michael douglas on kirks dismay over cuckoos nest snub
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Michael Douglas on Kirk's dismay over 'Cuckoo's Nest' snub

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleMichael Douglas on Kirk's dismay over 'Cuckoo's Nest' snub

Michael Douglas produced "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Los Angeles - AFP

Their once rocky relationship is closer than ever, but Michael Douglas has revealed dad Kirk still harbors one grudge -- being snubbed for his son's Oscar-winning "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

The younger Douglas was just 29 when he earned his place among Hollywood's elite as the producer behind the first movie in 40 years to sweep the "big five" Oscars for best picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay.

Kirk, now 100, had starred in the Broadway version and even handed the movie rights for the iconic 1975 drama to his son, but was shocked when he was passed over for the role of convict Randle McMurphy in favor of the younger Jack Nicholson. 

Michael, 72, told a Q&A in Hollywood on Saturday how his father's plans to adapt the moderately successful 1963 play based on Ken Kesey's novel had foundered after a number of years and he was about to sell on the rights.

"I say, 'Please, Dad, don't sell the project. It's a great project. So let me take it and run with it and I'll try to get it set up as a production and for you to play the part,' and Dad said, 'Okay great,'" Douglas recalled.

"Here's where Kirk's and my story digress. On his version, yeah sure, Michael gets the project, takes a year, sets it all up and doesn't cast me in the part. If he were here right now, it's the first thing he'd want to tell you."

 

- Too old -

"It was about 20 years since Dad did the play on Broadway, his career's changed a little bit, and our director Milos Forman was like, 'Kirk's a little old for the part.' I said 'Yeah,'" Douglas said.Douglas told Turner Classic Movies presenter Ben Mankiewicz, who was hosting a discussion on the actor's glittering career, that he remembers one key part of the story differently, insisting he wasn't to blame for his dad's rejection.

"Dad's version is that I rejected him. I said, 'Since when did the producer have casting control? That was the director.' It was my first time out."

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" tells the story of a felon who fakes insanity to avoid a jail term and finds himself in a psychiatric hospital in Oregon where the patients live in fear of the malevolent ward supervisor, Nurse Ratched.

McMurphy is considered to be 79-year-old Nicholson's career-defining role, although Forman only considered him after trying unsuccessfully to secure Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando and Burt Reynolds.

Several actresses -- including Anne Bancroft, Geraldine Page and Angela Lansbury -- were considered for Nurse Ratched, before Louise Fletcher was hired. 

It was the first movie since "It Happened One Night" (1934) to sweep the "big five" Oscars -- a feat that has only been matched once since, by "Silence of the Lambs" (1991).

"I like to tease my father because I gave him half of our producing deal and he made more money off that movie than any movie he ever made," Douglas laughed.

 

- 'You were terrible' -

He went on to win another Oscar -- this time for best actor in "Wall Street" (1987) -- and became one of the most bankable stars in the world through a series of roles in cinematic hits including "Romancing the Stone," "Fatal Attraction" and "Basic Instinct." Now a Hollywood icon, Michael Douglas was a TV actor -- a job considered very much less illustrious than big screen acting at the time -- on crime series "The Streets of San Francisco" when he took on his debut producing role.  

Douglas described speaking to his father, ever the taskmaster, after his very first performance, as a messenger in a college production of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," and being told: "Michael, you were terrible."

"He was so relieved. He said, 'Thank God I don't have to worry about my son going into this business,'" Douglas remembered.

The actor said he suffered crippling stage fright in his early years and would keep a waste basket at the side of the stage in case he needed to throw up.

"Finally, a couple years later, Dad came back and he was wonderful. He was busy in his career but he saw most of my shows and he said, 'You were okay -- you were good.'"

source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

michael douglas on kirks dismay over cuckoos nest snub michael douglas on kirks dismay over cuckoos nest snub

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 08:26 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Five things to know about Davos

GMT 08:27 2017 Wednesday ,27 December

Ashraf reveals date of his new performance

GMT 00:35 2016 Saturday ,26 November

Elie Saab Coutureِ Fall/Winter 2016-2017

GMT 20:08 2017 Tuesday ,26 September

Modi promises electricity ‘for every Indian house’

GMT 10:03 2016 Monday ,03 October

Opens 2016 awards season

GMT 11:28 2017 Wednesday ,07 June

Coach underlines challenges during the season

GMT 14:15 2017 Friday ,22 December

Time to pursue the Palestinian cause intelligently

GMT 17:39 2017 Wednesday ,01 November

Olympic flame lands in South Korea

GMT 15:29 2016 Monday ,21 March

PSG title party gate-crashed

GMT 18:35 2017 Wednesday ,01 March

NRJ Radio to be Launched in Morocco

GMT 08:39 2017 Tuesday ,12 September

Volkswagen to electrify entire range by 2030

GMT 11:00 2011 Sunday ,05 June

Oil stuck at $100 as demand falls

GMT 17:56 2016 Tuesday ,19 July

Saudia resumes flights to Turkey

GMT 11:10 2011 Tuesday ,04 October

Solhi Al-Wadi, Syrian music

GMT 14:17 2011 Monday ,19 September

Ben Arfa set for Newcastle return
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle