Putting Mambo Italiano on celluloid by MATTHEW HAYS Montrealer Steve Gallucio’s runaway success coming-out play Mambo Italiano continues to gather momentum. The French-language version, which was translated by none other than Michel Tremblay, is currently playing in remount of its original production. The original cast of the Centaur’s English-language production will reunite this fall for another run there. And then, that show will go on the road and take up in Mirvish territory (for those who don’t know, they’re the theatre moguls with the Midas touch, behind such mega-shows as Mamma Mia and The Lion King). The show will move to one of their theatres in downtown Toronto. Now the film news: Mambo Italiano: The Movie is currently being shot in Montreal-directed by Montreal filmmaker Emile Gaudreault-and some Hollywood talent has been jetted in for the project. Paul Sorvino plays the protagonist’s father, a middle-aged man who’s forced to overcome his homophobia as the story unfolds. Local talent also abounds, including chanteuse Ginette Reno and Sophie Lorain; Mary Walsh, of This Hour Has 22 Minutes fame, also appears, with Luke Kirby (Lost and Delirious, Halloween: Resurrection) and Tim Post showing up as well. Many of the play’s signature sequences have been retained, but there are structural changes, report those involved with the shoot. Gallucio, who’s penned the screenplay adaptation himself, has apparently already shot his cameo for the film. Mambo Italiano: The Movie is slated for a release some time next year. Yet more weirdness on that sublime digital channel, Drive-In Movie Classics: this week, they’re airing The Stepmother (’71), a fascinatingly bad look at one man’s horrific internal conflict after inadvertently killing another man. What’s most astonishing about this movie is how it constantly shifts gears, with no rhyme or reason; one minute, it’s a murder mystery; next, it’s turned into a bizarre pseudo-Oedipal smut film. The most intellectually stimulating part of watching is trying to figure out what drug the screenwriter was on. (My guess: copious quantities of hash.) I still haven’t quite gotten over the ludicrousness of this movie-great viewing, for those who adore truly rotten cinematic aberrations. Airs Saturday, Aug. 17 at 9 p.m. The World Film Fest is picking up some additional star power this year. Robert De Niro will be attending the fest for the Canadian premiere of his new film, City by the Sea, which also stars Oscar-winner Frances McDormand. The film is based on the true story of a New York police officer who finds out that his own son is the chief suspect in a high-profile murder investigation. In other fest news, apparently Toronto is already in the throes of a hotel-room crisis. The problem? The insanely popular fest has meant there are no rooms to be had. Among those people desperate for a place to stay? None other than Matt Dillon, who will be premiering his directorial debut at the event. :