BY ROMEO SAN VICENTE
Your Olympics Crush is 'Dancing With The Stars'
No, we didn't say which Olympics crush. That's because the upcoming all-athletes season of "Dancing With the Stars" features several recent popular Olympic athletes, and one of them is America's Queer Sweetheart of figure skating, the witty and fierce Adam Rippon. The other two, though not LGBT, are just as swoon-worthy, depending on your orientation. There's softball power pitcher Jennifer Finch Daigle to entice the lesbians, and Chris Mazdzer, the luge stud whose scruffy appeal has not gone unnoticed by virtually all gay men with internet access. They'll be joining problematic faves like Tonya Harding and all-around fave-faves like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In other words, the competition this time is poised to rival the best seasons of the beloved (and, come on, really corny and you know it) series in terms of sheer physical power. Finally, we know Adam won't disappoint when it comes his patented brand of charm and sass, so that's reason enough to watch. The ABC show bows at the end of this month.
Kate McKinnon is Currently in Talks for a Film with No Name
"In talks" is what they call contract negotiations over salary, and while those are being hammered out, let's all agree that whatever's being offered Kate McKinnon ("Ghostbusters") should, just on principle, be doubled. She's that appealing, even in films that aren't (and she's been in a few of those by this point. Good news, then, that the film she's in talks to star in is from "Love, Actually" creator Richard Curtis, and acclaimed director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting"), so the chances of it being pretty good are, well, pretty good. The project has no title, but it does have "Downton Abbey's" James and "EastEnders" mainstay Himesh Patel, as well as the most vague idea of a plot that involves music of the 1960s and/or 1970s, depending on whose rumors you believe. Doesn't matter, you had us at Kate.
It is a Bad Idea to Mess With 'Gay Kid and Fat Chick'
TV comedy director Amy York Rubin ("Grown-ish", "Fresh Off The Boat") has signed on to direct the next film from comic actor Bo Burnham (his debut feature as a writer-director, the already-acclaimed "Eighth Grade", hits theaters this summer). It's called "Gay Kid and Fat Chick", at least for now, and we don't dislike that title at all. Not only is it instantly memorable, but it takes dismissive language and uses it powerfully in a story of teenage outsiders who create costumed superhero identities in order to get revenge on bullies, kind of like a queer "Kick-Ass". At the moment this one is in development—at Paramount—so there's no cast, but here us out when we say that J.J. Totah ("Champions") is the only choice to play "Gay Kid." That young man is practically already a queer superhero in real life. Anyway, we hope the script doesn't involve them having to learn lessons about the futility of revenge. If you've seen "Heathers" you know there's no satisfaction in that.
Follow Kimberly Reed's 'Dark Money'
Transgender director Kimberly Reed's documentary "Prodigal Sons" was the kind of indie success story every filmmaker hopes for: critically-acclaimed, crowd-pleasing and award-winning. Then her profile rose when she co-produced the moving documentary "The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson". And now, her latest, "Dark Money", hits arthouse theaters this summer before airing on PBS. This time around the subject matter is less queer-specific and more urgently universal: the influence of untraceable corporate money and the way it influences not only American elections but also our democracy itself, thanks to the infamous Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United. It's the kind of activist filmmaking designed to depress audiences but to make them rise up against the oppressive forces that keep the super-rich in seemingly unstoppable power. Here's hoping it pushes the national conversation toward breaking the grip corporations have on American politics and life. Cue a group sing-along of "The Internationale."
Romeo San Vicente doesn't hate Mondays, just Capitalism.
