By Romeo San Vicente
Singer may take Bale and Wahlberg prisoner
So "Superman Returns" may have underperformed, and "Milk" stole his "Mayor of Castro Street" thunder, but gay director Bryan Singer remains at the top of the Hollywood heap. So it's exciting to hear that he's considering teaming up with Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg for the action movie "Prisoners." Taking a page from the Liam Neeson extravaganza "Taken," one of the year's biggest hits so far, this movie would star Wahlberg as a small-town survivalist who clashes with big-city detective Bale when Wahlberg's young daughter is abducted; eventually, the deer-huntin' country guy kidnaps and tortures the guy he thinks is responsible for the crime (torture without a trial – hmm, why does that ring a bell?). The players haven't completely committed to the project, so it may be a year or two before we get to visit "Prisoners." Until then, let the speculation run amok.
Willis and Morgan are 'Dicks' for Kevin Smith
After the title of "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" made the film harder to advertise and, arguably, less marketable than it otherwise might have been, you might expect director Kevin Smith to be more marquee-minded. But you might be wrong; his next project is called "A Couple of Dicks," which the studio briefly changed to "A Couple of Cops" before going back to the original title. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan star as a pair of detectives trying to track down a stolen vintage baseball card. There's nothing inherently queer involved in this, and it will be the director's first effort that he didn't also write, but Romeo would be shocked to see a Kevin Smith comedy free of jovially raunchy gay humor and innuendo make it to the screen. Guess we'll find out when "Dicks" (or whatever they wind up calling it) opens in 2010.
Gay meets 'mumblecore' in 'Art of Being Straight'
Oh, indie cinema, always redefining itself – if you follow this sort of thing, then you've heard about the "mumblecore" movement, basically a wave of movies about post-collegiate twentysomethings having elliptical conversations about love, careers and such. These movies tend to be micro-budgeted, with very little in the way of camera movement or even editing, and some interesting young filmmakers are beginning to emerge from the scene. And now queer cinema is getting on the bandwagon: First there was "Humpday," about two straight pals making gay porn together, and now comes "The Art of Being Straight," about a sexually-fluid and labels-defying group of…post-collegiate twentysomethings. A few of the genre's "stars," like Joe Swanberg ("Alexander the Last") and Greta Gerwig ("Hannah Takes the Stairs"), make cameo appearances in "Straight," which shuffles into arthouse theaters this summer.
Shopping: The Series
Trendy L.A.-ites know that Fred Segal is one of the hippest boutiques in town, featuring everything from clothes and shoes to handbags to art books to candles. The restaurant at the Hollywood store even got a shout-out on "The L Word" for its popularity among high-powered show-biz lesbians. So perhaps it's no surprise that the Bravo cable network, always on the lookout for the glitzy and the gay (and not always necessarily in that order), has announced a reality show about Fred Segal. The series will follow the goings-on at the store's Santa Monica location, focusing on the gossipy, stylish fashionistas who work there and the celebs they wait on. Sounds like the last word in vicarious entertainment for recessionary times. No word yet on when the show will premiere.
