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From the Rich Eisen show studio in Los Angeles. Earlier on the show, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, WWE superstar Seth Rollins. Coming up, two-time Academy Award winner. Michael Douglas, and now it's Rich Eisen. Our number three of the Rich Eisen show is on the air, and Michael Douglas is about to join us in studio right here on the program.
Just had a delightful chat with the icon in our green room right now. His new book called "One Hell of a Ride" is currently number one on the bestseller nonfiction book list. On planet Earth, ice no big deal in the world. The number one nonfiction best-selling book universe on planet Earth, which makes based on the fact that we're not fully aware of any other. That's what I mean.
Life anywhere else exactly? The let's just say the galaxy. Galaxy, rich. Do you know that? You, Michael Douglas, and I—we all are published authors.
How about that? I did not know that. About that? I did not know that. I was about to say Jet fans, but but I'm not.
You are not. You're a cowboy fan. I got my own problems. Very much so, sir. As Daniel Jeremiah pointed out, thanks in our number one.
Hour two, Seth Rollins was here. If you missed any of it, there's our podcast version of the show. If you want to listen to us, wherever you get your podcasts, if you want to watch it, there's our Disney Plus page. We're live on Disney Plus and the ESPN app, where you can also find it as well. And we're just so so excited to have Michael Douglas here.
He'll be out in just in short order on the Rich Eisen Show.
So the news crossed yesterday on Thursday. Adam Schefter reported that the Broncos are taking a more collaborative play-calling approach this week. Sean Payton will have an increased role, and Davis Webb will keep going on with a significant game planning and game day role. But again, the collaborative play-calling approach we found out was Sean Payton saying. I'm calling the place.
Very collaborative there. Yeah, one would say. Hit it. We'll make a change offensively. I'll call the plays.
I know. I understand the questions at the start of the week, and I want to say this first. And I said it to Davis the other day, talking to him. I've done this long enough where I know when I have a future head coach. And he's going to be one.
Like all the things that it's hard to find will happen. You know what I mean? Like, and by the way, that's the truth. Sean Payton, if you remember back in the day with the Giants, yeah, someone pointed out Fossil did this to him. Right?
Yeah, took play calling back. Yes, he did.
So, how's it worked out for Sean Payton? Yeah, but he didn't, you know, stay very long with the Giants, right? Let's for down the road, man. But listen, it was one of those things. When I first heard Sean Payton wasn't calling the plays, I'm like, really?
And and and he tried it. He tried it, and it's not that Davis Webb can't do it, or he doesn't have a great offensive mind, and whatever. Um, so. Sean's been on both sides of this now, and if I'm owning the Denver Broncos, I want this guy calling the plays. With all due respect to anybody else, you know what I mean.
I want you doing it, man.
So, I think he just guy only knows one speed, and I know he was trying to slow down a little bit based on how long he's been doing it. And as Daniel Jeremiah pointed out earlier in the program, Bo Nix isn't seeing things in a certain way. That's what Kurt Warner said on Wednesday as well. He's not seeing it. He's checking it down instead of guys being open.
And if Sean Payton's in his brain and he could potentially need that, then there you have it. Kind of owe it to him. When you owe it everyone, and and and I guess he's going to have to owe something to Davis Webb. Who, again? I guess to his credit, last time somebody in the state of Colorado took away the play calling from somebody, um, got left in the middle of the game and they got fired.
That's right, Jim Mora, Jim Mora Junior. You know, I mean, yeah, in Colorado State took the play calling duties away from his defensive coordinator in the middle of the game. The DC's like, I am out. And then at the end of the game, Jim's like, "You're fired." He's not with the program anymore.
So at least there's that. That's on one end of the thing, and on the other end of the thing is we'll see how it works from here and what happens with Davis Webb down the line. But if you're a Bronco fan, with all due respect, and you're certainly, if you're a Bronco, if you're Bronco management, it's like, yeah, I wanted all time great doing it.
