Santa Barbara Celebrates Jeff Bridges Day
Local resident, acclaimed actor holds court at the Lobero Theatre
{Edited Version Published in Santa Barbara News-Press - 2/15/10}
A certain Hallmark holiday took a back seat on Sunday as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival had a different kind of celebration in mind. Jeff Bridges Day, as it was coined, began at 8 a.m. with four of the actor’s 60-plus films shown at the Metro 4. His latest film, “Crazy Heart,” which has earned him his fifth Oscar nomination, played later in the afternoon at the Lobero Theater.
Mr. Bridges and his family are longtime Montecito residents so he certainly qualifies as a favorite son of the local community. Testimony to that, approximately 200 fans were denied access to the screening of “Crazy Heart.” His role as broken down country singer, Bad Blake, has been lauded as the finest performance of his illustrious career.
He arrived at the Lobero in a black SUV with his wife, Susan, and took the time to sign autographs and pose for photos with fans. In the theater’s green room, Mrs. Bridges commented on the perception that her husband is the same on and off the screen. “He’s not The Dude [his iconic character in 1998’s ‘The Big Lebowski’] and he’s not Bad Blake. He’s Jeff and I think there’s probably a little of him in all his characters but the real Jeff is a private person.”
The actor received a warm reception from the sold out theater as he sat down for a Q&A session. The moderator was Kristopher Tapley, a writer for incontention.com. The men shared a natural rapport as Mr. Bridges began to discuss “Crazy Heart.” “When I get a script that concerns music, it piques my interest but the bar is set pretty high because I did ‘The Fabulous Baker Boys.’” He passed on the role until his old friend and musical collaborator, T-Bone Burnett coaxed him into it. He revealed that the genesis for the music in the film occurred 30 years earlier on the set of “Heaven’s Gate” with co-star Kris Kristofferson and Mr. Burnett.
The audience laughed when Mr. Bridges admitted that he avoids taking roles as much as possible. “To do a movie, I’m going to have to be away from my valentine. We’ve already been apart for 11 of the last 14 months. The ones I end up doing are too tempting to turn down.”
His father Lloyd was a major motivator in getting him started as an actor. “Nepotism – that’s what I’m about,” he jested. He was only six months old when he appeared in his first film. Thirty years later, he ended up doing a movie with the same actress who held him in that scene, Jane Greer.
The discussion turned back to “Crazy Heart” as Mr. Bridges praised first-time writer/director Scott Cooper as one of the best he’s ever worked with. Despite being shot in a scant 24 days, he claimed to never feeling rushed. He expressed tremendous satisfaction that co-star, Maggie Gyllenhaal has received the recognition of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. “It’s amazing what can happen when you get two people who are up to the challenge, open their hearts and say, ‘Let’s go!’” When sizing the movie up against the rest of his filmography, he declared it worthy of top five status.
The Q&A session concluded in a manner which seemed premature, having lasted only about 30 minutes. To the actor’s surprise, Mayor Helene Schneider walked onstage to present him with a letter of recognition on behalf of the city. “I want to acknowledge on behalf of the city of Santa Barbara, our own local Dude and acknowledge you for all the work you do in the community and abroad.” She cited the Unity Shop and Dream Foundation as two non-profits he has contributed towards. Mr. Bridges appeared genuinely moved by the gesture.
Al Shriver and Alex Abbott were basking in the glow of what had transpired as they stood near their seats. The couple drove up from Los Angeles specifically to see the film and get a glimpse of the actor in the person. “You can point to five or six amazing performances that resonate in every decade,” Mr. Shriver suggested. “Your dad, your grandfather, your brothers and younger siblings probably have a favorite Jeff Bridges film. That type of career arc is rare these days. All his accolades [for ‘Crazy Heart’] are well-deserved but certainly he could have won for a handful of other roles. I’m just glad his time has come.”
The News-Press shared an intimate moment with the man himself backstage. Critics and directors have asserted that an overriding factor of what makes Mr. Bridges so great is that he doesn’t seem like he’s acting. On this subject, he remarked, “The challenge is to do justice to something you love.” He then invoked a metaphor explaining his perspective: “Another image is the wide receiver going out for that long ball. The touchdown is very close and you just pray to god you don’t drop that ball man.”
Continuing on after a bout of laughter, he conveyed what a fine line it can be in exposing himself too much in certain roles. “You don’t want the magician to tell you how he’s doing the trick because it blows the illusion. So part of the fear of revealing too much is you’re going to deprive the audience of as much enjoyment as they’re going to get from it. There’s the sleight of hand magic which you can reveal but there’s the other kind of magic, the alchemy, which I couldn’t reveal. I could go as deep as my own knowledge would take me but still it goes much deeper than that.” Holding his wife of 32 years close in his arms, the lovebirds ventured out into the warm evening to enjoy a Valentine’s Day, um, Jeff Bridges D
