THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Drafted for Stop Loss

Romeo has already mentioned that Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Peirce will make her long-awaited sophomore feature with Stop Loss, about Iraq war veterans sent back into combat, but now several exciting young actors have joined the cast. Two veterans of queer cinema—The Broken Hearts Club's Timothy Olyphant and Mysterious Skin's Joseph Gordon-Levitt—will shave their heads and don uniforms for the roles. Olyphant plays a commanding officer who orders his troops' re-enlistment, while Gordon-Levitt makes a turn as a grunt who returns home to a foundering marriage and has a hard time readjusting to civilian life. The timely drama—which also features hunks Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Jay Hernandez and Anthony Mackie—is expected to be major Oscar-bait for 2007.

Rufus Wainwright's Judy Tribute

Goes to the Movies

If you weren't one of the lucky gay men—what, there were non-queers in the audience?—who made it to New York City earlier this year to see Rufus Wainwright recreate Judy Garland's legendary 1961 Carnegie Hall concert, despair not. Lesbian uber-producer Christine Vachon ( Boys Don't Cry, Far from Heaven ) arranged to have the whole event filmed by Oscar-winning American Beauty director Sam Mendes. Wainwright's loving tribute to the famous one-woman evening of vocal pyrotechnics features scads of classic signature Garland songs, from 'Over the Rainbow' to 'Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart' to 'Stormy Weather.' The concert film should pop up in theaters everywhere in 2007, so you'll no longer need to think of Wainwright as 'The Man That Got Away.'

TLA Has a Taste

for Boy Culture

An acclaimed queer independent director adapts a provocative book and populates the film with hot boys who don't wear a lot of clothes—sounds like a recipe for success. That's the thinking at TLA Releasing, which recently picked up director Q. Allan Brocka's Boy Culture, based on the novel by Matthew Rettenmund. Brocka's follow-up to film-fest fave Eating Out focuses on X ( Derek Magyar ) , a hustler who gets involved with his two dishy roommates ( Jonathon Trent and Noah's Arc star Darryl Stephens ) while trying to figure out his relationship with one of his older clients ( French film legend Patrick Bauchau ) . Boy Culture copped the best feature prize at this year's Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and TLA plans to have it in theaters in March.

Ellen's Got a Date ...

with Oscar

Still needing proof that Ellen DeGeneres has become a master of the universe? If you weren't already impressed by the fact that several major markets are now slotting her hit talk show opposite daytime powerhouse Oprah Winfrey, then maybe you haven't heard that the lesbian superstar has landed one of show biz's plummest gigs—hosting the Academy Awards. The woman who made the post-9/11 Emmys funny will take one of the world's highest-profile emcee gigs in 2007 when she steps into the shoes of such comedy greats as Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, and Steve Martin. Oscar show producer Laura Ziskin says DeGeneres was 'born' for this gig, and we're inclined to agree. But will she dance out onto the stage? And which famous designer will offer to switch gears and make her a sharp suit instead of a frilly gown?

Romeo San Vicente would like to advise Ellen to call on Dior Homme's Hedi Slimane. Romeo can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com .