So there's that. Then on the opposite end of things, the Detroit Lions defense is. I guess, in a way, thankful that the Cowboys did what they did last night because we're talking more about that than what the Lions have done. Although they're going into Arizona next, and Arizona's offense has been really good, they've got weapons galore. And if the Lions continue to have problems on that side of the ball, and they gave up in the first four weeks the most yards in the sport.
And even Mike Tirico pointed out over the first four weeks of the season, during the loss to Carolina, the game that they almost came back to to win, that Tirico pointed out that the the amount of yards they'd given up to this point were were even worse than the winless Lions of the Aughts in the first four games of that.
So that's not where you want to be, and The defensive coordinator there, Kelvin Shepard, is on the griddle. I mean, his job status has been put in front of Dan Campbell multiple times, and you know, HCDC has basically said no thanks, we're not doing that yet. But this is the exchange everybody's talking about between the Lions' defensive coordinator and the media. There's always a risk reward to blitzing. It feels like you guys have felt the risk of that more than the reward so far.
With with the personnel that you have, what can you do schematically to make those blitzes more effective? Those calls were the right calls. Those calls were the right calls, and I leave it at that. Last Sunday, then then Shep when Bryce Young goes eight for nine against the Blitz. Yep.
What's the disconnect between the calls and the execution? Those are private conversations that we have that I'm gonna keep in house. Those calls were the right calls. First four games. I mean, the perception is that the offense has to carry this team.
How do How do you? What's your reaction to that? I guess. That's the perception from who? I guess by and large, the public, everybody, just through.
I can care less about perceptions. I can care less about the talk. It's all poison, and I mean that. It's all every word of it's poison. And I told the players, and so is the the praise is the big poison.
Now, it's not the negativity. That's how you're taking this. How am I taking what? How am I taking what? It all comes in waves, guys, and it's all poison.
We have a three-phase team here, and I firmly believe that. And I'm going to stand strong in that belief. And I think that's ultra disrespectful to my unit to say somebody has to carry us. We're going to do our one third here, hell or high water, point blank. Period.
You know, it's kind of on brand, right? For the you know, Dan Campbell is all about puffing the chest out and and talking about belief and grit. I mean, it's kind of on brand for Shepard to take the approach of you know, hell or high water, we're going to do it. We got the guys here. He did say something has to change in another soundbite.
No, I I get it. I will push back on the fact that us talking about it is or praising is poison. Is this is this the the rich poison show? Is that what it is? No, I guess in the same way that right, Saban calls it rat poison.
Rat poison.
Okay, listen, yeah, it's it's it's been it's been very tough. And you know, the offense carrying the team. I I would definitely think a defensive coordinator should take offense to something like that.
So all of this stuff is just the emotions of the moment that are definitely bubbling over. But they got to stop people because the offense is definitely good enough. I mean, the same way that I say Dallas has a championship offense, then the defense is needs to to step up. You could say the same thing about the Lions. Golf is as good as anybody else.
Same thing with Gibbs. Ammon Ross, St. Brown. Right? We can keep going.
Jamison Williams is still waiting. He's kind of like the pick in this equation. Yeah. They've scored thirty-one, thirty-one, thirty-one, and twenty-six in four games. They should be three and one at the worst.
That's enough. You know, and I know they're two and two. I picked this team to win the division. Three. I picked this team to win the division.
Yeah. And this game at Arizona before their bye week, the defense that has to pull its one third in in a way that they have yet to. That's a fact, okay? Because in the same way that the team has scored thirty-one, thirty-one, thirty-one, and twenty-six, right? Yep, the defense has given up thirty, forty-one, twenty-four, and thirty-two.
Or the opponent has scored because then Green Bay's coming in, and so does Minnesota. That's the whole thing. Win this one, you're three and two coming in the by. Hold serve, going at home, and then you go into Miami at five and two. And Arizona scored fifty four points in the last two weeks, so they they can put it up.
