Douglas divorce sequel 'not for New York'

Michael Douglas’s ex-wife has lost a bid to cash in on the actor’s earnings from his recent 'Wall Street' follow-up, with a judge saying her case is too much of a Hollywood divorce to set a sequel in a New York court.

A Manhattan judge dismissed Diandra Douglas’s lawsuit against the Academy Award-winning actor in a ruling made public today.

The judge said the dispute does not belong in a New York court because the former couple’s complex, multimillion-dollar divorce agreement was hashed out in Santa Barbara, California.

“After balancing all competing interests and factors, the California court is the more convenient forum for this matter to be tried,” state Supreme Court Justice Matthew F Cooper wrote.

Michael Douglas was “very happy” with the New York lawsuit ruling, his lawyer, Marilyn B Chinitz, said. While it stuck to the question of where the case belongs, not who should win, Ms Chinitz said she was confident the actor would prevail if his ex pursued it further. The couple divorced in 2000 after 23 years together.

Diandra Douglas’s lawyer said she planned to appeal.

Both Douglases have homes in New York, and “the case should be decided here” said Nancy Chemtob.

Mrs Douglas’s camp has said she should get half the actor’s earnings from this year’s 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' because their divorce deal gives her a share of proceeds from projects related to work he did when they were married, such as the original 'Wall Street'.

“Mr Douglas is seeking to shirk his financial responsibility that was entered into when he signed this contract,” Ms Chemtob said at an August hearing.

The first 'Wall Street' film, which was directed by Oliver Stone and co-starred Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah, was released in 1987. Douglas reprised his Oscar-winning role as no-holds-barred financier Gordon Gekko, who famously declared “greed is good” in 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'. The sequel, released in September, has grossed more than $100m (€735m) worldwide.

Douglas’s lawyer said the actor’s ex was misinterpreting the divorce agreement and that it did not apply to the 'Wall Street' sequel, which was not on the horizon when the couple split.

“When does it stop?... She’s not Mrs Michael Douglas” any more, Ms Chinitz said at the August hearing.

Indeed, the current Mrs Michael Douglas is Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose movies include 'The Mask Of Zorro' and 'Chicago'. She and Douglas appeared together in 'Traffic'.

Michael and Diandra Douglas’s divorce pact specified that future money disputes would be resolved in California – and that is where courts are best equipped to handle it, the judge wrote in his decision, first reported by the New York Post.

“The ultimate determination of much of the case may very well involve the interpretation and application of the term ’spin-offs’ – a term of art most closely associated with Hollywood’s film and television industry,” he noted.

The former couple’s marriage was put under an uncomfortable spotlight earlier this year, when son Cameron Douglas faced sentencing after pleading guilty to dealing methamphetamine from a trendy Manhattan hotel. In a letter to his son’s judge, Michael Douglas described the union as a “bad marriage”.

Both parents were in court when Cameron Douglas, 31, was sentenced in April to five years in prison.

Michael Douglas, 66, revealed in August that he was fighting throat cancer. The star of movies including 'Romancing The Stone', 'Basic Instinct' and 'Fatal Attraction' finished his treatment last month and is recuperating, publicist Allen Burry said.