So I'm volunteering at SXSW here in Austin this month and the major perk of this is a platinum badge that gets me into basically anything I want (festival related that is, still have to pay for the hookers and beer).
The unfortunate thing is that I'm working during most of the festival so I have to pick my screening choices very carefully. This weekend I was able to see Assasination Tango with Robert Duval hosting and Bubba Ho-Tep hosted by Don Coscarelli.
Assasination Tango was great, directed by and Staring Robert Duval. I don't think it was as good as the Apostle, but it was good for basically the same reason which is that Duval is one of the greatest actors alive and can bring life to just about any role. My main complaint with this film (asside from a kind of weak pacing towards the end) would be in his co-star, whose acting was often improvised and rather poorly. There are definately some bland scenes in this movie, but it's certainly worth seeing.
Now Bubba Ho-Tep... I don't know how many people have seen this, it's built quite a cult following with only one print alive (soon to have a shiny new fourth reel courtesy South By SouthWest). Anyway, This film is exactly what I went to see, that's all I can really say... When you hear Bruce Campbel is going to play Elvis in a retirement home in Texas along-side Ossie Davis as J.F.K. fighting a mummy you set certain expectations, and they were basically met.
Quote from: RegularKarateMy main complaint with this film (asside from a kind of weak pacing towards the end) would be in his co-star, whose acting was often improvised and rather poorly.
That's Duvall's girlfriend.
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: RegularKarateMy main complaint with this film (asside from a kind of weak pacing towards the end) would be in his co-star, whose acting was often improvised and rather poorly.
That's Duvall's girlfriend.
Yeah... she was there too(someone said they were engaged, another said married but I don't know).
i heard that people with sxsw badges are just a bunch of brown-nosing groupie fags.
that's just what i heard. :lol:
Quote from: RegularKarateNow Bubba Ho-Tep... I don't know how many people have seen this, it's built quite a cult following with only one print alive (soon to have a shiny new fourth reel courtesy South By SouthWest). Anyway, This film is exactly what I went to see, that's all I can really say... When you hear Bruce Campbel is going to play Elvis in a retirement home in Texas along-side Ossie Davis as J.F.K. fighting a mummy you set certain expectations, and they were basically met.
Man, this is ULTRA SWEET!
I've always LOVED Coscarelli's Phantasm series (never got into the Beastmaster stuff tho)... I can't wait to see this one!
Tell us about Melvin Goes To Dinner...I think that's what it's called
Quote from: tremoloslothTell us about Melvin Goes To Dinner...I think that's what it's called
Yeah... showed last night... had to work. I really wanted to see it... some other guys I work with saw it though and I'll report in on what they thought later maybe.
What I was really looking forward to was the new Christopher Guest flick, but it's a No-volunteer screening. Sucks.
As far as brown nosers go... there are some, yeah, but most of the ones I've met are pretty cool. The type of people you can just strike up a conversation with in line because unlike the lines at the multi-plex, most of these people really care about film.
Did you go last year, and did Martin&Orloff screen there?
Quote from: tremoloslothDid you go last year, and did Martin&Orloff screen there?
I was in L.A. for the film part of last year's fest so I missed it. Just came back in time for the tail end of the music.
Okay, I'm bringing this thread back to life because I've just started this whole thing again and I'll be able to see a lot more movies this year.
Last Night:
Napoleon Dynamite:
Get used to this title because this one's blowing up. A lot of people are calling it this year's Bottle Rocket. I enjoyed it, but it doesn't deserve that label. There's not enough meat to this movie to make it as good as the films it's being compared to.
It's very quirky and in parts very hilarious. Also racist in parts (though it's hard to tell if the film was trying to laugh at it's stereotypes or with them). It's a clean movie. According to one of the filmmakers I was standing in line with (not a maker of this film, a maker of another film at the festival), it was made by a bunch of mormons.
Overall, the film was good and I enjoyed it, but the buzz makes me afraid that this is going to end up being overrated.
SuperSize Me:
This is another one that's getting a lot of buzz. A lot of people are talking about this in the media because McDonalds is getting rid of thier supersize option (though they claim it has nothing to do with the film). This film is both funny and interesting. It's also kind of scary and gross. They effects of eating nothing but McDonalds for every meal for a month blew three different doctor's minds.
I hope this gets at least some kind of distribution because it's a great film. My only complaint was that the filmmaker dedicated too much screen time to his vegan-chef girlfriend who was annoying and offered almost nothing to the film.
