Veteran actor and producer Michael Douglas will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 71st edition of Italy’s Taormina Film Festival, running from June 10 to 14. The festival will also feature a special screening of a newly restored version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the Oscar-winning film Douglas produced early in his career.
The screening will take place on opening night, June 10, in the festival’s iconic 8,000-seat ancient Greek amphitheater. The screening also marks the 50th anniversary of the film, which won five major Academy Awards in 1975, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Jack Nicholson. The restoration was completed by the Academy Film Archive.
Douglas, who was 31 when he co-produced the film with Saul Zaentz, is expected to attend the festival in person. In addition to receiving the award, he will lead a masterclass for film students during the event.
Festival artistic director Tiziana Rocca expressed her enthusiasm in a statement: “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.” She described Douglas as “an icon of world cinema” whose work has left a lasting mark on generations of moviegoers. Rocca also shared a personal connection, recalling an emotional evening she organized in Rome in honor of Douglas’s father, Kirk Douglas.
The festival will also honor legendary director Martin Scorsese, who is scheduled to attend for a career tribute and a screening of a restored version of his 1976 classic Taxi Driver.
This year’s jury will be led by Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The opening film, shown out of competition, will be Ballerina, a spinoff of the John Wick franchise. Director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus are expected to attend the premiere.
Over the decades, the Taormina Film Festival has hosted numerous major figures in cinema, including Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Federico Fellini, Pedro Almodóvar, and Tom Cruise.
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