Michael Douglas reveals Kathleen Turner romance was kept secret from Romancing the Stone cast and crew

The two-time Academy Award-winning actor Michael Douglas has revealed a secret romance he kept hidden for almost 40 years. In his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, the actor opened up about how he and his Romancing the Stone co-star Kathleen Turner fell in love while filming for the 1984 blockbuster in Mexico. Douglas added that he kept their affair hidden from the director and cast. In the memoir, he wrote (via People Magazine):

"We kept our involvement hidden. Even director Bob Zemeckis and co-star Danny DeVito were unaware."

Romancing the Stone was directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Diane Thomas. Douglas was the producer of the film. He played the role of Jack T. Colton, an American bird hunter. Turner played a New York-based romance novelist, Joan Wilder. When Joan's sister Elaine gets kidnapped, Joan teams up with a charming bird hunter, Jack Colton, to save her. The film also stars Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Manuel Ojeda, and Mary Ellen Trainor, to name a few.

According to People magazine, Debra Winger was picked to play Turner's role initially, but that did not work out. Douglas then met Turner for lunch to talk about the role, which she eventually bagged.

In his memoir, Douglas described his first meeting with Kathleen Turner. He wrote,

"Kathleen was smart and funny... I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other."

Here's more about it.

Michael Douglas reveals the Romancing the Stone cast and director was unaware of his secret romance with Kathleen Turner

In One Helluva Ride, Michael Douglas unveiled his secret romance with his co-star Kathleen Turner on the sets of Romancing the Stone. He explained how he met Turner for lunch and felt an immediate connection. He also hinted that his relationship with his then-wife, Diandra Douglas, was on shaky terms. He admitted that he was having extra-marital affairs. He further said that there were compatibility issues between him and Diandra that led to major problems.

He said that even the audience felt that there was a strong connection between him and Turner.

The rumoured couple clearly denied the dating rumors throughout. Michael Douglas wrote in his memoir,

"It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years."

Douglas admitted in his memoir that he fell in love with Kathleen Turner during the production of Romancing the Stone. Turner and Douglas started as friends and then became good co-stars before they finally started dating. He added that even the director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Danny DeVito were unaware of their relationship.

However, their relationship came to a standstill when Douglas' then-wife, Diandra, and his son Cameron visited them. After the visit, Turner and Douglas broke up. Douglas claimed,

"I did it for Cameron, but we shouldn’t have gotten back together. After that first split it was never the same between us ever again."

20th Century Fox Studio filed a $25 million contract breach lawsuit against Kathleen Turner

Romancing the Stone became a blockbuster hit. 20th Century Fox studios wanted to make a sequel by the following Christmas. However, Turner, who was still under their contract, refused to be a part of the sequel.

The studio filed a $25 million lawsuit against Kathleen Turner at the L.A. Superior Court. Turner hired Roy Cohn to represent her. Eventually, they settled the matter. Kathleen Turner married real estate entrepreneur Jay Weiss in 1984, and they had a daughter, Rachel, in 1987. They got divorced in December 2007.

Douglas and Diandra officially separated in 1995. On November 18, 2000, Douglas married Catherine Zeta-Jones.

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