I was glancing through some new photos, and at the same time, I saw photos of Michael Douglas and Robert Redford, on two separate continents, separated by a deep void of experience, both looking like hell. But it’s a strange thing, this “getting older” stuff. Michael is 66 years old, and had a facelift several years ago that is now falling apart because of chemo, amongst other things. Robert Redford, on the other hand, is 74 years old, and looks every single year, and yet somehow… he looks extremely healthy and rugged, even manly. Yes, his skin looks like leather. Yes, that’s a horrible f-cking dye job. But I would still hit it.

Which brings me to my question – even though Redford looks like a beautiful kind of aged massacre, shouldn’t we love him more for being all natural? It’s the Meryl Streep thing, the Helen Mirren. Even if your skin isn’t the best, and you have wrinkles up the wazoo (I bet Redford’s wazoo looks leathery too), I appreciate that your face moves and that you don’t look like you swapped heads with an alien.

Anyway, these are new photos of Redford today in Paris, where he will be receiving the Knight in Order of Honor at the Elysee Palace, from President Sarkozy. And the Michael Douglas photos are from today as well – Michael was out and about in NYC. Michael really, really looks bad. I’m not trying to be all Star Magazine, but I don’t think he’s doing as well as all of the happy, optimistic statements from his people.

Photos of Redford, courtesy of WENN.

I think this Star Magazine cover is rather distasteful. But should Star get credit for saying what a lot of us are thinking? My mother and I were recently discussing Michael Douglas and whether or not his cancer is worse than people are letting on. Her thought is that Michael is dying, and that Catherine is devastated. Which is basically the gist of the Star piece – that Catherine and Michael are preparing for the worst.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ May-December romance beat the odds and blossomed into a beautiful marriage that has lasted nearly 10 years. But now they face the hardest test of all as he bravely battles Stage IV throat cancer.

In the October 18 issue of Star, on sale now, we report that the couple secretly fears that these could be their final days together. While Catherine was recently in her home country of Wales for a Ryder Cup golf tournament event, she received an upsetting phone call from her ailing husband’s medical team.

“The doctor spoke to her about Michael’s condition,” a family friend tells Star. Catherine was forced to cut her trip short and rushed back to his side in New York, worrying that she might be returning to say goodbye.

“They’re trying to be brave, but really they’re preparing for the worst,” a source tells Star. Pick up this week’s issue of Star today for our full story about Michael and Catherine’s brave struggle.

[From Star Magazine]

If the worst for Michael is on the horizon, I hope that he’s lucky enough to be surrounded by friends and family in his last days. That being said, Michael is one tough old bastard, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was able to beat the odds. We’ll see.

Update by Celebitchy: Gossip Cop got a quote from Douglas’ rep, who calls this story “complete rubbish” and discounts several of their claims. Here’s their report:

Catherine Zeta-Jones “did not rush back” home after the Ryder Cup event.

In fact, she was on the exact same flight she had always been booked on to return home.

The rep also informs Gossip Cop, “Tomorrow is [Douglas'] last day of treatment,” and as opposed to Star’s morbid account of how these are possibly his last days, the Oscar winner is going to recuperate for the next six weeks, and then “hopes to announce he’s clean.”

[From Gossip Cop]

Hang in there MD!

Star cover courtesy of CoverAwards.

Michael Douglas made an appearance at the premiere of Wall St. 2: Money Never Sleeps last night. There was speculation as to whether he would be able to make it, as he’s been open about the fact that he’s currently undergoing treatment for stage four throat cancer. He came, although some outlets claim that he’s having trouble speaking and barely spoke to reporters. His voice was weak just one week into his chemotherapy, when he went on Letterman, and he said at that time that the chemo and radiation burned his mouth and that he couldn’t take solids. Still, he spoke a little at the press conference ahead of the premiere, according to People, and talked about what he’s been going through.

“I’m in the middle of my program, and it’s going along fine,” Douglas, 65, told PEOPLE at a press conference for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps on Sunday. “I’m very optimistic and hopeful right now.”

He added: “My family has been very supportive. There’s not a lot that anybody can do. You’ve just got to kind of do the program. But it’s the world you [learn to] understand about cancer. You get to know cancer survivors, and the kind of support and outpouring I’ve been getting has just been amazing.”

Despite his intensive course of radiation and chemotherapy to treat a tumor in his throat, Douglas said he has “a lot of things to be grateful for.”

Among those things is his work. The new Wall Street film opens this Friday, and Douglas said he’s “looking for a great opening night.” He also credited costar Shia LaBeouf for being the heart and soul of the movie.

