Queen Latifah is heading up a biopic about herself, via her production company Flavor Unit Entertainment. And she’ll have collaborators in Westbrook Studios, which is another way of saying Will Smith will co-produce (appropriate, since he began his career in hip hop, too), as well as Jesse Collins Entertainment, the company that made “The New Edition Story” and ‘The Bobby Brown Story.” It’s all part of a planned spate of biopics focused on hip-hop legends of the ’80s, ’90s and beyond, with Latifah’s life getting the first treatment. She’s a legendary figure now, after all, so it’s time for a victory lap. No casting has been announced yet, and they might go for a newcomer, but we like the idea of someone like Emmy-nominated actor Dominique Fishback, from “The Deuce” and “Judas and The Black Messiah,” who’d bring her already-widely acclaimed talent to the role. Watch this space.
‘After The Hunt’ pushes Lío Mehiel closer to stardom
Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” just premiered at the Venice Film Festival, soon to make the awards season rounds near you, but the gay Italian auteur is already working on his next feature, “After the Hunt,” about sexual secrets in academia, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Chloe Sevigny, “Call Me By Your Name” dad Michael Stuhlbarg, and two rising queer stars, Ayo Edebiri and Lío Mehiel. You know the Emmy-nominated Edebiri already; she’s officially everywhere now, not just in “The Bear” and “Bottoms” but popping up in fashion world ads, too. Meanwhile Mehiel is a trans actor whose leading role in the last year’s indie “Mutt” earned critical acclaim, and who’s currently co-starring in the U.S. arthouse drama “In the Summers.” They’ve got a supporting role here, but it’ll be their most high-profile credit to date. Look for this one to make a “Challengers”-level mainstream splash in the coming year, and with Roberts headlining you won’t have to dig too deeply to find it.
John Mulaney and Fred Armisen are ‘All In’
Technically the subject of our discussion here is Stephin Merritt, who is gay, versus A-list comedy names John Mulaney and Fred Armisen, who are not gay. But the trio will be working together very soon on a new Broadway show called “All In: A Broadway Comedy About Love.” See, the musical is written by Simon Rich, directed by Alex Timbers, and it stars the famous funny guys, but it was all inspired by the songs of gay indie music icon Stephen Merritt, his band The Magnetic Fields, and specifically their 1999 album titled “69 Love Songs.” Merritt has composed the music for the new show, and Mulaney and Armisen will… sing? Maybe? We don’t know. But it will make sense if they do: Merritt’s songs are heartfelt, romantic, bittersweet, intelligent and funny, perfect material for actors who can deliver those qualities. It’s coming up very quickly, too, opening December 11 at New York’s Hudson Theater, so if you haven’t yet been introduced to all 69 of those love songs, now’s your chance to catch up.
‘Unicorn Boy’ takes an October bow
The world of indie animation has taken to queer themes in ways that the likes of Disney and others have been more timid about and more slow to embrace. Case in point: a bright star from this year’s Slamdance Festival, “Unicorn Boy,” will take its streaming bow (with a very limited theatrical moment) this fall, giving anyone with the internet the ability to see it. Created and animated entirely by filmmaker Matty Kiel, the young adult coming-of-age feature follows a young person named Matty whose recent heartbreak finds him drawn into a unicorn-run alternate dimension. It’s about love and gender identity and finding peace, issues that affect so many queer young people and that often go ignored by corporate animation. Kiel voices Matty and the rest of the cast includes Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Cindy Paola, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Trachtenberg and Parvesh Cheena. Look for it when it drops October 11 across all the usual rental platforms.
Romeo San Vicente knows every word to all 69 songs.
