Attention horror enthusiasts! A first look into the new LGBTQIA+ horror comedy, Queens of the Dead, has arrived. 

Back in July, Deadline announced that Tina Romero – daughter of the “King of Zombies” filmmaker George A. Romero – was directing the forthcoming queer zombie movie.

Set in Brooklyn, New York, the project follows a dysfunctional group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies who are forced to band together to survive a bloody zombie apocalypse.

The film – which was penned by Romero and comedian Erin Judge – features a stacked cast, including Nina West (Drag Race), Dominique Jackson (Pose), Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Jaquel Spivey (Mean Girls), and Tomas Matos (Fire Island).

More star power incoming: Brigette Lundy-Paine (I Saw the TV Glow), Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story), Quincy Dunn-Baker (No Hard Feelings), Becca Blackwell (Bros), Riki Lindhome (Knives Out), Shaunette Renée Wilson (Black Panther) and Margaret Cho (Fire Island).

On 25 October, the aforementioned news outlet reported that Charades acquired the international sales rights to the film.

“This project fits perfectly into the DNA of Charades: a talented director who enjoys subverting genre conventions and revealing a universe that is uniquely her own, featuring a five-star cast,” Charades chairman Tohann Comte gushed in a statement.

While a release date has yet to be announced, an intriguing first-look photo featuring Jackson, O’Brian, Spivey, West, and Matos has been released.

In the snapshot, their characters are shown with worried expressions as they look at something off-camera.

First look at horror comedy ‘QUEENS OF THE DEAD’ from Tina Romero, daughter of George A. Romero.

Starring Katy O’Brian, Margaret Cho, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Cheyenne Jackson, Jaquel Spivey, Nina West and more.

A group of drag queens and club kids team up to fight zombies. pic.twitter.com/zciCf2MwyI

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 25, 2024

The recent Queens of the Dead news comes a few months after Romero spilt all the tea to FANGORIA about the film and taking over her dad’s zombie horror legacy. 

“My dad’s zombies were always reflecting what was going on in the world, and I almost feel a responsibility to take the torch and keep the Romero zombie alive, upholding, respecting, paying homage to it, while also introducing myself and my own voice as a filmmaker, and my own perspective. Which is different form his,” she explained.

Romero also teased that the film would be a “conga line through the zombie apocalypse.”

“I really believe that zombie movies should be fun. And my hope is that audiences find this movie to be a fun ride that’s packed with some good jump scares, an some yummy gore and some pretty amusing characters,” she added.

Stay tuned for more Queens of the Dead updates.

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Sydney Sweeney says she’s “honoured” to play Christy Martin, one of the most legendary female boxers of all time.

Following on-set leaks “thanks to some paps in bushes”, the star shared the first two images from the upcoming (and untitled) biopic, which sees Sweeney flexing her muscles (and mullet).

“Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman, a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring,” Sweeney wrote.

“Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength and hope, and I’m honoured to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all. More to come soon.”

Her co-star, Love Lies Bleeding‘s Katy O’Brian, praised her in the following tweet: “And she packs quite a punch!”

Sweeney is best known for her Emmy-nominated role as Cassie on HBO’s acclaimed teen drama Euphoria. She has continued to receive praise as the lead in films such as Reality, Anyone But You and Immaculate.

The biopic, which is yet to receive a release date, is also set to star Ben Foster, Merritt Weaver, Ethan Embry, Jess Gabor, Chad L. Coleman and Tony Cavalero.

It will chronicle the story of Martin, who competed from 1989 to 2012 and held the WBC female super welterweight title in 2009.

In 2010, her husband James Martin stabbed her several times and shot her in the torso, leaving her for dead. Days before the attack, she told him that she was leaving him for her high school love, Sherry Lusk.

James, who will be played by Foster, was convicted of second-degree murder and is currently serving a 25-year sentence in prison.

In the years since the incident, Martin has revealed that she is a lesbian and only married him to appease her family.

“He would always say, ‘I’m gonna tell the world you’re a lesbian.’ And for whatever reason, you know, I just wasn’t strong enough in me to say, ‘Go ahead,'” she said on a 2020 episode of 48 Hours.

“I know that people think that I should be strong and tough and all those things. But, I didn’t have that same type of mental strength to overtake him.”

Martin added: “I told him, ‘You cannot kill me,’ and I meant it. Just like the sun came up this morning, I meant it.”

Check out Sydney Sweeney’s post below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney)

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For the first time in her career, Kristen Stewart will lead her own TV series.

