Dr. Leslie Talks About Cameron Douglas, Celebrity Dads & Sons in the Observer

Over the weekend, EKC client Dr. Leslie Seppinni was asked to comment on celebrity father-son relationships for a piece in the Observer about Cameron Douglas' recent sentencing. The UK weekly wanted to examine how the glare of the limelight can affect the dynamic between a father and son, often for the worst. See what Dr. Leslie had to say:

Cameron Douglas and the painful price paid by sons living in the shadow of a famous father

By Paul Harris

From David Bowie's son, who rejected his name, to Cameron Douglas, offspring of Michael Douglas, who was jailed for drug dealing last week, the children of stars clearly struggle to forge their own identity

Michael, Kirk and Cameron Douglas in 2003. Photograph: Allstar/MGM/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

Like any father witnessing the jailing of his son, Michael Douglas looked grim and ashen-faced last week in Manhattan.

Sitting in the courtroom in which his son, actor and DJ Cameron Douglas, was awaiting sentencing for dealing drugs, the Hollywood star listened to Judge Richard Berman pronouncing a harsh judgment. "Get beyond and get over that idea … that Cameron Douglas is a victim," Berman said.

Yet that was the argument that the Douglas clan – Michael, grandfather Kirk and Cameron's mother, Diandra – had put forward in letters explaining Douglas's problems in terms of his dysfunctional childhood. Cameron, it was claimed, was suffering the fallout from an age-old struggle: the battle of the son growing up with a powerful, successful, famous father. (read more...)

Eileen Dishes to The Observer About Gerard Butler!

Over the holiday weekend, The Observer --one of the world's oldest Sunday papers, based in the U.K.-- asked Eileen for her thoughts on the recent buzz surrounding Gerard Butler. They wanted to know why the Scottish bad boy has risen to fame so quickly, transforming from an obscure, middle-aged actor to one most sought-after men in Hollywood virtually overnight. Check out what Eileen had to say about Gerard:

The latest edition of Architectural Digest dropped through America's letter boxes last week. On its cover – barefoot, grinning and lounging in a comfy red armchair – was Hollywood's hottest leading man.

Yes, that would be Gerard Butler, the craggily handsome Scottish actor who has emerged from obscurity to star opposite the leading actresses of our time, and whose presence in Hollywood is now as ubiquitous as paparazzi and high heels.

Just how far Butler has come from his roots in Paisley was revealed by the magazine's glamorous shots of his New York loft and the gushing prose that accompanied the photographs. The spread of pictures revealed a massive apartment filled with pillars, limestone lion statues and crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.

Butler himself did not shy away from bragging about his surroundings, which were created by designer Elvis Restaino. "I wanted something elegant and gorgeous and at the same time rather masculine and raw," Butler said, before adding confusingly: "I guess I would describe the apartment as bohemian old-world rustic chateau with a taste of baroque."

Glasgow it is not. But then Butler has travelled a long way from his native land. He is currently the star of The Bounty Hunter, playing the role of romantic interest for Jennifer Aniston, perhaps the most bankable female star in Hollywood. Before that he was cast in The Ugly Truth, opposite Katherine Heigl, who is often touted as Aniston's successor. Butler movies seem to keep coming in an endless procession, including four alone in 2009. They are action films, romantic comedies, thrillers and even voice-overs in animated pictures. (read more...)