Steven Soderbergh has been retired from filmmaking since the Liberace docudrama Behind the Candelabra aired on HBO way back in 2013. Since his retirement – where he clearly decided to take a break from filmmaking – Soderbergh directed 25 episodes of his incredible period drama on Cinemax, The Knick. He also executive produced Magic Mike XXL and has a new series, the adaptation of his film The Girlfriend Experience, coming to Starz.
Last night and this morning, a whole mess of reports came out saying Soderbergh was getting back behind the camera to direct either Logan Lucky or Hillbilly Heist, and that Channing Tatum would star. Other names like Matt Damon and Michael Shannon were thrown out too. Some say Soderbergh is flat out denying the claim, others say his denial is involving casting rumors, and around and around we go. Soderbergh is definitely being coy with the news on his own Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/Bitchuation/status/695111199042699266
MFR ON YOUTUBE (latest video)
Help us reach 5K Subs!
So news that Steven Soderbergh is possibly coming out of retirement to direct one of two new films needs to be tweaked a little bit. If it happens, this is Soderbergh’s next project… not some triumphant return to filmmaking after a decades long hiatus. This guy ain’t Terrence Malick. He’s prolific, always moving and viewing and thinking and creating. Hell, he’s probably been busier in his retirement than he was for decades behind the camera.
This idea he retired is an insult to retirement. I kid of course, I never wanted Soderbergh to walk away from filmmaking to begin with just like every other movie fan. He is easily one of the most curious, inventive, and unique voices to have emerged in the early 90s. Even when he misses, it’s never boring. Hopefully this news comes to fruition and he does come out of “retirement” to direct one of these films.
If not, I guess I’ll just wait for his next project…
