Actor Billy Eichner on co-writing and starring in the gay rom-com ‘Bros’

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Billy Eichner arrives at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA, on June 5, 2022. Photo by Sthanlee B. Mirador/REUTERS.

Comedy is not exactly in vogue among big studios, so when filmmakers Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller approached actor Billy Eichner about making ‘Bros,’ the first big-studio, big-screen LGBTQ+ rom-com for Universal Pictures, he was skeptical. 

“I have an openly gay man in comedy for over 20 years,” he said, “and I am telling you that even the most gay-friendly execs at a major studio are not going to greenlight this movie. And even if they do, they're not going to let me tell it in an authentic, honest way.” 

The movie was greenlit, and now Eichner talks about starring on a feature film for the first time, the thrill of co-writing the script with Stoller and how a major movie studio came on board to make a gay romatic comedy came to life. 

But first, Kim Masters and Matt Belloni look into the return of The Golden Globes to NBC in 2023, and what it means for next year’s awards season.

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Host:

Kim Masters

Producer:

Joshua Farnham