Michael Douglas wants to keep his ex from pocketing what she says is her rightful “Wall Street” bonus.
Lawyers for the Oscar-winning actor and his former wife duked it out in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday, accusing each other of Gordon Gekko-like greed in a battle for earnings from the upcoming sequel to 1987’s “Wall Street.”
Diandra Douglas, whose divorce from the “Basic Instinct” star was finalized a decade ago, contends a 1998 agreement entitles her to a 50% cut from the sequel to the movie in which Gekko famously said, “Greed is good.”
“Greed is about somebody who doesn’t want to pay taxes and doesn’t want to pay his spouse,” said Nancy Chemtob, a lawyer for the ex-wife.
Lawyers for Michael Douglas countered that he doesn’t own the copyright to “Wall Street” or Gekko, so any fortune made from the film isn’t his to give to his ex.
“He couldn’t give it to her – he has no right to exploit ‘Wall Street’ or to the name Gekko…,” said Marilyn Chinitz, a lawyer for the actor. “You can’t give away what you don’t have.”
Chinitz said it’s “unfathomable” that Diandra Douglas would want more money after she earned more than $6.3 million in royalties and residuals from her husband’s post-divorce movie projects.
The couple, who separated in 1995, were together in a Manhattan courtroom earlier this year when their son, Cameron, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for dealing drugs.
They were no-shows Tuesday as their lawyers traded blows.
“When does it stop,” Chinitz said. “Diandra Douglas calls herself Mrs. Douglas, but she’s not Mrs. Michael Douglas.”
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is set to hit the big screen on Sept. 24.
