By Romeo San Vicente
B.D. Wong who co-stars on "Law & Order: SVU" is set direct the indie romantic comediy "Social Grace." NBC.
B.D. Wong delivers 'Grace'
Actor B.D. Wong has a Tony Award for his role in "M. Butterfly," is a published author ("Following Foo"), co-stars on "Law & Order: SVU," and has had supporting roles in big movies like "Jurassic Park" and "Father of the Bride." But what he really wanted to do was direct. And the result of that desire, the upcoming indie romantic comedy "Social Grace," is currently in post-production. Starring "Queer as Folk"'s Gale Harold and relative newcomer Fay Ann Lee (who also wrote the script), "Grace" revolves around the interracial romance between an Asian-American woman and an eligible Caucasian bachelor and the complications their coupling creates. Rounding out the cast is Christine Baranski, "The Daily Show"'s Lewis Black, and Wong's old castmate from his days on "All-American Girl," Margaret Cho. The story may be hetero, but Wong is openly gay, and given the lack of Asian gay "anything" on most multiplex screens, Romeo's got high hopes for this one.
Sundance, bloody Sundance
Some are big, some are small. Some are competing, some aren't. But what they all share is that they're queer (many were previously reported on by Romeo), and they're going to the Sundance Film Festival, happening right around the calendar corner in January 2005. This winter's competition includes "The Dying Gaul," directed by screenwriter-playwright Craig Lucas, and "Loggerheads," from "Dear Jesse" director Tim Kirkman. The bulk of the homo content lives outside of competition, with lesbian director Jenni Olson's experimental "The Joy of Life"; Don Roos' "Happy Endings"; "Inside Deep Throat," from Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato; fashion photographer David LaChappelle's doc-directing debut, "Rize"; Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin"; and "Alice Wu"'s Chinese-American drama, "Saving Face." The lucky – and cold – ticket holders in Park City, Utah, will get to see them first. Meanwhile, the rest of us must wait patiently and hope for good distribution deals that will deliver them to theaters near us.
'Coming Out' Is finally coming out
Some films projects are rushed into production. Others move more slowly. And sometimes molasses moving uphill wins the race. Such is the case with "Coming Out," a feature Romeo first reported on way back in 2001. Readers with razor-sharp memories will recall that Catherine Zeta-Jones was set to produce and co-star in the story of a gay cabaret singer (Alan Cumming) hired by his deceased father's rugby team as the unlikeliest of coaches. It's funny, see, because everyone knows that all gays hate sports. In any case, the scrimmage (that's rugby talk) is, indeed, still on and slated for a 2006 release with director Joel Zwick ("Fat Albert") replacing "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" director Sara Sugarman. So let the gay games begin.
The Smiths back on stage
Can the feel-bad songs of immensely popular and queer-leaning 1980s band The Smiths translate into a crowd-pleasing stage musical? U.K. audiences are due to find out in the summer of 2005, when "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" opens at London's Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. Early reports from creators Andrew Wale and Perrin Manzer are that "Some Girls" will differ from traditional musicals: the songs will be arranged for string quartet and sung by a relatively small cast in a loose connection of scenes rather than in a conventional storyline. And there's no word yet on how much Smiths founders Morrissey and Johnny Marr will be involved, if at all. Romeo is excited by the news – but then Romeo was excited about the Kylie Minogue musical, too.
