Douglas Family Movie Opens

April 25 -- Michael Douglas knew time was running out if he was ever going to star in a movie with his dad — so when he did it, he made it an all-out family affair.

Douglas, 58, who just became a father for a third time, united three generations in It Runs In The Family, opening today.

The most obvious missing member of his clan is his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, who gave birth last weekend to a daughter. Carys Zeta Douglas joins brother Dylan Michael, 2 ½, and Cameron, 24, from Douglas' first marriage.

Now that he's got two little ones to raise, Douglas reflects on his own father — 86-year-old Kirk Douglas.

"I've been able to achieve a fair degree of success in my own right and have a pretty good relationship and understanding with my father," says Douglas, boasting that his real family has nothing in common with the dysfunctional one they portray in their movie.

"In the movie, Alex Gromberg [his character] plays a son who really has never achieved the kind of success … His father's always critical of him and has never given him a pat on the back, where as I can't say that about dad; he's really supportive to me in all my endeavors."

A Douglas Family Production

It Runs in the Family is definitely a family affair. Kirk and Michael are joined by Cameron, Michael's son, and Diana Douglas, Michael's mother and Kirk's ex-wife.

Famous for his chiseled features and roles in films like Spartacus, the elder Douglas has made few on-screen appearances since 1996, when he suffered a stroke that plunged him in deep depression.

But father and son clearly enjoyed working together. Out promoting the film, they took on reporters as a would-be comedy team, teasing each other mercilessly, yet playfully.

Asked if he liked to work with his dad again, Michael said, "He's a pain inthe ass and I know his line; he will say he is difficult."

Kirk's reply: "Burt Lancaster once introduced me by saying, 'Kirk Douglas is the first to admit he is difficult to work with, and I will be the second.' "