What do you think?
Rate this book
Michael Douglas: A Biography
A groundbreaking portrait of one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, from critically acclaimed and bestselling biographer Marc Eliot
Through determination, inventiveness, and charisma, Michael Douglas emerged from the long shadow cast by his movie-legend father, Kirk Douglas, to become his own man and one of the film industry’s most formidable players.
Overcoming the curse of failure that haunts the sons and daughters of Hollywood celebrities, Michael became a sensation when he successfully brought One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring his friend Jack Nicholson, to the screen after numerous setbacks, including his father’s own failed attempts to make it happen. This 1975 box-office phenomenon won Michael his first Oscar (the film won five total, including Best Picture), an award Kirk hadn’t won at the time, and solidified the turbulent, competitive father-son relationship that would shape Michael’s career and personal life.
In the decades that followed, Michael established a reputation for taking chances on new talent and projects by producing and starring in the hugely successful Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile movies, while cultivating a multifaceted acting persona—edgy, rebellious, and a little dark—in such films as Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Disclosure.
Yet as his career thrived, Michael’s personal life floundered, with an unhappy and tumultuous first marriage, rumors of infidelity (especially with leading ladies such as Kathleen Turner), and a headline-grabbing stint in rehab. Rocked by a series of tragedies, including Kirk’s strokes, his son Cameron’s incarceration, and his own fight against throat cancer, Michael has emerged triumphant, healthy, and happy in his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones, a Welsh actress twenty-five years his junior, and their new young family.
In Michael Douglas, Marc Eliot brings into sharp focus this incredible career, complicated personal life, and legendary Hollywood family. Eliot’s fascinating portrait of the lows and remarkable highs in Michael’s life—including the thorny yet influential relationship with his father—breaks boundaries in understanding the life and work of a true American film star.
Through determination, inventiveness, and charisma, Michael Douglas emerged from the long shadow cast by his movie-legend father, Kirk Douglas, to become his own man and one of the film industry’s most formidable players.
Overcoming the curse of failure that haunts the sons and daughters of Hollywood celebrities, Michael became a sensation when he successfully brought One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring his friend Jack Nicholson, to the screen after numerous setbacks, including his father’s own failed attempts to make it happen. This 1975 box-office phenomenon won Michael his first Oscar (the film won five total, including Best Picture), an award Kirk hadn’t won at the time, and solidified the turbulent, competitive father-son relationship that would shape Michael’s career and personal life.
In the decades that followed, Michael established a reputation for taking chances on new talent and projects by producing and starring in the hugely successful Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile movies, while cultivating a multifaceted acting persona—edgy, rebellious, and a little dark—in such films as Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Disclosure.
Yet as his career thrived, Michael’s personal life floundered, with an unhappy and tumultuous first marriage, rumors of infidelity (especially with leading ladies such as Kathleen Turner), and a headline-grabbing stint in rehab. Rocked by a series of tragedies, including Kirk’s strokes, his son Cameron’s incarceration, and his own fight against throat cancer, Michael has emerged triumphant, healthy, and happy in his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones, a Welsh actress twenty-five years his junior, and their new young family.
In Michael Douglas, Marc Eliot brings into sharp focus this incredible career, complicated personal life, and legendary Hollywood family. Eliot’s fascinating portrait of the lows and remarkable highs in Michael’s life—including the thorny yet influential relationship with his father—breaks boundaries in understanding the life and work of a true American film star.
- GenresBiographyNonfictionFilm
340 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
64 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
November 11, 2012
This is not a consequential read of course. It’s the kind of book I like to read in the airport, when flying, or waiting in the dentist's office. It’s mildly diverting, like a more extensive, albeit still cheesy, celebrity magazine.
The main beef I have with the book is the excess amount of padding it contains in the form of movie by movie plot descriptions. Honestly, is there anything more boring than someone reciting a blow by blow description of a movie, whether you’ve seen it or not? Most movie plots are so formulaic and boring these days anyway, that this rehashing was quite tedious and I just skipped over it.
Michael Douglas seems like a relatively decent person, by Hollywood standards, which is a HUGE qualifier. The bottom line, his life is just not that interesting and so this book really wasn’t either.
The only thing that really leapt off the pages for me, was the marked and cringe worthy way he has neglected and essentially abandoned his first born son Cameron, from his first marriage.
