Have a question about gay male entertainment? Ask the Monkey!

Q: With all the hoopla surrounding the new Twilight movie and Robert Pattinson (aka Cedric Diggory from the Harry Potter movies), I decided to do a little research on him and discovered that he’s doing a movie called Little Ashes. It supposedly depicts the homosexual relationship between Salvador Dalí and Federico García Lorca. The mega-sexy Robert Pattinson doing an LGBT-related movie is awesome news. Can you give us any juicy inside scoops on this upcoming movie? - Lindsey, New Orleans, LA

Robert Pattinson

A: You’re not kidding about the Pattinson hype! The Flying Monkey hasn’t yet seen Twilight (and probably won’t, since he didn’t care for the book), but he’s already kind of sick of him. That said, the Monkey feels for the guy: the last actor who was also supposedly “certain” to be a big star was Ben Barnes, the title character in Prince Caspian. And we all know how well that turned out.

Pattinson (left) & Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire

But yes, Pattison is attractive, almost surreally so, and he does star in Little Ashes, a small British indie film that tells the story of the relationship between the young painter Salvador Dalí and poet Federico García Lorca in 1920’s Madrid. According to the screenwriter Philipa Goslett, the relationship was a cross between a “bromance” and a full-fledged love affair. “Having done a huge amount of research, it's clear something happened, no question,” she told London’s The Guardian. “It began as a friendship, became more intimate and moved to a physical level but Dali found it difficult and couldn't carry on. He said they tried to have sex but it hurt, so they couldn't consummate the relationship.”

The Monkey isn’t sure what that means, but, um, okay, whatever.

Salvador Dali (left) and Federico García Lorca

Anyway, what exactly does the movie portray? The filmmakers are pushing the “racy” angle while simultaneously trying to capitalize on the would-be breakout success of star Pattison. But all indications are that the film really is pretty steamy, with a scene where Lorca, who was gay, has sex with a woman while Dali watches, in sort of a sex-by-proxy situation.

It’ll be in U.K. theaters in early 2009, and in the U.S. next spring.

Next page! The new gay on Degrassi, and Will Smith's gay kiss embargo.