Santa Barbara Film Festival Awards: Bill Murray To Receive Modern Master Award, Joins Honorees List

Patrick Hipes

February 11, 2021, 12:15 PM·2 min read

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UPDATED with latest: The Santa Barbara Film Festival said today that On the Rocks star Bill Murray will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award at this year’s edition, which is set to run March 31-April 10. The honor, which recognizes the actor’s long-standing contributions to the film industry, will be bestowed in a ceremony April 2.

Murray picked up Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for playing Felix Keana opposite Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans in Sofia Coppola’s film.

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“Bill Murray is one of a kind,” Leonard Maltin said in a statement. “He developed a comic persona early on that’s still as potent as ever, while expanding his reach and range as an actor. The boyish goofball in Caddyshack has become a playboy dad in On the Rocks, with many dazzling and daring stops along the way. I have been an unabashed fan, from Ghostbusters to Lost in Translation, so it is a privilege and honor to present Bill Murray with this year’s Maltin Modern Master Award.”

Murray joins a 2021 SBIFF honorees list that includes Amanda Seyfried, who’ll receive the Montecito Award for Mank, and eight recipients of its Virtuosos Award, given annually to a group recognizing their noteworthy performances in film. Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami), Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Sidney Flanigan (Never Rarely Sometimes Always), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian) and Zendaya (Malcolm & Marie) have been set for those honors.

The Virtuosos ceremony April 3 will include a discussion of their work moderated by Turner Classic Movies host and IMDb special correspondent Dave Karger.

Also honored this year will be Delroy Lindo, who will receive the American Riviera Award on April 8 for his role in the ensemble cast of Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Borat 2 star Sacha Baron Cohen will receive Santa Barbara’s Outstanding Performer of the Year Award.

Check back as more SBIFF awards are handed out and this year’s honoree list is filled out.

Modern Master Award

Bill Murray, On the Rocks

Montecito Award

Amanda Seyfried, Mank

Virtuoso Awards

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Kingsley Ben-Adir, One Night in Miami
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Tahar Rahim, The Mauritanian
Zendaya, Malcolm & Marie

American Riviera Award

Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods

Outstanding Performer of the Year Award

Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and The Trial of the Chicago 7

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