HBO’s new Liberace biopic was “too gay” for every studio in Hollywood, director Steven Soderbergh says.
“Behind The Candelabra,” which the Oscar winner says will be his last film, stars Michael Douglas as the flamboyant showman and Matt Damon as his young lover.
“Nobody would make it,” Soderbergh tells The Post. “We went to everybody in town. They all said it was too gay.”
“And this is 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.”
Promos of the film screened for TV critic in Los Angeles yesterday contain numerous scenes of the two male stars shirtless and about to kiss.
“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 — whose credits include “Traffic” and “Oceans Eleven” — says he decided five years ago to quit making movies when he turned 50.
“I am right on schedule,” he says. “My birthday is a week from Monday.”
“I have been doing it a long time. Since I was very young. I can feel these things coming. I just need a complete reboot.”