I was interested in profiling Jackson Kelly, who played one of the dying Civil War soldiers in Righteous Gemstones Season 4. He was somewhat difficult to research, since there are a lot of Jackson Kellys out there, including a female adult video actor, but I finally I found some newspaper articles and podcasts from our Jackson's home town.
Jackson grew up in Waco, Texas, the heart of the homophobic Bible Belt, and had trouble pursuing his dream: the nearest acting class was two hours away, and for auditions, his parents had to drive him six hours to Austin. There are three theaters in Waco.
Jackson's first industry job was a production assistant for a company making commercials -- a lot of manual labor, moving stuff from here to there. Then he began appearing in commercials and "zero-budget" independent films:
My Year of Dicks, 2022: he has one of the dicks that the girl tries to get.
Splinters, 2022: after the death of his father....f*k the Sadness
Witch Mountain, 2022: Two teens, male and female, develop psychic powers. You see where this is heading.
Portrait of a Young Man, 2022: Jackson, the Young Man, is struggling with "his identity." Sounds like a coming out story, but in the trailer he kisses a girl.
Left: Matthew Modine's butt.
The Western The Warrant: Breaker's Law, 2023, with Dermot Mulroney as the villain. Jackson plays someone named Brig Farkus. At least he has some interesting character names.
Jackson plays an aspiring novelist named Barstow Williams-Stevens. In the trailer, he throws shade at the prof during class: "You haven't said anything for an hour and a half. Would you please say something? Your only novel isn't even available in your own campus bookstore." The prof responds in kind, and gets in big trouble.
More after the break
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Jak is still a producer, the CEO of Barn Door Productions, with Spider Man: The Dark Age (2023), which I reviewed, plus two upcoming projects:
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Gideon's Prayer Time is at 11:00 am Wednesday! Who's free at that hour except nursing-home oldsters? And College of Charleston students, I guess. Watching Gideon Gemstone reading off notecards the same words he has written on a powerpoint slide.
It's stupid of me, but when I saw him at the Prism party yesterday, smiling, unconcerned about the many LGBTQ people around him, I figured he must be gay. And beautiful, with a round face, light blue eyes, a slim, tight physique obvious even under his uncomfortable-looking Sunday suit.
I feel like a total language geek, but I'm a Classics major, taking a seminar in Catullus, so can I help it if he popped into my head:
Equal to Jove that youth may be
Greater than Jove he seems to me
At the sight, my senses fly.
I needs must gaze, and gazing, die
Yesterday Ricky pulled my jaw off the floor and told me that he was Gideon Genstone, Kelvin's nephew. And he was standing right next to his grandfather. I'm not going to approach a guy standing next to world-famous evangelist Eli Gemstone!
Who am I kidding? I would be too shy anyway.
I'm having second thoughts about my gaydar. Gay guys never become ministers - with Kelvin an obvious exception. Gideon never comes to Prism, even as a guest speaker. I've never even seen him with Kelvin and Keefe. Surely if their nephew was gay, they would hang out.
He's looking at me! He made direct eye contact! Of course, I'm probably noticeable, the only Asian and only person under 90 in the audience. Still, doesn't that mean something?
"You can stay or you can go, but it's over." Weird way to end a service -- not even a closing prayer. I stand behind the oldsters so I'll be the last one out, and I can start a conversation.
He's smiling -- a good sign. I shake his hand -- warm, firm, sexy? "Hi, I'm Clay Chang."
"Gideon Gemstone. It's good to see a young face at Prayer Time."
"It was an interesting presentation. A lot of complex theology."
"Yeah...um...you don't have to be nice on my account. I knew I screwed up."
Confiding in me? Must be because we're the same age? "No, it was fine. You just need some instruction on homilectics." I refrain from telling him that "homilectics" means "preaching." "I took a class my sophomore year at Charleston Southern -- thought I was going to be a preacher." I hesitate. He looks at me quizzically. Do I dare put my hand on his shoulder? "I have my old class notes back in my apartment -- I can bring them by the church later, or if you want to have lunch..."
"Sure, lunch sounds great," he says with a smile.
Suddenly I'm feeling hot. My heart is racing. "Ok...um, so meet me in an hour. Do you want to go to Dudley's? They're serving lunch now."
He frowns. Because he doesn't know that Dudley's is a gay bar, or because he knows, and isn't gay?
Think of an alternative, fast! "Or...um..the Brown Dog Deli, on Calhoun?"
"Ok, Brown Dog Deli in an hour." We face each other. I can't stop grinning. What do I do now? Hug him? Kiss him? He seems to be having the same dilemma. Suddenly we both laugh, and he reaches out for another handshake.
"Bye."
Driving to my apartment, digging out my notes, doing 100 push-ups so I'll have a chest, showering, deciding on a hot but not slutty outfit, driving to the Brown Dog...that leaves six minutes to rush down Kelvin's office next to the Prism Prayer Room.
