Saturday, 5 January 2013

Liberace: "Too Gay"

Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh says his upcoming film about Liberace is airing on HBO instead of getting a theatrical release because studios thought it was "too gay."
The upcoming "Behind the Candelabra" has Michael Douglas in a compulsively watchable performance as the celebrated pianist, Matt Damon as his young lover and Soderbergh directing. It comes, in other words, from a trio of A-listers. So why isn't it a theatrical release?
"Nobody would make it. We went to everybody in town," the "Traffic" and "Ocean's 11" director told TheWrap on Friday, at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. "We needed $5 million. Nobody would do it."
Wait a minute, we said. Let us get this straight: No studio would budget $5 million for a movie with Damon and Douglas?
"They said it was too gay. Everybody. This was after 'Brokeback Mountain,' by the way. Which is not as funny as this movie. I was stunned. It made no sense to any of us..."

TheWrap.
There's no way of checking this, but I have to say I doubt it.

Update: This story became a big thing in both the straight and gay media.
As above, there's no way of checking its veracity, but - here's an idea - journalists might question it.
If I said I was the first gay man on the moon, would you obediently reprint that?

5 comments:

  1. I think the last film to have a major Hollywood star in an overtly gay erm manner was I Love You, Philip Morris with Jim Carrey and that bombed, so maybe that put the wind up 'em, so to speak.

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  2. Brokeback Mountain and Milk did okay...

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    1. Yeah, but there's a difference - at least in the minds of film execs, I guess - between basically straight-acting gay films (Brokeback Mountain and Milk) and ones like I Love You, Philip Morris (which I loved, personally) and this one.

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    2. I suspect you know what I mean, but never mind, it isn't important...

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