By Romeo San Vicente
Toni Collette, is set to star in Armistead Maupin's "The Night Listener."
'Night' comes for Williams and Collette
The big screen adaptation of Armistead Maupin's "The Night Listener," the first Maupin novel not to become a TV miniseries, is a little closer to fruition now that Robin Williams and Toni Collette have signed on for the lead roles. The film's been in development for a while now, with Patrick Stettner ("The Business of Strangers") signed on to direct from a script by Maupin, Stettner, and Terry Anderson. The story is based on Maupin's own unusual long-distance phone relationship with a dying boy. Gradually, the boy's story of a troubled, abused life became suspect and caused Maupin to question the true identity of his "friend." Joining Collette and Williams will be Sandra Oh ("Sideways") and Rory Culkin ("Mean Creek"). Shooting begins in New York City this month.
Sean Hayes' female soul
Though his upcoming "Will & Grace" hiatus will see him shooting the comedy feature "Simon Says," Sean Hayes is already lining up a gig for the next time he's not busy bouncing off the walls as Jack. Through his own Hazy Mills Productions banner, Hayes and producing partner Todd Milliner are setting up a currently untitled comedy project for Hayes to star in. The story as it stands now will involve a social misfit with a controlling mother. When the mother is involved in a fatal accident, the son believes he'll finally be free to live his own life – that is, until her soul sets up shop in his body. Sounds like the perfect project for an actor who knows that his bread is buttered by nelly characters. Meanwhile, a writer is being sought to pen the script. Hopefully it'll be one who can explain where the son's original soul gets stored.
Through the porn cycle
Porn documentaries have become a gay-cinema subgenre in the past decade, and now one of them has its own sequel. Jochen Hick's 1997 doc "Sex/Life in L.A." was well received on the film-festival circuit, in big-city art-house theaters, and eventually on DVD. It told the stories of several gay porn stars and sex workers as they moved through their daily routines, both on the sex clock and off. Hick's follow-up feature, "Cycles of Porn: Sex/Life in L.A. Part 2," which just debuted at the Berlin Film Fest, casts its light on a new crop of fledgling porn stars, as well as on the post-porn lives of men who leave the sex-work industry behind. The where-are-they-now personalities include former stars Cole Tucker, now a real-estate agent, and Kevin Kramer, seen in the film struggling to get by as a video-store clerk. Look for it to pop up at gay and lesbian film fests later this year.
'QAF' girls just wanna have fun
It's usually the boys who get all the attention on Showtime's hit soap "Queer as Folk." But as the groundbreaking series enters its final season, look for famous ladies Cyndi Lauper and Rosie O'Donnell to wander into the mythical Pittsburgh gayborhood. Pop singer Lauper, well-known as a gay-rights activist, is readying to guest star as herself and belt one out on an upcoming episode. Meanwhile, O'Donnell will be a more frequent visitor to the show's Toronto set, as she takes on a recurring role as a lesbian who sets her sights on Michael's hetero mom (Sharon Gless). OK, so it might not be much of an acting stretch for her, but Rosie will still be a welcome late addition to the cast. The season premieres May 22.
