Friday night’s tribute to Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Ruffalo went down in front of a capacity crowd gathered at the Arlington Theatre to celebrate the trio being honored with SBIFF’s American Riviera Award.
On the heels of winning the SAG award for best ensemble cast, Keaton, McAdams, and Ruffalo, who was unable to attend but sent a video taped message, spoke highly of working together as a group, not only with their fellow actors but also with the journalists who they were portraying. “Being a part of an ensemble with real chemistry is such an honor and rarity,” said Ruffalo from the screen. Adding that director Tom McCarthy made a great picture thanks to his “subtle restraint in filmmaking that made these pieces come together.”
Rachel McAdams was poised and thoughtful as she spoke of her role as Boston Globe journalist Sacha Pfeiffer, who was in attendance: “Sacha is a compassionate listener…and has an amazing ability to get people to open up. She was integral in getting these survivors to open up — men in their 50s and 60s who didn’t want to [revisit the pain]. I tried to emulate her.” McAdams is also nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. “I couldn’t stop laughing,” she said of learning she was nominated for an Academy Award. “I was not expecting this. I expected it for the film and the director, but I was so surprised I was nominated.”