Michael Douglas hit the red carpet last night with his lovely wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, in support of his new movie, ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps‘. Sources tell Pop Eater that Michael was riddled with fear, and found it difficult to speak.

“It’s cancer, of course he is frightened,” a friend of Michael’s tells Pop Eater. “He’s 65 years old and has everything to live for. His career couldn’t be better and his personal life with beautiful wife, Catherine [Zeta Jones] and kids Dylan and Cary, couldn’t be more perfect. Now this has come along and knocked the entire family off its feet.”

More from Rob Shuter with Pop Eater:

“He’s had an intensive course of radiation and chemotherapy to treat a tumor in his throat,” an insider tells me. “It’s left him feeling very tired and sometimes finding it very difficult to even speak. In a few weeks, we fear he won’t be able to eat or swallow.”

At the premiere, Michael rushed past photographers, not stopping to pose for many pictures. He also rushed past the many TV crews and reporters without saying a word–making everyone wonder just how well the star was really doing.

“He is in a no-win situation,” a studio source tells me. “If Michael didn’t show up, everyone would be talking about him. Yet at the same time if he did show up, the press would see for themselves that he isn’t doing so great.”

Friends of Michael tell me his family and loved ones are all trying to be as optimistic about the outcome as possible, but at the same time, staying realistic. “We all understand this is stage 4 cancer and we are not taking that lightly. Michael is trying to enjoy every moment of the time he has with his friends and family and taking nothing for granted. He was determined to attend this premiere. Nothing, including cancer, could have stopped him.”

We hope you get better soon, Michael. God bless!

Tags: Carey Mulligan, Catherine Zeta Jones, Krysten Ritter, Los Angeles, Michael Douglas, Premiere, Shia Labeouf, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps