A Movie for Monty
The sad story of the late Montgomery Clift—from his disfiguring car accident to his chemical addictions to his closeted gay life—looks like it will soon get the biopic treatment. James Foley, director of the recent Confidence, has signed on to helm a screenplay about the handsome movie star, written by actor Michael Easton. The script reportedly covers Clift’s meteoric rise to stardom and all the obstacles fame brought to his search for happiness, right up to his unexpected death from a heart attack at age 46. It’s still in development, so no casting decisions have been made yet, but given Clift’s dramatic, tabloid-ready, off-screen life, you can bet every good-looking young actor in Hollywood will be fighting for this part. Note to Foley: Wouldn’t Colin Farrell just nail those drunk scenes?
Hate for Christmas
Remember Big Eden, the sweet, wholesome, small-town gay love story from a few years ago? Well, writer/director Thomas Bezucha seems to have gotten all the niceness out of his system, because his new project, Hating Her, has ‘black comedy’ written all over it. Starring Jackass’s Johnny Knoxville as a man bringing his girlfriend (Bridget Moynahan) home for Christmas only to encounter unanimous family hostility, the comedy also features Selma Blair, Blythe Danner, Maura Tierney, and Donald Sutherland. Meanwhile, Steve Zahn—who previously played gay roles in Reality Bites and Happy, Texas—makes the third time a charm as Knoxville’s deaf gay brother. The indie hate-fest should be in theaters sometime in 2004.
Dick Director Has Faith
Gay director—or is that director who happens to be gay?—Andrew Fleming always delivers something unusual. Threesome, his endearingly goofy queer college comedy, is one of Romeo’s favorite early ’90s bits of fluff; The Craft may be the coolest goth-girl movie ever; and his Nixon-era farce, Dick, was criminally underappreciated. Now Fleming is attached to direct the straightforward (maybe) romantic comedy Faith Buffalo. The script by Marc Lawrence tells the story of a New York City woman relocated to Montana by the witness-protection program. She hates small-town life but loves the sheriff, with whom she becomes involved. Expect a funny, quirky outcome, even if you can see the romantically rural ending from five miles away.
The Unfortunate Fortunes
of Jennifer Coolidge
You loved her small, nutty roles in the Legally Blonde and American Pie movies and her sapphic Best in Show moments, and now the hilarious Jennifer Coolidge is set to join what will no doubt become another successful film franchise—this one based on the creepy kids’ books A Series of Unfortunate Events. Coolidge will join stars Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, and Jude Law in the first filmed installment of the very popular novels, in which bad things befall a trio of orphaned children, and unhappy endings are always guaranteed by author ‘Lemony Snicket’ himself. (‘Snicket’ is the pen name for writer Daniel Handler, occasional nongay member of the critically acclaimed, gay-leaning band Magnetic Fields). The Paramount/Dreamworks film begins shooting next month, with a sinister Christmas 2004 release date expected.
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