Week of March 13th
03/12/08
Murphy and Page Form a Triangle
Irish actor, Cillian Murphy may be best known in this country for his villainous turns in Batman Begins and Red Eye, but he also received a Golden Globe nomination for his dazzling performance as a transgender singer in Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto. Murphy will have another chance to tap into his feminine side with Peacock, in which he plays a small-town man with a split personality, he’s a husband and wife, all wrapped up in one body, whom the locals think are separate people. Trouble occurs when a young mother (Juno cutie, Ellen Page) falls in love with Murphy’s male side, prompting a conflict between the married pair he's got inside of him. Michael Lander makes his directorial debut with Peacock, which should strut into theaters in 2009.
Bravo Takes Another Step into Gay TV
After “Queer Eye” and “Boy Meets Boy” and “Project Runway” and “Top Chef” and Make Me a Supermodel, could the cable network Bravo get any gayer? Of course! Now they’ve got “Step It Up and Dance”, premiering April 3, featuring a dozen hoofers competing to see whose toes are the twinkliest. Four of the contestants are gay — so far, anyway, but more revelations could emerge before the show goes on the air — and openly fabulous Broadway choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Legally Blonde) will be on hand to whip these chorines into shape. Still not gay enough for you? Perhaps Romeo should mention that this show will be hosted by none other than Showgirls star, Elizabeth (”Thrust it!”) Berkley. Shine up your taps, kids — this sounds like one you won’t want to miss.
Bret Easton Ellis’ Latest Is a Downer
Bret Easton Ellis is simply cooler than most people. He wrote American Psycho, after all. The fact that his public commentary on his sexuality has ranged over the years from “Yep, I’m quite possibly gay” to “Can we just not bother talking about it?” only serves to draw attention to the terrifically deranged nature of his work. From Less Than Zero to his latest novel, Lunar Park, Ellis knows what it means to be modern and miserable. The film version of Lunar is currently “in production” meaning it’ll be seen who-knows-when. But Ellis has a screenplay in the works that’s even more intriguing. Titled Downers Grove and adapted from the novel by Michael Hornburg, it concerns a high school girl who knows that someone in her school will die at graduation in a strange way. So think Final Destination with more disaffection and horny teenagers. In other words, Hollywood, green-light this movie!
Romeo San Vicente thinks all male cheerleaders are national heroes. He can be reached care of HotspotsMagazine.com
