Oscar Nomination – Ted Mills

Colin Firth greets guests in front of the Arlington Theatre before walking down the red carpet at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Friday night. ROBBY BARTHELMESS / NEWS-PRESS — Colin Firth greets guests in front of the Arlington Theatre before walking down the red carpet at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Friday night.
ROBBY BARTHELMESS / NEWS-PRESS

Colin Firth, left, and Nick Hornby pose for a portrait on the red carpet.

Mastroianni, in his perfect ’60s suit, slicked-back hair, and thick black glasses. On the red carpet Saturday night he looked the opposite: relaxed in a charcoal grey suit and open shirt. His role as George Falconer, a gay British man teaching in 1962 Southern California and still grieving over the sudden death of his long-time partner, has earned him both Golden Globe and Oscar nominations (for the latter, his first). It marks not a capping of a career, but yet one more role in a period where Firth has been stretching his talents.

Finola Dwyer is pictured on the red carpet.

But it was this performance in the movie adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s novel that earned Mr. Firth this year’s Outstanding Performance Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Saturday night event.. His “A Single Man” co-star, Julianne Moore, also received an honor, the Montecito Award, on Thursday.

The first thing that strikes you about Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe is the voice. It’s not that one expects the star and title character of the Oscar-nominated film “Precious” to talk in the hesitant mumbled tone heard in the film, but rather that her voice is not even East Coast. Sidibe sounds like a bubbly Valley Girl.

This only emphasizes the astonishing job she does in “Precious,” a harrowing yet uplifting drama about an abused 16-year-old African-American girl. Lee Daniels’ striking directorial debut, based upon the novel Push by Sapphire, mixes grim domestic scenes — featuring a monster of a mother played by comedienne Mo’Nique — with glamorous escapist fantasies. Also appearing in the film are Mariah Carey, who disappears under a black wig to play a social worker, and Lenny Kravitz, playing a male nurse.

Tag: Oscar Nomination

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