Denzel Washington: The 47th AFI Life Achievement Award recipient

[jakeem]

The two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington will become the 47th recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, it was announced today.

The veteran actor, director and producer will be honored at an event to be held in Los Angeles on June 6, 2019. The AFI's annual tribute traditionally is televised later by TNT and Turner Classic Movies.

"Denzel Washington is an American icon," said Howard Stringer, who chairs the AFI Board of Trustees. "As an actor, he stands tall as a heroic, stoic embodiment of the best in all of us, and he does so with heart, humanity, and one of the brightest smiles to ever light up the screen. Equally formidable as director and producer, he is a creative force to be reckoned with -- and one of the most vital, relevant artists working today. AFI is proud to present him with its 47th Life Achievement Award."

Washington is one of 13 performers who have received at least eight Oscar nominations for acting. They are:

• Meryl Streep (21 nominations, three wins).
• Katharine Hepburn (12 nominations, four wins). 
• Jack Nicholson (12 nominations, three wins). 
• Bette Davis (10 nominations, two wins). 
• Sir Laurence Olivier (10 nominations, one win). 
• Spencer Tracy (nine nominations, two wins). 
• Paul Newman (nine nominations, one win). 
• Washington (eight nominations, two wins).
• Marlon Brando (eight nominations, two wins). 
• Jack Lemmon (eight nominations, two wins). 
• Al Pacino (eight nominations, one win).
• Geraldine Page (eight nominatons, one win). 
• Peter O'Toole (eight nominations, no wins). 

His eight Oscar nominations are more than any other African-American actor has ever received (Morgan Freeman, the 39th AFI honoree, has five). Washington won a 1989 Best Supporting Actor award for his performance as a defiant slave-turned-Union soldier in "Glory" and a 2001 Best Actor award for his work as a renegade Los Angeles undercover cop in "Training Day." His other nominations were for "Cry Freedom" (1987, Best Supporting Actor), "Malcolm X" (1992, Best Actor), "The Hurricane" (1999, Best Actor), "Flight" (2012, Best Actor), "Fences" (2016, Best Actor) and "Roman J. Israel, Esq." (2017, Best Actor).

He's actually received nine Academy Award nominations. He was recognized as one of the producers of "Fences," which was nominated for Best Picture of 2016. He also directed the film.

Here is a list of the previous AFI honorees:

1973 John Ford 

 

1974 James Cagney 

 

1975 Orson Welles 

 

1976 William Wyler 

 

1977 Bette Davis (first female honoree)

 

1978 Henry Fonda (daughter Jane honored in 2014)

 

1979 Sir Alfred Hitchcock

 

1980 James Stewart

 

1981 Fred Astaire 

 

1982 Frank Capra 

 

1983 John Huston 

 

1984 Lillian Gish (oldest honoree at 90)

 

1985 Gene Kelly 

 

1986 Billy Wilder 

 

1987 Barbara Stanwyck 

 

1988 Jack Lemmon 

 

1989 Gregory Peck 

 

1990 Sir David Lean 

 

1991 Kirk Douglas (son Michael honored in 2009)

 

1992 Sidney Poitier (first African-American honoree)

 

1993 Elizabeth Taylor 

 

1994 Jack Nicholson 

 

1995 Steven Spielberg 

 

1996 Clint Eastwood 

 

1997 Martin Scorsese 

 

1998 Robert Wise 

 

1999 Dustin Hoffman 

 

2000 Harrison Ford 

 

2001 Barbra Streisand 

 

2002 Tom Hanks (youngest honoree at 45)

 

2003 Robert De Niro 

 

2004 Meryl Streep 

 

2005 George Lucas

 

2006 Sir Sean Connery

 

2007 Al Pacino 

 

2008 Warren Beatty (sister Shirley MacLaine honored in 2012)

 

2009 Michael Douglas (father Kirk honored in 1991)

 

2010 Mike Nichols

 

2011 Morgan Freeman

 

2012 Shirley MacLaine (brother Warren Beatty honored in 2008)

 

2013 Mel Brooks (first honoree known primarily for comedy)

 

2014 Jane Fonda (father Henry honored in 1978)

 

2015 Steve Martin

 

2016 John Williams (first composer honored)

 

2017 Diane Keaton

 

2018 George Clooney

[CinemaInternational]

I hope that when TCM shows the tribute next year that they decide to show Cry Freedom. It was his first Oscar nomination and it was a wonderful film that is sadly overlooked today.

