“These days everybody wants to be exactly like each other. I like people who are characters,” says Bruce Weber of shooting the models, makeup artists, students who each give their own personal testimony in Not Your Usual Bedtime Story. The short sees an assortment of individuals identifying as transgender—from makeup artist Niki M’nray to models Ines Rau and Gisele Xtravaganza—disclose their personal biographies with members of their friends and family, while clad in clothes from designers including Balenciaga and Saint Laurent Paris. Interspersed with clips of a young Dean Stockwell from 1948 film, The Boy With Green Hair, the film was made by the venerated photographer in collaboration with W magazine’s former Creative Director Dennis Freedman. The pair conceived the coinciding campaign Brothers, Sisters, Sons & Daughters for New York department store Barneys, which feature's today's talking heads. Weber, whose work is synonymous with the all-American aesthetic defined in his early collaborations with brands like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch, was enlisted in the hope of bringing the trials faced by the transgender community to the forefront of the now ever-prevalent LGBT debate. “It was very important for me to see how generous of spirit the support systems are,” he says.  “It is not just about having a support system when you’re growing up, it is about having one for the rest of your life.”
 
What was behind the decision to shoot on location in New York?
Bruce Weber: We wanted to be able to show a bit of the city and allow the talent, many of whom have never been to New York City before, to see how beautiful Central Park is.


Can you tell us a little about the footage from The Boy with Green Hair that you included?
BW: This was a movie that really meant a lot to me as a kid. I was always drawing in the art department and reading books in the library instead of playing football so I knew how this kid felt. I feel that the wonderful thing about being different is it gives you character.
 
Do you think someone’s gender and identity affects the way you approach your subjects as a photographer and filmmaker?
BW: When I meet somebody, I’m not so interested in whether they’re a man or a woman—I’m interested in whether they have soul.