Cast him as Michael Douglas’ lover in a Liberace biopic — THE Liberace, the extravagant pianist showman who was fond of saying, “Meet my brother George.” Yes, I did just say Michael Douglas and Matt Damon may be playing lovers on screen. According to Cinematical, Steven Soderbergh is helming the Liberace biopic and picked Douglas as the flamboyant entertainer and Damon as his lover/longtime assistant Scott Thorsen. If it’s true, isn’t that rich?
In other casting news: There’s a few people who know What’s Wrong with Virginia. The film, written and directed by Milk‘s Dustin Lance Black, has signed up Jennifer Connelly as a psychologically disturbed woman who has been having an longtime affair with a sheriff (Ed Harris). Things get complicated when the sheriff makes a run for the Senate and discovers his daughter (Emma Roberts) is dating Virginia’s son. I’m sort of interested in finding out what’s wrong with Virginia myself.
Meanwhile, James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn (wonder if she’ll drop the “Penn” now that she’s divorcing Sean) are set to star in Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, a film about the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the lone woman, Mary Surratt, who was executed for being part of conspiracy. Penn plays Surratt, whose family were known Confederate sympathizers. Even though her son, who was directly involved in the assassination plot, said his mother was NOT a participant, she was nonetheless arrested and convicted, making her the first woman to be executed by the U.S. Government. McAvoy plays Surratt’s lawyer, Frederick Aiken, who came to believe her innocence. Guess that didn’t help her much. Apparently, this will be coming out before Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln biopic, starring Liam Neeson as the famed president. Both sound equally intriguing.