the mayor of castro street Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Last week, a minuscule comment from Anne Thompson led to Latino Review bursting out with a scoop they claimed was true -- that Warner Bros. would not be inviting Brandon Routh back to star in the next solo Superman flick, currently titled The Man of Steel. In her article, Thompson claimed that Bryan Singer would most likely not direct the film since he was too busy working on other projects, and that the next time we see the Superman character he would be part of the much-hyped Justice League of America.

Cue AICN flying in to the rescue. According to the site, a "very high-ranking mole who is absolutely in a position to know what's happening with this film" said that whole Brandon Routh rumor was "absolutely false." That as of right now, Warner Bros. still wants Routh to return to the role, if and when another solo flick gets up and running. AICN tells us this is based on conversations as recent as a few weeks ago. One thing that's not mentioned, however, is whether Singer would return as director. Valkyrie is all but wrapped, and The Mayor of Castro Street shouldn't take that long to piece together. So if they plan to shoot this Superman film in, say, 2009 (for a summer 2010 release), then I don't see a problem with Singer making that schedule. Then again, perhaps the studio would rather someone else come in and take the reigns.

Me? I don't care ... so long as Routh wears less make-up and bulks up a little more. I want the manly man version of Supes this time, not the teenage girl version. You?

Three people I'll admit to being a fan of: Harvey Milk; Gus Van Sant; Sean Penn. Yet for some reason I'm not really looking forward to Van Sant's Milk, a biopic of openly gay politician Harvey Milk, in which Penn will play the title role. Mostly (and I said this when Penn was first attached) I can't see the cranky actor playing the typically smiling San Francisco city supervisor, who was assassinated by a co-worker in 1978. Sure, Penn is a terrific actor who can play nearly any kind of role. But Harvey Milk? I'll believe it when I see it. If you haven't already seen the Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, and you are looking forward to Milk, you might as well save the doc to watch after seeing the Hollywood version ...

... Or, this Hollywood version, at least. There are two. The other one, titled The Mayor of Castro Street, is supposed to be directed by The Usual Suspects' Bryan Singer. But according to Variety, Mayor is stuck "in strike limbo" -- Christopher McQuarrie's script is reportedly finished but failed to be submitted pre-strike. So, Milk will definitely be the first to be filmed, and therefore will likely be the first to hit theaters. Traditionally, the first of dueling biopics wins the better box office (see Capote vs. Infamous), so Mayor may not even want to bother. Unless it gets a much better actor to play Milk -- and who knows a better actor who also resembles Milk more than Penn? As much as I dislike Penn in the role, I don't see anyone else fitting the part (I'd rather just let Times be the only Milk movie). At one point, Matt Damon was also lightly attached to Milk, but the latest news makes no mention of Damon playing assassin and fellow S.F. City Supervisor Dan White, who he would be perfect as. If he were still set to play the film's villain, I would be totally into it, but without him, I'm really fearful.

If you've never seen the Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, you should lend it your attention. Aside from being a great film, about a homosexual politician in 1970s San Francisco who was assassinated by a co-worker, it needs to be seen before Milk's image is tainted by Sean Penn. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Penn is set to play Milk in a biopic to be directed by Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho). Now, I admit Penn is a great actor, but he just doesn't have that nice-guy charm that Milk had. Instead, Penn is good for serious, brooding characters. Milk was all smiles, and Penn's smile is not nearly as pleasing. Also attached to the film is Matt Damon, who will play Milk's assassin and fellow SF City Supervisor, Dan White (hopefully Damon will wear a dimple-chin prosthetic).

For those wondering, no, this isn't the Milk biopic that we've been hearing about for awhile being made at Warner Bros. That long-planned project, being scripted by Christopher McQuarrie and to be directed by Bryan Singer, is waiting on the production of the duo's Valkyrie -- and maybe even on The Man of Steel. But we did learn of this rival production back in April. Now, if Van Sant can fast track his version, it will take the lead and the advantage. Plans are to begin filming in December with a script penned by Dustin Lance Black (TV's Big Love), though apparently if the untitled film doesn't finalize a shoot date soon, Damon may not stay on board (too bad; he's perfectly cast). The project is being produced by American Beauty's Oscar-winners Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks with financing coming from producer Michael London (Sideways) and his Groundswell Productions. They are currently in talks with one of the major specialty divisions about distribution.

They keep telling us a Superman Returns sequel is right around the corner, but at the same time director Bryan Singer keeps moving ahead with a different gig. Though he's been attached to The Mayor of Castro Street for two years now, it appears development on the pic has picked up steam after it was revealed that Gus Van Sant had begun work on a similar project. Based on the book by Randy Shilts, Castro Street will tell the real-life story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the U.S. Milk's life was tragically cut short when he -- and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone -- were assassinated by Supervisor Daniel White in 1978.

Variety tells us that Van Sant has attached himself to another Milk-related script; this one was written by Dustin Lance Black (Big Love). That project is set to be shopped around town early next week. At the same time, Warner Independent Prods. is close to a deal with Participant Prods. to co-finance Singer's Castro Street, and Chris McQuarrie (who teamed with Singer on The Usual Suspects and the recent WWII thriller, Valkyrie) will pen the final draft. We all know what happened with the whole "Capote Incident" -- how two pics, Capote and Infamous, hit theaters roughly one year apart with the former gaining a lot more recognition than the latter. Since The Mayor of Castro Street has been in development for 15 years, I assume Singer and Co. will fight tooth and nail to get their Milk story in theaters faster than Van Sant can say, "Got Milk?"

But what about Superman: The Man of Steel? We already know that Singer will helm Valkyrie (with Tom Cruise attached to star) before the Supes sequel (currently scheduled to hit theaters in 2009). Is it possible for him to fit in another film, and still be able to deliver the superhero flick on time? Is Bryan Singer faster than a speeding bullet? I guess we soon shall see ...