By Romeo San Vicente
Melissa and Demi change sexes for 'Comfort'
Melissa Etheridge is a man. So is Demi Moore. Sissy Spacek, too. Confused? Not them. The trio is changing genders for the upcoming film "Southern Comfort," a narrative feature based on Kate Davis' 2002 documentary about a southern transgendered couple and their small-town life. All three women will play female-to-male transgendered men in the film, while actors Henry Thomas ("E.T.") and Alan Cumming will play male-to-female transgendered women. Mary Kay Place has also been cast in the film, gender unspecified for the moment. The movie, which begins shooting in January 2005, is being produced by the very queer-friendly Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, and will be Grammy-winner Etheridge's first major screen role. Meanwhile, Romeo will wait patiently for stories of Demi teaching her female co-stars the head-shaving techniques she learned in "G.I. Jane."
Reclusive porn star returns
Peter Berlin is an enigma these days, all but forgotten or unknown by most gay men. But in the 1970s he was one of the prettiest faces in gay porn. An occasional scenester at Andy Warhol's Factory and star of a mere two adult films during that decade ("Nights in Black Leather" and "That Boy,") the German-born Berlin nevertheless became an icon of gay male sexuality. Having retreated in the last decade into a semi-reclusive lifestyle in San Francisco, the 60-something Berlin is now the subject of a documentary feature, "That Man," directed by Jim Tushinksi. The film features archival footage and interviews with John Waters, Armistead Maupin, pornographer Wakefield Poole and Berlin himself. Look for the 21st-century version of Berlin to arrive in theaters sometime in 2006.
Psychotic 'Families' on film
You knew your family was crazy, but psychotic? That's the thesis of the upcoming "All Families Are Psychotic," the feature film version of "Generation X" author Douglas Coupland's 2001 novel. Coupland, whose gay-ish sensibility and pop-culture-saturated observations inform all his work, penned the book about a dysfunctional Florida family (complete with Thalidomide children, black-market babies, and accidental incestuous HIV transmission) who gather to watch the lone career-minded family member, an astronaut, board the space shuttle. The film rights were originally picked up by queer rocker Michael Stipe. Now Dreamworks is manning the mission into space with first-time director Noam Murro at the control panel. Once casting and a shooting schedule are in place, all systems will be go.
'The Bad Seed,' replanted
If camp is dead, it's because there aren't great movies like "The Bad Seed" being made anymore. The 1956 thriller about an outwardly sweet and innocent young girl who begins killing everyone who gets in her way made a star out of young Patty McCormack, became a cult classic for gay men who appreciate that sort of thing, and inspired not only a 1985 TV movie version but also child-star Macaulay Culkin's horror detour, "The Good Son." Now director Eli Roth, whose "Cabin Fever" was a surprise horror hit, is on board to direct the remake. No word yet on start dates or casting, but Romeo thinks the already spookily talented Dakota Fanning – whose sweetness could easily turn to murderous rage – would be a perfect choice.
