By Romeo San Vicente
Richard Dreyfuss, upside down
When Richard Dreyfuss uttered the famous line in "Jaws", "I think we need a bigger boat," it's a safe bet he didn't mean the S.S. Poseidon. But that's the doomed ship he'll be boarding when he joins the cast of Wolfgang Peterson's big-budget remake of 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure". Like the original, the story will follow survivors of a ship turned upside down by a tidal wave. But in this version, Dreyfuss will play a gay man, and the rest of the cast – Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, and Andre Braugher – will also take on newly imagined roles instead of recreating the characters made famous by Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, and Ernest Borgnine. Shooting begins this month on the landlocked Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles for a 2006 maiden voyage.
Jane Lynch supports '40-Year-Old Virgin'
It's no wonder Jane Lynch was recently named one of the top 10 gay women in entertainment by Power Up, the lesbians-in-film organization – she's everywhere at once. Case in point – or make that four cases: The actor, known for her roles in the Christopher Guest comedies "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind", has four feature films headed for theaters. Queer Lynch fans can find her in the late summer comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" starring Steve Carell ("The Office"), Paul Rudd, and Catherine Keener. Lynch will also appear soon in Margaret Cho's narrative screenwriting debut, "Bam Bam and Celeste", the indie "Fifty Pills", and "I'mPerfect", which is currently shooting with Cho, Wayne Brady, and Ileana Douglas. Does Power Up give an award for "hardest working"?
The queer 'Sideways'
Young, cute, bisexual Nathan (Cole Williams, last seen in the gay-brothers-in-love drama, "Harry and Max") and his friend Maggie (Amber Benson, aka Tara from TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") are on a journey through romantic getaway spots in the Napa Valley. Nathan is writing a travel article; Maggie is his companion. And while they both have boyfriends, the two are in the middle of a complicated love affair of their own. That's the plot of "Race You to the Bottom" (it only sounds like a porn title), the new indie drama soon currently making the queer film-festival rounds. And if it sounds a little like a certain critically acclaimed movie about relationship issues in the middle of California wine country, the resemblance is purely coincidental. Check your local queer-fest listings – but please, no sneaking in that flask.
A gay-friendly 'Neighborhood'
You could go on "Oprah" and hope your story is sad enough to inspire her to gift you with a house of your own. Or you could sharpen your claws and compete for one against six other families on the new ABC reality series "Welcome to the Neighborhood". Yes, the winners get a new house, but the catch is that the victorious family has to earn it from their future neighbors. Among the hopeful homeowners in this summer series are minority families, a gay family, and a clan headed by some presumably frightening-looking tattooed rockers. Romeo thinks this sounds a little bit like the Misfits having to suck up to the Normals to win the big prize, but hopefully the show's producers will have a touch more sensitivity than that.
