Modern Master Award: Christopher Plummer

Reviewed by Kris Mendes, from the 27th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival

On Saturday, January 28, 2012, at 8:00p.m., actor Christopher Plummer was scheduled to receive the Modern Master Award 2012, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.  The ceremony took place at the beautifully decorated Arlington Theater, in the upper end of Downtown State Street.  The red carpet was rolled out around 6:30p.m. and celebrities commenced arriving shortly after 7p.m.  This was an event I would not miss for anything in the world (not because I am the biggest fan of Mr. Plummer, rather, because I gained great admiration for him as a human being and as an actor for his most recent roles).  I dragged myself and a date to the event around 6:30p.m. and got in line – to our surprise there were others already lined up, but we were definitely within the first 15 to line up.  At approximately 7:30p.m., an SUV pulled up to the red carpet and from the passenger side came out the man of the hour, Mr. Christopher Plummer himself.  My date and I were very happy to have taken a few pics of him, and were ready to get the show on the way.

Christopher Plummer comes across as a genuinely cool guy- he is a man’s man, and a true bad ass-  all this while emitting an aura of being one of the most humble, caring, down to earth human beings to walk the earth.  Mr. Plummer is a true gentleman and a scholar, and even when the conversation did not lead to where he wanted to go, he always found a way to charismatically steer back to more interesting subjects.

Mr. Plummer is most recently known for his roles as a dying, happily gay father in “The Beginners”, and the protagonist’s father in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.  But make no mistake, Christopher Plummer is no newbie to acting – in fact, he’s been a Hollywood Heavyweight, albeit without an Oscar, for decades.  Sitting in the Arlington Theater nearly front row center, and listening to Mr. Plummer, live, in dialogue and receiving his Modern Master Award, was definitely memorable and a well-spent $70 per ticket.