Michael Douglas Discusses His Career, Working With Matt Damon And The WGA Strike During Cannes Mastercall: “I Think It Will Be Solved”

deadline.com:

This year’s Honorary Palme d’or recipient Michael Douglas received a lengthy standing ovation as he cruised on stage in Buñuel theatre to chair a masterclass session where he broke down his career as an actor and producer.

Opening the session, Douglas said that he has a long history with the Cannes Film Festival, which began with his father, Kirk, who met his stepmother Anna at the festival.

He went on to list some of the films he has brought to the Croisette over the years, including Steven Soderbergh’s pic Behind the Candelabra, which screened in 2013.

Douglas said that at the time, his performance as Liberace in the pic was in the pole position to nab the Festival’s Best Actor prize, but his momentum was quashed by critics who said the project couldn’t be described as a feature film because it was set to be released on HBO in the US. “There became a disagreement as to whether it was actually a movie or not,” Douglas said, adding that he believes the barriers between TV and cinema will continue to fall, urging the audience not to disregard the artistic credibility of films made by streamers. “I understand the rules of releasing in a movie theatre for at least one week.