Shine up those rhinestones, everybody: it's the BEHIND THE CANDELABRA episode. We're talking Soderbergh's sort-of-final film before his sort-of-retirement, a 2013 Liberace biopic starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon - and we're joined by writer and Liberace expert Eva Anderson! We talk Vegas, camp, Douglas's infamous throat cancer disclosure, plastic surgery, palimony, the closet, Eva's absolutely insane experiences touring Liberace's home and other associated places, and lots more. You know what they say... too much of a good thing is wonderful (also unfamiliar to listeners of this show).

Further Reading:

Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace by Scott Thorson and Alex Thorleifson

Liberace: An American Boy by Darden Asbury Pyron

The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies by Vito Russo

"Michael Douglas on Liberace, Cannes, cancer and cunnilingus" by Xan Brooks

"The Boy Toy's Story" by David Segal

Further Viewing:

DRACULA (various)

SUNSET BOULEVARD (Wilder, 1950)

THE INFORMANT! (Soderbergh, 2009)

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES (Greenfield, 2012)

SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (Tyrnauer, 2017)

Follow Eva Anderson:

https://www.instagram.com/evafay/

https://bsky.app/profile/evafay.bsky.social

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Artwork by Jeremy Allison:

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This is a preview of a premium episode from our Patreon feed, Paid Costly For Me! Head over to Patreon.com/PodCastyForMe to hear more for just $5 a month.

Handsome leading man jumps from television to film working with a handful of dynamic filmmakers before hopping in the director's chair himself - sound familiar?! Unfortunately, it turned out a lot better when Clint did it. But we're talking about George Clooney anyway, starting with his 2002 directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, based on the clearly-a-joke-to-everyone-but-Clooney "unauthorized autobiography" by Gong Show producer/host Chuck Barris. Written by Charlie Kaufman (rewritten by Clooney), produced by Section Eight, edited by Stephen Mirrione...what could go wrong? We'll tell you!

As always, thank you to Jetski for our theme music and to Jeremy Allison for our artwork.

Listen to this episode twice and call us in the morning! That's just a joke and is not medical advice. But we ARE talking about Soderbergh's 2013 pharmaceutical thriller SIDE EFFECTS today, with our friend poet/podcaster/famous celebrity Jane Altoids! Topics may include: Hitchcock, the history of madness, women being called crazy, big pharma, our own experiences with mental illness, Blake Lively, Soderbergh's then-impending retirement, the asylum and the prison, the mad rights movement, CONTAGION, and more. Give it a listen!

Further Reading:

Health Communism by Artie Vierkant and Beatrice Adler-Bolton

Quick Fixes by Benjamin Y. Fong

Madness and Civilization by Michel Foucault

Soderbergh interview by Nigel M. Smith for Indiewire

"Trojan Horses and Immaculate Math: An Interview with Steven Soderbergh" by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

"How New York's mentally ill get lost in courts, jails and hospitals" by Ben Hattem

Further Viewing:

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Wilder, 1944)

GASLIGHT (Cukor, 1944)

SPELLBOUND (Hitchcock, 1945)

LES DIABOLIQUES (Clouzot, 1955)

Follow Jane Altoids:

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Support us on Patreon:

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Artwork by Jeremy Allison:

https://www.instagram.com/jeremyallisonart

This is a preview of a premium episode from our Patreon feed, Paid Costly For Me! Head over to Patreon.com/PodCastyForMe to hear more for just $5 a month.

You voted, we watched! For our second Listener Choice episode, we're sitting down with Michael Bay's 2016 action docudrama 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI, a supposedly just-the-facts look at the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The film is brutally short on context, but don't worry - that's what we're here for. Join us to talk interventionism, AMERICAN SNIPER, Office Jim, Hillary Clinton, and more. Plus - a message from Maxwell.

"Worse Than Benghazi" by David Mizner

"13 Hours and the Benghazi Scandal" at Spy Culture

Thanks as always to Jetski for our theme music and Jeremy Allison for our artwork.

It's here, lawbreakers: our episode on Steven Soderbergh's 2012 runaway hit MAGIC MIKE. Is this a sobering look at economic precarity after the Great Recession? Or is it a movie about gyrating hunks? Here to help us answer that question is writer, adult content creator, and proprietor of Spectrum Boutique, Zoë Ligon! We talk transactional desire, hot bods, side hustles, Zoë's experience seeing Magic Mike Live in Vegas, and a lot more. Look: you're horny, let's do it - listen to the episode, that is!

