00:02Good morning everyone. It's a true honor for me to be among you this morning to
00:07pay tribute to someone I consider a phenomenal artist and beautiful human
00:12being. Today is a very special day, historical day for Hollywood where our
00:19friend Javier Bardem will embrace this beautiful tradition which began with
00:23Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbank in 1927. After the accident, I think. I met Javier Bardem a few years ago
00:32and it's true I remember being intimidated before our first meeting. I was expecting to meet with a taciturn, intimidating
00:41dark figure. After seeing No Country for Old Men, I was haunted by Javier's portrayal of Anton Chigure, who isn't
00:50the kind of guy you want to drink an Arnold Palmer
00:53with. I think I can say that Anton Chigure traumatized us all. As Sandra Bullock said on
01:00Oscar night, Javier Bardem managed to scare an entire nation with a haircut. Anton Chigure is widely considered by forensic
01:11psychiatrists, and it's true, to be cinema's most clinically accurate depiction of a psychopath. So here I am in front
01:19of the man who brought to life one of the most frightening characters in recent cinema
01:22history. And what do I find in front of me? A teddy bear. One of the kindest, loveliest, and most
01:32polite human being I've ever met. So I'm talking to you, Javier Bardem. Where is Anton Chigure today? Where are
01:42Reynaldo Arenas from Before Night Falls? And Ramon San Pedro from The Sea Inside? Where is Silva, the fallen angel
01:49from Skyfall? Where is Uxbald, the beautiful's father? And most recently, Mask Skadi from Cape Fear? Where are these characters
01:59come from? And what became of them?
02:03When we did Dune together, I saw Javier Bardem transforming into Stilgar before my very eyes. He was fluent in
02:10a language that did not exist yet. He could speak Shakopsa, as if he had grown up learning that language
02:17as a kid.
02:18As a side note, Javier is the first fluent speaker of Shakopsa in film history. He's the father of Shakopsa.
02:24He laid the basic of the language, and since then we are following him.
02:29So he knew how to talk in Shakopsa, how to move through the desert, how to use a criss knife,
02:34a special weapon, how to whistle like a bird from the desert.
02:38He knew the custom of the knife from Siege Tabra. He knew what was funny, important, moving, or offensive for
02:45a Fremen.
02:46I didn't have to explain anything to him. He already knew, simply because he was Stilgar, a leader of a
02:52community called the Fremen, living in a deep desert of a distant planet called Arrakis 222.
02:59He knew everything. He knew everything. I only had to follow him with my camera and learn, as if I
03:06were making a documentary about him.
03:09Where is Stilgar now, Javier? I know he's alive somewhere. Javier can completely change his persona to become somebody else,
03:21driven by a new logic, driven by new feelings and new perspectives on reality.
03:25He seems to do that without effort, with grace, and tremendous generosity.
03:31His metamorphoses are spectacular, and yet rooted and fueled by profound humanity, and a remarkable intelligence, generosity, and sensibility.
03:43Javier Bardem is the very embodiment of a groundbreaking artist, and he is one of the greatest actors of our
03:50time, and his contribution to cinema is unique and profound.
03:54I must mention that the list of his nomination and his wins is way too long for me to enumerate,
03:59but I would like to highlight his four Academy Awards nominations.
04:04Among which, he won an Academy Award for his role for Anton Shiger, him again, and he won the Pandora
04:16at the Cannes Film Festival for Alejandro's Inarritu's Beautiful.
04:20Javier also won six times the Goya Award for Best Actor, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
04:24The list is too long ago on Wikipedia.
04:27My friend, today you will leave the imprint of your hands in concrete, but you have already marked the history
04:32of cinema with an incredible mark.
04:35I will also, in a more personal note, I would also like to add that Javier is also for me
04:41a model of courage and dignity.
04:43When most stay silent, you express your political and humanitarian conviction with elegance and firmness.
04:50You make the world a better place, Javier.
04:54If I may, I would like to finish with a few words in Chakopsa.
04:57I hope my pronunciation will be accurate.
05:12Still got understood, but I will translate for you.
05:16Dear friend, you command respect and admiration.
05:21You are one of the greatest actors of all time and a wonderful human being.
05:26We love you, Ravé Bardem. Congratulations.
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