John Goodman received an Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award on Sunday night at the Savannah Film Festival. SCAD President Paula Wallace said a few gracious words before a highlight reel filled with familiar characters and great moments.
Goodman has always seemed larger than life — and I don’t mean that as a pun about his weight. He’s a big guy, but we all know plenty of big guys who don’t have the charisma that Goodman has.
What a great presence.
Goodman was honored just after Flight screenwriter John Gatins was given the annual Spotlight Award. Goodman has a relatively small role in Flight, which was screened after the brief presentations. I might have more to say about the film in an upcoming post.
I was struck in Goodman’s brief remarks by his emphasis on the collaborative aspects of filmmaking. “I can’t do this by myself,” Goodman said.
“I stand on the shoulders of many people.”
In the Q&A after the screening, Goodman praised Gatins (“I’d never read anything like it”) and director Robert Zemeckis (“I’m astounded at his total command of everything”).
But Goodman did not seem in a mood to elaborate much. He made clear, direct statements and finished his brief acceptance remarks with a flourish from The Big Lebowski: “Walter Sobchak said it best: ‘Fuck it, Dude, let’s go bowling.'”
Nothing wrong with the occasional F-bomb from the Trustees Theater stage.
Click here for brief clips of the Savannah Morning News’ Linda Sickler interviewing Goodman and Gatins.