More hits than misses: that’s the tally of Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s award-winning movie stars who also got an Oscar nomination this week.
The festival books its buzz-worthy actors and filmmakers months ahead, hoping precognition will turn out to be correct, and after Thursday’s announcement, the festival can now claim 15 Academy Award nominees visiting Santa Barbara at the end of this month.
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, both who are receiving the Cinema Vanguard Award and will appear on stage together Feb. 6, received nominations for “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Mr. Scorsese for best director and Mr. DiCaprio for best actor. Mr. Scorsese won his first Oscar in 2012 for “Hugo,” and for Mr. DiCaprio this is his fourth nomination.
Cate Blanchett got a best actress nomination for her lead role in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” and she will also be at the film festival Feb. 1 to receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year award. She’s been nominated five times and won once, in 2005 for “The Aviator” where she played Katharine Hepburn.
Two of the seven Virtuosos who will receive awards on Feb. 4 also received nominations: Jared Leto is up for best supporting actor for “Dallas Buyers Club” and June Squibb got nominated for best supporting actress for “Nebraska.”
The screenplay for “Before Midnight” received a best adapted screenplay nomination, credited to director Richard Linklater and the film’s two stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. That film, along with the other two in the trilogy, “Before Sunset” and “Before Sunrise,” will screen as the closing night films, and all three creators will be on hand for Q-&-A session.
Three of the five best animated feature nominees will be showing at the festival. “Frozen” by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, will be shown as part of “Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies” a free screening to schoolkids, and “The Croods” and “Despicable Me 2” will be part of the free AppleBox screenings.
Three nominees for best foreign feature will also screen as part of regular programming: Belgium’s “Broken Circle Breakdown,” “The Missing Picture” from Cambodia, and “Omar” from Palestine.
“This year has given us some of the greatest collection of movies in decades,” said festival executive director Roger Durling in a press release. “We are proud of all of our 2014 honorees … it’s their incredible work that we look forward to celebrating.”
Several of this year’s festival award winners did not get nominated, though the buzz suggested they might: Emma Thompson, who received great reviews for “Saving Mr. Banks” and Robert Redford, who many talked about Best Actor nomination for “All Is Lost.”
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival begins Jan. 30.