“He carries the movie,” Douglas says. “I had to do that before, and I know the responsibility, but Shia carries every scene. It’s a tremendous responsibility for anybody.”

[From People]

It’s clear that there’s a lot of love between Douglas and his young co-star, Shia Labeouf. Shia also heaped praise on Douglas ahead of the premiere. He called him a “wolf” and a “strong man” in an interview with the Associated Press, adding “all I know of his vulnerabilities is that when he first came to set he had just gone through knee surgery, his kid just went into the drum… he was dealing with a lot, never was it ‘woe is me,’ never. I think he’s one of the strongest American actors we have… my mom’s still’s got a crush on him. I feel like I have a little crush on him. Everybody’s got a crush on him.”

Douglas had an extensive interview in Parade magazine recently and I really admire the stance he’s taken toward cancer and life in general. He said that he went public with his diagnosis because “Millions of families are going through the same thing my family and I are now going through. If I can bring any relief or encouragement to those suffering, that’s the good news.” As for his own health battle, he says he’s remaining positive and is planning for a full recovery. “I’m in good spirits. I’m an optimistic guy… Nothing has deterred me from my belief that I am going to beat this.” We’re rooting for you Michael!

Photo credit: WENN.com

Outlets have some quotes from Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas’ cover story interview in People this week. A lot of them are focusing on how angry Catherine Zeta Jones says she is that it took so long for doctors to diagnose her husband’s throat cancer, which is now at stage 4. A “walnut-sized” tumor was found under his tongue and he’s gone through a week of chemotherapy and radiation so far to treat it. Douglas said on Letterman that his cancer has not spread beyond his head and neck, and that his prognosis is at least 80% or better. He admitted that it took weeks and many doctors to find out the problem and that “I actually went through a litany of doctors and tests and they didn’t find anything.” Zeta Jones says in People that she’s “furious they didn’t detect it earlier”

Catherine Zeta-Jones has revealed her anger at doctors who failed to spot her husband’s cancer.

She said Michael Douglas had complained repeatedly about ear and throat pain but it was not until three weeks ago that a walnut-size tumour was discovered under his tongue.

‘It makes me furious they didn’t detect it earlier,’ Miss Zeta-Jones said. ‘He sought every option and nothing was found.’

The actress, who has been married to 65-year-old Douglas for ten years, admitted she wasn’t that surprised when throat cancer was finally diagnosed.
‘It wasn’t a huge shock,’ she said in a magazine interview. ‘I knew something was up. He knew something was up.’

While his wife was furious about the late diagnosis, Douglas was more understanding.

‘These things sometimes just don’t show up,’ he said.

He said his family were at their home on Bermuda while he has treatment in New York. He said Miss Zeta-Jones, 40, had been ‘so supportive’ since the diagnosis.
She said in her interview with People magazine that her husband had broken the news of his illness to their children Dylan, ten, and Carys, seven.

She also revealed she was struggling emotionally with seeing him lose his strength as a result of the treatment. ‘I know maybe I should be stronger, but…the hardest part is seeing his fatigue, because Michael is never tired.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This just goes to show that even rich and famous people, presumably with access to the best doctors in the world, have trouble getting a diagnosis. From what I understand there’s no way to detect cancer other than looking at the symptoms, checking blood markers and doing an MRI, x-ray or biopsy where it’s suspected. If the guy has a “walnut-sized” tumor under his tongue, was it obvious and why didn’t anyone just look in his damn mouth? This is sadly common even when people have the best insurance. Medicine is not an exact science and requires a lot of knowledge and motivation on the doctor’s part. There are bad doctors out there, just as there are good doctors using all means at their disposal to do what’s best for their patients. Sometimes it’s too late before you find a good one.

I hope that Douglas is going to be ok, and that the treatment works for him. He seems to be hanging in there and he has so many people rooting for him. We’ll never know if his cancer could have been caught earlier if one of the doctors he saw just asked the right questions or followed up properly. That’s got to make his loved ones livid.

People cover via CoverAwards. Photos are from 6/13, 5/24 and 5/23. Credit: WENN.com

Michael Douglas is doing promotion for Wall St. 2 despite facing a tough personal battle with throat cancer, with which he was diagnosed just three weeks ago. He appeared on Letterman last night, where he joked that he learned he had cancer on the same day he was booked for the show. He looks great but you can tell that he’s thinner and that his voice is a little hoarse and has changed. Douglas said that he’s done one week of radiation and chemotherapy for the tumor, which has not spread, and that he has stage four cancer, with an 80% chance of recovery or higher.

