Barker teams with Condon

'Gods' duo reunite for 'Taboo'

By BENEDICT CARVER

Clive Barker and Bill Condon, the executive producer and director respectively of "Gods and Monsters," will re-team on "Love and Taboo," a series of 15 short films by gay and lesbian filmmakers.

Barker's Seraphim Films will co-produce the pics with San Francisco-based Turbulent Arts, which will finance and distribute them. Barker and Condon will each direct an installment, and Barker will direct a "wraparound" for theatrical presentation.

The series is intended to introduce a new array of directorial talent from the gay and lesbian arena. Each filmmaker will choose a work by a gay or lesbian composer as his/her inspiration.

"This collective project will enable 15 directors to realize their unique vision, inspired by some of the greatest songs and musical pieces of all time," Barker said.

Seraphim's Joe Daley and Turbulent's Marc Smolowitz will produce the series, with Barker exec producing.

"Gods and Monsters," on which Barker and Condon last collaborated, is being distributed in the U.S. by Lions Gate Films. Pic has been nominated for three Oscars, including best actor (Ian McKellen) and best adapted screenplay.

Barker is upping his feature film activity after several years of concentrating on book writing and television. He is developing a horror pic for New Line Cinema, while his novel "The Thief of Always" is in development at Universal Pictures with Bernard Rose ("Candyman") attached to direct.

Turbulent Arts is a production and distribution company. Its releases include "Never Met Picasso," starring Margot Kidder and Alexis Arquette, and "Lilies," winner of the Canadian best picture Genie.