No books except for several copies of the Bible; no desk, just a serpentine-slide thing that looks like a throne; and a lot of exercise machines: our guy likes to work out during his office hours. Right now he's doing bicep curls -- huge biceps! I see them three times a week, but I still can't take my eyes off them. Except to look at the enormous club-bulge in his gym shorts. Is that real or augmented by a balled-up sock?
"Clay, My Man!" he exclaims. "Sit down! How's that paper on Catullus coming?" How does he remember all the details of everyone who goes to Prism?
"Fine, I guess. Still stuck in the introduction. Actually, I stopped by because I need your advice."
'That's what I'm here for, Boyo. What's on your heart?"
"Um...the thing is, I'm having lunch with Gideon in 53 minutes."
"Who...Gideon Gemstone? My nephew Gideon?" He looks surprised. Too surprised. "In the market for a new spiritual leader?"
I smile. Kelvin is jealous! "No, actually...um...I'm not sure whether it's a friend hang or a date. I don't even know if Gideon is gay."
This is the part where Kelvin tells me "Of course he's gay." He would know, right?
But Kelvin frowns. "I'm afraid I can't help you there. I have no idea about Gideon. He mostly keeps to himself -- we've never had a heart-to-heart talk. I've maybe said ten words to him in the last year, and four of those words were 'Happy Birthday!' and 'Merry Christmas'"
My heart sinks. Why would Gideon be gay and not confide in his uncle?
"Does he ever bring a friend to the family dinner?"
"Not that I can remember. Wait -- there was a guy named Scotty, a couple of years ago, came out from California to visit Gideon, and stayed for two or three weeks. They were, like, together every moment."
"A boyfriend?"
"I don't know, but he turned out to be a crook. He robbed the church's Easter offering and left Gideon and his Dad tied up in the vault." He pauses. "Come to think of it, that's the last person outside the family that I've seen Gideon with."
My six minutes are over. I thank Kelvin, steal anouther peek at his biceps, and rush out.
Gideon orders the Susan Hayward Salmon Salad. I always get a Coney Island Chili-Cheese Dog with fries -- it's the Brown Dog Deli, right? But I don't want to stain my shirt, or get onion on my breath on the off chance that there will be kissing later -- so I order the Soup of the Day.
He reads aloud the list of required textbooks from my homilectics class: "Contemporary Preaching, Comedy Preaching, Preaching to People with Disabilities, Homilectics from an Asian-American Perspective..." Ulp, he skips over A Queer Homilectic. "I like the Week 1 Lecture: 'Skip the slides, or at least use them well.'"
"Yeah, the idea is that preaching is different from lecturing to a classroom. You're trying to reach people's hearts, not their heads."
"Sounds like you were very good at it."
"I just got a B+. In my family, anything under an A++ is considered a failure."
"Is that why you tranferred to the College of Charleston and became a Classics major?"
"No, I just fell in love with Latin. Ovid. Apuleius. Virgil's Eclogues. Formosum pastor Corydon ardebat Alexin." Oh no, it's about a guy named Alexis in love with the beautiful shepherd Corydon. Why did I quote that? What if he asks for a translation?
Saved by the bell: our food arrives, giving me a chance to change the subject. "My parents wanted me to major in business and like sit in an office all day, talking about stocks or something. They really didn't like my decision to major in classics -- dead languages, and not even Asian! They had this image in their head of me with a wife and kids, a house in the suburbs, mowing the lawn, barbecuing, fixing the rain gutters.
"I had the same problem. My parents wouldn't let me be me. They had this image of me as a perfect little church boy. When I was 18, I ran way to California, and didn't talk to my dad for a year."
A moment of connection! I reach out and cup my hand over Gideon's. He draws away. Because he's not gay, because he's not into me, or because he needs his hand to hold his fork?
I pretend not to notice. "What brought you back to South Carolina?"
"I've been going back and forth. A few months in L.A., then a few months at home. I'm not sure where I belong. Maybe I don't belong anywhere."
Gideon is lost, and lonely. Gay or not, maybe he just needs a friend.
We eat in silence for a few minutes. Then: "Are you busy tomorrow?"
Tomorrow night? Like a real date? Maybe he just needs a boyfriend! "I have a seminar in Apuleus at 10:00, but I'm free after that."
"My Uncle Baby Billy is filming at tv show about Jesus as a teenager. They're doing it campy, like a modern day high school."
I know -- I've dated the guy who plays Teenjus. But I tell Gideon. "That sounds interesting."
"Want to drop by and watch a rehearsal tomorrow? We could get dinner later."
He is definitely describing a date!
More after the break
I grew up near Peoria, so I was hoping for shots of local landmarks. But, except for the opening montage, you might as well be in Albuquerque. No Peoria landmarks are mentioned in the two episodes I reviewed.
The gay subtext is played with, as in "The Bro-Posal," when Emil proposes (asks Teddy to make their relationship official), and is rejected.
And in "Robot Wars," advertised as "Emil develops an instant crush on Ryan, Teddy's long-time rival." Turns out that Ryan is a girl with a boy's name! Fooled you!
