Last night was a total knockout at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival with Sylvester Stallone receiving the festival’s esteemed Montecito Award.
SANTA BARBARA, CA – FEBRUARY 09: Actor Sylvester Stallone attends the Montecito Award at the Arlington Theater at the 31st Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9, 2016 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)
Stallone arrived arm-in-arm with his wife Jennifer and made their way into the historic Arlington Theater where Sylvester took the stage and carried a heartfelt dialogue with Deadline’s Pete Hammond.
SANTA BARBARA, CA – FEBRUARY 09: .Actor Sylvester Stallone and model Jennifer Flavin attend the Montecito Award at the Arlington Theater at the 31st Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9, 2016 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)
At the end of the conversation, the original Apollo Creed Carl Weathers recounted his audition for the role of Apollo Creed and presented Stallone with the award.
(Video Credit: YSL Digital Films – Gary, Harlene and William Conlin. Titles by Larry Gleeson)
Guests made their way to the festival’s Hennessey Lounge afterwards to celebrate the evening.
(Source: Press release provided by Santa Barbara International Film Festival)
Carl Weathers will present Sylvester Stallone with the prestigious Montecito Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, reuniting the two stars from the Oscar-winning Rocky.
Stallone is receiving the award for his award-winning performance in Ryan Coogler’s hit film Creed.
Given to a person in the entertainment industry who has made a great contribution to film, the award will be presented to Stallone at a ceremony on Tuesday, February 9, at the historic Arlington Theater.
Weathers famously portrayed Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed in the original Rocky films, first squaring off with the Italian Stallion in Rocky and Rocky II, and returning in Rocky III and Rocky IV as Rocky’s close friend and trainer. The new film, Creed, centers on Apollo’s son, Adonis Creed (played by Michael B. Jordan), who never knew his famous father. But with boxing in his blood, Adonis turns to Rocky Balboa to train him for the ring.
Sylvester Stallone is receiving the prestigious Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s (SBIFF) Montecito Award at the historic Santa Barbara Arlington Theatre on Thursday February 9, 2016 at 8:00 PM. Stallone will be honored for his critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated role in Ryan Coogler’s emotionally contoured boxing film Creed.
The Montecito Award is named after one of the most beautiful and stylish areas in Santa Barbara and is given to a person in the entertainment industry who has made a great contribution to film. Past recipients include Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Javier Bardem, Bill Condon, and Naomi Watts. Hennessy Paradis Imperial is presenting the award. Click here for tickets.
SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling had this to say about this year’s recipient:
“Sylvester Stallone’s performance in Creed has reminded us of what a true talent he is and what a joy it is to share in his successes as the many beloved characters he has created. Since he first hit the silver screen as Rocky Balboa nearly four decades ago, he has been a force in the industry both on film and behind the scenes. He is a true legend in our field, and it is our privilege to present him with the Montecito Award, and to continue to honor his legacy.”
Stallone first established worldwide recognition as an actor and filmmaker when he starred in 1976’s “Rocky,” from his own screenplay. Both a critical and box office hit, the film garnered 10 Academy Award nominations including Stallone for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Most recently, Stallone received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for “Creed,” becoming only the sixth actor in Academy history to be nominated for playing the same role in two different films.
Stallone’s many film credits include the “Rocky” and “Rambo” films, “Copland,” “Tango & Cash,” “F.I.S.T.,” “Victory” and “Nighthawks.”
In addition to his extensive film career, Stallone is an accomplished artist, completing paintings on canvas as well as sculpture work. He has had impressive exhibitions at Art Basil, The Russian State Museum and, most recently, at the Nice Museum of Contemporary Art in France.
The festival previously honored Jane Fonda (Youth) with its Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film and will honor Johnny Depp (Black Mass) with the Maltin Modern Master Award; Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams (Spotlight) with the American Riviera Award; and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex Machina), Géza Röhrig (Son of Saul), Elizabeth Banks and Paul Dano (Love & Mercy), Joel Edgerton (Black Mass), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) and Jacob Tremblay (Room), with its Virtuosos Award.
The Opening night film is Paramount Pictures in conjunction with On Animation Studio’s U.S. premiere of “The Little Prince”.
“The Little Prince” is based on Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic tale Le Petit Prince. Writers Irena Brignull and Bob Persichetti have created an original narrative interfused with elements of the novel.
If air travel is required for your attendance, Alaska Airlines, the official airline for the 31st Santa Barbara International Film Festival, is offering 10% discounts on airfare between Santa Barbara, Los Angeles or Burbank, California and any of Alaska Airlines departure cities (excluding Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica and Prudhoe Bay) from February 2nd through February 16th, 2016. Book by February 16, 2016. Click here. Discounts are automatically applied. Restrictions apply. See site for details. Stay tuned for more recent developments and for the latest updates!
