by Shaun Knittel - SGN Associate Editor

Next month, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's biopic of the flamboyantly Gay entertainer Liberace will air on HBO. The film, Behind the Candelabra, almost wasn't even made. According to Soderbergh, when looking for financing he went to everyone in town, and 'they said it was too Gay.'

Soderbergh says he was stunned at the difficulties he faced in bringing this project to the screen -F a film that is said to be lighter in tone than Brokeback Mountain - but he says HBO immediately seized the opportunity to release the work, which they regarded as 'a slam dunk.'

The film focuses on the long-term romantic relationship between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his young lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon).

PROVOCATIVE PROMOS
Promos of the film screened for TV critics in Los Angeles contain numerous scenes of the two male stars shirtless and about to kiss.

Damon has described Liberace and Thorson's relationship as '[a marriage] long before there was Gay marriage.' 'This is a magnet for attention,' Soderbergh says. 'The whole package to them looked [to HBO] like a slam dunk. The studios didn't know how to sell it. They were scared.'

Soderbergh's revelation comes just days after HBO announced plans to air The Normal Heart, Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of Larry Kramer's award-winning play about the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York.

Heart, which will debut in 2014, will reportedly star Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, and White Collar hunk Matt Bomer.

 Share on Facebook

Share on MySpace!

    Share on Delicious

Share on StumbleUpon!