Oops. We concluded our Globe coverage without talking about Jeff Bridges! That won't do, man. Here's Eric Blume...
Jeff Bridges was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille award at Sunday’s Golden Globe ceremony. Now that we no longer have career tribute awards broadcasted on the Oscar telecast (BOO!), this is one of the few times we get to see a full-fledged tribute to a Hollywood legend, and those are always fun.
Chris Pine, his co-star in Hell or High Water, did a fine job with the brief introductory speech and basically repeated what everyone has said for five decades of movies now...
Not only a master craftsman, but also truly a kind and wonderful gentleman.”
These two qualities don’t always go hand in hand, and both halves of that statement are key to why Bridges has had not only such a long career, but one where he was always being hired and working with artists at the top of their game...
Then came the super weird clip reel. Sam Elliott “semi-narrated” the piece, which means Eliliott read an awkwardly-scripted couple of lines that held together pieces from Bridge’s filmography, rather than the producers picking moments that really showed Bridges’ range and talent (e.g., the moment from The Fisher King featured Robin Williams, not Bridges?). And the entire piece led up to…drum roll…a highlighted moment from Bridges as an animated penguin in Surf’s Up! Really, Golden Globes ?!? All that incredible acting and that’s the climax? They could have done a lot better by him, but they did highlight how many huge films Bridges has appeared in, and showed him in all his modes: boyish, sexy, grizzly, everyman, etc. Bonus points for highlighting his two truly magnificent but unsung performances in Fabulous Baker Boys and Fearless.
Then Bridges had his turn at the podium, and we can probably all agree not only on the fact that Bridges is one of our greatest all-time actors, but also on the fact that he is not a speech-giver. He rambled on but also gave us a quintessentially Bridgian moment, when he thanked his stand-in, Loyd Catlet, who was his stand-in for 70(!) films.
I don’t think any star has ever thanked his stand-in before (there was a funny shot of Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, who couldn’t believe it either), and in fact referred to Catlet as “the thread through the whole deal” which is kind of amazing. It was also fun to hear him thank Peter Bogdanovich, the Coen Brothers, Michael Cimino, and Steve Kloves.
We hope the Golden Globes always keep the Cecil B. DeMille Award going. It has to be so bizarre for these recipients to see their lives unfold in front of their eyes (not to mention watch themselves age), and then have the pressure to say something concrete and profound about their life in the business, but that’s the fun of it. It reminds us of not only these artists’ contribution to the cinema, but of how they have become part of the fabric of our lives. Bridges is a more than worthy recipient. He always makes you feel like he still has a few great performances up his sleeve. Here’s hoping we get them!
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What did you make of the tribute and who do you hope they honor next?