Michael Douglas' Ex-Wife Wants a Piece of His 'Wall Street 2' Money

The title for the upcoming sequel to 'Wall Street' is 'Money Never Sleeps,' and star Michael Douglas is learning the hard way just how true those words are.
Douglas is being sued by his ex-wife, Diandra Douglas, who is claiming that she is entitled to 50 percent of his earnings from the upcoming 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' as part of her divorce settlement from the actor, according to the
New York Post. Michael and Diandra divorced in 2000, and he is currently married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, with whom he has two children, Dylan, 9, and Carys, 7.
If it seems strange that Diandra would be seeking her share of her ex-husband's salary for a movie he made a decade after their divorce was finalized ... well, it is. 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.
The 1987 smash 'Wall Street' -- for which Michael won the Best Actor Oscar for his classic turn as Gordon Gekko -- was released during their marriage, and with the sequel set to hit theaters in September, Diandra is ramping up her case. "It's the same character, the same title, just years later," her lawyer, Nancy Chemtob, told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper at a hearing last Wednesday.
Marilyn Chinitz, Michael's lawyer, however, simply thinks this is a case of life imitating art, with Diandra taking the famed Gordon Gekko line "greed is good" to heart. "He doesn't want her to be an albatross around his neck forever," Chinitz said.
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.
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That's a Pricey Split!
Michael and Diandra Douglas
The Bottom Line: Diandra received $45 million and two houses following their 1998 split.
Ron Galella, WireImage.com
Ron Galella, WireImage.com
Most Expensive Star Divorces
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 court.
Diandra's lawyer told the judge she filed the suit in New York because both she and Michael currently reside in the city, and noted that there's no legal reason the case can be heard only in California.
Justice Cooper has delayed ruling while he considers whether he should keep the case or send it back to a California court; however, he revealed that he believes there is indeed a difference between a spinoff and a sequel.
Michael and Diandra recently came together to support their son, Cameron, who was
sentenced to five years in prison for his role in dealing methamphetamine and cocaine in New York City. During Cameron's April sentencing, Michael, who along with Diandra, Zeta-Jones and Kirk Douglas asked the judge for leniency, took a swipe at his ex-wife in a letter to the judge, describing Diandra as "a young mother without any parenting skills handed down from her own parents."
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true see why no ones getting married any more only star s there a fools they all had each othere damn
Greed!!!!
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..greed and revenge. Most women would have taken the 45 million and went on with their life, to still want to bleed this guy smacks nothing more than revenge. Hatred, pure and simple.
More like vengence. Read the last sentence. In a letter to a judge about their son, he claimed she was without parenting skills. Enough to anger any mother. He's blaming her for all their son's troubles. He should have kept his mouth (or pen) shut.
I'm surprised she didn't demand his testicles too. Or did she?
Sadie, you sound like that hit home with you.... Are you also a bad mother with no parenting skills..... It happens, so what if he said it, I have custody of my son because of his mothers lack of parenting skills.... Being a woman does not mean you have good parenting skills.
Greed, there was a clause in the divorce degree>> which he signed...I would do the same if I were in the same situation, and don't tell me you wouldn't do it,my answer to that it BULL!!
Hey "Dunk"!!! Let's be reasonable. According to the divorce order, she would only be entitld to one half of his testicles.
Not only is this greed, but it's spite. She is suing him because, well, she can. If this divorce was settled in Europe, then she would have no case at all because the courts would say, "You got your money, now shut up". But this is the USA and divorce is never "final" here. She won't stop until he's dead.
YES!! GREED! How right you are!...How sad! Give the money to us hard working people, who have to get child care. We work overtime to make more and then we pick up our crying child, who wants us to hold and love them and feed them and bathe them. Dear God! Will she or the media ever see this? HELL NO. She won't, They won't. MICHEAL WONT. Its a joke right? RIGHT!
Magsmom, read the story. The divorce agreement stated that she got money form all he did during their marriage. Then it goes on to state that HER LAWYER, not the agreement, says that includes spinoffs after the marriage. Greed.
Not greed, just business. She is entitled to monies made off of the merchandising of "Wall Street", and a sequel is part of it. This movie will make a killing in the current environment, especially staring the acting great Michael Douglas. Which one of you who is quick to critize his ex, would walk away from millions you were legally entitled to because somebody might think you were "intruding" on your ex? I'm sure her motives having nothing to do with anything but getting what is hers regardless of how much people want to read into it.
Read the contract you are signing. Too bad Michael, like it or not, she is entitled to half. All you women who think she's being greedy would do exactly the same thing.
Not so simple, my friend. When you do the beyond stupid and say that your wife is responsible for screwing up your kid when you were out screwing around yourself with other women, drugs, and whatnot...Michael Douglas is just your average dog blaming others for his crap.
"Sadie, you sound like that hit home with you.... Are you also a bad mother with no parenting skills..... It happens, so what if he said it, I have custody of my son because of his mothers lack of parenting skills.... Being a woman does not mean you have good parenting skills."
Actually, I have 2 grown children who are both terrific human beings. I never said men cannot have good parenting skills. Of course they can. But Michael Douglas was known to be a womanizer and a raging alcoholic. (Not a great role model for any child to be sure). He then bad mouths his wife and the mother of his son to a judge. What does he expect?
LOL!! Dunk - no Zeta-Jones got the testicles. They are a bit used though!!!
Seriously - good for Diandra having that clause written in the divorce. If she got 45 million in the divorce settlement - he must have retained that much or more plus all he's made afterwards. But serioulsy who can actually spend that much money? Maybe Diandra uses it for charitable purposes in which case - I hope she gets all she can!
Before I even started to read, I started to laugh. Go get him, Diandra. This was the Tiger Woods scandal of it's day, and Michael deserves everything he gets. It doesn't matter if she needs the money or not, she's just giving it back to him, and nobody deserves it more. He used and abused her, controlled her, cheated on her, and done her wrong. Pay back is hell.
Want to screw her over? Don't spend any money to see the movie.
If it's a clause in there divorce decree and he signed it, she deserves whatever is owed her. That's why they call them binding contracts people!!! Don't do the crime if you don't want to do the time!!!
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She deserves to be counter sued and lose everything