Tron Legacy

Steven Soderbergh tonight unveils what he says is his final feature film Behind The Candelabra. The film explores the secret father/son/lover relationship between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his valet Scott Thorson. It’s playing in competition here at Cannes, even though HBO will premiere it in the U.S. on Sunday before it gets a traditional overseas theatrical release. If that seems complex, it fits Soderbergh, a true maverick who has always been up for putting himself on the line for disruptive, ground breaking fare. The That began with sex, lies and videotape. That movie won the Audience Award at Sundance and the Palm d’Or at Cannes before grossing nearly $25 million in 1989. It is viewed as the picture that turned indie film into a viable business. “He is the father of this movement,” said Harvey Weinstein, who distributed the film. “Before him, there was no independent movie that did more than $5 million. This was the one that went out, almost wide, in the summer where they said these films could not play, and broke the art house ghetto.” Two Oscars (for directing Erin Brockovich and Traffic) later, and a career that spanned every genre and enterprising release strategy (he aroused the ire of theater owners by road testing the day and date release platform that is now a Sundance deal staple), ... Read More »

Joseph Nye says history shows that external events can shape the plans of presidents in a final term, even when scandal intervenes