had little faith that a queer-centric show would appeal to the masses.
Now, theres less pressure to meet that goal.
The minute something works people are like, Great!
Give us more of that.
After working onMarvelous Mrs. Maiselin New York, I just love that period.
So thats our dream.
And we have a pitch document weve been sending around to European financiers.
Its always hard, I think, to get queer projects made.
Hopefully well find a home for it.
But I think people always assume its a niche market.
Making movies is a gamble in any market, so queer stories just make people nervous.
Movies are expensive, and its straight white men who mostly control the money.
When you go and speak to your financier, its very subtle, the way that homophobia is expressed.
Im constantly pushing queer characters into the stories.
And theres some nudging back in a very liberal way.
Id still love to get it made.
I wasin a band for years,a punk band, so I had this connection to Billy.
Music was a passport to occupy other spaces; music allowed him to find home.
As soon as we walked in, she was like, See that painting?
The artist was in love with me.
And then she goes, See that volcano?
All the characters around Billy were amazing.
Back in 2005, we got so close.
[The movie] was in development for over a year.
We did location scouting and casting.
Since then, Ive done directors labs with it.
I just did a radio project about it, and Ive done a monologue.
Its set in the 40s, so its not super cheap.
Back in 2005, a lot of Hollywood people didnt get it people couldnt understand Billy as ahe.
In terms of representation of trans people, it was a long time ago.
Since then, I think Ive had a few people read it and had interest here and there.
Its not like TV and movies are being made by a bunch of outsiders now.
It was this workplace comedy and the whole ensemble was queer.
I based the characters on people I knew and on myself.
Im a stoner; Im not a fashion person.
That part wasnt based on real life.
No one says it directly to your face.
It really was pretty direct: They already have a gay show; theyre passing.
One of the weirdest responses I got was, We already have a show with a female boss.
I dont hear those words that much anymore, to be honest.
Hopefully people just know not to say that.
And I think thatssomething.
I still use [the Barneys comedy] as my writing sample to get jobs.
Id still love to sell it.
I know theres a show in there, it just seems so obvious.
Theres someHigh Maintenance/Ugly Bettymash-up in there that has not been done.
At front and center was a gay character, and half of the pilot was a gay dating story.
In the pilot, he meets this guy at trivia night, and they have a meet-cute.
I was trying to go hard: The show is fucking gay.
The pilot did really well it got ordered, and it was shot, and it tested really well.
The gay character, in particular, tested astronomically well.
At the end of the day, I dont know why they never ordered a full season.
We got so close.
So thats a dream.
I just cant imagine one of the big networks buying an extremely queer show.
It was about a young Indian-American girl whos obsessed with Madonna, and its a coming-of-age story.
And shes navigating the world through her obsession with Madonna, and trying to follow the advice of Madonna.
Shes a little nerdy Indian girl.
It says it without saying it.
So I made the character queer.
I thought,Well, maybe with the strength of Amy, that no will become a yes.
Shes obviously not had a career of being told too gay, no.
Shes always pushing the boundaries.
And you need a champion.
But even with her, we couldnt make it.
That was shocking to me, and sad.
This was last year, when we went out with it.
And I was like,But …okay.
It still feels like tokenism that theres only one of everything, and thats enough.
Like,We did that; we satisfied that.
We have to push past this idea that diversity and inclusion is giving voice to one token.
Its calledGirl Out, and its basicallyInsecurebut with trans women.
(Trace Lysetteis attached to play the best friend she cut ties with.)
But Ive been pitching to different production companies, and a few have expressed interest.
Like, someone told me, Oh, we already have a trans show, which isPose.
Or, we already have a trans character on the show.
This is where I think the level of consciousness needs to be taken up into a higher frequency.
I think its a matter of a web link or a production company wanting to take further risks.
Are they willing to tell this authentic story that doesnt yet exist?