Some Shorts:
SXSW shorts are known for being some of the better shorts out there (A lot audience members commented that the Sundance shorts always suck). It's hard to catch shorts, so I'll keep the highlights brief:
Milton is a shitbag: Very quick animated short about a cat. Funny
Day 37: Short about two astronauts (looks like on another planet). The entire thing is just one of the astronauts talking about his shit. It's pretty funny.
I am Stamos: Best one there. Brilliant. Has John Stamos and he cusses an has an axe. It's fantastic. I won't ruin it. If you can catch it, you should.
Quote from: RegularKarate
Now Bubba Ho-Tep... I don't know how many people have seen this, it's built quite a cult following with only one print alive (soon to have a shiny new fourth reel courtesy South By SouthWest). Anyway, This film is exactly what I went to see, that's all I can really say... When you hear Bruce Campbel is going to play Elvis in a retirement home in Texas along-side Ossie Davis as J.F.K. fighting a mummy you set certain expectations, and they were basically met.
This comes to my city soon. So I take it you're recommending it?! I was pretty stoked to see it...
Yes, SNT, go see Ho-Tep
Yesterday was pretty sparce:
Undead:
Well, I just have to say if you're into shit like Dead Alive/ BrainDead, you should see this movie. There's basically a John Woo farmer killing a shit load of zombies. There are a LOT of effects shot for the low budget and while they're certainly cheesy, they're well done for the money.
This is an Austrailian flick, made by Twins. I'm sure this isn't new to a lot of people, but it's the first time it's been shown theatrically in this state.
Hellboy:
World premiere. Guillermo Del Toro was there, Ron Perlman was there, Mike Mignola was there. There was a Q&A and other fun stuff. I don't remember the movie that well. I think I liked it?
edit: Also, the more I think about Napolean Dynamite, the more I think it was really fucking hilarious.
Supersize me was great!
Say I Do, which was co-produced by Linklater's wife, was a very cool film.
SLASHER, eeh.... get some laughs...
I was impressed with the quality of the shorts shown, all mostly with big budgets.
Alexandra's Project, another mediocre SxSw film.
Fallen Angels, again, another mediocre canadian SxSw film.
I really liked Slasher. I met Landis afterward, he's a cool guy.
Some of the shorts WERE really good. The midnight shorts were my favorite.
Mono, did you see the animated shorts? Most were a little boring, but there was one that was animated to a Robert Frost poem about Pan, effing brilliant short, that. Very unique.
unfortunately with my busy schedule during spring break, i missed the animated shorts. I really wanted to see Milton is a Shitbag though, and now this one you mention.
Perhaps the short I missed the most was I Am Stamos... Oh well, I suppose there will be another time.
I was very pleased with this year SxSw film festival. Only my second, but it was much better than the quality i have seen at the Austin Film Festival or Cinematexas.
Fortunately, until next year, these festivals will hold me over, along with some UT film showcases.
here's to living in austin.
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.
Are you all aware that Ghostboy's portmanteau film is premiering at SXSW this year as well?
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.
go see David Garza perform at the cactus cafe I think on the 19th. you austiners are so lucky.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I guess I wasn't so beat after all: here's my lengthy SXSW 2005 coverage (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19692).
Quote from: GhostboyI guess I wasn't so beat after all: here's my lengthy SXSW 2005 coverage (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19692).
I like how they turned you into GhostBoy.
They do that from time to time. Sometimes I'm Ghost Boy, too.
Who here's going this year? It'll be my first time :yabbse-grin:
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."
I seriously envy anyone who has the chance to see Old Joy :yabbse-cry:
It's the second best thing I've seen so far.
i missed it, it only played once and i wasn't here yet. What's the best GB? The refugee all stars was awesome
so A Praire Home Companion was absolutely the greatest thing at the fest, no surprise there, but did anyone else see The Oh in Ohio? not because it was that good or anything, even though it was pretty funny at times, but because of the music in a certain scene. I know another xixaxer must have noticed this scene, because when it came, i had been mildly enjoying the film, only slightly involved in any of the characters, then all of a sudden: i was swooning!
i was getting goose-bumps and had a base of the spine reaction saying this is amazing! what a romantic scene! then the high wore off and i figured out why i'd randomly felt this way...the music in this scene with parker posey and danny devito by the pool was fucking ripped straight from Punch-Drunk Love! Like copyright infringement rip off. Perhaps two or three notes were changed, maybe the scale tipped the other way somewhere in the middle or the end of the melody...but otherwise it was the same fucking harmonium and strings that play, among other times, when sandler is running down the hallway trying to find lena's room. who else saw this oh in ohio and got pissed off? because they raped a jon brion song. so you should be pissed off.
