When Steven Soderbergh was first shopping around his Liberace biopic ‘Behind the Candelabra’, studios weren’t interested. Soderbergh reveals that despite having an A-list star cast in place in the form of Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, studios deemed the project ‘too gay’ to invest $5 million into.
Michael Douglas when he was younger
Soderbergh said in a recent interview with The Wrap, “Nobody would make it. We went to everybody in town. We needed $5 million. Nobody would do it. 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."
Fortunately, the biopic found its place on HBO, which Soderbergh is happy about. He says, “They [HBO] are great and they're really good at what they do, and ultimately I think more people will see it, and that's all you care about. Studios were going, 'We don't know how to sell it. They were scared.'"
A press photo of Matt Damon
Soderbergh is currently promoting his new film ‘Side Effects’ with Jude Law, Rooney Mara, and Channing Tatum. In addition to that, ‘Behind the Candelabra’ premieres on HBO this spring, with Soderbergh rumored to be retiring some time after that.
Matt Damon talks about Michael Douglas playing Liberace
