Greek indie The Lobster gets an all-star cast

Ever heard of Yorgos Lanthimos? No? It’s fine if you haven’t. He’s an independent filmmaker from Greece, whose daring, unnerving movies – 2009’s Dogtooth and 2011’s Alps – have earned him high critical praise and a cult following of cinephiles. And until now his films have starred Greek actors speaking Greek. But with his latest, The Lobster, due to bow at Cannes, he’s gathered up a cast of English-speaking movie stars for a trip into a very strange bestial world. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, John C. Reilly and Ben Whishaw will star in the bizarre sci-fi comedy, about a future in which single people have exactly 45 days to find a mate or suffer the consequence of being transformed into animals and released into the wild. If you check out the character roster in IMDB, you’ll see that there are very few names and lots of anonymous descriptions: “Limping Man,” “Biscuit Woman” and “Nosebleed Woman” round out this cast. No word yet on who actually plays The Lobster, but it’s a much less important detail than the one where we all learn when this incredible thing is hitting theaters. Because we want to see it right away.

When will Reese Witherspoon and Todd Haynes give us fever?

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Reese Witherspoon is producing a biopic about legendary singer Peggy Lee, the artist who gave the world “Is That All There Is” and “Fever,” in addition to voicing Peg, the saucy pound dog in Lady and The Tramp. Word is that Witherspoon’s also planning to star as Lee. On board is screenwriter Doug Wright, who wrote I Am My Own Wife. So far, so good. Witherspoon has one Oscar for playing a famous singer, so why not try for another? Biopics are usually solid choices for that sort of thing. Now, add acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) to the mix, and it reorients the entire project, lending it an aura of adventurous art film before a single frame is shot. Will it be something on the order of I’m Not There, Haynes’ head-spinningly cool riff on the life of Bob Dylan, or something more like HBO’s equally strong yet mainstream Mildred Pierce? It’s thrilling to think about the possibilities, especially with one of Hollywood’s most powerful A-listers in front of the camera. What remains to be seen, of course, is how heavy a hand this producer/star will lay on the idiosyncratic filmmaker, and what will become of the final product. Until then, we wait.

Brokeback writers return to gay story

The Brokeback Mountain screenwriting team of Diana Ossana and novelist Larry McMurtry are writing another gay-themed drama for True Detective director Cary Fukunaga. The as-yet-untitled project revolves around the true story of Jadin Bell. Bell was a 15-year-old openly gay high school student who, in 2013, tragically committed suicide after enduring non-stop bullying by his classmates. If that weren’t heartbreaking enough, Jadin’s grieving father, Joe, began the arduous task of walking across the continental United States to raise awareness of anti-gay bullying, and as a tribute to the son he lost. But halfway through his journey, Joe was hit by truck and killed. Not the sort of uplifting story most gay audiences are looking for. But if anyone can turn this incredibly sad slice of real life into something visually and narratively compelling and watchable, it’s this team. But when it’s ready, bring your tissues. There’s no way you won’t need them.

A gay couple will be incinerated by aliens in Independence Day 2

OK, maybe they won’t be incinerated. Maybe they won’t die at all. Who knows, maybe they’ll even be the Will-Smith-ish heroes of the whole film. Details are actually incredibly sketchy right now. But the word from gay director Roland Emmerich, the man who has launched enough cinematic disasters to rival Irwin Allen’s 1970s heyday (that’s the man behind The Poseidon Adventure – Google him, kids), is that there’ll be a gay couple among the ensemble cast of Independence Day 2. Now, if you remember back to the first Independence Day, we were treated to the sight of Harvey Fierstein running around being funny in the midst of impending alien-doom. Then he was consumed by an enormous wall of fire. Worse, the poor thing was single. But thanks to the march of history and pending nationwide marriage equality, this time around we can look forward to two gays being consumed by an enormous wall of fire. That’s progress, folks. And right, like we said up front, they might not die at all. But they probably will.