Deep Inside Hollywood - 1170 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News

If you've been waiting for someone to make a film about acclaimed gay writer Truman Capote, this is your lucky day. There are now two Capote movies in pre-production, with plenty of high-powered people behind each. Every Word Is True, from queer-run Killer Films, explores the close relationship Capote developed with the two Midwestern murderers he wrote about in his true-crime book, In Cold Blood. Douglas McGrath (Nicholas Nickleby, Emma) is slated to direct, but no actor has been picked to play the quirky, brilliant author. A rival project about Capote's life, written by dreamy Dan Futterman (The Birdcage, Urbania) and set to star Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote, is also on the blocks. But if you want to see the first on-screen portrayal of Capote, rent To Kill a Mockingbird—young Tru was the inspiration for the Finches' nelly neighbor, Dill.

Whatever Zadan Wants, Zadan Gets

Could Craig Zadan and Neil Meron get any busier? Now the out producing pair is redoing the baseball musical Damn Yankees for Miramax. Zadan told me he jumped at 'an opportunity to work with the same creative team that we worked with on Chicago.' But won't it be tough to modernize the decidedly '50s story of a middle-aged man who is magically turned into a star slugger? Zadan is positive that the 'wonderful, funny, and touching piece ... will lend itself to updating for an audience of today.' He and Meron are in the process of hiring a director, writer, and cast, so there's no production date yet. That also means there's still hope that I could land the role of the devil.

Madonna's Movie-Making Machine

It only took Madonna 18 years to figure out she might be better off behind the camera than in front of it, but now the Kabbalah Mama seems poised to become a mogul. Her Maverick Films has optioned a script from filmmaker Amie Steir titled She Rocks, with Mrs. Ritchie set to executive produce. No, it's not a biopic about the Material Girl's music career. The project concerns a music journalist who makes a name for herself with an article about a male rock star. Amanda Peet is set for the lead, and casting is underway for her male co-star. The script has already been likened to both Working Girl and Almost Famous. Let's just hope the finished product isn't likened to The Next Best Thing or Swept Away.

Downey Not Down Anymore

What's Robert Downey Jr.'s new strategy for staying out of trouble? Keep working. This fall, both The Singing Detective and Gothika, the fruits of his recent labor, will hit movie theaters. He's also just signed on to star in Woody Allen's next feature. As usual for Allen, the project is a secret in both plot and title until filming wraps; it will begin shooting this fall and see the light of day (and the dark of theaters) some time in 2004. Intriguingly, Downey's co-star will be fellow tabloid subject and small-time crook Winona Ryder. Is it stunt-casting, or was working with Woody a condition of their parole?

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