"Brokeback" Producers Reaffirm Heath Ledger's Heterosexuality
With Brokeback Mountain's premiere just around the corner, its producers are delighted that co-stars Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams fell in love on the set, providing a welcome counterpoint to all the "gay cowboy movie" talk. To thank his leading man, producer James Schamus kick-starts Ledger's public re-heteroization:
"It was a big gift to have two people falling in love in our midst," producer James Schamus told Time magazine in a story about the movie. "You forget how lovely that is."
Being true professionals, the actors even went the extra mile to birth a perfectly timed, red carpet-ready offspring, providing uneasy, on-the-fence ticket buyers an opportunity to reassure themselves, "Hey, this movie might not turn me into a gay!"
Jake Gyllenhaal, however, drew the short straw during pre-production and wasn't lucky enough to fall into a heterosexual relationship during the shoot. So while Ledger gets a public baby shower, it falls to Gyllenhaal to handle the thankless—yet crucial—job of issuing Pullquotes of Sexual Ambiguity: “You know it’s flattering when there’s a rumor that says I’m bisexual... I’m open to whatever people want to call me. I’ve never really been attracted to men sexually, but I don’t think I would be afraid of it if it happened.” Let it never be said that Gyllenhaal isn't a team player.