Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBT-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend.
1) The 32nd annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film festival, celebrating work by Asian international and Asian Pacific American filmmakers, takes place this week. On Saturday, April 23, GLAAD is co-presenting the short documentary Tet (New Year), about a gay Vietnamese New Year’s celebration. Later that day, also presented by GLAAD, the festival is screening the documentary Out Run, which follows the rise of the first Filipino LGBT political party. Tickets are available here for those in the Los Angeles Area.
2) Marielle Heller is set to adapt the HBO documentary The Case Against 8 into a scripted feature film. The documentary gives an inside look at the Supreme Court case that overturned Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage. Heller, who directed the indie hit Diary of a Teenage Girl, is working with 20th Century Fox on the adaptation.
3) HBO just opened submissions for the Get Suited contest in partnership with the tailor Bindle & Keep, who work on custom designs for transgender and gender non-conforming people. Bindle & Keep is the subject of HBO’s upcoming documentary Suited. The contest is open to LGBT youth ages 13-24. To enter, the contestant has to upload a short video talking about what fashion and identity mean to them. Submissions are open until May 6th, and prizes include a custom made suit and an all-expenses paid trip to New York.
4) Out filmmaker Todd Haynes is currently working on his new film Wonderstruck. Based on the novel of the same name, the film tells the story of two deaf children, Rose in 1927 and Ben in 1977. The film has cast deaf actress Millicent Simmonds as Rose and her half of Wonderstruck will be presented as a silent film with several deaf actors also starring. The Carol director is working with Amazon Studios to produce the film. In other film news, Kate McKinnon is set to star in the comedy Women in Business which follows two competitive business women sent on a work trip to Canada who hire a woman off Craigslist to be their intern.
5) TV Land has ordered a 10-episode season of the comedy news show Throwing Shade. Based on the popular podcast of the same name, the show, hosted by comedians Erin Gibson and Brian Safi, examines issues faced by both women and the LGBT community in politics and pop culture. Throwing Shade is slated for a January 2017 release, but you can watch a clip from the pilot below.
6) Cartoon Network's Steven Universe is releasing a children’s book based on their iconic episode “The Answer.” The episode focused on the romantic relationship between gems Ruby and Sapphire and how their love formed the character Garnet when the two fused. The book will be written by Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar, and will expand on Ruby and Sapphire’s love story. Entitled The Answer, the book will be released on September 6th and is available for pre-order now.
7) Lifetime has announced that they are developing None of the Above, based on the young adult novel of the same name, about a girl whose life drastically changes when she finds out she is intersex. The series is set to be directed by Stephen Chbosky of Perks of Being a Wallflower. In other TV news, Person of Interest released an extended trailer for their fifth and final season, featuring the fan favorite couple, Root and Shaw.
8) Rafael de la Fuente (Empire) has been cast in the ABC miniseries When We Rise, De la Fuente will play Ricardo, who is in a relationship with advocate Cleve Jones. MTV’s Faking It has released a midseason trailer for season three, promising a new love interest for Amy, and a whole slew of new drama.
9) Hit indie band PVRIS is releasing the deluxe version of their album White Noise today. The band, led by out singer Lyndsey Gunnulfsen, is also currently touring. Out singer Tanita Tikaram has released a music video for her song “The Way You Move” off her album Closer to the People.
10) Bi The Way is an original webseries centered on a bisexual woman who has recently re-entered the dating world. The series is currently looking for full funding through Storyhive where people interested in the concept can vote for the series and the winners in each category (web series, digital short, music video, etc.) receive full funding and have their final project distributed through TELUS Optik TV On Demand and online. Find out more about Bi The Way at the show's page.
