James Franco Reveals Photo Of Himself As Ex-Gay Activist Michael Glatze

The following is an excerpt from Meet the ‘Ex-Gay’ Man James Franco Will Bring to the Big Screen

Michael Glatze had a long journey from being the founder of a gay magazine to being a conservative Christian minister who says God helped him change from gay to straight —and now James Franco is portraying him in a movie.

Franco has just released a photo of himself in character as Glatze, the subject of the film Michael, which is expected to be released next year. The movie is based on a 2011 New York Times Magazine article by his friend and former colleague Benoit Denizet-Lewis (a former Advocate contributor).

In the article, Denizet-Lewis describes a reunion with Glatze 12 years after they had worked together at XY, a national magazine for young gay men, based in San Francisco. Glatze went on to start another gay publication, Young Gay America, with his then-boyfriend, Ben, before announcing in 2007 that he was no longer gay. He said a spiritual awakening after a health crisis led him to that point, and he recalled this process in the interview with Denizet-Lewis.

“Sitting in his Y.G.A. office … Michael wrote three words on his computer screen: I am straight,” Denizet-Lewis writes. “They felt true, so he typed a few more: Homosexuality = Death. I choose Life.”

“I don’t see people as gay anymore,” Glatze told Denizet-Lewis when they spoke in 2011. “I don’t see you as gay. … God creates us heterosexual. We may get other ideas in our head about what we are, and I certainly did, but that doesn’t mean they’re the truth.”

The following is an excerpt from Zachary Quinto and Emma Roberts Join James Franco’s ‘Michael’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Quinto will play the former boyfriend of Franco’s character. Roberts is set to reteam with her “Palo Alto” co-star as his girlfriend. Chris Zylka (“The Leftovers”) is also attached to the film as another past love interest.

The script for “Michael” is based on “My Ex-Gay Friend,” a New York Times Magazine article by Benoit Denizet-Lewis (author of “Travels with Casey”) about Michael Glatze, a Christian minister from Wyoming who was so entrenched in gay culture before he rejected his homosexuality, he founded a gay youth magazine. Justin Kelly will direct. Gus van Sant is the executive producer, along with producers Franco, Vince Jolivette, Michael Mendelsohn, Ron Singer and Scott Reed.

“This isn’t just a story about an ‘ex-gay,’” Kelly said. “It’s actually a very relatable story about the power of belief and the desire to belong.”