Summer Under the Stars: Gregory Peck

Movie Dearest continues our daily previews of Turner Classic Movies' month long "Summer Under the Stars" celebration:

Now Playing Star Profile for Gregory Peck - Stardates: Born April 5, 1916, La Jolla, California; died 2003. Star Sign: Aries. Star Qualities: Imposing profile and rumbling voice, the poise of a born leading man, ability to personify decency and integrity. Star definition: "One of the most charming men I've ever met." -- Sophia Loren. Galaxy of Characters: Ezra "Penny" Baxter in The Yearling, Lewt McCanles in Duel in the Sun, Joe Bradley in Roman Holiday, Lt. Joe Clemons in Pork Chop Hill.

Tomorrow is National Friendship Day, and what better movie to watch to celebrate the occasion then one about a boy and his deer. Based on the acclaimed Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings novel of the same name, The Yearling is, like Bambi, much more then a movie about a deer.

Peck stars as the boy's father, giving a strong performance as a patriarch who will do anything for his family ... even wear a dress so his wife (Jane Wyman) can work on it. Both Peck and Wyman were nominated for Academy Awards, as was the film for Best Picture. It lost to The Best Years of Our Lives, but did win two technical Oscars, plus a special award for newcomer Claude Jarman Jr. as the young Jody Baxter.

The Yearling airs tomorrow on TCM at 5:45 PM EST.

Daniel Craig's Roman Holiday

Queer biopics are all the rage of late. Following reports this past week of Howl (featuring James Franco as poet Allen Ginsberg), there's Telstar (the Joe Meek story), Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock (about Elliot Tiber) and, of course, Milk. And now comes the news of one that stretches beyond the past century. More specifically, back to the Roman Empire.

John Boorman is helming Memoirs of Hadrian, an adaptation of Marguerite Yourcenar's critically acclaimed novel about the life of Publius Aelius P.f. Serg. Hadrianus, better known as Hadrian. Daniel Craig has been cast as the emperor, who ruled over Rome from 117 to 138 AD, his young lover Antinous (not yet cast) at his side.

Believe It or Not

Controversy has erupted over perceived homophobia in The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which opend last weekend to lackluster reviews and middling box office (guess there won't be an X-Files 3 ... although, apparently nobody told Chris Carter). Reportedly, the sequel contains some questionable content that, considering its spoilerish nature, I'll let AfterElton.com describe.

In response to this possibly offensive material, our resident critic Chris Carpenter (who gave I Want to Believe a favorable review) had this to say:

"I had some of the same concerns watching the film, and I'm a gay Catholic priest so I was especially sensitive about that. However, as I've thought the story through, I think its point is quite the opposite: it tries to equate the gay married couple with straight married couples in showing the (admittedly twisted) extremes that some will go to in order to keep a loved one alive. Working in hospice as I do, I see that desperation pretty regularly."

UPDATED: Frank Spotnitz, co-writer of I Want to Believe, responds to the controversy.

Hung Up

This headline from the Hollywood Reporter says it all: "Thomas Jane tapped for Hung lead".