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London - Matt Damon says producers worried Behind the Candelabra was "just too gay".
He stars alongside Michael Douglas in the Liberace biopic as the pianist's homosexual lover Scott Thorson and director Steven Soderbergh has been put off filmmaking by Hollywood's fears around the movie which features a sex scene between the two actors.
Damon suggested the industry doesn't reward risk takers enough to justify them taking a leap on a different kind of movie.
He told the Sunday Times newspaper's Culture magazine: "Steven says that studios said openly to him that it was just too gay.
Fearless performances
"It's almost impossible to find a big movie that's interesting, but none of the decisions at that level are personal.
"Too often they're not rewarded for their courage, so, as a result, their default setting is to hesitate."
Soderbergh has recently complimented the professionalism and fearlessness of the actors - and admitted audiences might struggle with seeing the faces of two iconic screen characters in such risqué scenes.
He revealed: "Michael, he was just fearless. They both are. The movie just doesn't work if they don't both literally join hands and jump off the cliff.
"It's intimate stuff, even if it was a guy and a girl. But for a lot of people it'll be hard to see Jason Bourne on top of Gordon Gekko."
He stars alongside Michael Douglas in the Liberace biopic as the pianist's homosexual lover Scott Thorson and director Steven Soderbergh has been put off filmmaking by Hollywood's fears around the movie which features a sex scene between the two actors.
Damon suggested the industry doesn't reward risk takers enough to justify them taking a leap on a different kind of movie.
He told the Sunday Times newspaper's Culture magazine: "Steven says that studios said openly to him that it was just too gay.
Fearless performances
"It's almost impossible to find a big movie that's interesting, but none of the decisions at that level are personal.
"Too often they're not rewarded for their courage, so, as a result, their default setting is to hesitate."
Soderbergh has recently complimented the professionalism and fearlessness of the actors - and admitted audiences might struggle with seeing the faces of two iconic screen characters in such risqué scenes.
He revealed: "Michael, he was just fearless. They both are. The movie just doesn't work if they don't both literally join hands and jump off the cliff.
"It's intimate stuff, even if it was a guy and a girl. But for a lot of people it'll be hard to see Jason Bourne on top of Gordon Gekko."
