Comedian before anything else, actor Adam Sandler was awarded with the Maltin Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival to honor his over 30-year career in the film industry and most recent film, “Jay Kelly.”
The event took place on Feb. 5 at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre, and audience members would have been hard-pressed to not let out a chuckle during the tribute. Sandler and Leonard Maltin,film historian and namesake of the award, spent the hour discussing their shared alma mater, New York University; watching clips from Sandler’s multifaceted career and learning how Sandler got into the industry — he originally wanted to be a songwriter (which he still is in some ways).
Actor and comedian Adam Sandler sat down with film historian Leonard Maltin to reminiscence on his thirty plus year career in the film industry. (Bryce Hutchins / Daily Nexus)
Sandler credited his older brother with his comedy career. When he was 17 years old and undecided about his future, his brother at Boston University told him to look into comedy and set him up with his first gig at a stand-up comedy club.
“I did five minutes … and I didn’t get one laugh. They just stared at me,” Sandler said.
He shared that he was also dressed in a button-up shirt gifted to him by his uncle Michael, white pants and a retainer in his mouth. Because Sandler went into the gig not understanding what his older brother meant by “material,” he tweaked his approach for the next time. He attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts the following year, where he wrote “Billy Madison” with his roommate, Tim Herlihy.
“I always said in the back of my head, ‘I want to be a comedian but maybe one day I can surprise them by being in a movie like James Connor’ … I lucked out. I got to do it,” Sandler said.
“You have to work hard when you’re given lucky opportunities. You got to be prepared and put in the work,” Sandler said on “Billy Madison.”
In a red carpet interview with the Nexus, Sandler touched on his most difficult roles to prepare for across both comedy and drama films.
“As I get older all the roles are a little tougher … I start studying my lines five months in advance now because I keep forgetting them,” Sandler said.
Over the course of the evening, Sandler touched on a wide variety of his movies. From his earliest acting and writing days in “Happy Gilmore” to “Jay Kelly,” his most recent film, it was clear that, while comedy may seem like the easier route to take, it’s not.
“There is a long-standing, often-debated belief that comedy is easier than drama. To me, that’s bullshit. Making people laugh with genuine laughs is harder, in my book,” Roger Durling, executive director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), said in his opening speech.
Growing up, Sandler’s favorite comedian was Jerry Lewis and a photo of the two of them sits in his office. He reminisced on watching Lewis with his dad, specifically on the day before his grandfather died.
“I remember the day my grandpa died … I remember being at home, being upset and … Jerry Lewis came on. I remember laying there watching Jerry Lewis and feeling good again,” Sandler said.
On current stand-up comedians, Sandler is admirable of their honesty. When he was younger, he would get jealous or intimidated by comedians with better material or bigger laughs. Now that he’s older, Sandler remarked on the fact that he can just appreciate other comedians, especially all the new ones.
While a majority of the evening was centered around comedy, watching clips from films like “Happy Gilmore,” “The Waterboy,” “Big Daddy” and “50 First Dates,” Maltin asked about his more serious movie, “Uncut Gems.” As “Uncut Gems” director Josh Safdie, one half of the Safdie brothers and director of Academy Award-nominated movie “Marty Supreme” is also set to be honored at SBIFF, “Uncut Gems” feels much more relevant.
“I kept thinking they were skateboarders,” Sandler said on his first impression of the Safdie brothers. They reached out to Sandler to play the lead in “Uncut Gems” and, after watching one of their films, “Good Time,” Sandler agreed.
“We had fun making that movie together. It was one of the highlights of my life,” Sandler said. “When you are doing something that you are passionate about, there’s nothing that bothers you on the set … On movies like that, when I hear we are wrapping, I’m like ‘Why? Why are we wrapping?’” Sandler continued.
Sandler thanked those important to him at the end of the evening, including In-N-Out and Hawaiian shirts. (Bryce Hutchins/ Daily Nexus).
Sandler’s most recent movie, “Jay Kelly” was not nominated for an Academy Award, but Sandler expressed the same amount of pride as if it did.
“Everyone who did get the nomination, they were fucking great. So it made sense. It doesn’t bug me that much. I do feel nothing but pride for that movie,” Sandler said.
Earlier in the conversation with Maltin, Sandler shared that his favorite actor growing up was Dustin Hoffman. At the end of the evening, Hoffman came onstage to present the award.
“Adam Sandler has an instinct that can’t be taught … What people sometimes underestimate is what resonates most about Adam — his humanity and his heart,” Hoffman said.
Before the ceremony ended, Sandler shared a few words of gratitude for the people, places and things that have helped him get to where he is now. He specifically mentioned the In-N-Out Burger “Flying Dutchman” and his quintessential triple extra large Hawaiian shirts.
“To my mom, Judy, thanks for always saying when I was young that I was the best at everything. And that I was going to become a big star someday. Thank you to my dad for saying to my mom, ‘What the fuck are you talking about? That kid is a fucking idiot,’” Sandler said.
The rest of his thank-you’s followed suit, a snippet into Sandler’s comedian side. After the tribute event, he left the same way he arrived — driving himself instead of taking an SUV — and having a late dinner at In-N-Out.
