Julia Roberts' Three Days on Broadway
Julia Roberts is taking her big white smile to the Great White Way. The Oscar-winning actor will make her Broadway debut next spring in a revival of gay playwright Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain. The story of a mysterious posthumous legacy left to the lost-soul son and stable married daughter ( Roberts ) of a respected architect father and mentally ill mother, the drama first appeared off-Broadway in 1997. Sought-after out Broadway director Joe Mantello—who will also direct next season's The Odd Couple—will handle directing duties of the Marc Platt/David Stone ( Wicked ) production.
It might have been enough of a draw for this revival that Greenberg's last project was the crowd-pleasing, Tony-winning Take Me Out. But now with Hollywood's favorite A-lister on board, expect tickets to fly out of the box office.
Mia Kirsher Is Dead in Dahlia
One of Hollywood's most notorious unsolved murders, the case of the Black Dahlia, is getting the all-star treatment from director Brian DePalma. Starring The L Word's favorite literary stripper, Mia Kirshner, as Elizabeth Short—the victim in the gruesome slaying—The Black Dahlia also boasts the talents of Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Josh Hartnett, and Aaron Eckhart. Set in 1940s Los Angeles, the story follows detectives Bucky Bleichert ( Hartnett ) and Lee Blanchard ( Eckhart ) as they attempt to solve the crime. Bleichert's job gets complicated when he discovers corruption and conspiracy in the police force, and also learns that his own girlfriend ( Johansson ) had ties to the murdered woman. The big-budget drama is sure to resurrect interest in the mystery when it arrives in theaters in 2006.
Gershon and Nixon's Last Thing
Queer connections abound in One Last Thing..., the latest film from director Alex Steyermark. The comedy-drama concerns a terminally ill teenage boy ( Michael Angarano ) and his dying wish. Of course, that request—which involves strippers—proves unsettling to both his mother ( recently out actor Cynthia Nixon ) , a woman struggling to deal with her son's impending death, as well as to the wish-granting organization involved. The film co-stars Gina Gershon, who worked with Steyermark on his debut feature, Prey for Rock & Roll, in which she played a middle-aged bisexual rocker. And young thesp Angarano is best-known for his portrayal of Elliot, Jack's ( Sean Hayes ) son on Will & Grace. Look for former Fugees member Wyclef Jean in a small role when the film sees its 2006 release.
Gus Van Sant Raises Tigers
For now, 20-something independent filmmaker Cam Archer is best known as a creator of gorgeous music videos for hip underground bands like Six Organs of Admittance. But that may all change when his new feature, Wild Tigers I Have Known, begins to make the rounds. Shooting now and executive-produced by Gus Van Sant—whose support of 2004's experimental documentary Tarnation helped make an overnight celebrity of its director, Jonathan Caouette—the low-budget indie revolves around the complicated sexual awakening of a 13-year-old boy ( Malcolm Stumpf, who played Madonna's son in The Next Best Thing ) . The film co-stars Deadwood regular Kim Dickens and underground film and music legend Lydia Lunch. And if Archer's work with bands is any indication, his Tigers looks like it will have wild visual style to spare.
