Deep Inside Hollywood
Billy Porter in the director’s chair
He’s one of the stars of Pose, due to return for a third season sometime in 2021; he co-hosted
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020 with Seacrest and Lucy Hale; he’s a recording artist and musical-theater veteran and exuberant fashion titan, and now Billy Porter will add filmmaker to his resume.
He’ll be directing the upcoming high school coming-of-age feature called
What If? The rom-com involves a teenager named Khal who posts about his crush on a transgender classmate named Kelsa, and with the internet cheering them on, the pair embark on a senior year romance. Lesbian super-producer Christine Vachon is behind the project in a new deal her Killer Films struck with MGM. There’s no cast yet, but you’ll know more when we do. For now it’s pleasing enough that this project is moving forward and pushing open the boundaries of mainstream film, addressing the historical imbalance with more trans/POC stories.