I remember the first time I watched the original black and white version of The Haunting as a child with my mom. Eleanor stands outside on the balcony quarrelling with her new roommate Theo. Eleanor turns to Theo and accusatorily labels her "unnatural," to which Theo glares back wordlessly. "She's not talking about Theo's ESP, is she?" I asked my mom. This is my earliest memory of Hollywood's reference to 1963's taboo topic of homosexuality.

Hollywood has taken baby steps in pushing the envelope over the years. There was the moment when Christopher Reeve shocked the audience by kissing Michael Caine on the lips in the 1981 thriller Deathtrap. In the 1982 Harry Hamlin movie Making Love, Hollywood tested out the passionate man-man kiss. Apparently, it didn't go over so well with the audiences… people walked out on the movie. Thus, when Philadelphia hit the screens, the most intimacy Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas were afforded was a slow dance and a hug. In The Color Purple, the touching relationship between Shug and Celie (which is detailed in the book) is barely hinted at on the silver screen with one sweet kiss. Fried Green Tomatoes was completely washed of any lesbian context, giving the characters more of an "unrequited love" spin.

Gay male characters have definitely become more common place in cinema. Who would argue that Rupert Everett's performances in movies like My Best Friend's Wedding are nothing less than charming and witty? Additionally, countless movies have emerged with male-male relationships running the gambit from farcical, such as The Bird Cage, to dramatic, such as Gods and Monsters. Steven Webber's Jeffrey was one film that dared to accurately portray gay lifestyle and intimacy. But not much else can be pointed to, until now.

A new mainstream movie is in the works that will change Hollywood's portrayal of gays. Ang Lee, director of The Hulk, The Icestorm and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has just recently revealed his plans to make a movie based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain.

The story is set in 1963 Wyoming. A young ranch hand and a rodeo rider spend their days in the sun together doing cowboy sorts of things. But at night, when the bedrolls get chilly, Annie Proulx paints a hotter picture.

"Ennis ran full-throttle on all roads whether fence mending or money spending, and he wanted none of it when Jack seized his left hand and brought it to his erect cock. Ennis jerked his hand away as though he'd touched fire, got to his knees, unbuckled his belt, shoved his pants down, hauled Jack onto all fours and, with the help of the clear slick and a little spit, entered him, nothing he'd done before but no instruction manual needed."

The two men form an emotional and sexual bond, yet due to the nature of the time and place they live, they split off to marry wives and have children while secretly continuing their love affair over the years.

Thus far, the two actors who have been in negotiations for the roles of Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar are Hollywood heartthrobs Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale, The Order) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko). Many are surprised that popular male actors would risk their stardom or the chance for media question their sexuality by taking these roles. Considering Gyllenhaal's girl is the adorable Kirsten Dunst and Ledger escorts Naomi Watts on his arm, this will probably not be a problem.

Gus Van Sant, who was originally slated to direct the movie in the late 90's said, "You've got a great filmmaker and parts for two movie stars. I can't imagine why any actor would not want to play one of those roles. Anyone who gets in that movie is lucky to be there. It's an absolutely beautiful script. Who would want to turn that down?"

Well, there is the obvious fact that the movie is about gay cowboys. There will surely be some folks who poke fun at the premise. But with gay-centric TV shows such as Queer As Folk and It's All Relative, gay men don't have many cinematic thresholds to cross anymore.

Production of Brokeback Mountain is slated to start this summer. If Ang Lee remains true to the story and the original script, this movie will smash through Hollywood's history of editing of gay passion and sex. Read an excerpt from Annie Proulx's story, Brokeback Mountain here.