Deep Inside Hollywood

Gilbert and Galecki’s Big Bang Reunion
Gay actors have long defended being in the closet by saying that audiences won’t accept an out performer in a straight role, but that notion gets proven untrue all the time. Just look at Neil Patrick Harris’ smarmy skirt-chaser on How I Met Your Mother. Or Sara Gilbert, who’s been out for years and is raising a child with her lesbian partner, on The Big Bang Theory. After three appearances last year as Leslie Winkle, an on-again-off-again love interest for nerdy scientist Leonard, Gilbert will join the cast as a regular this season. Roseanne fans will be thrilled, since Leonard is played by Johnny Galecki, who played Gilbert’s boyfriend (and eventually, her husband) on the long-running sitcom. Watch for the sparks to fly when Theory’s second season premieres September 22.

Susan Anton’s Playing with Fire
Romeo loves a ’70s diva, so it was exciting to hear that the effervescent Miss Susan Anton would be popping up in a new movie. Even more thrilling was the news that Playing with Fire will be directed by David DeCoteau, the auteur behind such thrilling boys-in-tighty-whities horror epics as The Brotherhood and Voodoo Academy. Fire has been described as a “pansexual film noir,” so prepare yourself for any and all kinds of licentiousness. In addition to the ageless Anton, the film also stars Baywatch hunk (and The Broken Hearts Club co-star) Michael Bergin, The Lair’s David Moretti, and model Anya Monzikova, no doubt being paired up in a variety of combinations. Playing with Fire is slated to scorch screens later in 2008.

Kinky Boots Shined Up for Broadway
From The Producers to Xanadu, Broadway musicals based on movies are currently the hottest thing on the Great White Way. Next up for the screen-to-stage treatment is a charming little British comedy about a shoe factory that stays afloat by manufacturing footwear for fashionable transvestites. Kinky Boots is being eyed for musicalization, and with its drag queen hero and outrageous fashion-show finale, it seems like a perfect fit. Some major players are getting behind it – producers Daryl Roth (August: Osage County) and Hal Luftig (Movin’ Out) are talking to Jerry Mitchell, choreographer of Broadway’s Hairspray and director of the musical Legally Blonde, about directing. (You may also know Mitchell as the mentor from Bravo’s Step It Up and Dance.) No word yet on when Kinky will be in the spotlight.

“Chick Lit” Surge Yields Chic Clothing
Don’t think the runaway box-office success of The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City will be forgotten by the robots that run Hollywood. Now that it’s been positively proven that women—and gay men—will turn out in droves for movies about smart, sexy, and fashionable gals, get ready to see lots of “chick lit” on the big screen. Coming soon is Wolves in Chic Clothing, based on the novel by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman, about three Park Avenue heiresses who makeover an outsider just for giggles, only to discover too late that they’ve condescended to the wrong girl. Production hasn’t started on the film yet, so you’ve got plenty of time to find the right flask of Cosmos to stash inside your best gal pal’s Birkin bag.
Romeo San Vicente wears Prada—when he’s lucky enough to find some at the outlet mall or if he nicks some from a gentleman friend’s closet. He can be reached care of this publication or at [email protected].