John Leguizamo is not satisfied with the kind of love and recognition To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar received.
The 66-year-old Colombian-American comedian and actor spoke to Bustle about his 1995 road comedy-drama film directed by Beeban Kidron, articulating his thoughts on why he thinks the film was not appreciated the way it “deserved.”
Leguizamo said, “I love To Wong Foo. I mean, it was such a brave movie. Priscilla Queen of the Desert stole our thunder because it came out…it beat us just before.”
He went on to share that the creators of the Too Wong Foo had planned to release it before The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which came out in August 1994. However, they had to move the release date, as Wesley Snipes had other commitments at the time.
The Odyssey star quipped, “We were trying to beat them because there was only room back then for one drag queen movie per year, so we didn’t get the accolades that we deserved. I feel.”
“I think Patrick did an amazing job, and Wesley and I crushed it too, and we took it seriously. We really wanted to give these characters integrity, and we had drag queen coaches.”
“I had Laritza Dumas. She was from the Bronx and she was trying to help me do my accent correctly and she taught me how to do it all right and I loved her. I borrowed as much from her as I could,” John Leguizamo explained.
It is pertinent to mention that To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar opened in theatres on September 8, 1995. Watch the trailer here.
