Here are some photos from the Santa Barbara Film Festival over the weekend. Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams were honored with the Cinema Vanguard Awards for their work in Manchester by the Sea. I always forget about Santa Barbara, but it actually has become an increasingly important stop for Oscar hopefuls. They schedule the film festival so it always falls in the heat of the Oscar race, and the film festival hands out awards to everybody who agrees to show up. Actors, directors and writers get to meet with Oscar voters at their second homes, plus they do a lot of extra press and usually there are panel discussions or “conversations.”
For this event, Michelle stuck with her Louis Vuitton contract and chose this buttery LV dress with cutouts. While I have loathed so much from LV in the past few years, I don’t hate this at all. The color warms up Michelle and makes her hair look less white-blonde and little-old-lady/Civil-War-ghost. The gown is incredibly flattering to Michelle’s figure too. As for Casey… I don’t think he has that hobo beard for a film, so maybe he should consider trimming it or just shaving it completely??
Meanwhile, what would have been a pleasant stop at a ritzy-but-low-key film festival now has a sudden urgency, doesn’t it? Ever since the SAG Awards two Sundays ago, every professional Oscar predictor/watcher has severely downgraded Casey’s chance at taking home the Best Actor Oscar. Pre-SAGs, Casey had been a sure thing, despite a quiet but concerted effort to talk more about how he allegedly sexually harassed two women. Everyone thought Casey was a lock. But then Denzel Washington won the SAG for Fences and now everyone is like “it’s anyone’s game!” Will Denzel take home another Oscar? Will people feel like it’s not Casey’s “time” right now? Will Ryan Gosling suddenly start campaigning?? Basically, Casey is being told to get out there more, to be seen, to campaign. Which is why he seemed to be making an effort in Santa Barbara.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I would LIVE for Sexual Harassfleck getting denied that Oscar.
like the lady said – the Academy likes to front like it’s all about humanity, well, how about putting your money where your mouth is by NOT rewarding scum for sexual harassment?
agreed, he really should not win. even nominating him already way too much, especially since his performance wasn’t all that either.
Casey always looks like he’s too precious to be doing the press and campaign work. If his last name wasn’t Affleck would he be able to get away with it?
Casey: The Dave Franco of the Affleck family.
I like Dave Franco, though. And he at least seems to do his job with enthusiasm.
And Casey Affleck was on all the drugs?
Every. Single. One
Also That dress? Looks like 2000s club dress fabric
Child of the ’70’s here! Totally reminds me of the Qiana fabric dresses we wore to school dances. 😒
GingerCrunch, I got married in 1978 and my bridesmaids wore Qiana dresses that actually resemble MW’s dress in color and style. I loved them at the time.
Yes QQ!! I swear I had a dress like this but shorter and black that I wore club hopping back in the day. It was all that shiny ass slinky material back then. Looking back now I shudder, but I sure thought I was bringing the hotness when I was 21 lol
That is a terrible dress.
Seriously. He looks terrible.
Casey and Ben often seem depressed, devoid of any conscience, and scruffy.
Despite Hollywood success and recognition, the Affleck brothers never seem content or stable, with long-suffering wives + children.
Yeah someone should tell him that mangy, moth eaten looking beard only reminds us of the sexual harassment.
To me, it’s not even the beard. It’s the eyes. Ugh
Lol Tiffany, that comment makes both NO sense and PERFECT sense, and I love it. High five! I think I love you.
The dress looks cheap IMO. Weird gold straps and cutouts
I agree. And it seems to hang really badly on her, like it’s a really poor fit. She looks better in more tailored, fitted clothes as she is petite but perfectly proportioned.
Michelle dress is meh bland should’ve went for a more lively colored dress. Ben’s lil bro is disgusting.
This dress sucks. The fit is off, it’s pooling on the floor in a weird way, and I actually think Williams’ more tailored “Civil War ghost” looks (lol every time) rather suit her coloring and frame.
Actually, the beard is for a film he’s in called Light of My Life, a story about survival after/during a pandemic and principal photography is just beginning, so there’s that.
He had that beard in November when I worked at the LA premiere of MbtS. I thought he was a homeless man at first, that’s how gross he looks up close. If PP is just starting now, why has he been sporting it for months
LV clearly gave all its best stuff to Vikander last season. Michelle has been one flop after another.
Why are Casey’s eyes so red? What is going on? He looks like a junkie.
it’s ok, it could be nicer in another colour.
i don’t understand these contracts btw. like it seems that if a star has a contract with louis vuitton or dior they have to wear them all the time, while with for example chanel they can wear what they want fairly often e.g. kristen stewart or keira knightley.
It’s all drawn in out in the contracts. High profile events are usually in the brand they rep (it’s part of why you hire them, you know?) but lower profile events often aren’t included. And you usually see Stewart in Chanel.
God, I hope Denzel wins the Best Actor oscar. The Hollywood Reporter said Denzel was schmoozing and wowing everyone at the Santa Barbara film festival. Casey seems to lack that kind of outgoing personality and there seems to be underlying resentment about how his sexual harassment allegations have been ignored.
I have yet to see Denzel’s performance. The trailer makes it look quite hammy, but that may be misleading. I found the tag line in it about some people build fences to keep people in and others build them to keep people out fairly trite. Casey’s performance to me is all that. Not his behaviour, his performance. I’m not sure why it’s surprising that Michelle is cute, I think she’s cute even in some fugly dress. She is unavoidably cute. The girl can’t help it.
He looks gross (and I bet he is).
I do like the dress on her and I haven’t liked much that she’s worn this season. He looks way too hairy and rodent-eyed.
“Civil-war-ghost” hahahahaha. Perfect.