SXSW so far...

Started by RegularKarate, March 10, 2003, 04:28:54 PM

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MacGuffin

Wilson Bros. Film Premieres at Texas Fest

The South by Southwest Film Festival, in the heart of Texas, will celebrate some of the state's native sons with its opening-night premiere of "The Wendell Baker Story," a comedy from brothers Luke, Andrew and Owen Wilson, The movie, starring Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Eve Mendes, Eddie Griffin and others, is about a good-hearted ex-con who gets a job at a retirement community where he joins forces with the elderly to fight corruption and win back his girlfriend.

The film is scheduled for March 11, the first night of the festival, which runs through March 19 in the capital city of Austin and will feature nearly 200 features and shorts.

Luke Wilson ("Old School") wrote and stars in the movie, which he co-directed with Andrew, the oldest of the three. He plays an ex-con working at a retirement hotel, where Owen Wilson ("Shanghai Noon") plays the head nurse.

The Wilsons grew up in Dallas, the setting for their first film, the low-budget "Bottle Rocket."

"As film fans and fellow Texans, we have nothing but admiration for the Wilson brothers," festival producer Matt Dentler said Tuesday. "I can't think of a better idea than having their directorial debut launch this year's festival. You want to give audiences a great time, and this is a fantastic way to do it."

Todd Solondz will be in Texas with a screening of his latest movie, "Palindromes" on March 13th, as well as a conversation moderated by Entertainment Weekly writer Owen Gleiberman earlier that day. The discussion will focus on Solondz career, which includes "Storytelling," "Happiness," and "Welcome to the Dollhouse."

Among the films also set to screen at SXSW '05 are a slate of music documentaries, including Margaret Brown's "Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt," Josh Rubin's "Derailroaded" about "Wild Man" Fischer, Jeff Feuerzeig's "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," Bradley Beesley's "The Fearless Freaks" about The Flaming Lips, Gillian Grisman's "Press On" about Robert Randolph, and Keven McAlester's "You're Gonna Miss Me" about Roky Erickson. Other titles will be announced with the festival lineup is revealed in early February.

Panel discussions on tap include a session with the MPAA about movie piracy, a discussion with acquisitions reps from an array of companies, an exploration of the HD DVD v. Blu-ray debate, and a chat with film press.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

The Silver Bullet

Are you all aware that Ghostboy's portmanteau film is premiering at SXSW this year as well?
RABBIT n. pl. rab·bits or rabbit[list=1]
  • Any of various long-eared, short-tailed, burrowing mammals of the family Leporidae.
  • A hare.
    [/list:o][/size]

RegularKarate

So last night was the opener.

I went to see The Wendell Baker Story.

There were some really funny parts, but overall, it was just plain bad.

It was going for "bad Burt Reynolds movie" and it pretty much succeded.  I'm just not into it.

It was akward all around and while it had a great soundtrack (good country music), the music didn't fit well with a lot of the scenes... it felt squeezed in.

The main problem was that it tried to squeeze too many cliched movie moments in and they just didn't work.

I think they could possibly re-edit it and get a fun 90 minute movie, but they would really have to take a lot of the attempts at emotional stuff out of there... otherwise, it's kind of a mess.

pete

go see David Garza perform at the cactus cafe I think on the 19th.  you austiners are so lucky.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

RegularKarate

Okay... a brief So-Far report:

Jesus is Magic:  Sarah Silverman is really funny.  I think sometimes she just relies on being crude a little too much, but this movie was funny anyway.  It was mostly her stand up material, but it was mixed in with little video pieces.  Very funny.

Comedians of Comedy:  This is like a road-film, but with Comedians instead of musicians.  I'm a huge Patton Oswalt fan so I'm a little biased, but this is the funiest god-damned thing I've seen in years.  It was one of those things where I laughed so hard that it was cleansing.

Deadroom:  This was edited, produced, and 1/4th directed by our man Ghostboy.  I have to admit that I was nervous while watching the beginning because I wasn't really into it and I didn't know how I was gonna tell GB afterward.  Luckily, about a third into it, I was really hooked and enjoying it.  

There are four seperate stories that each take place in thier own room , it's directed by four different directors.  I know... immediately, you think "Four Rooms", but the number of rooms is really where the similarities stop.  The film flows from story to story quite well (though there was a scene or two that I thought might have been better left out) and it does a great job of focusing on emotion instead of getting hung up on the details of the situation.

