Posted on: Friday, April 25, 2003

Acting runs in family, but script is pure fiction

By Claudia Puig
USA Today

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Kirk and Michael Douglas proudly proclaim they have created Hollywood history with "It Runs in the Family."

"It was the first time three generations of one family have been in a picture," says the elder Douglas.

The father and son star in the movie, opening today, along with Michael's son Cameron, 24, and Michael's mother, Diana Douglas, long divorced from Kirk.

Sitting in the elder Douglas' elegantly appointed one-story home, Kirk, 86, and Michael, 59, clearly have a warm relationship. Kirk laughs at Michael's quips, and Michael occasionally gives his dad a hug or squeezes his shoulder.

Though some thematic elements did resonate with the men, "Family" isn't the story of the Douglas clan. The dramedy traces the trials and tribulations of an extended family living in New York City. The grandfather has had a stroke, as has the real-life Kirk, who is vigorous and sharp, despite somewhat slurred speech.

"We stuck pretty close to the script," says Michael. "I think we were all conscious of the fact that we didn't want this to become "The Osbornes."

Doing a movie with his father has intrigued Michael for some time, and the pair had looked at a couple of other projects.

"Sometimes it's easier to find reasons not to do something than it is to do something," Michael says. "What happened finally was 9/11. That kind of put everything into perspective. ... We've always maintained a good relationship, maybe a telephone call a week, but spread out around the world. We both felt we just needed to make that commitment."

Being related made the experience more meaningful — and in many ways, simpler.

"There was a lot of trust," says Kirk.

Adds Michael: "It makes it a lot easier than meeting the actor playing your father the day before you shoot a scene."

But playing a father and son with a troubled relationship had its troubling moments, too, says Kirk, with a gleam in his eye. "There was one scene where I said to Michael, 'You're a much better father than I was.' And he said, 'Well, Dad, you didn't set the bar up too high.' That line he said with such conviction it bothered me."

Kirk admits that in real-life Michael is the more devoted dad. Kirk has four sons, two by first wife Diana and two with his wife of nearly 50 years, Anne. Michael has two sons — Cameron, with ex-wife Diandra, and Dylan with his current wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones — plus baby Carys, who was born Sunday.

"He's a much better father than I was," says Kirk. "I was so absorbed in myself and in working. You use that as an excuse: 'Well, I'm working and supporting a family.' But the reality is, I should have taken more time to be with my family. I think that maybe he learned something from me."

Michael says he has indeed learned a thing or two about parenting, the second time around.

"When I had Cameron, career was everything," he says. "As opposed to most 9-to-5 jobs, it tends to be all-consuming. ... And I know when I was growing up, Dad was doing four pictures a year. Now, I love my work, but I don't feel I have to prove something. I don't feel guilty or torn between my work and the children. That's particularly important for me because I have a wife who's going to be working a lot. I'll be Mr. Mom."

He said he cherishes the experience of working with his mother and father (who divorced when Michael was 9, but remain friendly).

"What it ended up doing for us was much more than I ever anticipated," says Michael. "I get kind of emotional about it. As a family we were together two months. I got to talk to two people that had been divorced for 50 years and talk about when I was a kid."

Being on the set with both his parents and his son also put him in a defined position.

"Right in the middle," he says, laughing. "Cameron and my dad had a lovefest. He wants to spoil Cameron: 'Do you need the car for a while?' And Cameron plays it up. 'Hi, Pappy! How ya doin', Pappy?' "

Making the movie was so rewarding, they're ready for a sequel.

"I think in the sequel we'll find a part for Dylan," Michael says of his 2 1/2-year-old.oting granddad gushes: "Dylan is an amazing child. He looks like Catherine, but he has a dimple right in the middle of his chin."