Week of July 24th 2008

REESE AND STILLER GET SECRETIVE
When powerful gay super-producer Scott Rudin wants something done, it gets done - even if you don't get to know what it is. That’s the current secret state of affairs with his latest movie project, and the reason for all the hush-hush/DL-ness can be traced to the film's creator, Cameron Crowe. Crowe is known for keeping his celluloid visions under wraps for as long as he can, and this one is no exception. But here’s what we know: it will star both Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller, and it’s a romantic comedy. And that’s it. Now, of those info-bytes, the presence of gay-favorite Reese Witherspoon and the words “romantic comedy” seem like the most promising. They mean that no matter what happens, it can’t be as awful as “Elizabethtown”. So the future is tentatively bright. For now.

BUTLER TO ROVE: I LOVE YOU
What happens when a liberal, gay, Hollywood actor falls in love with an arch-conservative political strategist? The consequences of such a strange crush are explored in the latest indie comedy from writer-director Dan Butler, “Karl Rove: I Love You”. Best known for his role as Bulldog on “Frasier”, Butler stars in this self-produced mockumentary as “Dan Butler,” a depressed careerist actor in 2004, who dreams of making the leading-man fame-leap by creating a one man show about President Bush’s top (at the time) political adviser. The goal? The win-win scenario of both swaying the 2004 election and getting his own name above the title for once. The Hollywood/D.C. satire is Butler’s debut as a quadruple threat: producer, screenwriter, director, and star, and audiences can see the finished funniness as it makes the film-festival circuit rounds, starting about now.

JENNA TEACHES “HOW TO MAKE LOVE TO A WOMAN”
Yes, the upcoming indie comedy “How to Make Love to A Woman” stars attractive young acting talent you’ve seen on TV: Ian Somerhalder (Lost), Krysten Ritter (Gilmore Girls), and Josh Meyers (That 70s Show). But the story of young heterosexuals suffering from sex dysfunction isn’t the reason queer audiences might be interested. That reason is Jenna Jameson, the iconic, pneumatic adult film star who's done more to bring porn (and, specifically, faux-lesbian porn) into the mainstream than just about anyone. She plays herself and is, according to leaked plot details, brought in to assist the befuddled men in making love to the woman of the title (whom Romeo presumes is Ritter). And while the politics of casting Jameson are quintessentially incorrect and also very Hollywood (”Real lesbians? Still too scary.”), it can’t be denied that she’s definitely the most straight-guy-ticket-buying-friendly option. Here’s hoping female pleasure ensues.

PROJECT RUNWAY GOES TO THE MOVIES
Winning “Project Runway” may have been great for last season’s Christian Siriano, the sassy wunderkind who's become a household name after his “fierce” TV debut. But what about season 1’s winner, the independent-to-a-fault Jay McCarroll? What happened to him? The documentary “Eleven Minutes” follows McCarroll as he navigates the treacherous terrain that is the fashion industry, a world that didn’t quite know what to do with the man who seemed poised to become fashion design’s newest star, but whose insistence on controlling his own destiny made for a rockier road than even he imagined. Much like the Isaac Mizrahi documentary “Unzipped”, “Eleven” goes behind the scenes as McCarroll pulls together a collection.