By Romeo San Vicente
Billy Bean scores a biopic
After former major-league baseball player Billy Bean joined the small number of male professional athletes who exited the closet after exiting the game, then wrote a book about it, it was only a matter of time before his memoir became a movie. Now Bean's book, "Going the Other Way," is in the early stages of development as a TV movie for Showtime. To be produced by the prolific gay team of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and directed by "Six Feet Under" exec producer Alan Poul, the project will be based on Bean's career as an outfielder for various pro teams from 1987 to 1995, his hidden homosexuality, misguided marriage to a woman, eventual breakdown, and coming out in 1999. No casting announcements yet, but Romeo will be watching for the uniforms if nothing else.
'Dynasty': The shoulder pads strike back
You want more Alexis Carrington Colby? You've got her. Aaron Spelling's "Dynasty," everyone's favorite tacky televised catfight, will be the subject of a TV movie chronicling its history. To be written and directed by Matthew Miller, the film will be about the show itself – much like the 2000 TV movie "Growing Up Brady" – not a continuation of the fictional story line. Casting is underway for actors to portray big-haired divas like Joan Collins and Diahann Carroll, and Romeo's fingers are crossed for a few cameos from the original cast. Just don't hold your breath for shocking dish. (The dirtiest rumor of all: everyone got along well!) At this point nothing's definite – except ABC's commitment to the project's arrival on your small screen during May sweeps.
'Soldier's Girl' moves to 'Wonderfalls'
Hot newcomer Lee Pace, who played transgendered Calpernia Addams in "A Soldier's Girl," will star in "Wonderfalls," Fox's wonderful new supernatural series. (Romeo's got the hook-up. He's seen the pilot. It's fantastic.) Created by queer screenwriter Bryan Fuller and partner Todd Holland, it's the story of too-smart-for-her-own-good Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas), her strange family, and her dull Niagara Falls souvenir-shop job, a gig that quickly turns un-boring when the souvenirs begin talking to her and guiding her life. Pace stars as Dhavernas' brother, while Diana Scarwid (you loved her as young Christina Crawford in "Mommy Dearest") plays their mother. Expect weird stories, smart-ass dialogue coming from snow globes, and sharp writing – minus the "Joan of Arcadia"-style moralizing – when the show premieres in March.
Dark and 'Disposable'
Stephen Sondheim penned "Assassins," and then an opera was composed about multiple-murderess Aileen Wuornos, so it shouldn't be so shocking to discover that a musical is in the works about serial killer Andrew Cunanan. "Disposable" is the name of the project, which is in the development stage at Southern California's La Jolla Playhouse under artistic director Des McAnuff. The show is the work of creators Jessica Hagedorn, Mark Bennett, and Michael Greif, and is loosely based on the life of the young gay man who killed five other men, including fashion designer Gianni Versace. And no, it's not intended to be a "Chicago"-style, jazz-hands, murder-can-be-fun show. The creators are serious about their work. Audiences will have a chance to see how serious sometime later this year.
