Steven Soderbergh Is Ready To Retire

Despite wishful thinking from fans of his, apparently those close to director Steven Soderbergh (Schizopolis, Traffic, Che) know that yes, the busiest filmmaker in the business is truly ready to hang it up.

In speaking to the LA Times, Matt Damon recently revealed that Soderbergh is indeed ready to retire, something originally discussed a few years back.   Here’s what the actor had to say:

“He wants to paint and he says he’s still young enough to have another career’¦He’s kind of exhausted with everything that interested him in terms of form. He’s not interested in telling stories. Cinema interested him in terms of form and that’s it. He says, ‘If I see another over-the-shoulder shot, I’m going to blow my brains out.’ ”

Soderbergh and Damon are currently shooting the pandemic thriller Contagion in Chicago, and with him approaching his 51^st birthday, a date he has repeatedly said he wants to be done making films by, we may be seeing the last of Soderbergh behind the camera.   He has Liberace next, also featuring Damon, and then his George Clooney-led take on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which according to Damon, will be his last film.

Personally, while it’s sad to see Soderbergh go, it will be nice to see him bow with a picture starring George Clooney.   That said, this is ultimately a really upsetting piece of news, because Soderbergh’s voice is one so distinctly singular, that it will be a massive void.   No one makes films quite like Soderbergh, so hopefully he’ll get a second wind of sorts, because this is one filmmaker I don’t think the film world is quite ready to lose yet.

What do you think?

Source: LA Times