Adam Sandler, the comedy legend who is earning career-best reviews and best supporting actor Oscar buzz for his dramatic turn opposite George Clooney in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, has been tapped to receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Maltin Modern Master Award, SBIFF announced on Wednesday.
Sandler will collect his honor on Feb. 5, 2026, at Santa Barbara’s historic Arlington Theater, at the conclusion of a career-retrospective conversation, with clips, moderated by the award’s namesake, film critic and historian Leonard Maltin.
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“Adam Sandler won me over when he sang ‘The Hanukkah Song’ on SNL,” Maltin said in a statement, “then amassed a huge following in tailor-made movies like The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer. I love that he’s left his comfort zone and delivered potent performances in Uncut Gems and Jay Kelly. I can’t wait to share the stage with him in Santa Barbara.”
Sandler, post-Saturday Night Live, became a bona fide movie star through goofy but beloved film comedies such as 1995’s Billy Madison, 1996’s Happy Gilmore and 1998’s The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy. He has also not infrequently dabbled in artier fare, including 2002’s Punch-Drunk Love, 2004’s Spanglish, 2007’s Reign Over Me, 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories, 2019’s Uncut Gems and 2023’s Hustle.
But never has his work been better received than in Jay Kelly, in which he plays the manager of Clooney’s eponymous character. Critics have hailed his performance’s blend of warmth, humor and sorrow.
The Modern Master Award was established in 1995, and was renamed after Maltin in 2015. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, past recipients include Angelina Jolie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood and Peter Jackson.
The 41st edition of SBIFF will take place Feb. 4-14, 2026.
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