Elliot Page has wrapped production in Canada on his next film, “Close to You,” his first starring role in a narrative feature since 2017’s remake of “Flatliners.” The Academy Award-nominated actor and star of TV’s “The Umbrella Academy” stars alongside Hillary Baack (“Sound of Metal”) in the drama from BAFTA-winning writer-director Dominic Savage (“I Am…”), and the minimalist plot description conceals more than it reveals. Page plays Sam, a man who experiences a chance encounter with an old friend while on his way home to a family reunion he doesn’t want to attend. From that moment on he has to deal with the ramifications of that meeting. We’re intrigued, and more than that, we’re thrilled to see Page getting back to the big screen where we first met him. While we wait for this one to hit theaters we’ll be reading “Pageboy,” his amazing memoir of being queer in Hollywood and summoning the courage to come out as transgender.
Lily Gladstone is going to ‘Fancy Dance’ into your consciousness
We’ve been on the Lily Gladstone bandwagon since she showed up in Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 drama “Certain Women,” leaving an indelible, heartbreaking mark as a lonely Native woman who quietly yearns for a character played by Kristen Stewart. She gathered up year-end critics group prizes for that film and earned the attention of Martin Scorsese. Then she made a splash at Cannes co-starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Brendan Fraser in Scorsese’s latest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon” — due in theaters this October — and now her other new film, “Fancy Dance,” is hitting OutFest this month. From filmmaker Erica Tremblay (director of the 2014 roller derby doc “In the Women”), it’s about a queer Native woman who hits the road with her teenage niece as they search for her missing sister. No word on when a wider release will happen, but it’s exciting to watch queer filmmakers giving overdue attention to indigenous stories. See it at a film festival near you until then.
‘Wham!’ takes a bow
Netflix dropped “Wham!” on July 5th into your streaming life. The documentary from filmmaker Chris Smith (“FYRE”) chronicles the 1982 formation of the two-teenager pop band created by best friends George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley and their subsequent rise to the top of the music industry. It was a fast and furious four years full of hits that have endured, and the film will include material from the singers’ personal archives, never-before-seen footage and never-before-heard interviews, making for a sweet-natured look at the decade that made them — and in the bittersweet case of Michael, the decade that made it all but impossible for him to come out as gay. We’ve seen the trailer and it looks like a love-fest. Get ready to be bathed in neon-colored nostalgia.
Are Kristen Stewart and Dylan Meyer writing on edibles?
We’ve seen Kristen Stewart hold her own as a low-key comedic MVP when she’s hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and though the actor is more often seen in dramatic roles — the charming 2020 Christmas comedy “Happiest Season” notwithstanding — we’re always rooting for her to fully break out as a comedy star. So it’s very good news to hear that she’s writing a comedy vehicle for herself alongside her fiancée Dylan Meyer. In a recent feature in “Interview” magazine, the actor noted that a) she enjoyed an edible before sitting down with interviewer Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Baby”) and that b) she and Meyer were writing a screenplay. Specifically, and this is a quote: “Me and Dylan are writing a movie… It’s a stoner girl comedy and it’s really fucking stupid. I think you’ll like it.” If we were a studio exec and that was the pitch, we’d greenlight it immediately. After all, Seth Rogen can’t do everything himself, and we’ve spent two decades absorbing the nuances of “Dude, Where’s My Car?” If these women take a crack at the genre, we’ll roll up to the multiplex in pajamas on opening day.
Romeo San Vicente never loses his car because his driver handles those little details.