Established in 1995, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Modern Master Award was created to honor individuals who have enriched our culture through their multi-faceted accomplishments in the motion picture industry. For 2011, Christopher Nolan joins the illustrious group of past recipients including Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Diane Keaton, Sean Penn, Jeff Bridges, Peter Jackson, George Clooney, Will Smith, Cate Blanchett, Clint Eastwood, and James Cameron. Although it was announced in October that he would be receiving the award for this year, it was last night in Santa Barbara that actor Leonardo DiCaprio presented the director the award.
The evening also included an engaging discussion on the director’s substantial career (that only spans slightly over a decade!) between Christopher Nolan and Pete Hammond. Nolan was asked about his Oscar snub, to which he responded by noting he has been nominated by the DGA three times without a corresponding Oscar nod. “I’m used to it,” he insisted. Producer Emma Thomas also discussed the Lee Smith’s Oscar snub with Incontention at the award’s after party last night. “I thought he was going to win,” Emma exclaimed. You and me both, Emma.
Also taking place last night were the SAG Awards. Inception was only up for one category, Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture, which it won. We, here at NolanFans, would like to congratulate all of the stunt performers who truly did a fantastic job on Inception! Hopefully the majority of them will be back for The Dark Knight Rises. Anyways, you can head over to Incontention to read more about Pete Hammond’s conversation with Nolan, or click-through to our forums to view some more video from the event last night.
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