The film is the sequel to Oliver Stone's 1987 drama "Wall Street." In it, Douglas reprises his iconic role of Gordon Gekko, the ruthless corporate raider he won an Oscar for playing in the first flick.
Talking to reporters in Manhattan recently, the 65-year-old New Jersey native joked about the free publicity his personal life has been generating for the film.
"Well, it didn't cost Fox a lot of money. There's not a lot of marketing dollars involved here," Douglas said.
"It's an unfortunate timing situation," he added more seriously at the press conference. "I'm doing fine. I'm proud of the picture. My doctors are optimistic. I'm optimistic. Obviously, the combination of radiation every day and chemo limits a full day (of work.) But everybody did a fantastic job and life goes on. This is just another chapter. I've had a pretty good run of it.
This was a pretty bad year, so it's going to be topped off with a really good movie."
Asked if he is enjoying any guilty pleasures while he undergoes treatment for the cancer, Douglas confessed he lately has been cutting down a little work-wise to take care of his health issues.
"One of the guilty pleasures (I have) is I didn't have to do the junket today," he said, referring to the marathon of media interviews in which actors usually participate when publicizing an eagerly awaited feature film such as "Wall Street." "I am very grateful to (my co-stars and director for picking up the slack.) It's hard work. I'm just taking it a day at a time. … And resting. I don't have anything to do. It couldn't have picked a better time -- tennis has never been better. College football just started … So, sports looks really good and, to top it off, we've got a picture that's rocking."
"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is in theaters now.
Copyright 2010 United Press International
This is priceless! Article
This is priceless! Article today:
Oliver Stone Called. He Wants to See Your Movie.
Indie Film Director, Sandra Mohr, gets a phone call from Oliver Stone while at Disneyland.
Hollywood, CA.--The buzz has been building around the issue of short selling ever since investors saw the collapse of the stock market in early 2009. Director Sandra Mohr decided to make a movie about it. "We knew we were onto something when Oliver Stone's office called and asked to see the movie," says the "Stock Shock" director. "We were at Disneyland celebrating the completion of the film and, while in line for the submarine ride, got the call saying Oliver Stone wanted to see our movie about naked short selling. We literally had to have someone break into the office to get the DVD delivered immediately to the famous director."
"Stock Shock" is a documentary film that focuses on market manipulation and uses Sirius XM (SIRI) as a case study. In a short sale, an investor borrows stock and sells it in the hope that its price will drop. If it does, the seller profits when he buys back the stock at a lower price and returns the borrowed shares. As short sellers targeted shares of Sirius XM, the stock plummeted to a horrifying low of 5 cents/share in February 2009, leaving an estimated one million Sirius XM investors with their dreams shattered and their investment accounts emptied. Sirius XM had traded at a high of 9.00/share.
"I thought Oliver Stone might want to see the movie because it makes the concept of short selling very easy to understand," says the director, "though I must admit, I was hoping he would include our documentary on his 'Wall Street 2 DVD release!'"
As does "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" (starring Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf) "Stock Shock" lays out a compelling case proving the stock of a company can be heavily manipulated, both through naked shorting and also through more standard manipulation tactics.
Stock Shock first screened Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood at the Women's International Film Festival.
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