When he married Catherine, and had children with her. He devoted himself completely to fathering their children, which is admirable. The only problem was, he had another son from his prior 25 year marriage who he essentially never had time for. To top off this neglect, he made many remarkably insensitive public statements about his new set of children that must have been devastating to Cameron. For example he repeatedly said publicly how much more involved he was with his current children and how they were the number one priority in his life, unlike when he was parenting Cameron and his career was his number 1 priority.
Smooth moves Michael. This must have made Cameron feel just ducky.
Michael also constantly laments his own father’s distance when he was growing up, and seems to use this as a continuous excuse and explanation for everything he does wrong, including his addictions, promiscuity and neglect of Cameron. You sense in Michael a person who feels sorry himself, even as he is harming his son. The author states, in re: Michael’s multiple public comments about his son, “He still sounded distant and dismissive of the boy.”
Is this sounding like a typical movie star story to you? It is and it is boring.
I guess the judge in Cameron’s sentencing hearing (for intent to distribute illegal drugs) said it best, when he said that Cameron experienced “problematic parenting by both his mother and father in the forms parental absence and distance, parental immaturity, and drug and alcohol abuse, in both the immediate and extended family.”
Hooray for Hollywood! I guess good old Kirk is included as well in this zinger!
Just read the second to last paragraph. It was the only thing of real value in the book.
The main beef I have with the book is the excess amount of padding it contains in the form of movie by movie plot descriptions. Honestly, is there anything more boring than someone reciting a blow by blow description of a movie, whether you’ve seen it or not? Most movie plots are so formulaic and boring these days anyway, that this rehashing was quite tedious and I just skipped over it.
Michael Douglas seems like a relatively decent person, by Hollywood standards, which is a HUGE qualifier. The bottom line, his life is just not that interesting and so this book really wasn’t either.
The only thing that really leapt off the pages for me, was the marked and cringe worthy way he has neglected and essentially abandoned his first born son Cameron, from his first marriage.
When he married Catherine, and had children with her. He devoted himself completely to fathering their children, which is admirable. The only problem was, he had another son from his prior 25 year marriage who he essentially never had time for. To top off this neglect, he made many remarkably insensitive public statements about his new set of children that must have been devastating to Cameron. For example he repeatedly said publicly how much more involved he was with his current children and how they were the number one priority in his life, unlike when he was parenting Cameron and his career was his number 1 priority.
Smooth moves Michael. This must have made Cameron feel just ducky.
Michael also constantly laments his own father’s distance when he was growing up, and seems to use this as a continuous excuse and explanation for everything he does wrong, including his addictions, promiscuity and neglect of Cameron. You sense in Michael a person who feels sorry himself, even as he is harming his son. The author states, in re: Michael’s multiple public comments about his son, “He still sounded distant and dismissive of the boy.”
Is this sounding like a typical movie star story to you? It is and it is boring.
I guess the judge in Cameron’s sentencing hearing (for intent to distribute illegal drugs) said it best, when he said that Cameron experienced “problematic parenting by both his mother and father in the forms parental absence and distance, parental immaturity, and drug and alcohol abuse, in both the immediate and extended family.”
Hooray for Hollywood! I guess good old Kirk is included as well in this zinger!
Just read the second to last paragraph. It was the only thing of real value in the book.
March 10, 2013
This book isn't something of too much importance. If I were someone who was obsessed with Michael Douglas or otherwise engaged with his life, and if I refused to read anything other than technical writing, this would be the book for me. As another reviewer said, it reads like an extended Wikipedia article. There's not very much life in this book- everything is very detached, even for a biography. Was this book just complied from a heap of research done on the Internet then slapped together in chronological order? But nonetheless I'll still give it a 2/5 for the occasions it is informative.
October 16, 2012
This read more like a list of Hollywood producers, actors, directors, movies; like movie credits. If you are looking for a biography that reads like fiction (plot) this is not the book for you. I did learn about movies and the discipline of acting but didn't learn much about Michael Douglas the person.
January 17, 2018
My standard complaint about the early part of bios being dull is nicely handled by the subject’s father being Kirk Douglas. These early chapters were interesting because I knew the least about them. The funny thing about this one is it’s well researched and well written but something is still kinda off. The author can’t seem to help himself when it comes to Basic Instinct, using some juvenile language when it comes to the sex. Like all filmographies, not every Douglas movie requires intense examination but he breezes over or dismisses a few unforgivably. Calling The War Of The Roses awful is insane and The Game merits more than a line or two. Maybe I was less into this than other bios because I knew more about Douglas than the others. Still, it’s a mostly fun, breezy read and worth checking out.