They sure can. They sure can. Eight four four two zero four. Rich, number to dial here on the program. Jimmy in San Antonio wants to chime in on the WeatherTech fan line.
Jimmy, you there? Hey, man. Oh no, Jimmy. No, you sound down, man. What can what can we do for you, pal?
Well, I'm putting up noise deadening panels in the city house. That way, the neighbors can't hear me bitching. About the Cowboys, Jimmy. Because about the Cowboys, going to be rented out to traveling nurses—a new way to meet ladies. Ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy in San Antonio.
What can we do, Jimmy? What can we do to help?
Well, I—I heard that you were given mulligans on the win loss from the current position on out.
Okay, and I think the Cowboys are due for a mulligan. Oh my God! What were? What did you say they were going to be? I had him at twelve and five.
I had him at four and a three and one, or four and zero after the first four games.
Okay, yeah. Let me see here. Let me look you up here, Jimmy in San Antonio. For some reason, you maybe you called when Susie was in because I don't have you written down here. TJ, you had the Susie.
Susie's done this to me.
Now you've done it twice.
So now it's personal with the eyes. Yeah, we do have to get our house in order. We got to clean our house like the Steelers. Yeah, TJ, you had them go ten and seven. We don't have time for it because it's almost basically.
I've got us going at best five hundred the rest of the year. I don't know. There's still enough time, but defensively, I I don't see it, man. I just don't see it.
Okay, so so we cut this coordinator who's young, and he you know he handles his press conference well, but I guess he doesn't handle run coverage well. Listen, again, we had Daniel Jeremiah on an hour one, Jimmy, and he he put it squarely on the players. He said it's not the scheme. It's not like that they're that they're so out of sorts. Based on the scheme, trying to make them do what they're they're they're they're not comfortable doing, that they're playing slow or they're thinking too much.
He says they're just not playing well, and and and that's it. He says Quinn and Williams. He put it on him, by the way. And if you know if Quinn and Williams doesn't play well, and we're seeing what's going on with Sauce Gardner in Indianapolis, does Darren Mucci get? GM of the year just for trading those guys away and taking the slings and arrows of everybody saying, "Oh, how many resets are we going to get here?" The sauce trade is looking better and better with everyone.
So, so then all I have is excuses. Short week, Jerry Porter Jr. He's only been there for a little while. We have no Von Miller, but short weeks that's gone away. Porter Junior.
He's got to learn, and is Von Miller really going to make that much of a difference on the run game? We haven't seen it yet, Jimmy. Thanks for the call. It's Jimmy in San Antonio here, Jimmy. All right, I've got my top five list.
I want to get to, and then we'll get to Michael Douglas. I do this every Friday. My top five matchups for the rest of the week. Week number five version of it brought to you by Hyundai. Hit it, please.
Five, one, two, three, four, five. Ridges top five. Here are my top five games for the rest of the week. Before we get to Michael Douglas, the author of One Hell of a Ride, this is top five brought to you by Hyundai. Number five on the list.
I want to see what Sean Payton calling the plays looks like with Bo Nix against an zero and four Chargers team. Backs against the wall. You usually throw records out when division. Rivals face one another. Chargers would like you to throw their record.
Is it time for them to finally click? The Broncos' defense, as you know, normally isn't a get-right game for an offense that's struggling. Chargers need it. And Sean Payton says, "I'm gonna call the place. Can't wait to watch.
This is one of three late window games in week number five. One of the eight early window games, brother. It's time. Let's see how the Patriots follow up that win against the Bills and the Raiders. It's three and one coming all the way across the coast.
We all know the biggest head scratching result of the 2025 regular season was the Raiders somehow winning week one in New England. That turned out to be the AFC champs eventually. Wild." So some players on the Raiders will be like, "We've been here before and done that." Let's see how Drake May follows up his bounce back game. Let's see how Kirk Cousins follows up their bounce back loss. Can they bounce back from that loss after they had the Chiefs with less than five minutes to go?