As for how he found out, he said he had a “sore throat early in the summer. I actually went through a litany of doctors and tests and they didn’t find anything. Then I had a great summer after some other adversities and all that. A wonderful summer with Catherine and the kids. We were in Spain. They really liked Americans in Europe this year, it’s nice…. Went to Russia, St. Petersburg. But I came back… got a biopsy, it’s a stage four, which is intense. They gotta go at it.

The things that change… is the chemotherapy in terms of being able to deal with the nausea. They knock you out pretty hard.”

Dave asked “Is stage four where you want to be?”

“No, you’d like to be down on stage one… The big thing you’re always worried about is spreading. I am head and neck. Nothing has gone down and the expectations are good. This is going to cut into the foreign promotional tour for Wall St. at least.”

As for why Douglas doesn’t sound like he has throat cancer or look sick, he joked that he was “pretty lit up right now” and added later “I’m on stage [performing].” He did acknowledge that he has a tough road ahead of him.

“This is the first week, and the chemo and the radiation continues to burn your mouth. It becomes more difficult to swallow, you can’t take solids.”

Dave asked about his chances of recovery, and Michael put it at 80% with some hospitals giving him better odds.

Dave then asked what he could do for Michael and he said “Give me a hug!”

The two guys embraced and it was really sweet.

Hang in there, Michael! We love to see you and to hear you’re ok, but you don’t have to go running around on a promotional tour. Focus on your recovery and we’ll be rooting for you. We still reserve the right to make fun of your hair though, ok?

Update: Michael is on the cover of this week’s People Magazine. People has an excerpt from their exclusive interview with Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta Jones. Jones says it’s the first time she’s ever really seen him get tired. Douglas calls his treatment “a fight” and adds that “it really knocks you out.”

Michael Douglas is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for throat cancer, his rep confirms, but he says he’s “very optimistic” about his prognosis. Wall St.: Money Never Sleeps premieres in late September, and from my calculations Douglas will be about 6 weeks in to an 8 week course of treatment at that time (depending on when he started). We’ll have to see if he makes the premiere or does any promotion for the film, but he’s already canceled interviews and people will of course understand if he has to skip the premiere. There’s one thing that Douglas isn’t putting off, though, and that’s the court battle with his ex wife over the Wall St. sequel. According to the terms of Douglas’ 2000 divorce with his first wife, Diandra Luker, Luker is eligible for 50% of his earnings from any “spin offs” of films he made when they were together, from 1977 to 2000. That includes residuals and merchandising rights! Luker got a hefty $45 million dollar settlement in 2000, but she’s looking for more since the original Wall St. movie was made during their marriage in 1987. She’s claiming that Wall St 2: Money Never Sleeps fits the definition of a “spin off.” Instead of delaying a hearing over this issue, as Luker has volunteered to do, Douglas wants it to move forward as scheduled and allegedly wants to “get it over with.”

Despite being diagnosed with throat cancer, Michael Douglas refuses to delay his court battle with ex-wife Diandra Douglas over her claim that she’s entitled to half his earnings from the upcoming ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ which opens Sept. 24. Diandra had offered to postpone the hearing, but “Michael declined — he wants to get this over with as soon as possible,” a source told Page Six. Lawyers representing the actor and his ex tangled in a New York court Tuesday.

The suit appears to hinge on a clause in Michael and Diandra’s divorce settlement that entitles her to 50 percent of any earnings Michael receives from any movies he did — including residuals, merchandising and ancillary rights — during their 23-year marriage. According to Diandra’s lawyers, that provision includes any “spinoffs” of Douglas’ movies.

That, her camp says, should include director Oliver Stone’s ‘Wall Street’ follow-up, in which Michael reprises his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko.

But Michael’s lawyer, Marilyn B. Chinitz, says his ex is misinterpreting the agreement, and it doesn’t apply to the ‘Wall Street’ sequel because it wasn’t on the horizon when the two split, and he couldn’t have guaranteed that he’d be in a sequel if one were ever made.

“When does it stop? … She’s not Mrs. Michael Douglas” anymore, Chinitz told a judge Tuesday. “It’s enough. It’s time for Ms. Douglas to move on and let Mr. Douglas move on and enjoy his life, without having to concern himself with someone trying to claw back moneys that they’re not entitled to.”

Since their divorce, Diandra has made $6.3 million from her stake in residual proceeds from other past projects, Chinitz said.