Plus, a brief note about Minneapolis.

Further Reading:

"'How Would You Like A Lap Dance?': The Oral History of 'Magic Mike'" by Kate Lloyd

"Where Mike Got The Magic" by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Further Viewing:

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (Badham, 1977)

BOOGIE NIGHTS (Anderson, 1997)

BEAU TRAVAIL (Denis, 1999)

STEP UP (Fletcher, 2006)

MAGIC MIKE XXL (Jacobs, 2015)

MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE (Soderbergh, 2023)

Follow Zoë:

https://www.thongria.com

https://www.spectrumboutique.com

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Support us on Patreon:

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Artwork by Jeremy Allison:

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This is a preview of a premium episode from our Patreon feed, Paid Costly For Me! Head over to Patreon.com/PodCastyForMe to hear more for just $5 a month.

Most movies weren't directed by Steven Soderbergh, but few were as notably not directed by Steven Soderbergh as this one: MONEYBALL, the true story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics' revolutionary sabermetrics-based hiring strategy, was 5 days from shooting when Sony pulled the plug on Soderbergh's version. After a rewrite by Aaron Sorkin and a few cast change-ups, a slicker, Fincher-lite version directed by Bennett Miller made it to theaters, and we're talking about the whole deal. This ep has it all, quite frankly: in-depth script revision analysis, baseball talk, sports politics, and a long conversation about how statistics and "disruption" inform the world. It turns out everything is Moneyball, maybe? Give this one a listen, folks.

As always, thanks to Jetski for our theme music and to Jeremy Allison for our artwork.

Get your silly little trunks on, listener: we're headed to the octagon this week to talk HAYWIRE, Soderbergh's much-delayed 2011 (anti-?) spy thriller starring MMA fighter Gina Carano. And joining us is our friend, podcaster and musician Ryan Torgeson (@molecularlioneI)! We talk mid-2010s action cinema, mixed martial arts, Soderbergh's decision to alter Carano's voice in post, Carano's decision to blow her career up by being a hateful moron, special consultant and Duvdevan Unit war criminal Aaron Cohen, and more.

Further Reading:

"Steven Soderbergh, an MMA Fighter, and Five Stars Walk Into a Spy Movie" by Adam Nayman

"Gina Carano took her fighting to a new level for 'Haywire'" by Nicole Sperling

"Steven Soderbergh on 'Haywire,' 'Magic Mike' and Why He's Given Up on 'Serious Movies'" by Nigel M. Smith

"Haywire's Body Talk" by Kiva Reardon

"Covert Affairs: Why 'Haywire' is the Most Sneakily Political Movie of the Year" by Matt Singer

"The Vulture Transcript: Steven Soderbergh on Haywire, Pranking Matt Damon, and His Looming Sabbatical" by Jennifer Vineyard

"'Haywire' Star Gina Carano Addresses Voice Alteration Controversy" by Lauren Schutte

"Disgraced actor Gina Carano denies ruining her own career with anti-trans jokes and Nazi comments" by Jake McKee

Further Viewing:

THE IPCRESS FILE (Furie, 1965)

FUNERAL IN BERLIN (Hamilton, 1966)

THE EXPENDABLES (Stallone, 2010)

THE RAID (Evans, 2011)

Scott Adkins movies

Follow Ryan:

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Support us on Patreon:

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Artwork by Jeremy Allison:

https://www.instagram.com/jeremyallisonart

This is a preview of a premium episode from our Patreon feed, Paid Costly For Me! Head over to Patreon.com/PodCastyForMe to hear more for just $5 a month.

We're trying something new this week - we've recorded a feature commentary track! Watch Clint Eastwood's 1971 directorial debut PLAY MISTY FOR ME as we talk about it. Sure, we did an episode on this movie already, but that was three years ago. We're different now! We've learned new stuff and forgotten most of what we said then, anyway.

In the episode, we'll explain exactly how to sync our conversation with the film, but we've designed this as something you can listen to as a regular podcast episode, too. Let us know if you'd like more of this sort of thing!

Thanks as always to Jetski for our theme music and to Jeremy Allison for our artwork.