Passion.  Possession.  Infatuation.  Betrayal.  These are the hallmarks of any unhealthy and dramatic relationship.  And despite the glitz and glam of Steven Soderbergh‘s Behind the Candelabra, none of these emotions feels fresh or surprising despite the talent of the lead actors and the colorful figure of Liberace.  The strange relationship between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) is rendered inert by a dramatic trajectory that’s been laid out within the first ten minutes.  The love affair isn’t doomed; it’s predictable.  At best, Behind the Candelabra makes out love to be as shiny, entrancing, and as fake as Liberace’s public persona.

From director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Richard LaGravenese, Behind the Candelabra (debuting on HBO on May 26^th) follows the life of virtuoso pianist and flamboyant entertainer Liberace (in a fantastically impressive performance by Academy Award winner Michael Douglas), while telling the tale of his tumultuous and secretive five-year love affair with the much younger Scott Thorson (in an equally great performance by Matt Damon).  The film also stars Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula, Rob Lowe, Tom Papa, Paul Reiser and Debbie Reynolds.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Scott Bakula talked about how he became involved with the project, what he learned about Liberace through his research, how much fun it was to get lost in this character and era, what he loves about working with a filmmaker like Steven Soderbergh, and why the film wasn’t able to get theatrical distribution despite the level of talent involved.  He also talked about the musical he’s shooting in India, called Basmati Blues, and his desire to return to the stage.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Fresh off the release of an extended 12-minute featurette, a new UK trailer and a batch of new images from director Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming Liberace film Behind the Candelaba have landed online.  The plot centers on the tempestuous relationship between the musician (Michael Douglas) and his lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) throughout their secretive five-year love affair that began in 1977.  This UK trailer goes deeper into the film’s story, as we see the beginnings of the relationship and start to see some of the great interplay between Douglas and Damon. You can go ahead and wrap up Douglas’ Emmy right about now.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and to see the new images.  The film also stars Rob Lowe, Debbie Reynolds, Scott Bakula, Dan Aykroyd, Cheyenne Jackson, Paul Reiser, and Boyd Holbrook.  Behind the Candelabra will premiere on HBO on May 26th at 9pm/8c.

HBO has released a new extended featurette for director Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming Liberace film Behind the Candelabra.  The 12-minute video takes us behind-the-scenes of Soderbergh’s possibly final feature film, as we get an intimate look into how the filmmaker crafted his chronicle of the tempestuous relationship between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) throughout their secretive five-year love affair that began in 1977.  Much of the featurette’s focus is on the insane costume and production design of the film, but we also get some footage of Sodbergh operating the camera himself and of a nearly unrecognizable Rob Lowe as Liberace’s plastic surgeon.

Hit the jump to watch the featurette.  The film also stars Debbie Reynolds, Scott Bakula, Dan Aykroyd, Cheyenne Jackson, Paul Reiser, and Boyd Holbrook.  Behind the Candelabra will premiere on HBO on May 26th at 9pm/8c.

Enterprise had the misfortune of arriving at a low point in Star Trek’s history, as the TNG movies staggered to an ignominious conclusion and franchise burnout seemed insurmountable. Competing sci-fi series like Farscape arrived with a freshness that Trek couldn’t hope to match, and for a time it looked as if the iconic sci-fi property would fade into oblivion. Enterprise arrived with the mandate of reversing that trend, a task it simply wasn’t equipped to manage. It vanished four years after it arrived, the shortest-running series since the original. Ten years on, however, the dust has settled and the show has aged better than its detractors might think. It’s not perfect, but its attempts to find a different vibe for Star Trek produce some surprisingly good stuff. Hit the jump for the full review.

If nothing else, you knew Steven Soderbergh would cull a great ensemble for the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra.  Michael Douglas is Liberace, with Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson—a great foundation.  Dan Aykroyd and Singin’ in the Rain darling Debbie Reynolds next joined the cast.  The Playlist adds Rob Lowe, Cheyenne Jackson, and Boyd Holbrook to the mix, but it’s Variety that reported my favorite name yet: Scott Bakula.  I mean that literally—Bakula is my favorite name.  But I also love the soulful actor, and am excited to see Bakula reunite with Soderbergh after nailing his small part in The Informant!.  Hit the jump for details on each role.

