Golden Boy: Interview with Chris Baker

In the rising heat of the Parisian summer, I tucked myself away in the shadows awaiting the upcoming interview with Chris Baker, eying the phone being answered in LA. I have followed Chris through his career and the whirlwind that has been his life since his latest release, ‘The Estate’. Having written and starred in the film, alongside having it show on a major streaming platform, Chris appears to be the full package for the gay community in Hollywood. As a seemingly open, eccentric, and upbeat individual, I was curious to see how life has changed for him and his thoughts on the current industry’s approach to the queer narrative. Speaking, laughing, and pondering over the subjects, I was able to see the raw and genuine personality that has made him so loved both on and off our screens. Benjamin K. Johnson speaks with Chris Baker following his shoot with Emil Kosuge in the dawn of the LA Summer.

 Can you tell us about your most recent film? How do you believe it stands out in a very saturated industry?

Yes. My film, The Estate is a throwback to films of the nineties, which, I think, were nastier and screwed in a lot of ways. I think it is in your face, it is colourful, it’s beautiful, and it’s sexual. I think the dialogue, the characters, and the performances make it impossible to ignore, in my opinion… I am biased of course [laughing]. I mean, when you watch it, you’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it, but you’re never going to forget it.”

The other films you mention, do you have some examples of this?

Wild Things and Cruel Intentions, alongside some films by John Waters. They are kind of campy, maximalist, either incredibly queer coded, or just straight up incredibly queer films. I think these have been gone for a while from the industry, for a lot of reasons, and they are currently just trying to survive.

How do you feel playing a gay character, who didn’t rely on his queerness within the role, and wasn’t pinned as ‘the gay supporting character’?

I saw that, for me, to be the lead in a film and to be gay, the only option was to write my own role. I think that says a lot about the industry and where people are in terms of taking risks and taking chances. But, throughout that entire experience, no one ever said “Oh, this is too gay” or, “Oh God, you know, this is only going to make sense to queer people.” I mean, everyone on set was laughing at the same jokes. So, there’s something really important there. I don’t know if it was necessarily the character or the situation, but it’s about a rich family who are killing each other for their inheritance. And to me, that’s not an exclusively gay thing. You know, every type of person does evil, horrible things. So, I wouldn’t want to show a gay character, more so to show a character who happens to be gay. But my intention also wasn’t to show that gay people are like every everyone else. I personally don’t feel that way. I think part of whatever artistry or absurdism that I notice about the world is all because I’m gay and having that vantage point. I think it is a gift.

How much further can this side of the industry still be pushed?

Well, I’ll start by saying this. It is really hard to make a movie. And I mean any movie, about any subject, no matter what it is. And I think going through the experience once, and I’m going through it again right now, I have so much more capacity for empathy for all filmmakers. Personally, I just really want to make great movies and I don’t know how to write something that’s not queer [laughs]. That is just something that will naturally come out of me whenever I’m writing. In terms of the industry, I do think people are pushing a queer narrative. I don’t know yet on how much of a scale it’s going, but I certainly feel like people are more receptive and open and see the money that can be mined. Frankly, it is what this is all about. I think people realize finally, in a capitalist way, how lucrative it can be to have projects that are more queer. But, when I look at the landscape, at least from the U.S., it does seem like people are getting more opportunities than ever before. But, I think that gayness is really about sex when you sort of distill it. So by pushing gayness, it’s also pushing sex and what I’ve learned being in this industry is that movies in particular are incredibly chaste and often critiqued more heavily. They are not like TV shows. And so, I don’t know, honestly, how far in films we can push queer sexuality if movies don’t want to be sexual.

Do you think we are existing in the development of a Golden Age for queer represention in Hollywood?

It’s hard for me to believe, and I am someone who makes films. I think if the output is really shi**y, then the culture will suffer. So, I think in terms of the dawn of the golden age of queer representation, again, it comes back to what we were talking about earlier, which is, the stuff has to be good. I do think that right now people are taking more risks, putting their money where their mouth is, and giving more queer creators opportunities. But those opportunities have to work, and this remains to be seen. If the stuff is not commercially successful, then the pocket which opens will just close again. The input has to warrant a good output.” Yes, often there are cases of rainbow washing? “Yes! But corporations are going to “corporate”, you know? [laughs]. I think that the audience has to show up. If that support is not there from our own community, it’s also going to hurt the money situation for everyone, and nothing will get made. A rising tide lifts all ships. So, if one of us [the queer community] does well, they should leave the door open for the rest of us to come in.

Are you allowed to talk about the upcoming film?

Um, I can only say that it’s a far more commercial movie than this one. There’s no murder in it! [laughs]. It’s a romantic comedy!