00:00Please help me welcome our first guest, writer, director, and producer, Chris Columbus.
00:09I did prepare. I did prepare. So, sorry about that. So along with our collaboration on the
00:23Goonies, Key and I share one other major motion picture milestone. In 1984, with the release
00:30of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins, exactly one month apart, Key and
00:35I, with the help of our filmmaking partners, managed to instill nightmares into millions
00:40of children who were admitted into these PG-rated films. And because of that, it's true, the
00:47Motion Picture Association of America created the PG-13 rating in an effort to protect our
00:53nation's youngsters from the images of a gremlin being roasted alive in a microwave and a beating
00:58heart being ripped out of a man's chest. So Key, that could have gone down as one of our
01:04finest accomplishments. But thankfully, that is only a footnote to your incredible career.
01:10And today, I am proud to be part of this celebration to honor you and all of your success, along
01:15with the tough hurdles you've had to overcome to get here. My fellow Goonie, you have proven
01:21yourself time and time and time again to be a man of great integrity, a man of great courage,
01:27a man who, against all odds, has been able to make his dreams come true. Key, I believe
01:32that you, quite possibly, may be the only person in the history of film to transition
01:37from being a global superstar in his early teens to a struggling young actor who was
01:43forced to switch careers as the years went by, supporting yourself as an assistant director
01:48and a stunt coordinator. And then, in an amazing twist of fate, you were cast in a film that
01:54became a critical and commercial hit, a film that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture,
02:00a film that rightfully earned you many accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden
02:06Globe, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
02:11That, that is one of, if not the greatest comeback story in the history of cinema. And
02:23Key, I am so thrilled to be here to help you celebrate this wonderful day on the dawn of
02:28your next remarkable achievement, Global Action Star. So, honestly, congratulations
02:38on everything. You, sir, are the embodiment of a phrase I wrote so many years ago,
02:44Goonies never say die.
02:54And now I'd like to introduce the filmmaking duo, Academy Award-winning writers and directors
02:59Daniel Kwon and Daniel Shynert.
03:03Hello, everybody. Congratulations, Key. Hi, we're both named Daniel. As, as so many of
03:23you know, Key had an incredible childhood career and then disappeared from on screen
03:31for close to 20 years. And I just think it's been so inspiring to get a front row seat
03:41to you coming back to the screen and now performing so much because I've gotten to see how much
03:51that means to people. And over the years, like I've seen my own movie through the eyes
03:57of all the people that look up to you now and are inspired by you now. And it's so beautiful
04:06because the world is just full of so many people who are getting older and thinking
04:13maybe they're not supposed to share their art anymore. You know, like so many people
04:16are at home being like, well, I thought I was going to be an actor, but I'm 30, I'm
04:2135, I'm 40, I'm 50, I'm 70. And, and they were so inspired to see you come back and
04:27prove that you had so much more to offer and that it had nothing to do with how much talent
04:32you had and everything to do with other stupid circumstances and an industry that didn't
04:37see it. And I think there's something so beautiful about that man getting his hand put in cement
04:44and it's just so inspiring and has been and continues to be. And I'm excited to watch
04:49what you do next.
04:53I had one more anecdote, which is our movie, you play so many different versions of the
04:59character Waymond and mostly he was like a, a dorky, sincere, sweet man. And that's what
05:07Key's like. And the question was, could he do the like sexy movie star? And then he showed
05:15up to set and just destroyed like sexy Waymond and everybody was like, Oh my God, look at
05:21Key. Everyone was so excited except for Echo, his wonderful wife, who was like, I do not
05:28like sexy Waymond. I like, I like sweet, adorable Key. That's my Key. So I, I just wanted to
05:36apologize. Unfortunately, I think I played a small role in turning him into a sexy movie
05:41star. And I hope you still get plenty of sweet, beautiful, wonderful Key at home. Because
05:50I have a feeling he's going to continue for a long time looking great. Anyway, thanks
05:56for having me.
06:00Two Daniels, two speeches. When I first met Key, the first thing you notice is his voice.
06:08It's like, Oh my God, you sound exactly the same as Short Round. Like nothing has changed.
06:12What, what miracle preserved you in pickle juice and made you the same exact person?
06:17It was, it was incredible because he walked into the room, into the audition space and
06:21he was moving around kind of like a dog. He was so excited and he couldn't stop talking
06:25and he would interrupt himself mid-sentence to say another thought because of the extreme
06:29passion and enthusiasm he was to be in an audition, which if any of you guys have ever
06:34been in an audition before, you know, that is not usually the case. And Key has this
06:39really superhuman ability to take any moment, no matter where you are and what you're doing,
06:45and he can just show you what's so beautiful about it. He has this like high on life mentality
06:51that you get a secondhand high from. And it's one of the things that I, I look up to the
06:55most in Key. I think it's one of the reasons why he's so good at his job, why he's been
06:59able to survive the ups and downs of his career and his life. And it's the reason why we're
07:04all here today. And I think it's really special that we have chosen to, to celebrate this
07:10man and his career and his passion that he has today of all days. Right now in February
07:162025, it's a really weird time for our industry. Not many people know what the future holds.
07:22Los Angeles is just about to begin the years long process of rebuilding after disaster.
07:28The leaders of our country have no idea and have completely forgotten the importance and
07:33the value of immigrants in our country. And all of this is kind of culminating in a way
07:37where it feels really special for us to be here with Key, getting his secondhand high,
07:44watching him put his hands and his feet into concrete that will be laid on the ground near
07:48the foundation of the Chinese Grauman Theater, one of our great cultural sites of the city.
07:55Because to me, Key represents the resilience of joy, the opportunity and the possibility
08:00for second chances. And also the idea that even an immigrant sidekick one day has the
08:06opportunity to become the leading man. I feel like all of that is what we should be carrying.
08:19And so the fact that we are literally setting all of that into stone today, it seems really special.
08:24I'm so proud of you. Everyone in the Everything Everywhere family are so proud of you.
08:28You deserve this. We can't wait to go celebrate. Excited to see what sake you brought to celebrate.
08:33We're so proud of you. Thank you so much.
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