William Shatner has taken it upon himself to create a documentary about Star Trek, specifically focusing on the many captains that have spearheaded the series over the years. In The Captains, Shatner sits down for interviews with head honchos Patrick Stewart (The Next Generation), Kate Mulgrew (Voyager), Scott Bakula (Enterprise), Avery Brooks (Deep Space Nine) and Chris Pine, who took on the role of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot.

A trailer for Shatner’s documentary has been released, and it’s pretty entertaining. The actor’s sensibilities are perfect as the host and star of the film, and the idea of interviewing each of the Star Trek captains is pretty genius. Plus, Shatner being Shatner, his reaction to a fan towards the end of the trailer is definitely a highlight. The Captains will premiere on July 21^st on the cable channel EPIX HD.

There comes a time in every man’s life when circumstances turn dire. Our bodies begin to ache; running and physical activities no longer seem as appealing; we lose hair; food becomes a safety hazard; and women exude little, if any, interest in those wrinkles gathering beneath our eyes. I’m 28 years young, but I’ve always feared the big 30. I can only imagine my feelings once I near 40, and then 50. The word “terrifying” comes to mind.

Perhaps that’s why I’m so grateful for TNT’s Men of a Certain Age, a television series that shows mid-life in an optimistic, even grateful light. The aches and pains remain, but they are outweighed by the new experiences the 45+ chapter of life affords.  Hit the jump for my review of the first season on DVD.

Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up and be a secret agent overnight?  As the titular lead of the television show Chuck, Chuck Bartowski would probably say it’s not so nice, but he’s had his fair share of adventure and lady love.

For those who need a download of information on the series, brace yourselves.  Chuck works for the Nerd Herd department of a Burbank Buy More store, an ode to Best Buy’s Geek Squad (which, by the way, does have a Burbank location).  Chuck had a simple life until he opens an email sent from his former college roommate and the whole of the United States’ secret information gets downloaded directly into his brain.   More after the jump.

Prime time drama is something usually reserved for blow-em-up action, unrealistic life situations, or a very complicated love triangle (octagon, etc). All of these are extremely over the top, and, for the most part, are completely lost on male audiences. From Ray Romano comes Men of a Certain Age, a show that looks to change all that, a show that gives viewers the things most shows can’t: a believable drama that has the allure of intense story, while also being accessible by everyone who watches it, especially men.

Men of a Certain Age follows three lifelong friends in their daily lives. Joe (Ray Romano) is the owner of a party supplies store whose recently separated from his wife, Owen (Andre Braugher), a car salesman who is knee deep with family issues of his own, and Terry (Scott Bakula), a man who has spent his entire life living in the moment and never looking toward the future. Each of these men are dealing with problems in their life, such as gambling or loneliness, and try to hold on to what sense of normalcy they can, all while still remaining friends.  More after the jump:

A feature film about a true, global price-fixing scheme for a corn product is not the sort of fare that inspires interest and laughs. In fact, it would probably inspire the very opposite. But if you can grasp at tendrils of insanity in the story, running fictionally wild, and put it in the hands of an incredibly able actor, you might have something like “The Informant!” Hit the jump to learn about the insane world of “The Informant!”

Opening tomorrow is the new Steven Soderbergh movie “The Informant!” The film is based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history and the film stars Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey. While I’d love to go into detail about the film, it’s one of those movies the less you know the better, so I’ll just say I really liked the movie and I recommend checking it out this weekend. Especially if you enjoy surprises….

Anyway, a few days ago I got to speak with Scott Bakula about playing FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard and working for Steven Soderbergh. Of course I also worked in some “Star Trek” and “Quantum Leap” questions, and I also asked him about being on “Chuck” last season and if he might be coming back. If you’re a fan of Scott’s work, I promise you’ll like this interview.

Warner Bros. has released a preview of their upcoming 2009 movies. In the preview, they’ve got updated synopsis’ along with new images from “Whiteout”, “Ninja Assassin”, “The Invention of Lying”, “The Informant!” and a few others. So if you’d like to see the new images and read what’s coming later this year (it’s a lot of great stuff), it’s all after the jump: