Director Steven Soderbergh confirms career-shift to painter

Director Steven Soderbergh, known for such diverse work as Traffic, Erin Brockovich and the Oceans Eleven trilogy, has confirmed that he plans to retire as a film director to become a painter.

He confirmed the move when he spoke to The New York Times, saying “I’m interested in exploring another art form while I have the time and ability to do so...I’ll be the first person to say if I can’t be any good at it and run out of money I’ll be back making another ‘Ocean’s’ movie.”

Rumors that Soderbergh would make the career-change began when actor Matt Damon told The Los Angeles Times in January that “he wants to paint and he says he’s still young enough to have another career."

However, at Comic-Con last month, Soderbergh laughed off Damon’s statement, according to The Huffington Post.

Soderbergh still has a full slate of projects he would need to complete before he can suddenly retire from the movie business, though. On Sep. 9, his latest, Contagion with Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law comes out. He is also making Magic Mike, about a male stripper, and an adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and a film about the life of Liberace.