One of the most appealing elements of the Transporter series of films — besides the frequent shirtlessness of star Jason Statham — has been the idea (fomented by one of the creators of the first two movies) that the lead character is gay.

Transporter 3, alas, suggests otherwise. Find out more after the jump!

I don't think Harvey would approve: the CEO of one of the film chains that will be showing Milk this fall was a major donor to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign.

Alan Stock, CEO of the Cinemark chain of theaters, donated $9,999 to strip California's lesbian and gay citizens of our right to marry. So it's a bit hard to swallow that Cinemark will also be showing Gus Van Sant's epic biography of Harvey Milk, due for release Thanksgiving weekend in some cities, and December 5 nationwide.

Cinemark owns the “Century”, “CinéArts”, and “Tinseltown” theaters nationwide. You can plug in your town and state on this website to find out which theaters near you are part of the chain, and make sure they don't get your gay pennies. And then go join the Facebook group for the organizers of the Cinemark boycott. 

More details on the boycott and other Prop 8 news, after the jump...

Full Disclosure: Yes, my name is Rob Smith and I like older men. I like their confidence, the fact that they’ve grown into their looks, and the fact that they’re generally more put together than some of us younger guys. If I had to date another 26-year-old, I’d probably shoot myself. I don’t even know how my boyfriend deals with me sometimes!

The guys on this list epitomize what is great about older men in a lot of different ways. Some are downright sexy, some are devastatingly handsome, and some have a “hotness” that comes from a combination of the two plus a regal charm that only men of a certain age seem to be able to pull off.

So enough with High School Musical twinks and stick-thin underwear models, this one’s about the real men and those of us that love them!

Brokeback Mountain stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger

A few years back, Brokeback Mountain was all the rage, doing record-breaking box office for a gay-themed movie, winning countless awards (although, controversially, not that Best Picture Oscar), and finally showcasing the true talent of the late Heath Ledger, who had previously been squandering them on teen movies and horror genre fare.

The film also captured the minds of many who seem to have taken its ambiguous ending as a starting point for a great deal of fan-fiction. Brokeback slash fic can be seen all over the internet,and ranges from heartwarming (Jack returns to Ennis and they live happily ever after, awwwww) to sensual (extended and, um, detailed descriptions of their many trysts at that mountain).

However, after hearing the recent statements from author Annie Proulx on the fan-fiction she receives, it sounds as if she may want to take a tire iron to all those aspiring writers.  In a interview with the Washington Post's Bob Hughes to promote her newest short-story collection Fine the Way It Is (snap!), Proulx describes the Brokeback Mountain phenomenon as ”the source of constant irritation in my private life”, and then proceeds (as only a writer can do) to lay the verbal smackdown on the “ghastly manuscripts and pornish rewrites” she is sent by overzealous fans who dare attempt to extend the story.

While these two quotes are snarky enough, they don’t do the deliciousness of the full response justice, so I’ve included it here for you:

From Hustler White

Will Truman to the newly out-of-the-closet Barry:

""Let me tell you a little secret that we try to keep within the community: Gay movies suck. But until the laws change, we're still obligated to go see 'em."

That quote speaks volumes about the attitude many people have (and yes, I'm aware of the irony of a character from Will & Grace talking about gay entertainment that sucks), but maybe we should cut gay filmmakers some slack.

It must be difficult coming up with the just the right balance of nuanced performances, storyline originality, and soft core porn. Of course, I exaggerate — there are plenty of gay movies that have managed to overcome the burden of being a "gay film" (and please head on over to the AfterElton.com Greatest Gay Movies Poll to cast your vote for your favorites).

But this post is about those movies that didn't succeed. Whether through bad acting, poor production values, lousy scripting, or general ineptitude, these gay filmmakers weren't able to translate their visions successfully to the screen.

Like the last Scraping The Barrel post, these selections are mine, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of anyone else at AfterElton.com. So feel free to tell me I'm nuts (I'm looking at you, Copycat fans), and please leave your own selections for the worst of the worst.

Here are eight, in no particular order — and for this list, we'll be using the Anita Bryant scale (with five Anitas being the worst).

Hustler White
I know many people who absolutely adore Hustler White, but once was enough for me. Actually, the movies of Bruce La Bruce have always left me cold. (I picture him waking up in the morning, yawning, and saying "I'm bored ... I think I'll make a movie today.")

There are some bright spots to this tale of a male prostitute (namely Tony Ward and his ... talent), but I'll never forgive Mr. La Bruce for permanently searing that image of the Stump Guy in my mind (trust me, you don't want to know).

Rating:

Lie Down with Dogs
Note to filmmakers: It's probably not a good idea to include the word "dogs" in your film title, as it provides ample opportunity for snarky bloggers to use groan-inducing puns to describe your movie:

"Lie Down With Dogs is a flea-bitten mongrel, and it should be neutered before it reproduces."

"Watching it, I felt like it had slowly lifted its leg on my brain."

"There were more laughs in Cujo, and more sex appeal in Devil Dog: Hound From Hell."

Rating:

See more gay debacles after the break.