SBIFF at the Oscars

The masterful moviemakers of 2023, at least as measured by the powers that be, have been speechifying down in L.A. at the SAG and PGA awards and across the pond for BAFTA. Many of them will likely get one last chance to orate on their opportunities and output at the Oscars, when the Academy Awards are handed out in Hollywood on March 10. But while people from around the world will be tuning in, only a select few thousand of us can say we heard them chat about their films and more in person right here in Santa Barbara just about a month ago. Thanks to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, a huge percentage of the actors, writers, directors, producers and below-the-line personnel who are nominated for the coveted statuettes were part of SBIFF in February, setting what seems to be a new record for the festival.

Herewith, a few select quotes, quips, and quirky comments from stars and others slanted toward those who seem sure to secure a statuette on Sunday night, at least according to the Oscarologists at GoldDerby.com. 

Robert Downey Jr., at the start of his 90-minute program: “Let’s get things moving, this is not the only award I’m accepting tonight.” On his role in Oppenheimer: “It’s probably the best movie I’ve ever been a part of. Hopefully, we are communicating something that transcends.” 

Lily Gladstone (The Killers of the Flower Moon), who was wearing a dress with a huge plume of feathers, on what it means to be first Native American actor ever nominated for an Academy Award after nearly a century: “That’s a lot of years of exclusion and misrepresentation… The honor is shared. A win for one of us means a win for all of us.” 

Paul Giamatti on his embittered schoolteacher character in The Holdovers that he drew on his own experience at a boys school to play: “A lifetime of being around people like this made him more accessible, but also a little overwhelming because so many memories and people came back to me. When I watch this movie, I see them all manifesting in front of me.” 

Emma Stone, on working with her co-star Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things: “Mark has the rare ability to marry pathos and comedy, and I would do anything to be in (his) presence… His character Duncan is debaucherous, lecherous, and treacherous … and watching Mark play him was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had on a set.” 

Billie Eilish, on co-writing “What Was I Made For?”, one of her two nominated songs from Barbie: “It picked me up like a little hook, lifting me out of a dark place.”

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall director and co-screenwriter with life partner Arthur Harari, about the veracity of the suspenseful story: “Working with your husband can be dangerous, but I assure you my significant other is still alive.” 

Cord Jefferson, on both adapting Erasure and directing the movie called American Fiction: “It felt like the book was written specifically for me… Giving it to another director would feel like… losing a child.” 

The Oscars air at 5 pm on March 10. Once again, the Arlington, which hosted all those nominees in February, will show the telecast in hi-def for free.