Didn't see the Oh in Ohio but this is what i did see:
Cocaine Angel
Al Franken: God Spoke
Shadow Company
The Cassidy Kids
loudQUIETloud
Reel Shorts 2
a/k/a Tommy Chong
The Refugee All-Stars
Inner Circle Line
Maxed Out
A Scanner Darkly
Awesome: I fuckin Shot That!
Summercamp!
Live Free or Die
A Prairie Home Companion
American Dreamz
Inner Circle Line was my favorite narrative (not counting PHC or American Dreamz)/ Maxed Out my favorite doc. All of the movies were pretty impressive the filmmakers were very cool and Austin is a great town (except when the music festival started, jesus christ!)
I saw:
Old Joy
A Prairie Home Companion
My Country, My Country
Eve And The Fire Horse
TV Junkie
Gretchen
Fired!
The Cassidy Kids
The Lost
Live Free Or Die
Darkon
LOL
Punk Like Me
51 Birch Street
Cruel And Unusual
S&Man
Before The Music Dies
Letters From The Other Side
Summercamp!
Jumping Off Bridges
Motorcycle
Brothers Of The Head
Fuck
The Last Romantic
Cocaine Angel
loudQUIETloud: The Pixies
2AM
And about 40 shorts.
LOL was my favorite, followed by Old Joy, Prairie Home, Motorcycle and probably a few others that my brain is too fried to remember completely at the moment. I need to take at least two days off from movies.
I didn't get to see as movies this year because I had a shit load of other stuff to do (including a wedding, seeing some bands, seeing Patton Oswalt twice, and a shit load of panels).
overall, this festival wasn't nearly as good as the past few years. Not because of the attendance being so big, but because the films just weren't as good.
I saw:
A Prairie Home Companion
Al Franken: God Spoke
Danny Roane: First Time Director
Midnight Shorts
Gretchen
Bee and a Cigarette
Fired
The Cassidy Kids
The Lost
LOL
AKA Tommy Chong
Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas
Maxed Out
A Scanner Darkly
Animated Shorts
V for Vendetta
LOL, Prairie Home Companion, and Maxed Out were probably my favorites and Bickford Shmeckler was the worst (seriously, it's an abomination).
In retrospect, Scanner is growing on me, but I need to see t again.
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 20, 2006, 12:55:48 PM
seeing Patton Oswalt twice
Hey! i saw him twice too. Once at Emo's and again on Friday at the Cap City Comedy Club. He was fucking terrific and meeting him made it that much cooler. I know he played a lot of dates, where'd you see him?
Quote from: squints on March 20, 2006, 01:26:56 PM
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 20, 2006, 12:55:48 PM
seeing Patton Oswalt twice
Hey! i saw him twice too. Once at Emo's and again on Friday at the Cap City Comedy Club. He was fucking terrific and meeting him made it that much cooler. I know he played a lot of dates, where'd you see him?
I saw him Friday too... the 10:30 show... is that the show you saw? Were you the ones from Oklahoma or were you the filmmaker that said you wanted to make his rapestove movie? My wife and I were having drinks with him that night so we met a lot of the walk-ups.
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 20, 2006, 02:23:45 PM
Quote from: squints on March 20, 2006, 01:26:56 PM
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 20, 2006, 12:55:48 PM
seeing Patton Oswalt twice
Hey! i saw him twice too. Once at Emo's and again on Friday at the Cap City Comedy Club. He was fucking terrific and meeting him made it that much cooler. I know he played a lot of dates, where'd you see him?
I saw him Friday too... the 10:30 show... is that the show you saw? Were you the ones from Oklahoma or were you the filmmaker that said you wanted to make his rapestove movie? My wife and I were having drinks with him that night so we met a lot of the walk-ups.
I was there with two fellas who had never heard of him before, after the show i was like the second person to walk up to him and say hello then i went outside for a smoke. The guys i was with were probably the guys from Oklahoma, one had a faux hawk and the other was a douche bag i just met who got an undeserving picture with Patton. the bastard! either way it was a great show.