The actor has been cast as trailblazing astronaut Sally Ride in the limited series The Challenger, developed by Kyra Sedgwick’s Big Swing Productions.

In 1983, Ride made history as the first American woman, youngest American and first LGBTQIA+ person to travel to space. She passed away in 2012 from pancreatic cancer.

Produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, as well as Stewart’s own production company Nevermind, The Challenger will be based on Meredith Bagby’s 2022 book The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel. 

In a statement to Deadline, Sedgwick said Stewart chose to play Ride in her lead television debut because she “became obsessed with telling” her story “from her own unique perspective”.

“She was so stunning in these pitch meetings and that was a huge part of why it has been so competitive. She’s so compelling and was so rabid about telling this story about an American hero who had to hide who she was, in that time,” she explained.

Sedgwick continued to praise Stewart: “Who better to play Sally Ride than one of the great actors of her generation? As they say in Hollywood, passion wins the day.

“Her passion for being an executive producer is vast. As dogged as we were about getting the script to her, she has been that dogged about getting it sold in the marketplace.”

Stewart recently garnered overwhelming critical acclaim for her performance in Love Lies Bleeding, a neo-noir romantic thriller following the relationship between a gym manager (Stewart) and a rising bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian).

Later this year, she will star alongside Steven Yuen in the post-apocalyptic romance Love Me and the road trip comedy Sacramento, also starring Michael Angarano, Michael Cera and Maya Erskine.

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Katy O’Brian on finding queer comfort with co-star Kristen Stewart, why love can be lethal and landing her bloody breakthrough role. 

Content warning: spoilers ahead and mentions of death and violence 

WORDS BY ZOYA RAZA-SHEIKH
IMAGERY PROVIDED BY LIONSGATE

Set in the late 80s, Love Lies Bleeding is a seedy, sexy sapphic thriller brimming with small-town vengeance and slick getaways. Starring Kristen Stewart (Lou) and Katy O’Brian (Jackie), bisexual English director Rose Glass delivers a blood-splattered crime noir that already feels like a sweaty, souped-up queer classic. 

When we meet Stewart’s character, a dishevelled and dissatisfied gym manager, Lou, who lazily labours unclogging toilets, her life amounts to little more than mundane tasks and dodging her avoiding her obsessive ex-girlfriend Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov). It isn’t until we hear mention of her dad, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), a long sought-after criminal ringleader. Suddenly, Lou’s laborious day-to-day takes a turn when O’Brien’s Jackie, a charismatic, ripped, amateur bodybuilder, catches Lou’s attention. Soon enough, what begins as a crush develops into something much more dangerous. As Lou introduces Jackie to steroids, we see their romance propel forward, watching as self-destructive behaviours threaten their gritty romance. 

Love Lies Bleeding deals in excess, proving that love and drugs aren’t so different after all. As Lou introduces Jackie to steroids, we see their hopped-up romance. Its thrumming synth soundtrack and brightly-coloured clothing can’t take away from the chilling choices made as Lou and Jackie get wrapped up in a violent reality they cannot escape. 

So, as Katy O’Brian takes to the big screen armed with her biggest role yet, we caught up with the star to hear her thoughts on being typecast, the grimy alternative plot details of Love Lies Bleeding, and why Star Wars fans hate her for “making The Mandalorian gay”. 

The story of how you responded to a casting call for Jackie’s role in Love Lies Bleeding – by tweeting a bodybuilding photo of yourself – went viral. What happened after that moment? 

It’s gotten to the point where now people think that I booked it just because I replied to a tweet but I did that kind of as a joke. I don’t do a lot on social media so I went back and forth as to whether I should even reply because it feels so silly and then I just was like “screw it!” I did it because I wanted the part that bad. A friend sent me the open casting call and I was like ‘why did I not get an audition for this?’ It’s insane. Kristen Stewart, Rose Glass, it’s A24 and it’s a female bodybuilder from the Midwest – this is me. 

So, I made a PowerPoint presentation and I sent my old bodybuilding pictures and competition photos to my agent. I was like ‘if don’t get an audition for this I’m going riot’. I got a call back where I got to chat with Rose. I didn’t even know it was based in the 80s. It wasn’t until after my callback that I got the scripts and was like… ‘what have I gotten myself into?’

Jackie’s story is even rougher in the scripts than it was on screen. There was a lot that I was terrified but I thought, ‘I’m not going to improve as an actor if I don’t do this role’. So, I had my chemistry [read] the next day and I met Kristen and we chatted about the movie. She was super chill and excited about it and that was refreshing. I then had audition, after audition, after audition after that and, finally, they offered me the role two weeks before we started filming.

