More than 30 years after Madonna: Truth or Dare, the documentary nonetheless has a maintain on LGBTQ pop music and cinema.
In Troye Sivan‘s new Grindr marketing campaign Tap or Block, directed by Jake Wilson and produced by Juxtapose Studio‘s Charlie Wilson (no relation), the Australian homosexual pop-star and his Something to Give Each Other Tour dancers talk about resort intercourse, open relationships, communication and extra as they pay tribute to the 1991 Alek Kesheshian and Mark Aldo Miceli-helmed documentary.
“What was really fun about this idea is it came around really organically,” Charlie Wilson tells Deadline. “Once we had Troye’s interest and Grindr’s interest, it seemed like such a natural segue from really hearing how proud Troye was about this tour and how close his relationship was with these dancers, and thinking about how Grindr is this boundary-pushing, sex-positive brand.”
He credited Tristan Pineiro, Grindr’s SVP Brand Marketing + Comms, with developing with the idea, “something reminiscent of Madonna’s Truth or Dare, the iconic Barcelona scene where there’s the gay kiss and how Troye’s current relationship sort of mirrored that in an interesting way.”
Pineiro stated the documentary was “a true awakening for so many of us,” including, “Seeing gay people in mainstream media, talking about sex and intimacy was unheard of. So, when this opportunity with Troye, one of the biggest gay global icons, came up, Madonna’s impact was definitely something we wanted to pay homage to, while leaning into not only Troye’s and his dancers’ experiences, but the highly relatable behaviors and topics of discussion for our Grindr community.”
Documenting her controversial 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, Truth or Dare served as an intimate behind-the-scenes take a look at Madonna’s relationships along with her dancers, crew, family and friends, in addition to then-boyfriend Warren Beatty.
Juxtapose has put $25,000 from the marketing campaign towards author and actor Andrew Chappelle‘s (Broadway’s Hamilton, The Tick, Blindspotting) upcoming brief I’m Gonna Kill You, with matched funding from Google exec and movie financier Kate Aitken. The brief additionally obtained a $5,000 manufacturing grant final June when Chappelle received Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival‘s two-minute “Pitch, Please!” competitors. Filming begins in May.
Chappelle describes I’m Gonna Kill You as “a gay erotic thriller that’s set in a post-apocalyptic,” particularly “an all-gay colony of men, and it explores the perils of monogamy.”
The brief comes after final 12 months’s Ripe!, which Juxtapose co-founder Luke Anderson produced alongside faculty pal, NWSL professional Kelley O’Hara, after re-investing funds from Juxtapose’s Dick’s Sporting Goods marketing campaign, starring Will Arnett and Kathryn Hahn. Directed by Tusk, Ripe! received Tribeca Film Festival‘s Best Narrative Short.