Awards season has begun.
“Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo is getting the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film.
Erivo is starring in “Wicked 2: For Good,” coming in December.
Erivo deserves all awards, but the intense push is on for “Wicked 2: For Good” to win a lot of Oscars. Studios arrange with film festivals for the actors from the Oscar-buzzed movies to get these honorariums. The publicity within the Academy, they hope, will turn into gold statues.
Festivals like Santa Barbara and Palm Springs are close by Los Angeles, and that’s where all the action is. Some of these awards are genuine appreciation of an actor’s talent — as in this case. But some — beware — they’re bought and paid for.
Will Erivo win Best Actress in 2026 for playing Elphaba twice? The odds are good, and she’s worked hard for it. Will “Wicked” pull off Best Picture? That remains to be seen.
