The movies' gay magicians: behind every big summer sequel, superhero, or slice of serious cinema is a gay man or lesbian up to their elbows in making the magic. (Summer Movie Special).

From directing to costume design, gays and lesbians are everywhere behind the scenes in Hollywood, so naturally, many had a hand in the blockbusters--and more modest movies--you'll enjoy between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Hoping to shed some light on these pink production personalities, The Advocate tracked down and spoke with 10, all of whom had revealing things to say about their set experiences, theft job descriptions, and of course, the films themselves.

Joel Schumacher Director, Bad Company

"Each film I make in my so-called repertoire is different. I've really never done this kind of movie--it's CIA, it's espionage. But more importantly, it was working with Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins that was a draw. I'd been a fan of both of theirs for so long. Hopkins imitates other actors--he's a genius mimic--Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Pierce Brosnan. And Rock is one of the funnest people you'll ever meet. You just don't know what's going to come out of his mouth next. I was on the cell phone one day with my agent and we were talking about some future deal, and when I hung up the phone [Rock] was grinning. I said, `What are you grinning at?' He said, `White men and contracts--ask the Indians!'"

Christopher Oakley CGI animator, Scooby-Doo

"I was a big fan of the original Scooby-Doo series because I was really into ghosts and scary situations. But I think I was mainly a fan because I was hopelessly in love with Fred. He was older than me, blond, wore a white shirt so everyone could see he had a Chelsea body, and could any other teenager make a scarlet ascot look so good? It still blows my mind that some 30 years later I was asked to animate Scooby for the movie. I'm not allowed to reveal anything about the plot, but I do think gay and lesbian theatergoers will find that they're welcome passengers in the Mystery Machine--and keep your eye on Velma"

Jay Redd Visual effects supervisor, Stuart Little 2

"Yes, Nathan Lane is a pussy [the cat, Snowbell]. Well, in person, no. He's an amazingly funny talent, and [his voice] added a lot of energy and humor to the film. To show Nathan Lane's personality on Snowbell the Cat's face--and I think we did that--and Michael J. Fox as a mouse and Melanie Griffith as a bird was a challenge. The coolest thing about the movie was that it's all about Stuart feeling like he wasn't fitting in in the world, which is very much like I felt when I was a teen. It's corny but true."

Richard Hicks Casting director, Igby Goes Down

"There's two Culkins in it--Kieran and Rory. The Culkins just keep coming! Why Kieran [as the lead]? There was a New York upper-class feel, a punk feel, a sweetness, a damage to him. I think that casting isn't a bad job for a gay person. One time I had to audition guys who were supposed to be in a porn video, and they had to strip down to their underwear. I felt very prurient, like the casting couch cliche. I kept so looking in their faces."

Christine Vachon Producer, One Hour Photo

"Working with Robin Williams was great! He was hysterical and a real team player, and he kept the crew in stitches. I think he plays both [psychos and nice guys] very well. It depends on the movie. It's not about him. It's about the film."

3aremy Aiello Art and animatronics departments, The Country Bears

"Part of my job meant lubing up the bears' mouths and making sure they had tears in their eyes, and if they had rips, I had to repair them. Before this, I hadn't really been surrounded by bears at the zoo or anything, but I'm privy to the gay community's bear world--I've always liked bigger guys. I got teased a lot on the production. Somebody would ask, `What kind of girl do you like?' and I'd say, `That burly grip right there.' But it was actually a really cool, laid-back crew for a Disney film."

Andrea Sperling Producer, Pumpkin

"I thought that the whole concept of a sorority girl [Christina Ricci] failing in love with a mentally challenged man was an interesting concept. It could be controversial if you take it seriously, but with tongue in cheek it's basically a metaphor about acceptance. When we went to cut the trailer the [Motion Picture Association of America] had some issues--[in one part] an actor says, `I've heard of guys who lost their chick to lesbians and black guys, but a retard?' The MPAA wanted to cut out the words `lesbian' and `retard,' so the distribution guy at [United Artists] said, `We like the joke and thought it was really funny, and the producer is a lesbian and she's not offended by it!' So the MPAA let us use `lesbian.' But we did have to trim 'retard.'"

Larry Fulton Production designer, Signs

"I worked on [writer-director] M. Night Shyamalan's other films, but this was the best experience of my life. Mel Gibson's a lot more fun than Bruce Willis--he's a clown on the set and really quite a nice guy; he played pool with the rest of us, partied. But he didn't take his shirt off around me, unfortunately. I think that being gay brings something to my approach as a production designer; I have a gay sensibility. And I certainly think gays offer something to Hollywood culture. It's become such a town of breeders--so it's refreshing to go to a party and not talk about somebody's child. We bring a very independent way of thinking."

Gary Jones Costume designer, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 

"It was a great experience for us because we followed these four eccentric Southern women through four time periods--the 1930s, '40s, '60s, and '90s--and conveyed each period with color, line. We had a great time with Maggie Smith--she has an interesting hat and coat on at one point when the sisters go to confront the Sandra Bullock character. Nothing got torn except when it was supposed to be: At one point Ashley Judd's character has a nervous breakdown, and it's a very hairy, emotional scene. We went through a lot of nightgowns.

Lamar Damon Coscreenwriter, Slap Her, She's French

"There were a lot of gays behind the scenes on almost every level. [Cowriter] Robert Lee King and I are both gay. We were inspired by All About Eve, and the movie, in a way, is a retelling of the stow in high school, where the stakes are just as high and being popular and famous are almost the same thing. The day we got [on the set] they were shooting the drill team and dance numbers, and I had been obsessed with chill team since I was in high school, so I was so happy they were shooting that part. When I was in high school, guys did not do drill team."

Ferber contributes to Time Out New York and other publications.