Film fest to honor cast of 'The Big Short — PALM SPRINGS

The opening gala of the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Saturday night has become a regular stop for Academy Awards hopefuls to pitch their films and catch up with fellow actors and directors over dinner at the city's convention centre. The event will run January 1-11.

Then the festival announced that "The Big Short" will be presented with the annual Ensemble Film Award.

Previous recipients of PSIFF's Ensemble Performance Award include Babel, The Social Network, Argo, American Hustle and The Imitation Game, all of which went on to receive best picture Oscar noms after being lined up for this honor.

"Wall Street greed and its reverberating effects on the US economy offer a modern backdrop for director Adam McKay's smart and amusing film The Big Short, adapted from the best-selling book by Michael Lewis", said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.

"Taking a complicated subject - the 2008 subprime mortgage bond crisis - McKay and his perfectly cast stars weave an engaging comedic story of a group of oddball money managers who see the train wreck coming and conspire to benefit", he said.

When four outsiders see what the big banks, media and government regulators refuse to - the impending collapse of the global economy - they have an idea: The Big Short.

The cast also scored a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture as well as an acting nomination for Bale. The film is produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Arnon Milchan.

Honorees also included Saoirse Ronan, Brie Larson, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara, Bryan Cranston, Spotlight director Tom McCarthy and the cast of The Big Short.