From http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2007/02/61_world_premie.html (http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2007/02/61_world_premie.html):
SXSW '07 | 61 World Premieres Set for 2007 Fest in Austin; Frank's "The Lookout" Opens March Event
by Brian Brooks (February 6, 2007)
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival unveiled the feature lineup for its upcoming 14th edition, with 110 films slated for the fest's diverse sections over nine days. The increasingly important U.S. film festival and conference precedes the popular SXSW Music gathering in Austin, but continues throughout the music industry event. This year's film roster includes 61 world, nine North American and seven U.S. premieres screening at the fest, taking place March 9 - 17 in Austin, Texas. As previously announced, SXSW's film event will open with the world debut of Scott Frank's "The Lookout."
The 2007 SXSW "Spotlight Premieres" sections includes Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up," Katy Chevigny's "Election Day," 2006 Toronto International Film Festival feature "All The Boys Love Mandy Lane" by Jonathan Levine, Mike Mills' "Does Your Soul Have a Cold?" Michele Ohayon's "Steal a Pencil For Me," Doug Pray's "Big Rig," and Sundance '07 film, "The Ten" by David Wain.
In the Narrative Feature Competition, "But I'm a Cheerleader" director Jamie Babbitt will screen "Itty Bitty Titty Committee," while "Madness and Genius" director Ryan Eslinger will be in Austin with "When a Man Falls in the Forest," and "Heathers" director Michael Lehmann will screen "Flakes" in the section. In the doc competition, Macky Alston ("Questioning Faith: Confessions of a Seminarian") will screen "Hard Road Home" and Marlo Poras will join the fest with "Run Granny Run."
"This year, we received a record number of submissions and thankfully that also means the quality was higher than ever," said SXSW Film Festival Producer Matt Dentler in a statement about this year's approximately 3,100 submissions. "People will probably look for themes in the program, but no theme rings more true than just a great batch of films we're eager to screen for our audiences. It's going to be a fun ride."
See the full article for an expanded list, but here it is without the descriptions:
SPOTLIGHT PREMIERES
638 Ways to Kill Castro
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
Bella
Big Rig
Doubletime
Election Day
Elvis and Anabelle
Everything's Gone Green
Exiled
Does Your Soul Have a Cold?
Eagle Vs. Shark
Hannah Takes the Stairs
He Was a Quiet Man
Hell on Wheels
Knocked Up
Kurt Cobain About a Son
The Lookout
Manufacturing Dissent
The Prisoner, or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
Running With Arnold
Sisters
Smiley Face
Steal a Pencil for Me
Suffering Man's Charity
The Ten
What Would Jesus Buy?
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience of One
Billy the Kid
Campaign
Cat Dancers
Greensboro: Closer to the Truth
Hard Road Home
Run Granny Run
When Adnan Comes Home
NARRATIVE FEATURES COMPETITION
Blackbird
Flakes
Frownland
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Orphans
Pretty in the Face
Skills Like This
When a Man Falls in the Forest
EMERGING VISIONS
American Zombie
Arranged
August the First
Confessions of a Superhero
Fall from Grace
Fish Kill Flea
Great World of Sound
Helvetica
Kamp Katrina
King Corn
Lost in Woonsocket
Monkey Warfare
The Price of Sugar
Quiet City
Scrambled Beer
Trigger Man
Twisted: a Ballonamentary
24 BEATS PER SECOND
1 More Hit
Companeras
Dirty Country
The Gits
James Blunt: Return to Kosovo
The Last Days of Left Eye
Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death, and Insects
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Silver Jew
Wetlands Preserved: the Story of an Activist Rock Club
'ROUND MIDNIGHT
Black Sheep
Borderland
The Devil Dared Me To
Fido
Grimm Love
Kenny
Mulberry Street
Murder Party
Severance
The Signal
Them
Undead or Alive: a Zombedy
LONE STAR STATES
Forfeit
Inside the Circle
Love and Mary
Third Ward, Tx
The Unforeseen
Weaving Worlds
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
After the Wedding
August Evening
Blindsight
Call of the Hummingbird
Cashback
Cherry Valley
The Devil Came on Horseback
Diggers
Electric Apricot: the Quest for Festeroo
Everything's Cool
Imprint
The King of Kong
The Lather Effect
Truth in Terms of Beauty
Who Loves the Sun
Zoo
so many great titles, they can't all be good.
go see exiled. go go go.
Okay, I'm just copying all this from my blog... this is what I saw..not nearly as much as I've been able to in the past, unfortunately...
