By Romeo San Vicente
A different 'View' for Sara Gilbert
"As The World Turns" is 54 this year. And it's being cancelled. But when networks close a door they open a window, which means something's going to fly into that spare hour of programming. And what's hot for daytime? Talk shows like "The View," something CBS doesn't have yet. So here comes a new crew of ladies for an as-yet-untitled talk show focusing on current events from the perspective of mothers. At the moment the lady-team includes Julie Chen, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini, and gay audience favorites like "Hairspray"'s Marissa Jaret Winokur and Sharon Osbourne and "Roseanne"'s Sara Gilbert. Now 35, the former most-sardonic-teen-on-television is now a mother of two with her partner Allison Adler, and with Rosie O'Donnell no longer on "The View," it'll be great to see a fresh lesbian mom perspective on a network talk show again. Look for the show to debut sometime in September or October and the quotes to start flying.
Dustin Lance Black loves the 'Barefoot Bandit'
Colton Harris-Moor found an unusual way to become famous. The alleged "Barefoot Bandit" is accused of stealing cars and planes across several states, living a life on the lam from the law. And because he's young and not ugly, the criminal-turned-media-obsession has naturally become something of a folk hero/outlaw. So it was, perhaps, inevitable that his story would eventually become a movie. Enter "Milk" screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and director David Gordon Green, who'll approach the upcoming book, "Taking Flight: The Hunt For a Young Outlaw," as source material for the feature film version of Harris-Moor's crime spree. Look for the finished product to explore Harris-Moor's difficult, bullied childhood in an effort to make more sense of his mysterious break with society's rules. And if it glorifies sociopathic behavior along the way? Well that's just what Hollywood, isn't it?
Whishaw and Ball bring 'Death' to HBO
Alan Ball has been very good for HBO – "Six Feet Under" still ranks among the cable network's biggest hits, and "True Blood" is currently their dominant franchise – so it's no surprise that the gay creator and the TV giant are keeping their relationship alive. Ball's latest for HBO will require even more buckets of fake splatter: "All Signs of Death" is a darkly comic drama about a slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime-scene clean-up guy, only to tumble into his own murder mystery, complete with femme fatale. Based on Charlie Huston's 2009 novel, "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death," the show will star Ben Whishaw, the dreamy young Brit who's set hearts a-flutter in "Bright Star" and "Brideshead Revisited." HBO has committed to a pilot, which will shoot in late summer, using smaller-than-usual cameras to give the show that gritty, handheld look. Cross your bloody fingers it goes to series.
'Glee' busts out the fishnets for 'Rocky Horror' episode
Oh "Glee," just when we think you can't get any gayer, you go and raise the stakes again. The big news coming out of the "Glee" panel at the recent San Diego Comic-Con was queer creator Ryan Murphy's announcement that the Fox hit would do an episode built around the songs from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" sometime during the second season. (During the panel, gay "Glee" co-star Chris Colfer mentioned his desire to sing "The Time Warp," which led to Murphy's bombshell. A set-up? You be the judge.) Lots of other cool tidbits were mentioned – the possibility of an all-Britney Spears episode, return appearances by Broadway divas Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, a religious-themed episode that will include Colfer's Kurt going to see Mercedes (Amber Riley) sing at church and an Artie-Tina breakup. But Romeo's favorite revelation came from Naya Rivera, who plays the wickedly hilarious Santana. She told the crowd that Brittany (Heather Morris) and Santana would kiss during Season 2…and that she wants their couple name to be "Santittany." Nice.
