Michael Douglas will be celebrated with a lifetime achievement award by Italy’s Taormina Film Festival where a fresh copy of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the multiple Oscar-winning New Hollywood classic that Douglas produced, will screen in the fest’s 8,000-seat open-air ancient Greek amphitheater.
Douglas who, at age 31, in collaboration with Saul Zaentz, produced the Miloš Forman-directed drama starring Jack Nicholson that in 1975 swept all the major Oscar categories – winning best picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay – will be making the trek to the Sicilian sea resort. The restored “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” print will screen June 10 in Taormina on opening night to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary.
Douglas is also expected to hold a masterclass for film students at Taormina in addition to the prize ceremony and screening.
“It is with great excitement and pride that we announce the presence of Michael Douglas as the guest of honor on the opening night of the Taormina Film Festival,” said the fest’s artistic director Tiziana Rocca in a statement. Rocca went on to praise Douglas as “An icon of world cinema, actor and producer
extraordinaire,” who has “marked entire generations with unforgettable performances and an unwavering commitment to the enhancement of cinematic art.”
“But my esteem for him is also of a personal nature,” Rocca, who is a marketing guru, added. “I still remember very well and with emotion the evening I organized in Rome in honor of his father Kirk.”
As previously announced, Taormina’s upcoming edition will also be attended by Martin Scorsese who will honored with a career prize and a screening of a restored copy of his 1976 classic “Taxi Driver” in the open-air ancient Greek amphitheater.
Fest guests over the past decades have included Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Federico Fellini, Pedro Almodóvar and Tom Cruise.
Taormina has also previously announced that Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won an Oscar for her role in “The Holdovers,” will preside over this year’s jury while John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina” is set as the out-of-competition opening film with director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus in tow.
The 71st edition of Taormina will run June 10-14.