The new teaser for Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra has hit the web. And while it does not give us the glimpses that we really want – i.e. Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson – it does make me all kinds of happy. Because it means that this movie does exist and I’m going to get to see it.
Behind The Candelabra will focus mainly on Liberace’s relationship with the much younger Scott, with whom he had a secret affair with for five years. It may be difficult to believe that anyone ever thought Liberace WASN’T gay, but he actually went through a lot to cover up the fact, up to and including having Betty White act as his ‘beard.’ By all accounts the affair with Thorson – also his chauffeur – was a fairly tempestuous one, and ended in a very public break-up in which Thorson sued for palimony. A better subject for a biopic never existed.
Soderbergh has had a hell of a time getting Behind The Candelabra to a screen – any screen – though. He was rejected by major studios because the subject matter, according to them, was ‘too gay.’ And this is with two major stars headlining. Anyone who thinks Hollywood is not still unforgivably homophobic should take note.
The teaser gives us very little to go on, I’m sorry to say. I really want to see both Douglas and Damon in action. But it is a lovely reminder that Soderbergh has yet to go anywhere, despite his protestations that he’s made his last film. This might be his last release for awhile, but I do not quite believe that he’s done with cinema as a medium.
You can check out the teaser for Behind The Candelabra below and let us know what you think in the comments section.
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