Auteur Watch - Steven Soderbergh

Well, I'm officially out of sibling duos, but Soderbergh is practically a duo unto himself.  If you think of peoples' careers in terms of having three Acts, I suppose the end of Soderbergh's Act One would be about the time of 1996's Schizopolis, where about the same time the Farrellys were also wondering if they had a future in this business or not.  In Soderbergh's case, it may have also been 1995's (The) Underneath.  But he rose like a phoenix and, after collaborating with co-conspirator George Clooney, both of their careers got much needed shots in the(ir) arms.  Clooney has struggled to keep up, but Soderbergh has apparently cloned himself.  How else to explain his burst of productivity in 2000?  Two Academy-Award nominated films in the same year?  Not everyone can be their own cinematographer, though.  Well, it is a little easier these days with digital video cameras, but back then it was basically him and Peter Hyams.  Soddie's staving off his Third Act for as long as possible, but after a biopic about Liberace, he may be close to jumping the shark.  I mean, really?  Liberace?  What next, The Family Circus?  Or did John Hughes do that one already?