Takei beams into NBC’s “‘Heroes’
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| George Takei |
From Carol Burnett on “Mad About You” to Dixie Carter on “Desperate Housewives,” nothing livens up a series like the addition of a TV giant.
This time, “Heroes” one of the only new TV shows to rouse the attention of the ever-shrinking network audience has announced the casting of openly gay “Star Trek” veteran George Takei as the father of time-bender Hiro (Masi Oka). The fact that Hiro is himself a “Trek” fanboy just makes the casting all the more delicious.
Coming out seems to have done wonders for Takei’s career he’s also wrapped “The Great Buck Howard” with Tom Hanks, and is the announcer on Howard Stern’s Sirius satellite radio show.
No date has yet been set for Takei’s premiere on “Heroes,” but look for the Internet to be ablaze with “Trek”-geek excitement.
Gina brings “‘Creepy’ back
She titillated you as a lesbian thief in “Bound” and as a bisexual Vegas star in “Showgirls.” Now get ready for Gina Gershon, children’s book author.
She and her brother, Dann, have penned “Camp Creepy Time,” a soon-to-be-published book that’s already getting Hollywood’s attention.
DreamWorks and Nick Movies have expressed interest in the Gershons’ tale of a 13-year-old boy who has to rescue his fellow summer campers when he realizes everyone on the staff is an extraterrestrial.
Slated to write and possibly direct is Richard LaGravenese, who wrote and directed the lovely and little-seen “Living Out Loud,” and wrote “The Fisher King,” as well as holiday fave “The Ref.”
No date yet for the flick, but we can’t wait after all, Gershon’s no stranger to “Camp”.
“‘Xanadu’ will skate again, off-Broadway
As if musical theater wasn’t gay enough, we now have a stage version of the queer cult classic “Xanadu” to look forward to.
Boasting a book by gay playwright Douglas Carter Beane (“The Little Dog Laughed”), “Xanadu” will have four invitation-only workshop performances in New York City in January before a proposed spring run off-Broadway.
If you haven’t seen the movie, turn in your gay card!
The musical tells the story of Terpsichore, one of the seven mythological Muses, who comes to Earth as a young woman named Kira. There she inspires an artist and an aging jazz musician to open Xanadu, a spectacular roller-disco palace.
If the show’s a hit, look for peasant blouses, roller skates and feathered hair to hit the mainstream again.
Logo hangs 10 with “‘Curl Girls’
There’s more to lesbian sports than softball; if you live anywhere near an ocean, you’re probably aware of the growing phenomenon of out-and-proud dyke surfers.
Now queer cable channel Logo will be bringing us an endless sapphic summer with the new reality series “Curl Girls,” focusing on a sextet of Southern California women who share a love for surfing even though their careers and temperaments are totally different.
Based on a Logo documentary that aired to great success in 2005, the six-part series follows its subjects throughout the summer of 2006, as competition flourishes, new relationships are forged and old ones are broken.
The network says post-production will last through the end of the year, so get ready to ride the “Curl” sometime in 2007.
Gay theme hits hockey movie
It’s time to start laughing about the Maple Leafs.
The Toronto hockey team and the NHL have given permission for their logos to be used in a movie called “Breakfast With Scot,” what producers are calling “a thoughtful comedy” about a fictitious gay ex-Leaf and his partner, the team’s lawyer, whose lifestyle and relationship are turned upside down when they become the guardians of “a budding queen of an 11-year-old boy.”
The movie stars Tom Cavanagh of “Ed” and “Scrubs,” and Ben Shenkman of “Just Like Heaven” and “Angels In America,” along with Noah Bernett of “Gothica.”
Laurie Lynd is directing Sean Reycraft’s script based on a Michael Downing novel. Miracle Pictures and Capri Releasing are behind the project.
The 25-day shoot in and around Toronto is slated to end Dec. 15.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, December 1, 2006.