Ryan Reynolds is one of Hollywood’s best-known and highest-grossing stars. Celebrating his entire body of work—from Van Wilder to Deadpool to his musical take on Scrooge in the new Spirited holiday film—the Canadian-American actor and Wrexham football club co-owner was recently bestowed the 36th American Cinematheque Award. And as has become tradition in recent years, Reynolds also signed a special-edition magnum of 2016 Château Malartic-Lagravière engraved with his name.
The event—which also honored film producer and Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum—was held Nov. 17 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, with about 600 guests attending, and was the third American Cinematheque Award ceremony with wine sponsored by the Bonnie family, owners of Pessac-Léognan’s Château Malartic-Lagravière and Argentina’s Bodega Diamandes. Véronique Bonnie, co-owner of her family’s estates, previously presented special magnums to Hollywood stars Scarlett Johansson in 2021 and Charlize Theron in 2019.
“We laughed a lot during the evening with the different speakers, and it gave us the impression that we were part of this great family,” Bonnie told Wine Spectator via email. “There are many similarities between making a wine and making a movie: the level of details, the time to grow them and, above all, the emotions they bring.” Raising funds for the American Cinematheque nonprofit, the event supports film screenings at California’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Los Feliz 3 Theatre in Los Feliz and Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood (a fitting match for a Bordeaux wine that sailed the Nile earlier this year).
Alongside the festivities, the Bonnie family donated to Influence Mentoring, a favored charity of Reynolds and his wife, actress Blake Lively, that supports opportunities for Canada’s Indigenous students and recognition of Indigenous history, culture and contemporary challenges.
Bonnie has brought Reynolds’ magnum, now bearing the actor’s autograph, back to the Malartic estate, where it joins the previous two. She indicates this won’t be the last cinematic moment for Malartic-Lagravière, and you can expect to see her family’s Bordeaux on the silver screen again soon, following appearances in films like Taken II (written by vintner Robert Kamen) and on Netflix series Emily in Paris. And stay tuned for a potential Lively-Reynolds family visit to Pessac-Léognan: “I’ve asked Ryan if he enjoyed wine, which he does,” said Bonnie. “I’ve invited [him] and Blake to come and visit Malartic when their agenda and family life will allow for a trip to Bordeaux!”
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