‘Hamilton’ Actor Andrew Chappelle Makes Directorial Debut With Queer Erotic Short Starring Tony Nominee James Cusati-Moyer (EXCLUSIVE)

“Hamilton” actor Andrew Chappelle will make his directorial debut with “I’m Gonna Kill You,” a queer erotic short starring Tony nominee James Cusati-Moyer.

The cast also includes Phillipa Soo (“Hamilton”), Johnny Sibilly (“Hacks”), Michael Graceffa (“Fantasmas,” “Death Becomes Her”), Angus O’Brien (“Boots”), Brandon Black (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) and Sara Lindsey (“American Rust”).

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Chappelle directs from his own script.

“Set in the distant future, ‘I’m Gonna Kill You,’ takes place inside an ‘all gay colony’ following the journey of Cal (Cusati-Moyer) and Spector (Graceffa), two paired lovers, fighting an internal battle – where remaining colony members ultimately pay the price of their twisted games,” the film’s official logline reads.

Sibilly, O’Brien and Black play a trio of friends spotlighted in the colony. Soo and Lindsay lend their voices to the short as Pairing Counselor and Cooper Clone, respectively.

Creative agency Juxtapose Studio leads the production with a $25,000 investment from Troye Sivan and Grindr’s Tap or Block campaign. The film also received a $5,000 production grant earned through the Pitch, Please! competition at the 2024 InsideOUT Toronto Film Festival. Google’s Kate Aitken serves as executive producer.

“A product of ideating during Covid-19, I was drawn to explore the idea of life in a smaller community, much like our shrunken networks during the peak of the pandemic,” Chappelle said. “My goal with this project is to thoughtfully expand the thriller genre within the queer cinema canon. I’m proud to have partnered with Juxtapose Studio to bring my vision to life with world-class actors. ‘I’m Gonna Kill You’ will arouse and petrify as it explores the destructive power of envy.” 

Juxtapose Studio founding partner Luke Anderson said, “Juxtapose Studio was founded with an intention to invest its advertising returns in elevating queer, female, and POC storytelling. We find ourselves in a world where ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ are now dirty words so it wasn’t especially easy to bring one of the first high-brow LGBTQ+ erotic thrillers to life … but if ‘Heated Rivalry’ can captivate the zeitgeist, we know Andrew’s stunning film deserves a seat at the table diversifying this ever-popular escapist genre.” 

Chappelle made his screenplay debut with the 2023 Taran Killam-directed “Fanatic.” The comedy short earned the LGBTQ Audience Award at SCAD. Chappelle, who currently co-hosts the GLAAD-nominated podcast “Tactful Pettiness” with Cody Rigsby, is repped by Cornerstone Talent Agency.

Cusati-Moyer is repped by Untitled Entertainment and Goldman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.  Graceffa is repped by TMT Entertainment Group and Bella Agency.

Sibilly is repped by Innovative Artists, Authentic Management, Paul Desisto Talent Management and Felker Toczek Suddleson McGinnis Ryann LLP.

O’Brien is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency.

Black is repped by Michael Greene Artists Agency, Slash Management, Sutton, Barth & Vennari, and Arise Artists Agency.

Soo is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Lindsey is managed by Patrick Corcoran at PCM International.

Check out the trailer for “I’m Gonna Kill You” below.