McKellen and Sarandon Go to War

The Colossus may sound like the title of a forthcoming X-Men sequel, and given that veteran gay actor Ian McKellen is one of its stars and will appear in the forthcoming Magneto, that kind of confusion might be understandable. But Colossus—currently in pre-production and also starring Susan Sarandon, Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz—is, in fact, a period film set in South Africa circa 1899, at the beginning of the Boer War. Based on the novel Manly Pursuits by Ann Haries, the plot revolves around an ailing British colonist who believes that only the sound of English songbirds will cure him. When the ornithologist who delivers 500 of the requested birds to Cape Town falls in love with a female anticolonial activist, they find themselves in the middle of the dangerous, brewing war. The film is scheduled to shoot this fall.

Beals Carries a Grudge

Jennifer Beals knows what awaits her character next season on the hit lesbian soap The L Word, of course—a romance with Marlee Matlin. But what lurks in the future of her movie career, which has been somewhat under the radar since her debut in Flashdance? The actress will find out when she returns to the big screen in The Grudge 2, the sequel to The Grudge, the hit adaptation of the spooky Japanese film about a curse that afflicts its victims with unbridled, unforgiving rage. In this installment, Beals shares the screen with Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred in the original film, and Joan of Arcadia’s Amber Tamblyn. Tamblyn plays Gellar’s sister, and together they team up with a band of people united to unlock the mystery of the curse. Look for the film this October.

Young Queer Director Makes Fat Debut

You’ve probably never heard of Ash Christian, but he plans to change that soon enough. The 21-year-old gay actor, frustrated by the lack of roles he was getting in Hollywood (although he’s appeared on Six Feet Under and Cold Case), decided to make his own film and cast himself in the starring role. The semi-autobiographical Fat Girls, about a socially awkward, chubby gay teenager and his best female friend, both struggling to survive small-town high school life, recently debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival to positive reviews. The Paris, Texas, native raised the money himself and shot the film in two and a half weeks in early 2005, dipping into the well of gay indie talent for co-stars Jonathan Caouette, director of the acclaimed documentary Tarnation, and Camp star Robin De Jesus. Look for the bittersweet comedy at a queer film festival near you this summer.

DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.