Michael Douglas heads to the Karlovy Vary festival: He once loved Ivana Gottová, but she preferred the Master
The Karlovy Vary festival will once again be lit up by big names in world cinema this year. And among them will be Hollywood icon Michael Douglas (80). However, few people know that the actor once lost his eyes in the waters of Czech. Ivana Gottová (48), who once moved in the film world as a student abroad, was surprisingly close to Douglas. What connected them then?
For Czech fans, this year's film festival in Karlovy Vary offers a unique opportunity to see in person the man who gave the world hits like Basic Instinct, Wall Street or Ant-Man. What does Michael Douglas have in common with the late director Miloš Forman and the legendary Karel Gott?
Hollywood in the genes
Michael Douglas was born into the family of acting legend Kirk Douglas and actress Diana Dill. He is not heading to Karlovy Vary for the first time, he already appeared here in 1998. Then he introduced the drama Free Fall and received the Crystal Globe. Today he is considered one of the most successful and well-known actors in the world, yet he decided to plunge into the world of art only in his third year at university. Although his genes somewhat predestined him for it. And at the beginning, he was throwing up with fear, he was so nervous. Only after a long time did he grow to like the world of acting so much that he stayed in it for his entire life.
He began to succeed, becoming well known mainly thanks to the series Streets of San Francisco. So much so that he founded his own production company and celebrated a huge success with his first film. It was the year 1975 and Milos Forman directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, of which Douglas will present the restored version at this year's film festival. "We greatly appreciate the opportunity to present One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its creation. I believe that the personal participation of Michael Douglas and Paul Zaentz in the ceremonial screening, together with Milos Forman's family, will be one of the unforgettable events of this year's edition," said the executive director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Kryštof Mucha.
It was not his only success. He also gained success with the film Wall Street, for which Douglas won an Oscar, as well as the erotic thriller Basic Instinct, where the actor starred alongside actress Sharon Stone. The famous scene, in which Sharon crosses her legs and it is evident that she is not wearing underwear, became one of the most renowned ever.
Then Paul Vehoeven asked the actress to take off her panties because they were being reflected in the camera. Sharon believed him. She only found out about the intimate shot at the film premiere. Eventually, she was convinced to keep the scene in the film because, according to her, it perfectly matched the character of her role. Perhaps she didn't even suspect that it would be the reason why the film became so famous.
Love with Ivana Gottova
In connection with Douglas's arrival to Vary, his old intrigues with Ivana Gottova, then still Machackova, began to be recalled. She ventured into the world years ago and worked as an au pair in America. Gradually, she made her way to the film industry, where she worked as an assistant to world actors. There she met Douglas during the filming of the movie Game.
"He chose me at first sight from the crowd. When he found out that I was Czech, he tried to impress me with his Czech and told me one rude word on H, which Miloš Forman taught him. But then he only behaved politely, invited me to dinner, and this stretched for two beautiful years, until my departure from the United States," she recalled in an interview for iDNES.cz. "Michael was chivalrous, very funny, nice, and entertaining. But I didn't know then that the real one was yet to come," she added. In the end, she did not stay with the American star, but was the only woman to walk to the altar with the singer Karel Gott, with whom she has two daughters. Even after his death, she respectfully takes care of his legacy.
Even after breaking up, Ivan and Douglas were bound by a solid friendship, with the American actor even once ringing the bell at the famous Bertramka and going there for a coffee. And when he first got the house wrong and rang the neighbors, everyone had a proper shock as to what legend had arrived in Prague. Whether they will meet again at the Karlovy Vary film festival is still in the stars. However, Douglas's ties to the Czech Republic have been long-standing and it seems that returning is a matter close to his heart.
Source: vanityfair.com, Seznam Zprávy, iDNES.cz, denik.cz
