Finally the weather has turned cold, which means the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is in mere months. As such, the SBIFF has announced the first of its 2016 award recipients — Johnny Depp. The dynamic actor will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award, which is bestowed upon those whose careers show a breadth and depth of roles that have enriched the tapestry of the film industry. Depp has achieved this in spades, showing his acting range in movies like Edward Scissorhands, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Blow, Sweeney Todd, Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and this year’s Black Mass, in which he rendered a critically acclaimed portrayal of Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger.
Previous Modern Master Award recipients include Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney, and Peter Jackson. Depp will be honored Saturday, February 6, at the Arlington Theatre. For more information, see sbiff.org.