What if Call Me By Your Name was a cheesy romantic comedy from the 80s?
That’s the concept of a mock trailer that’s appeared on YouTube this week, which repositions Elio as a “typical 17-year-old who couldn’t get a girl” and Oliver as a “not-so-typical grad student” who couldn’t be more different from each other.
The trailer comes complete with a synth-laden soundtrack, cringeworthy sound effects and, of course, a straight-washing of the same-sex romance that would never have made it onto the big screen in the 1980s – in this version, they’re just friends.
“Call Me By Your Name was probably my favourite movie this year, and as a gay guy, I kept thinking about how much I wish we’d had a movie like it when I was growing up,” the video’s creator wrote.
“But then I realised that it’s probably better that it wasn’t made back then.”
Watch the trailer below.
Despite contradictory reports over whether a follow-up to the critically-acclaimed film would come to fruition, director Luca Guadagnino has confirmed that it will indeed be happening, and even shared some information on the plot.
“I’m already conceiving the story with [author] André Aciman, and it’s gonna happen five or six years afterwards, almost in 1990,” he told USA Today from the Oscars red carpet on Sunday night. ”It’s gonna be a new movie, a different tone.”
Fans will be able to breathe a sigh of relief, as Luca also confirmed that the film will “of course” reunite stars Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer as Elio and Oliver once again – but it won’t be set ‘Somewhere in Northern Italy’ like the original.
“They’re gonna go around the world,” he added.
Luca initially teased us with a sequel last year when he told Gay Times: “Maybe in time we’ll be able to tell more stories about these people. I’ve spoken to André about that and, yeah, André is up for it.”
Back in January, Luca elaborated that a sequel would likely deal with the effects of the AIDS crisis – a point of contention among some critics, as the original failed to mention the disease at all, despite being set in the 1980s.
He also suggested that there could be a series of films all set in the same universe.
Related: Here’s why all your criticisms of Call Me By Your Name are wrong
But not everyone from the Call Me By Your Name team is so sure about the potential for a sequel.
After winning the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay last month, the film’s screenwriter James Ivory cast doubt on a continuation of Elio and Oliver’s story, as he argued it’s “not possible” to make Timothée Chalamet look older.
“No one has contacted me,” he added. “You have to think, ‘Why does André Aciman think about that?’ It’s his creation. No one seems to know how he feels about it.”
Meanwhile, the film took home only one award at the Oscars on Sunday night – Best Adapted Screenplay – but it was enough to make history, as screenwriter James became the oldest person ever to win an Oscar.
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