Michael Douglas’ ‘Wall Street’ Advice

Michael Douglas is no biz whiz, but he played one in the movies.

That was apparently enough for reporters to seek his sage stage advice on the financial crisis that’s gripping today’s headlines.

Douglas starred in the 1987 Oliver Stone film, “Wall Street,” a role for which he was awarded an Oscar for Best Actor. Gordon Gekko was the character he portrayed in the flick. Gekko was a corporate takeover artist best known for his catchphrase, “Greed is good.”

While recently engaged in a press conference to promote the idea of a new treaty to ban the testing of nuclear weapons, Douglas was asked, “Are you saying, Gordon, that greed is not good?”

“I’m not saying that,” the actor replied. “And my name is not Gordon. He’s a character I played 20 years ago.”

Douglas was quick to straighten out the issues of his real name and the big-screen time frame, but interestingly, still up in the air is whether or not greed is good.

James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in Media Psychology, is a media analyst, teacher of mass media and entertainment law at Biola University and professor at Trinity Law School.