Leisha Hailey. Courtesy of Showtime.
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Leisha Hailey’s Hangin’ in La Cucina
While Leisha Hailey has earned raves for her delightful portrayal of neurotic bisexual radio host Alice Pieszecki on Showtime’s The L Word, she’s been spending more time between seasons working on music (the onetime member of The Murmurs has her own label, Marfa Records) than on other acting gigs. But finally, the actress-rocker-pitchwoman is putting her dramatic talent to uses for another project—and it’s not Yoplait: The Musical. Hailey is set to join supermodel Rachel Hunter, Joaquim de Almeida (Desperado), and Oz Perkins (Anthony’s son) in La Cucina, an indie from first-time directors Allison R. Hebble and Zed Starkovich. No word yet on the plot of the movie, which is still in pre-production, but it’s definitely good news for those of us who want more Leisha in our lives.
Sean Hayes Is All Brain, No Brawn
Remember Sissy Spacek’s performance in Steve Martin’s The Man with Two Brains? You couldn’t see her, but that was her distinctive voice as Anne Uumellmahaye, the brain-in-a-jar with whom Martin’s doctor became completely smitten. Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes will bring his own talking-brain magic to Igor, a new computer-animated comedy that stars John Cusack as the titular hunchback, a talented scientist who is forced to work as sidekick to the cruel Dr. Glickenstein. Igor has his own sidekick, Hayes’ Brian the Brain. With a voice cast that also includes Jeremy Piven, Jay Leno, Jennifer Coolidge, Molly Shannon, Steve Buscemi, and John Cleese, Igor will no doubt be the toast of Halloween when the film hits theaters in October 2008. Before that, though, Hayes co-stars with Jack Nicholson in The Bucket List.
Quinceanera Directors Line Up a Pair of TV Projects
Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland—whose partnership is both personal and professional—scored a rare coup at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival by winning both the jury prize and the audience award for their comedy-drama Quinceanera, about a pregnant teen and her gay cousin coming of age in L.A.’s principally Mexican-American Echo Park neighborhood. Now they’ve parlayed that success into two new projects for cable. ABC Family has booked them to turn Quinceanera into a series, while HBO has tapped Glatzer and Westmoreland for Sensational, a dramatic feature film about Hollywood legend Errol Flynn’s affair with 15-year-old Beverly Aadland. A scandal erupted when Flynn dropped dead at a party and Aadland’s mother went on trial for child abuse. No word yet on when either project goes into production.
Queen Latifah Leads a Trio of Bank Robbers
People started thinking of hip-hop’s Queen Latifah as a serious actress after her riveting portrayal of a lesbian bank robber in Set It Off, so perhaps it’s no surprise she’s ready for another hold-up. This time it’s an inside job, as bank tellers Latifah, Katie Holmes, and Diane Keaton team up to loot their employer in the upcoming Mad Money. Writing and directing the film is someone else who’s had a little experience with cinematic larceny—Callie Khouri, whose script of Thelma & Louise gave us two unlikely outlaws now legendary among lesbian film fans. Money-hunting trios have given us terrific movies before, from How to Marry a Millionaire to How to Beat the High Cost of Living, so expect this caper to be lots of fun when it hits theaters in 2008.
Romeo San Vicente has never robbed a bank, but he once got a phone number from a cute teller. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.