Favorite Pic of the Day for October 27th

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Luke London by Studio1x  

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Supporting Studs: Drew Moerlein

'Is this real?” and “What am I doing up here?” Then I immediately realized that this was the culmination of years of training, work and preparation, and that I was in fact living my dream and performing in one of the coolest and most innovative new shows on Broadway. It was an indelible and wonderful memory.'

 Drew Moerlein

His excitement is understandable as American Psycho marked actor Drew Moerlein;s Broadway debut.  Taking on the pivotal role of Paul Owen, (Paul Allen in the film) Paul certainly gets quickly under Patrick's skin.  Although they have last names, like Jared Leto in the movie, Paul's end comes brutally and quickly before the curtain falls on act 1. 

Drew & the cast of American Psycho The Musical for a shoot for Broadway Style Guide

'Paul Owen is the golden boy. He is successful, charismatic, generous, funny and admired without breaking a sweat. He is what Patrick Bateman aspires to be. Paul is on the ’80’s fast train like all the financial men of the time, but somehow he always has all the best reservations, business cards and hair styles.'

Drew Moerlein for HollywoodSoapBox

Drew Moerlein on Instagram

Drew in V/H/S (2012)

In addition to his work on stage, Moerlein's has appeared in numerous television and film roles.  When I decided to feature Drew in today's themed posts, I didn't think he'd done any nudity, but I was in for a pleasant surprise.   As you can see, Drew has a spectacular strip off and skinny dip in the 2012  horror flick V/H/S. 

A Plethora of Patricks

Before coming to Broadway, American Psycho: The Musical opened in London three years earlier.  Here are three more favorite Patrick Bateman's from the London, Australia and San Francisco. 

Matt Smith

American Psycho: The Musical

Almeida Theatre, London,

December 12, 2013-February 1st, 2014

Matt Smith as Patrick Bateman

'According to the publicity, the show is based on the novel. But the opening image rising up through the floor — the tall, fit body of ice-cool Matt Smith in nothing but tight white briefs and an aqua eye mask slavishly re-creates the U.K’s DVD cover image of the movie. But where the movie cleverly played with audience’s fears by presenting Bateman’s shocking behavior as real and only later suggesting everything to be his fantasy, the stage production never really allows us to believe that Patrick is a reliable narrator. Despite Matt Smith’s game effort — you can see Bateman’s pain behind his eyes with any fierceness he arouses is neutered by the score’s flippancy.'

Variety

According to Attitude UK, the images below were of Matt from the London production.  Although I couldn't find any account of nudity in the production, they may have been from a rehearsal, or later taken out.  Regardless, there doesn't have to really be a reason to include images of Matt's spectacular side and butt.

 Ben Gerrad

American Psycho: The Musical

Hayes Theatre, Sydney Australia

May 10th, 2019-June 14th, 2019

Ben Gerrard as Patrick Bateman

Although it lasted just under a month, actor Ben Gerrard received great reviews for his turn as Patrick Bateman.  Some of you might remember Gerrard from his time on the British drama Hollyoaks.  Given how 'American' American Psycho is, I often wonder how it translates in other parts of the word.  Especially the Manhattan lifestyle the characters lead.

Ben in his Hollyoaks days

'This Australian premiere also features a supremely talented cast. Gerrard delivers as the phlegmatic and solipsistic urbane slayer, a man who appears not to be a fully-fledged human being, but instead something of a shell. His Bateman is immediately unsettling and draws us into a warped, hedonistic existence. Gerrard does well in depicting Bateman’s gradual descent.'

Kipp Glass

American Psycho: The Musical 

Victoria Theatre, San Francisco 

May 17, 2019 through June 8, 2019 

Kipp Glass as Patrick Bateman

 

I wasn't familiar with this production, or lead Kipp Glass, but like so many things, the visuals had me wanting to see more....

'Kipp Glass is a pitch-perfect Patrick Bateman, imposing and volatile whether in swaggering arrogance, cold contempt or uncontrollable rage. At first he seems simply incapable of human feeling, cataloging his skin-care regimen and all the stuff he has, until he starts fuming over somebody having a better-designed business card than his or being able to score trendy restaurant reservations that he can’t.'

 

Source Material: Christian Bale in American Psycho

'Pumpkin, you're dating the biggest dickweed in New York.'

I didn't see American Psycho in the theatre, in fact I don't really even remember it coming out.  I do though, remember some great shots of actor Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.  Reading back now, I see the film got mixed reviews.  Although Bale and director Mary Harron saw the humor in the script, it didn't always translate to viewers and reviewers.

What I do remember, is seeing caps from the film when it was released on VHS and then DVD.  The caps of Bale in the shower, Bale in his undies, and a naked Bale with the chainsaw.  Fans of the film and Bale know it was years later that full frontal caps came out from footage originally unreleased. 

When I first saw the film on DVD, I was a little underwhelmed.  I went back and forth between seeing and humor, and reacting to the horror.  I also couldn't help but think of a few men I knew who had more than few similar personality traits as Bateman.  They're all, no longer a part of my life.  A second viewing a few later had me appreciating the film, and Bale's performance. For some reason I always forget that Reese Witherspoon was in the film.  Most of the attention, and deservedly so, goes to Bale and his turn as Bateman.

'I created this guy who becomes this emblem for yuppie despair in the Reagan Eighties – a very specific time and place – and yet he’s really infused with my own pain and what I was going through as a guy in his 20s, trying to fit into a society that he doesn’t necessarily want to fit into but doesn’t really know what the other options are. That was Patrick Bateman to me.'

Bret Easton Ellis

'American Psycho is ridiculous. It's farcical on many levels. The book is ridiculous, brilliant but ridiculous, as is the script, and that's what we intend. It's very funny and I had no idea it was funny when I first received the script. All that I knew were the excerpts I'd seen in newspapers which generally had chosen the most grizzly scenes.'

Christian Bale

Utterly Insane? Luke London by Studio1x

'Do you know I'm utterly insane?'

Patrick Bateman

 

As you can see, even without seeing American Psycho the movie, Studio1x's Jim did a spectacular job of setting the scene for Luke London to summon his inner maniac.  A few weeks after the shoot, on a day Jim was feeling under the weather, he actually did have time to check out the 2000 flick and compare what he captured with one it's creative core. 

'I absolutely loved doing this shoot and you can see, Luke did as well. I think we got some great shots of Luke as Patrick, and after seeing the movie...  I think we nailed it.'

Jim, Studio1x

I think they nailed it to.  So much so....  I have so many new movie scenes and characters running through my head for future shoots.   Jim may just regret having signed on to this one, not sure he'll be able to find a chimpanzee and elephant to use for those Lord of the Jungle ideas that Im having...  

'There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp, and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape.'

Patrick Bateman

Some of you may have read that Jim also shot some of the 'aftermath' of Luke's carnage.  Look for those early next week when October transitions into November, and FH moves on after All Hallow's Eve.

Luke London on Instagram

Studio1x

Studio1x on Instagram