You're Gonna Miss Me:  This is a documentary on Roky Ericson.  He's somewhat of an Austin legend.  He helped get Psychadelic rock going in the sixties, then had quite a bout with Schizophrenia.  The story is really interesting and tragic, but the documentary itself never really found it's footing.  It was looking for a storyline that it really never quite found.  

Oddly enough, I ran into Wayne Coyne after the film (he had just seen it too) and he said he pretty much felt the same way about it.

and as I told Wayne, I think I'll be seeing the Flaming Lips doc in just an hour or so.

RegularKarate

The insane popularity of this thread is forcing me to double post...

Fearless Freaks: If I would have realized that this was going to be on DVD so soon, I probably would have skipped it in favor of something that I wouldn't soon get another chance at seeing, but I'm glad that I watched it anyway.  This is nothing mindblowing.  It works as a well-made band doc.  It deals with all the normal stuff... drugs, people quitting, etc... but it's got Wayne Coyne who really makes it all very entertaining.  I was also proud of the doc because it showed something positiive to come out of Oklahoma instead of tornadoes, buildings blowing up, and noodling.

Murderball: This was my second favorite film at SXSW.  It's a documentary about paraplegic rugby teams.  It starts out with a great intro to the game, explaining the rules.  It really gets you pumped, but then you meet the players, who at first seem like total asshole jock.  After you get to know them, you really get hooked.  The documentary is really brilliant about who it's focus is on and at what time so that no matter who wins (the paralympics) at the end, you're happy and sad at the same time.  Great film.

Dead Birds: This was your run-of-the-mill super-cliched horror flick.  I was actually scared a few times, which says something, but it's not really anything to write home about.

Thunderstruck: This is one of those movies that you realize is really bad ten minutes in, but you stick around to watch anyway.  It's an australian film about some guys that want to scatter thier dead friend's ashes next to Bon Scott's grave.  While watching it, I kept thinking about Garage Days and how it had the same kind of boring sense of humor.  Pubes, it's time for you to defend your country's comedy.
On a side note, oddly enough, the characters in this film have a run in with a paraplegic rugby team.

The Roost: See "Dead Birds". (though this was admittably more creative).

Be Here to Love Me: This is the Townes Van Zandt doc.  It was really touching (I think this is tortured artist year at SXSW) and sad.  I think it could have had a better flow or maybe focused on his music a little more because I don't think he's well known enough for the film to assume the audience already knows his background (which they explore, just not very deeply).

The Devil in Daniel Johnston: This was the best film I saw at the festival.  Amazing doc that deserves to at least be nominated for an Oscar.  If you know who Daniel Johnston is, you'll be very pleased and get to listen to his music throughout the film.  If you don't know who he is, I'm not going to say... just see this film.  It's like the Brian Wilson story, but more amazing.  The subject matter is enough by itself to carry this film, but the execution makes the exploration that much better.  Once you get a chance, SEE THIS FILM!!!

Stephen Tobolowski's Birthday Party: I'm a little torn on whether I liked this one or not.  It's just Tobolowski telling stories.  Most of which are interesting, but it's shot under the guise of him having a birthday party.  I was relieved to hear that it wasn't really his birthday party because that would be such a shitty party.
There are a couple of stories that made me want to vomit because they were so over-hammed, but the others were generally pretty funny.  It would have been better if it had just been him in a room, telling stories, with no lame birthday party theme.

I saw some short fims (including Don Hertzfeld's latest) and some bands too, but my fingers are tired.

Ghostboy

I've just now returned from Austin and my first experience at SXSW. What a great festival. I saw most of the films RK saw, plus a few more, but I'm sorta beat and will have to write about my own opinions later. I will say, though, that it was great to finally meet one of my fellow admins in person, and that Mr. Karate is every bit as cool as the melange-of-avatars he currently sports might suggest.

Pedro

I read about Daniel Johnston in Texas Monthly not too long ago.  They talked about The Devil in Daniel Johnston in the article and also told stories about his life (acid trips, plane crashes, suicide attempts).  Any character as strange and fascinating as him deserves a film of quality, and I'm happy to hear something positive about it.

Ghostboy

I guess I wasn't so beat after all: here's my lengthy SXSW 2005 coverage.

Jeremy Blackman

Quote from: GhostboyI guess I wasn't so beat after all: here's my lengthy SXSW 2005 coverage.
I like how they turned you into GhostBoy.

Ghostboy

They do that from time to time. Sometimes I'm Ghost Boy, too.

squints

Who here's going this year? It'll be my first time   :yabbse-grin:
"The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts" – Friedrich Nietzsche

MacGuffin

South by Southwest Film Fest Lures Stars

With Robert Altman's star-studded "A Prairie Home Companion" making its North American premiere on opening night Friday, and celebrities including Charlize Theron, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett and Erykah Badu appearing throughout the week, the South by Southwest film festival only looks like it's gone Hollywood.

Organizers say the festival will maintain the same laid-back, small-town atmosphere for which Austin, Texas, is known.

"It's definitely bigger, definitely more people, definitely more premieres than we've ever had before, more films than we've ever had before, more filmmakers than we've ever had before," festival producer Matt Dentler said.

From Friday through March 18, 230 features and shorts are on the schedule, 60 of which are world premieres. They include "95 Miles to Go," a documentary about Romano's stand-up comedy tour, and "East of Havana," a documentary Theron helped produce about Cuban rappers.

John C. Reilly is expected to appear with "A Prairie Home Companion," based on the longtime Garrison Keillor radio program, which co-stars Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson and Kevin Kline.

Also arriving in Austin to take part in discussions of their careers are veteran rocker Henry Rollins and Peter Bart, the longtime editor in chief of Variety.

Despite the presence of these high-profile celebrities and others, "I don't think it'll change at all," Dentler said.

"I think people know they can come to South by Southwest and stay under the radar, blend in and mingle," he said. "South by Southwest is one of the rare festivals where you can look out at the audience and see five or six incredibly important figures in the entertainment business, all sitting next to each other maybe they know each other, maybe they don't know each other but they're just hanging out. There's just a friendly, communal vibe in Austin."

Dentler said festival planners didn't realize Theron was involved with "East of Havana" when they became interested in it. South by Southwest always features a large number of documentaries and features about music, since it overlaps with the more established South by Southwest music festival, now in its 20th year. (The film festival is in its 13th year.)

"This one struck us and we didn't even know it was produced by Charlize Theron," Dentler said. "Then we did a little homework and said, 'Is this THE Charlize Theron?' It's interesting that this Oscar winner, arguably one of the biggest movie stars in the world, would get behind a camera to produce a Cuban hip-hop documentary."

Other music films include world premieres of the documentaries "loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies," which follows the influential band's hotly awaited reunion tour; "Air Guitar Nation," which is about exactly what the title suggests; and "Before the Music Dies," a historical piece featuring interviews and performances from Badu, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews and Bonnie Raitt.

An all-star musical lineup also can be found in "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey," making its U.S. premiere. The documentary, which depicts heavy metal as a long-misunderstood art form, includes Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Dee Snider, Vince Neil and many more.

Sam Dunn, who directed and produced the film with his longtime friend and fellow Canadian Scot McFadyen, started out listening to Twisted Sister, Motley Crue and Van Halen in the '80s, then moved onto Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, followed by harder thrash and death metal. He's still a fan at age 31.

"I've grown up with this music since I was very young and most metal fans grow up feeling somewhat on the outside by virtue of, this music marks you immediately as being different," he said. "I think that's a hard thing for a lot of kids. This is very special music to a lot of people. It's a big part of their identity."

McFadyen added: "This is the perfect place to premiere a documentary about music. You have true music fans in the U.S. who all seem to come together for a week and a half."

Annabelle Gurwitch also has amassed a cross-section of stars for "Fired!" a documentary in which people talk about you guessed it being fired. The actress-comedian, who hosted the TV series "Dinner and a Movie," was inspired to make the film after being fired from Woody Allen's off-Broadway play "Writer's Block" or rather, as she was informed, they were "going in another direction."

"That firing led me to really think about what it means to get fired in America today in every profession," Gurwitch said. "Being fired by a cultural icon is pretty big. You'd like to think, `Oh, I never have to hear from that person again. Who are THEY?' Well, THEY is Woody Allen."

As the film's producer, Gurwitch interviewed actors David Cross, Illeana Douglas and Tim Allen, former White House executive chef Walter Scheib III, columnist and speechwriter Ben Stein and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who told her: "Every industry is becoming more and more like show business, where you're a freelancer and you go from job to job to job."

Here's what Gurwitch has learned from her new job: "Making documentaries is a great way to hemorrhage money doing something you feel really passionate about."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

takitani

I seriously envy anyone who has the chance to see Old Joy   :yabbse-cry:

Ghostboy

It's the second best thing I've seen so far.