Kidman reunites with “‘Hours’ director
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| Nicole Kidman |
Nicole Kidman is, without a doubt, one of the great screen actresses of her generation.
But since winning an Oscar for “The Hours,” she’s appeared in several films not worthy of her talents, including “Bewitched” and “The Invasion.” So it’s good news that she’s reuniting with Stephen Daldry, gay director of “The Hours,” for a film that will co-star Ralph Fiennes.
“The Reader,” based on the international best-seller, deals with a 15-year-old German boy who has an obsessive love affair with an older woman during World War II, only to find out after the war’s end that she is the defendant in a Nazi war crimes trial and is quite likely guilty of an unspeakable offense.
No word yet on when “The Reader” goes before the cameras, but it’s all but guaranteed an eventual Oscar marketing campaign.
“‘Powder Blue’ features encounter between transgender prostitute, priest
After “Crash” won the Best Picture Oscar two years ago (over “Brokeback Mountain,” alas), it was inevitable we’d get more intersecting-lives-of-strangers-in-Los-Angeles movies.
Now comes word of “Powder Blue,” which takes place entirely on a Christmas Eve of chance connections.
One stranger, played by newcomer Alejandro Romero, happens to be a transgender prostitute who crosses the path of priest Forest Whitaker and shares a secret past with him.
Patrick Stewart, Jessica Biel, Kris Kristofferson, Patrick Swayze and Ray Liotta all co-star.
Shooting now, “Powder Blue” is expected to hit theaters in 2008. Maybe even at Christmas time.
Gordon-Levitt deals with “‘Uncertainty’
He may have begun his career with the silly sitcom “Third Rock from the Sun,” but Joseph Gordon-Levitt is rapidly becoming one of indie cinema’s hottest actors, thanks to his roles in “Mysterious Skin” and “Brick.”
He obviously hopes to keep his streak going with his next project, “Uncertainty,” from “The Deep End” directing team of David Siegel (who’s straight) and Scott McGehee (who’s gay).
This new film will be mostly improvised by the cast, from a script by the directors about a couple facing an important decision on the Fourth of July. It will feature various versions of that same day, each one the result of a different decision by the characters.
Filming is currently under way, so “Uncertainty” could be a certain thing as early as 2008.
“‘Spawn’ artist MacFarlane making “‘Oz’ a darker place
Talk about not being in Kansas anymore!
Warner Bros. is returning to Oz, but this time it’s not the Technicolor haven for singing Munchkins and horses of a different color that you remember. Todd MacFarlane, the artist who created the hellish world of “Spawn,” will bring his dark Oz toy line to the big screen in a new movie to be written by Josh Olson (“A History of Violence”).
“Oz” will put a new twist on L. Frank Baum’s gay-favorite classic, giving us a Dorothy who takes an active role to save herself from the bizarre world she’s entered. (Think of “Alien”‘s Ripley but with pigtails, and accompanied by a snarling warthog, Toto.)
The studio is currently seeking a director.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 31, 2007
