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'Glee' Creator Adapting 'The Normal Heart' with Mark Ruffalo

by Ethan Anderton
July 1, 2010
Source: MTV

While we don't cover much television news around here, that doesn't mean we don't partake in some choice TV series every now and then. One in particular, the peppy musical series "Glee" seems to have taken many people by storm, and MTV found out that the series creator, Ryan Murphy, may be making a switch from an upbeat TV series to a powerful dramatic film. Mark Ruffalo revealed in the MTV interview that he is signed on to star in The Normal Heart - an adaptation of writer Larry Kramer's semi-autobiographical play, which focuses on the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984. Read on!

The events of the tumultuous period would be seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo), the gay Jewish founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. Here's what Ruffalo had to say about the story:

"It's basically a story of when the AIDS outbreak happened in New York," he explained of the film's premise. "It wasn't really taken seriously, I think specifically because it was 'the gay cancer,' they called it. I think it's a really interesting time in America. I think to see someone who really does change the world by his commitment and he's even totally by himself at times, there's still a real power in that. I love that it's a people-powered movement that actually changed the way our government looked at this epidemic. I think there's a real powerful message to that and something that we forget. We can get really cynical about what we can do, it gets stacked against us and they're all corrupt — and at the end of the day, everything starts with people. The reason they're there is because of us."

Though Ruffalo mentions Murphy by name, he doesn't come right out and say that he's directing the feature, so there's a chance that maybe he's only involved as a producer. Kramer himself is adapting his own play, so that should make this a very loyal adaptation, not to mention quite a personal piece of work from the writer. I've always been a fan of Mark Ruffao's work in films like The Brothers Bloom (a must-see if you haven't all ready) and even in simple romantic comedies like 13 Going on 30. We'll be keeping our eyes on this for sure. It sounds like production won't be underway too soon, but at least the cast is coming together. Interested?

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