Christopher Plummer's film 'Barrymore' to be shown across the world by the end of the year
In “Barrymore,” 82-year-old screen legend Christopher Plummer portrays an earlier titan of the stage, John Barrymore.
This film adaption of a play Plummer starred is set in 1942, the final year of John Barrymore’s life. It takes place on the stage of a Broadway theater, where the actor is struggling to recreate his performance in the title role of Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” It leads him to look back on the highs and lows of his stunning career and remarkable life.
“Christopher Plummer really deserves a Best Actor Oscar for Barrymore … it’s the role – and the performance – of a lifetime, and he plays every color, nuance, mood shift and variety of vocal power and body language in his enormous range. The artistry leaves you with your mouth wide open … stunned and cheering. So bring out the Oscar.”
 Producers said that the film "Barrymore" will be shown at cinemas in Canada beginning in May and throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries in October."Barrymore" _ a two-person play exploring the life of famed actor John Barrymore _ earned Plummer a Tony in 1997. Last year, the actor recreated his performance for multiple high-definition cameras.It was filmed over seven days on location and on the stage at the Elgin Theater in Toronto. Based on the play by William Luce, the film is directed and adapted for the screen by Erik Canuel.
Plummer recently won an Oscar for the romantic comedy "Beginners."
BARRYMORE is an unforgettable portrayal of legendary actor John Barrymore, a man of colossal talent and contradictions and one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of all time. Set in 1942, the final year of John Barrymore's life, BARRYMORE takes place on the stage of a Broadway theatre, where the actor is struggling to recreate his performance in the title role of Shakespeare's Richard III.
Christopher Plummer's Tony Award-winning tour de force is now a new motion picture.
Directed and adapted for the screen by Genie Award® winner Erik Canuel, with scintillating wit, humor, irreverence and poignancy, BARRYMORE, based on the play by William Luce shows us the many facets of this complicated man.
BARRYMORE plus special bonus feature BACKSTAGE WITH BARRYMORE (a making of documentary) can be seen on movie screens beginning in Canada (May) and other countries from October.
ACTRA Toronto has named Plummer best actor for his rakish turn in "Barrymore"
TORONTO — Christopher Plummer is heading into the Academy Awards with yet another accolade under his belt.
ACTRA Toronto has named Plummer best actor for his rakish turn in "Barrymore," a film version of the celebrated stage production that earned the veteran thespian a Tony some 15 years ago. The prize comes as Plummer is set to attend Hollywood's most prestigious awards bash on Sunday, the Oscars, nominated for his portrayal of a playful gay widower in "Beginners." He's considered a front-runner in the race for best supporting actor, which pits him against Max von Sydow, Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill and Nick Nolte.
ACTRA Toronto is the regional arm of Canada's performers' union, also known as the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.
"If Christopher Plummer had the year he's been having 30 years ago, we would say he'd been aving a good year. But to have the kind of year he's having at this stage of his career is an inspiration to his fellow actors," ACTRA Toronto president Heather Allin said in a release.
The 82-year-old Plummer has been on a articularly remarkable run with "Beginners." His performance has already earned him acting accolades from the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, the BAFTAs (Britain's version of the Oscars), the L.A. Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review and the Toronto Film Critics Association.
ACTRA Toronto represents more than 15,000 of Canada's 22,000 professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada.
Toronto Film Festival to Feature BARRYMORE with Christopher Plummer
(To be, or not to be an Oscar winner)
The 2011 Toronto Film Festival is set to feature a film version of Barrymore, which recently starred Christopher Plummer at Toronto's Eligin Theatre. Barrymore brings Christopher Plummer's Tony Award-winning tour-de-force stage performance to the screen in this film version of the Broadway hit adapted and directed by Erik Canuel. Acknowledged as one of the greatest actors in the world, Plummer took on the mammoth task of portraying legendary actor John Barrymore as he struggles with inner demons and the result is a breathtaking performance. Playwright William Luce's Barrymore opened at the Stratford Festival in 1996 before moving to Broadway, where Plummer won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor. In an on-stage conversation following the film, Plummer will address the full span of his remarkable career.
(January 10, 2012 - Toronto, Ontario) They range in age from 7 to 82 and they represent a perfect cross-section of the vast numbers who make up the membership of ACTRA Toronto. They are the nominees for the 10th Anniversary ACTRA Awards in Toronto, to be presented at the Carlu on Saturday, February 25, 2012. According to Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto, the nominees "include a diversity of performers as well as some of Canada's biggest names and greatest actors. It's a strong year and will make the final jury selection a difficult task. It's an impressive snapshot of the current depth and breadth of Canada's acting talent."
