{"id":96910,"date":"2019-09-17T12:25:23","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T16:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/the-powerful-and-sexy-gay-short-film-dare-is-back-for-a-sequel-15-years-later-with-the-very-same-cast-watch\/"},"modified":"2019-09-17T12:25:23","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T16:25:23","slug":"the-powerful-and-sexy-gay-short-film-dare-is-back-for-a-sequel-15-years-later-with-the-very-same-cast-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/the-powerful-and-sexy-gay-short-film-dare-is-back-for-a-sequel-15-years-later-with-the-very-same-cast-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Powerful and Sexy Gay Short Film \u2018DARE\u2019 is Back for a Sequel 15 Years Later \u2014 with the Very Same Cast: WATCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Powerful and Sexy Gay Short Film \u2018DARE\u2019 is Back for a Sequel 15 Years Later \u2014 with the Very Same Cast: WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n

DARE<\/em>\u2018s Johnny and Ben, then and now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK<\/em><\/p>\n

The gay<\/a> short film DARE<\/em> made a huge impression on audiences in 2004 with its story of Ben (Adam Fleming) and Johnny (Michael Cassidy), lustful teen<\/a> crushes, and forbidden gay<\/a> love in high school. DARE<\/em>\u00a0played over 50 film fests, was released as the lead film on gay<\/a> short DVD compilations around the world, and then eventually became a Sundance feature. <\/p>\n

Now, writer and producer David Brind and director Adam Salky have done something unprecedented. They\u2019ve brought back the very same cast and creative team from the original short film 15 years later for THE DARE PROJECT<\/a><\/em>, a continuation of Ben and Johnny\u2019s story. And we\u2019ve got an exclusive first look at the trailer.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the original 16-minute short film, for those who haven\u2019t seen it or want a refresher.<\/p>\n

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Writer and producer David Brind spoke to Towleroad about the origins of the 2004 film, and the decision to try and put together a sequel. In THE DARE PROJECT<\/em> (trailer below), Ben and Johnny, now in their early 30s fortuitously run into each other at a party in Los Angeles after not seeing each other since high school. Is their connection still alive, and what do they do about it?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first wrote the\u00a0DARE<\/em>\u00a0short in film school in 2003, I had no f**king clue what I was doing,\u201d said Brind. \u201cMy professor told me to write from the heart and the gut. So I wrote about \u2018Johnny.\u2019\u00a0Everyone in the world has their own \u2018Johnny,\u2019 the elusive one that seemed untouchable, that made you feel so intensely you thought you would die. \u2018Johnny\u2019 existed for me. Though there was no blowjob or swimming pool. There was, however, champagne and Parliaments, and a spinning, swirling perfect kiss with the most beautiful rebel bad boy<\/a> ever. And that\u2019s where\u00a0DARE<\/em>\u00a0comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n

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David Brind<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t Ben,\u201d Brind added. \u201cI was a closeted (sort of?) popular kid. But there was play practice. I was the star, he was in the chorus because he got kicked off soccer for smoking. And a sleepover after. This experience was mind-blowing for me. Not because I was fetishizing the straight guy<\/a>\u2014though that\u2019s a real thing. But because for the first time in my life, I believed that connection with someone I desired was possible. That even if it ended here with \u2018Johnny,\u2019 something else unexpected would arise. It gave me hope. Thrill. Excitement. And yes, a bit of sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brind said that after understanding the fan base that the original DARE<\/em> had developed over the years, he decided to try and continue the story he had begun.<\/p>\n

\u201c15 years later, I decided to revisit this world with THE\u00a0DARE\u00a0PROJECT<\/em>,\u201d Brind added. \u201cOur legions of fans\u201413.5M views on YouTube while being suppressed from search by them, but that\u2019s another story\u2014demanded a sequel. They wrote Instagram messages. Like Jack from a small village in Ireland. Jack is 17. He\u2019s gay<\/a>. He\u2019s suicidal. He wrote to tell me that he watches\u00a0DARE<\/em>\u00a0over and over when he\u2019s feeling like he doesn\u2019t want to live<\/a>. Because it brings him hope. And that\u2019s more worthwhile than any Netflix or HBO deal could ever bring me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Of the sequel, Brind added, \u201cBen isn\u2019t 17 anymore. And he\u2019s a lot more like me now. He\u2019s good at what he does. He\u2019s successful in his way. He\u2019s more confident. He\u2019s out. But he\u2019s still been unable to find intimacy in a real way. A real and constant struggle for LGBTQ people, especially in the age of Grindr (which is in the new film) and Instagram \u2018influencers\u2019 aka hot guys<\/a> in underwear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJohnny isn\u2019t 17 either,\u201d Brind continued. \u201cAnd he\u2019s no longer the arrogant bad boy<\/a> of high school hallways. Life has gotten more complex. And when Ben and Johnny meet for the first time since high school, they talk about it all. And of course, they get back in the pool\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a new star, Adam Hagenbuch (Fuller House<\/em>).<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was really hard to revisit this world,\u201d said Brind. \u201cI needed to get it right. To give the fans what they wanted, but also what they NEED. Which means twists and turns, easter eggs, sex<\/a> appeal, one-liners, but also questions of existential angst, lack of purpose, the perils of intimacy as a gay<\/a> man<\/a>. The\u00a0DARE<\/em>\u00a0world has never been about a gay<\/a> guy<\/a> chasing a straight guy<\/a>. As a professor at USC, I see everyday how the world has become so sexually fluid in many ways. More and more of my students are non-binary or bi<\/a> or trans<\/a> or simply unclassifiable.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cTHE\u00a0DARE\u00a0PROJECT<\/em> is about connection,\u201d Brind added. \u201cWhat happens if there\u2019s someone out there that makes you feel so alive that it\u2019s addictive? And what happens if you are of potentially differing sexual identities? And in 2019, who really gives a shit\u2014you\u2019re just two humans. That\u2019s who Ben and Johnny are. That\u2019s what this short is about\u2014moments of connection in a disconnected world. Letting our fans and our community know that there is no right path\u2014just a series of choices and moments. I\u2019m not a blue-sky kind of guy<\/a>. I like to keep it real. And always a little dark. I like to play off tropes, and then unmask them. But everything\u00a0DARE\u00a0will always end in hope. And the promise of what\u2019s next. \u201c<\/p>\n

THE\u00a0DARE\u00a0PROJECT<\/a><\/em> is available starting midnight to rent and buy on Tuesday, 9\/24 at\u00a0dareshortfilm.com<\/a> but before that, the filmmakers would like to give Towleroad readers a look at the exclusive premiere of the trailer<\/strong>, right here:<\/p>\n

Brind and Salky are also in discussions with Alan Cumming\u2019s production company Club Cumming Productions about developing THE\u00a0DARE\u00a0PROJECT<\/em> into a series. In the clip below, Brind and Salky talk about deciding to make the sequel and its fans offer some thoughts on what it means to them.<\/p>\n

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The post The Powerful and Sexy Gay Short Film \u2018DARE\u2019 is Back for a Sequel 15 Years Later \u2014 with the Very Same Cast: WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Powerful and Sexy Gay Short Film ‘DARE’ is Back for a Sequel 15 Years Later \u2014 with the Very Same Cast: WATCH<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n