Game of Thrones? More like Game of Throats! The HBO epic did it once again last night, shocking viewers with events on a penultimate episode. On Season 1, it was the death of Ned Stark. On Season 2, the battle of Blackwater. And on Game of Thrones Season 3 ? It was a bedding… and a betrayal. Yes, Lord Frey very much had the last laugh against Robb and Catelyn, following a broken oath and what he believed to have been the ultimate act of dishonesty. So he got his revenge. Via a blood-filled sneak attack that took the lives of the Starks, their loved ones and their army. Yes, Arya escaped. But to where? To whom? The King of the North is dead, the Lannisters have one less enemy to worry about and Joffrey’s spot on the throne appears to be more secure than ever. But there is still one episode remaining on Season 3. What will the fallout of this treacherous, murderous act? How might Jon Snow pay for abandoning Ygritte? And how can the series possibly follow up this shocking turn of events next Sunday night? We’ll be tuning in to find out.
Michael Douglas is 68 years old and is married to a gorgeous 43-year old. And now we know why. In a very revealing interview with The Guardian , the veteran actor touched on a number of topics, including his 2010 throat cancer diagnosis . “Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus,” Douglas told the newspaper. Wait… WHAT?!? “From cunnilingus,” the star repeated. “I mean, I did worry if the stress caused by my son’s incarceration didn’t help trigger it. But yeah, it’s a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer…. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it.” As for the Oscar winner’s current state of health. It’s “good,” he says, adding: “I have to check in regularly – now it’s every six months – but I’m more than two years clear. And with this kind of cancer, 95% of the time it doesn’t come back.” No. Not apparently, unless Douglas himself goes back to Catherine Zeta-Jones for seconds and thirds and fourths…
I’ve been sold on Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace movie Behind The Candelabra since the trailer for the HBO movie hit the web earlier this month. But if you need further convincing, the filmmaker drops some interesting details about the movie in a free-ranging discussion with his younger, gay brother Charley Soderbergh in Out magazine . Behind the Candelabra, which premieres on HBO on May 26, tells the story of the flamboyant pianist’s love affair with the much younger Scott Thorson. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon play the star-crossed lovers, and the trailer, which I’ve posted below, makes the movie look like an over-the-top romp through the back pages of Las Vegas-style opulence. But it’s also reassuring to read Soderbergh tell his lookalike brother, who’s an Atlanta-based hair stylist, that Behind The Candelabra is not going to be an empty exercise in camp: ” I wanted the movie to be very generous to Lee and Scott. I took them seriously, and I took the relationship seriously. It was a real relationship that was derailed because of some very odd external forces, some of them social and some professional. But there was an extended period where they were fat and happy. And if Lee hadn’t worked in a business where he thought that was a problem, or being gay was a problem, I think there would have been a very different outcome. It’s compelling to watch the two of them together. It’s sort of a Thelma & Louise thing—they decide to jump off the cliff together. Another fascinating segment of the interview has the brothers Soderbergh discussing scenes from Behind The Candelabra in which Liberace and Thorson argue over porn and who will be “the top” and who will be “the bottom” in the bedroom. As Charley points out, the debates aren’t that different from ones he’s witnessed between straight couples. Out: One of the most distinctive scenes, perhaps because it’s so rare to see it portrayed honestly in a movie, was the argument they have about who will be a top or a bottom. SS: Whenever you’re in a sexual relationship that lasts long enough, at some point someone is going to hit on something that they want to do and the other person doesn’t want to do. That’s unfortunate, because it’s really hard to put that genie back in the bottle once it’s come out. If you’re lucky there’s some synchronicity that works out, and on the second Tuesday of every month, you get to do that. That’s absolutely a conversation straight couples have all the time. It doesn’t necessarily have the same significance, but oh, absolutely. CS: I’ve been privy to conversations between a married male and female couple when one of them wants to try it and the other is balking. And the physical implications are the first thing they’re afraid of, and the social implications are the second thing. So we have two layers of fear. And I just stand there with a smile on my face, thinking, I can’t wait to see how you work this out. SS: It’s one of my favorite scenes in the film because it is so blunt and so funny. “Why am I the Lucy in this relationship?” CS: “Because I’m the bandleader and have the nightclub act.” SS: That’s [screenwriter] Richard [LaGravenese] really hitting one out of the park. But it is fascinating, because you have Scott saying, “I’m OK with this , but I’m not OK with that .” And Lee doesn’t understand, because to him it seems like hypocrisy. I find that really true to life, in the sense that our feelings about sexuality aren’t necessarily linear. Everybody’s got some dot on a line with 10 points on it, and one is out of sync or in the wrong order. It’s a very complex, powerful area of our lives, and it creates really fascinating emotions and delusions and omissions. And I thought, What an interesting conversation, especially if Lee’s the one in the power position. CS: Another part of that scene is, “I don’t know how you can watch that stuff,” referring to the porn on the TV. “How does he get it in his mouth?” I’ve talked to gay and straight couples who say, “I don’t know why you watch that stuff, it makes me feel unloved.” And the other one is like, “It’s no big deal!” The brothers also engage in a lively discussion of their childhood that includes a substantial discussion of the cult film, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which they watched every Christmas. It’s worth checking out. More on Behind The Candelabra : WATCH:’ Behind The Candelabra’ Trailer — Will Movie Convey Liberace’s Cultural Impact? Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter. [ Out ]
