The HBO Liberace biopic "Behind the Candelabra" scooped up an impressive 15 Emmy nominations Thursday morning, including for stars Michael Douglas, Matt Damon and a nomination in the Outstanding Miniseries or Movie category.
Also read: The Complete List of Emmys Nominees
But "Candelabra" executive producer Jerry Weintraub told TheWrap on Thursday that he's most gratified by the nominations in the less-glorified categories.
"All the craft people are nominated, and that made me very happy," Weintraub said. "The behind-the-scenes people — costume people, makeup people, set designers casting — everybody who worked on this movie is being recognized, and I am thrilled about that."
See photos: Emmy 2013: The Nominees
Earlier this year, "Candelabra" director Steven Soderbergh told reporters that the movie studios dismissed the project as "too gay." As Thursday's nominations proved, television — and, specifically, HBO — proved to be an ideal home for the project, which Weintraub acknowledged while speaking to TheWrap.
"HBO was the right place for it, because they supported us from day one," Weintraub said. "They were so supportive of us and helped so much through this whole project … everyone was so dedicated."
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"At the end of the day we made all the right decisions," Weintraub said.
In a separate conversation, Scott Bakula — who's nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie category for his portrayal of Bob Black in the film — said he was "gratefully astonished" by the nomination, particularly given the crowded field of potential nominees in the category.
"Come on, the category is huge; it's ridiculous!" Bakula said. "You get overwhelmed by the number of people to choose from, it's a wonder that anyone gets nominated."
Bakula, who told TheWrap that he had "zero expectations" for a nomination, added, "I'm just laughing. That's all I can say."