Diandra’s lawyer, Nancy Chemtob, says her client isn’t money-hungry and isn’t clinging to her ex-husband. “She has her own identity, and she’s proud of it,” Chemtob said. “My client is not greedy. The exact opposite is true. Mr. Douglas is seeking to shirk his financial responsibility that was entered into when he signed this contract.”

Michael and Diandra’s divorce remains one of the costliest in Hollywood history. The pair’s split was bitter, to say the least, with Diandra accusing Michael of sex and alcohol addiction and multiple infidelities. In 2007, Forbes magazine compiled a list of the 10 most expensive celebrity divorces and listed the Douglases’ at number eight. Diandra walked away with an estimated $45 million and the couple’s homes in Beverly Hills and Majorca.

Michael’s legal team is seeking to have the case dismissed, arguing that the suit should never have been filed in New York in the first place, as the couple’s divorce was finalized in California, and that the case has no merit because ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’ is a sequel, not a “spinoff.” “They’re not the same thing,” Chinitz said in an earlier hearing.

[From Popeater]

I’m honestly torn on this issue. MSat first reported this story and told Luker “it’s time to go out and get a job and earn your own damn money.” I definitely see her point, and the fact that Luker has already earned a whopping $6.3 million post-divorce on top of the $45 million she already got makes her look like a gold digger of the highest order. She was married to Douglas for 23 years, though, and she had a great lawyer and worked out a very favorable deal for herself. She’s trying to enforce it and get half of Wall St. 2. In a way I don’t blame her, as greedy as it looks. Now that Douglas has cancer, though, she’s looking less like an ex wife trying to maintain a lifestyle and more like someone sponging off a rich ex using a divorce clause that never should have been there in the first place. Maybe Douglas is hoping the judge will see it that way too.

Michael Douglas, 65, has a throat tumor and is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation to treat it. His publicist issued a brief statement to People Magazine confirming the diagnosis, along with the fact that Douglas is “very optimistic.”

Michael Douglas has a tumor in his throat and will undergo radiation and chemotherapy.

The Academy Award-winning actor’s treatment is scheduled to last eight weeks.

The 65-year-old Douglas says he expects to make a full recovery. He told People magazine in a statement Monday he’s “very optimistic.” His publicist’s assistant, Eli Barach, confirmed his condition to The Associated Press.

The actor is outside the United States, publicist Allen Burry said Monday, declining to give his location or where he would be treated.

Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, purchased a house on the island of Bermuda nearly a decade ago, and Zeta-Jones said they planned to raise their two children there.

Douglas won an Oscar for “Wall Street” and appears this fall in the sequel, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”

[AP via Huffington Post]

I hope that Douglas is ok and that he recovers soon. He’s been through so much lately and was reportedly devastated by his oldest son recently being sentenced to five years in prison for drug trafficking and possession. The National Enquirer reported this week that Michael was “worried sick” about his son Cameron’s safety in prison. Cameron ratted out other drug dealers in exchange for a lighter sentence, and according to the Enquirer he’s been “branded a ‘snitch’ and may be harmed while in prison.” Michael is said to be “worried sick that vicious inmates will make an example of his son for identifying his dealers… Michael is praying for his son’s well being.” Now a lot of people are praying for Michael’s. He has a lot of good support around him, including his wife of ten years, Catherine Zeta Jones (who still seems very much in love with him), and their two children, Dylan, 10, and Carys, 7. Douglas’ dad, the legendary Kirk Douglas, is also still kicking at 93. Get well soon, Michael!

Some people think I like to rag on Catherine Zeta-Jones. I really don’t. While I don’t think she’s the most talented actress around, I am quite the admirer of her beauty. And while I think she does certain things to maintain her beauty (little tweaks here and there, perhaps lying about her age), I have to think that Catherine is, was and always will be a beautiful woman. But even beautiful women have off-days. Even beautiful women take a bad photo every now and then. Even beautiful women occasionally take a photo and you’re like, “Jesus, Catherine, try some night cream.” But is it just me, or does she also look… tweaked? Like, she just aged very rapidly, and like she got something done to her face that I can’t put my finger on.

Anyway, these are photos of Zeta and Michael Douglas at the Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff’s University Hospital on July 23, 2010 in Cardiff, Wales. I guess there were just visiting, maybe? It looks like a PR visit. Fame Pictures notes: “Catherine looked quite tired, and sported some gray roots.” She and Michael have been on vacation for the past month, perhaps that’s it? Catherine didn’t adhere to her strict regiment of gradual tweaking and hair dying and such, and she was just rolling around a yacht with an endless supply of mojitos, and that’s why she looks different? Could be.

