by Paul Fischer
by
Paul Fischer
Oscar winner Michael Douglas has all reason
to be smles these days: Another baby, an Oscar 
winning
wife and to top it all off, he finally gets to act with his legendary
dad Kirk Douglas in the new comedy/drama It Runs
in the Family. The film also marks a reunion, of sorts, for Michael's
long divorced parents, with mom Diana Douglas taking the role of his character's
mom, and wife to Kirk, in the film. As if two genertions were not enough,
more principal props go to Michael's son, Cameron, who stars as a dissaffected
son in need of a healthy dose of reality. Douglas discussed it all with
our Paul Fischer, in Los Angeles.
CrankyCritic: Do you regret that it's taken you so long for you
and your dad to get work together?
Michael Douglas: Not really, because then he wouldn't have had
the stroke and I think the stroke has been a - it's certainly changed
him for the better. There's no question about it.
CrankyCritic: How so?
Michael Douglas: He's a kinder and gentler Kirk Douglas. He's got
a great sense of humor and, you know, much more spiritual minded and I
don't think that would have been in that format before. And also, I think
it leaves a lasting impact on a lot of people and I think it's actually
a
positive way to see him acting with a stroke - step up there and deliver.
CrankyCritic: Would that suggest that the two of you had an interesting
relationship prior to this story? How would you define your relationship
with your dad in the story?
Michael Douglas: Oh no, really, we've been close and gotten on
for ages. I guess the old issue of conflict was Cuckoo's Nest
was always talked about, but, no I think a little bit like it runs in
the family. Every body's just been in their own worlds, you know. I kind
of grew up - I didn't grow up in Hollywood. It was 5 or 6 years before
my mother and father got divorced when I was 4 or 5. My adult life, I
kind of lived back East or other places, and we see each other. We always
kind of have gotten along fine. We really have not big conflict issues.
CrankyCritic: How do you handle communication?
Michael Douglas: Telephones, usually.
CrankyCritic: Within your family.
Michael Douglas: Well, it depends on which members . Families.
You know, you love 'em and you hate 'em. I mean, you're held together.
It's kind of a phenomenal thing. You're held together by blood, which
also creates guilt, and you, you know, sometimes it doesn't mean you have
to love your family members, just because you are, but you hope you can
and will. So I guess what I'm trying to say as far as how we communicate,
it depends upon which family members you're talking about. If you spend
a lot of time - I'm pretty good. We touch base once a week at least, usually
all at a time, make a call, my mother, my father, my son, you know - my
brother.
Michael Douglas: Well no. Since Catherine's come into the picture, I may hear a little more often from my father, who likes to call and we say hi, I'm fine, you're fine - let me talk to my daughter-in-law.
CrankyCritic: What is it like to be an Oscar-winning couple now?
Michael
Douglas: Pretty cool - pretty cool. I'm just so proud of her. It's
something you never think is going to happen. I know how hard she worked.
I was up there in Toronto the whole time they were doing the picture.
And the fact she never thought she would sing and dance again, and here
you are in the picture, and you get an Oscar. It was well deserved, and
I really respect, because you know, acting is a craft. You know, singing
and dancing, you can't fake that.
CrankyCritic: She's so beautiful do you ever get to see a less
beautiful side of her or is it just always?
Michael Douglas: No, she is inside one of the things I think makes
her so beautiful is she's so unaware of it. You know she just you know
gets dressed when she's got to get kind of dressed up and then off she
goes but doesn't really have a self conscience awareness so I think it's
such an attractive quality.
CrankyCritic: Has new and impending fatherhood changed your whole
perspective on your work and life in general?
Michael Douglas: Well, it makes me want to do a movie that maybe
my kids can see before the ages of 13, for openers. Catherine just finished
doing a voice for Sinbad. So I mean that - work wise, we're going
to do a picture together in the Fall called Monkey Face directed
by Steven Frears, and a large part of the reason of doing
a picture then is because with the new baby, it gives us a chance to all
be together before she takes off and I'm sure it's going to be a busy
active time for her after having two kids .
CrankyCritic: Are you relishing the whole diaper thing all over
again?
