Michael Douglas Reminisces About Meeting Now-Wife Catherine Zeta-Jones During Career Tribute at Deauville Film Festival

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Michael Douglas reminisced about meeting his now wife Catherine Zeta-Jones at France’s Deauville American Film Festival in 1998 as he received a career tribute on Friday, the opening night of the milestone 50th anniversary edition.

Douglas, who was introduced on stage by his “Franklin” co-star Ludivine Sagnier (“Lupin”) and drew a long standing ovation, went on to talk — partly in French — about his long history with the Deauville Film Festival and precisely the “slight issue of Catherine.” “I had just seen three weeks before I came to the festival this movie ‘Zorro,’ ‘Mon Dieu!,” joked Douglas. “When I arrived supporting our film, I think it was ‘Perfect Murder,’ I look at the catalogue and I see that ‘Zorro’ is coming the next night, so I ask my assistant, ‘Can you find out if Catherine Zeta-Jones is coming?’ And is she coming alone and if I could have a drink with her.’ The rest is history.” It marks his fifth trip to the festival which he last attended in 2013 to present “My Life with Liberace.” He’s receiving this career tribute 25 years after his late father Kirk, who was also feted at Deauville with a posthumous retrospective in 2020.

Speaking of the longevity of his career, Douglas, who came to the festival solo, exclaimed, “55 years! You work as hard on your failures as you do you on successes, but a writer writes with a pen or with a computer and a painter paints, a musician plays an instruments, with film you have an army.” “I think the successes I have in my career (come from) my belief in material and not worrying about my role,” said Douglas, whose speech followed a montage of clips from his most iconic roles from “Wall Street,” to “Fatal Attraction,” “Basic.