'American Gigolo' on Showtime: All you need to know about 1980 Richard Gere smash hit

The film is notable for establishing Gere as a leading man and was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to include frontal male nudity by its main star
Richard Gere in a still from 1980s' movie 'American Gigolo' (IMDb)
Richard Gere in a still from 1980s' movie 'American Gigolo' (IMDb)

'American Gigolo' is a newly adapted series from the 80s classic movie of the same name. In the upcoming series, the audience will witness Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye, the main protagonist of the original film, alongside Gretchen Mol, Rosie O'Donnell, Lizzie Brocheré, Gabriel LaBelle, and Leland Orser. It is being developed by David Hollander. Hollander is also one of the executive producers along with Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, and Kristie Anne Reed.

The series is being distributed by one of the most reputed and recognized distribution groups, Paramount Global Distribution Group, and will air on Showtime. On June 15, 2021, it was announced that Showtime had given the project a 10-episode series order, with Hollander set as showrunner. On April 23, 2022, it was announced that Hollander left the project after an on-set misconduct investigation. However, the series still made it through the storm after all the controversies and is all set for its premiere. Now that the upcoming series is about to be released, let us get you brushed up with the OG movie featuring Richard Gere which is also considered a cult classic.

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'American Gigolo' is a 1980 neo-noir crime drama film that was written and directed by Paul Schrader and starred Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story of a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically involved with a prominent politician's wife (Hutton) while simultaneously becoming the prime suspect in a murder case.

The film is notable for establishing Gere as a leading man and was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to include frontal male nudity by its main star. It is also notable for its Golden Globe Award-nominated musical score composed by Giorgio Moroder, and number-one single 'Call Me' by Blondie. Schrader considers it one of four similar films, which he calls "double bookends": 'Taxi Driver' bookended by 'Light Sleeper', and 'American Gigolo' bookended by 'The Walker'.

As mentioned earlier about the movie's music, the film's musical score was composed by Giorgio Moroder, who was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. The main theme song of the film is 'Call Me' was performed by Blondie. The song was written by Moroder and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry and became a huge worldwide success in 1980. It peaked at number one in several countries, including the US and the UK, and became the highest-selling single of 1980 in the United States. In 1981, the song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Moroder and Harry further shared a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. 

A critic reviewed the 80s movie on Rotten Tomatoes saying, "Stylish but emotionally hollow, Paul Schrader's morality tale of a callboy (played by Richard Gere), offers some visual pleasures, including Armani's slick wardrobe."

However, fans were enthralled by the trailer of the upcoming series and are eagerly waiting for it to release as some said that Jon Bernthal looked "immensely hot" in the trailer!

The series will premiere on September 9, 2022, only on Showtime.

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