Michael Douglas: Yeah, I'm good at changing diapers. I'm good with
kids. So, I'm excited about it. And this time around versus 25 years ago,
24 years ago with Cameron, where you're at the height of your career as
a producer, and still trying to establish yourself as an actor, and you
get that all success until 1986, with Wall Street and Fatal
Attraction, that kind of established the acting. So, I was a lot
like my father in that I was pretty consumed with my career and my family
kind of came second, so now you feel that you have accomplished what you
had, you can really enjoy your family so much more.
CrankyCritic: At this point in your life, are you able to look
at your father and see things that you believe you share with him? Not
just physically, but maybe emotionally?
Michael Douglas: I see myself as a pretty even match between my
mother and my father, you know. All those people who know dad, but I think
I have inherited some of his tenacity, his endurance, his stamina. I've
inherited the ability to hold a grudge, if need be, although trying to
- I've inherited, I think we both agree, the use of anger as a false source
of energy. Anger kind of keeps you going sometimes. It keeps you, as an
energy source.
CrankyCritic: What makes you angry?
Michael Douglas: Well, I'm saying used to. Both of us have found
that. With all the success that I had, you must remember, even back with
Cuckoo's Nest, China Syndrome, Romancing the Stone, these were
all rejected, time after time after time. So what you do, if you're going
to be an actor, you have to get used to rejection. But that doesn't mean
you don't say . some day, one of these days, and that's what helps keep
you going a lot of times on those. But that gets to be exhausting, and
so hopefully as you get a little older and wiser, and more successful,
you
don't have to worry about that so much.
CrankyCritic: When you were doing Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct,
etc a whole slew of imitators sprung up. What is your response to that
phenomenon?
Michael Douglas: It's a compliment, really. I mean, people call
it my sex trilogy and all that. They're good movies, and they were well
executed. A lot of people attempt it. Sex in the cinema is not easy to
do, because it's one of those areas where every body's a judge. Everybody
knows about it, so now kind of judge it by I was proud of those pictures
and I guess imitation was the highest form of flattery.
CrankyCritic: What has Cameron inherited from you that you know
you've obviously inherited some stuff from your dad?
Michael Douglas: I don't know yet. I mean I just don't know. I
mean his talent as a DJ I don't know where that came from you know, I
mean I like music but there's nowhere in our family's kind of background
and he's really good at it. So I think he's still defining himself. I
think
whenever you're the son or the daughter of successful parents or a parent
it just takes you longer, I mean it certainly took me a lot longer to
find out who I was and I think he's well on the way, but I don't, I can't
say that he's, that I have a clear picture yet.
CrankyCritic: You mentioned that Cameron's tastes in music are
so vastly different than you own. Do you ever have 
like
a compromise there and both listen to the same kind of music?
Michael Douglas: No but he's guided me through some of the different
forms of techno you know in terms of there's Jungle or Tramps and you
know I, he knows the kind of ones that I like to listen to and even on
hip hop at one time I just couldn't get it because I had a tough time
and I remember you know he was making me nuts in school you know but yet
he could tell ten versus on a rap song, he knew every lyric. I said how
can you know every lyric on a rap song and you can't do your homework
and all of that and I remember he turned me on to a tribe called Quest
which was sort of like more melodic sounds. So as he DJ he's got to serve
his audiences too so he plays to a wide range of, most of those gigs now
are corporate. He does a lot of corporate events. So he's got to kind
of smooth it out even for him.
CrankyCritic: Does celebrity come easy to you in dealing with fame?
Michael Douglas: Well success has been hard work I mean I don't
take it lightly. I've worked you know really, really hard for what I've
achieved. I think handling it is probably the biggest advantage of being
second generation. I mean growing up with Frank Sinatra and
Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Janet
Leigh and people in your home as a kid or visiting them I mean
it just helps you understand the foibles and insecurities that people
as real people versus all this showbiz stuff. But saying that, I don't
think Catherine and I were quite prepared for what happens when two people
get together you know the kind of attention that it brings and
obviously there are so many more outlets you know both on the television
you know and in the print.
CrankyCritic: Do you think you've removed yourself from your father's
shadow or do you still think you're in your father's shadow as far as
show business goes?
Michael Douglas: No, I think for me winning the Oscar for Wall
Street was the time I clearly thought 'wow I got a nomination from
my peers for acting,' and then to win it, I think, that was about
the time I felt I was off and running.
CrankyCritic: Was there any downside to winning the Oscar?
Michael Douglas: For me?
CrankyCritic: Yes.
