I met Nick Wauters, whose short film, "Ryan's Life" won outstanding short film at Outfest 2005, on Friday night at the Q-MeCon opening night party (yes, I'm still getting through interviews from the conference!). Nick is excited that here! TV has picked it up as a series and it is due to go into production "sometime this year." It is not known if any of the cast members from the movie (pictured below) will be in the series.
"It's sort of like a gay 'Wonder Years,' It's about this kid who's coming out and he's realizing that he's gay. It has a voiceover and he's keeping a journal and going through his feelings. Everything is going through his head. Once he comes out to himself, then he has to come out to his family, his girlfriend, and then he realizes his grandma is really the one person who he can confide in. There's a great relationship between him and his grandma and so that's the basis for the whole series."
Wauters says the original short film "is semi-based on my life. We won a lot of awards at festivals and what it made me realize is that it's a film that a lot of people can relate to. Not just for gay people but when you're a tenn, it's really about being different and trying to fit in. Everybody saw themselves somehow in that character."

One of his hopes - besides having the series be reassuring to gay teens - is that the series will also appeal to straight people and help them gain insight into the thought process of a young person learning about their sexuality and what they go through.
"It's hard and people don't always realize that," he said. "Kids have an easier time coming out these days just because of what you see on TV but that also makes us forget that it's not easy for all the kids. I'm very involved in The Trevor Project and there's a lot of kids out there really having a hard time. If I could just help one kid with this project, it would be amazing."

Click HERE to read more about RYAN'S LIFE...

The gay friendly Rue McClanahan is attatched to play Ryan's grandmother and Wauters says she is "really excited" about being part of the series. Speaking of Rue, she has a new memoir out called "My First Five Husbands...and the Ones Who Got Away." She had a chat with The Advocate and was asked why she thought gay men love her "Golden Girls" character of Blanche Devereaux so much - aside from her glamour and way with men.
Said McClanahan: "She always bounced back from disappointment very quickly. I think that's why a lot of people loved her. Underneath she was insecure, or she wouldn't have been so man crazy. It wasn't a driving physical need for her, but she sure did love sex."