Michael Douglas acquired a particular shock after introducing the screening of a restored model of Czech-American directing legend Miloš Forman‘s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson, on the 59th version of the Karlovy Fluctuate Worldwide Movie Pageant (KVIFF) on Saturday.
Douglas, who was a producer on the Oscar-winning film, traveled to the picturesque Czech spa city for the primary time since 1998 to current the brand new model throughout its fiftieth anniversary yr.
After receiving a rapturous welcome on stage, Douglas shared some historical past concerning the movie. He earned laughs and applause when he shared that he had arrived solely three hours earlier and already loved Czech duck and beer, particularly Pilsner Urquell.
He expressed gratitude to the competition and in addition had a particular due to his Hollywood legend father. “I’ve to thank my father, Kirk, for getting the rights to the e-book,” Douglas mentioned. “He tried to get it made as a film for a few years, and he couldn’t, and he was going to promote it, and that was after I stepped in and I mentioned, ‘Dad, please, please don’t promote this.’ I by no means thought of being a producer, however I beloved this challenge a lot. So I thank my father for giving me that chance and never promoting it.”
After wishing the excited viewers an excellent screening, KVIFF government director Kryštof Mucha shocked Douglas by handing him a Crystal Globe statuette with the competition’s trademark award design — a lady elevating a crystal sphere. This model of the award has been used for the reason that thirty fifth anniversary of the competition in 2000, whereas Douglas had acquired the older design model, which Mucha defined had gained a repute for not being simple to carry. He mentioned Douglas may now exchange the older with the handier new award.
Michael Douglas on the 2025 Karlovy Fluctuate Worldwide Movie Pageant
Courtesy of Georg Szalai
As Douglas posed together with his new statuette in entrance of a photograph displaying him holding the previous award in 1998, the viewers broke into an enthusiastic standing ovation. Photographers then snapped footage of Douglas earlier than he left the stage to a hero’s farewell.
Requested concerning the new statuette at a press convention later within the day, Douglas mentioned: “They upgraded me.”
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest made Oscar historical past as solely the second film to win all 5 main Academy Award classes: finest image (Douglas and Zaentz), finest director (Forman), finest actor (Jack Nicholson), finest actress (Louise Fletcher), and finest tailored screenplay (Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman).
The brand new model, restored by the Academy Movie Archive, screened as a part of KVIFF’s “Out of the Previous” part in a particular gala. The legendary Douglas was joined there by producer Paul Zaentz, nephew of the late Saul Zaentz, who co-produced the movie, in addition to members of Forman’s household.
Tailored from Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest facilities on Randle McMurphy, a rebellious gambler whose defiance of authority challenges the inflexible system of a psychological establishment. The story is usually described as a parable of freedom versus management.