The girls of summer

HBO TAKES ON LESBIAN LOVE WITH ELLEN DEGENERES, ANNE HECHE, AND SHARON STONE

Movie stars Ellen DeGeneres, Anne Heche, and Sharon Stone begin their summer by shooting a film you won't find in theaters: If These Walls Could Talk 2 is a three-segment all-lesbian sequel to the 1996 HBO original, which took on the issue of abortion, in an unexpected bit of casting, DeGeneres and Stone will play lovers, while Heche takes a turn behind the camera as writer and director.

Structured like its predecessor--and scheduled to air in early 2000--this trilogy of short films will portray lesbian life during three decades, and each segment will be created by a different team of talent. The DeGeneres-Heche-Stone segment, "Miss Conception," revolves around modern-day partners trying to become pregnant in a world designed strictly with hetero parents in mind. "I am thrilled to work with the stunning team of Anne and Ellen," Stone said in a statement, "and I hope to glean a little something extra about comedy from these two experts."

The second installment of Walls 2 is "Women Only," set against the backdrop of the emerging women's movement. This segment, the story of a feminist whose mettle is tested when she falls for an out, proud dyke, will be written and directed, respectively, by Sylvia and Alex Sichel (All Over Me). The third episode, "The Widow," written and directed by Jane Anderson (The Baby Dance), follows an older woman in the '60s as she copes with the loss of her longtime mate.

Executive producer DeGeneres stated that she wants to make If These Walls Could Talk 2 "an honest portrayal of people in three very different times, all searching for the same things we all want--love and acceptance." That, and ratings.

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