Michael Douglas To Receive HFPA's Cecil B. DeMille Award At 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards to be Telecast Live on NBC on Jan. 25.

Entertainment Editors

HOLLYWOOD--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2003

Michael Douglas has been selected as the recipient of the 2004 Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field," it was announced today at a morning press conference by Brittany Murphy.

The award, voted by the board of directors of the HFPA, will be presented to Douglas at the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards, to be held Sunday, January 25, 2004 and telecast live on NBC (8-11 p.m. EST). The event will take place in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Douglas received two Golden Globes; one as Best Actor (drama) for "Wall Street" and one as producer of the Golden-Globe winning Best Picture (drama) "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He received four additional Golden Globe nominations; three as Best Actor for "Wonder Boys," "The American President" and "The War of the Roses"; and one for Best Television Actor (drama) for "The Streets of San Francisco."

He is the first-ever second generation Cecil B. DeMille honoree. His father, Kirk Douglas, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1968.

An actor with over thirty years of experience in theatre, film, and television, Michael Douglas branched out into independent feature production in 1975 with the Academy Award-winning "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Since then, as a producer and as an actor-producer, he has shown an uncanny knack for choosing projects that reflect changing trends and public concerns. Over the past twelve years, he has been involved in such controversial and politically influential motion pictures as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The China Syndrome" and such popular films as "Fatal Attraction" and "Romancing the Stone."

The son of Kirk and Diana Douglas, Michael was born in New Jersey. He attended the elite prepatory Choate School and spent his summers with his father on movie sets. Although accepted at Yale, Douglas attended the University of California, Santa Barbara.

After receiving his B.A. degree in 1968, Douglas moved to New York City to continue his dramatic training, studying at the American Place Theatre with Wynn Handman, and at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where he appeared in workshop productions of Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author" and Thornton Wilder's "Happy Journey."

A few months after he arrived in New York, Douglas got his first big break when he was cast in the pivotal role of the free-spirited scientist who compromises his liberal views to accept a lucrative job with a high-tech chemical corporation in the CBS Playhouse production of Ellen M. Violett's drama, "The Experiment," which was televised nationwide on February 25, 1969.

Douglas' convincing portrayal won him the leading role in the adaptation of John Weston's controversial novel, "Hail, Hero!," which was the initial project of CBS's newly organized theatrical film production company, Cinema Center Films. Douglas starred as a well-meaning, almost saintly young pacifist determined not only to justify his beliefs to his conservative parents but also to test them under fire in the jungles of Indochina. His second feature, "Adam at 6 A.M." (1970) concerned a young man's search for his roots. Douglas next appeared in the film version of Ron Cowen's play "Summertree" (1971), produced by Kirk Douglas' Bryna Company, and then "Napoleon and Samantha" (1972), a sentimental children's melodrama from the Walt Disney studio.

In between film assignments, he worked in summer stock and off-Broadway productions, among them "City Scenes," Frank Gagliano's surrealistic vignettes of contemporary life in New York, John Patrick Shanley's short-lived romance "Love is a Time of Day" and George Tabori's "Pinkville," in which he played a young innocent brutalized by his military training. He also appeared in the made-for-television thriller, "When Michael Calls," broadcast by ABC-TV on February 5, 1972 and in episodes of the popular series "Medical Center" and "The FBI."

Impressed by Douglas' performance in a segment of "The FBI," producer Quinn Martin signed the actor for the part of Karl Malden's sidekick in the police series "The Streets of San Francisco," which premiered September of 1972 and became one of ABC's highest-rated prime-time programs in the mid-1970s. Douglas earned three successive Emmy Award nominations for his performance and he directed two episodes of the series.

During the annual breaks in the shooting schedule for "The Streets of San Francisco," Douglas devoted most of his time to his film production company, Big Stick Productions, Ltd., which produced several short subjects in the early 1970s. Long interested in producing a film version of Ken Kesey's grimly humorous novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Douglas purchased the movie rights from his father and began looking for financial backing. After a number of major motion picture studios turned him down, Douglas formed a partnership with Saul Zaentz, a record industry executive, and the two set about recruiting the cast and crew. Douglas still had a year to go on his contract for "The Streets of San Francisco," but the producers agreed to write his character out of the story so that he could concentrate on filming "Cuckoo's Nest."

A critical and commercial success, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" won six Golden Globes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress, and went on to gross more than $180 million at the box office. The film also won five Academy Awards, including an Oscar for Douglas as producer of the year's Best Picture. Douglas suddenly found himself in demand as an independent producer. One of the many scripts submitted to him for consideration was Mike Gray's chilling account of the attempted cover-up of an accident at a nuclear power plant. Attracted by the combination of social relevance and suspense, Douglas immediately bought the property. Deemed uncommercial by most investors, Douglas teamed up with Jane Fonda and her own motion picture production company, IPC Films.

A Michael Douglas-IPC Films co-production, "The China Syndrome" (1979) starred Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, and Michael Douglas and received Academy Award nominations for Lemmon and Fonda, as well as for Best Screenplay. The National Board of Review named the film one of the best films of the year.

Despite his success as a producer, Douglas resumed his acting career in the late 1970s, starring in Michael Crichton's medical thriller "Coma" (1978) with Genevieve Bujold, Claudia Weill's feminist comedy "It's My Turn" (1981) starring Jill Clayburgh, and Peter Hyams' gripping tale of modern-day vigilante justice, "The Star Chamber" (1983). Douglas also starred in "Running" (1979), as a compulsive quitter who sacrifices everything to take one last shot at the Olympics, and as Zach the dictatorial director/choreographer in Richard Attenborough's screen version of Broadway's longest running musical "A Chorus Line" (1985).

