Stan Lee Honored with ‘Imprint Ceremony’ at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood
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Stan Lee is a staple in the comic book realm and a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. He’s behind some of the most incredible superheroes of all time and his legacy is still being built. The 94-year-old shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
On Tuesday, he was honored in an ‘imprint ceremony’ at Hollywood’s famous TCL Chinese Theatre where he placed his hands and feet in concrete before signing his name around them. Solidifying his spot – as if anyone could ever forget him.
There was a ceremony as well, where some of his friends and people who have credited him for everything from teaching them how to dream to giving them a career path. Todd McFarlane, Kevin Feige, Kevin Smith, Chadwick Boseman and Clark Gregg were all in attendance.
Kevin Smith said what a lot of true comic book fans feel when they think of Stan Lee in his speech, especially in this part.
‘I knew him from a young age. He didn’t teach me to read, but he taught me to enjoy reading. He did not teach me to dream, but he gave me so many things to dream about. He taught me to be proud of what you make and stand up for it as well. It’s not enough to just be the artist that makes it — go out and champion it as well. ‘Who will love it if not you first?‘
Stan went on to speak himself and said that he stays driven because he works in a business that he’d be interested in, even if it weren’t his career path. It’s easy to stay motivated when you love what you do, and it’s even easier to see that this is what he was made to do. Without him, pop culture would be a different thing altogether.
‘It’s so interesting to be interested because the work — comic books and movies — are so exciting to me, that even if I weren’t connected with the business, I’d still be reading about it, wanting to know about it; I love entertainment.’
He went on to say that he’s an incredibly lucky man – the luckiest in the world – because he’s had the right friends and that is everything. He says more than once that he’s lucky, really hitting home the fact that he feels blessed with everything he has. He’s worked hard enough to get to sit back and enjoy it for a while now.
‘I’ve been the luckiest man in the world because I’ve had friends and to have the right friends is everything. People you can depend on, people who tell you the truth if you ask something. I’ve been lucky. I’ve been lucky to have a wonderful wife. And I’m lucky to be standing here in front of you now, wishing desperately that I had written a speech.’
Stan also mentioned that he’s got about 50 unreleased superheroes as well, one with a superpower no one has even seen before. He also said that if he’d realized that he was as awesome as everyone says that he is, well, he would have asked for a raise some time ago.
‘…but I knew him’
