Quentin Tarantino to receive SBIFF honor

Quentin Tarantino will be presented with the American Riviera Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 30.

The director has attracted a great deal of attention this awards season thanks to his latest film Django Unchained.

Star of the violent movie Leonardo DiCaprio was actually the award’s intended recipient, but had to pull out of the upcoming ceremony at the Arlington Theatre due to scheduling conflicts.

The festival’s executive director Robert Durling expressed his excitement at Quentin accepting the accolade.

"We were obviously saddened by DiCaprio's conflict, but blown away at the chance to honour Tarantino, one of the most stylistically daring directors who is an SBIFF favourite," he gushed to Variety.

The gong is normally presented to an actor who has had a "strong influence on American cinema", but last year the tradition was broken when the prize went to director Martin Scorsese.

Previous winners include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Tommy Lee Jones.

There is also an Oscar buzz surrounding Quentin’s Django Unchained, which is nominated for an Academy Award in the best picture category.

Whereas the movie mogul missed out on a best director nod, he has already broken personal records with the movie.

In North America, the film became the director’s highest earner, cashing in almost $130 million.