![\"Udo](\"https:\/\/8ce250469d.nxcli.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/fcmint1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFrank Christian Marx is the star and writer of new gay comedy Men To Kiss.<\/p>\n
The film was released this week through TLA Releasing and is a screwball comedy about polar opposites Ernst and Tobias who are trying to navigate a relationship whilst Ernst\u2019s friend Uta tries to split them up.<\/p>\n
We caught up with Frank to talk more about the movie, discuss gay cinema in Germany and find out what he\u2019s got coming up next.<\/p>\n
How are you today Frank?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m fine. It\u2019s early in the morning. Normally I\u2019m at producing school now. I\u2019ve made one film but I really have a lot to learn. I\u2019m at school for 4 months.<\/p>\n
Did you decide to study film production because of Men To Kiss?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes. In Germany you get a scholarship when you make a film and they give you four months of free lessons. I got that from the government.<\/p>\n
Tell us about Men To Kiss. What can people expect from the film?<\/b><\/p>\n
The film is very crazy. The situation is very screwball. I love the old screwball movies with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday. It was inspired by these movies and is about two characters that are very different from each other. They have a connection but they don\u2019t really see it. Tobias and Ernst are perfect for each other but Ernst thinks that Tobias isn\u2019t right for him as Ernst is too-straightlaced and a banker whereas Tobias is a performance artist. When Uta comes into the film, she\u2019s the best friend of Ernst, she wants to break them apart and sees that there\u2019s a chance to do that. It\u2019s get really bitchy and crazy.<\/p>\n
We made the film last year and it was the first gay romantic film in Germany ever without a coming out issue. In our film all the characters are out of the closet and don\u2019t have a problem with homosexuality. That was something very special in Germany as it had never been done before.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s refreshing to see a gay film where there isn\u2019t a sexuality struggle\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes, normally German movies are focused strongly on the story, dialogue-driven and nothing really happens. We wanted to turn that around and do something crazy. We wanted it to have an American or an English feel. There\u2019s one scene at the end in the shop that\u2019s like Monty Python. We wanted to show all of those influences and not be so German.<\/p>\n
You either love the film or you hate the film. There\u2019s nothing in-between. \u00a0You either go with the flow or you say \u2018what is this?\u2019 In Germany the audience loved the film and the heterosexual press loved it but the gay press questioned why there wasn\u2019t a coming out issue or any of the usual problems.<\/p>\n
We have read some reviews of the film and it really does seem to have divided people.\u00a0 Some critics have said it\u2019s not realistic but that\u2019s the point isn\u2019t it?<\/b><\/p>\n
We have so many heterosexual comedies that are far-fetched so why not have a gay comedy like that? So we made it.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not like every straight movie you have people worrying about their heterosexuality\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
(laughs) yeah! The one thing that people said to us is that it wasn\u2019t gay enough. It is a gay movie but it\u2019s not about being gay. It\u2019s about being in a relationship and being the opposite of each other. It\u2019s about fighting for your relationship which can be gay or straight.<\/p>\n
Do you think we\u2019ll see Ernst and Tobias again in future films?<\/b><\/p>\n
Ah! Maybe. We\u2019re thinking about that. We love the characters and maybe we will do another movie with them but we\u2019re not sure yet. Ente Kross, our German production company, is the first German production company that only develops queer stories and films. We developed a short movie The Phallometer about a gay man in the Czech Republic which is a satire. We\u2019re sending the film to the festivals right now. The next film we\u2019re doing is kind of a gay Golden Girls. It\u2019s a house full of 60-year-old gays and explores their friendship with each other. The nephew of one of the characters comes to the house and gets into trouble. It\u2019s a much more story-based film.<\/p>\n
It sounds really interesting. We can\u2019t wait to see it.<\/b><\/p>\n
We\u2019re shooting it next year. Our production company isn\u2019t one of the major companies in Germany but it\u2019s incredible and wonderful the people that have already helped us.<\/p>\n
![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/8ce250469d.nxcli.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/fcmint2.jpg\")
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What you should be saying is it\u2019s not one of the biggest ones yet\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
Ah! Yes. It\u2019s not one of the biggest ones yet. You\u2019re totally right.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk some more about Ente Kross which we understand means Crispy Duck in English. Why did you decide to set the company up?<\/b><\/p>\n
I know every gay movie made out there in the world. In America they do cheesy comedy films called Eating Out which are just about joy and laughing. We wanted to create something like that. All films here Germany and TV shows want to tell coming out stories of men aged 16 or 17 and we want to change that. We want to tell the stories of older people. This is very important for me and gay life doesn\u2019t stop at 25. Your life really starts when you\u2019re turning 30; that\u2019s my opinion.<\/p>\n
At first we had a lot of people saying to us that it\u2019s not good to make the production company focus only on gay films. I wanted to do that because there isn\u2019t a company like us in Germany. I wanted to be the first and wanted to be there for the community. I want to help them and hear their thoughts and feelings about what they want to see.<\/p>\n
Do you have any other projects in the pipeline this year?<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes. I\u2019ve got a thousand projects! Next weekend on my birthday I\u2019m filming a German TV show called SOKO and I\u2019m playing the bad guy. I\u2019m playing a murderer so you\u2019ll see the bad side of me. I\u2019m getting back into my acting workshops too. I don\u2019t want to have a production company just to give myself characters to play.<\/p>\n
I want see people and really introduce the world to different people and characters. I want to play in different films and I\u2019ve got two ahead of me that aren\u2019t produced by me. I\u2019m the bad guy in both of them which is different for me because normally I\u2019m the nice guy.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been asked to be the creative decision maker of a company that makes films like I Want Your Love that contain stories and real sex. I have to think about that but it\u2019s really exciting and I\u2019m making my decision next week.<\/p>\n
Next year we\u2019re making a film about when Germany was divided after World War II. We\u2019re making a story about a gay soldier during that time. We have lots and lots of ideas. I\u2019m on the edge of a nervous breakdown (laughs).<\/p>\n
Please don\u2019t have a nervous breakdown!<\/b><\/p>\n
(laughs) I\u2019ll try.<\/p>\n
Men To Kiss is available to buy on DVD through TLA releasing now.<\/b><\/p>\n