A reader just sent us this article from the Dallas Observer on homo playwright Doug Wright. As you may or may not know, Wright first made a name for himself with I Am My Own Wife (for which he won both a Pulitzer and a Tony and went on to pen the surprisingly entertaining play-turned-movie "based on truth" account of Marquis de Sade, Quills.

The meat of the article concerns how Wright's experience growing up gay in the Park Cities area of Dallas helped fuel his creative process. Of particular interest to young Wright were the demented realities of the seemingly perfect neighborhood. Glenna Whitley reports:

"As a kid growing up there, I had playmates whose parents had drug problems or secret closeted sexual lives or were always on the brink of scandal. I remember the Cullen Davis trial. A couple of teachers lost their jobs because of sex scandals with students. That was fascinating to me as a kid."

He was also fascinated by The Twilight Zone, Roald Dahl's books and cartoons by Charles Addams, whatever was weird and creepy and off-kilter. That fascination would serve Wright well.

We can't wait to see what twist he'll put on the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid

Also, here's another snippet we find notable:

Before his first Halloween, Wright's mother asked her son who he wanted to be for trick-or-treating. Little Doug didn't hesitate.

"A fairy princess!" he said.

To her credit, his mother kept a straight face. But when she gave the boy a big box containing a costume, it didn't hold a pink dress, white wings and silver wand. Inside was a bright red devil outfit. "Better I be Satan than a run-of-the-mill fairy princess," Wright says dryly.

Not us, of course.

It’s no secret Queerty harbors a deep love for the Maysles Brothers brilliant documentary Grey Gardens. The film, which if you ignorant queens don't know, centers on Jackie O’s eccentric (to say the least) cousins has had a gay cult following for years (it even spawned a Rufus Wainright song - again for you ignorant bitches). Well, now you can see Big Edie and Little Edie’s names in lights.

"

Grey Gardens" also developed a following among people, gay men especially, who responded both to the implicit campiness of the film — two faded old biddies, preening and bickering and singing Cole Porter tunes in la-di-dah accents — and to the women's eccentricity, originality and uncompromising independence. The two Edies, a cross between the Collyer brothers and Miss Havisham and Estella, are a bizarre version of the American family but ultimately an affectionate and mutually sustaining one. Their admirers include numbers of men who love to watch the film while dressed in drag and reciting the dialogue from memory.

The Cat Ladies Sing [NY Times]

Every gay man and woman we’ve ever met loves Grey Gardens, the best documentary ever produced. And for good reason. Little Edie and Big Edie are two of the craziest rich people we’ve ever come across. We can never get enough of Little Edie marching down the mansion’s steps to the foyer in her black leotard a la 2005 Madge and boogey down with Old Glory. Well, mom and daughter will be getting the big screen treatment.

Variety reports that Drew Barrymore will play "Little Edie" Beale and Jessica Lange her mother, "Big Edie" Bouvier Beale, in a new drama based on the eccentric socialites immortalized in the gay cult fave documentary Grey Gardens. Written and directed by first-timer Michael Sucsy, this new film—also titled Grey Gardens—will cover 40 years of their lives, and other characters will include Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ben Bradlee, and Sally Quinn.

Just what we need. A Grey Gardens prequel! And, for once, that’s not sarcasm.

We love Drew - She’s cute and it seems like she’d be the perfect fag hag. And Jessica Lange as momma Edie? She could possess the perfect amount of bitterness and bitchiness to pull of Big Edie with a great over-the-top style.

We can't wait. This movie could be the new What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Barrymore and Lange to play the Beales of Grey Gardens [The Advocate]

• Brent Hartinger talks with Making Love Screenwriter Barry Sandler about Brokeback Mountain. [Big Gay Picture]

• Brokeback is not a gay movie. It is a movie about loneliness. And this straight reviewer thinks everyone can relate to that. [MSNBC]

• The Book of Daniel’s creator has spoken out about the show’s cancellation. [After Elton]

• Madonna is starting to look a bit like Little Edie. It’s the best costume of the day! [Vimeo]

&bull It’s time to Ask a Republican! This may be funnier than the Grey Gardens/Madonna video. [Ask A Republican]