They had a lead at home, couldn't finish it up. They lost. Let's see if the Raiders bounce back. Let's see if the Patriots can keep. On rolling after their bounce back win in Western New York, number three on the list.
Any time the Bears and Packers play each other, you got to be on it, you know. And the Bears have not lost since losing Caleb Williams. The Packers are just absolutely mired in something, and somehow, some way, they're two and two. Jordan Love coming home. Last time they were at home, they got spanked by Atlanta.
So you know the Packers fans will be a bit salty if the Bears come in without Kyle Manon guy on his turf toe and without Caleb Williams and his hamstring and start doing the same thing that the Bears did to him last year. It could get ugly soon, or the Packers can put their foot in the ground and play better football somehow, some way. And it's going to be on, and it's going to be the first game without Mike Ditka being on the planet between these two franchises in quite some time. Sunday, one Eastern Time on Fox. Number two on the list is the.
Marquee late window game of the day—it's Niners Seahawks. Niners won the last time they were in Seattle. It was Week One last year. They were just beginning to figure out what Sam Donald was looking like. Brock Purdy lost George Kittle, but found Jake Tonjes at the end of the game.
Then he got a turf toe. Then Mac Jones comes the next few weeks and keeps him on the pace to win the one seed. The Niners were a surprise team. They had the Seahawks in their house the last Saturday of last season to try and wrap up that one seed, and the Seahawks hit him in the mouth. And the Niners have to go on the road, and the Seahawks get the one seed.
And their next game is at home in the divisional round against the Forty Nineers, who went into that game and lost it from the kickoff on. It wasn't even close, and they had to sit back and watch the Seahawks come to their house and win the Super Bowl in it using their locker room. Oh my God, is it on? And if the Niners win this one, that means they will have already beaten the Rams on the road because that was technically a road game at Los Angeles in Australia in Week One, and they will have beaten the Seahawks at home in Week Five through five weeks. Already having the two toughest division road games in their back pocket as wins, or the Seahawks win this one and take over first place through five weeks, it's on.
But number one is Bills Rams Monday night. Last time this played, ninety million points were scored. Look it up. Bills just lost their first home game in their new stadium. The Rams just came back from ten down in Philadelphia.
They're feeling good. Bills would love to. Bounce back, licking their chops. Can't wait for it. Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, offense and offense.
Can the defenses stand up tall against these two juggernauts on offense? Can't wait. That's my top matchup. I'm still looking forward to seeing. You think we need one more?
Why not? All right, we'll get one more. With the Cowboys looking like they're looking, and the Eagles looking like the way they're looking, going into London, and they're both potentially two and three. Oh my goodness! The Giants Commanders game is big.
Sneaky. Commanders win this game. They're two and three, just a game, half game behind the Jameis Winston experience. Or the the Giants can win this game and be four and one and take a commanding lead in the NFC East, going in a week six. Can't wait for it.
This is big. Jaden Daniels gonna go. We'll see how he looks with that left wing having some sort of device on it to strengthen it. Those are my top five matchups. I'm looking forward to seeing.
Brought to you by Hyundai, named America's best SUV brand by U.S. News and World Report. Learn more at hyundaiusa.com and view cars.usnews.com for more. Michael Douglas is in our green room, no more. Come on out, Michael Douglas, here on the Rich Eisen Show.
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Zero percent financing options are available. Certain restrictions apply. Find your local Pella Windows and Doors showroom today at pella.com/eisen for details. Make life brighter with Pella Windows and Doors. Michael Douglas, next on the Rich Eisen show.
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dot com slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. The Rich Eisen Show podcast. The book of I take ten, twelve of my movies and chapters and sort of talk about the beginning of them till the end. And I started developing that and developing the chapters.
And then I said. They're going to want to know your personal life. You know, they're going to want to know.
Well, you went all in on this, Michael Douglas, because you there's a lot of your personal life. You know, I did, and then I started thinking. But look, what about my films? I'm kind of got this image of sort of that. That gray area, you know, a lot of my movies always are struggling with the moral dilemmas of doing the right thing, but there's always that that bad side of us.
