Will Smith a Modern Master

Santa Barbara, Calif. – Will Smith was honored with the Modern Master Award – an honor that says he is a master of his craft – at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Smith is nominated for a best-actor Oscar for his performance in “The Pursuit of Happyness” as a struggling single father in San Francisco who beats the odds and goes from rags to riches.

Asked what it takes to be a good father, Smith said patience, compassion and commitment. He’s the father of three in real life, including 7-year-old Jaden, who co-stars in the movie.

“You’ve got to really want to be a good father,” he told reporters on the red carpet outside the Arlington Theatre on Saturday night.

Tom Cruise presented the festival’s Modern Master Award to Smith.

Smith said he was pleased with the film’s success.

“People are enjoying the film and it’s reached a level of critical acclaim; it can’t get any better than this,” he said. “This is such a glorious time, it feels almost like emotional, spiritual greed.”

Bacon uses ‘6 degrees’ notoriety for charity

Washington – Kevin Bacon says he used to think the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” game was a joke that would die out, but since it hasn’t, he is using the notoriety for charity.

“I thought it was definitely going to go the way of eight-track cassettes and pet rocks. But it’s a concept that has sort of hung around in the Zeitgeist,” Bacon told George Stephanopolous on ABC’s “This Week” in a show that aired Sunday.

Bacon said he was “kind of horrified at the idea” that he could be connected to any actor in the universe in six steps, but then he started asking people what could be done with the notion.

Bacon and the nonprofit Network for Good started a Web site, Sixdegrees.org. The site includes a feature to search more than 1 million charities.

Visitors also can see which charities celebrities are supporting financially. And there’s a link to an eBay site where people can bid on “celebrity swag” from the Sundance Film Festival.

“A lot of people are really, really strongly connected to what celebrities are doing,” Bacon said. “So why not have a place where you could also find out what charities they care about, what causes are important to them, and be able to donate right there?”

Angelina Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, dies

Los Angeles – Marcheline Bertrand, actress and mother of Angelina Jolie, has died of cancer, her daughter said Sunday.

Bertrand died Saturday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Jolie said in a news release. No age was provided.

Jolie, her older brother, James Haven, and her boyfriend, Brad Pitt, were at the hospital Saturday, according to the news release.

Bertrand, who had small roles in the movies “Lookin’ to Get Out” in 1982 and “The Man Who Loved Women” in 1983, raised Jolie and her brother after divorcing their father, Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight, when Jolie was a toddler.

A private funeral was planned.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Women’s Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai.