Bruce Springsteen took center stage at Alice Tully Hall on Sunday night for the New York Film Festival’s spotlight premiere of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere — a deeply personal film that left the Boss visibly moved.
After the screening, the New York crowd gave the film a standing ovation. Jeremy Allen White stars as Springsteen and Jeremy Strong plays his longtime manager Jon Landau. The cast also includes Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, and Gaby Hoffmann. Directed by Scott Cooper, the film explores Springsteen’s difficult childhood and battle with depression as he records his 1982 album Nebraska.
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Bruce Springsteen, Scott Cooper, Jeremy Allen White, and Jeremy StrongKevin Mazur/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios
The 20-time Grammy winner addressed the cast and crew with heartfelt gratitude and spoke about what the film meant to him and his family.
After thanking White and Strong, Springsteen highlighted Graham’s portrayal of the rocker’s troubled dad. “Thank you for being the living embodiment of my late father, who had a very difficult life but was a good-hearted man,” Springsteen said.
Turning to Hoffmann, who portrays his mother, Springsteen added, “And thank you for the wonderful portrayal of my mom. They are all gone now, so it’s nice to have this piece of film.”
He also offered a poignant acknowledgment to Cooper: “He took a very personal moment of my life and he honored my experience and my work, and my family, and I want to thank you deeply.”
Before an acoustic performance of his song “Land of Hope and Dreams,” Springsteen reflected on watching the film with his sister: “I sat with my sister Virginia in one of the screenings and she held my hand during the scene where I’m sitting on my pop’s lap, and after the film ended she said, ‘Isn’t it wonderful that we have this?’ And that’s how I feel about it.”
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere opens in theaters on Oct. 24.
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