Will the guy make the right decision and all of that? And so I decided I got to go all in if I'm going to write. A biography and my life. Yes, your work is your sort of major, but you have to also deal with the the pain and the good side, the bad side, and so I started about eighteen months ago and working hard with Shane. Mostly, I was living in Spain and.
Time change. We do two, three hours a day, back and back and forth. And then I got really scared because, as opposed to a movie where you are playing a character, an actor, you know, your book you are laying out, laying out your whole story in your life, and so I am just been. Shocked and surprised, and and here we are, number one, and number one with a lot of bad stories, and let's call them interesting, you know. And and so it started eighteen months ago.
So it's not true that you you said I'm not writing a book until the Knicks win a championship again. That that's not no no. You started. I was yeah. Bronson started.
No, the Knicks win was my motivation to finish. You know. How great was that? I was just just just just old fashioned. Brought me back to early Pearlman row and the Knicks, the old days.
Walt Fraser, just total guts. Yeah, and the fact that Walt Fraser was at some of these games too, right? And Brunson's doing this stuff for Ewing in a way, and you know, it was with Fraser. Why I get goosebumps? Just completed the generation and pulled it together.
Yeah. Why can't the Jets do that to me?
Well, we're out of time. We don't have enough time to get into that. But yeah, I know because you're a Jet fan from the Namath days, or no? I was a Giants fan. I was Y.A.
Tittle, right? Frank Gifford, and everything, and then Broadway Joe. Came on, you know, and that fur code, that announcement on Super Bowl three, we're going to win, yeah. And they did it, and I, I love these guys. They were fantastic, right?
And that was it. That was it. To this, to the current day, I'm with you. All right, so your book again, one hell of a ride. Where all books are acquired right now, the number one nonfiction selling book on planet Earth.
We we have a game called. There it is up on the screen right there. One hell of a ride.
So we play a game called Celebrity True or False. Where you know we're wondering what's true and what's not about what's been written about your your work, but you've written about your work.
So instead of playing celebrity true or false, we're going to play: is this really true?
Okay. Then that we you know it's a little higher register. We're like, I gotta I gotta believe it. But still, we we still have the the production value, which we appreciate you as a producer and Academy Award-winning producer. Here we go: celebrity true or false with Michael Douglas.
Please hit it. Celebrity: True or false? You can't handle the truth. Sure, you recognize that voice. Yes, you recognize that voice of Jack Nicholson.
Yeah, Nicholson. Sure. And that's the way we start here. Is it true, really true, that you attempted to convince Deborah Winger to take on the role of Joan Wilder in *Romancing the Stone* over dinner with Danny DeVito, Jack Nicholson, and the director Robert Zemeckis? That happened.
No, but there's you want an explanation for it?
Okay, yeah, yeah.
So the studio wanted Deborah Winger for the role, okay, and I had an initial. Lunch started as a lunch with her at the Lucy's El Adobe down down here in Los Angeles, and all I can tell you is lunch ended about six o'clock at night, and I don't know how many margaritas later, and I was staggering out of there, and I didn't have a yes answer from her yet, wasn't wasn't sure. Then Bob Zemeckis and I went down to Mexico to scout. To do the scouting for the movie, for the movie, yeah, for *Romancing the Stone*. Yes, and it's sort of like that movie that read the script.
You know, Rome burns two words, which could mean two months. And *Romancing the Stone*, which we loved the script, but then when we got to the realities, the mudslides, and this is before Green's. We saw it was gonna be a really, really tough picture, and very hard. And for Joan Wilder, the character.
So she was making terms of endearment in in in Texas.
So so Bob Zemeckis and I come up to Texas to meet with Deborah. And you know we're kind of scared because we've just been seen, and we have another starting another one of those dinners. And but she's not making a decision. And we're walking home after dinner. We're all walking home and feeling good.
And you know how somebody go, "Oh, you!" and hits you in the arm.