[LsDoorMat]

It's about time he got that award.

[jakeem]

2 hours ago, CinemaInternational said:

I hope that when TCM shows the tribute next year that they decide to show Cry Freedom. It was his first Oscar nomination and it was a wonderful film that is sadly overlooked today.

I wouldn't mind seeing "Devil in a Blue Dress" again. Washington played 1940s detective Easy Rawlins in the 1995 mystery based on the book by Walter Mosley. The first time I saw it was on TCM during its memorable March 2007 spotlight on detective movies. 

The "Watching the Detectives" promo aired that month on TCM was one of its best ever.

 

[sewhite2000]

I remember that promo! Virtually every promo/tribute TCM has ever aired features a song I've never heard before. While I have no objections to being exposed to new music, I did appreciate at least once, TCM presumably coughed up a little more and used a song from a more big-time artist and one of my favorite songs at that. 

[TomJH]

I really enjoyed watching Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress, as well. I was sorry there couldn't have been an Easy Rawlins series of films with him.

Washington is one of my favourite actors in the business today. A great actor when given the right material (Fences recently showed how strong he could be), and a towering screen presence.

[jakeem]

6 hours ago, TomJH said:

I really enjoyed watching Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress, as well. I was sorry there couldn't have been an Easy Rawlins series of films with him.

Washington is one of my favourite actors in the business today. A great actor when given the right material (Fences recently showed how strong he could be), and a towering screen presence.

I don't know how he held out for so long, but Washington didn't star in a sequel until "The Equalizer 2," which opened in July and became a worldwide box-office hit like the 2014 first installment.

[sewhite2000]

To some extent, he's followed Liam Neeson into AARP-age action hero territory, though he still makes dramas like Fences. I would have liked to have seen him do more romances in his career, like Mississippi Masala. He would have been great at that, but that's not a genre much in favor these days (although I think the new version of A Star is Born is poised to be a big hit). It's certainly a sign of respect among those in the industry that he got an Oscar nomination for Roman J. Israel, Esq., a film that didn't do any box office at all and got only fair reviews from the critics. I would have thought a lot of Academy members might not have even heard of it.

[jakeem]

12 minutes ago, sewhite2000 said:

To some extent, he's followed Liam Neeson into AARP-age action hero territory, though he still makes dramas like Fences. I would have liked to have seen him do more romances in his career, like Mississippi Masala. He would have been great at that, but that's not a genre much in favor these days (although I think the new version of A Star is Born is poised to be a big hit). It's certainly a sign of respect among those in the industry that he got an Oscar nomination for Roman J. Israel, Esq., a film that didn't do any box office at all and got only fair reviews from the critics. I would have thought a lot of Academy members might not have even heard of it.

It's amazing that he hasn't done more romantic comedies -- like Sir Kenneth Branagh's 1993 version of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" -- or a superhero film based on Marvel and DC Comics characters.

 

[Swithin]

21 hours ago, jakeem said:

The two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington will become the 47th recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, it was announced today.

So pleased to hear this. He went to my university and endowed the Chair of the Theater Department there. He often returns for various projects:

https://www.fordham.edu/info/26211/hall_of_honor/9558/denzel_washington/1

 

[jakeem]

4 minutes ago, Swithin said:

So pleased to hear this. He went to my university and endowed the Chair of the Theater Department there. He often returns for various projects:

https://www.fordham.edu/info/26211/hall_of_honor/9558/denzel_washington/1

 

"At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better, it’s about what you’ve given back."

