Ron Gilbert

By Ron Gilbert

After attending this event hosted by festival director Roger Durling who created his Valentine event to Annette which truly came from the heart, I give my vote to Annette Bening for Best Actress. Many reasons moved me to this after seeing clips from her film legacy. 

Her passion for theatre in which presenter and Oscar winner Kevin Costner called her our Katherine Hepburn and a Woman for All Seasons and then told her to come over and give him a hug. This was part of the final moments of the tribute and Annette was gracious in her acceptance speech but let’s start from the beginning.

Host and director Roger Durling told his personal about a Valentine day gift which brought him to the Broadway play Coastal disturbances and seeing Annette in it. He was so filled with emotion and the audience could feel it in the packed house at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. He had created an array of films with music with the editor who did an amazing job , After that he spoke only with constant praise and awe to this 4 times Oscar nominee who won her   2011 Golden Globe best actress award for  Comedy or Musical for her performance in director Lisa Cholodenko’s film “The Kids are Alright”. But Annette goes much further using her brilliant talent to explore the depths of her portrayal of a married lesbian couple with 2 children whose sperm donor was my buddy Mark Ruffalo who also is nominated for an Oscar. This film is not your formula comedy film, So I sat and heard and watched Annette and her responses to Roger as he continued with more short scenes from films like Being Julia with Jeremy Irons, Open Range with Kevin Costner, Love Affair with Warren Beatty, The Grifters with John Cusack, Valmont with Colin Firth, Bugsy with Warren Beatty, American Beauty, Mars Attack with Jack Nicolson, The American President with Michael Douglas, Richard III with Ian McKellen and her Spirit Nominated film Mother and Child. What you see is a body of work that surpasses many talented actors who have won Oscars. She runs the gamut from film to theatre in addition to being a wife and mother of 4 children. No one can match her life or measure up to her talents or her love of her craft.

As Roger asked how she approached each role, she mentioned the father of modern acting Kostantin Stanislavski and getting into the unconscious state of the character. How working in film is more visual so less dialogue is better than when you work in a play and how directors talk a lot more in theatre than film. She mentioned her techniques and what stuck with me are the shoes that she wears which affect her performance. I hope that she is wearing the appropriate shoes when they open the envelop and call out her name for best actress and the audience would give her a standing ovation as they did tonight as she expressed how honored she was. Annette Bening you honor us with your presence on the screen.

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