• written by Jasper June 07, 2024

    IndieWire Honors

    Matt attended another event last night, the IndieWire Honors with Fellow Travelers creator Ron Nyswaner to receive the Wavelength Award for their work on the show. Visit our gallery for some photos of Matt at the event!

    Ron Nyswaner and Matt Bomer can’t quite agree about their first meeting. “Look at how we collaborate,” Bomer said with a laugh over a Zoom call with Nyswaner and IndieWire.

    In fact, the retelling of their initial meeting (“You take this one, Ronnie,” Bomer said before quickly backtracking when he realized Nyswaner was skipping over their first Zoom call. “Never mind, scratch that”) is their “Fellow Travelers” partnership in microcosm. Both Nyswaner (who created the show) and Bomer (its star and executive producer) are able to quickly step in when the course needs correcting, and both are comfortable enough with one another not to let ego interfere.

    That easy relationship translated into one of the greatest LGBTQ series ever made, one that is as sexy as it is political. (Quick, think of any other series with two gay male lead characters that goes as hard in both directions as “Fellow Travelers.”) After their Zoom call and an in-person meeting at San Vincente Bungalows — Nyswaner’s initial reply about where they first met — Bomer and Nyswaner understood a few things. One, they really loved Thomas Mallon’s novel that the series would adapt. And two, they intuitively understood how much work would be required to bring it to life.

    Starting with getting a greenlight.

    “Things take a while to develop. And the way things are done, often, is that there’s no guaranteed green light until many, many, many things have been accomplished, like several scripts and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” Nyswaner said. “And Matt just kept holding on and juggling his schedule. And that was really significant because I couldn’t really imagine someone else playing Hawkins Fuller.”

    “I mean, I was taking jobs hoping to just incentivize Showtime to move faster and greenlight our show,” Bomer chimed in.

    “Yeah. There were frantic calls from me to certain people saying, ‘We’re gonna lose Matt, please, please make this happen as fast as possible,’” Nyswaner said.

    “Anything to move the needle,” Bomer added.

    Is it any wonder that both men were passionate about the chance to bring to the screen Mallon’s tortured lovers Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin — ultimately played by Bomer and Jonathan Bailey — when their epic romance is the kind of invigorating, enthralling love story queer audiences rarely get? Except that wasn’t quite enough. Mallon’s novel came out in 2007, and 2023 audiences wouldn’t accept a story that dug deep into the Lavender Scare of the ’50s without also exploring the even less-told stories of queer people of color. And Nyswaner had some other ideas up his sleeve.

    “The story is so moving, and I knew Ron, just from his work over the years, was the perfect person to interpret that material,” Bomer said, pointing to the eight years Nyswaner had spent with the story prior to their meeting. “And he also had his own vision for the source material. And I thought that his vision in terms of that, bringing Marcus and Frankie to the story and expanding it through these huge historic events in our country’s history and our community’s history, I thought would make it really cinematically interesting and carry over into eight hours’ worth of material.”

    Nyswaner stuck with the project partly because Hawk and Tim “really haunted me. I sort of just wanted to be in bed with them. Or watching, I think. But to spend time with them, knowing that I was going to be spending probably a few years of my life with them, just really was something I wanted to do.” Likewise, he knew instinctively that Tim would die of AIDS, making that bleak decade in which the American government ignored its queer community a bookend to the Lavender Scare.

    “They had both been caused, one by our government’s active persecution of gay people and one by our government’s indifference to us,” Nyswaner said. “So that just seemed natural. And then you had to fill it in. Like, I can’t wait 30-plus years for them to see each other. I gotta figure out some other ways. So it was very practical, actually.” Filling in those decades brought with it stories about racism within and without the queer community, gender identity, the Vietnam War, the White Night riots in the aftermath of Harvey Milk’s assassination, and more.

    Bomer points to the care and forethought that Nyswaner lavished on “Fellow Travelers” even before production, calling his deeply considered ideas about everything from production design to score “pretty much bulletproof.”

    “As a producer, what I could bring to the table was more relationships. I made myself amenable to any chemistry reads that we had,” Bomer said. “But even those, we had such a fantastic casting director that it was just a matter of [the perfect people] coming in and reading. My thing as a producer is I don’t ever make an executive decision on another actor because I don’t want that karma on my shoulders!” And of course, Bomer relied on his 20 years in episodic TV to weigh in on anything that might benefit from his experience.

    All true, according to Nyswaner, but also not quite the full picture. “On the set, Matt’s commitment to the show extended beyond showing up and giving a great performance,” he said before addressing Bomer. “On the set, how welcoming you are to day players or people with small parts. I know that it adds a burden to the person who has to, in the next few minutes, give a performance, but I watched you do that and just being a leader. And as nice a guy as Matt might be it does mean that little extra bit of energy you have to give because these people have to be inspired. And I always felt that Matt was Number 1 on the call sheet in every way.”

    “If I was able to behave in that way, it’s only because I’ve been shown great examples from people I’ve worked with in the past,” Bomer replied. “And you understand when you’ve been a part of something for a while, and you have the responsibility of being a producer as well, you want to give love to all the ingredients that go into the pot. But on set, if it did take an effort when you’re exhausted and it’s hour 70 or whatever it is, I find that’s always worth it because even if it’s just making an effort to ingratiate yourself with someone who’s there for the day or the scene, it, it bleeds into the scene work. It adds an accessibility and a comfortability and a collaboration once the work is up and running.”

    As for telling another story together in the future? Bomer is keen. “I’ve tried!” he said. “I’ve courted him so many times, he’s such a recalcitrant collaborator. He’s gonna wait till it’s the right one, and I respect that, and I get that. But, listen, I’m here with open arms, Ron.”

    “Yeah, hey, Matt, same here,” Nyswaner replied. “Send a book, whatever!”

    IndieWire
    written by Jasper June 07, 2024

    Variety TV FYC Fest

    Matt attended the Variety TV FYC Fest yesterday for the 15-Year Reunion of White Collar event! He was joined by co-stars Tim DeKay and Tiffani Thiessen and series creator Jeff Eastin. A panel was held at the event and Jeff confirmed that there will be a White Collar reboot, and Matt, Tim, and Tiffani are returning! This is such great and exciting news. Check out some photos of Matt at the event in our gallery!

    “We’re gonna reboot. I’m writing the script,” he said on a panel alongside stars Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay and Tiffany Thiessen. Bomer confirmed his involvement, saying, “I’m in!” as DeKay and Thiessen also raised their hands.

    “It’s a fantastic script and it answers all the questions that one would have if you watch the show,” DeKay said, “and it would introduce the show to those who haven’t seen it as well. Both edges of the sword are honed.”

    Willie Garson, who played Mozzie in “White Collar” and died in 2021, will be nodded to in the reboot.

    “It honors Willie, too, in a profound way,” DeKay said. “With such sensitivity and such heart,” Thiessen added. “I told Jeff after I finished it, I literally was so excited, but at the same time had tears in my eyes — for good reason. You captured the suspense, the thrill, the characters and the love in that reboot.”

    It seems likely that the reboot will land on Hulu, though currently unconfirmed. “White Collar” originally aired on the NBCUniversal-owned cabler USA, but Fox Television Studios handled production, meaning Disney now owns the IP. DeKay noted during the panel that “the hope is that it will be a particular streamer.”

    Eastin didn’t give any plot details, but said he intentionally left things open-ended when writing the series’ conclusion in 2014. After procedurals began booming on Netflix over the past year, revisiting “White Collar” became a more tangible option.

    “If you get to the finale, with Neal [Bomer] walking in Paris, that was always the setup,” he said. “I always left it open, and as the years passed, it seemed more like a distant hope. But say thank you to ‘Suits’ for starting this streaming trend. They were doing great, and got people watching ‘White Collar’ now on Netflix. That’s doing really, really good. Off of that, it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s do another one.’”

    Variety
    written by Jasper June 03, 2024

    ‘Fellow Travelers’ FYC Event

    Matt reunited with his Fellow Travelers co-stars last weekend for the show’s FYC Event! Among those present were Allison Williams, Jelani Alladin, Noah J. Ricketts, creator Ron Nyswaner, and producers Daniel Minahan and Robbie Rogers. Unfortunately, Jonathan Bailey wasn’t able to attend. This is part of their campaign for the Emmy Awards nominations, which will be announced in July. A panel was also held at the event, but I can’t find any full video of it. I’ll update this post when I do or when they release it! Meanwhile, check out our gallery for high-quality photos of Matt at the event! More will be added soon too, so make sure you follow us on our socials, @mattbomerfan on X Twitter and @mattbomerfansite on Instagram.

    P.S. For those interested, I’ve only found this info so far, Matt was wearing David Yurman jewelry.


    written by Jasper May 17, 2024

    ‘Fellow Travelers’ Emmy Submissions

    Emmys, here we come! Fellow Travelers has been submitted for 23 potential Emmy nominations across multiple categories. Matt Bomer is campaigning in the Lead Actor for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category while co-star Jonathan Bailey is up for Supporting Actor for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie alonside Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache, and Noah J. Ricketts. The show itself would be a strong contender in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category, and the pilot episode – written by Ron Nyswaner – was also submitted in the Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category. We wish the entire cast and crew good luck! Check out the full list below.

    • Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series — Ron Nyswaner, Robbie Rogers, Daniel Minahan, Matt Bomer, Dee Johnson (executive producers), Sean Ryerson (co-executive producer), Anya Leta (producer)
    • Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — 101: “You’re Wonderful” by Ron Nyswaner
    • Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — Daniel Minahan, 101: “You’re Wonderful”
    • Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — 102: “Bulletproof” (Simon Dennis)
    • Lead Actor for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — Matt Bomer
    • Supporting Actor for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache, Noah J. Ricketts
    • Supporting Actress for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — Allison Williams
    • Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — Avy Kaufman (casting by), Robin D. Cook (location casting)
    • Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — 101: “You’re Wonderful” (Christopher Donaldson); 105: “Promise You Won’t Write (Wendy Hallam Martin)
    • Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) — 108: “Make It Easy” (Paul Leonard-Morgan)
    • Main Title Theme Music — Paul Leonard-Morgan
    • Main Title Design — Ron Gervais (director, designer, animator), Dave Penn (designer), Josh Vermeulen (designer, animator), Nicole Labbe (animation producer)
    • Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special — 107: “White Nights” — Danielle McBride (supervising sound editor), Ed Douglas (supervising sound designer), Éve Corrêa-Guedes (dialogue editor), Craig MacLellan (sound effects editor), Chelsea Body (foley editor), Scott Hitchon (first assistant sound editor), Joe Mancuso (music editor), Steve Hammond (foley artist)
    • Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie — 104: “Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire” — Shawn Kirkby (production sound mixer), Scott Shepherd, Joe Morrow (re-recording mixers)
    • Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) — 101: “You’re Wonderful” — Anastasia Masaro (production designer), Naomi Allen (set decorator)
    • Music Supervision — 107: “White Nights” — Michael A. Perlmutter (music supervisor)
    • Period Costumes — 101: “You’re Wonderful” — Joseph La Corte (costume designer), Jennifer Lantz (assistant costume designer), Camil Rochon, Bethana Briffett (costume supervisor)
    • Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling — 103: “Hit Me” — Michelle Côté (hair department head), Antoinette Julien, Lukas Press (key hairstylist), Ashley Crowe (hairstylist)
    • Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) — 108: “Make It Easy” — Jordan Samuel (makeup department head), Oriana Rossi, Patricia Keighran (key makeup artist), Talia Reingold (makeup artist)
    Variety
    written by Jasper May 17, 2024

    Spring 2024 IndieWire Honors

    Matt Bomer and Ron Nyswaner are among the honorees of the Spring 2024 IndieWire Honors! They will receive the Wavelength Award for their work in Fellow Travelers. The awards night will be held on June 6th in Los Angeles. Congratulations to Matt and Ron for this well-deserved recognition!

    It does come as a bit of a surprise that a show like “Fellow Travelers,” that commands so much vulnerability from its creative partners, comes from a pair that had never previously worked together before. Though there are a whole team of people that made the Showtime series a success, like co-star Jonathan Bailey and director Daniel Minahan, it is the fresh relationship between actor/producer Matt Bomer and creator/showrunner Ron Nyswaner that powered the transformative queer period drama through development, and onto critical success that includes a Peabody Award win.

    IndieWire
    written by Jasper April 14, 2024

    Deadline Contenders Television 2024

    Matt attended the Deadline Contenders Television last night with Fellow Travelers co-star Jonathan Bailey and series creator Ron Nyswaner. A panel was also held at the event, where they talked about their characters, how the show was created, and more. Visit our gallery for photos of Matt at the event! You can also watch the panel below.


    written by Jasper March 18, 2024

    35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards

    Matt attended the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards last week! He joined some of his Fellow Travelers castmates Jonathan Bailey, Allison Williams, and Jelani Alladin, producer Robbie Rogers, and series creator Ron Nyswaner. The series won as Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series! Congratulations to the cast and crew for the well-deserved win! Ron Nyswaner delivered an amazing speech as they all went onstage to accept the award. Check out our gallery for photos of Matt at the event, including two portraits taken at TheWrap studio!


    written by Jasper March 12, 2024

    96th Annual Academy Awards

    Matt attended his first Oscar Awards this weekend! He looked effortlessly gorgeous in the custom Brunello Cucinelli purple suit, courtesy of his stylist Warren. He also absolutely killed it in the glambot! Visit our gallery for photos of Matt at the event!


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