{"id":299,"date":"2026-05-20T08:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=299"},"modified":"2026-05-20T08:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:35:49","slug":"in-cannes-hit-animation-jim-queen-gay-influencer-turns-straight-and-ricky-martin-marries-kristen-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=299","title":{"rendered":"In Cannes Hit Animation \u2018Jim Queen,\u2019 Gay Influencer Turns Straight \u2013 And Ricky Martin Marries Kristen Stewart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\u201cJim Queen\u201d has arrived in Cannes \u2013 and claimed his crown.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSold by Global Constallation, the crowd-pleasing animation, produced by France\u2019s Bobbypills and directed by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athan\u00e9, sees popular Parisian gay influencer Jim reigning as the ultimate Gym Queen. He\u2019s all about \u201ctight shorts and zero body fat\u201d \u2013 until one day, his abs literally disappear.<\/p>\n

Read more Louis Clichy Combines Realism and Fantasy in Cannes Animation \u2018Iron Boy\u2019: \u2018I Wanted This Story to Have Solid Foundations\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tJim is slowly turning straight because of a virus called Heterosis that\u2019s been going around. Side effects? Flabby body, manspreading, obsession with football. And no prostate orgasm ever again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLet\u2019s face it \u2013 gay guys are obsessed with the way we look. It can be tough in this world, because you have to be in shape and you have to be young. I\u2019m 43, and guys look at me differently,\u201d Simon Balteaux tells\u00a0Variety<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBalteaux wrote \u201cJim Queen\u201d with Nguyen, Athan\u00e9 and Brince Chevillard.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI used to be a Gym Queen myself. Now, I\u2019m going to be a Daddy. It\u2019s the next step, so I\u2019m making fun of myself too. Although I\u2019ll still go to the gym tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNguyen adds: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of toxic masculinity in the gay community, too. You think it\u2019s enough to say you\u2019re gay, only to realize you don\u2019t fit the standards because you weigh too much. It was very liberating to write this, and to write these jokes, because we talked about what we\u2019ve experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJim is changing and losing followers, but one person simply doesn\u2019t care: young Lucien, who\u2019s in love with him even though his closet is still very much shut. Together, they decide to find a cure for Heterosis, fleeing the \u201cGaystapo\u201d and Lucien\u2019s homophobic mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was so, so much fun to write. We wanted to convey lightness and joy, because that\u2019s how I approach everything that happens in my life. We\u2019re all going through a lot of shit, that\u2019s obvious, but I try to see the bright side,\u201d says Balteaux.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film also takes a closer look at the LGBTQ community, where \u201cnobody mixes and always talks shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe mock everybody here \u2013 and ourselves,\u201d laughs Nguyen.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPeople used to see the LGBTQIA+ community as this one group, but the reality is more complicated. At the same time, we wanted to show that if something terrible happens and threatens to destroy the world, hopefully everybody can face this problem together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Balteaux, they talk about the community as they would talk about their best friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe love them, we know everything about them, but we can also be honest. And that\u2019s the truth! It\u2019s a love letter to the community, but not everything is perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, the priority was always to be kind. Even though their protagonist struggles with that.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI love that moment when Jim suddenly has this glimpse in his eyes and understands what kindness is. That\u2019s so funny,\u201d smiles Nguyen.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018La Perra\u2019 Review: Dominga Sotomayor Shores Up Her Reputation With an Elegant, Unsentimental Story of Trauma and Healing<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur production company Bobbypills, specializes in adult animation. They are not afraid of sexual content, but we didn\u2019t want it to be pornographic or overly vulgar. There is sex, but it always leads to something. We didn\u2019t just want to shock; we wanted to talk about love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs voices claiming that \u201chomosexuality is an illness\u201d refuse to go away, notes Nguyen, in the film they turn it around.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cConversion therapy is awful, and we show that as well. You cannot impose an identity or sexuality on anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBalteaux recalls: \u201cI grew up in the countryside in the \u201980s, and I used to think I was a freak. Making this film felt very cathartic. Now, I finally feel good in my own skin, and Marco helped me a lot: We say that I\u2019m a gay from the country and he\u2019s a gay from the city,\u201d he laughs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe didn\u2019t grow up in the same way, and it took me a long time to accept myself. I wouldn\u2019t have sat like that [with my legs crossed] in the past. I\u2019d try to appear more masculine. Now, I don\u2019t give a shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was fun to play with straight cliches for a change.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cStraight people can behave in a stereotypical way too, and not even realize it. Our two writers are straight. That\u2019s why we managed to nail it,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tNguyen notes: \u201cI love this moment when there\u2019s a TV on and you can see the announcement that, now that everyone\u2019s straight, Ricky Martin is marrying Kristen Stewart. I\u2019ve heard people laughing at it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI like the reference to \u2018The Sixth Sense,\u2019 when they say: \u2018I see gay people.\u2019 I\u2019m so proud of this one,\u201d grins Balteaux.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI guess we made a political film, but it\u2019s also because laughter can be a weapon. We\u2019re very lucky \u2013 we live in a country where \u2018Jim Queen\u2019 could be made. But we still think of those in Senegal and trans people, also in the U.S. Maybe it will lighten their reality a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a feel-good comedy. We want people to feel good,\u201d says Nguyen, with Balteaux adding:<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe just saw this video of two viewers in their sixties. After watching the film, they said: \u2018We didn\u2019t get all the references, but we still had a good laugh.\u2019 We want to share the richness and beauty of the gay community with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Andy Garcia\u2019s Neo-Noir \u2018Diamond\u2019 Earns 7-Minute Ovation at Cannes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marco Nguyen and Simon Balteaux talk sex and comedy in their Cannes hit animation \u2018Jim Queen’ about a gay influencer who suddenly turns straight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[335,3,339,340],"class_list":["post-299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-animation","tag-cannes-film-festival","tag-global-constellation","tag-jim-queen"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Cannes Hit Animation \u2018Jim Queen,\u2019 Gay Influencer Turns Straight \u2013 And Ricky Martin Marries Kristen Stewart - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=299\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Cannes Hit Animation \u2018Jim Queen,\u2019 Gay Influencer Turns Straight \u2013 And Ricky Martin Marries Kristen Stewart - 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