liberace Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In the category of "too good to be true" comes news that blows my tiny little mind. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon will play lovers in director Steven Soderbergh's upcoming Liberace, based on the life of the famous pianist. (That's pianist, not ... oh, forget it.) I'm describing this as "news" because it was published online by People, and they wouldn't fib, would they? Actually, Jessica Barnes already covered this for us, briefly, so we know it's true. Still, it's Douglas and Damon paired as romantic partners, and that deserves a story of its own.

A French newspaper is cited as the source for People's item, and there are a few choice new quotes. Soderbergh is attending the Deauville Film Festival -- that's in France -- and said that costume and wardrobe tests have already been done on Douglas: "I swear to you, Michael amazed me. He crushed it." The director also says that Damon has agreed to play Scott Thorsen, the longtime assistant / boyfriend of the flamboyant entertainer. "Matt accepted the challenge," Soderbergh claims. Is it the challenge of kissing Michael Douglas, or pretending to be in love with him?

Soderbergh also said that the budget will allow for reenactments of Liberace's "spectacular stage act, which "often involved elaborate stunts such as flying or driving to his piano bench in a Rolls-Royce." If this all pans out to be true, and the movie actually gets made, I will be lining up to see flying pianos and the love story of the new century. How about you? Are you itching to see Liberace now that Douglas and Damon are on board?

The acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh may be one of the most respected men in the business, but even he seems to have trouble finding a little extra cash these days. Now we all know what happened with is true-life sports tale, Moneyball, but by all accounts that isn't the only film that he is having trouble securing funding for. But on the bright side, it turns out it was much easier to sell studios a sexy spy thriller than it was a tale of number-crunchers. According to Variety, Lionsgate has snapped up Soderbergh's next slated flick, Knockout and secured financing for the action drama with Relativity Media offering to foot the bill.

The film is being described as in the "vein of La Femme Nikita" and will star Gina Carano. Soderbergh will be working with Lem Dobbs, who also worked on The Limey to write the script. Now Carano might be a household name for fans of Mixed Martial Arts, but for the world at large, a lead role in a Soderbergh film will probably be a much better introduction for the famed fighter. The director seems to be continuing to hire 'non-traditional' actors in his films, and if Soderbergh is looking to save some cash, luckily Carano will be able to do her own stunts.

As strange as a 'Soderbergh action film' may sound, it's hardly the wackiest idea he's had lately. After the jump; status reports on two of Soderbergh's other films...

You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say that Steven Soderbergh was having a bit of a 'creative crisis' lately (talk about a guy who is all over the map). But, it hasn't stopped him from taking on more 'traditional projects' like a good old-fashioned mob film. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Soderbergh is teaming with Paramount to produce an adaptation of Joaquin "Jack" Garcia's true-life mob story, Making Jack Falcone. According to THR, Soderbergh will not direct, but will be "on board to read drafts of the script and offer other guidance on the project."

Che collaborator Peter Buchman has already signed to adapt the story of an FBI agent sent to take down the infamous Gambino crime family. The book is based on Garcia's (also known as Jack Falcone) life undercover, and how he managed to climb through the ranks of the FBI to end up as one of one of the few undercover agents in history to almost become a 'made man'. Garcia's life is ready-made for big screen treatment; between his numerous aliases and the lure of a good underworld story, there is plenty to recommend this role to any Oscar-hungry actor.

It's a bit of a disappointment that Soderbergh will only be producing this time around, but when you take a look at the guy's schedule for the coming year, its not like you can blame him. No sooner had he finished his earnest political drama, Che, before he was off to work on the whistle-blowing thriller The Informant with Matt Damon. But, as if that wasn't enough for him, there is still the small matter of a 3D rock musical about Cleopatra, a Liberace biopic starring Michael Douglas and The Girlfriend Experience with porn star Sasha Grey. Like I said, the man likes to mix it up.

Who do you think should take over where Soderbergh is going to leave off? Sound off below...

Women loved him, men wanted to be him, and now Steven Soderbergh wants to tell us all about him. (One of those claims may actually be false.) According to Variety, Soderbergh is developing a biopic of the flamboyant pianist for Warner Bros -- naturally, he'll be directing, and the busiest pen in Hollywood, Richard LaGravanese, is writing the script.

More interesting than that is the casting -- Soderbergh says he's actually drafted his old Traffic star Michael Douglas to play the man of a thousand candlelabras. He's also in talks with Matt Damon to play Scott Thorson, the man who sued Liberace for palimony, claiming they had been in a relationship for five years. To this day, apparently no one really knows what Liberace's sexual orientation was -- even Alice Cooper couldn't figure it out upon meeting him. (Thanks, Soderbergh! I learned something already.)

Despite everything being in place, this won't actually be the film Soderbergh follows Che up with -- which is a shame, because nothing should follow up Che but a man who exudes capitalism. Apparently, we're two Soderbergh projects away from getting this biopic, so don't get too wound up! You'll have forgotten all about it by the time it films, and it will be a pleasant surprise. There's not much to attract my personal interest, except the thought of Douglas donning those fabulous costumes. I can already predict an Oscar nod for a costume designer in this project's future.

This could be the most bizarre casting idea I have ever heard: Nicolas Cage is said to be producing a Liberace biopic, in which he will star as the flamboyant pianist. Is it just that everyone wants to play gay these days or could this really be a dream of Cage's? After his hilarious retro cameo in Good Night, and Good Luck, Liberace is ripe for more spotlight, but Cage? Nicolas Cage as Liberace? I'm dumbfounded. There is no way that this movie could be taken seriously, right? Right. And it seems that Cage must not really be intending for it to be. Hired to write the screenplay are Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg, the guys who gave us Date Movie, and who partially gave us Scary Movie. Since they're so good with titles, let me be the first to guess this one will be called Liberace Movie.

Of course, there is just too much about Liberace that requires a serious portrayal of his life. Can Seltzer and Friedberg handle the AIDS aspect with respect? According to the report on this project, the writers are approaching the idea with more care than their other scripts, so it is possible. But I am hoping that they can find a happy medium and include a good amount of silliness, too. There is a very slight chance that a combination between camp and drama could work, though Cage is going to have a tough time finding that perfect director to make it happen.