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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isn't Kirk Dead?
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enough is enough.................move on........he did!
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He moved on while he was STILL MARRIED.
Duh?
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If you distilled a woman down to her most basic elements, greed, revenge, and hatred would be most prevalent.
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Some people in this world haven't got what it takes to make a living so they continue to sponge off of others that put themselves out there and earn and work. She should get a life and move on.
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What a sad life she must lead. She has to get by with only 2 hours and 45 million. NO wonder she wants more. She can't stand to see him happy and successful. I hope she ends up with squat.
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If they let this money suck'in ho get one more dime out of him it would be a travisty of justice. For one thing the movie was made after the devorce, so get on with your life if she needs more money get remarried to another rich guy and then screw him over in another ugly divorce. For crist sake he's remarried and has 2 kids leave him alone it shouldn't even go to court.
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she has a keychain with his left testicle on it.
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Just wait a few years when he is older and wearing diapers, Katherine will throw him to the wolves too and get whatever Diandra didn't get. Karma is very strong.
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oh the woes of Hollywood! She's a greedy, moneysucking witch.
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Doesn't anybody get it?? This is not about the money.
New York - Of course this isn't about the money - she has plenty of money.
That clause is up for interpretation. I don't read in to it as any future movies, only from what he did during their marriage & any royalties from reruns. She got TOO much already & deserves nothing more.
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.....Someone needs to give this Khunnt a BIG SLAP !!!!
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It's good to know that a greedy angry old woman can use our court system to keep exacting her revenge, she must have blown through her 45 million over the past 12 years and rather than make her own money or her own way in this world she will eat our tax dollars and waste the courts time to take money from her EX that she was done with 12 years ago.
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Just like most divorced women, she will leech of off him for the rest of his life.
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They are getting the advertisement they want. New film, much noise, ='s more money at box office. She seems to have done a great job with her kid, and remember she got both houses as well. He "cheated" what did she do or not do? Be a creative and enthusiastic lover? Make a wonderful and safe home? Raise healthy and strong children? Or nag the piss out of him, be sullen, and non-participatory, like with the children. P-u-l-l-e-e-e-e-ze!
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You go girl! She should have gotten A LOT more than 45 million. That's NOTHING to him, or his longtime acting family. They owe her, and I hope she get's every red cent he has, had and will ever get! FINALLY, women are getting theirs!
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I'm not a big Michael Douglas fan, but his ex-wife is nothing more than a greedy gold digger. Their divorce was final 10 years ago, give it up lady. You got your 45 mil, now give up!
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