Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue cover star Michael B. Jordan was the man of the hour at Thursday’s 39th annual American Cinematheque Awards. The actor, producer, and director received the night’s main honor, joining a group of past recipients that includes Martin Scorsese, Denzel Washington, and Julia Roberts. The ceremony also recognized Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, with the Power of Cinema Award, presented by NBCUniversal Entertainment chairman Donna Langley.
The night was organized around different moments in Jordan’s career, each represented by a different celebrity friend. Ben Affleck, Mahershala Ali, Octavia Spencer, Tessa Thompson, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Kaluuya, and Delroy Lindo all made speeches.
Naturally, Jordan’s longtime collaborator Ryan Coogler presented him with his actual award at the end of the night. But not before a surprise video from Tom Cruise played for the audience. “I’ve been watching your career grow over these many years,” Cruise told Jordan. “I admire your talent, your dedication, your constant willingness to learn and push the boundaries of storytelling. Most recently, with Sinners, you gave another outstanding performance. Well, actually you gave two outstanding performances.” Coogler joked afterward that he was not prepared to follow Cruise, but would do his best.
Coogler has worked with Jordan since making his feature directorial debut with 2013’s Fruitvale Station. The filmmaker spoke about their deep connection and collaboration over their years, which began when Coogler cast him in the film. He told a story about meeting Jordan at a Starbucks across the street from Forest Whitaker’s production office and thinking to himself, “I don’t think he knows how big he is…. He’s a movie star in the making.” Later in his conversation with Jordan, Coogler told his future collaborator, “‘I think you’re a star. Let’s do this project together and show the world.’ And this dude looked back at me like it was the first time somebody told him that.” Jordan yelled back from the audience, “It was!” The rest was history, with the duo working together on the Creed series, Black Panther, and then Sinners.
Jordan got emotional throughout the night, especially during Coogler’s presentation. “Everybody talks about chasing dreams,” Jordan said. “Nobody really talks about how to build. What does it actually mean to build? How do you will the thought into existence? I stand on the shoulders of giants and my ancestors.” Jordan thanked his family, especially his mother, whom he called the artist of his family and who sat next to him at the event. “We said our stories deserve to be told, and people overwhelmingly responded,” Jordan said of his collaborations with Coogler. “Kids saw themselves on screens in ways they hadn’t. And that was the whole point.”