Douglas' career as an actor/producer came together again in 1984 with the release of the tongue-in-cheek romantic fantasy "Romancing the Stone." Douglas had begun developing the project several years earlier, and with Kathleen Turner as Joan Wilder, the dowdy writer of gothic romances, Danny DeVito as the feisty comic foil Ralphie and Douglas as Jack Colton, the reluctant soldier of fortune, "Romancing" was a resounding hit and grossed more than $100 million at the box office. Douglas was named Producer of the Year in 1984 by the National Association of Theater Owners. Douglas, Turner and DeVito reteamed in 1985 for the successful sequel "The Jewel of the Nile."

It took Douglas nearly two years to convince Columbia Pictures executives to approve the production of "Starman," an unlikely tale of romance between an extraterrestrial, played by Jeff Bridges, and a young widow, played by Karen Allen. "Starman" was the sleeper hit of the 1984 Christmas season and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for Jeff Bridges. In 1986 Douglas created a television series based on the film for ABC which starred Robert Hays.

After a lengthy break from acting, Douglas returned to the screen in 1987 appearing in two of the year's biggest hits. He starred opposite Glenn Close in the phenomenally successful psychological thriller, "Fatal Attraction," which was followed by his performance as ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street," earning him the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actor.

Douglas next starred in Ridley Scott's thriller "Black Rain" and then teamed up again with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito in the black comedy "The War of the Roses" which was released in 1989.

In 1988 Douglas formed Stonebridge Entertainment, Inc. which produced "Flatliners," directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and William Baldwin and "Radio Flyer," starring Lorraine Bracco and directed by Richard Donner. Douglas followed with David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Issac's best-selling novel, "Shining Through," opposite Melanie Griffith. In 1992 he starred with Sharon Stone in the erotic thriller from Paul Verhoeven "Basic Instinct," one of the year's top grossing films.

Douglas gave one of his most powerful performances opposite Robert Duvall in Joel Schumacher's controversial drama "Falling Down." That year he also produced the hit comedy "Made in America" starring Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson and Will Smith. In 1994/95 he starred with Demi Moore in Barry Levinson's "Disclosure," based on the best seller by Michael Crichton. In 1995 Douglas portrayed the title role in Rob Reiner's romantic comedy "The American President" opposite Annette Bening, and in 1997, starred in "The Game" directed by David Fincher and co-starring Sean Penn.

Douglas formed Douglas/Reuther Productions with partner Steven Reuther in May 1994. The company, under the banner of Constellation Films, produced "The Ghost and the Darkness," starring Douglas and Val Kilmer, and John Grisham's "The Rainmaker," based on John Grisham's best selling novel, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Danny DeVito and Jon Voight.

Michael Douglas and Steve Reuther also produced John Woo's action thriller "Face/Off" starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, which proved to be one of '97's major hits.

In 1998, Michael Douglas starred with Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen in the mystery thriller "A Perfect Murder," and formed a new production company, Furthur Films, based at Universal. Douglas was also named a Messenger of Peace for the United Nations in July of 1998 by Secretary General Kofi Annan. His two areas of concentration are nuclear abolition and small arms proliferation.

2000 was a milestone year for Douglas. "Wonder Boys" opened in February to much critical acclaim. Directed by Curtis Hanson and co-starring Toby Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr. and Katie Holmes, Douglas starred in the film as troubled college professor Grady Tripp.

"Traffic" was released by USA Films on December 22, 2000. Douglas played the role of Robert Wakefield, a newly appointed drug czar confronted by the drug war both at home and abroad. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and co-starring Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Amy Irving, Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Traffic" was named Best Picture by New York Film Critics, won Best Ensemble Cast at the SAG Awards, won four Academy Awards, and has been recognized on over 175 top ten lists.

In 2001, Douglas produced and played a role in USA Films' outrageous comedy "One Night at McCool's" starring Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, John Goodman, Paul Reiser, and directed by Harald Zwart. "McCool's" was the first film by Douglas' company Furthur Films. Also in 2001, Douglas starred in "Don't Say A Word" for 20th Century Fox. The psychological thriller, directed by Gary Fleder, also starred Sean Bean, Famke Janseen and Brittany Murphy.

In 2002, Douglas played a guest role on the hit NBC comedy "Will & Grace," and received an Emmy Nomination for his performance.

Douglas starred in two films in 2003. MGM/BVI released the family drama "It Runs in the Family," which Douglas produced and starred with his father Kirk Douglas, his mother Diana Douglas and his son Cameron Douglas, Rory Culkin and Bernadette Peters. He also starred in "The-In Laws," with Albert Brooks, released by Warner Bros.

Douglas is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones. The couple has one son, Dylan, and one daughter, Carys. Douglas also has one son, Cameron, from a previous marriage.

Recent Cecil B. DeMille winners include Gene Hackman (2003), Harrison Ford (2002), Al Pacino (2001), Barbra Streisand (2000), Jack Nicholson (1999), Shirley MacLaine (1998), Dustin Hoffman (1997), Sean Connery (1996) and Sophia Loren (1995).

The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place Sunday, January 25, 2004 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with a live telecast airing on NBC at 8 PM (EST) and produced by dick clark productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Lorenzo Soria is President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Dick Clark and Barry Adelman are executive producers. Al Schwartz is consulting producer. Ken Shapiro is producer. Ron Weed is co-producer. The nominations for the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards will be announced at a morning press conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Thursday, December 18, 2003.