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While Maupin is quick to point out that PBS did not put any restric
tions on the script or try to censor his work during the filming of the
first movie in 1993, he praises the freedom that cable television offers.
“PBS was great in allowing us to film the first installment the way we
wanted to. They never told us we couldn’t do this or do that. It wasn’t
until after the first one aired that the trouble began,” Maupin says. “It’s
also many years after the first one and times have changed. We wanted
to bring a new dimension to the project and push the envelope that
much more.”
Raised in Raleigh, N.C., Maupin grew up in an era when being gay
was not acceptable or openly discussed, and he felt very isolated and
alone as a gay teenager.
“I grew up in North Carolina at a time when it seemed to be one of
the worst places to be young and gay,” he recalls, adding that he didn’t
lose his virginity until he was 25. “I had very few role models. Liberace
was one of the few examples of homosexuality in American culture, and
that was a pretty terrifying prospect.”
He says one of the reasons getting Tales filmed for television is so
important is because of the impact it could have on sexual minority
youth. Often their only escape is watching television.
“I grew up listening to ghost stories with friends around the camp
fire. So it was thrilling when, as an adult, I could help eliminate through
writing the great pain of my childhood, which was the solitude I felt as a
young queer. It thrills me to death that this miniseries is out there float
ing around making life easier for preteens and teenagers who already
know they are gay,” Maupin says.
“Almost every gay person I know had to come to terms with their life
in their late 20s, and that’s a difficult time to be dealing with adolescent
issues. Our lives are postponed by a culture that won’t acknowledge we
exist when we are that young,” he adds. “I knew I was queer when I was
12 or 13. Most kids know where their fundamental attraction lies when
they are that age, and then they hate themselves for something that is
fundamental to who they are.”
In 1971, at age 27, Maupin moved to San Francisco, where he says
he “met straight people who were more comfortable with homosexuality
than I was. It made me realize that it was OK to be gay.”
An unknown writer at the time, he landed a job at the San Francisco
Examiner, where he later began to write a fictional column about gay
life. It was 1976 and no one was examining queer society.
Two years later, an editor at Harper Collins sent a note to Maupin
asking him to adapt his columns into a book. The result was Tales of the
City. It instantly became a bestseller and is considered one of the quin
tessential gay books of the last two decades. A total of six books have
been published in the Tales series.
Outside the Tales saga, Maupin has only written one novel, 1993’s
Maybe the Moon, which he is currently adapting for the big screen. His
next project, a book titled Almost Anyone, is a psychological suspense
story centering on a gay writer.
And if More Tales is a success, Showtime is likely to commit to the
remaining four stories of the series.
"It's been a long road to get to here,
but I'm very excited. He didn't have
any difficulty with the making of the
film. The production entity wanted
to be as faithful to the book as
possible. There was no censoring in
any way. I'm very proud of what we
have to offer people. I can't predict
what the response will be. But I'm
very happy with
the film we've
produced."
—Armistead
Clockwise from top left: Olympia Dukakis as
Anna Madrigal; More Tales’ emerging lesbian
lovers; Paul Hopkins (Ieft)as Michael Tolliver,
Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton, Bill Campbell
as Jon Fielding; and author Armistead Maupin
“That’s my ultimate dream,” Maupin says. “The
head of Showtime has indicated that he plans to con
tinue if he gets the response from viewers, which is
why it’s important that people write letters to
Showtime and order the channel for that month.”
And he remarks, “Of course, I have enjoyed the
thought that PBS will sorely regret not pursuing this
miniseries when the ratings for this soar through the
roof.”
■ J effrey L. N ewman is a New York-based writer and
can be reached via e-mail at editorjeff@aol.com.