Gay actor Zachary Quinto is set to star as the former boyfriend of James Franco’s character in a new film examining ‘gay cures’.
Franco will play Michael Glatze – the man who went from gay, proud and founder of a gay twink magazine to become a pastor and the poster boy for the ‘ex-gay’ movement.
Emma Roberts, from American Horror Story, has also reportedly signed on to play Glatze’s girlfriend.
The script for ‘Michael’ is based on ‘My Ex-Gay Friend’, a New York Times Magazine article by Benoit Denizet-Lewis.
Justin Kelly, the director, said it is not just a story about an ‘ex-gay’.
‘It’s actually a very relatable story about the power of belief and the desire to belong,’ he said, according to Variety.
Denizet-Lewis added: ‘I’m excited that everyone involved in this project is intent on telling a story that captures the full breadth of Michael’s unusual life, from the inspiring gay leader I knew when I was young to the Christian pastor he is today.’
Every mainstream world health organization considers ‘gay cures’ and ‘conversion therapy’ to be extremely damaging to a person’s mental health.