The Making of Behind the Candelabra goes behind the scenes of the upcoming HBO biopic about flamboyant pianist Liberace and his relationship with Scott Thorson.
“I had a great time writing the script,” says screenwriter Richard LaGravenese, “to tell the story of a man who hid his homosexuality and how even within that time period he managed to have this real relationship, this real love with this young man, in spite of all that.”
The featurette dives Cuban heels-up into the kitsch and legend of Liberace with glimpses of the film as well as a little background on the man under all those sequins. It really makes you wonder how well Liberace hid his homosexuality when in the words of Sophia Petrillo, “The man’s as gay as a pic-a-nic basket!”
But it was a different time filled with different denials. At the heart of the story is the romance between Thorson and Liberace.
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“It was very important to Michael and Matt that it be real and when we met on the script I remember them saying, ‘so they really did love each other, that’s really important’,” LaGravenese recalls. “I said, yes it is, to make that emotional truth. ‘So they were really kind of like married, weren’t they?’ Yes, they really were kind of married.”
ho
I don’t know how he did it. The 60’s were the dark ages, a horrible, horrible time.
Sweet Boy
I did not know Liberace had dated Martina Navratilova
mlbumiller
While growing up, I had a neigbor who’s mother went to high school with Liberace. She said that he was a nice guy, but that ppl kept him on the sidelines. Many thought he was a “sissy”. She also stated at their 20 year reunion, he declined to attend, but sent champange.
JimboinLA
Why did Soderbergh cast Matt Damon who is forty-two to play a character who in real life was aged sixteen to twenty two. It’s almost a whitewashing. I think people would have a different reaction to seeing a twenty year old male having romantic relations with Michael Douglas. But the relationship started as a ‘romance’ between a sixteen year old boy and a fifty six year old man and only lasted for six years. Liberace was a dirty old man. He made the kid get plastic surgery so he would look like a younger version of himself. At least he fared better than George Rose.