A24 has given us some of our favourite queer characters, like Josie and Hazel from Bottoms, who are tied to a unique script and plot. Love Lies Bleeding is no different. What did you find challenging about Jackie’s character? 

I knew there would be a physical element on top of everything, and I’ve done bodybuilding competitions before. It was something that I had a formula for my brain but I also have Crohn’s disease, which I didn’t have when I was a bodybuilder, so it’s like will I have the energy to do all this after a full day of filming? It turns out that when you’re eating really healthy and working out, you do. 

The other thing was that there’s all these intimate scenes. I’d never really, in a professional setting, gotten to do really intimate stuff. So, I was a little nervous about that – not necessarily of the performance aspect – but of making sure that it was comfortable mostly for Kristen. If something makes me uncomfortable I just don’t do it and I didn’t want to offend anybody. 

There’s also a huge emotional arc for Jackie and part of that, originally, she goes through even more humiliation. I had this hesitation for a moment. Originally in the bodybuilding competition, for instance, Jackie throws up and pisses herself and it’s this double whammy of what else can go wrong and my fight with Lou was even worse. [Jackie] was just so awful at times and, in the end, I was supposed to [arrive on screen[ as a giant but butt naked. So, I didn’t know if I was emotionally able to play something this humiliating and tragic. At the end of the day, the more I thought about it, the more I picked up who Jackie was as a person and it was easy.

How did having Kristen Stewart and director Rose Glass, two LGBTQIA+ colleagues, help with feeling comfortable on set?

You know what’s funny is that I never asked about Rose’s sexuality, so I didn’t know until recently whether she was queer or not. [Earlier in my career] I had done a short film that I don’t think we’ll ever see the light of day. I had a kissing scene with another girl and she was visibly uncomfortable kissing a woman. I did everything I could saying, ‘If you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to do that’. She was like ‘no, I am’ but it was so obvious.

It just made me feel disgusting and so it was one of those things where it was good to know that I was working with someone who was also queer, who wasn’t disgusted by the idea of being with a woman and didn’t make me feel gross. But, also, we have a real understanding of how [queer] relationships work and saw a lot of the humour in it, even the toxic aspects of it. We were able to play that in a genuine way which makes [our] scenes and this movie special.

You’ve previously spoken about viewers presuming your characters, like in The Mandalorian, are queer even if they’re not. How was this different for Love Lies Bleeding?

It was really fun to not even think about it as a queer movie – it was like, ‘I happen to love a woman, that’s my life and I don’t second guess it’. It’s funny because I was at a panel and someone asked what it’s like to play all these gay characters and I’ve only ever played one gay character and it was in Love Lies Bleeding. Other than that, I just show up on screen and you assume I’m gay, so it works both ways. Some people are like that’s amazing and some people literally hate me for making The Mandalorian gay. But I didn’t, I just showed up, I didn’t have sex with anyone on screen and I didn’t kiss anyone, I didn’t flirt. [Love Lies Bleeding] was definitely freeing in that it was like, ‘Yeah, this is gay’. There’s no coding, no guessing. If it’s not for you, don’t go see it. 

We’re seeing a sapphic cultural renaissance as more queer films like Love Lies Bleeding, Drive Away Dolls, Bottoms and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies are being made. What’s it like being on the inside of this growing on-screen moment?

After this movie, I’ve gotten a lot more opportunities to read for bigger roles. I don’t know if you’ve seen Under The Bridge – it’s Lily Gladstone’s new show but it’s also very queer and they just happen to be gay. It seems like there’s going to be more opportunities [for queer actors]. I’m also hoping that there will be more opportunities for someone who looks like me to play other roles in the spotlight that aren’t military or villainous, which I still get sent a lot of. It takes a lot for me to want to do that anymore. So in terms of my perception of what I receive, it’s still a lot of sci-fi, a lot of the superhero genre. I’m hoping to see more people thinking outside the box. I’d love to do a rom-com. I’d love to do other things that don’t stick me in a box that we’re already comfortable with.

The presence of desire is pronounced throughout this movie, from personal growth to love interests. Ambition steers Jackie, but so does her passion and infatuation with Lou – which we see grow into love. Do you see love as an act of self-liberation for Jackie and Lou?

