Three Questions for Steven Soderbergh

Over the weekend, Steven Soderbergh went public with the backstory on why Hollywood rejected his Liberace biopic starring Michael Douglas as the super flamboyant singer and Matt Damon as his much younger lover Scott Thorson. The Oscar-winning director complained, "They said it was too gay. Everybody...I was stunned. It made no sense to any of us."

A contrarian question: Is Steven Soderbergh part of the problem?

1.) Prolific Soderbergh has released 23 features in 25 years, including sprawling, huge-cast ensembles like Out of Sight, Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's 11, 12, 13, and Contagion, yet how many queer relationships has he included in his films? Is the answer none? Six months ago he couldn't even bring himself to acknowledge gay men exist in his male stripper bonanza Magic Mike.

2.) Scott Thorson told CNN he was 16 when he met Liberace, 17 when they began living together, and 23 when he filed his $113 million palimony suit. Soderbergh has cast frequent collaborator Matt Damon to play someone Justin Bieber's age. What beyond the ick factor propelled Soderbergh to rewrite history by casting a 42 year-old as a teenager? Fifty years ago Kubrick had the guts to cast 14 year-old Sue Lyon as Lolita.

3.) Soderbergh says, "We needed $5 million. No one would do it." He, Douglas, and Damon couldn't each pony up $1.67 million?

HBO will air the movie this spring. Thorson's co-writer Alex Thorleifson deserves credit for that perfect title, Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace.

Comments

[Gary Carnivele]

You make some great points. Vito Russo would be proud. This bio-pic illustrates the problem I have with most, if not all of the 'based on fact' films such as "Dark Zero Thirty,' "J. Edgar,""The Queen," "JFK," etc. There is no trusting Hollywood to get the facts straight when the marketing department is looking at the bottom line. "How will it play in Peoria" was old Hollywood's mantra and not much has changed, even in the New Hollywood which mostly originates at Sundance or with cable companies. Homo-sex is a huge problem for Hollywood and 'independent cinema,' which is more main-streamed with each passing year. Had Soderberg returned to the facts after his project wasn't green-lighted by Hollywood, it would be more valid. It's difficult to imagine this is a step forward for the representation of LGBT characters and their stories in American cinema.

[James Janssen]

Singer. Singer???