Two years ago came headlines about “Rub & Tug,” a true story film set to star Scarlett Johansson as transgender massage parlor owner Dante ‘Tex’ Gill (born Lois Jean Gill) who took on the Pittsburgh mob in the 1970s and built a crime empire.
Trans groups, activists and prominent members of the LGBTQ community were not happy with the ‘ciswashing’ casting and with Johansson and director Rupert Sanders coming fresh off a whitewashing backlash over the live-action “Ghost in the Shell”. ScarJo walked away from the project and it appeared to stall in development and was seemingly abandoned.
Or maybe not. Deadline reports that New Regency is developing a TV drama series about Dante ‘Tex’ Gill, and this one will be penned by Emmy-nominated trans writer Our Lady J (“Pose,” “Transparent”). In addition, the series aims to have a trans male actor in the lead role.
Our Lady J, who grew up in Pittsburgh, says in a statement: “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.”
