Matthew Modine honored as movie "Maverick" at Cinequest in San Jose
SAN JOSE -- He was a part of this year's Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer and award-winning actor Matthew Modine is revved up for much more.
The artist recently received a special honor at the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival in San Jose. He said he was grateful to return to the Bay Area.
"It is wonderful to be here. When I was 21, 22 years old, I came here and made a movie called Birdy," he said.
He co-starred with Nicolas Cage in the 1984 film directed by Alan Parker. Modine has been pushing boundaries ever since, starring in productions like Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket and, more recently, the sci-fi series Stranger Things on Netflix.
Modine received the prestigious Maverick Spirit Award at this year's festival, a special honor given to industry luminaries such as Harrison Ford and Rosario Dawson.
He describes his career journey as challenging but certainly rewarding.
"I've worked as an electrician. I've worked as a carpenter. That's hard work and I'm very grateful I've worked in a profession that I've been successful in and been doing for four decades now," he said.
This year's festival theme highlights innovation and Modine believes science and cinema go hand-in-hand.
"It's called the Academy of Motion picture arts and sciences so those people -- when the film industry was just beginning -- had the wisdom to see making films was a science. It's a really interesting time but also a frightening time because of the use of A.I. and what impact it's going to have on the industry."
Modine says he's hopeful that industry leaders will be mindful of protecting talent even as technology advances.
It is a hope shared by Cinequest's CEO Halfdan Hussey.
"It's been about artists, movies, people, technologies. Lifting the hearts and the minds of people, bringing us out of the doldrums and having great faith and hope for the future," Hussey said.
Modine's next film Hard Miles will be released on April 19. He plays a passionate social worker empowering incarcerated youth on an epic, cross-country bike ride.
"You know I'm just really happy to continually be employed. I'm working right now with Robert DeNiro on a show called Zero Day in NYC. So, I'm happy, I'm happy."