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SOUND BITES The often homophobic rants spouted by characters in Eminem songs have left the Pet Shop Boys thinking the rapper doth protest too much. In a song on the British pop duo's new album ''Release'' (due out April 23), they imagine Eminem as a gay man who has a liaison with a male fan. ''The Night I Fell in Love'' doesn't cite him by name, but the lyrics make the reference clear: ''I said we could be secret lovers/ Just him and me/ Then he joked/ Hey man, your name isn't Stan, is it?/ We should be together.'' Talking to MTV News, singer Neil Tennant explained, ''Eminem's defense of the homophobic lyrics on his albums has always been that he's not speaking as himself, he's speaking as a character, and he's representing homophobia in America. I thought it would be quite interesting to take that method and just to imagine a scene where a boy meets a famous rap star backstage at his concert and is surprised to discover he's gay and ends up sleeping with him. Just to present rap in this homosexual context. I mean, there obviously are gay rap stars.'' Tennant added, ''I like Eminem's records,'' he said. ''I think he's brilliant.''
No word on what Eminem may think of the song, but MTV News played it for his producer/mentor, Dr. Dre, who is also referenced in the song. ''Oh my God, he's going to murder them,'' Dre laughed. ''We needed another song anyway. They just gave us a concept. Oh my God. I hope they can stand the backlash. That's funny as hell.'' Dre's comment implies that Eminem may record a response to the track; there's still time before the release of his upcoming CD, ''The Eminem Show,'' on June 4.
REEL DEALS That Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe reunion will have to wait. Scott is in talks with Warner Bros. to direct ''Matchstick Men.'' It's a thriller based on an unpublished novel by Eric Garcia about a con man who learns he has a daughter. It would film this summer, pushing back to the fall Scott's 19th-century war epic ''Tripoli,'' in which he was hoping his ''Gladiator'' star Crowe would play the lead....
Luke Wilson will co-star opposite Bob Dylan in ''Masked and Anonymous,'' in which Dylan will play Jack Fate, a singer who returns to performing after a prison term. Shooting begins in July....
Every actress in Hollywood tries to play younger than her years. Except for Amanda Bynes. The 16-year-old ''Big Fat Liar'' star will play 19 in ''American Girl,'' in which she'll star as the title Yank, seeking her long-lost father in London. Shooting starts in June....
Here's the serial killer movie that should bury a knife in the genre once and for all. In ''Suspect Zero,'' an FBI agent pursues a killer whose targets are other serial killers. Aaron Eckhart, best known as the biker/nanny in ''Erin Brockovich,'' is in talks to play the fed for director E. Elias Merhige (''Shadow of the Vampire'')....
Joe Nussbaum, who wrote and directed the parody short ''George Lucas in Love'' a couple years back, finally spun his little calling card into a feature directing gig. MGM has hired him to shoot ''I Want Kandee,'' a comedy about a teenage pop idol who yearns to live a normal life.
