In Hail Caesar!, There’s a scene with the studio head giving a handsome blonde actor a talking to for being photographed making out with another guy. I get the impression that this was a reference to Tab Hunter, but I forget the name of the character. IMDB lists a part of “Jason West” but I don’t know if that’s the one.
Do you guys know?
I have a DVD, and went through it twice — varying between regular speed and double time scan — and didn’t notice that scene either time. Maybe there’s an extended version out there. But then I also didn’t notice a Jason West in the cast and crew list on IMDB, so my powers of apprehension may be weak.
“Jason West” does appear on IMDb on the ‘extended’ page. It’s an uncredited role by a Matthew William Jones: Matthew William Jones - IMDb
No photos there, and the name is common enough that Images on a Google search for the name include a variety of men of differing ages. IMDb says “born in 1996” for this one, though, so he’d be right for a young Tab Hunter-type role.
eta: I haven’t seen Hail Caesar for a while, but: wasn’t the Channing Tatum character both blond, and involved with a man (the Ralph Fiennes director character)? was the scene mentioned in the OP related to Tatum?
Since I didn’t notice such a scene — and am not up for going through the film again — I read a few articles that seemed relevant. They dealt with the real-life sources for the film’s scandals, and how Hail Caesar! dealt with Hollywood homosexuality of that time. There were no mentions of a scene like the one described in the original post.
One interesting assertion in an article was that when Josh Brolin was talking to the European director who was Probably the father of Scarlet Johansson’s unborn child, the director propositions Brolin by asking him if he enjoys Physical Culture. The director is holding up a skiing magazine as he asks the question. That sounds possible, although it had just been revealed that the director had a wife and two children back in Europe, and the question about Physical Culture was not asked in a probing or seductive way. (The article’s writer also confused that European director with the Ralph Fiennes character, Laurence Laurentz.)
Channing was in the sailor-themed musical number. And of course was the commie who met the submarine. But I don’t remember it being him getting dressed down by the studio exec. I could be wrong.