New Posters For Julianne Moore And Ellen Page Gay Rights Drama ‘Freeheld’
Julianne Moore and Ellen page are lovers and gay rights advocates in the Peter Sollett-directed drama Freeheld, based on the Cynthia Wade-directed Oscar-winning documentary short of the same title. The plot is listed on IMDB as the true story of New Jersey police lieutenant, Laurel Hester (Moore), and her registered domestic partner, Stacie Andree (Page), who both battle to secure Hester’s pension benefits when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Moore shared two new posters on her Twitter, check ’em out below.
All love is equal. @_juliannemoore & @EllenPage star in #Freeheld — In select theaters October 2nd. pic.twitter.com/ZshxZkqqtc
— Freeheld Movie (@freeheldmovie) August 28, 2015
Page, who came out publicly in February 2014, told Time (via People) that playing a lesbian in Freeheld gave her a “deep sense of peace.”
“There was something about being out, getting to play a gay character, and getting to play a woman who is so inspiring to me – it was such an amazing experience for me,” she said. “Honestly, if I played gay characters for the rest of my career, I’d be thrilled. I wish I could, honestly!”
October 2015. #Freeheld@_juliannemoore@freeheldmoviepic.twitter.com/B263gdkU8x
— Ellen Page (@EllenPage) August 28, 2015
Page and Julianne, who recently played Sarah Palin in the HBO movie Game Change, will hit the big screen October 2 when Freeheld opens in theaters.
Not only is Julianne playing a gay rights advocate in Freeheld, she is passionate social and civil rights advocate in real life. Moore has lent her star power to an online petition for renaming a local high school in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside Washington. J.E.B. Stuart was a Confederate Army general from Virginia during the Civil War, and a school named in his honor in 1959. A group of Stuart students and alumni began a campaign to change the school’s name in June after the Charleston shootings, where nine Black parishioners at a historic church were gunned down by White supremacist Dylann Roof.
The church shooting ignited criticism of symbols that honor the Confederate south and its defense of slavery during the Civil War. Moore and producer Bruce Cohen, who both attended the school in the 1970s, started a new Change.org petition that has drawn more attention to their effort. Julianne talked to the Washington Post.
“We name our buildings, monuments, and parks after exalted and heroic individuals as a way to honor them, and inspire ourselves to do better and reach for more in our own lives…it is reprehensible to me that in this day and age a school should carry and celebrate the name of a person who fought for the enslavement of other human beings. I think the students of this school deserve better than that moniker.”
Supporters of the name change are asking the Fairfax County School Board to rename the school for civil rights leader and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
In related news, organizers of the Toronto Film Festival recently announced that Moore, Salma Hayek, and Sarah Silverman will join Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner onstage as part of Toronto’s inaugural “In Conversation With…” to talk about their careers and latest films. Oscar winner Julianne Moore will be in Toronto with Page and co-star Michael Shannon to premiere Freeheld.
[Image via Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images North America/Twitter]
