Katherine Heigl Speaks The Ugly Truth
‘Ugly’ isn’t a word that describes Emmy-winning Grey’s Anatomy and Knocked Up star Katherine Heigl, but T.R. Knight’s BFF is about to go before the cameras for gay director Robert Luketic in a romantic comedy called The Ugly Truth. The story centers on successful TV producer Heigl hiring one of those harsh, tell-it-like-it-is relationship advice professionals for her show. His brash style conflicts with her views on the world, naturally, until she begins to find that his ‘ugly truth’ style of dating tips really do help her find the guy she’s always wanted. In other words, another film to confirm that straight people really are an odd bunch, made all the more subversive – one hopes – by having a gay director at the controls. No word on a male lead yet, but a start date of April 15 is set, so audiences will probably see how ugly it all gets sometime in early 2009.
Rogen and Banks Join Smith’s Porno
Kevin Smith loves the gays, and we love him right back. The Clerks and Chasing Amy writer-director always includes queer elements in his literately raunchy comedies, and he even graced the cover of gay lifestyle magazine A Bear’s Life. So there’s bound to be some same-sex action included in his upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Romeo has mentioned this film before, but now some recasting of the leads (Rosario Dawson was Smith’s muse on this at first) is on deck: Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (he of Knocked Up, she of Fred Claus, both of The 40-Year-Old Virgin) will play the title characters, a platonic pair of best friends who enter the world of amateur porn to help pay the bills. But will the experience make them discover they’re not so platonic? Find out when Zack and Miri opens in 2008.
Guinevere Turner TV Project Gets a Go
If Romeo ran Hollywood, his first official act—even before paying writers what they’re worth – would be to give writer-actress Guinevere Turner (Go Fish, The Notorious Bettie Page, American Psycho) all the work she can handle. So it’s exciting to hear that Turner will be putting on her actress cap again for Don’t Go, an upcoming TV pilot about the lives and loves of the residents of an L.A. fourplex that sounds like Melrose Place meets The L Word. The racially mixed cast includes several African-American up-and-coming actors as well as South Asian Chutney Popcorn star Nisha Ganatra, so it sounds more like the real L.A. than the TV version we so often get. Romeo – who’s still not running Hollywood, alas—can’t wait.
Van Sant, Campion, Penn All Have 8
When directors aren’t busy dealing with the stress of helming a feature-length film, sometimes they like to unwind by popping off a little short film. Witness this year’s art-house hit Paris, Je t’aime for the proof on that. And now, a less winsome, more activist-minded anthology film is in the works, titled simply 8. The project involves eight directors focusing on various international crises, including hunger, poverty, education, child mortality, and the shortage of adequate drinking water in developing nations. Gay director Gus Van Sant, acclaimed filmmaker Jane Campion (The Piano), Oscar-winning actor and sometimes director Sean Penn, and controversial French director Gaspar Noe (Irreversible) will all participate, with Noe tackling AIDS in a short called SIDA. It might not sound like a lot of laughs, but with these directors on board, you know it’s going to be compelling viewing. Look for 8 in art-houses sometime in 2008.
Romeo San Vicente wonders if ‘8’ will be a real eight or an Internet eight. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.