phantomthread2017:

Deleted scene of what followed the campfire scene in My Own Private Idaho (1991) directed by Gus Van Sant, where Mike Waters, played by River Phoenix, confesses his love for his best friend Scott Favor, played by Keanu Reeves. The campfire scene was written entirely by River Phoenix himself, and the director Gus Van Sant confirmed it was River who wanted his character to be in love with Keanu’s character, and the scene today is considered to be the first LGBTQ+ love confession scene in cinema.

The clip above was used in My Own Private River (2012), a re-contextualized version of Van Sant’s original film, directed by James Franco as tribute to River Phoenix.