A Salute to the Plumm-Dog Millionaire

At 91, I guess we could all see this coming, but it’s still sad to lose such a fine actor. Here are some things you may or may not have known about the great Christopher Plummer:

• He is fluent in French thanks to his bilingual upbringing in Quebec. If he had been raised in New Brunswick, this detail of his life might still be the same. If it was anywhere else in Canada, this little factoid would read something like, “…thanks to this upbringing, Christopher Plummer knows who to say “poutine” and “Celine Dion” in proper French, but doesn’t.

• He turned down the role of Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He admitted to regretting the decision. I regret it too, though I can hardly imagine anyone other than Ian McKellen as the great wizard.

• One of the highest distinctions Plummer has in acting is winning what is nick-named the Triple Crown of Acting. He is one of only 9 actors who have done it: winning an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy.

• He has played father-son roles with both Obi-Wan Kenobi’s. He played Ewan McGregor’s father in Beginners (2010), and Alec Guiness’s son in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). In the latter he played the Emperor Commodus. This is the same menacing character Joaquin Phoenix played in Gladiator (2000).
  

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• You may or may not have heard of our third Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John Abbott. If not, it’s because he was only in office for seven months. Anyway, he is Plummer’s great grandfather.
  

• He seemed to make his breakthrough in acting during the 60’s. Most would say his performance in The Fall of the Roman Empire in 1964 was what slingshot him into fame. But Plummer said the major turnaround came one year earlier when he met Elizabeth Taylor, who he credits with teaching him how to act on film.

• He always despised The Sound of Music, though he warmed up to it eventually. Like over 40 years later when he wrote his autobiography, In Spite of Myself: A Memoir.
  

• He’s the only actor in The Sound of Music to have met the real life Maria Von Trappe.
  

• Charmian Carr played Liesel, daughter to Plummer’s Captain Von Trappe, though there was only 13 years between them. Now that must be some good acting, because I was shocked to read this.

Well, Chris wasn’t in any of our movies of the week nominees, but with his recent death it seemed appropriate to take some time to remember this accomplished actor. I did, however, acknowledge our winner in the title.

Congratulations Slumdog Millionaire. This is your week.

And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actress:

Hillary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby

Best Actor: Dev Patel as Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire

Best Quote: “I will not say “Do not weep”, for not all tears are an evil.” — Ian McKellen as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Just for fun, here are some predictions for the Golden Globes:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• My choice: I’ve only seen Mank and Nomadland, and between the two I guess I’d pick Nomadland.

• My prediction:Nomadland

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• My choice: Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman (I actually haven’t seen this one, but I really like this actress and I’m excited about seeing the movie.
  

• My prediction: Frances McDormand in Nomadland

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• My choice: Chadwick Bosemon in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

• My prediction: Chadwick Bosemon in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

• My choice: Palm Springs

• My prediction: Hamilton

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

• My choice: Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

• My prediction: Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

• My choice: Andy Samberg in Palm Springs

• My prediction: James Corden in The Prom

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• My choice: Glen Close in Hillbilly Elegy

• My prediction: Glen Close in Hillbilly Elegy, however, I do think Amanda Seyfried is more than deserving for her role in Mank.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• My choice: Leslie Odom, Jr in One Night in Miami.

• My prediction: Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED

• My choice: Soul

• My prediction: Soul

BEST MOVIE DIRECTOR

• My choice: Jack Fincher for Mank, though I’d actually really like to see Regina King win for One Night in Miami.

• My prediction: Nomadland

BEST SCREENPLAY

• My choice: Jack Fincher for Mank

• My prediction: Jack Fincher for Mank

BEST TV DRAMA

• My choice: The Crown

• My prediction: The Crown

BEST TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY

• My choice: Schitt’s Creek

• My prediction: Schitt’s Creek

And one last thing, for those of you familiar with The Sound of Music, did you know that the actor who played Friedrich, Nicholas Hammond, played Peter Parker / Spider-Man in that terrible TV show back in the 70’s? This blew my mind!