A little bird who nests at Logo (AfterElton's parent company) just gave us word that the gay network has officially greenlit a movie based on the fan-favorite gay show Noah's Arc, which told the story of a group of gay African-American friends navigating life and love in the city. Despite being a groundbreaking show for visibility of gay men (and further, gay men of color), the show was canceled after two seasons, leaving its fans unsure of what happened with the boys. Looks like we're going to find out!

The film's working title is Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom (I guess a shark was too dangerous?) and we're told it is a wedding-themed film (they won't tell us whose wedding...) that will pick up where the series left off at the cliffhanger season finale. Production begins in March and newly-out lead Darryl Stephens (Noah), Doug Spearman (Chance), Rodney Chester (Alex) and Christian Vincent (Ricky) are set to return, with other casting to be announced soon.

Series creator Patrik-Ian Polk had this to say about the announcement:

"I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to take this cult hit TV show to the big screen. With the exception of the many 70's hit shows to get the film treatment, very few television series get to make the move to movie theatres. It's a bold experiment, but I've come to expect nothing less from the MTV Networks/Logo brand. And I look forward to continuing the funny and dramatic sagas of Noah and his friends as we pick up where we left off in the dramatic second season cliffhanger. It's been a little wait for the fans, but I promise they won't be disappointed. 'Jumping The Broom' definitely takes this story to the next level in a big way.”

Logo President Brian Graden had this to say:

"We're proud that our first flagship series will now be Logo's first original movie. Logo and the show’s fans have been with Noah and his friends from the beginning and we're excited to see that Patrik-Ian Polk will be continuing their stories on the big screen."

But that's not all: Polk and Stephens also wanted to deliver the news in person via a special video message just for AfterElton.com readers. Check it out below!

In a rather curious "soft outing", Noah's Arc star Darryl Stephens has come out in Out Magazine via his inclusion in the Out 100. (That's a lot of "out" for someone who doesn't discuss his sexuality!) Says the blurb on their blog:

"In a year of revolving closet doors for TV actors, we can also offer one long-anticipated quiet confirmation: Noah's Arc star Darryl Stephens, who has declined to discuss his sexuality while playing a series of nuanced gay roles. He doesn't exactly talk about it, but he proudly joins the other queer honorees in our pages."

I've confirmed with the folks at Out that being gay is and has always been a criterion for the list, so it's safe to say that his appearance here is his coming out party. It's nice to see Hot 100 vet Stephens embracing his out status in the same way that his gay fans have embraced him, and I'm personally looking forward to being able to cover him and his projects without having to talk around the issue. The guy's gorgeous, charismatic, and a lot of fun to watch, and I think that's what we'd all rather focus on.

Okay, the whole reason I write for this site is so I can say stuff like this: “When I was chatting with Wilson Cruz yesterday, he told me….”

Of course, I realize that my ability to drop the names of Very Important Gay Personages that I’ve interviewed is not why you read what I write, so let me get to the part you will care about: Guess what Wilson Cruz said he’d be doing come November?

He’ll be filming the Noah’s Arc movie! Yes, for all of us who have been in withdrawal since the end of the second season, it looks like our long dark night of the soul will soon be over.

I asked Wilson about his upcoming projects, and he casually mentioned he expected to start filming the Noah’s Arc movie soon. I perked up and, showing the amazing journalistic skills for which I’m justly renowned, gushed a little and said, “Oh wow, what’s going on with that?”

Wilson Cruz: Well, we have a script. We should be shooting before the end of the year, maybe November-ish.
Me: Is it definite?
Wilson Cruz: It looks that way, yeah.

Friday

As the World Turns (CBS) Check local listings
Well, I'm all excited about today's big groundbreaking kiss between Luke and Noah. I've seen a few ATWT fans complain that there hasn't really been much chemistry between Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann, but it's impossible not to see sparks just in watching the filming of that kiss. Yowza.

UPDATE: Barring unforeseen Internet issues, I'm going to liveblog the episode at 2PM EDT. So if you're stuck at work and want to be part of the historic moment as it happens (as filtered through the head of a guy who has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to this show), check back then! - BJ

Saturday

Noah's Arc Marathon (Logo) starting at 10:00 PM EDT
If you've been looking to catch up on Logo's charming drama, the entire second season gets an airing tonight.

Sunday

The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman (IFC) 8:30 PM EDT
I'm still waiting for Patrick Bristow to get some major screen time as the gay assistant at Jackie's workplace, but in the meantime I'm having a lot of fun watching Jackie and Tara navigate the dysfunctions of Hollywood, fueled on alcohol and drugs. So far, this one is feeling like a cross between AbFab and The Comeback, both good things to be reminded of.

Cold Case (CBS) 9:00PM EDT
If you missed the groundbreaking gay policeman episode, "Forever Blue", it re-airs tonite. Definitely one not to be missed. We interviewed Shane Johnson, who plays Coop, one of the gay cops in this passionate and sensitively-told tale, back in December.

I previewed the iPhone for a music blog I write for, and was all OMG what am I supposed to do with this paltry little 8 gigs of storage the iPhone has? Am I the only person who believed Apple when they said I had to take all my music with me everywhere I go, and who has 14 gigs of music on their iPod?

However, the problem isn’t how I’m going to scale back my music library to cram into 8 gigs of storage space. It isn't even that it’s too expensive (although it is), nor that the web access is slow (although it is), nor that the battery is almost irreplaceable and has a projected life of only around one year, nor any of the other problems the otherwise star-struck reviewers have mentioned in passing.

No, although all those things are undeniably problems, they are nothing compared to the question of what I'm going to do with the 30 or so gigs of lesbian/gay television programming I have on my 60 gig video iPod.

So tell me, Apple: What do you want me to delete to fit my digital library onto this pathetic tiny little greatest-electronic-toy-ever-marketed?

Over on my urban pop culture site ClayCane.net, the gays (and the straights) are having a heated debate regarding Rodney Chester from Noah's Arc on the Wendy Williams Experience radio show this past Friday. Rod 2.0 also covered the story, which has added to the dialog about the “I’ll never tell” stance from some of the cast members of Noah’s Arc in reference to their sexuality. Here is the rundown from my site:

Wendy made a comment about Rodney Chester being gay. Chester quickly responded with, "Who said I was gay?" Immediately, Wendy Williams was sent into a complete ball of confusion, stuttering and asking if he was joking. Chester went onto explain that he and the other cast members want to keep a level of mystery in regard to their sexuality.

In regard to Chester, Wendy yelled, "THERE IS NO MYSTERY!" She proceeded to jabber about his poppin' lip gloss, all of the gay-oriented roles he has played, being a choreographer — things she argued were stereotypically gay…this must be what Larry King felt in that scary interview with Clay Aiken in 2006. A bewildered Wendy surveyed the room and asked who thought Chester was gay—the entire room raised their hands.

The news of the majority of the main cast members (with the exception of Advocate cover boy Doug Spearman being completely out) leaving their sexuality a "mystery" is old news to most people in the gay community, but to a mainstream media figure like Wendy, it was earth shattering and a bit confusing.

You may already know that the second season of Noah's Arc is due out on DVD June 12th. But just in case that weren't enough cause for excitement, we've got a handful of exclusive (and very nice) pics of the adorable Trey (Gregory Keith) to get your blood pumping.

If these look like pics from some bizarro beefcake calendar, it's because they are -- and a little bird tells me that you can check out the missing months (as well as a rundown of the DVD's special features) over at NewNowNext.

Happy Hump Day!