Cohen says thumbs up to Freddie Mercury role
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| Sacha Baron Cohen |
We reported some months back that Johnny Depp was being courted to portray legendary gay Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic.
Now comes news of casting that’s stranger, yet more appropriate at the same time.
“Borat” star Sacha Baron Cohen has now been slotted to play Mercury, and he’s the perfect choice.
Cohen brilliantly played gay in “Talladega Nights,” and he’s about to show his musical chops in the “Sweeney Todd” movie (opposite Depp).
Plus, he can totally rock a mustache; in fact, it’s said that Borat’s look was partially based on Mercury’s famous facial hair.
No script is in place yet, so we’re probably at least a year from seeing the flick. Getting to see Cohen sing “Fat Bottomed Girls,” however, will no doubt be worth the wait.
Screenwriter John Logan brings DiCaprio back to ’30s Hollywood
The last time gay screenwriter John Logan and actor Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up on a project was Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” a film bio of Howard Hughes that focused on the legendary eccentric’s stint in 1930s Hollywood, where he ran RKO Studios and romanced the likes of Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner.
Now Logan and DiCaprio will return to Tinseltown’s golden age with director Michael Mann. The still-untitled project, written by Logan, will feature DiCaprio as a Hollywood private eye who hushes up celebrity scandals and keeps stars out of the tabloid headlines. Characters in the film will include icons of the era, like diva Judy Garland. Studios are lining up for rights to the film, which had a budget of $120 million and the Oscar power big names like this can muster.
Rachel Hunter to revamp acting career in steamy lesbian film
Supermodel Rachel Hunter is all set to revamp her acting career with a lesbian role.
The former wife of rocker Rod Stewart is undertaking her biggest role till now in a steamy new film, called “La Cucina.” The film, which also stars Joaquim de Almeida and Leisha Hailey, centers on the lives of two passionate cooks on one miraculous evening.
Hunter plays the lesbian who lives above Hailey’s pregnant character and offers love counseling to her neighbor.
Hunter has previously acted in movies like “Rock Star And The Benchwarmers.”
Dance music diva Colton Ford to star in gay vampire show on Here! TV
What’s sexier than a show about scantily-clad gay hotties? A show about scantily clad gay hottie vampires! Especially when said show features studly adult star and dance music diva Colton Ford in a nonsexual role.
That’s the idea, anyway, behind “The Lair,” a new show debuting June 1 on Here! TV.
This new series takes place in a small island town where there’s a rash of unsolved murders. A young journalist comes to town and finds that all clues point to a mysterious gentlemen’s club, The Lair, where, the show’s Web site promises, “the darkest desires are fulfilled.”
Darren Star, Gordon-Levitt to team up on romantic comedy
Former sitcom star Joseph Gordon-Levitt kick-started the serious-actor phase of his career with a bravura starring role in Gregg Araki’s acclaimed “Mysterious Skin.” So it’s no surprise that the star of “Brick” and “The Lookout” is once again looking to a gay filmmaker for a juicy film role.
“Melrose Place” and “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star will make his big-screen debut behind the camera with “The Frog King,” a romantic comedy about a man with a predilection for messing up relationships, who’s trying not to let Ms. Right slip from his grasp.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, April 27, 2007.