By Romeo San Vicente
Ellen Page, 'Freeheld' at last
Long in the works, the Ellen Page project "Freeheld" couldn't be coming together at a better moment. The actor has just gone public with her sexual orientation to the support of fans everywhere – and 2013's "Dallas Buyer's Club" has multiple Oscar nominations, making the climate a little more welcoming for gay-themed drama. Even better news: The film has a firmed up casting sheet, with Julianne Moore attached to play Page's life partner and Zach Galifianakis ready to take on the role of a human rights activist. Based on the Oscar-winning 2007 documentary of the same name by Cynthia Wade, the true story revolves around Stacie Andree (Page) and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Moore), a couple who face anti-gay laws when Hester becomes terminally ill and not allowed to assign her pension benefits to Andree. Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia) is the screenwriter, Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas) will handle directing duties, and it all starts shooting later this year for what is assumed to be a 2015 release.
Alexis Bledel wants to marry Katherine Heigl. Won't you help?
OK, not in real life. But the producers of "Jenny's Wedding" are still hoping you'll donate to their Indiegogo fund to finish production on the romantic comedy-drama about two lesbians facing uncertain marriage plans. From director Mary Agnes Donoghue (screenwriter of "Beaches" and "White Oleander"), the film stars Katherine Heigl as Jenny, a lesbian who wants to marry her girlfriend (Alexis Bledel). Except Jenny never got around to telling her parents (Tom Wilkinson, Lindo Emond) that she's gay. Principal photography is finished but the production is looking to raise about 150,000 more dollars to complete the film. And that's where Indiegogo comes in. As of this writing, they've managed to come up with a little more than $30K. So it boils down to this: You may never want to see Katherine Heigl do anything else in this life except make out with Rory Gilmore, but you know you do want to see that, so isn't it worth five bucks? Sure it is. Do it for the sake of lesbian wedding movies now and forevermore.
Elton John props up 'Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'
The Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," a touring stage vehicle for years – years! – for the likes of Donny Osmond and other former TV stars, is going to get a new lease on life from the man who has probably worn more real-life Technicolor dreamcoats than anyone else: Elton John. An animated musical feature film version is coming from the pop star's Rocket Pictures film production company, the people responsible for the weird cartoon musical "Gnomeo & Juliet" (you remember, it had all those gnomes singing "Crocodile Rock" and other John hits in the context of an upbeat, non-suicidal, children's version of the Shakespeare tragedy). And why not? It's weird, too: a Bible story about a young man whose multicolored cape interprets dreams for religious leaders amidst famine and imprisonment. It's singing, dancing fun for everyone. No cast yet, but we'll keep you posted when Justin Bieber signs on.
'Looking' for Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay
"Looking" producer/director Andrew Haigh, the British filmmaker whose indie feature "Weekend" garnered him a landslide of critical acclaim, has lined up his next project, the Charlotte Rampling/Tom Courtenay-starring "45 Years." Adapted by Haigh from a short story by poet David Constantine, the story is a strange one: A man and woman are planning their 45th wedding anniversary party when the man learns that the body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in a glacier in the Swiss Alps. What happens next, as they say on Upworthy, will shock you. So, you know, not weird at all. And that makes it perfect for the adventurous Rampling, whose long career has been marked by a nervy streak and a willingness to work with interesting filmmakers, as well as for the Oscar-nominated Courtenay ("The Dresser," "Doctor Zhivago"). Even better, it gives Haigh the perfect opportunity to flex his not-gay storytelling muscles. Nobody likes to be typecast.
