After watching the season finale of Entourage, sitting through my umpteenth viewing of Ray and almost looking forward to catching Walk the Line on HBO, I started seriously pondering who the next musician to get the biopic treatment should be.
I toyed with going the Hip Hop route, but Biggie’s career was too brief and Tupac’s life was all over the map. And don’t even get me started on pop culture unknowns like Big L or Big Pun.
I realized that this next subject really needs to have been a cultural icon and a pioneer.
Then it hit me; Liberace!
The guy has it all. First off, he’s dead, which is pretty important when looking for a subject of a biopic. That whole nostalgia factor will guarantee huge box office receipts.
He’s got a dead sibling; a twin who died at birth and a younger brother to died in the 80’s. So he’s got tragedy early in life and later in life. Tragedy it box office gold, just look at Titanic.
And while Ray Charles and Johnny Cash battled drug addiction, Liberace had an even more career threatening scandal; his homosexuality. Liberace was like the Tom Cruise of his day, only instead of Scientology speak, Liberace was into candelabras and bejeweled fingers. Plus let’s face it; homosexuality is a hot button topic.
Everyone can see how successful portraying the close minded 1950’s did amazing things for George Clooney with Good Night and Good Luck (which actually featured Liberace). Imagine if the focus was on a closeted celebrity at his peak? It’s gangbusters!
I’m not even going to delve too deep into the merchandising aspects of this film. Suffice it to say; flamboyance will be back, with a vengeance.
Of course some people will say that Liberace has a diminished cultural presence, and to that I’d ask why so many MC’s reference him in their songs? Eminem, 50 Cent and even Big Pun reference the guy. So clearly he’s still an icon.
And there you have it. Liberace is like rolling Ray Charles, Johnny Cash and Tom Cruise all into one neat flashy package. What more could you ask for?