May 9, 2014
An interesting story, but it read like an extended Wikipedia entry - not a lot of character or personality in the writing. This was a GoodReads ARC, and since it hadn't gotten the final edits yet, I was a bit distracted by the errors still in the book, but I don't expect those to make it to the final printing.
January 18, 2013
I enjoyed reading about Michael Douglas, but I found it very tiring to have so much information about the making of his movies, especially Romancing the Stone and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Over and over every detail.
September 24, 2012
Michael Douglas by Marc Eliot is a biography of the famous actor/producer. Mr. Douglas is an award winning actor and producer who had his share of ups and downs yet always managed to capture attention.
One of the few second-generation kids to grow up and become a movie star, Michael Douglas has managed to emerge from the long shadow of his father. The struggle to become his own man in an unforgiving environment is only a part of this biography.
With success in his professional life, Michael Douglas’ personal life became a mass. Douglas’ unhappy first marriage, infidelity and drug use as well as a series of tragedies which would unbalance anyone especially when in the public eye.
Michael Douglas by Marc Eliot highlights the accomplishments in Mr. Douglas’ professional and personal career as well as what influenced and drove the man to achieve such levels of height and fame. Mr. Eliot concentrates on Douglas’ competitive nature as well as his relationship with his parents, especially his famous father.
The relationship between Michael and Kirk Douglas is the cornerstone of this book. The author even encompasses a mini-biography of Kirk Douglas, from his defining childhood as a son to Jewish Russian immigrants and his success as a movie star to his recent stroke. Once the reader understands Kirk, we can understand Michael and the love/hate relationship which defined much of young Mr. Douglas’ life.
As a film buff I appreciated the insight about the film industry, what it took to produce One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and securing movie rights. but also thought that some of the author’s comments were disparaging and inappropriate (about Sharon Stone: “One quick flash of her pubic hair would make her a star—if not at the morning-after water coolers, like Fatal Attraction, then in the night-before wet dreams of the film’s vast male viewers.”). These comments distracted from the book. It’s OK on inject the author’s opinion in a biography but comments like this do not help us understand anything about the subject and, while trying to inject a bit of humor, distract from the reading.
The book provides no new information or anecdotes that one cannot get on the Internet with a bit of research, although it is all referenced in an attractive package. Mr. Douglas’ frank and open past interviews offer a colorful glimpse into what otherwise would have been a very detailed resume.
What made the book worthwhile for me was the turbulent relationship and reconciling the past between father and son. Michael Douglas’ struggle to overcome his father’s immense shadow is a worthwhile and interesting story which can, and should, be told in a solid biography instead of highlights as it is here.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
One of the few second-generation kids to grow up and become a movie star, Michael Douglas has managed to emerge from the long shadow of his father. The struggle to become his own man in an unforgiving environment is only a part of this biography.
With success in his professional life, Michael Douglas’ personal life became a mass. Douglas’ unhappy first marriage, infidelity and drug use as well as a series of tragedies which would unbalance anyone especially when in the public eye.
Michael Douglas by Marc Eliot highlights the accomplishments in Mr. Douglas’ professional and personal career as well as what influenced and drove the man to achieve such levels of height and fame. Mr. Eliot concentrates on Douglas’ competitive nature as well as his relationship with his parents, especially his famous father.
The relationship between Michael and Kirk Douglas is the cornerstone of this book. The author even encompasses a mini-biography of Kirk Douglas, from his defining childhood as a son to Jewish Russian immigrants and his success as a movie star to his recent stroke. Once the reader understands Kirk, we can understand Michael and the love/hate relationship which defined much of young Mr. Douglas’ life.
As a film buff I appreciated the insight about the film industry, what it took to produce One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and securing movie rights. but also thought that some of the author’s comments were disparaging and inappropriate (about Sharon Stone: “One quick flash of her pubic hair would make her a star—if not at the morning-after water coolers, like Fatal Attraction, then in the night-before wet dreams of the film’s vast male viewers.”). These comments distracted from the book. It’s OK on inject the author’s opinion in a biography but comments like this do not help us understand anything about the subject and, while trying to inject a bit of humor, distract from the reading.
The book provides no new information or anecdotes that one cannot get on the Internet with a bit of research, although it is all referenced in an attractive package. Mr. Douglas’ frank and open past interviews offer a colorful glimpse into what otherwise would have been a very detailed resume.
