By Romeo San Vicente
Johnny Depp is going to get 'Thin,' man
You can't tell anyone in Hollywood anything. It seems like, more often than not, that people in positions of power believe they have the secret formula for remaking beloved, classic films in a new, fresh way that won't alienate audiences. They, alone, are going to be the ones to crack the code and avoid cranking out 100 minutes of pale imitation. Add Johnny Depp and director Rob Marshall to that list, then, of those determined not to leave well enough alone, because both of them have signed on for a remake of the 1934 Oscar-nominated comedy, "The Thin Man." The original starred William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, socialites whose hobbies are being witty, drinking cocktails and solving murders. This one will attempt to recapture that magic. All that's left to do now is to sit back and wait for it to surprise everyone like "Ocean's Eleven" or put them to sleep like Gus Van Sant's "Psycho." And though the odds are against it, if anybody can make this work, it's Depp.
'Glee' in 3D
Landlocked Gleeks, this one's for you. "GLEE LIVE! 3D!" is coming soon to a theater near you. 20th Century Fox TV is rushing a feature film into theaters this August to capitalize on the mania surrounding the show and to immortalize the second summer of concert touring by the cast. Yes, this is a concert film, not an extended, theatrically-installed episode of the show, and will follow in the footsteps of Michael Jackson's "This Is It" and "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" as a limited-run release (that will, no doubt, extend itself unlimitedly as long as tickets are still selling). It will star usual suspects Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Dianna Agron, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr., Chord Overstreet, Ashley Fink and Darren Criss, which we assume means a squadron of Warblers along for the ride, as well. And sorry, Sue Sylvester fans, Jane Lynch is busy.
Will 'Star Trek' launch a gay into space?
You'd think that after more than a dozen movies and over 700 episodes of six different TV shows, there would have been at least one gay character float across the "Star Trek" universe by now. But no. Not one. And sorry, that actor in the last movie that everyone says is gay doesn't count. Neither does George Takei, as awesome as he is. But all of that might change – and here's where the word "if" comes into play in a major way – if a recent pitch for a new series from a company called 1947 Entertainment can gain traction. Their proposed "Trek" series would include a gay male character and a lesbian character, which would be a welcome addition to the family of space people audiences have grown attached to over the past 40-plus years. Mind you, the stage this thing is in is as changeable as the atmosphere on an alien planet, subject to destruction in the blink of an eye; there's no producer, no cast, no deal, no nothing just yet. But go on, get your hopes up. Why "shouldn't" it be time for "Star Trek" to boldly go where no "Star Trek" has gone before? The answer is: it should be.
Nathan Lane serves an Evil Queen
The race to be the first, biggest and best of the three (yes, three) Snow White-themed films coming to theaters just got gayer, with the addition of Nathan Lane to the cast of the as-yet-untitled Tarsem Singh-directed adaptation. Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer ("The Social Network") are already on board to star in this live-action version and Lane – in between guest spots as his recurring character "Pepper" on "Modern Family" – will enter the cast as a servant to the Evil Queen who's got it in for Snow, a man who serves the bad lady out of fear. In other words, this is the kind of wisecracking sidekick role that Lane can do in his sleep. But, then again, no one can do it quite like him, you have to admit. Expect to be as sick of poison apples in 2012 as you are of vampires in 2011, production schedules permitting.
