No Fleeting Wisp of Glory
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival had the honor
of hosting all five Oscar nominated directors at the Outstanding Directors
Award tribute this year, creating a scene akin to Camelot’s own Knights of the Round Table.
Film Festival director Roger Durling admitted to being giddy
in the presence of these great men. “Look,” he exclaimed, “my palms are sweaty!”
Durling quickly introduced the night’s moderator, Hollywood Reporter’s own
Scott Feinberg to take over the stage.
The movies directed by the night’s honorees ranged from the
hardship of the uncharted wilderness in America during the 1800s, to the
experience of a boy growing up in the small confines of a room. Movies so different, you get a unique
experience from each one. As director Alejandro Inarritu said, “There are
moments from each that you keep reflecting on after.”
Lenny Abrahamson was being recognized for Room, a movie about a woman held captive
with her five year old son in a small room until they finally gain their
freedom. Abrahamson had to shoot in an actual 11 X 11 room with no walls
removed for filming. “I had to lie flat in the tub during shooting so that I
could not be seen,” he described. It was necessary to keep the authenticity of
the situation and highlighted the courage of this mother to give her child the
chance to have a real childhood under dire circumstances.
Moving from a small room to the great outdoors brought us to
Alejandro Inarritu’s film The Revenant.
The film was shot outside, where Inarritu believed the physicality of the
experience helped enhance the performances of the actors. “They didn’t pretend to be cold, they were
cold,” he explained, “good actors react.” The film was also shot in natural light,
which Inarritu believes is a director’s best ally.
And where do you go from the frontier? To church of course.
Tom McCarthy explores the investigation of allegations against priests of the
Catholic Church in the film Spotlight.
McCarthy and his crew traveled to Boston and did more investigation of their
own, and took what they learned into the film. He was excited to have a great
cast that were able to portray real people and give life to this important
story , one that has had real world impact. The film was screened at the Vatican
and further investigations are underway.
So far the night’s films have covered frontier life, life in
captivity, and misdeeds of priests, so how about some finance now? In the film The Big Short, director Adam McKay brings
Michael Lewis’s book to the big screen. “I knew half way through the book that
it needed to be a movie.” McKay states, “I had to open the story up to the
audience.” Known more for comedy than drama, McKay mixed the two in his
portrayal of the story, which also included a star-studded cast who not only
got the story, but were not worried about their image. According to McKay, they
story isn’t a right wing / left wing one, everyone in 2008 lost their homes and
savings. “The end message,” proclaimed
McKay, “Don’t vote for politicians that take money from banks.”
To end the night, Feinberg made the biggest leap of all – to
the Citadel. George Miller’s film, Mad
Max, follows apocalypse survivors fleeing the Citadel across the desert. It
is as big as a film gets, with major special effects and massive chase scenes. Miller
claims the key to the movie’s success lies entirely with the team amassed to
create the film. “It is critical to get the right team together, like a band,”
attested Miller. “If something went wrong, it would go horribly wrong.”
As the night closed and the directors collected in a group
with Feinberg, it was definitely a stage filled with greatness. Yet with all
the accolades and box office success these men had this year, all five were
quite gracious and humble still, with McCarthy quipping, “I’m honored, but it’s
been going on too long.” I guess its
hard being a legend.