What made the book worthwhile for me was the turbulent relationship and reconciling the past between father and son. Michael Douglas’ struggle to overcome his father’s immense shadow is a worthwhile and interesting story which can, and should, be told in a solid biography instead of highlights as it is here.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
April 12, 2013
Eliot does a good job covering both the body of work and Douglas' personal life and how the two relate to each other, not to mention the strong influence of his father, Kirk, on both aspects. Douglas both rebelled again this influence and come to reflect it in his own life. It's a complex study of a complex life and well worth reading for either fans of the man or people who admire cinema in general. - BH.
January 16, 2024
3.5, because there is a lot of research in this, and it was written well enough. This was your light biography reading- good for insomniacs, because it was interesting enough but not anything so dramatic it would keep you awake for the rest of the story. You could just read a chapter whenever.
This book was heavy on the movie deals and plots and funding and executive input, which I suppose would be interesting if you were in that industry, but Im content with one line on how much he made in that movie and who he starred with. (That was included.) The monetary details and how they lined up the co-stars was not interesting to me. Interesting aspects of the book were of his family relationships.
The book ends after he’d married Catherine and they had the kids and he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 or so, so the book may have been published then. (But I’d be much more interested in the past 10 years—and in his own words. Writing looking back on his life, writing about meaning and not movie details, but about his life with Catherine and what he’s learned in 20 + yrs of marriage to another actor, and parenting teens/20-sonethings as theyre older now, especially how Cameron is doing, and what he hopes to impart to his kids or grandkids, dealing with cancer and facing mortality and of course any stories with Hollywood friends, and what it’s been like for him losing his dad and friends who’ve died. But thats not this book.)
Still, you know more of his life reading this, but it’s a biography and more informative and dry— as opposed to getting a genuine sense of the person like when reading the memoirs of Henry Winkler’s (which were funny, self-depracating, and with depth and humility.)
This book was heavy on the movie deals and plots and funding and executive input, which I suppose would be interesting if you were in that industry, but Im content with one line on how much he made in that movie and who he starred with. (That was included.) The monetary details and how they lined up the co-stars was not interesting to me. Interesting aspects of the book were of his family relationships.
The book ends after he’d married Catherine and they had the kids and he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 or so, so the book may have been published then. (But I’d be much more interested in the past 10 years—and in his own words. Writing looking back on his life, writing about meaning and not movie details, but about his life with Catherine and what he’s learned in 20 + yrs of marriage to another actor, and parenting teens/20-sonethings as theyre older now, especially how Cameron is doing, and what he hopes to impart to his kids or grandkids, dealing with cancer and facing mortality and of course any stories with Hollywood friends, and what it’s been like for him losing his dad and friends who’ve died. But thats not this book.)
Still, you know more of his life reading this, but it’s a biography and more informative and dry— as opposed to getting a genuine sense of the person like when reading the memoirs of Henry Winkler’s (which were funny, self-depracating, and with depth and humility.)
March 2, 2023
Other reviews I see complaining about this book I think are missing out. Yes, its like a list. The dude goes thru his whole filmography! Yes, there's not as much about his personal life. It's about the movies he made! And damn did he have a run. From 1984's Romancing the Stone (which he also produced) to 2000's Traffic, Douglas was on FIRE. Lest we forget he produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and swept the Oscars while he was just a stiff tv actor, and there's great stuff on how he had to let his Dad down by not giving him the starring role in Cuckoo's, the same role his Pops had dreamed of playing for ten years, because he was too old. This book brought to light how much Michael Douglas really cared about the movies he made. He didn't just act, he developed scripts, chose directors, scouted locations. And maybe that's why his catalogue is of higher quality than his contemporaries. But the book moves so fast and smooth I couldn't put it down. I read one other bio by Marc Eliot on Clint Eastwood and had same feeling. His books skip over the boring stuff don't mess around with fitter. Gets right to the meat of the conversation. And although I disagreed on some of his opinions on films, I enjoyed reading his take. This was all I wanted in a bio. And a great bio it was.
September 10, 2022
Interesting subject, but the writing was nothing special, and I disliked the way the author's personal opinions came through. Much of the story, as it were, included long descriptions of Douglas's movies and review after review.
This is the same author who wrote a bio of James Stewart that was full of glaring errors, the most egregious being that "Auntie Mame" won the Academy Award the year that "Gigi" actually did. Are there no fact-checkers?