Michael Douglas: Can't think of one. I can't think of one. No,
it's very elite group. I mean one of the real joys I got with Catherine
on Oscar night was when they had this thing where they brought in all
these past Oscar winners out, you know like 60 of us. I'm sitting up with
dad up on top and he's looking around. I said 'What's wrong?' He said
'Am I the oldest one here?' I said 'Dad, Ms. Louise Reiner, she's 93.
And Carl here's he's 91.' He said 'You know how you can tell when you're
getting old?' And I said 'No dad.' 'When they compliment you on your alligator
shoes and you're barefoot.' And then Catherine came out and they're taking
photographs and I said I can't wait for Catherine. How cool is it for
you to be standing out in front with your Oscar with 60 Oscar winners
just sitting up there behind you? It's going to be a great photograph.
CrankyCritic: Do you have a favorite film of your father's that
you enjoy?
Michael Douglas: Yeah I love Lonely are the Brave, it
was written by Dalton Trumbo who you know dad got to
use as he was blacklisted he also wrote Spartacus, but it was
a kind of contemporary western and just a very different kind of role
for dad. Actually he played a very kind of mellow character which is very
different in a kind of, so I like that a lot and Lust for Life
I remember forgetting it was my father and just wholly consumed with this
character.
CrankyCritic: What surprised you the most about working with your
dad on this film?
Michael Douglas: The effortlessness I mean he just, you know he
used to have a habit of sometimes when he'd get nervous, then he'd get
angry and it's just, it's all gone he's just such a loving, supportive
generous person and did such a great job in the role so I thought he just
acted his brains off, he made every moment count and I think for me it
was just the reminder of the kind of discipline he has and it's just old
school compared to the young actors now and the work that he would do
daily. Working over, looking over the script and the parts and trying
to change it.
CrankyCritic: Your parents neither encouraged you nor discouraged
you to follow in theirs because what have you do, what about your own
children, what advice would you give to them if they want to follow your
lead?
Michael Douglas: Well Cameron's off and running. You know we'll
see. I think the only advice you really got to give them is that you got
to make sure that you love acting, because if the only reason you're doing
it is to be a star, then you're going to be very disappointed, very
disappointed. If it's because it's in your blood you got to do it and
you'd be happy doing theater in New York or whatever then by all means.
But, if the only reason you're doing it is you want to be a movie star,
then it's going to be tough.
CrankyCritic: Were you looking at other family scripts first before
you found this one?
Michael Douglas: Yes.
CrankyCritic: What were some of the other ones like?
Michael Douglas: I wish I could remember. I was trying to remember
this the other day it was a while back you kind of forget them and I remember
trying a couple out on dad and he you know he just, he was just different
it was before the stroke and everything else and you always find a reason
why not to do something and or this or maybe you know who's going to be
the bad guy in the movie who wants to see the play. And then you know
I think this just all kind of, there's a rhyme and reason for everything
you know.
CrankyCritic: Do you think his reaction would have been very different
had he not had the stroke?
Michael Douglas: Why I think his whole life changed when he was
70. His last chapter really changed when he had the helicopter crash and
questioned why he was still alive and other people died. And I think that's
the time when he rediscovered his Jewish roots and you know starting really
working on the Old Testament and became much more spiritual.
CrankyCritic: It didn't translate to you though did it?
Michael Douglas: No, why I have no formal, I've had no formal religious
education that's for sure.
CrankyCritic: Are you going to be doing any work now with the
United Nations?
Michael Douglas: I am, one of the other things I wanted to mention
is I have a documentary coming out April 27 on Showtime called Sunday
at Seven O'Clock on what's going on. It's a documentary I did down
in Sierra Leone about child soldiers, you know the child soldiers that
they use and drug up and they commit all sorts of atrocities and it's
a very powerful, very moving documentary.
CrankyCritic: Are clearly concerned for the future of your child
given what's happening in the world at the present time?
Michael Douglas: Yeah, it wasn't the way I sort of anticipated
the new millennium was going to turn out to be but I'm optimistic, I'm
hopeful that with new this disease that we'll get a handle on this you
know. I think the to try to bring this a lot closer but I think it's a
slow rough
road ahead.
CrankyCritic: What's the film you're doing with Catherine about?
What kind of a film is it?
Michael Douglas: It's a kind of in the Elmore Leonard dark comedy
spirit you know. We play adversaries kind of going at each other.