Damon, Douglas Lovers in Liberace Biopic

Director Steven Soderbergh confirmed Thursday that Matt Damon will portray the gay lover to Michael Douglas's Liberace in an upcoming biopic of the flamboyant, piano-playing entertainer.

Damon will play Scott Thorsen, the assistant and boyfriend whose 1982 palimony suit for $110 million outed Liberace, reports Peoplemagazine.

"I'm doing this Liberace movie," Damon told the press at a junket for his new movie The Informant. "Michael Douglas is playing Liberace and I play his lover. Steven is directing it. I saw Michael last night. He comes up and says, 'Get your Chapstick ready.' It's going to be a great movie. My role is a great role. But Michael's role? It's spectacular."

The film is currently in preproduction.

"We've already done some costume and wardrobe tests on Michael, and they're very, very, very good," Soderbergh told a French newspaper at the Deauville Film Festival. "I swear to you, Michael amazed me. He crushed it."

Douglas previously worked with Soderbergh on Traffic, while Damon starred in all of the Oceans' movies as well as Soderbergh's current theatrical release The Informant!

The film also reunites the Academy Award-winning director with writer Richard LaGravenese. The two previously collaborated in 2000 on Erin Brockovich -- though LaGravenese's revision was uncredited.

The as yet untitled Liberace film is projected to be released in 2011.