American actor and film producer Michael Douglas recounted his valuable insights during a masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival centered around the theme “how to shoot intimate scenes?” Following his honorary Palme d’Or at the opening of the 76th edition of the festival, the actor generously shared his cinematographic experiences before he tackled the attendees’ questions.

Listen to the article 

Michael Douglas, born in 1944, has kept a great impact on the world of the big screen. With several Oscars, Golden Globes and Awards, the star still holds a place in cinema lovers’ hearts, for both his acting technique and charisma. Among his notable works is the 1992 film Basic Instinct, in which he starred alongside Sharon Stone. The movie made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival and is one of the five films that Douglas presented at the festival.

As a veteran movie star, Douglas knows a thing or two about shooting an intimate scene, having starred in some of the steamiest films of the 1980s and 1990s. Speaking to an audience at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, May 18, the star of Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction was dismissive about the new trend for intimacy coordinators, which are used to ensure actors feel comfortable during filming.

“Now you can’t do anything without an intimate coach,” the 78-year-old actor said. “But the secret – since I’ve become the expert on intimate scenes, I guess – is rehearsal. Like you do a fight scene, you have to work out the choreography. You start very slowly and work your way up to a faster pace,” Michael Douglas continued. “If you’re doing a love scene, it’s important for the lady you’re acting with that you don’t take advantage of her. Thus, you tell them beforehand I’m going to put my hand here, you put your hand there and then we kiss-kiss… If you’re successful, it looks impulsive, but it’s all very choreographed.”

Douglas has received an honorary Palme d’Or at the festival on Tuesday, May 16, in celebration of his storied career, which has included hits like Fatal Attraction, The American President and his Oscar-winning performance in Wall Street. Additionally, he produced one of Hollywood’s most beloved movies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He has brought five films to Cannes and said the most awkward was certainly Basic Instinct in 1992. The film’s explicit scenes were “unique even for France,” Douglas said. “Watching those scenes on the biggest screen I’d ever seen… we had a very quiet dinner afterwards. Everyone was digesting it,” he added with a laugh.

He also shared warmer memories, telling the audience that his father, legendary actor Kirk Douglas, met his second wife Anne Buydens at the festival. “Before social media we had more secrets, quiet gatherings without anyone knowing,” he said.

“I was talking to Leo DiCaprio about this; now you get a sighting and the next thing you know there are 1,000 people. You don’t have the freedom we had before.”

Marie-Christine Tayah avec AFP.

Instagram : @mariechristine.tayah