Week of July 10th 2008

ROSE MCGOWAN! “IN CHAINS!”
It seems like Hollywood’s suddenly into imprisoning women. Of course, they’ve been doing that for years now, figuratively speaking, but now the literal is taking center stage. First came news of gay filmmaker Alan Ball’s adaptation of the earnest U.K. prison soap, “Bad Girls”, then Fox announced it would be launching a female version of “Prison Break”. Now, “Grindhouse” co-director Robert Rodriguez will bring his ‘70s exploitation vibe to the pilot “Women in Chains!” That exclamation point speaks volumes about the level of wild lesbian mud wrestling planned for the series, set to revolve around Rose McGowan, Rodriguez’s fiancee and “Planet Terror” star. The director is shopping the show around to networks and looking to bring his deranged, “Caged Heat”-like vision to a TV near you. And that mud wrestling will be tastefully shot, of course.

CYNDI LAUPER SHOWS “TRUE COLORS” TO “WORLD”
It took long enough, but a mainstream daytime drama, “As the World Turns”, has finally introduced a gay male storyline into its regular ongoing mix - the cute, young, college-boy romance of Luke and Noah (Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann). The addition has not only revitalized the show, but has also attracted an eager fan-base that wants to see the queer love story blossom (so far there’s been lots of kissing, but a lot more teasing about whether or not the two will wind up in bed). Enter guest star Cyndi Lauper, who’ll appear on a July 3 episode to sing and promote her annual gay-rights-themed True Colors tour. But will Noah’s Iraqi green-card wife make trouble with Cyndi? Will his murderous dad kidnap them? Will Luke stop pouting about it all? Tune in to find out.

“TRINIDAD”, COLORADO: TRANSGENDER CAPITAL
The non-transgender population of Trinidad, Colorado, probably never expected their town to become the sex-reassignment surgery hub of the United States, but in 1969, when Dr. Stanley Biber began performing the procedure there, the demographics of the 9,000-person town began to shift. Now it’s home to a small but visible community of transgendered people, patients who settled in the rural area for privacy and support. The documentary “Trinidad”, by from directors PJ Raval and Jay Hodges, currently making the film-festival rounds, sets out to explore the tensions and the progress made as different groups of people learn how to co-exist in the kind of town where everyone knows your name and your business. Expect a cable and DVD home for this fascinating film after its current brief theatrical debut tour.

“FAHRENHEIT 451” TRIES TO RE-IGNITE
“Fahrenheit 451”, the classic novel about oppression and book-burning from sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury, was made into a hit film in 1966 by Francois Truffaut, starring Julie Christie. And now, more than 40 years years later, a remake is in the works. Gay producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Hairspray) have been casting their nets to get a star attached to the dystopian drama about a firefighter whose job it is to burn books for a dissent-crushing government. Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt have, at various points, been connected to the film, but both have since reconsidered. For the project to get out of development limbo, a solid A-lister will have to say yes to the warrant the high-concept’s sure-to-be-equally-high budget. Until then, though, those books might have to figure out a way to set themselves on fire.