MOVERS and SHAKERS
The S.B. International Film Fest announced last week that actor Will Smith will be given the Modern Master award. “The
Year: 2006
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SBIFF Coup
One thing’s for certain: Santa Barbara is a perfect town for premiering blockbuster movies. We’ve got the bright lights, the fancy main drag, the cinematic history, the star-studded populace, and the nightlife to make trips up here from Hollywood well worth the drive. What’s not certain is why it’s taken so long for that notion to become a reality.
Paparazzi Peeping
Stars Come Out for Kirk Douglas Award
While an argument could be made that what I do for a living constitutes paparazzism, I tend not to think of it that way. I don’t do stake-outs, engage in high-speed chases, or plumb the depths of dumpsters in the hopes of uncovering a salacious scoop, after all. Being peeped is a friendly, opt-in type of experience; paparazzi-lite. Which is why I tend to feel a bit out of my element when positioned on the edge of the red carpet, angling for a good shot while surrounded by scores of shutterbugs looking to do the same.
Hits and Misses of SBIFF
Nonetheless, this year we tried, so what follows is a roundup-in no particular order-of what our own critics felt were the best and worst parts of this year’s SBIFF.
The View from the Middle
It was one of last weekend’s many illuminating “only at the Film Festival” moments when Haskell Wexler screened his rough-hewn but lovable documentary Who Needs Sleep? at the Lobero Theatre.
Red Carpet Peeps
As the month of January drew to a close, I was feeling giddy: the Film Festival was upon us. Never mind that the events of the designated 11 days would leave me sleep-deprived, blistered, and, likely, hung over (or as I call it in my world, overworked); the fun our town’s fantastic Film Festival packs is well worth a couple of sleepless nights and the cost of a pedicure and a packet (or two) of Morning Relief.
Reefer Makes the Ballot
Lara Cassell makes sense out of Measure P : Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman come to the premiere of Stranger Than Fiction, hosted by the SBIFF : More NPers go to S.L.O. : Richard Berti and Bill Levy on the Appeals docket : Ensemble switcheroo : Chef Rocco mixes it up with Elements’s Paul Becking : Solstice Halloween benefit : Barnaby Conrad at Tecolote
Eastern Exposure
“I love the Cult Asian stuff,” said SBIFF program manager Cevin Cathell, who had a former life as a real film producer. “Maybe it’s because it comes out of cultures,” she said, picking her words carefully, “where the accent is on trying to be so homogenous and mannerly. Whatever it is, these are very strange films and almost all of them are beautiful.”
Toujours Auteur
Once it ruled the art house, or so it seemed. This was the French film, from Renoir to Resnais: movies that seemed uniformly aesthetic, handsome men and iconic female beauties in adult situations worthy of a nation that spawned Flaubert, Folies Bergre, and Emile Zola-yet riddled with contrasts.
Up from the Underground
Yes, it’s well and good that the world at large has come to know the name Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose knock-out performance in Capote is rightfully racking up trophies in the awards season (a Golden Globe and Los Angeles Film Critics Award so far, and an Oscar nomination with good odds for winning).