- Denzel Washington

[TomJH]

With the black superstars that we have in the movies today, it would be interesting to see Washington as the fading star in a new version of A Star Is Born. He certainly has the dramatic chops to make a poignant impression. However, considering the current release of that film, that's not too likely now.

[jakeem]

On 10/6/2018 at 11:37 AM, TomJH said:

With the black superstars that we have in the movies today, it would be interesting to see Washington as the fading star in a new version of A Star Is Born. He certainly has the dramatic chops to make a poignant impression. However, considering the current release of that film, that's not too likely now.

I've always thought it would be interesting to do a remake of "Paris Blues" (1961) with Washington and Russell Crowe as the expatriate musicians and Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry as the visiting schoolteachers. Martin Ritt's original film starred Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll.

All of the current stars have connections -- sort of. 

1. Washington and Crowe appeared together in the films "Virtuosity" (1995) and "American Gangster" (2007).

2. Crowe and Kidman play a married couple in the upcoming dramatic feature film "Boy Erased."

3. Washington and Berry won leading performer Academy Awards on the same night (March 24, 2002).

4. It was Crowe who presented Berry with her Best Actress Oscar for "Monster's Ball."

5. A year later, Washington presented the Best Actress Oscar to Kidman for her performance in "The Hours."

6. In 2008, Kidman and Berry were among the actresses who received Icon awards at Elle Magazine's 15th annual Women in Hollywood tribute.

[jakeem]

During the weekend of August 10-12, both Washington and his eldest son John David (pictured below left) starred in movies in the Top 10 at the domestic box office.

The younger Washington had the lead role an undercover police officer in Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," which was No. 5 with a total gross of $10,845,330 million during its first weekend. It has grossed more than $80 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million.

Denzel Washington's "The Equalizer 2," which had been the No. 1 movie three weeks earlier, came in at No. 8 with a total gross of $5,408,237 million ($89.5 million overall). It has since grossed $187.6 million worldwide against a budget of $62 million.

John David Washington co-stars with Dwayne Johnson in the HBO football-oriented comedy/drama series "Ballers."

[ClassicMovies_fan_chick]

They should honor him the same way they did the George Clooney salute.

Show the award show and at least two of his best films.

I think they should show the films he won his Oscars for: Glory and Malcolm X

 

[LawrenceA]

2 minutes ago, ClassicMovies_fan_chick said:

They should honor him the same way they did the George Clooney salute.

Show the award show and at least two of his best films.

I think they should show the films he won his Oscars for: Glory and Malcolm X

 

I agree that they should show Malcolm X, but he didn't win the Oscar that year. He lost to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.

Washington won his second Oscar for 2001's Training Day.

[ClassicMovies_fan_chick]

5 minutes ago, LawrenceA said:

I agree that they should show Malcolm X, but he didn't win the Oscar that year. He lost to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.

Washington won his second Oscar for 2001's Training Day.

Oops!

I forgot!

Well, I haven't ever seen TCM show modern Crime films yet. 'Training Day' would be the first!

[Hibi]

Another man.........

[Zea]

So many wonderful performances, it's hard to single out any one in particular. But if I had to, my first thought goes to "FLIGHT". I've seen him good, great, memorable and inspiring from his stint on tv's "St. Elsewhere" to the present. But in "FLIGHT" he surpassed all those accolades and more.

 

[sewhite2000]

Ha, ha, I must admit my favorite scenes were when he was pouring vodka into the orange juice, sniffing coke in bedrooms with naked women and otherwise acting totally irresponsibly, NOT any scene where he was showing some form of moral redemption. But maybe that says something about me ...

[jakeem]

44 minutes ago, sewhite2000 said:

Ha, ha, I must admit my favorite scenes were when he was pouring vodka into the orange juice, sniffing coke in bedrooms with naked women and otherwise acting totally irresponsibly, NOT any scene where he was showing some form of moral redemption. But maybe that says something about me ...

NOTHING beats the scenes in which pilot Whip Whitaker -- despite some recreational substance use -- flies a passenger plane upside down in an effort to save it. 