The new trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra sure is compelling, but will the HBO movie do justice to Liberace ? The clip leaves little doubt that Michael Douglas , who plays the flamboyant entertainer in this tragicomic love story, and Matt Damon , who portrays his much younger lover, Scott Thorson , are going to be memorable, and that Soderbergh has taken a measured approach to the camp aspects of this story. But what I can’t tell from the footage is whether Behind The Candelabra will give Liberace his due as a pioneering postwar performance artist. Liberace’s Cultural Impact It’s easy to mock Liberace’s extreme sequin & fur vibe and lifestyle, but, the reality is, he was a show-business maverick who had an incredible influence on American pop culture. For better or worse, you can trace jump-suited Vegas-era Elvis , Elton John , 1970s glam rock, Siegfried & Roy , Madonna , Lady Gaga and even elements of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone to Liberace’s show-business DNA. Way back in the conservative 1950s, he was swanning into American homes via a syndicated television show and mesmerizing audiences with a combination of shock and schmaltz. Even if he never did come out of the closet, he still broke down a lot of barriers just by letting his freak flag fly. I’m sure that Liberace’s cultural significance is not lost on Soderbergh, but I do hope Behind The Candelabra acknowledges it in some smart way. Even if it doesn’t, I’ll be watching when the film premieres on HBO on May 26. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Even as retirement looms, Steven Soderbergh still has a feature in the pipeline destined for the big screen. But as his theatrical career apparently heads toward its sunset, the Oscar-winning filmmaker is taking a swing at the movie-making machine that has left him – at least now – not wanting to make more pictures. [ Related: Soderbergh’s Liberace Pic ‘Behind The Candelabra’: What’s ‘Too Gay’ for Hollywood? ] Soderbergh’s retirement has been discussed since he first announced it in 2011. In that time he has brought a number of films to theaters including Contagion , Haywire , Magic Mike and the soon-to-be released Side Effects next month. He also is finishing the Liberace feature Behind the Candelabra starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon for HBO. “The worst development in filmmmaking – particularly in the last five years – is how badly directors are treated,” he said to Vulture. It’s become absolutely horrible the way the people with the money decide they can fart in the kitchen, to put it bluntly. It’s not just studios – it’s who is financing a film. I guess I don’t understand the assumption that the director is presumptively wrong about what the audience wants or needs when they are the first audience, in a way. And probably got into making movies because of being in that audience.” Soderbergh recalled when filmmakers were allowed more latitude and noted that seasoned audiences had spotted the trend and have turned to television instead. “It’s true that when I was growing up, there was a sort of division: respect was accorded to people who made great movies and to people who made movies that made a lot of money,” he said. “And that division just doesn’t exist anymore. Now it’s just the people who make a lot of money.” Continuing he added that television, which has become an increasingly important outlet for auteurs, indie filmmaker and even veterans of Hollywood and the measure of success both creatively and in absolute numbers is more flexible. “I’ve said before, I think that the audience for the kinds of movies I grew up liking has migrated to television,” he said. “The format really allows for the narrow and deep approach that I like. Three and a half million people watching a show on cable is a success. That many people seeing a movie is not a success. I just don’t think movies matter as much any more, culturally.” Side Effects will have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival next month. [ Sources: Vulture , The Guardian ]
I realize that with a little notoriety and a lot of money, it’s fairly easy to get a film made and distributed. But even knowing that, it’s still incredibly baffling to see the red band trailer for InAPPropriate Comedy and realize this is an actual movie that will play in theaters. Directed by Vince ‘Slap Chop’ Offer, it’s The Kentucky Fried Movie meets the Charlie Sheen celebrity roast, and it looks every bit as terrible as his earlier Underground Comedy Movie . Only with the added discomfort of seeing Lindsay Lohan sully the last shreds of her reputation for what must surely have been a miniscule paycheck. Have a look: Considering Offer’s previous law-enforcement troubles involving a prostitute , it’s no wonder he was able to get a bunch of actors to whore themselves, but even so, it’s embarrassing to see Master of Style Adrien Brody debasing his career shilling razors to appear in this dreck. (Insert ShamWow or Schticky joke here.) The worst thing about this isn’t the constant barrage of racist and sexist ‘jokes’ or hackneyed references, it’s how friggin’ tame this thing looks. Titling this movie ‘InAPPropriate Comedy’ is kind of like how authoritarian dictatorships always insist that their countries be called ‘People’s Democratic Republics’. The only thing Asians will be offended by is how lazy the jokes about their eyes are. The good news is that no matter how bad it is, we’ll always have the Slap Chop song. So let’s watch that and remember a time when Vince could amuse us on an 11 th grade level, instead of a 3 rd grade level. Ross Lincoln is a LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow Ross Lincoln on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Steven Soderbergh has pushed against the limits of Hollywood’s sexual mores his entire career. His debut, sex, lies, and videotape , was a study in voyeurism and sexual dysfunction. He blurred the line dividing the feature film and porn video worlds with The Girlfriend