GLAAD/LA Reports - August Issue Carl Matthes, Editor (213) 254-2726/FAX (213) 257-5878 GLAAD/LA and Hollywood Supports have compiled a list of other AIDS-themed and/or gay-and-lesbian-themed projects currently in the works. Included are: "Acceptable Risks" (Warner Bros. Spring Creek Productions) Journalist Jonathan Kwitny's book about "AIDS activists; fight to bring unapproved pharmaceuticals to patients," is, per Entertainment Weekly (6/1/92) in development. "And the Band Played On" (HBO Films/Spelling Entertainment) - Based on Randy Shilts' book; directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Richard Gere, Lily Tomlin, Matthew Modine, Anjelica Houston, and others. Currently in post-production; debut broadcast on September 11. "Angels in America" (Avenue Pictures) - Based on the hit play Tony Kushner. In development. "Blue Earth" (Sandollar Productions) - Produced by Howard Rosenman, "Blue Earth" is a "true story about a Chicago fast-tracker who returns to his hometown and learns he has AIDS," (Entertainment Weekly, 6/19/92). In development. "The Celluloid Closet" (documentary) Telling Pictures - This San Francisco-based film production company that produced the Academy Award-winning documentary "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt," in July '92 secured the documentary film rights to Vito Russo's highly acclaimed book about homosexuality in the movies (Hollywood Reporter, 7/27/92). In development. "Cure" (Columbia) - To be directed by Francis Ford Coppola from Diane Johnson's script. Entertainment Weekly, 6/1/92, says it is "about the search for an AIDS cure." Not yet in production, but it is in "the development bin" at Zoetrope Studios, according to Variety. "We're calling it fiction--but," says Coppola. "Daybreak" - Based on the play "Beirut," "Daybreak" is set ten years in the future, when "the fear of AIDS is used as a tool by the government to break down civil liberties," (Variety). Written and directed by Stephen Tolkin and produced by John Bard Manulis' Chestnut Hill Productions. Cast includes John Savage, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Martha Plimpton. Production completed. The filmmakers plan to shop around for a theatrical distribution deal. (Originally made for cable in conjunction with HBO.) "The Dreyfuss Affair" (Touchstone) - Adaptation of Peter Lefcourt's book, The Dreyfuss Affair: A Love Story. Described by Claudia Eller in Dish (Variety, 5/5/92) as a "romantic comedy about a 28 year-old married white baseball player with two kids who falls in love with a black teammate." Lefcourt will adapt his book for the screen version. "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (Fine Line) - Gus Van Sant adapted and directed Tom Robbin's novel; with Uma Thurman, John Nurt, Lorraine Braco and Keanu Reeves. "Falsettos" (Disney) - Adaptation of William Finn-James Lapine's 1192 Tony-winning musical about friends, lovers and families in the age of AIDS. According to Variety writer, Claudia Eller (Dish 6/30/92), Disney studio execs Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg saw the show on Broadway and "flipped over it." They want to do a low-budget version to be produced by Craig Zaden and Neil Merton (Storyline Productions). Project in development. "Family Values" (Columbia Pictures) - Writer Barry Sandler's ("Making Love") story is described by Variety (7/9/92) as being about a "straight columnist and his gay brother, who find the meaning of family values while fighting society's perceptions and homophobia." A Producers Entertainment Group, Krost/Chapin, Inc. production. In development. "Farewell to My Concubine" - Directed by Chen Kaige, written by Lillian Li, from her novel (to be published in the U.S. in '93). Described by the Hollywood Reporter (8/25/92) as "China's first film dealing with homosexuality," the story recounts the 50-year relationship of two Beijing opera actors eventually reunited in Hong Kong. Film wrapped production in August '92. "Good Days" - Per Entertainment Weekly (6/19/92), this Propaganda Films' production is an AIDS courtroom drama with an original script by Ramsey Fadiman ("The Normal Heart"). John Schlesinger ("Midnight Cowboy") is set to direct. Still in development as of 1/21/93. "The Mayor of Castro Street" (Warner Bros.) - The life and times of slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk. In development for more than 11 years, according to Variety (10/21/92). Not yet cast, though Robin Williams has been mentioned for the title role. Repeated delays; still not shooting. Oliver Stone executive producer with Craig Zaden and Neil Meron producing. "The Normal Heart" (Columbia) - Will Barbara Streisand (per the Hollywood Reporter, 2/10/93) direct? Or maybe co-star in this long awaited adaptation by Ramsey Faidman, also currently completing the screenplay for John Schlesinger's "Good Days." Larry Kramer's play is about the early days of the AIDS epidemic and its impact on two lovers. It is expected that Streisand's newest project, "The Mirror Has Two Faces," will go into production before "The Normal Heart." "Not For Profit" - Jenny Livingston's next project contains, according to the Los Angeles Times, "an interacial lesbian love story and a witchcraft subplot." Livingston hasn't found "much (financial) backing" for the film, despite having "Paris is Burning" as a credit. Not yet in production. "The Object of My Affection" (20th Century Fox) - Written by Wendy Wasserman from the book by Stephen McCauley. "Philadelphia" (Tristar) - Directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. Also featured is Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen and Antonio Banderas. Shooting completed; Fall '93 release. "Pursuit of Happiness" - Low-budget-for-home-video adaptation of play staged at L.A.'s Celebration Theater, "Pursuit of Happiness" chronicles "three decades of gay and lesbian history in Los Angeles" and will feature a large multi ethnic cast, according to Out and About Pictures' president, Kevin Glover (Update, 4/22/92). In preproduction. "Reunion" (for TV) - Written and directed by ex-Black Panther and Sundance Institute Director Jamal Joseph, "Reunion" examines the "emotionally charged and difficult issues related to AIDS in the African-American community" (per press release). Produced by AIDSFILMS, a non-profit organization in New York, the producers have assembled a production team "that is diverse in terms of race, gender and sexual orientation." "Via Appia" (Independent) - Directed by Jochen Hick. Concerns, per the Los Angeles Times, "an HIV-positive man's search for the hustler who infected him." Film apparently played in Los Angeles a year ago and opened in New York last August. "The Wedding Banquet" (Taiwanese-American; Samuel Goldwyn pick-up.) - Directed by NYU film school graduate Ang Lee, who directed "Pushing Hands" (theme unknown). Producers are James Schamus and Ted Hope, all of them partners in the Good Machine Production Company. The film concerns a closeted, upwardly mobile Chinese man, living with his Caucasian lover in New York, who marries his female tenant in order to satisfy his parents' urgent request to see him married before his father dies. Complications arise when his parents decide to come to America to meet the bride. A disappointing civil marriage ceremony adjourns to a Chinese restaurant where a series of events leads to a lavish wedding banquet for the young couple. This highly intelligent comedy illustrates the uncontrollable consequences of deception. The fact that the film's leading protagonist is a gay person of color, and that women emerge as complex characters, are additional factors to the film's success. In English and Mandarin Chinese. Screened at the '92 Berlin Film Festival and opening in Los Angeles in August. Miscellaneous: Juliet Bashmore, director of "Kamikaze Hearts" (theme unknown), completed a film last August (title unknown) about "radical drag queens living in East Berlin" (Los Angeles Times), for "Out," the weekly gay-themed program on Britian's Channel 4. Up-and-coming directors (per Los Angeles Times' Calendar ) Nicole Holofener (Columbia University graduate) and Sadie Benning (video artist from Wisconsin). Please look for these projects. And, please notify us about other projects not listed.