Ryan Coogler, Tessa Thompson, Octavia Spencer and Daniel Kaluuya lead the top-notch lineup of presenters for Michael B. Jordan’s American Cinematheque Tribute. The ‘Sinners’ star and ‘Creed III’ director will become the 39th recipient of the award at a ceremony to be held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on November 20th.
Coogler and Jordan’s long-standing collaboration was one of the most prolific in recent history, directing and starring in five films: Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Wakanda Forever, culminating in the box office smash Sinners. Jordan played twin brothers gangsters Smoke and Stack in the R-rated vampire blockbuster, which grossed $367 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing original horror film of all time.
Thompson starred opposite Jordan in the “Creed” series, and Jordan directed the latest film, “Creed III.” Spencer starred in Fruitvale Station, playing Wanda Johnson, the mother of the late Oscar Grant III (Jordan), a 22-year-old black man killed by BART police in Oakland in 2009. Coogler’s film won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and Jordan established himself as a major talent to watch following his early television work on All My Children and The Final. The Wire and Friday Night Lights. Kaluuya starred opposite Jordan in Black Panther, the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture.
Ben Affleck, Mahershala Ali, Bradley Cooper (who received the American Cinematheque Tribute in 2018), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Phylicia Rashad (Creed) and producer Irwin Winkler (Creed) round out the star-studded list of presenters honoring Jordan’s legacy in film.
The show will also feature a special performance of the film’s original song, “I Lied to You,” by “Sinners” breakout talent Myles Caton, Ludwig Göransson and Rafael Sadik. Additionally, Donna Langley will present Hill Valley’s Power of Cinema Award to Charles H. Rivkin of the Film Society.
Previous American Cinematheque winners include Denzel Washington (who directed Jordan in 2021’s Diary for Jordan), Eddie Murphy, Bette Midler, Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard. , Martin Scorsese, Sean Connery, Michael Douglas, Rob Reiner, Mel Gibson, John Travolta, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jodie Foster, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage, and Nicole. Kidman, Steve Martin, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Samuel L. Jackson, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Jerry Bruckheimer, Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Ridley Scott, Amy Adams, Cooper, Charlize Theron, Spike Lee, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds, Helen Mirren.
Last year, the 38th American Cinematheque Award was presented to Jessica Chastain.