Catherine and Michael on July 23, 2010. Credit: Fame.

There’s barely a story here, I just loved these photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas looking totally hammered in Majorca this weekend. Okay, Catherine look really drunk, Michael just looks very old, and very alert. Perhaps he thinks this is the night to take one his special blue pills? And look, Catherine is walking barefoot! That’s when you know a diva is drunk. A true diva would be able to navigate cobblestone in heels, bitch. But a drunk diva can be all “I’m still fabulous barefoot, get mama another martini.” Oh, remember, she’s only 40 years old! Ha.

Catherine has just finished her Tony-Award-winning Broadway run, and I guess she and Michael decided to go a yachting holiday. Must be nice. Their yacht is huge too! The Daily Mail has photos of Catherine on the thing, and it’s kind of insane that she and Michael (and their two kids?) would need that much space.

By the way, what’s with Michael’s outfit? Is he still wearing clothes that he stole off the Romancing the Stone set?

Michael & Zeta on July 3, 2010. Credit: Bauer-Griffin.

The tagline for the sequel to the 80′s blockbuster “Wall Street 2″ is “Money Never Sleeps.” Apparently, that’s true for the movie’s star, Michael Douglas’ money – someone is always trying to get more of it. This time, it’s Michael’s ex-wife, Diandra, who claims that their divorce settlement entitles her to a portion of any royalties or money he earns from the movie, slated for a September release.

Maybe greed isn’t so good after all.

Michael Douglas is fighting tooth-and-nail to keep his ex-wife’s hands off of his “Wall Street 2″ millions.

Diandra Douglas quietly filed suit against her ex earlier this month, claiming she’s entitled to 50 percent of the up-front money and royalties from his upcoming film, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” The Post has learned.

Michael Douglas, 65, maintains that the sequel money is his — and that his 52-year-old ex has gotten enough of his cash.

The Douglases’ 2000 divorce case included sordid allegations that Michael was a sex addict who routinely cheated on his wife, and ended with Diandra getting a reported $45 million.

And earlier this month, Michael took a jab at Diandra as they sought leniency for their drug-dealing son, Cameron. In a letter to the judge, he coldly described his ex as “a young mother without any parenting skills handed down from her own parents.”

Michael is not happy to be back in court with her again.

“He doesn’t want her to be an albatross around his neck forever,” his lawyer, Marilyn Chinitz, told the judge presiding over their big-bucks battle last week.

Diandra’s side said her divorce deal provides that she gets half of any money Michael gets from any movies he did — including residuals, merchandising and ancillary rights — during their two decades as husband and wife.

That includes the original “Wall Street,” the 1987 classic that earned Michael an Oscar for his portrayal of cutthroat money man Gordon Gekko, whose famous line was “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” The sequel is slated to open in September, with the Hollywood legend reprising his Gekko role opposite Shia LaBeouf.

Diandra’s lawyer, Nancy Chemtob, said the divorce agreement contained a clause that said her client is entitled to money from any “spinoffs” of Douglas’ movies, and that includes “Wall Street 2.”

“It’s the same character, the same title, just years later,” Chemtob told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper.

It’s not clear how much Douglas is getting paid for the Oliver Stone-helmed sequel, Chemtob said.

Michael, who is now married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, wasn’t in court for the hearing — and Chinitz said Diandra and her lawsuit shouldn’t have been there either.

She said the ex-wife’s attempted hostile takeover of her client’s cash should be dismissed, both because it should be heard in California, where the couple divorced in 2000, and because it has no merit.

Sequels, Chinitz said, are not spinoffs, and Diandra has no right to any money from a sequel. “They’re not the same thing,” she said.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Justice Cooper indicated that he thought there was a difference between a spinoff and a sequel as well, but said that he wouldn’t decide the issue until he determines whether he should keep the case or send it back to Santa Barbara.

Chemtob told the judge she filed the suit in New York because this is where both Douglases are currently living, and said there’s no agreement that says the case can be heard only in California.

[From NY Post]

Now, look – I think Douglas is king-sized jerk. But this is beyond ridiculous. The ex wife got $45 Million. They’ve been divorced 10 years. And she wants more? Are you kidding me? Honey, it’s time to go out and get a job and earn your own damn money. The kids are grown – dysfunctional though they are – so what exactly is her need for more of her ex-husband’s millions? I hope the judge calls her out on these blatant gold-digging tactics and says, “Enough’s enough.”

Header: Diandra on August 17, 2008. Credit: WENN.