I will steer clear of this author in the future.
This is the same author who wrote a bio of James Stewart that was full of glaring errors, the most egregious being that "Auntie Mame" won the Academy Award the year that "Gigi" actually did. Are there no fact-checkers?
I will steer clear of this author in the future.
August 5, 2024
Straightforward, the good and the bad about Michael Douglas. Published in 2012, the book could benefit with an update to find out what has happened since—to hist firstborn (Courtney, who is still in jail at the time of publishing), to his Catherine Zeta-Jones marriage; they separated shortly after publishing) and so on. Well-written in the natural style of the way that people actually speak.
August 26, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. I have been a fan of both Michael & Kirk for years so very interesting for me.
January 5, 2023
An interesting enough book about Michael Douglas.
November 25, 2025
Nothing new in this book.
August 25, 2025
Most would put him behind his dad in terms of popularity and talent. His dad was a great actor for the times that he lived in. Michael was no different actor who set the tone for the times that he lived in. Smart, witty, left of center, confident, single minded, determined and original. Not a nepo-baby but his Dad's manuscript for One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, helped him get his foot in the door. I learned a lot about the business side of filmmaking from his movie production businesses.
March 4, 2022
I love autobiographies, and well written biographies. This book I’m reading about Michael Douglas by Marc Eliot. It's got all the highlights of Michael Douglas' career and personal life, but it's too much like a listing rather than a story. The beginning of the book is so much about his relationship with Kirk Douglas and his mother. Michael and Kirk have the same tastes in women and marriages. Throughout his book is pretty much boring because it talks about his career a lot than his personal life. As a result, he becomes a better husband and a father when he married Catherine. I liked his father because he’s very hilarious and of course he’s a rebel and a legend man. I would love to read his father’s biography book.
July 22, 2014
Aside from my interest in Douglas' career and work as an artist, I have always been curious about the family overall after meeting his youngest brother Eric, who died tragically in 2004. I had seen Eric in a play in West Hollywood where he eerily reminded me of his father, Kirk, dressed in a military uniform.
He took a group of us to dinner afterward, anxious to find out what we really thought of his performance. While one would have thought that all he was looking for was praise, it quickly became obvious to me that he really wanted the truth. He came around to each person individually at the table, quietly asking for specifics on what we liked and what we thought could have been done better. With undeniable magnetism, he looked each one of us in the eye, listening intently - obviously taking in and considering our comments. At the end of the evening, we all piled into his father's brown old school Mercedes which was in immaculate condition. Checking the glove compartment, he said "Let's see what daddy has to listen to!!" as he popped out an 8 track of Tony Bennett. The pedigree of Eric and how he was raised was more than evident, even as we raced down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles at 2 a.m. It turned out to be an unforgettable evening.
I'd forgotten just how ground breaking some of the movies that Michael Douglas has been involved with actually were. I've always liked his work as an actor, but his work as a producer is even more impressive in some ways. The details in the book describe just how he managed to overcome being the son of an iconic actor - by being himself, true to who he is and following his own instincts.
While Michael Douglas' work has never risen to the level of critical appreciation as actors such as Pacino, Hoffman and DeNiro, he has still been acknowledged with multiple awards over the course of his career. More than many actors of his particular generation, Douglas has navigated the challenging landscape of the complex and vulnerable male, managing to create sympathetic characters who, despite their flaws, still appeal to audiences.
The book is a comprehensive and complete exploration of all of the phases of Douglas' life including his very earliest years, relationship with parents, rebel hippie years and the slow but steady connection to Hollywood, beginning as a stage assistant with his father and subsequent ascent to producer and actor.
Additionally, his personal relationships with women are also addressed, in a strikingly honest way. Since Douglas himself probably signed off in some way on this book - his willingness to expose the details of his life in this way only speak to his dedication to his art. It is through books like this that up and coming actors and filmmakers can learn the most valuable lessons - about the life and business of being an artist.
Eliot is a great storyteller who has taken the life of an extraordinary, well known artist and provided a fascinating, multi-faceted perspective for readers.
