David O. Russell- SBIFF 2014 Outstanding Director Award

All of this actually happened.

Scene one opens with film fest president Doug Stone perched at the podium. The historic Arlington Theatre is awash in pastel pinks and purples on this second night of the 29^th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival as folks settle in for an evening with the humble, the gracious Mr. David O. Russell, renowned director, academy award nominee, and storyteller extraordinaire. Mr. Stone wastes no time in hastily bringing film fest executive director Roger Durling on stage.

As Durling nervously stumbles through his introductory speech freckled with awe and accolades, a backward glance catches Mr. Russell sitting pensively in the audience, head bowed with eyes closed, hands palmed together, a tender vision of a man absorbing praise in a most humble fashion. Roger invites the guest of honor to join him; David hops out of his seat and jogs on stage, leaving disgruntled photographers in his wake.

Known most recently for his trifecta of cinematic genius in The Fighter (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and American Hustle (2013), David tells us the story of how he started out small submitting short films to the Sundance Film Festival twenty years ago. His passion grew from parents working at a publishing company, one a salesman, the other a secretary. Surrounded by and deeply inspired by books, David found great joy in tinkering with the typewriter pulling short stories together. His zest for sharing the truth and depth of humanity has grown immensely over the years, earning his three powerhouse films a total of twenty-five Oscar nominations, eleven for acting and three for directing among others, with three wins thus far.

Scene two brings with it a backdrop of soft color, David and Roger sitting in tandem with two golden goblets accenting the set. Roger pours a bit of water for both parties, re-caps the bottle and places it on the table. David picks it back up and pours the rest out, topping off both glasses and setting the tone for the evening. He is comfortable. He is candescent. He is all in, and he is in control. Glasses clink and the interview commences while the crowd laughs in the background.

Roger Durling poses questions about each film Russell has directed starting with the darkly comedic story of incest presented in Spanking the Monkey (1994). David has this gift of intertwining spiritual insight and comedy, taking his audience through a whole gamut of emotions. “I live for that,” says David, “following the instinct of what is true and human, it’s operatic.” The storyline from Spanking the Monkey stemmed from a daydream Russell had while serving on a jury. He wrote the story for himself, not intending for it to become a film at the time. “Movies happen when they’re supposed to happen,” remarked Russell. Forcing and over-thinking them results in movies like the existential comedy I Heart Huckabees (2004), which came about during Russell’s self-proclaimed “head in my ass period.”

David’s humor and quirky demeanor knit the night together but it was his passion in exposing the truths of humanity that made the experience so inspiring. He speaks of Three Kings (1999) being a meditation on violence, and shares the compelling argument that having only one camera is more human, more personal, more arresting. There were only five gunshots fired in the whole movie, each one poignant and impactful. No one had really made a movie about the Gulf War and the strangeness of the four days after the war ended. Russell became that person. The success of the film truly launched Russell’s career as a filmmaker.

Later in the evening, Durling refers to the strong female characters present in Russell’s three latest films. “Women are running the world…yes, that’s how it works,” says Russell with a smile. “Strong women are the secret to great cinema.” With this comment, it’s really no surprise that The Fighter’s Melissa Leo would be in house for the presentation of the film festival’s newly created Outstanding Director Award. Leo advises Durling from the audience to “give up!” in reference to regaining control of the interview after Russell’s many tangential anecdotes about everything from telegrams via Western Union to Robert Redford being responsible for his son’s life.

Speaking of David’s son, Silver Linings Playbook is dually inspired by both the novel by Matthew Quick that dear friend Sydney Pollack had shared with Russell (David gets emotional when speaking of Sydney), as well as the authentic insight and experience Russell has endured in having a son with bipolar disorder. Russell’s practice is continually inspired by raw instinct, personal experience, and authentic human emotion. His “re-invention” trilogy (The Fighter, Silver Linings, and American Hustle) speaks to Russell’s belief that life is the ancilla of art. Life is ancillary to art, and not the other way around. Life exists to support art. “The story is an excuse to show the range of human emotion.” Exposing the depth of truth and human emotion are Russell’s art. “Sanity and insanity are sometimes very blurred,” says Russell, “people’s ideas of their lives overpower their actual lives.” Depth and truth are what he is seeking in his work. Everyone has the right to re-invent themselves.

Scene three wraps up the evening as Melissa Leo arrives on stage to present the award. With a double kiss on the lips, flowers and trophies are exchanged and David O. Russell bids us adieu leaving us all enchanted by his charming charisma. We sit back in revelry, awash in the glowing after-light of a truly mesmerizing experience. Early in the night Russell shared some advice from a fellow writer that we’ll take with us as a parting gift, “walk slowly, and drink lots of water. What seems like the worst thing can be the best thing,”

Aaand….scene.