A prestigious award for a man that deserves it
On April 25, 2016, the Film Society of Lincoln Center hosted the 43rd annual Chaplin Award Gala honoring actor Morgan Freeman. The event was held at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. This award has been given to many talented actors and performers some of which include Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, and many more notable names.
The event started with Philip S. Birsh, CEO and President, giving the opening remarks. He said that the Charlie Chaplin Award is an award that is given out to only the best and the brightest in the acting world. Every actor is put on an equal playing field and only based on merit will someone be considered for this prestigious award. And with that in mind, Birsh said that giving this award to Morgan Freeman because he is all of those things. Morgan had and still has a very vibrant and successful career in acting and his name amongst the many glamorous names who have received this award feels very right.
The night continued with people making speeches about what it was like working with Morgan Freeman and what it is like to be his friend. The very first speaker for the evening was Jerry Schatzberg, the director of Morgan’s breakthrough movie Street Smart. Schatzberg said that he took a chance with Morgan and that it was one of the best chances he ever took.
Jerry Schatzberg
“Not exactly what I remember on the streets of New York, but he had much more. I thought Morgan could be the CEO of a big corporation and I wanted him to bring that to the streets… I realized how brilliant and generous Morgan was as an actor. He was worried about the scene, not his ego…To go from that children’s show [The Electric Company] to Fast Black in Street Smart had to be one of the best actors in America, or the world, and I’m very proud to have had the privilege of working with Morgan.”
After Schatzberg spoke, there were clips shown from Morgan’s standout roles as an actor that defined him as an actor. After the clips were shown, actor Danny Glover took the stage to talk about working with Morgan.
Danny Glover
“The truth is, I knew of the breadth and depth of Morgan’s work – we all did – and I had such reverence for his talent from the very first moment he took charge on the stage in Harlem…I was thrilled when I learned that he was the director for Bopha, mainly it was because Morgan is, by nature, inclusive and trusting. And in making the film a completely collaborative effort, he empowered the cast and crew, elevated every aspect of it…The joy was completely guided by a director who trusted actors, because he was one. Having a director move past the heart of an actor is like the ice cream sundae with all the toppings”
Next to speak was Christopher Nolan. Christopher could not join us at the event that night but he was able to say a few words through a recorded video.
Christopher Nolan
“Morgan is somebody who is able to take my most fanciful lines of dialogue… Morgan is able to give the lines wonderful gravitas…It’s the degree of care and empathy that the audience finds with and through Morgan Freeman that lends him that particular charisma and magic…Just for the record, working with Morgan Freeman is one of the most extraordinary displays of professionalism that a director could ever ask for and everybody on set simply raises their game when Morgan is around, which is wonderful in terms of the atmosphere of the motion picture you’re working on.”
Matthew Broderick took the stage after to say a few words too.
Matthew Broderick
“It was Morgan’s character who was the regiments heart and soul, inspiring the men through his unforgettable flare around the campfire. I can say that that story also became part of the making of the movie [Glory]; he inspired all of us just like in the film…In all three of those parts [something, Driving Miss Daisy, and Lean On Me], just like in the dozens of roles that he’s played over the years, he makes you believe through the talent as an actor, his presence on the screen, his humor, his dignity, and his voice – and what a voice…For singers, Frank Sinatra was the voice. But for generations of movie fans and for me, the voice is Morgan’s…In the almost thirty years that I have come to know Morgan, I have come to this conclusion: that Morgan Freeman does not sound like God, God sounds like Morgan.”
Tom Robbins also gave a speech through a recoded video after that talking about how his friendship with Morgan has been one of the most fulfilling things in his life. He reveres Morgan and respects him with the utmost dignity because Morgan is in a league of his own. After Robbins’ video was over and clips of Morgan were shown, Robert De Niro came on stage to share his insight on who Morgan Freeman is and what it was like to work with him.
Robert De Niro:
“He has made an extraordinary impact on the world of film. In 1998 he played President Tom Beck in the movie Deep Impact. Morgan’s performance was an inspiration to the young Barack Obama. According to reports, after the seeing the film, Barack turned to his friends in Kenya and said ‘I want to be President too. If only I had a birth certificate.’…Just maybe Morgan really is a god. In life he is a god. He brings his intelligence, humanity, and gentle strength to everything he does, on and off screen, and he seems to have aged more gracefully than most of us.”
After De Niro spoke his part, clips were shown from their movie together Last Vegas. After the clips were shown, Helen Mirren took the stage to give her speech and to give Morgan Freeman his award.
Helen Mirren
“The positon, presence, and poetry of Morgan Freeman—I was being interviewed and they asked ‘what is the magic of Morgan Freeman?’ And I said it’s not magic. It looks like magic but it is not. It is incredibly hard work, it’s dedication, it’s getting up at 4 in the morning, it’s learning your lines, learning them so well that you are able to speak them with such unbelievable ease. I watch as a fellow actor of Morgan’s work and I look in great admiration. It is an incredible thing to witness. Morgan and I were in this movie Red. It stands for Retired and Extremely Dangerous. Morgan? Retired? I mean hardly. He’s got four films coming out this year, it’s ridiculous—along with his television projects and god knows what else…So now that I have dismissed the retired part of the acronym, what about the extremely dangerous? Oh yes, Morgan is very dangerous. To women, he is extremely charming and flirtatious, but in a way that makes all women feel special and appreciated. It’s a lovely thing, it really is…The truth is, everything about Morgan, his demeanor, his natural charisma, his amazing voice, they inspire faith and confidence. Most actors strive for authenticity and dignity. Morgan doesn’t seem to have to strive, he has it…you don’t fully understand that power until you see him on screen.”
Morgan Freeman
“I worked to help keep Michael Keaton clean and sober, I turned Christian Bale into a very high-tech Batman, I drove Dan Aykroyd’s mother to school, I partied in Vegas with Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline and Mr. De Niro…worked to catch a killer with Brad Pitt, stopped a world epidemic with Dustin Hoffman and trained a prize fighter and rolled in westerns with Clint Eastwood…Knowing my name is now on a list that includes so many legends of cinema that I admire and venerate is something that I promise you I will cherish forever.”
