liberace Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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.