Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Parker Posey, who gained the title "Queen of the Indies" through her string of popular independent features in the '90s ("Personal Velocity," "Best in Show," etc.), finds what's going on in the indie film world today "really hard" and "really painful."

That would include moviemaker John Waters' decision to pull the plug on his planned "Fruitcake" flick, to which Posey was attached, and his declaration last year that in this economy he was "going to have to do a puppet show."

"I don't want to lose the small stories that these independent directors create," Posey says. "There are so many writers and directors out there who see things that would inspire and enlighten people about what it is to be a human being."

She did make the forthcoming "Price Check" indie comedy in January, but, she says, "I felt sad at the end of each day. I had a great time working on it — but I couldn't help thinking, 'If this was the '70s, it would be a real budget, and they'd have more than three weeks to do it.' A lot of movies that get made get thrown together because they're a certain genre. That's where we are now."

"I feel like it's come full circle: [Independent] movies are going back to the low budget world, but the budgets are even smaller because of digital cameras. The market is so oversaturated now. Anyone who thought they had something to say could go out and make a movie. But a lot of them didn't have something to say, and their films aren't interesting."

But Posey herself has a lot of interesting things coming up, with projects including the big-screen "Inside Out" and "Hemingway & Gellhorn." She'll be showing up starting Monday (Aug. 22) on Laura Linney's brilliant "The Big C" Showtime series. Linney's character's teenage son (Gabriel Basso) makes a new friend online, in a chat space for kids of parents who have cancer. She turns out to be a full-grown woman — Posey — who dresses, talks and acts like a teenage slacker.

"Poppy is not your average girl next door," Posey says of her character. "She's got some issues. I like her. She's got a big heart — and she's got a lot that she's covering up that comes out. I think she's stuck at the age of 15. I want to be like her when I'm 70 and still have all that youthful energy and sense of play. It's like Ruth Gordon in 'Harold & Maude.' I love that. Everybody's got their pain and sadness. How do we keep alive? How do we keep going?"

Posey says she happened to run into Laura Linney (who has a well-deserved Emmy nomination for her performance on "The Big C" as maverick cancer patient Cathy) on the streets of New York City one winter day.

"It was, you know, two New York actors, all bundled up in the cold, talking," Posey recalls. "I told her I'm a fan of the show, and she said, 'You should come on some time.'"

Not long afterward, the "Big C" producers were wondering who to cast for the character of Poppy, and the idea of getting someone like Parker Posey came up. "Then they said, 'Why not get her?'"

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: They're nearing the end of production on the first 13 episodes of Lifetime's "Against the Wall" series, with Rachael Carpani as an internal-affairs police detective whose job puts her at odds with her family of cops.

"It's gone so fast, I can't believe it," admits Brandon Quinn, who plays Richie on the show, which also stars Treat Williams and Kathy Baker.

Quinn's hosting a barbeque for the gang this week in honor of the wrap — a light occasion far, far removed from his first days of filming.

"I wanted to make a good impression and have fun, but the first month and a half of shooting, I was staying in character — very solitary, in my own little world," recalls the actor, whose character has been embroiled in an investigation following his shooting of a 15-year-old while on duty.

"I had crying scenes," Quinn says. "I found that very challenging. It was hard to get up and face the day — where normally, I'm the kind of person, I wake up and feel like, 'Yeah! Let's have cup of coffee and get ready.'"

Quinn is quick to let us know: "I'm not a method actor like that per se. I have a wife and three kids, so I can't take my work home with me. I go to the set and flip the switch." Fortunately, he says, the rental home in which he and his family are staying while in Toronto is out in the suburbs, and he can use the driving time to get into, and out of, character.

"I see my cast mates who are single out enjoying Toronto, which has so much to offer," Quinn says, "and I'll just look at them and say, 'We just shot a 12-hour day, and I've got a six-hour night at home with the kids.'"

He has two girls and a boy, ranging from 1 to 5 1/2 years old. "It's tiring, but I wouldn't have given up a minute of it," he says.

DEALER'S CHOICE: Oscar-winning ("Juno") screenwriter Diablo Cody is getting ready to make her directorial debut on "Lamb of God," which she also wrote. Filming is set to start early next year, and Cody is currently working on the casting process.

The feature involves a religious girl who loses her faith after a plane crash and then heads to Vegas to lead the life of a sinner, only to discover stripping. She ultimately finds her way back to faith, though, and Cody, a one-time stripper herself, has written that it's really a nice Christmas story.

It has an array of juicy roles. There's the title character, of course, and there's a friend she meets up with along the way - an African-American University of Nevada, Las Vegas, film student who's working her way through college as a dealer. She's also a singer, who, instead of belting soul tunes as is expected of her, likes to get up there and sing Beach Boys songs.

Sounds like a Diablo Cody creation all right.

ANOTHER GENERATION HEARD FROM: Cedric the Entertainer doesn't have to wonder how his three children feel about finding show business careers for themselves.

"They all desire it," says the comic and "It's Worth What?" host. His eldest daughter is already on her way, in fact. "She's 22, and she's a singer and producer who writes music," he says.

Meanwhile, his young son Croix, Cedric says, "is probably most like me. He definitely has aspirations." Cedric says he keeps his eye out for chances to expose Croix to the business "in a way so that he understands what he's getting into for real. If there's an opportunity where he's protected, he can try those things."

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com

COPYRIGHT 2011 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM