Bullock to receive Film Fest's American Riviera Award

By COLBY FRAZIER — Dec. 2, 2009

Sandra Bullock, a mainstay on the big screen who has starred in “A Time to Kill, “28 Days,” and most recently, “The Blind Side,” will be honored with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s American Riviera Award, festival officials announced.

The award, in its seventh year, is given to an actor or actress who has a strong influence on American cinema.

“Bullock’s career-capping performance in ‘The Blind Side’ encompasses everything we have loved about her since the early 90s, from the deft physical comedy in ‘While You Were Sleeping,’ to the mettle of her role in the Academy Award-winning ‘Crash,’ said Roger Durling, the festival’s director. “What a most perfect time to salute this enduring movie star’s lengthy career.”

In “The Blind Side,” which is currently raking in tens of millions of dollars at the box office, Bullock plays a well-to-do woman who takes in a homeless young man who ends up thriving on the football field, and in the real-life version of the story, is now playing in the NFL.

Past recipients of the American Riviera Award include Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane.

The award will be presented to Bullock during a tribute on Friday, Feb. 5 at the Arlington Theatre. The Film Festival, in its 25th year, runs from Feb. 4-14. Ticket information is available at www.sbfilmfestival.org.

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