00:02Michael Mann, who counts himself among Javier's many admirers.
00:07They worked together in Collateral in 2004.
00:10Welcome, Michael Mann.
00:24Thank you. It's an honor to be here.
00:27I first met Javier in 2003 when I was casting the role of a drug cartel kingpin,
00:34Reyes Tarina in Collateral.
00:37This was one of Javier's early English language roles,
00:40and he approached it like a cultural anthropologist with that determination,
00:45a deep drive, a phenomenal work ethic that characterizes his whole body of work.
00:50It was a pivotal foundational scene,
00:53and Javier's Reyes Tarina was like meeting perhaps the head of the Juarez cartel for real,
00:58with his dark impatience, ironic wit, and lethal intent,
01:02a sociopath with family values complete with a droll Christmas fable
01:07about a dark Santa Claus named Peter.
01:09But the scene is the origin of the energy fueling his hired killer, played by Tom Cruise.
01:16It's the origin and foundation of the whole story, and it's all from Javier,
01:19and it's all only in one scene.
01:22More importantly, the experience of directing Javier is responsive, it's intuitive,
01:27and with Javier, the director-actor, the director-actor connection is a rapport, a closeness.
01:36One experiences with only the very few great actors of his caliber.
01:41And then you witness a fueled, nuanced expression, his face, voice, body timing, never overplaying,
01:53his richly toned, pitch-perfect, his instinctual rhythm.
01:58And the bond between you becomes timeless.
02:01It transcends the calendar.
02:03You might not see each other for years, and when you do, it's like it was last week.
02:08It's a bond with someone you know, way deep down, who's down for the cause,
02:13and that's what it feels like to work with Javier as he makes characters come alive.
02:18Beyond that, I know his family, the explosive, artistic genius of his wife, Penelope,
02:23when I was so fortunate to work with her in Ferrari, and the whole family was there in Italy,
02:27including their precocious kids, Leo and Luna, who are here to knit today.
02:32So Javier, I've been mesmerized by your work from the sea inside through No Country for Old Men,
02:38to Beautiful with Alejandro, to The Dunes with Denis, to being Desi Arnaz or in F1.
02:45Whether it's a role of immense scale or deep intimacy, it's your truth that makes the characters you occupy come
02:53alive.
02:53You reveal the contradictions within their strengths and vulnerabilities,
02:59their darkness and humanity, usually all at the same time.
03:03And it's with us now with your Max Cady in Keep Fear.
03:07You evoke our human condition of being human, our multiple dimensions, our complexity.
03:13That's how we really are.
03:15And you work with an unpretentious, unselfconsciousness, which is why your characters are so muscular and alive.
03:24On top of that, you are grounded, you are generous with people.
03:30You have an emotional and political commitment beyond the circumscribed eye.
03:36You do not live only for the self.
03:38So I am honored to celebrate the unique path you have blazed as an artist,
03:43the incomparable body of work and everything you're still to achieve.
03:47You're a friend, a husband, a father, and simply a very good man.
03:53So come on up here because I've used up my capacity for saying nice things for about a week.
03:58So...
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