Colin Firth. Pic from Universal Pictures.________
Helen Hunt Found Producer Vachon
Lesbian super-producer Christine Vachon likes to keep multiple plates spinning. And she's added some big-name talent to her roster of producing projects. Having made her name as the shepherd of some of the most adventurous independent films of the '90s, one of her new projects, Then She Found Me, finds Vachon taking on the directing debut of A-lister Helen Hunt. Hunt—who also stars in and co-wrote the film—has assembled Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick for her comedy-drama about a middle-aged teacher in transition: her husband has left, her adoptive mother has died, her birth-mother has reappeared, and she's beginning an affair with a student's father. In post-production now, the movie, which also features gay actor John Benjamin Hickey in a supporting role, will most likely be found in theaters close to the end of this year.
X3 Star Knows Jack
Ellen Page is not yet a household name, but to X-Men fans she's instantly recognizable as Kitty Pryde, having been introduced in the blockbuster X-Men: The Last Stand and to indie audiences as the vengeful teen of the controversial Hard Candy. Now Page is set to cultivate an entirely new fan-base demographic—teen lesbians and horror buffs—in the upcoming Jack and Diane. The plot is hairy: two teenage girls meet, make out, and become very close, very fast. The snag? It just so happens that one of them, when sexually aroused, sometimes finds herself turning into a werewolf. This very cool romance-horror hybrid is from director Bradley Rust Gray ( Boys Life 3 ) and is still in the planning stages, but expect it to earn cult status as soon as queer audiences witness a truly queer wolverine emerge before their eyes.
90210 Star Has New Queer Zip Code
Long ago, young Brian Austin Green was the baby of the cast on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90120. Many TV appearances and one fizzled hip-hop career later, Green is returning to the small screen in the latest series from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, which Romeo reported on late last year. The untitled CBS pilot has now been cast, and Green will play the gay character based on Mutchnick. ( It's loosely based on the friendship between the two men, one gay and one straight. ) Also featured in the principal cast are two female leads, to be played by Vanessa Lengies and Jessica Capshaw ( who has a recurring role this season on The L Word ) . If it all sounds like Will & Grace after a game of sexual-orientation musical chairs, you might not be too far off the mark. But now that W&G is gone, this substitute from its funny creators sounds like it'll hit the spot.
Brokeback Team Back in the Saddle
The Oscar-winning writers of the film Brokeback Mountain are about to divide their time between the country and the city for a new Fox television drama. Larry McMurtry ( Lonesome Dove ) and Diana Ossana will write and executive produce the untitled pilot, which will include both urban and rural characters. The show's details are still under wraps. Not under wraps from the writing partners, however, is the CBS miniseries Comanche Moon—a prequel to Lonesome Dove starring Steve Zahn, Karl Urban, Val Kilmer, and Rachel Griffiths—as well as the in-development drama for ABC called Sheriff Luke and a feature, Boone's Lick, set to star Tom Hanks. And to think that this Hollywood Western revival was kicked off by a tragic pair of gay cowboys? Sometimes inspiration comes from unlikely sources.
Romeo San Vicente will follow a man in a cowboy hat almost anywhere. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com .
