The “Saving Queer Media” panel
Musician, novelist and filmmaker Hayley Kiyoko outlined her dream project during a panel appearance in Beverly Hills, stating she wants to create a queer version of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
“I would love to do a lesbian pirate show or movie — Keira Knightley, but gay,” Kiyoko said, describing the concept as “very gay and fantastical.”
The remarks were made Thursday night during a panel titled “Saving Queer Media” held at UTA. Moderated by Variety’s Marc Malkin and hosted by UTA Proud, the event served as a fundraiser for Outfest, the Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+ film festival.
Discussion of unmade dream projects
Kiyoko appeared alongside filmmakers Angela Robinson, Adam Shankman and Wash Westmoreland, with each director discussing unmade projects they hope to bring to the screen.
Kiyoko, who made her directorial debut earlier this year with the young adult romance “Girls Like Girls,” also expressed interest in adapting her second novel, “Where There’s Room for Us,” into a period film.
Adam Shankman shared that his dream project is a big-screen adaptation of the rock musical “Spring Awakening,” though he expressed doubt about whether its intense subject matter could secure approval. Wash Westmoreland discussed wanting to adapt Chris Bryant’s 2020 book “The Glamour Boys: The Secret Story of the Rebels Who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler,” focusing on a group of queer British members of parliament in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Angela Robinson stated she has been trying to adapt her 2004 action comedy “D.E.B.S.” into a television series.
