Arts & Entertainment
Director confirms original stars will return for ‘Call Me By Your Name’ sequel
As if we didn’t have enough reason to look forward to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, news from “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino has delivered us a much-needed ray of hope for the future.
In an interview with Italian newspaper LaRepubblica, the acclaimed filmmaker seems to have confirmed that the planned sequel to the Oscar-winning 2017 coming-of-age movie will reunite stars Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, along with others from the cast of the original film.
An adaptation of André Aciman’s novel of the same name, “Call Me By Your Name” instantly became an essential “must-see” pillar of the LGBTQ cinematic canon with its bittersweet, nostalgic tale of a romance between a teen boy named Elio and his father’s research assistant, Oliver. Set during a pre-AIDS era summer in the Italian countryside, the film garnered much acclaim and multiple awards, catapulting Chalamet to the top of Hollywood’s “A-list” and revitalizing the career of co-star Hammer. In addition, it earned much-deserved recognition for its producer and screenwriter, veteran filmmaker James Ivory, from a new generation of film buffs.
In the wake of the film’s success, original author Aciman released “Find Me,” a sequel novel set ten years later and placing more focus on the character of Elio’s father, Sami. The story continues for an additional decade from there. Guadagnino has previously suggested that his film sequel would be set “just a few years” after the original, and would explore the AIDS crisis in Berlin in 1989, veering from the direction taken by Aciman in “Find Me.”
Whether that plot diversion will remain in place is still unclear; in the Italian interview, the director revealed that, though he has someone in mind to pen the screenplay for the new film, a scheduled meeting in the US to discuss the project with that writer – whose identity he is keeping quiet, for the time being – was cancelled, likely over concerns about the coronavirus crisis.
Still, Guadagnino had good news to share.
“It is a pleasure to work again with Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Esther Garrel, and the other actors,” the filmmaker said. “They will all be in the new film.”
Stuhlbarg earned an Oscar nod in “Call Me By Your Name” for his supporting role as Sami; Garrel portrayed Marzia, the teen girl with whom Elio also has a romance.
The two lead actors have been included in discussion of the follow-up
film since it was first announced shortly after the original’s success. Initially,
both were gung-ho about their potential involvement, with Chalamet saying in 2018
that they were both “1000 per cent in.” However,
in a 2019 interview with Vulture, Hammer expressed
reservations.
“It felt like a really perfect storm of so many things, that if we do make a
second one, I think we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment,” the actor
said. Nevertheless, he went on to add, “If we end up with an incredible script,
and Timmy’s in, and Luca’s in, I’d be an asshole to say no.”
Guadagnino’s announcement would seem to indicate that the actor has been sufficiently persuaded, and though there has been no official confirmation yet from any of the actors mentioned by name, those of us who fell in love with Elio and Oliver – and the two Hollywood heartthrobs who played them – can now hold on to the hope that we will all get a chance to follow their further journey in a brighter, post-pandemic world to come.
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
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