America’s Burning writer/director David Smick with narrator/executive producer Michael Douglas. (Credit: Owen Kolasinski, Shutterstock
David Enrich, New York Times investigative reporter and author of the just-released book, Murder the Truth, will interview Douglas and the film’s writer/director, David Smick, at the November 1 event.
IOn Saturday, November 1, one of Irvington’s most celebrated residents comes to the village’s premier cultural institution, Irvington Theater, for a film screening and discussion that you won’t want to miss.
Michael Douglas, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor known for films like Wall Street, Basic Instinct, and The American President, will screen America’s Burning, his 2024 documentary with writer, director, and New York Times best-selling author David Smick. After the screening, New York Times investigative reporter David Enrich, whose new book covers the legal movement to overturn protections offered to journalists writing about public figures, will engage Douglas and Smick in a lively discussion about this timely, urgent, and hopeful film.
America’s Burning, an Official Selection at the 2024 Tribeca Festival,explores why capitalism has become the ultimate corporate insider’s club, the middle class is shrinking, and the American Dream’s promise of social mobility for all who work hard is dying. The film features an incredible collection of thinkers and strategists, from James Carville and Amy Chua to Ian Bremmer and Leon Panetta, who discuss America’s impressive history of resilience and why our best days could still lie ahead.
“We are thrilled to host long-time Irvington resident Michael Douglas for the first time in our historic theater,” said Irvington Theater Commission Co-Chair Shana Liebman. “The man needs no introduction — and his new documentary is a brilliant commentary on one of the most important issues of our time.”
Michael Douglas is a two-time Oscar-winning actor and producer whose career spans more than five decades. The son of Kirk and Diana Douglas, he gained early fame with The Streets of San Francisco before producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which went on to win five Academy Awards including Best Picture. Known for blockbuster hits as well as socially resonant films, Douglas has starred in a range of iconic titles including Wall Street, Basic Instinct, The American President, Romancing the Stone, and Traffic. He earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards for his portrayal of Liberace in HBO’s Behind the Candelabra and a Golden Globe for Netflix’s The Kominsky Method. A United Nations Messenger of Peace since 1998, Douglas has been honored with numerous lifetime achievement awards for his artistic and humanitarian contributions. He is married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, with whom he shares two children, and lives in Irvington.
David Smick is chairman and CEO of JSI, Inc., a global macroeconomic strategy firm based in Washington, D.C. Launched in 1986, the firm’s clients have included JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and many other of the world’s leading financial institutions. In 1987, Mr. Smick founded “The International Economy” magazine, read by many in the world’s central banking and finance ministry communities. In 2008, Mr. Smick wrote the international bestseller The World Is Curved (Penguin Portfolio), which predicted the coming financial crisis; In 2020, Smick wrote and directed the full-length documentary film Stars and Strife, produced by Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson.
David Enrich is the deputy investigations editor at the New York Times. He is the bestselling author of four nonfiction books, most recently “Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful.” Before joining the Times in 2017, he was a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal in New York and London.
Audiences of all ages are invited to join Irvington Theater for a screening of America’s Burning, followed by a discussion with Michael Douglas and David Smick on Saturday, November 1 at 3pm. Tickets start at just $18 (plus fees) and are available for purchase at www.irvingtontheater.com/events/americasburning