 

[TomJH]

That plane roll scene in Flight is one great sequence, with Denzel's cool headed in control performance bringing credible power to the presentation.

And I'll tell you something else: substance abuser or not, I'd rather have Whip Whitaker at the controls of any plane in crisis I was on than that squirming, squealing co pilot who will be so damn judgmental of Whip after this sequence.

[spence]

FIRST THINGS FIRST, WROITE ABOUT 20 MINUTES ON A REVIEW & MORE ON THE PREVIOUS "A STAR IS BORN" 4th REMAKE & TCM MODERAORS DID THIS DSAME OLD SAME AGAIN & IMMEDIATELY AFTER POSTING-(OOPS, DID NOPT ONCE AGHAIN GET TO POST IT?) IT WENT BYE, YE, AGAIN?????

THIS IS EVER SO RIDICVULOIUS I FIND IF I WROTE A RATHER LENGTHY POST THIS OCCURS WITHIN LAST COUPLE OF YRS, WASN;'T EVER LIKE THIS WHEN I HAD A DIFFERENT HANDLE & WITH CURRENT HANDLKE THEN, BACK IN 01 EVEN)

 

ANY TIPS?

[spence]

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 1:12 PM, jakeem said:

I've always thought it would be interesting to do a remake of "Paris Blues" (1961) with Washington and Russell Crowe as the expatriate musicians and Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry as the visiting schoolteachers. Martin Ritt's original film starred Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll.

All of the current stars have connections -- sort of. 

1. Washington and Crowe appeared together in the films "Virtuosity" (1995) and "American Gangster" (2007).

2. Crowe and Kidman play a married couple in the upcoming dramatic feature film "Boy Erased."

3. Washington and Berry won leading performer Academy Awards on the same night (March 24, 2002).

4. It was Crowe who presented Berry with her Best Actress Oscar for "Monster's Ball."

5. A year later, Washington presented the Best Actress Oscar to Kidman for her performance in "The Hours."

6. In 2008, Kidman and Berry were among the actresses who received Icon awards at Elle Magazine's 15th annual Women in Hollywood tribute.

*Nicole & *Crowe have a new film that was already scheduled for release titled ("BOY ERASED") as for her-(easily ranks among Hollywoods top ten "MOST BEAUTIFUL ACTRESSES") She has a new film that just screams *OSCAR bait , I knew it's title but 40get right this moment)

 

Many blacks don;'t really consider as being the first black actress to deserve Best Actress-("MONSTER'S BALL") In my view she really deserved to WALK-DOWN-THAT-AISLE for it though!  Meaning, most other black actresses & even actors say she did not or is not truly considered   BLACK, due to her being 1/2 white?

 

 

[spence]

1 minute ago, spence said:

*Nicole & *Crowe have a new film that was already scheduled for release titled ("BOY ERASED") as for her-(easily ranks among Hollywoods top ten "MOST BEAUTIFUL ACTRESSES") She has a new film that just screams *OSCAR bait , I knew it's title but 40get right this moment)

 

Many blacks don;'t really consider as being the first black actress to deserve Best Actress-("MONSTER'S BALL") In my view she really deserved to WALK-DOWN-THAT-AISLE for it though!  Meaning, most other black actresses & even actors say she did not or is not truly considered   BLACK, due to her being 1/2 white?

 

 

Though '95's VIRUOSITY was a mess (*1/2) & only hit $24 million, AMERICAN GANGSTER & *Crowe once again with now 81yr old filmmaker & *Denzel as the still-alive FRANK LUCAS-0(in a wheelchair for decades now though) very powerful on most levels I gave it a strong 3 & almost 3 & 1/2) & also a crowd pleaser at approx. $135m. in ticket sales, but only garnered 2 nods for then 83 or more RUBIE DEE & it's ART-DIRECION  (NBOTE: WHO SAW SCOTT'S ALTERNATE ENDING, MOST OF THE TIME DIRECTORS ARE ON THE $$$ WHEN CHANMGING THINGS & I KINDA' PREFER It'S FINAL CUT