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Liberace movie on HBO because "too gay" for theaters

""I'm Fucking Matt Damon"... song came to mind
 
Biopics don't do that well. Add to that few under 70 ever saw Liberace on TV or in Vegas.

Milk did pretty well. It's not as much about gay as it is about the subject.
 
Lincoln did $274 million last year and pretty much nobody living ever saw Abe in his prime.
 
Wow. That's a first. Comparing Abe Lincoln to Liberace.
 
I saw this the other night and was dumbstruck about that time period and that generation- how could they not know Liberace was gay? And more importantly, how could they think that was entertainment? People actually watched Liberace on TV? What a snoozefest.
 
His show was more exciting than Andy Williams, Nat "King" Cole, Lawrence Welk or many others. Remember in the 50s, TV was basically vaudeville and music hall on the air. They no idea what people wanted nor did the public.

It was also new to writer, producers and director on how to write a show with commercials in it. That's a big reason why variety shows were ubiquitous.
 
SC DEAC said:
I saw this the other night and was dumbstruck about that time period and that generation- how could they not know Liberace was gay? And more importantly, how could they think that was entertainment? People actually watched Liberace on TV? What a snoozefest.
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He denied being gay and sued people who said he was. America was a lot more rural back then too and most people didn't feel as threatened by homos because they all lived in big cities (or so they thought).
 
You take the exceptions.

How about:

Amelia
Patch Adams
Against The Ropes
Alexander
Beyond The Sea
Great Balls of Fire
Man on the Moon
John Goodman as The Babe
The Doors

That's just off the top of my head.
 
so basically what it boils down to is...some movies are successful, some aren't. we each could produce a list of more success/failures, as you could with every other genre like action, drama, comedy, etc.
 
also,

HBO’s Liberace biopic "Behind the Candelabra" lit up the network’s ratings Sunday night.

The Steven Soderbergh film delivered 2.4 million viewers in its first airing, making it the most-watched HBO Film title in almost a decade (since 2004′s "Something the Lord Made").
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http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2010

You can change the year, but here's what you will find.

Top Grossing Biopic by year and ranking
2012 - Lincoln -19th
2011 - Money Ball #47 (if you call it one)
2010 - King's Speech #18 (but not a full biopoic-just a segment)
2009 - The Soloist #90
2008 Valkyrie #38 - if you call it one
2007 American Gangster #18

Most of these years don't have more than one or two in the Top 100 grossing.
 
yeah, I can't imagine why this movie could possibly be considered too gay for major film distributors:

"The film does indeed have its share of gay love and intercourse, including a sweaty, grunting sequence in which Scott (played by Matt Damon) is taking Liberace from behind while the aging performer offers him drugs to take during sex."
 
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