Zendaya Hits the Court in ‘Challengers’ and MORE Deep Inside Hollywood

By Romeo San Vicente • Photo Submitted

Bowen Yang, Megan Thee Stallion and Nathan Lane meet ‘F*cking Identical Twins’

Where Megan Thee Stallion goes, we follow. Whether it’s her music or her on-point judging style on HBO Max’s “Legendary,” she’s got our queer allegiance. Now she’s going to act in a new A24 film from Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp, called “F*cking Identical Twins.” If you’re not up to speed on Jackson and Sharp, they were part of “The Opposition with Jordan Klepper” on Comedy Central, where they conducted “Daily Show”-style interviews while pretending to be alt-right journalists. The new project will star the duo as twins separated at birth who decide – yes, in the manner of many “Parent Trap” iterations that have come before – to reunite their divorced parents. Ms. Thee Stallion will co-star alongside Bowen Yang, Nathan Lane, and “Will & Grace” legend Megan Mullally. And did we mention that it’s also a musical? It’s a musical, the first from A24. Next question: Is it ready yet? 

Zendaya hits the court in ‘Challengers’

Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name”) has his next project lined up. “Challengers,” from a script by newcomer Justin Kuritzkes, and starring Zendaya (“Euphoria”), Mike Faist (“West Side Story”) and Josh O’Connor (“The Crown”), drops its three leads into a tennis court love triangle. When a coach transforms her husband into a Grand Slam champion and then he hits a losing streak, she makes him play a “Challenger” match (a fairly low-level situation) against his best friend, who also happens to be her former boyfriend. The awkwardness and tension is probably the point here, and after the sexual heat of “Call Me” and freaked-out tone of Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” remake, we know that the straights are not going to have an easy time of it before the closing credits. We promise to learn more about how tennis works before we buy our ticket.

‘The New Look’ gets another look with Juliette Binoche and Ben Mendelsohn

Apple TV+ has set a series order for the heavy hitters of 20th-century fashion with “The New Look,” about design legends Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, from “Damages” co-creator Todd A. Kessler. Starring Ben Mendelsohn (“Cyrano”) as Dior and Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”) as Chanel, the project is a World War II-set drama set in Paris, covering the rise of Dior and his titular New Look, as it surpasses the influence of Chanel. The series will also weave in the stories of Dior contemporaries Balenciaga, Givenchy, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent. We’re excited by anything related to vintage fashion, and it’s pure catnip for production designers and archival costume indulgence, so expect plenty of sartorial eye candy, luxurious details, and post-War gay shade. No date set for this one yet, but our label-conscious senses are already tingling.

‘Somebody Somewhere’ sets a second season

HBO’s latest underrated gem, “Somebody Somewhere,” just announced a second season, and that’s very good news. Briefly, it’s a deeply affecting comedy-drama starring cabaret-comic Bridget Everett as a middle-aged woman experiencing a mid-life crisis in her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas. With a roster of perfectly cast character actors like “Upright Citizens Brigade” vet Jeff Hiller as a local gay man who runs a clandestine queer open mic night and legendary NYC drag king Murray Hill as a soil conservation specialist (there’s a farming subplot), this is the queer show you didn’t know you needed. No word yet on when the second season drops into the HBO lineup, but if this is the first you’ve heard of it then 1) what are you waiting for and 2) there’s time to catch up. 

Romeo San Vicente is hitting the sample sale.