Michael Douglas opens up on changes in Hollywood, rise of digital technology

WASHINGTON: Actor and film producer Michael Douglas discussed the changes in Hollywood and his career with the rise of digital technology and streaming platforms, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

“The biggest change in my lifetime and career has been digital,” especially in sound production, Douglas said during an informal conversation at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He recalled in the 1970s filmmakers had more control over the production process, while the studios focused on the distribution business.

“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 over what we thought was this big industry,” said Douglas

“Between Apple, Amazon and Netflix, the designs of their companies, they’re so huge, they can afford so much”, he added.

Michael Douglas talks about breaking out of his father’s shadow @RedSeaFilm pic.twitter.com/7kLBi69fRw

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Douglas recounted how difficult it was to succeed as an actor in Hollywood under the shadow of his father, Kirk Douglas, during the extensive discussion that mostly concentrated on his early accomplishments.

And despite being one, he doesn’t like being referred to as a “Hollywood nepo baby” in light of the growing criticism of celebrities who may have benefited from family connections in the cutthroat entertainment sector.

“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”, Douglas told the Jeddah audience. “I’m a nepo baby too, you know? So that’s the way it goes”, he added.

Returning to acting, Douglas’s career took off in the late 1980s thanks to parts in popular films like Wall Street and Fatal Attraction. He also landed a major part in the thriller Basic Instinct in 1992. Douglas said that overcoming early episodes of stage fright was necessary for him to succeed as an actor and win an Oscar.

“There’s a risk factor that also gives you the nerves when you’re starting a project. But then the nerves are just part of your career, part of your work,” he explained.

In August 2010, Douglas disclosed that he had developed a throat tumor, which required medical treatment. Having recovered, “now, I’m having a very nice time enjoying my life. I’m not retiring,” Douglas insisted. His more recent roles have taken him into new genres, including Netlfix’s The Kominsky Method and the Benjamin Franklin TV miniseries, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

The Red Sea Film Festival continues through December 14. (ANI)