"When this issue comes up, of equal rights for gays, I am hoping 50 years from now we will look back on this and wonder why this was even a debate and why it took so long."
Steven Soderbergh speaking at a Cannes press conference for Behind The Candelabra, quoted by Reuters et al.
Steven surely deserves some kind of award for not choking on his vol-au-vent when a thick hack asked what this story of Liberace and Scott Thorson says about the great gay marriage debate.
What a ridickerless question!
Also note, SS's endlessly repeated line about the fillum being "too gay" for Hollywood - which we only had his word for - has now been downgraded to how The Man thought it might not break out of a niche gay audience.
Which doesn't look quite so good in a hysterical "THAT'S HOMOPHOBIA!" headline.
As it's Saturday, there's an "The Liberace I barely knew" piece in the Telegraph today.
Here's something on Guardian Film, arguing - unpersuasively - that the best onscreen romances are now gay.
The best piece I've read on Lee in the British press this time round comes from Simon Edge in... The Daily Express!
Behind The Candelabra airs on HBO in the States tomorrow - Fagburn can't wait to see it.
PS Scott Thorson's memoir, Behind The Candelabra, has just been republished in the States. In this excerpt he shares his intimate memories of Liberace in the 50s, ten years before he met him.
Update: And The Observer has a (syndicated) interview with Scott from Washoe county jail. Poor bugger.
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I have to say, your constant dismissal of Soderbergh's claim is not supported by two facts:
ReplyDelete1. you say they actually probably thought it wouldn't be very good; but HBO - who pride themselves on putting out quality films/series - far more than Hollywood studios, who would clearly rather put out shit with major stars in, regardless of how shit the pitch is - are the studio who made the film - I doubt they'd do so if they thought it was going to be shit (the pedigree of the makers of the film is impeccable and the cast is a big selling point to any studio - as was Jim Carrey in I Love You, Philip Morris).
2. plus, the fact that I Love You, Philip Morris - which was extremely gay or camp, ie. not in the Brokeback straight actors playing straight-acting tragic gay dudes - bombed at the box office, despite being great; so if it's more than feasible that the studios would be wary of a big budget movie with major stars playing something so possibly camp.
Also, your point that we only have his word for it, is a bit odd. Do you really think the studios who apparently made the claim would rush out to own up to what they said, according to Soderbergh???
Have any of them denied his claim?
I'm not.
ReplyDeleteJust pointing out that - possibly - something he said has - possibly - been taken out of context and blown out of all proportion, possibly.