He took a group of us to dinner afterward, anxious to find out what we really thought of his performance. While one would have thought that all he was looking for was praise, it quickly became obvious to me that he really wanted the truth. He came around to each person individually at the table, quietly asking for specifics on what we liked and what we thought could have been done better. With undeniable magnetism, he looked each one of us in the eye, listening intently - obviously taking in and considering our comments. At the end of the evening, we all piled into his father's brown old school Mercedes which was in immaculate condition. Checking the glove compartment, he said "Let's see what daddy has to listen to!!" as he popped out an 8 track of Tony Bennett. The pedigree of Eric and how he was raised was more than evident, even as we raced down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles at 2 a.m. It turned out to be an unforgettable evening.
I'd forgotten just how ground breaking some of the movies that Michael Douglas has been involved with actually were. I've always liked his work as an actor, but his work as a producer is even more impressive in some ways. The details in the book describe just how he managed to overcome being the son of an iconic actor - by being himself, true to who he is and following his own instincts.
While Michael Douglas' work has never risen to the level of critical appreciation as actors such as Pacino, Hoffman and DeNiro, he has still been acknowledged with multiple awards over the course of his career. More than many actors of his particular generation, Douglas has navigated the challenging landscape of the complex and vulnerable male, managing to create sympathetic characters who, despite their flaws, still appeal to audiences.
The book is a comprehensive and complete exploration of all of the phases of Douglas' life including his very earliest years, relationship with parents, rebel hippie years and the slow but steady connection to Hollywood, beginning as a stage assistant with his father and subsequent ascent to producer and actor.
Additionally, his personal relationships with women are also addressed, in a strikingly honest way. Since Douglas himself probably signed off in some way on this book - his willingness to expose the details of his life in this way only speak to his dedication to his art. It is through books like this that up and coming actors and filmmakers can learn the most valuable lessons - about the life and business of being an artist.
Eliot is a great storyteller who has taken the life of an extraordinary, well known artist and provided a fascinating, multi-faceted perspective for readers.
January 7, 2014
I won this book from the GoodReads First Reads program.
Normally I enjoy reading biographies, even if the person I am reading about is one that doesn't terribly interest me. I've seen several Michael Douglas films, but generally am not enamored with his acting. I do, however, enjoy reading about Hollywood politics and what goes into the creating of different films. Likewise, I enjoy biographies in general and find it interesting how different people structure them and go about writing them. Unfortunately, this was not a book I enjoyed.
A good biographer takes a backseat to the subject of the story, just like a good ghostwriter is absent from the writing itself and instead mimics the voice of the one who's story they're telling. In Michael Douglas Marc Eliot injected a bit too much of himself and his admiration of the actor therein described. Likewise, he glossed over rather a lot of the biographical information, instead assuming that the reader had been keeping up with tabloid gossip and/or interviews that had been given around the times that various films and/or relationships were being had.
The book would have been better served if the writer had definitively chosen some aspect of the subject's character and how it developed over time, rather than bemoaning the fate of those famous people with famous father's attempting to emerge from their shadow. A son's suicide was only a paragraph of the book, forgotten in the next chapter in favor of a relationship. Movie synopses made up the bulk of the book, along with ample complaints about trying to overcome a father's shadow. No one focus (fatherhood, responsibility, becoming one's own self, etc.) made up the story, but rather they all fought for dominance as it went on.
Biographies need a focus, even though life often fails to have just one...
Normally I enjoy reading biographies, even if the person I am reading about is one that doesn't terribly interest me. I've seen several Michael Douglas films, but generally am not enamored with his acting. I do, however, enjoy reading about Hollywood politics and what goes into the creating of different films. Likewise, I enjoy biographies in general and find it interesting how different people structure them and go about writing them. Unfortunately, this was not a book I enjoyed.
A good biographer takes a backseat to the subject of the story, just like a good ghostwriter is absent from the writing itself and instead mimics the voice of the one who's story they're telling. In Michael Douglas Marc Eliot injected a bit too much of himself and his admiration of the actor therein described. Likewise, he glossed over rather a lot of the biographical information, instead assuming that the reader had been keeping up with tabloid gossip and/or interviews that had been given around the times that various films and/or relationships were being had.
The book would have been better served if the writer had definitively chosen some aspect of the subject's character and how it developed over time, rather than bemoaning the fate of those famous people with famous father's attempting to emerge from their shadow. A son's suicide was only a paragraph of the book, forgotten in the next chapter in favor of a relationship. Movie synopses made up the bulk of the book, along with ample complaints about trying to overcome a father's shadow. No one focus (fatherhood, responsibility, becoming one's own self, etc.) made up the story, but rather they all fought for dominance as it went on.
Biographies need a focus, even though life often fails to have just one...
July 2, 2013
This is a straight-ahead film star biography, but with seemingly strong sources it provides a frank portrayal of the actor-producer who despite his best efforts, followed in the positive and negative footsteps of his famous father. The younger Douglas grew up with a mostly absentee father, living mostly with his mother, but provided for by his father's wealth. A child of the 60s, he dabbled in drugs, lived in a commune, worked at a car wash and barely scraped through college but showed a flair for the jobs his father provided on film sets. Soon Michael was scoring at auditions, took a film project his father could never get green lit (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and turned it into an Oscar-winner, and, like his father, married a very young classy woman and cheated on her virtually from the get-go. Readers get the impression that Michael Douglas still has not yet scrambled out from under the looming shadow of his father (whose own ego seems monumental, even in old age) but maturity and marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones has provided him with a stronger sense of contentment in his senior years.
September 30, 2015
Overall I enjoyed the book. The reason I have it 3 stars is because at times it seems the author injected much of his own opinions of the events and films that occurred. I also feel like there was way too many references to the Michael/Kirk relationship & history as father and soon. Some of the details regarding Cameron's sentencing & his wedding to Catherine etc probably shouldn't have been included either...
What I did enjoy about the book is that it was very easy to read and I liked the overall laid-back tone in which it was written. It is great that so much focus was placed on Michael's tenancity & patience in earning his way to respectability. It was also a very real portrait of what people go through in life when it comes to maintaining marriages, professional commitments, setbacks, and unmet expectations.
I'd recommend this book for people who love behinds the scenes comments tart about films, are interested in Michael in general, or are generally non-traditionalists who may be struggling with establishing their own identity. There is much here to take away from how someone like Michael handled his own challenges in those areas.
What I did enjoy about the book is that it was very easy to read and I liked the overall laid-back tone in which it was written. It is great that so much focus was placed on Michael's tenancity & patience in earning his way to respectability. It was also a very real portrait of what people go through in life when it comes to maintaining marriages, professional commitments, setbacks, and unmet expectations.
I'd recommend this book for people who love behinds the scenes comments tart about films, are interested in Michael in general, or are generally non-traditionalists who may be struggling with establishing their own identity. There is much here to take away from how someone like Michael handled his own challenges in those areas.
August 28, 2012
It can’t be easy being Michael Douglas. He’s the son of Kirk Douglas, husband to Catherine Zeta-Jones and two-time Academy Award winner (Best Picture for 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in 1987’s Wall Street). His film career has had its share of ups and downs. He conquered box offices and the hearts of movie-goers (and his leading lady) with Romancing the Stone, thrilled us with Fatal Attraction and made us squirm in Basic Instinct, yet lent his big Hollywood name to a number of box office disasters within the last decade. And still he continues to capture our attention as his personal struggles - his son Cameron’s drug-related legal problems and his recent battle with cancer - land more headlines than his movie career probably ever did.
Read my full review at TheCelebrityCafe.com
Read my full review at TheCelebrityCafe.com
August 16, 2013
This was an OK bio of Michael Douglas. Not that much revealed that probably wasn't known about him in the general press. I liked Michael's performances in "Streets of San Francisco", "Fatal Attraction", and "Wall Street." His personal life maybe not as interesting.
Much credit should be given to him for making his own mark in a tough business stepping out from the shadow of his famous father. Kirk certainly was not the nurturing kind that he tried to excise in his seeming admiration for Michael in the later years.
Michael's own short comings are there for all to see but no one is perfect. Hanging on to a marriage that was wrong from the start for so many years. His relationship with his own son that sees him now serving prison time for drugs that he cannot seem to shake. The womanizing through most of his life. And the liberal cause celeb who lives in extravagance that few can imagine.
Much credit should be given to him for making his own mark in a tough business stepping out from the shadow of his famous father. Kirk certainly was not the nurturing kind that he tried to excise in his seeming admiration for Michael in the later years.
Michael's own short comings are there for all to see but no one is perfect. Hanging on to a marriage that was wrong from the start for so many years. His relationship with his own son that sees him now serving prison time for drugs that he cannot seem to shake. The womanizing through most of his life. And the liberal cause celeb who lives in extravagance that few can imagine.
