By Romeo San Vicente
Fierstein on the roof
Married, with children? Harvey Fierstein? It could happen if the Tony Award-winning "Hairspray" star steps into the role of Tevye in the Broadway revival of "Fiddler on the Roof." Fierstein is the frontrunner to replace Alfred Molina as the traditionalist patriarch whose daughters are getting restless to experience a world that's changing more quickly than the one they know in their little village of Anatevka. After a career of nonsinging roles on Broadway – Fierstein's gravel-gargling voice "delivers" numbers more than it sings them – this would be his second time to star in a musical. And if the idea of a trailblazing gay actor, one most celebrated for his gender-bending roles, taking on the part of an orthodox Jewish papa seems odd, just remember that for all its "Tradition," "Fiddler" is actually about gracefully accepting social change. Go, Harvey!
Stipe sees in 'Slo-Mo'
Michael Stipe has become something of an indie cinema mogul. From "Velvet Goldmine" to "Being John Malkovich" to "Saved!" and more, R.E.M.'s front man and his production company, Single Cell Pictures, help give green lights to unconventional films that bigger entities would only destroy in development. And now the producer has optioned the script "Slo-Mo," written by John Krokidas, a former Single Cell intern. The story of an author struggling with writer's block, "Mo" pushes its protagonist into an alternate universe where time moves more slowly, making it impossible for him to communicate with anyone else. So far it's all just an optioned script: no cast, no director, no shooting schedule, just words on a page and the backing of a rock star. So the road to the screen, though it begins here, might be a little slo-going itself.
Debra Messing's 'Date'
Somehow between juggling the responsibilities of new motherhood and shooting "Will & Grace," Debra Messing found time to star in a movie. "The Wedding Date," directed by Clare Kilner ("How to Deal") and written by first-timer Dana Fox, concerns a 30-something woman (Messing) who's – gasp! – not married yet. When she's invited to her sister's wedding, her anxiety convinces her to hire a male escort (Dermot Mulroney) to pose as her boyfriend and fool the ex who dumped her. With any luck, it won't end with Messing being saved from spinsterhood by either the ex or the gigolo, but then that's just Romeo trying to run Hollywood again. Meanwhile, lesbian fans of the handsome, hilarious Holland Taylor (last seen in a couple episodes of "The L Word"'s first season) should take note that she's among "Date"'s cast members, too.
It's 'Snow White,' but with Kung Fu
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, whose work is almost always queer-inclusive ("The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," "Wonder Boys,") is taking on a Disney classic and giving it a kick. OK, a flying kick. Chabon has come aboard to write "Snow White and the Seven," a live-action, fantasy/martial-arts version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." In this one, Snow White hooks up with seven Shao-Lin martial-arts masters whose fighting techniques are unstoppable, and, well, other liberties are taken with the story, too. Yuen Wo Ping, choreographer of "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," will direct. And even if none of Snow's pals end up being written as gay, Romeo is still looking forward to seeing that Evil Queen get what's coming to her from seven angry Shao-Lin all spinning around on wires.
