For the last two weeks, Anne Heche, Sandra Oh and Alicia Silverstone have been shooting a new film called Catfight in NYC. The independent film from director Onur Tukel will follow “two bitter rivals whose grudge match spans [a] lifetime. Struggling outsider artist Ashley Miller (Anne Heche) and wealthy housewife Veronica Salt (Sandra Oh) were close in college but haven’t seen each other since. When they find themselves attending the same glitzy birthday party, verbal barbs lead to fisticuffs and an all-out brawl that will keep these two locked in combat for years to come.” Alicia will play Anne’s “love interest,” Lisa.
While I’m not crazy about the idea of a film about two women who are in a, well, catfight, Alicia Silverstone has been a femme idol of mine since Clueless, and I’m thrilled to see her playing queer. I’m also hopeful that these actresses would choose a project of merit and that the description is only part of the story, with more to the women than their rivalry.
Onur Tukel said of the film: “The fight scenes are also insanely intense. We’ve made a very funny comedy here, but it’s also tragically dark.” He also promised that it will “offer much more than fighting – it is really about two tragically flawed women.” Catfight will also comment on “male aggression, American apathy, class conflict, Islamophobia, maternal sacrifice and the absurdity of war.” No small tasks!
It’s worth noting that this is also Anne Heche’s first queer role since she reneged on her lesbianism and bisexuality after dating Ellen DeGeneres for three years beginning in 1997. In 1995, she played a lesbian in Wild Side (opposite Joan Chen), and before their split in 2000, she directed Ellen in a segment with Sharon Stone for the lesbian-themed If These Walls Could Talk 2.
Sadly, it doesn’t sound like Sandra Oh’s character is lesbian or bi-identified, but we’ve seen her in gay roles in films like Tammy and Under the Tuscan Sun.
Production just wrapped on Catfight, so we’ll likely see it pop up at a festival sometime within the next year.
