Theater News

Film Version of Barrymore, Starring Christopher Plummer, to Premiere in Select Movie Theaters May 2012

Christopher Plummer
(© David Gordon)
Christopher Plummer
(© David Gordon)

The film, Barrymore, starring Christopher Plummer, will be shown at select cinemas in Canada beginning in May 2012 and throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries in October 2012. The film is directed, and adapted for the screen, by Érik Canuel.


Set in 1942, the film is adapted from William Luce’s play of the same name, and follows acclaimed American actor John Barrymore (played by Plummer), a member of one of Hollywood’s most well known multi-generational theatrical dynasties. No longer a leading box office star, the film finds him reckoning with the ravages of his life of excess. He has rented a grand, old theatre to rehearse for a backer’s audition to raise money for a revival of his 1920 Broadway triumph in Richard III. It leads him to look back on the highs and lows of his stunning career and remarkable life.

The film also features John Plumpis in the role of Frank, the Prompter.

Plummer won a the 1997 Tony for Best Actor in a Play for Barrymore, and in 2011, repeated his performance for multiple high-definition cameras, filmed over seven days on location and on the stage at the Elgin Theater in Toronto.

The 90-minute film is produced by Garth H. Drabinsky.