Well, Deborah goes, "Oh, you!" and she leans over and bites me. It bites me in the arm. Oh, oh! It bites me in the arm. We laugh about it.
We laugh. I go back to the hotel room. I got Jesus. It's bleeding. And so I'm going.
I don't know, man. I said I don't know about the jungle, you know. And so I go back to the studio, and they want to get the update on how our locations sound, go, and everything. And and Deborah Winger says, "Well, how is it that I actually think I start crying? I can't do it.
I can't go. I can't go to the desert with Deborah. You know, she beat you in the arm, just walking the streets of Texas. Yeah. Well, I mean, but she did it in a fun way, you know." It was nothing bad about it, but we realized.
So the studio executive. Had a neighbor next door.
Well, I this lady is actress came over for a get a sugar the other day. Her name was Kathleen Turner. She just did a movie called Body Heat. Oh yes, and she might be really, really, really good. And so that was how Deborah could not make a decision on she want to, and so Kathleen, Kathleen said yes, and that's how that came about.
But no, Daddy, no Jack Nicholson, just no Jack. No, Jack.
Okay, so were you obviously knew Jack from Kuku's Nest, right? Is that where you first met Jack Nicholson? Yeah, when when he was on the the set of.
Well, before that, but yeah, that was where we first met. Good Jack story. I know it's open ended. What's a good Jack Nicholson story that you have, Michael Douglas? A good Jack Nicholson story.
Oh, gosh, boy. Where do we start? Where do we start? Well, I guess the the the first really when we got was that he was late for rehearsal. We had.
Two weeks of rehearsal up at the Oregon State Mental Hospital where we were shooting, and our cast, which was a mix of New York and L.A. actors, were really into it. We had all the cooperation of the mental hospital from Doctor Brooks, who played the actual doctor in the movie, and he had arranged for actors to be in group therapy sessions with characters that would match, but their disease might be. We had actors sleeping the nights in in their beds at the hospital, and I just remember. And Jack arrived the second week for the rehearsal.
Didn't recognize any of these guys. I watched him the first morning, and he's you know when we break for lunch, and he's looking all around, and finally he throws his tray and he walks outside, and I and I'm. Producer, I'm worried. Oh my God, what's happening? I go outside.
Is Jack? Jack, you all right? Who are these guys? Who are these people? He was sure they all were nuts.
You know, they don't even break character at lunch. Nothing they ever break. But he—he is just a a Jack's magic is that he is more open in front of a camera than he is. Outside in real life, no kidding. He uses the camera as an excuse to be totally vulnerable.
I think that's why he's such a a wonderful actor. Celebrity, true or false? Here with Michael Douglas. True or false? The ending of Fatal Attraction was rewritten twice during the course of the movie, being greenlit and made.
False.
Okay, it was the end of the movie was changed once. Once, and that was when we saw the cut. The final cut, the picture worked like gangbusters, and without hopefully people without telling them the whole plot. Remember this movie and everything else about this woman taking over. But in the in the movie, there was a fight that I have of then close with a knife.
She comes at me with a knife in the picture, and I grab the knife and we take it. And then the end of the picture. Was her Madame Butterfly was playing the opera, and the camera moved in, and she was ordered in a lotus position, and she took the knife and she slit her throat and killed herself. But she knew that my fingerprints were on the knife, and so she she won. Set you up?
She set me up.
So the audience, what happened was. She had done such a brilliant performance, and was so strong. The audience went, "No, no, no! You got to kill her!
Somebody's got to kill her! You can't let her get away with this." So Glenn Close, a wonderful actress, she is, said, "We got to change the ending," and she said. Absolutely not! This is the picture that I signed up for. This is the way I said.
I said, "But Glenn, the ending isn't isn't working. It's the picture is like rising up, and it's just like, excuse the expression, but like blue balls. You know, it's just sure. It's just not. It's not.
It's not working.
So, but she was adamant. She said, 'You can't make me do it.'" And then we talked. We talked about it. And she's a theater background. And I remember saying, "Look, Blinn, when you do a Broadway show, you take the Broadway show goes out of town and you try it out out of town, see how it plays.
This is what you're doing. And based on how it plays, you for the audience, you change it. Yeah. And all we're saying is you're so good in this, and you're so strong that one of us has got to kill you." And to to give the audience that catharsis, getting back, so she finally. You know, came on and and understood everything.
And that new ending is what made the picture. I think it was the biggest commercial success that year. And the rabbit and everything like that. The bunny boiler. You know, that was all that stuff was brilliantly in the script.
That was all that was that was here from the beginning. Yes. Did you have any sense that that would be the thing that so many people would hang their hat on? Was the the bunny boiling on? It was.
It was. It was. It was a. Iconic situation, you know. It was just so perfect, and I remember traveling the world promoting and getting to France and them saying, "Well, you know, in in in France, we we all have mistresses in France, so this is nothing, you know." Every French wife dragged their husband to that picture, you know.
And I lost a lot of my male friends, you know, saying, "Thanks a lot, man. Thanks a lot, you know. Wow." A couple more here for you. True or false? In Wall Street, after the first take of your three and a half minute, famed "greed is good" stockholders' meeting speech, you got a standing ovation from the room of five hundred people.
Is that true? That is true. That is true. But the the running battle with with Oliver, who. Again, tell me if I'm talking too much.
Please, please get going. You're not. Don't you worry.
So, we were about two weeks into the film shooting. Two weeks into the film shooting, and Oliver comes to my trailer door, knocks. Can I come in? I says, "Yeah." Oliver comes in. Oliver Stone was the director of the movie, and he says, "Says to me, how you doing?" I said, "Okay, good." Yes.
Yeah. You doing drugs? I said, "No, I'm not doing so because you look like you never acted before in your life, Gordon Yetco." You know, that's what he says to you. Yeah, so I said, "Well, I said, I guess I better go look at the some scenes, the scenes I did." Do you understand? And so I went into the editing room and I looked at two of the scenes with Charlie Sheen and seduction scene and another one, and and they were bad.
I'm really super critical, you know, that's why I look at it daily.
So it wasn't bad at all. And I come back to him. I said, Oliver, I thought it was okay. Yeah, it is, isn't it? I says, What do you?
And Oliver wanted just a little more nastiness from Gordon Gecko, and he was willing for me to hate his guts for the rest of the picture, if that would give just a little more of a nastiness to Gecko. No kidding.
So what happened is we got to that scene, and. He started wide. That was a long read. His good speech and wide, and finally ended up on the close up. And when I'm doing my close up, I look over.
I can see, and he's not looking at me. He's watching the script to make sure I have every every word right in the script. I mean, do like one take is okay. Print it. Let's move on.
I remember, and anyway, but that was when I got the applause and everything, and then I took Oliver in a corner and we had a little conversation. But Rich, let me tell you something. I realized afterwards, Oliver Stone's pictures, Jimmy Woods in El Salvador. Tom Cruise, born in the Fourth of July, Charlie Sheen in Platoon, Val Kilmer in The Doors, Kevin Costner in JFK.
Meanwhile, this guy has given his actors their best performances.
So he's he's just not one of those patriarchal guys. He's a Vietnam vet who feels that you're in the trenches with him, and he confronts you and he pushes you.
So that was one take. The greed is good speech. No, I did. I did from ten thousand angles in terms of sure, and then till you get to the close up. The number of times where I will say, even to my kids or friends, whenever they've done something and I'm trying to let them know that I'm.
I know what they're potentially up to, and it's time to wake up. Right? Call them up. I'll say, "This is your wake up call." That's what I use for my kids. It's funny.
Is your wake up call? I just this is your wake up call, pal. Person might have done it. Was that in the script too, or just that was that was okay? I'd love to take a break and just take you to the end of the.
Sure, if I may. Sure, got a couple more of celebrity. True, false. Is Michael Douglas is here? One hell of a ride.
