Spoiler Alert, a new romantic dramedy starring Jim Parsons and Ben Aldridge, tracks the relationship of Michael Ausiello and Kit Cowan, a journalist and photographer respectively. They navigate their life together once Kit is diagnosed with terminal cancer in a manner that's both heartwarming and heartwrenching in equal measure. Spoiler Alert is adapted from Ausiello's memoir of the same name, with a screenplay from David Marshall Grant and Dan Savage.
In addition to Parsons and Aldridge, Spoiler Alert also stars Sally Field and Bill Irwin. Michael Showalter, whose most recent work includes The Eyes of Tammy Faye starring Jessica Chastain, directs the film, which is set to be released by Focus Features.
Screen Rant caught up with Ausiello ahead of the release of Spoiler Alert to discuss the film, including that hilarious Smurfs scene and releasing the movie in a banner year for mainstream LGBTQ+ films.
Michael Ausiello On Spoiler Alert
Screen Rant: This year feels like another big one for mainstream queer films from Fire Island to Bros and The inspection. What is it like to be a part of that, especially with a story that's so personal?
Michael Ausiello: It's incredibly exciting. So much of this is about visibility and LGBTQ+ people telling their stories and sharing their stories. So to see such a variety and such a diversity of stories, it's wonderful.
Jim and Ben are so great. Can talk a little bit about the casting process for the film? Jim mentioned you guys did a reading together, so how involved were you in that? And what was it like to see them bring your story to life?
Michael Ausiello: Jim optioned the book, [so] very early on in the process, it was very clear that he was going to star in it and that he was going to play me. Really, a lot of the attention was who was going to be Kit. There were a lot of conversations about who that would be. My feeling always was [that] I was looking less for someone to be a carbon copy of Kit; just someone who just had chemistry with Jim. Where you could believe that these two people were in love, that was more important than anything [to me]. And we hit the jackpot with Ben Aldridge.
I know we saw it in the trailer, but one of my favorite moments had to be the full Smurfs scene. Did you really have that much Smurf memorabilia in your apartment?
Michael Ausiello: Well, I'd first like to mention, that is actually my collection in the scene. It's only a fraction of my collection; it's actually much bigger than that. And it is pretty close to what it was. I would say that in the movie, they take a little bit of dramatic license in terms of over Smurf-ifying the apartment. I didn't quite have that many on display at the time. But there were enough on display that it caused a bit of a crisis in our relationship. And it was actually an emotional turning point. And, obviously, the movie and the book get into the fact that it really isn't just about Smurfs, it's just about showing your authentic, true self to someone else and what that means.
It's such a special film [and] your first as executive producer. Do you have any plans to continue bringing important stories like this to the screen, whether it be on television or film?
Michael Ausiello: My focus right now is this movie, but I absolutely want to tell more stories. I have more stories to tell. And the question is, where and how that is? I'm not sure. But I'm excited to sort of tackle it.
About Spoiler Alert
The film follows the final 11-month period of Manhattan photographer Kit Cowan's life, from his diagnosis with terminal cancer to his death, through the eyes of Michael Ausiello, his lover of 14 years, and later spouse.
Check out our other Spoiler Alert interview:
Spoiler Alert is now playing in select theaters ahead of a wide release on December 9.