Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Behind The Candelabra Picks Up More Emmys On A Good Night For The Gays

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Everything LGBT did well at the Emmys, with Neil Patrick Harris hosting, Modern Family picking up Best Comedy series, and Jim Parsons winning his third Lead Actor In A Comedy Series Emmy for The Big Bang Theory.

However the big winner was Behind The Candelabra, which added three more Emmys to the nine it won at last week’s Creative Arts Emmy. The HBO movie won Winning Outstanding Movie or Miniseries, Best Director in a Movie or Miniseries for Steven Soderbergh and Lead Actor in a Movie or Miniseries for Michael Douglas.

The actor was up against co-star Matt Damon in the category and in his in acceptance speech offered to share the award with Matt, asking “Do you want the top or the bottom?” You can take a look at Douglas’ speech below. [Read more…]

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Elizabeth Debicki Joins Henry Cavill & Armie Hammer In The Man From U.N.C.L.E

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Elizabeth-DebickiAfter impressing as Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby, Elizabeth Debicki has booked another high profile role, joining Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill in The Man From U.N.C.L.E, according to Variety.

The film is based on the 1960s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which followed two agents from United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.), who try to stop the evil-doers from Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity (T.H.R.U.S.H.).

Cavill will be Napoleon Solo (played by Robert Vaughn in the TV series), with Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). Alicia Vikander is also set to star, with Guy Ritchie directing. There’s no news on exactly who Debicki will play, but she’ll be some sort of femme fatale role.

A film version of the series has been mooted for decades, with just this latest attempt taking over 10 years to get from conception to the point where it’s ready to go in front of the cameras (it’ll shoot in September), with various writer and directors coming and going in that time. Everyone from Steven Soderbergh to George Clooney has been involved, but it’s only now that it’s actually happening.

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Side Effects (DVD)

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I don’t think they did the early marketing of Side Effects very well, particularly in the US, as it was presented as if this was in the vein of Steven Soderbergh’s ensemble tales like Traffic and Contagion, but this time taking on the pharmaceutical industry. However it isn’t anything really like them – although it rather deliberately starts out like them and retains a streak of questioning our love of prescription drugs – as this is really a full-on twisty, turny thriller designed to keep you guessing as to what’s really going on. [Read more…]

Behind The Candelabra Scores 15 Emmy Nominations

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It was a good day for gay stuff on TV yesterday when the Emmy Nominations were announced. Topping the list was the Liberace Behind The Candelabra which grabbed a very impressive 15 nods, including Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie noms for both Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, and a Best Director nod for Steven Soderbergh. Indeed Rob Lowe seems to be the only person involved in the film who didn’t get nominated.

Indeed it almost seems like you need to includes something gay in your show or TV movie to get a lot of Emmy nominations, as all the top shows have included LGBT. American Horror Story: Asylum led the way with 17 nom, folllowed by Game Of Thrones (16), Behind The Candelabra (15), Saturday Night Live (15), Breaking Bad (13), 30 Rock (13), Downton Abbey (12), Mad Men (12) and Modern Family (12 – which included noms for both of the show’s gay couple, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ty Burrell).

The awards will be handed out September 22nd. You can find the full list of nominees over at Emmy.com.

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Producer Jerry Weintraub Thinks Behind The Candelabra ‘Is Going To Change The Film Business In America’

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jeery-weintraubJerry Weintraub has produced some major hits, including Ocean’s 11 and The Karate Kid, but with his latest movie, the HBO funded Behind The Candelabra (which opens in UK cinemas on June 7th), his hopes don’t just stretch to commercial success, he thinks the movie “is going to change the film business in America”.

A few months ago, director Steven Soberbergh said that despite having Michael Douglas and Matt Damon attached, and a relatively low budget, no major studio would touch it. “They said it was too gay…” said Soderbergh. “This is after Brokeback Mountain by the way. I was stunned. It made no sense to any of us. Nobody would make it, went to everybody in town.”

Weintraub hopes things will change now the movie’s the made. He told JemmOne radio that when they went to the studios, “They didn’t believe in it. Great! So HBO did and HBO, in fact, gave us a much larger audience than we could ever get in the theatres and we were ecstatic about it.”

He then said, “It’s my opinion that this is going to change the film business in America and you’re going to see a lot more things done this way. We had three and a half million homes just on Sunday night (when the film was broadcast on HBO in America) and that’s without the TIVO-ing. When we’re finished, God knows how many millions of people will see this film and that’s what we wanted. That’s why we made it.”

Asked about attitudes concerning homosexuality, Weintraub said: “I think that’s changing. 58 percent of the people in America are for gay marriage now and it should be, in my opinion, legal. There’s nothing wrong with it. People should love who they love and they should be able to walk down the street with who they want to walk down the street with and hold hands with who they want to hold hands with.”

He then talked a bit about being rebuffed by the studios and whether that was homophobic. “I don’t think they wanted to keep anything in the closet. I don’t think it’s about that,” he said. “There are plenty of homosexuals in Hollywood, plenty of homosexuals in the studios etc etc. I think it had to do with the fact that they couldn’t see making a lot of money with the film. They couldn’t realise it. It didn’t click for them. People have their own opinions about things and I respect them and I couldn’t care less. I don’t care what the studios say, I never did. I make things that I want to make.”

