By Romeo San Vicente
Who's gayer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Nicki Minaj?
This week in tangentially-queer news, Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star in the new psychological thriller "In Sight." Is it an LGBT-based project? No. Written or directed by someone gay? Not that we're aware of just yet. But super-producers and power-gays Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are the ones getting it done, and that means a lot to them and to the ability of gay creatives to get their projects sent down the pipeline to viewing audiences. Therefore, it counts in a you-really-have-no-idea-what-goes-on-behind-the-scenes way, got it? And speaking of scenes, Nicki Minaj is getting a sitcom with ABC Family based on her life growing up in Queens, New York. Technically, this one is even "less" gay than "In Sight," but if you were to poll your local group of favorite youthful gays and ask which one means the most to them, guess which one they'd probably pick? If you said the latter, the answer is YAAAAASS. And now you know how this weird world works.
That funny gay guy whose name you don't know is getting a TV show
"Happy Endings" cultists remember him. He was the frantic, perpetual motion gay guy who drove shlubby homosexual Max crazy. The devoted throngs of bearded film-festival-goers who've made the "Bear City" movies into an unlikely franchise (a "third" one is in the works – yes, really) also know the man in question. He's a comic actor named Stephen Guarino, he used to be on "The Big Gay Sketch Show" with "SNL" supernova Kate McKinnon, and now he's about to star in the Showtime series "I'm Dying Up Here," from producer Jim Carrey. Guarino will play a struggling stand-up comic who is described as "over the top, to the point of being tiresome," in a pilot to be directed by "50/50" and "Warm Bodies" helmer Jonathan Levine. We're excited about this one, mostly because we already know Guarino's name and just how very talented he is. You're about to, too.
Trudie Styler and Bette Midler go back to high school
"Freak Show" is the best-selling YA novel from James St. James. The author's earlier book, "Disco Bloodbath," about his experience as a New York club kid involved with murderer Michael Alig, was made into the film "Party Monster." This means St. James knows a lot about dressing up and making an impression, just like "Freak Show"'s hero, teenage force-of-nature Billy Bloom, whose bold, gender-disregarding queerness in a conservative Florida high school has turned him into something of an outcast. Now "Freak Show" is getting the movie treatment from producer/director Trudie Styler, starring Bette Midler and AnnaSophia Robb. Yes, those are female names, which means Billy has yet to be cast. More on this as it develops, but we're hoping for an openly queer teen actor. Maybe there aren't that many yet, but a project like this seems to deserve one.
'Dancer From the Dance': The Movie
It's not just James Franco, you guys. The queer past is very hot right now. (Exception: the brain-damaged "Stonewall"). If you're young and paying attention, it's everywhere. So the time is right for Andrew Holleran's gay cult novel, "Dancer From the Dance," to find its way to screens. The 1978 novel explored chic gay life in New York City's club culture and the unlikely relationships it fostered. Alan Poul ("Six Feet Under") will direct from a script by Joshua Harmon, John Krokidas and Austin Bunn, and the shoot is planned for 2016. No casting news just yet, but this one ought to be memorable. You have plenty of time to get a vintage-appearing, yet still brand new, Paradise Garage T-shirt for the inevitable viewing party.
