Michael Douglas received a special surprise after introducing the screening of a restored version of Czech-American directing legend Miloš Forman‘s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson, at the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Saturday.
Douglas, who was a producer on the Oscar-winning movie, traveled to the picturesque Czech spa town for the first time since 1998 to present the new version during its 50th anniversary year.
After receiving a rapturous welcome on stage, Douglas shared some history about the film. He earned laughs and applause when he shared that he had arrived only three hours earlier and already enjoyed Czech duck and beer, namely Pilsner Urquell.
He expressed gratitude to the festival and also had a special thanks to his Hollywood legend father. “I have to thank my father, Kirk, for getting the rights to the book,” Douglas said. “He tried to get it made as a movie for many years, and he couldn’t, and he was going to sell it, and that was when I stepped in and I said, ‘Dad, please, please don’t sell this.’ I never thought about being a producer, but I loved this project so much. So I thank my father for giving me that opportunity and not selling it.”
After wishing the excited audience a great screening, KVIFF executive director Kryštof Mucha surprised Douglas by handing him a Crystal Globe statuette with the festival’s trademark award design — a woman raising a crystal sphere. This version of the award has been used since the 35th anniversary of the festival in 2000, whereas Douglas had received the older design version, which Mucha explained had gained a reputation for not being easy to hold. He said Douglas could now replace the older with the handier new award.
Michael Douglas at the 2025 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Courtesy of Georg Szalai
As Douglas posed with his new statuette in front of a photo showing him holding the old award in 1998, the audience broke into an enthusiastic standing ovation. Photographers then snapped pictures of Douglas before he left the stage to a hero’s farewell.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest made Oscar history as only the second movie to win all five major Academy Award categories: best picture (Douglas and Zaentz), best director (Forman), best actor (Jack Nicholson), best actress (Louise Fletcher), and best adapted screenplay (Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman).
The new version, restored by the Academy Film Archive, screened as part of KVIFF’s “Out of the Past” section in a special gala. The legendary Douglas was joined there by producer Paul Zaentz, nephew of the late Saul Zaentz, who co-produced the film, as well as members of Forman’s family.
Adapted from Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest centers on Randle McMurphy, a rebellious gambler whose defiance of authority challenges the rigid system of a mental institution. The story is often described as a parable of freedom versus control.