by Romeo San Vicente | photo courtesy KathClick
“Noah’s Arc” drops a surprise reunion!
Gone are the days when you could learn about something on the horizon well before it asked for your immediate attention. Beyoncé is silent on a Saturday and drops a new album on Sunday and everyone’s like, “Huh? What? OK, lucky us.” So, were you pining away for years for a “Noah’s Arc” reboot or reunion? Of course you were, and now your wish comes true, a lot sooner than you think. After 12 years, Noah, Alex, Ricky, and Chance are returning with a one-off reunion called “Noah’s Arc: The ‘Rona Chronicles” on series creator Patrik-Ian Polk’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The original cast from Logo’s 2005 series about a group of Black queer friends – Darryl Stephens, Jensen Atwood, Rodney Chester, Doug Spearman and Christian Vincent – has returned and the scripted episode will be all about – in case the title flew past you – the way life is right now. Patrick-Ian Polk Entertainment and Gilead are presenting the special, which will raise money for Black LGBTQ non-profit organizations, among them Birmingham AIDS Outreach, Casa Ruby, G.L.I.T.S (Gays & Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society), In The Meantime Men’s Group, LGBT Detroit, Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI) and The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. Be there on July 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern, with some cash to donate.
Kristen Stewart will play Princess Diana in “Spencer”
Pablo Larraín (“Jackie”) is set to direct and Kristen Stewart to play Princess Diana in “Spencer,” a drama written by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) about one critical weekend in the early ’90s life of the princess, and the freeing consequences of decisions she made then. In other words, it’s a biopic of sorts, but one that takes the micro versus the macro approach. No tragic death, no heartbreaking and sensational aftermath, just the story of a three-day Christmas holiday that found Diana deciding that her royal life was no longer working (something her son Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have also recently decided for themselves). And the casting is indeed inspired. Now that Kristen Stewart has secured a place in cinema history as one of the most talented and fascinating actors of her generation, she’s poised to interpret this character from a place of understanding, since there was also a period in her own younger life when she was the object of intense media scrutiny and criticism. Call it an anti-fairy tale, and we’ll be patient while production schedules remain on hold, but they can just go ahead and take our money right now.
Gabrielle Union snaps up “All Boys Aren’t Blue”
Journalist George M. Johnson’s beautiful memoir, “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a true story of being queer and Black, explores his childhood, adolescence and young adult life. The book includes stories of being physically assaulted by bullies as a child, of his fraught relationship with his police-officer father, and of his warm relationship with his grandmother, all while grappling with ideas about gender, masculinity, Blackness, structural racism and growing up. Even better, hot on the heels of its publication, Gabrielle Union – an LGBTQ+ ally and passionately devoted mother to her own queer child – has optioned the book to develop as a series for Sony Pictures TV. We love the title, with its nod and inherent critique of those weird gender reveal parties that straight people seem to love so much, and even though literally nothing is in place yet beyond an intention to make this book into something else, we also love that Union has taken up the cause. More on this one soon.
Ben Whishaw is “Going To Hurt”
Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Ben Whishaw is set to star in the BBC adaptation of British comedy writer Adam Kay’s medical memoir, “This is Going to Hurt.” The comedy-drama follows Kay’s account of life as a junior doctor in a hospital ward and is based on a collection of medical training diaries he kept from 2004 to 2010. The series, scripted by Kay, should be fairly eye-opening for American audiences unfamiliar with Britain’s National Health Service, which provides publicly funded care for every UK citizen (translation: you don’t get slapped with $300,000 bills for a hospital stay), and is currently under attack from conservative attempts to privatize it. No other casting news has been made public just yet, nor is there a premiere date, but when it hits the States, the AMC network will handle it. Stay safe until then. Wear your mask.
Romeo San Vicente would never hurt you.
