Michael Douglas had a quick answer when Jimmy Kimmel asked whether Catherine Zeta-Jones not reading his memoir might be “for the best.”
“Oh, yeah,” Douglas replied during his October 8 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, according to Entertainment Weekly. Kimmel was referring to a joke Zeta-Jones had made on Today earlier that day.
One Helluva Ride, released October 6 by Grand Central Publishing, runs to 496 pages in hardcover.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones married in 2000 and share two children, Dylan and Carys. They will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary in November.
Douglas Points to the Life He Had Before They Met
Douglas pointed to their 25-year age difference, suggesting that Zeta-Jones had to accept that he had lived a life before they met, as Us Weekly reported.
He brought up Kathleen Turner, writing in the memoir that they had an affair while making Romancing the Stone, released in 1984. Douglas was separated from his first wife, Diandra Luker, at the time. The book also recounts his relationship with Jeanne Tripplehorn during Basic Instinct.
Coauthor Shane Salerno told People that Douglas contacted women to ask permission before including their stories. When Kimmel asked whether anyone had refused, Douglas answered, “I’ll never say.”
Douglas had already discussed the book with Zeta-Jones. In an October 7 interview with Page Six, he described her as “in the midst” of reading it. He also said he had no regrets about being candid.
The memoir is organized around 12 films, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Wall Street. It also covers his relationship with his father, Kirk Douglas, his struggles with alcohol and drugs, his cancer diagnosis and his eldest son Cameron’s addiction and imprisonment.
Douglas worked on the book for two years with Salerno and Michael Fleming Jr. He told People that he wanted his grandchildren to have a record of their grandfather’s life, and that writing it brought back experiences he had forgotten.
Zeta-Jones Had Just Finished a Seven-Month Shoot for Wednesday
On Today, Zeta-Jones described seven months filming Wednesday in Dublin, followed by stops in London and Spain before arriving in New York.
“As much as I love my husband, when I’m tired at night, I have no intention of reading about him,” she joked.
She still encouraged everyone else to read it, telling viewers to “hold onto their cowboy hats.”
In a separate interview with E! News, she said she had just received her copy and was not worried about its contents.
Zeta-Jones Says She Still Plans to Read the Book
Appearing on The View on October 9, Zeta-Jones made her intentions clear: “No, of course I’m going to read it.” According to TV Insider, she praised the work Douglas had put into the memoir and described it as part of his career’s legacy.
Ana Navarro told her that the chapter about Zeta-Jones was her favorite and had moved her to tears. The conversation also turned to Douglas’s declaration, at their first meeting, that he would be the father of her children.
Zeta-Jones called that “a little much,” reminding the hosts that she had only just met him and had already heard plenty about his reputation. She later added, “I’m a lucky lady.”