Experience , which starred adult actress Sasha Grey. His last film, Magic Mike , subverted the male gaze by turning all eyes, male and female, on the rock-hard and very hairless abs of dude-strippers. Yet even Soderbergh has had trouble financing his next and rumored-to-be-last project, Behind the Candelabra , a biopic of Liberace starring Michael Douglas as the flamboyant pianist and Matt Damon as his significantly younger live-in lover. The veteran director only wanted $5 million to make his long-delayed film, but, as he told The Wrap , “They said it was too gay. Everybody. This was 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.” Luckily for Soderbergh, HBO believed enough in the project to greenlight it. But that still leaves the question: What does “too gay” mean in the Hollywood of 2013? Sadly, it doesn’t seem too different from what it meant fifty years ago in the Hollywood of 1963: Few gay protagonists can be normal, relatable people living in a world we recognize. In the real world, gay men and women are our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. But in the movies, that might be “too gay.” So screenwriters have come up with a multitude of ways to make homosexuality less immediate and less “threatening.” When they are the protagonists, gay characters vanish from everyday life: by dying, by disappearing into history, by rarely having sex, by committing evil, by being more flamboyant than pink rhinestones on a drag queen’s tiara. They may be admirable, certainly sympathizable, but they still too frequently lack ordinary humanity. The supposed breakthrough film Brokeback Mountain , for instance, marginalized homosexuality by situating its characters in a faraway setting and in a culture that was on the cusp of disappearance. And it fatally asserted its heterosexuality by having straight actors play gay, so that audiences never forget that a man kissing another man is all just play-acting. Little seems to have changed since Brokeback . The majority of studio movies with a gay male protagonist since has either taken place in Mad Men days ( Milk , Howl , A Single Man ) or featured same-sex sociopaths ( I Love You Philip Morris , Bruno ). It’s no better for lesbians, who watched one of their filmic counterparts in The Kids Are All Right have sex with a man, because of course that’s exactly what the female gay experience is all about. Equally alien to the lives of average gay women is the romance Jack and Diane , which finds one of its two budding lovers turning into a werewolf. And, it bears repeating, all of the main characters in these movies are played by straight actors. Luckily for gay viewers, the indie world is brimming with movies that are “too gay” and proud of it. The last two years alone have seen critical darlings like the sweet romance Weekend , the addiction drama Keep the Lights On , and the gay adoption saga Any Day Now . Also welcome and necessary are the coming-of-age tale Pariah and the Sex and the City -style Noah’s Arc , which feature all-too-rare gay characters of color. It’s almost surprising that Soderbergh’s biopic got the “too gay” chuck, since the subject matter – a mincing narcissist with a love of glittered capes and a barely legal pool-boy dying tragically from AIDS – is brimming with the usual defenses Hollywood is always eager to employ against normal gay existence. So one has to wonder if it isn’t the flamboyance that studios found “too gay,” but Soderbergh’s refusal to turn Liberace and his partner Scott Thorson into caricatures, to “take the relationship seriously.” After all, that might be too revolutionary for Hollywood. Maybe in 2063? Inkoo Kang is a film critic and investigative journalist in Boston. She has been published in Indiewire, Boxoffice Magazine, Yahoo! Movies, Pop Matters, Screen Junkies, and MuckRock. Her great dream in life is to direct a remake of All About Eve with an all-dog cast. Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Also in Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Michael Douglas ‘ And So It Goes proves popular with buyers; Argo heads to Doha Tribeca Film Festival; and Cafe de Flore shines at the Specialty Box Office. Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Stamp Lead Noms at British Independent Film Awards Stamp, 74, and Redgrave, 75, are cited for Song for Marion , in which they play members of an amateur choir. Dench, 77, is nominated for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , as is her co-star Dame Maggie Smith, also 77. Broken , starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy, has nine nominations for the awards, which take place December 9th, BBC reports . D.C.’s Million Puppet March to Save PBS 1,000 people took part in a ‘Million Puppet March’ in the U.S. capital in a bid to keep PBS funding. Republican nominee Mitt Romney pledged to de-fund public television in a ‘Big Bird’ reference that became a key catch phrase of this election season, Deadline reports . Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton’s And So It Goes Sells Around the Globe Douglas plays a self-centered eccentric realtor whose life is turned upside down when his estranged son drops off a granddaughter he never knew. But his determined and lovable neighbor (Keaton) enters the picture and unexpectedly helps him to love again. The film is selling well around the world at the American Film Market currently underway, THR reports . Argo Heads to Doha Tribeca Film Festival Robert DeNiro will also be feted with a special event at the festival organized in part with the Tribeca Film Festival. Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist will open the event in the Gulf state of Qatar, taking place November 17 – 24, THR reports . Specialty Box Office: Cafe de Flore , A Late Quartet Lead Pack of Newcomers Specialty movies openers bowed mostly middling at at best, and a couple of pictures may have suffered residual Hurricane Sandy trauma. Adopt Films’ Cafe de Flore took the per-theater-average crown with $10K in one location. Entertainment One’s A Late Quartet bowed in 9 theaters with a fairly solid average of 8,433, although the distributor suggested the figure was lower than it might have been if The Sunshine in Manhattan’s Lower East Side had been able to re-open sooner, Deadline reports .