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Behind The Candelabra (Cinema)

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Soderbergh has famously stated this will be his last film. If true that would be a real shame, as he seems to have saved his best work till last. This biopic of Liberace is one of his best films – arguably his best of all. It’s extremely funny without any nastiness, camp without being bitchy and ultimately a very touching piece about ageing, desire, friendship and companionship.

It also features career-defining performances from Douglas and Damon. Douglas is clearly having the time of his life as the outrageous entertainer – what a shame he can’t be nominated for an Oscar (as it premiered on HBO in the US, ruling it ineligible). It’s a spot-on performance of an ageing, absurd, ridiculous man, but the key is that Douglas’ Liberace takes himself completely seriously. A twinkle in Douglas’ eye would ruin it. What we have here is a master entertainer, a talented musician with a desire to be loved, and absolutely no self-awareness at all. He is vain, selfish and determined to have his desires fulfilled. [Read more…]

Behind The Candelabra Is HBO’s Biggest Original Film For 10 Years

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There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Behind The Candelabra, Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic starring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas as the pianist and his lover. However with the movie airing on HBO in the US, the only real test of its success in the States is the ratings.

It’s turned out to be a big success, with 2.4 million viewers tuning in to its premiere telecast on Sunday night, with a repeat adding another 1.1 million. No HBO Film original has garnered a larger audience since“Something the Lord Made in 2004. That means its beaten the likes of the Julianne Moore starring Sarah Palin biopic, Game Change, and The Girl, the recent movie about the making of The Birds.

It’s seen a particularly impressive as Memorial Day weekend is normally seen as a weak one for TV, but HBO has proved you can get the viewers if you have something worth watching.

Behind The Candelabra rolls out around the world over the coming months, with a UK cinema release set for June 7th.

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Michael Douglas Banned Giant Penises From Liberace Biopic, Behind The Candelabra!

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Steven Soderbergh has promised that his Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra won’t shy away from Michael Douglas and Matt Damon getting very gay. Indeed the director recently told THR that, “It’s intimate stuff, even if it was a guy and a girl. But for a lot of people it’ll be hard to see Jason Bourne on top of Gordon Gekko.”

However, while Douglas was fine with kissing an man-on-man sex, there was one thing he thought went too far – 14-inch penises!

In a profile in New York Magazine, he says, “Liberace loved sex, and I didn’t have a problem with that. But, at one point, Steven Soderbergh wanted to show Lee [which is what Liberace was known as to his friends] watching a gay porno. I said, ‘I’d like my kids to see this R-rated movie, but I don’t want to show them a 14-inch dick!’ It was the only thing I objected to, so we cut to different parts of the apartment during the porno… It may not have been 14 inches, but it was huge.”

So if you’d been hoping for full-on porn from the film, you have Douglas to blame for the fact you’re not getting any.

Behind The Candelabra will air on HBO in the US on May 27th, and will reach UK cinemas on June 7th.

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UK Trailer For Behind The Candelabra Concentrates On Matt Damon as Liberace’s Lover

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While Steven Soderbergh’s Behind The Candelabra will debut on TV in the US (HBO to be precise), in other countries it’s heading for cinemas. In the UK it’ll hit screens on June 7th, and now a trailer for the British release has been released.

Unlike the HBO promos, this one concentrates more of Matt Damon, who plays Scott Thorson in the film, who becomes legendary pianist Liberace’s much younger lover.

Here’s the official UK synopsis: ‘Before Elvis, before Elton John, Madonna and Lady Gaga, there was LIBERACE – infamous pianist, outrageous entertainer and flamboyant star of stage and television. A name synonymous with showmanship and extravagance, he lit up every stage he performed on, as bright as his candelabras and with a unique flair that gained him millions of devoted fans across the globe.

‘In the summer of 1977, handsome young stranger Scott Thorson walked into Liberace’s dressing room and, despite their age difference and seemingly different worlds, the two embarked on a secretive five-year love affair. To the outside world Scott was an employee, at most a friend, but behind closed doors his life with Liberace was an intense rollercoaster of hedonistic fun, flamboyance and excess.

‘Starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Scott Thorson, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA tells the fascinating true story of their glamorous life together and their tempestuous relationship — from the glitz and glamour of the early days in Las Vegas to their very bitter and public break-up.’

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Matt Damon & Michael Douglas Get Glam In The Making Of Behind The Candelabra Featurette

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Behind The Candelabra, Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, arrives on HBO in the US at the end of May, with cinema releases shortly afterwards in other parts of the world (it comes to the UK on June 7th).

HBO has now started airing a ‘making of…’ documentary, which has popped up online, and you can watch it above.

The film details Liberace’s (Douglas) relationship with his younger lover, Scotty Thorson (Damon), which saw Liberace publicly saying he was straight, while having his toyboy at home. Things went sour when they broke up and Scott sued the glamorous pianist for alimony.

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