Remember Rub & Tug? I know it sounds like some R-rated Aubrey Plaza comedy, but for a couple of weeks in 2018 it was causing all kinds of drama in Hollywood. This was the movie that was going to star Scarlett Johansson in the true story of trans man Dante “Tex” Gill, and you can imagine the uproar at having her in that kind of role. Especially since this was coming off the whole white-washing controversy with Ghost in the Shell, and that its director, Ruper Sanders, was to join her on this, too? It was quite a thing.
Anyway, Johansson eventually took the hint that people didn’t like the idea of her playing trans. When she dropped out, that seemed to be the end of the movie, but now it’s back in a different way. Deadline reports New Regency will develop Tex Gill’s story as a TV series, with Emmy-nominated Pose and Transparent writer Our Lady J on the script. A trans actor will be cast in the role of Gill.
It’s easy to see why the story of Tex Gill just couldn’t be left to sit idle. Gill was a trans man who ran a criminal ring out of massage parlors in 1970s Pittsburgh. During that time, Gill also distributed anabolic steroids to players for the Pittsburgh Steelers, helping them dominate as Super Bowl champs.
No word on a start date, but here’s what Our Lady J had to say:
“Tex’s life story is like no other, and the rich landscape of this unexplored moment in time has truly captured my imagination. I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to write a gangster drama based on such a fascinating and diverse web of queer characters.”
“The show is about the promise of reinvention, and the peril of losing oneself in the process. Tex Gill was out and proud in an era – the late 1970s – when living authentically came with the price of social ostracization, leaving him vulnerable to a life of crime and lawlessness. Having grown up in Pennsylvania myself, I’m also excited to delve deep into Pittsburgh’s underbelly as it unspools the story of Tex’s remarkable life – it’s also the story of a city’s struggle for rebirth and a proud community’s efforts to make its voice heard.”
