'The Bachelorette: Men Tell All': Meatball Reveals Why He Tackled Billy Eichner (Exclusive)

EJ Panaligan editor “Bros” co-writer and star Billy Eichner had sincere words to share about his upcoming romantic comedy at the Variety Cover Party at TIFF sponsored by Skyy. “I could have never imagined in a million years that we would have been able to premiere in such a spectacular way,” Eichner said about the buzz behind the film leading up to its release. “Thank you to everyone at Variety, this feature really was the most beautiful, accurate thing that’s ever been written about me.” In a lengthy interview with Variety, Eichner discussed the film’s entirely LGBTQ cast along with the many distinctive ways in which his personal life has influenced the development of the movie’s characters and plot lines. “I’ve worked so hard on it, I care so much about it, and I want it to do well for the sake of the LGBTQ stories getting greenlit,” he told Variety‘s Brent Lang. “So there’s a burden I feel, much as I want to sit here and just talk about how funny the movie is.”

also prides themself on not being emotionally available?”In the R-rated comedy, already being cited for its realistic depictions of gay men having sex, Eichner plays Bobby, a brash, blunt podcaster who spearheads an LGBTQ+ museum and falls for Macfarlane’s Garth Brooks-loving estate lawyer Aaron, who is quite a different representative of the community they both inhabit.“It’s interesting to see, as an actor, how many flaws I can have [with a character] and still get away with making the love story happen,” Macfarlane said, adding that he sometimes pushed back on his character’s rougher edges, thinking they might be too off-putting. “I saw the movie yesterday and I thought, ‘Aaron, you are such a dick!'”Eichner agreed, noting that Bobby and Aaron are “both dicks at various points, but that’s how people are.”Stoller assured Macfarlane he was in good stead: “I remember telling you, the more flawed and real you are, the more the audience is going to root for you for figure out your shit.”Apatow, a veteran of film exploring minefield relationships and stubborn male growth (“Knocked Up,” “This is 40”), commented on the historic nature of “Bros.” “It’s a very special experience, but it starts out with Nick and Billy having this really great idea,” Apatow said.

that at the ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ press conference!” he shouted.Well, no, you didn’t. “Bros” is a pretty singular entry on the film-festival circuit this year – not because it’s about a gay relationship, but because it takes the sensibility of producer Judd Apatow and co-writer and director Stoller – whose previous movies include “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Meet Me at the Greek” and “Neighbors” – and applies them to a story that isn’t interested in trying to fit gay characters into the usual straight rom-com template.In fact, it makes fun of the whole idea of doing that in a scene early in the movie, in which Eichner’s character, Bobby, is asked to write a gay rom-com for a studio exec who’s only really interested in an edge-less movie that will show that “love is love is love.”Bobby, spewing pop-culture references and snarky putdowns with almost exactly as much zest as the guy who plays him does, begs to differ, and so does “Bros.” With a cast in which all the LGBTQ characters are played by LGBTQ actors, the film manages to make the point that, as Branum also said in the Q&A, “queer lives are different than straight lives.”The film, Eichner said, started when Stoller (“a straight man, for better or worse”) decided that his next film should be a romantic comedy about a gay couple.

The major studio romcom is back with a flourish, but it took Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller to prove the format still works, even if this time it is two gay men who are the ones who  find love against all odds.

TORONTO – Contrary to popular belief, there have been more gay romantic comedy movies than you might think. Many of them were released independently and a few even by the mini-majors (Searchlight, Focus Features, Sony Classics, etc).

Billy Eichner’s “Bros” just make history at the Toronto International Film Festival? It certainly felt like it. The Universal movie is breaking all kinds of barriers: It’s the first gay rom-com ever made by a major studio, the first with an all openly LGBTQ cast and Eichner is the first openly gay man to ever write and star in a studio movie. Audiences finally got to see the movie for themselves in Toronto on Friday night and, judging by the shrieks of laughter throughout the screening, it was a hit. “I want to thank TIFF for letting a comedy into a movie festival!” Eichner yelled into the audience before the film rolled, making a valid point about the dearth of studio comedies that world premiere at top international film festivals.

Deadline launched Day 1 of its photo studio at the Toronto Film Festival, as cast members of TIFF-premiering films stopped by including Nicolas Cage, from Butcher’s Crossing; Luke Macfarlane and Billy Eichner from Bros; Gabrielle Union and Jeremy Pope from The Inspection; and many more. Click on the photo above to launch the gallery. 

After three years away, the red carpet has made its return to the Toronto Film Festival. 

Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia are reaching the end of their journey. At the end of Monday's episode of , fans got a peek at the remainder of the season, and it'll be tumultuous, to say the least.«I’m having a lot of anxiety this week,» Rachel admits, before telling Zach «I do have those fears, leaving here alone.» Something clearly goes down with the pilot and the tech executive, as a tearful Zach tells host Jesse Palmer, «After Fantasy Suite, everything took a 180.

Joel Kim Booster is speaking out.

Billy Eichner has been kicked off the dating app Tinder for the second time. Back in 2019, the Billy on the Street star revealed during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he had been removed from the platform because moderators thought he was an impersonator. Billy received an apology from company bosses at the time, but during a new interview for Variety, he shared that he had been ditched yet again.

Variety. "I can't book a late-night talk show appearance just to get reinstated on Tinder.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” As you’ll read (and see in the video above), this week’s column is a little different this time around. I am running around the Beverly Center trying to find something to wear for my interview with actor Luke Macfarlane. It’s not often I think about my outfits because I’m classic and consistent — chinos, button-up shirt, bow tie and a pair of colorful sneakers. However, my time with Macfarlane is going to be different because my editor has convinced me not only to work out with him, but to do it on camera.

A lot is riding on Billy Eichner.

Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia's journey is winding down, but the drama certainly isn't. At the conclusion of Monday's «Men Tell All» special fans got a sneak peek at the upcoming Fantasy Suite and finale episodes of , all of which promise to be intense.«I am in love now,» Gabby says in the clip.

. On the «Men Tell All» special, the man who switched from Team Rachel Recchia to Team Gabby Windey shared his perspective on everything as he sat down in the hot seat in front of host Jesse Palmer.«I saw two wonderful people, and although I felt more moved by one connection, I thought, 'Maybe there’s potential in the other one that I haven’t seen before,'» Logan said of initially agreeing to vie for Rachel's heart, before admitting that he should've done things differently from the beginning.«Looking back, after Rachel gave me the rose, I would’ve liked to pull them both aside and said, 'I am very open to exploring things with Rachel, but I have to be honest, the connection that moved me was with Gabby,'» he said.Though he gave it a shot with Rachel, he soon discovered that it wasn't going to work out.

Two of the men who competed on The Bachelorette this season decided not to attend the Men Tell All episode and both of them had controversial eliminations from the show.

Gabby Windey has nothing but good things to say about Nate Mitchell. On Monday's «Men Tell All» episode of , the electrical engineer addressed online rumors that have been circulating around him since his appearance on the show, none of which seem to bother the lady whose heart he was vying for.Though one woman online, who said she dated Nate for more than a year, claimed that the single dad kept his daughter, Mila, a secret, and another alleged that he dated multiple woman at once, Gabby wasn't short on praise for her ex.«Nate has shown me nothing but respect and nothing but love, so nothing could ever change my mind about him,» Gabby told ET.