The Palm Springs International Film Festival has named Jeff Bridges the recipient of its Desert Palm Achievement Award, which the actor and "Crazy Heart" star will receive at the festival’s Awards Gala on January 5, 2010.
Palm Springs had already named another of the year’s best-actor contenders, Morgan Freeman, as the winner of its Career Achievement Award. The festival is also honoring Helen Mirren ("The Last Station"), Anna Kendrick ("Up in the Air") and Mariah Carey ("Precious").
In the press release announcing Bridges’ award, PSIFF chairman Harold Matzner commented, “Jeff Bridges’ career is the very embodiment of the Desert Palm Achievement Award, which was created to acknowledge acting excellence, and years of consistent and memorable work.” Past honorees of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, Jake Gyllenhaal, Liam Neeson, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta and James Stewart.
Another early-2010, Southern California-based film festival that works to lure potential Oscar nominees, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, has announced awards for Sandra Bullock, Colin Firth, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Stanley Tucci, Christoph Waltz and director James Cameron.
