Chronicling the Life of a Bigot

Because it's just too early for a Fred Phelps bio, HBO is developing a biopic of anti-gay swizzle stick Anita Bryant.

"She is a fascinating person on every single level. The twists and turns of her life are incredible" says exec producer Chad Hodge. Wevs. Like I need another film about an unlikeable asshole.

In 1977 [Bryant] launch[ed] a crusade to repeal a new Miami-Dade County ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

"As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children," she said. Her Save the Children coalition got the new law overturned within a year, and it took 20 years for it to be reinstated.

Celebrating her victory, Bryant promised she would "seek help and change for homosexuals, whose sick and sad values belie the word 'gay,' which they pathetically use to cover their unhappy lives."

She stayed on the anti-gay rights cause with speaking tours and went to California to support the Briggs Initiative in 1978, looking to mandate the firing of gay teachers, which failed. Archive footage with Bryant was featured in the 2008 film Milk, which chronicled Harvey Milk's campaign against the initiative.

Hodge, who is looking to talk to Bryant about the project, said he is going for a nuanced portrayal of her and "what drove her to do the things that she did."

Whatever. It's not like I have HBO anyway.

[Cross-posted.]