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| Dave Williams & Matt Lucas |
“The Simpsons” is set to feature a few more British accents than Springfield is used to hearing. The long-running animated sitcom will welcome as guest stars Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais (“The Office,” “Extras”), and the comedy team of David Walliams and Matt Lucas, creators of “Little Britain.” Lucas is the gay half of the popular sketch-comedy series that airs on BBC America, an outrageous half-hour in which both men regularly play gay characters or end up in frilly, old-fashioned, unconvincing drag. Simpsons creator Matt Groening has long been known to recruit artists he admires for guest spots, and he’s a fan of Williams and Lucas, so the intersection of Bart and “Britain” was bound to happen eventually. The episodes featuring the three actors will run during the 2006-2007 season.
Darren Star’s next top “‘Model’
Gay producer Darren Star has more queer-friendly TV in the works.
The creator of “Melrose Place” and “Sex and the City” has a deal with ABC to develop two new projects, with a commitment from the network to greenlight at least one for a pilot in 2006.
One of those projects, from writer Darlene Hunt (“Good Morning, Miami”) is tentatively titled “The Model,” and is described as an updated “That Girl” set in New York’s fashion and modeling industries.
To add fashion cred to the fledgling sitcom, Star is partnering on the show with producers Desiree Gruber and Jane Cha, who executive-produce Bravo’s “Project Runway.”
Sounds like a match made in synergy heaven what better way to keep name-branding those “Runway” winners than with guest spots on a fashion sitcom?
Fox’s “‘Desire’ for a “‘D-List’ gay
In Latin America, “telenovelas” are a staple of prime time viewing, the soapy dramas captivating Spanish-language audiences in the millions. Now, Fox is betting that English-speaking viewers will buy into U.S. versions of the racy, wildly plotted, cliff-hanger-packed soaps, too.
The franchise known as “Desire” will feature three shows that will run for 65 episodes each. Richard Andreoli, editor of the 2004 anthology “Mondo Homo,” is part of the writing team, and queer viewers may find they recognize one of the on-screen talents, too. Tony Tripoli, one of the “Main Gays” from Bravo’s “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,” will contribute creative content behind the camera as well as co-star in the first of the “Desire” series, “Table for Three.”
Look for the shows to enter domestic syndication early in 2006.
Warhol and Hockney “‘Call It Art’
The energetic, pop-culture-impacting art scene of 1960s-era New York is getting the full documentary treatment in an upcoming film, “Who Gets To Call It Art?”
Many of the main players from that era were gay men, some openly so, and their work helped to shape what would become the gay cultural aesthetic of the ’70s and beyond. As seen through the eyes of Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Henry Geldzahler, the documentary which has just been picked up for distribution from independent Palm Pictures features footage of Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol, as well as interviews with Frank Stella and David Hockney.
The film will also include music by Warhol-affiliated band The Velvet Underground. Look for it to play in where else? art-house cinemas in early 2006.
