With a career spanning more than five decades,Michael Douglashas seen the movie business evolve before his very eyes, but lately he’s been critical of what the future holds for the industry, going so far as to say it’s been dumbed down by one region in particular:California’s Silicon Valley. Douglas got his start in 1966 as ‘Jeep Driver’ in his father’s film,Cast a Giant Shadow, the title of which is apropos when you consider that he’s a nepo babythat lived in the shadow of Kirk Douglas for much of his early years.
Currently in the midst of filming the upcoming dramaBlood Knot, Douglas was on hand at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for an informal chat (viaThe Hollywood Reporter) that saw him discuss the changes in Hollywood over the years. While 35mm is still used in many productions, theBasic Instinctstar said that"the biggest change in my lifetime and career has been digital."
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He would also add that when comparedto an era like the 1970s, the movie business has seen a decline thanks to Silicon Valley and its insistence on being more than just a distributor like major studios were back in the day. Now, juggernauts such as Netflix and Amazon have entered the fray, and regularly have their fingerprints all over every aspect of a production. Douglas doesn’t necessarily take too kindly to that, even though he’s been involved in many streaming projects such asRatched, and the 2024 biographical dramaFranklin.
“It’s gone the other way in terms of both studios or, in this case, streaming services,and now this latest chapter is the advent of Silicon Valley dumbing down and just taking overwhat we thought was this big industry. Between Apple, Amazon and Netflix, the designs of their companies, they’re so huge, they can afford so much.”
Michael Douglas Embraces His Nepo Baby Status
Old man yelling at clouds aside, Douglas has managedto carve out a legacy all his ownthroughout the years, even though there’s no denying that his early career was aided by his last name. Still, while he may not like the term “nepo baby,” he chooses to embrace it because, as he puts it: what father wouldn’t want to help his son succeed?
“I don’t know a father in whatever business, be it a plumber or a contractor or a carpenter, who doesn’t try to help his son join him. I’m a nepo baby too, you know? So that’s the way it goes.”
In addition to the aforementionedBlood Knot, it was announced a while ago that Douglas is set to star next in – wouldn’t you know it –another streaming project. He’ll take on the role of Ronald Reagan inReagan & Gorbachev, which sees Christopher Walken portraying the leader of the former Soviet Union. The project has been in development for some time, so there’s no word yet on when it might be released.
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