Check out this book wherever you can. Get in while the getting's good. It's only number one on planet Earth for nonfiction. Michael Douglas. When we come back on the Rich Eisen, Rich Eisen here for gusto.
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Now, next scene is he goes over in the Captain Nice's caviar. He's over. And he's licking up this caviar. It must be one hundred and fifty bucks a lick, right? You know.
And I am looking. I say, "Hey, I'm." My friend say, "You know, it's Bob Dylan's dog. What do I do?" "Hey, hey, stop! Get out of here!" No, you know I am not going to say anything.
So I am looking. Finally, Bob. It looks like he's going to say something, and then he goes. Far out! He loves caviar.
It was just one of those nights. Wow, that is fantastic! Oh my gosh! One last for one for you here, Michael Douglas. The American President.
What a great movie! Yeah, it is. True or false? The first draft of the American President was over three hundred pages, and director. Bob Reiner had to cut it down, three hundred and seventy-five pages.
Wow, that's like a Ken Burns documentary. It was, but but and he they had dramatically cut it down. But after American President was a television series called The West Wing. Yeah, so Sorkin Aaron Sorkin used a lot of that excess material from the movie in his first years of the series.
So In a way, the American president was kind of a pilot for the West Wing. Would you say, in a way?
Well, look, I mean, you know, Marty, you know, Marty, who played by Chief of Staff in the films, was the president in that. Yes. So I just think there was a, yeah, a direct connection, correlation.
Sort of had that same tone and and and style. Did anybody ever ask you to run for president, thinking that you were the character? They've asked me a couple of times to run for for senator here in California. One time they asked me to run against. They've asked me.
Yeah, to run against Pete Wilson, remember? And I went in. They said, "Well, why me?" They said, "Well, we we need somebody who's got you know some notoriety, personal recognition." I said, "Yeah, people who know. Yeah, people who can afford their own campaign." I said, "So funny." Yeah, and then I said, "Well, why don't you just get a kamikaze pilot?" You know, they why might why why would I want to do that, but I have was I found it funny after after I left the streets of San Francisco and and and got into movies. By I was a successful producer really before I was like a movie actor.
And so after three or four of the films, you know, Cuckoo's Nest, China Syndrome, Romance in Stone, the studios wanted me, asked me to be run a studio. You know, film student. I said, "Well, but I'm an actor." You know, I don't really think of that. And they said, "Well, you could be an actor in three years." You know, finish your time. But worked out, though.
Worked out okay. Did it not? This has just been a delight, as always. Thank you. I I really.
You know, a big fan, massive fan. Like we didn't even talk about some of these other movies, like The Game, which is I think highly underrated. I like The Game. That's that is a that's a bunch in there, right? A little picture with Danny, The War of the Roses, yeah, like that.
Yeah, mentioned that. And you go way back with Devito to right, like you, you, we were roommates. We were roommates when I was still in college, and my first came to New York.
Okay, and I've got one minute left. Is there is there any role that you Turned down, or you wanted to have an opportunity that you wish you had done? No, but I'm a whole bunch. I'm sure glad I didn't do. Is that right?
Oh yeah, that you got offered, but I haven't. I haven't had one this. Want to no? Life's been good, and and it's just this has been a big surprise with the success of the book. I'm enjoying.
Why couldn't be again more more happy for you? One hell of a ride by Michael Douglas. Get it where you can get any book, and be part of the legion that is buying this and reading it and enjoying it. Number one nonfiction bestseller on planet Earth. Congratulations on all that.
Thank you. It's very nice. Be back. Appreciate anytime, anytime. And if if you don't mind, I I've got to sell something before we go.
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That's some serious copy, man. Hey, you know what? I'm just trying to I'm trying to show off for you. That's Michael Douglas here on the Rich Eisen Show. We're back on the wrapping interview weekend.
Thanks again. Thanks. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to three Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN. App the Rich Eisen Show the podcast.
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