Also in Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Michael Douglas ‘ And So It Goes proves popular with buyers; Argo heads to Doha Tribeca Film Festival; and Cafe de Flore shines at the Specialty Box Office. Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Stamp Lead Noms at British Independent Film Awards Stamp, 74, and Redgrave, 75, are cited for Song for Marion , in which they play members of an amateur choir. Dench, 77, is nominated for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , as is her co-star Dame Maggie Smith, also 77. Broken , starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy, has nine nominations for the awards, which take place December 9th, BBC reports . D.C.’s Million Puppet March to Save PBS 1,000 people took part in a ‘Million Puppet March’ in the U.S. capital in a bid to keep PBS funding. Republican nominee Mitt Romney pledged to de-fund public television in a ‘Big Bird’ reference that became a key catch phrase of this election season, Deadline reports . Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton’s And So It Goes Sells Around the Globe Douglas plays a self-centered eccentric realtor whose life is turned upside down when his estranged son drops off a granddaughter he never knew. But his determined and lovable neighbor (Keaton) enters the picture and unexpectedly helps him to love again. The film is selling well around the world at the American Film Market currently underway, THR reports . Argo Heads to Doha Tribeca Film Festival Robert DeNiro will also be feted with a special event at the festival organized in part with the Tribeca Film Festival. Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist will open the event in the Gulf state of Qatar, taking place November 17 – 24, THR reports . Specialty Box Office: Cafe de Flore , A Late Quartet Lead Pack of Newcomers Specialty movies openers bowed mostly middling at at best, and a couple of pictures may have suffered residual Hurricane Sandy trauma. Adopt Films’ Cafe de Flore took the per-theater-average crown with $10K in one location. Entertainment One’s A Late Quartet bowed in 9 theaters with a fairly solid average of 8,433, although the distributor suggested the figure was lower than it might have been if The Sunshine in Manhattan’s Lower East Side had been able to re-open sooner, Deadline reports .
If President Obama didn’t exactly dominate Mitt Romney during their debate on Wednesday night, he got a nice subliminal boost courtesy of Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis. Following the political wrestling match, Disney ran an extended TV spot for Lincoln that finally justified all of the early Oscar talk the film has generated and and not-so-subtly established Lincoln and Obama as kindred spirits. After a series of emotionally charged scenes that depict Lincoln, played by Day-Lewis, grappling with Civil War (depicted in Saving Private Ryan -style brutality) and the politically unpopular idea of abolishing slavery, the clip closes with the two-time Oscar winner declaring, “I am the President of the United States of America…clothed in immense power!” That rousing movie moment called to mind a slightly less riveting one: President Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in early September in which he said, “Times have changed, and so have I. I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the President.” The line got plenty of media pick-up and, as the New Yorker reported , evoked a scene from the Aaron Sorkin-scripted 1995 film The American President . In the movie, Michael Douglas, who plays besieged president Andrew Shepherd, addresses attacks from a political challenger by saying: “If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I’ll show up. This is a time for serious people….My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the President. Sorkin’s line is cool, but the one delivered by Day-Lewis, which was written by Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner carries more force. And I much prefer the idea — purely of my own imagining — that Obama had advance intelligence about the highly anticipated Lincoln movie and script and was able to use it to his political advantage. How’s that for a Left-wing Hollywood conspiracy theory? Take a look at the spot below and tell me what you think. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