Plummer is a contender for his Tony-winning portrait of U.S. actor John Barrymore in the stage productionBarrymore, which was made into a feature film after its 2011 revival in Toronto.
Plummer has two Tony awards under his belt: one for his performance in BARRYMORE and the other for his lead role in CYRANO. He first played the late actor in 1996 at the Stratford Theatre Festival in Ontario. Written by William Luce, the play is set in the final year of Barrymore's life.
TIFF is dedicated to presenting the best of international and Canadian cinema to film lovers. Our vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image. What began as a ten-day film festival has grown to embrace programming 365 days a year. TIFF offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops, industry support and the chance to meet filmmakers from Canada and around the world.
Christopher Plummer reprising his role in “Barrymore”
Christopher Plummer will resurrect his Tony Award-winning performance as Barrymore — as in famed actor John, in William Luce's two-man play — in Toronto in early 2011.
Excerpt from Barrymore 31 January 2011 on Toronto stage.
The revival of the play, directed by Gene Saks, will play a strictly limited engagement of 30 performances at Toronto's Elgin Theatre Jan. 27-March 9, 2011. Plummer won the 1997 Tony for Best Actor in a Play for his turn as an aging Barrymore, the talented wastrel who was part of an American acting dynasty.
Barrymore premiered at Canada's Stratford Festival in September 1996, toured several U.S. cities, and opened at Broadway's Music Box Theatre in March 1997. For his haunted, passionate portrayal, Plummer also won the Drama Desk Award, the Edwin Booth Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Play.
.
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER is unforgettable as legendary actor, John Barrymore, considered the greatest Shakespearean actor of his time.
It's all here: the colossal talent and the contradictions, the wives and the women, the drinks and the profanity, the noteriety and the glory... in an evening of great theatre acclaimed by The New York Times as "fiendishly entertaining."
Director Gene Saks and the entire original creative team of the Broadway production of BARRYMORE, including scenic and costume designer, Santo Loquasto and lighting designer, Natasha Katz, will be reunited when BARRYMORE returns to Toronto's historic Elgin Theatre for 30 performances only, January 27th - March 9th, 2011.
Christopher Plummer runs through a scene from the play "Barrymore".
The play kicks off in Toronto on January 27 at the Elgin Theatre.
A summary of reviews and press coverage of “Barrymore”
The Star
Plummer rises above material to shine in Barrymore
The Globe and Mail
Though Plummer is now more than 20 years older than Barrymore was when he died in 1942, his spry, sharp performance is a convincing argument that 80 is the new 60.
The Toronto Sun
Plummer raises Barrymore to new heights
Canadian Press
As Plummer was rewarded with a rapturous standing ovation during the curtain call, there was a palpable sense of having seen a piece of history — a national acting treasure at the height of his career.
National Post (published 2-1-11)
What a piece of work Christopher Plummer is in Barrymore
Hamilton Spectator (published 2-5-11)
Plummer's performance is a brilliant piece of theatre
"One performing icon takes on another and the result is theatrical magic. Ever the master, Christopher Plummer treats the audience to an intimate, humorous and delicately touching performance. What a truly wonderful evening."
- Erin Davis, CHFI Radio
“This is how it's done. Christopher Plummer is The Master.”
--Seamus O’Regan, Canada AM
"As Jack Barrymore, Christopher Plummer continues to dazzle and inspire with his panache, verve, theatricality and ability to convey the largeness of Barrymore's life."
-- Lynn Slotkin, The Passionate Playgoer
Christopher Plummer on CTV's Canada AM
The two-time Tony and two-time Emmy Award winning actor discusses his new role as the legendary John Barrymore in ‘Barrymore.’ He also explains how it felt reuniting with the cast of ‘The Sound of Music’ on Oprah.
John Barrymore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Sidney Blyth Barrymore (February 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III. His success continued with motion pictures in various genres in both the silent and sound eras. Barrymore's personal life has been the subject of much writing before and since his passing in 1942. Today John Barrymore is mostly known for his roles in movies like Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Twentieth Century (1934), and Don Juan (1926), the first ever movie to use a Vitaphone soundtrack.
A member of a multi-generation theatrical dynasty, he was the brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, and was the paternal grandfather of Drew Barrymore.
February 15, 1882(1882-02-15)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died May 29, 1942(1942-05-29) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1903–1941
Spouse Katherine Corri Harris (1910–1917)
Blanche Oelrichs (1920–1925) 1 child
Dolores Costello (1928–1934) 2 children
Elaine Barrie (1936–1940)
John Barrymore Biography and acting scenes
|