December 19, 2013
I found this to be a fascinating look at Hollywood, a sort of wheels-within-wheels story about how movies really get made and the role of power-brokers. For example, when he finally got the rights to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, everyone turned Douglas down (some turned him down twice). He finally co-produced this film with Saul Zaentz, who was the controlling partner at Fantasy Records, in 1967 the largest independent jazz label in the world. Fantasy then signed Creedence Clearwater Revival to an exclusive contract, his profits became astronomical, with the result that Zaentz was actively looking for movie projects to provide tax shelters. So Zaentz and Douglas co-produced a movie that everyone in Hollywood had already rejected (Zaentz put up $2 million in production costs), and Cuckoo's Nest went on to sweep the Oscars in 1975, the first time this had been done since 1934.
September 26, 2015
I love autobiographies, and well written biographies. This is neither. It's got all the highlights of Michael Douglas' career and personal life, but it's too much like a listing rather than a story.
Part of the problem for me is that I don't like Kirk Douglas at all, as an actor or a human being. He seems like a narcissistic, irresponsible addict. Too much about him was in this biography of Michael, I'd say.
Michael is less narcissistic, I believe, but otherwise much the same for most of his life. His addictions and rehab aren't mentioned much, but things did seem to improve for him.
Certainly, his relationship with Catherine Zeta-Jones was a huge turning point, which could have been better highlighted in the book.
In the end, I know more about Michael Douglas, like him about the same, or maybe a bit less, but found this only a passable read.
Part of the problem for me is that I don't like Kirk Douglas at all, as an actor or a human being. He seems like a narcissistic, irresponsible addict. Too much about him was in this biography of Michael, I'd say.
Michael is less narcissistic, I believe, but otherwise much the same for most of his life. His addictions and rehab aren't mentioned much, but things did seem to improve for him.
Certainly, his relationship with Catherine Zeta-Jones was a huge turning point, which could have been better highlighted in the book.
In the end, I know more about Michael Douglas, like him about the same, or maybe a bit less, but found this only a passable read.
March 28, 2013
The list of failings of the failed children of Hollywood stars at the beginning got my back up, but I decided to persevere to see where Marc Eliot was going. After a detailed filmography for Kirk Douglas it gradually shifted to Michael and a relatively interesting section on his struggle to get One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest onto the screen. That was probably as good as it got, unfortunately. Halfway through I inserted a page marker before the end notes to keep tabs on how far I had to go. By 3/4 of the way through I was skimming!
Having said that I did find it refreshing that the focus (mainly) was on the actor/producer's career. In the end, as another review said, it read like most of the info was gleaned from magazines. At least it saves us the trouble, if nothing else!
Having said that I did find it refreshing that the focus (mainly) was on the actor/producer's career. In the end, as another review said, it read like most of the info was gleaned from magazines. At least it saves us the trouble, if nothing else!
October 23, 2014
I was expecting something else...it felt like I was reading someone's resume,CV or an encyclopedia. A lot of unnecessary details about how a movie got made and why it did or did not do well (maybe helpful if you are planning a career in film). I skipped the last section that listed work history, awards etc.... Maybe this book was meant to be a reference for future generations because the majority of people today already know that he is a talented artist and so the book seems unnecessary to anyone already familiar with who he is.
September 16, 2012
A hard look at the life of Michael-son of a father who ignored him, husband to a wife who hated his lifestyle. Stepping out of his father's shadow and becoming one of the most iconic figures in movie history. Finding love and defeating cancer.
Enjoyed the book-even rented One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, China Syndrom, Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction-movies I've heard about but never seen. Wish more focus on the past 10 years...seemed rushed.
Enjoyed the book-even rented One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, China Syndrom, Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction-movies I've heard about but never seen. Wish more focus on the past 10 years...seemed rushed.
July 7, 2013
I thought this was a pretty good book that chronologically followed the actor/producer's life. Although there were very few surprises identified from Douglas's inner life, the facts surrounding the making of each movie Douglas was involved with made up for the lack of info on his personal life.
The book was easy to follow and in general well written.
Well worth the read for those of us who enjoyed Douglas's involvement in Cuckoo's Nest, Wall Street, Disclosure, etc.
The book was easy to follow and in general well written.
Well worth the read for those of us who enjoyed Douglas's involvement in Cuckoo's Nest, Wall Street, Disclosure, etc.
October 28, 2012
My sister received this book free via First Reads. Overall interesting, but the author never spoke to Michael Douglas. A lot of the book (probably most of it) is based upon written reviews, a family history written by Kirk Douglas and Michael's mom. Newspaper reports, etc are the basis, and a couple - unnamed sources.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews