The Cimino of it all is a BIG can of worms because it’s only speculation and heresay from people who have said so after their passing and who denied it vocally and repeatedly during their lifetime. This obviously doesn’t negate the possible validity, however, was never an “out” trans individual no matter how you slice it. It’s a big ethical gray area to discuss speculative transness of dead celebrities (ie Kurt Cobain, Burt Lancaster). It’s not something you can safely impose on someone without their consent. Meanwhile, Lana and Lilly are above publicly “Out” trans filmmakers.The Narrator Returns wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:21 pmAlso, I might amend the “first trans filmmaker in Criterion” statement to include Michael (Nikki) Cimino, but that’s a whole other can of worms.
Similarly, we know empirically that, say, Charles Laughton, Visconti, and Fassbinder were queer men who directed films and are discussed, canonized, and labelled as queer filmmakers. Meanwhile, there are similar rumors about Nicholas Ray having sexual encounters with actors like James Dean. This does not make Ray a queer filmmaker and it’s not a particularly wise move to label him as such. We’ll never know these secretive aspects of some artist’s lives that they chose or forced to keep secret and thats ok.