Hayley Kiyoko wants to make a lesbian Pirates film
Hayley Kiyoko wants to make a lesbian take on Pirates of the Caribbean, describing the dream project as "Keira Knightley, but gay" and "very gay and fantastical." The Girls Like Girls director shared the idea Thursday at a UTA Beverly Hills panel on saving queer media, alongside other LGBTQ+ filmmakers.
Key Takeaways
- Hayley Kiyoko named a lesbian Pirates of the Caribbean show or movie as her dream project.
- She framed the concept as "Keira Knightley, but gay" and "very gay and fantastical."
- The comments came at UTA's "Saving Queer Media" panel, a fundraiser for Outfest.
- Fellow panelists Angela Robinson, Adam Shankman, and Wash Westmoreland also pitched dream projects.
- Kiyoko hopes to adapt her second novel, Where There's Room for Us, into a film.
According to Variety, the musician, novelist, and filmmaker said she would "love to do a lesbian pirate show or movie." The remarks sit alongside other queer storytelling updates in our Streaming & TV Alerts coverage.
What did Hayley Kiyoko say about her dream project?
Kiyoko cast the idea as a queer spin on Pirates of the Caribbean. She said she wants a lesbian pirate show or movie, summing it up as Keira Knightley, but gay, and calling the tone very gay and fantastical.
"I would love to do a lesbian pirate show or movie — Keira Knightley, but gay," she said. "Very gay and fantastical."
Why was she talking about queer media now?
Her comments came Thursday night during a panel at UTA in Beverly Hills titled "Saving Queer Media." Variety's Marc Malkin moderated the program, which UTA Proud hosted as a fundraiser for the Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+ film festival Outfest.
Also on the panel were filmmakers Angela Robinson, Adam Shankman, and Wash Westmoreland. Each shared a passion project during the evening.
What else is on Hayley Kiyoko's filmmaking slate?
Kiyoko made her directorial debut earlier this year with Girls Like Girls, a YA romance based on her novel and song of the same name. She said she tried to get the film greenlit based solely on the song, but financing did not come through until after she wrote the novel and it became a bestseller.
She is also hoping to turn her second novel, Where There's Room for Us, into a film. "It's a period piece, which no one wants to pay for, but they will one day," she said, drawing cheers and applause from the audience.
What dream projects did the other filmmakers share?
Adam Shankman, whose credits include Hairspray and Rock of Ages, said his dream project is a big-screen adaptation of Spring Awakening. He said he does not think it could get the go-ahead because of its intense subject matter, but that he would love to make it more than any other movie.
Wash Westmoreland wants to adapt Chris Bryant's 2020 book The Glamour Boys, about queer British MPs in the 1930s who were radicalized after seeing the rise of the Nazis in Berlin. Angela Robinson said she has been trying to adapt her 2004 action comedy D.E.B.S. as a television series.