It was like a drug. If you’ve ever fallen in love, it catches you off guard and sends you spiralling and it’s like this weird obsession, at least for Jackie’s character. It was something that could have, and did, derail her. Her love for Lou sent her on a murdering spree. It completely changed who she was as a person.

For Lou, it was her way out of this family dynamic that she hated, essentially, it was changing her life that was so stagnant. Even though you love your family, for instance, you can love your family and dislike them, disapprove of them or be frustrated at the same time or disapprove of them and take your space in a different way. [Jackie] is not less toxic, necessarily, than Lou’s family, but she’s the one that she chooses to go with. 

Early on, we’re introduced to Jackie’s dream of going to Vegas and we watch as her bodybuilding goal doesn’t actualise in the way she’s hoped. She places everything on this perfect ideal of winning, moving away and having that American Dream-esque escape. What lessons did you learn from Jackie’s failure?

I think that’s reality. You can make all these expectations that you want but it’s not going to turn out the way you want it to and that’s, literally, the moment in the film where reality hits and what she’s done finally catches up to her in her mind. I studied psychology in college and so I wanted to psychoanalyse the whole thing but that’s just where Jackie has to grow and everything catches up with her. Her innocence is ruined, essentially, and she realises the consequences of her actions all at once and it affects her dream. We can all have big dreams and go out and pursue them and it can’t always work out the way we want it to. The way that we respond to that is how we grow or not.

Do you think Jackie and Lou should’ve done anything different? 

It would have been a much more boring story if she hadn’t done steroids or, maybe, you shouldn’t kill people. It was either you leave stuff in the hands of fate or take matters into your own hands. It was important that this was set in this wild west atmosphere with this guy who runs the town so that you have this sense of helplessness that you have to [make a difficult choice]. So, I don’t know, I think they should have skipped town right away.

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Kristen Stewart has called for more LGBTQIA+ films to explore stories not centred around identity. 

On 18 February, the Oscar-nominated talent took part in a discussion panel at the Berlin Film Festival for her new film Love Lies Bleeding. 

Directed by Rose Glass, who also shared scriptwriting duties with Weronika Tofilska, the upcoming A24 thriller is described as an “electric new love story”.

The synopsis reads: “Reclusive gym manager Lou (Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.” 

While reflecting on Love Lies Bleeding, which has already received critical acclaim, Stewart opened up about how the film differs from other LGBTQIA+ projects. 

“The person who we normally don’t listen to, the person that we normally don’t look at, like she’s up front and centre in her (Glass’) movie,” she explained, per Variety.

The Crimes of the Future star also used the opportunity to call for more LGBTQIA+ films to feature diverse stories that don’t solely focus on identity and sexuality. 

“I think we can’t keep doing that thing where we tell everyone how to feel and sort of pat each other on the back and receive brownie points for providing space for marginalized voices, and only in the capacity that they are allowed to speak about that alone,” she said.

“I think the era of queer films being so pointedly only that is done, it’s over. Maybe they’ll keep happening, but I think it’s sort of inherent to how we’re all moving forward.” 

A24

While Stewart is no stranger to making commercial/mainstream queer films – like 2020’s Happiest Season – she admitted that her interests now lie in telling queer stories that are often overlooked.

“I’m really kind of into the idea of unearthing sidelined perspectives and not making it all about the reasons that they’re sidelined, but their actual experience,” she continued. 

“What they love, their desires are, where they come from, where they want to go. And then not feeling like you always have to stand on a f**king soapbox and be everyone’s spokesperson.” 

Stewarts’ recent comments come a few weeks after she threatened to quit acting. 

While attending the Sundance Film Festival, the Twilight star revealed the news to Variety while discussing the difficulties of getting her film adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir, The Chronology of Water, off the ground. 

“I’m going to make this movie before I ever work for someone else. Yeah, I will quit the f**king business. I won’t make a-f**king-nother movie until I make this movie,” she revealed. “I will tell you that, for sure. I think that will get things going.”

In an additional interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stewart doubled down on her ultimatum despite describing it as an “extreme thing to say.” 

“But I really won’t. I have to do it… There’s this sort of essential, vital thing about making marginalized art and being on the sidelines and then coming to a place where you’re like, dude, we do hear you,” she added. 

A24

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Kristen Stewart has threatened to quit acting until she can get her film, The Chronology of Water, off the ground. 

Back in 2018, the Spencer star announced that she was writing and directing a film adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir of the same way.

“Lidia Yuknavitch is from Portland. I love her novels but her memories, it’s deeply personal to her. She’s in my blood, and I knew that before I met her,” she revealed in a statement, per Indie Wire. 

“As soon as I met her it was like we started this race without any sesne of competition. I’m making the movie this summer but other than that, my only goal is just to finish the screenplay and hire a really spectacular actor: I’m going to write the best f**king female role. I’m going to write a role that I want so badly but that I’m not going to play.” 

Since that fateful day, Stewart’s upcoming directorial debut has faced numerous delays and has only cast one actor, 28 Weeks Later star Imogen Poots. 

While attending the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the Crimes of the Future star shared an update on the project, revealing to Variety that it has been “near impossible” to secure funding.

“The current climate is a real, capital N ‘No’ for anything that has not been proven already,” she explained.

“I think there’s an entire, yet-to-be-written female language. There’s a certain physicality to the type of film that I want to make that I think will be, in a slugline, really unattractive to quote-unquote ‘buyers,’ but in action, is entirely pervasively moving. This has not been an easy sell.” 

Due to the setbacks that The Chronology of Water has faced, Stewart announced her plans to quit acting until she reaches her funding goal. 

“I’m going to make this movie before I ever work for someone else. Yeah, I will quit the f**king business. I won’t make a-f**king-nother movie until I make this movie,” she revealed. “I will tell you that, for sure. I think that will get things going.” 

In an additional interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Happiest Season star doubled down on her ultimatum despite describing it as an “extreme thing to say.” 

“But I really won’t. I have to do it, I think Sundance is definitely a place to understand that the only reason that you should make something is because you need to do it,” he explained. 

“There’s this sort of essential, vital thing about making marginalized art and being on the sidelines and then coming to a place where you’re like, dude, we do hear you. If I keep working for other people, even if I’m inspired and totally in love with those stories, what am I doing? Of course, I want to make my movie. Yeah, that’s all I want to do.” 

Even though Stewart is going on an acting hiatus, the Oscar-nominated star is set to have a busy 2024, with the release of her two highly anticipated films, Love Lies Bleeding and Love Me.

Here’s to hoping Stewart’s The Chronology of Water will start production sooner rather than later. 

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The first full-length trailer for the LGBTQIA+ film Love Lies Bleeding has arrived.

Directed by Rose Glass, who also shared scriptwriting duties with Weronika Tofilska, the upcoming A24 thriller is described as an “electric new love story,” starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. 

The synopsis reads: “Reclusive gym manager Lou (Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.” 

Love Lies Bleeding’s ensemble cast also includes Anna Baryshnikov as Daisy, Dave Franco as JJ, Jena Malone as Beth, Ed Harris as Lou Sr, Orion Carrington as O’Riley, Jerry G Angelo as Mikey and Tait Fletcher as Nate. 

On 19 December, movie enthusiasts were finally given a sneak peek into the upcoming project via its thrilling new trailer.

The teaser starts with an ominous exterior shot of a gym before a man asks Lou if she has recently spoken to her dad – which sparks a flashback of Lou Sr shooting someone. 

With the question still hanging between them, the man slides Lou his business card, revealing his name as William O’Riley of the FBI. 

The trailer then transitions to aspiring bodybuilder Jackie, who meets Stewart’s character outside of the aforementioned gym.

“So, where did you come from? Lou asks, with Jackie replying, “Oklahoma.” 

As the two establish an electric romantic connection, Lou’s father and his violent business dealings start to impact their relationship and Jackie’s Las Vegas bodybuilding aspirations. 

“I’m going to tell them everything you ever did,” Lou exclaims to her father. 

A24

When asked if she was threatening him, Stewart’s character replies: “Yep.” 

Towards the end of the trailer, an array of action sequences flash across the screen – including Lou dodging gunfire, a car explosion, and Jackie seemingly morphing into an extra ripped and hybrid version of herself. 

Shortly after the trailer was released, fans of Stewart, O’Brian, Glass and A24 took to social media to express their excitement for the film. 

A24

One person on X (formerly known as Twitter) wrote: “Kristen Stewart supremacy, here we go!.”

Another fan posted: “KATY O’BRIAN AND KRISTEN STEWART?!? God sign me the fuck up.”

A third fan added: “A24 drilled into my cerebrum at some point and started making every weird, idiosyncratic film that I would ever want to see. This appears to be no exception. Rose Glass is awesome.” 

Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait too long to immerse themselves in Love Lies Bleeding. 

On 20 January 2024, the film will make its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, with a wide release set for 8 March 2024. 

Check out the full trailer here or below. 

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