Brad Pitt receives Maltin Modern Master Award at SBIFF
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --Once upon a time...in Santa Barbara, Brad Pitt graced us with his presence at the 35th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. He received the Maltin Modern Master Award, the highest honor at SBIFF each year.
The 56 year-old hearthrob arrived early to sign autographs and take selfies with fans -- many had been waiting for as long as five hours to get a glimpse of the star.
“My wife calls me her Brad Pitt all the time, so seeing as how Brad Pitt is here tonight, might as well come down and see what he's all about," joked Carpinteria fan, Francis Maxwell.
Some fans were visiting from overseas.
"To be honest, it’s very exciting," shared Marina Garcia, a tourist from Spain. "Like seeing him on screen, and then seeing him in person. It was very cool.”
“It was amazing, it was really exciting. I just see him really from far because it was so crowded. It was a lot of people but we were just like screaming," a group of foreign exchange students from South America shared.
While working the SBIFF red carpet, we asked the A-lister about his next red carpet --he’s nominated for an Oscar for his role in Quentin Tarentino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood".
"Are you feeling lucky for the Oscar's?" reporter Nathalie Vera asked.
“Lucky? I don't know –I'm kind of a one day at a time guy, so I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Brad Pitt said.
In his latest film, the actor-producer also throws Fight Club-esque punches in some scenes. And turns out… he didn’t need a lot of retakes.
"How many shots did it take for you to do that scene in 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood'?" we asked.
“You talking about the fight scene? Oh well, Quentin is pretty economical, we do a few takes and then we move on," he shared.
According to SBIFF, The Modern Master Award “was created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry.”
Past recipients include Glenn Close, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson.