Friday:Suffering Man's Charity: This is Alan Cumming's latest directorial effort. He also stars alongside David Boreanaz (from Angel). Cumming introduced the movie and I really wanted to like it because he's a really charismatic and funny guy, but this thing just fell really flat. There were a few chuckles, but it just didn't quite get off the ground. Also, David Boreanaz is a snooze
The Lookout: Okay, I don't really get to say anything about this because I left halfway through, but I look forward to watching it all the way through because I really liked the first half, but I had to get over to Emo's to see Todd Barry.
Saturday:The Ten: Sweet mother of crap, what a funny damn movie. This is from David Wain (Stella, The State, Wet Hot American Summer, etc...), the best solo filmmaker from the bunch it seems. It's basically a compilation of ten different short films each loosely based on a different commandment. Paul Rudd (who was in at LEAST three movies at the festival) narrates while he deals with personal issues that eventually take over the movie. There are a lot of cameos and while not all of the shorts are equally funny, it's solidly hilarious. I can't wait to see it again.
Skills Like This: PeeeeYoooo! What a boring, predictable, formulaic mess of mediocrity. I kept thinking about how I wrote dialogue like that when I first started writing and knew back then it wasn't worth being filmed and it just embarrassed me while I watched. I left so maybe my opinion doesn't count. This movie went on to win the audience award, but I heard there may have been some cheating involved. Seems like there would have to have been.
Manufacturing Dissent: Every SXSW, there's a film that everyone argues about before it even screens, this was that film this year. The Canadian filmmakers set out to make a documentary on Michael Moore because of how impressed they were with him and wanted to find out more and ended up questioning his methods. Nothing all that new was discovered, we already know he manipulates his footage and kind of distorts the truth, he's always admitted this (though I didn't know that he actually shot stuff in a studio and edited it with live footage to make it look like he was at places he wasn't in Roger and Me), but it took an interesting enough look at the big picture to keep me watching. During the Q&A, a good deal of the audience was divided on why they hated the film. One third were Michael Moore defenders who were pissed that the filmmakers would even question their hero and another third of the audience were avid Moore haters who were upset that the film was made by liberals and didn't completely rip Moore to shreds. The last third of the audience didn't really take part in the Q&A, we just sat and enjoyed the fight.
SUNDAY:Hanna Takes The Stairs: This is one of my favorite films this year. Joe Swanberg (who did the fantastic SXSW trailers this year) released LOL, my favorite film at last year's festival and then quickly followed it with this, which was made in the same fashion (almost entirely improvised on a very minimal budget). This one was even better. There are so many things I like about these films (this one especially). It shows that you can really do something like this... you can actually get a handful of actors, a camera, simple lighting and sound equipment, and just lock yourselves up for a couple of months and shoot a great film. Most filmmakers would do this and it would turn into a lame pile of pretentious slobber, but these guys (and gals) seem to pull it off.
It also feels so warm... you feel like these are people you know up on screen (granted I've met a good deal of the people involved).
There's another element that I can't quite put my finger on as well. Something that just strikes a chord that just gets me so inspired, it makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and start making films.
I wish Swanberg (who I drunkenly embarrassed myself in front of at the after party) success, mostly for selfish reasons... mostly so he'll keep making films.
Monday:Audience of One: This is Similar to American Movie, but with less dumb and more crazy. It's about a Pentecostal church pastor who after seeing his first movie at age 40, is told by God that he needs to make a $200 million budget Sci-Fi Epic.
Armed with a small initial budget (which seems outrageously large considering he has NO experience at all), a crew and cast made almost entirely out of other religious kooks, and a VERY expensive and unnecessarily large camera, he heads out to Italy to begin shooting. They bumble the entire shoot and end up spending a huge amount of money on something like two shots of the film before they have to go back to the states to try to finish (and get the rest of the budget to finish).
We were laughing throughout the entire movie at how ridiculous and clueless this guy was then for the Q&A, we find out that he was in fact sitting in the back row of the theater the entire time, watching the movie with us. Yikes!
It took the audience a while to get used to that awkward feeling, but eventually someone just confronted him with the fact that we had just laughed at him and his answer made me understand his crazy a little better... I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said "Of course I'm embarrassed, you think I'm not embarrassed to have you all see me up on screen talking about...." (he talked about something so incredibly nuts that I don't want to spoil it) "Of course it's embarrassing, but what if I'm right? What if God really wants me to do all these thing? This is just a document of my commitment to him... it's now recorded what I was willing to do for God".
He's nuts, but I guess if you can get over the fact that he believes God would actually tell him to do something like this, you can kind of understand his reason for doing everything else he did.
Frownland: Similar to what Ghostboy told me he felt about the film: I didn't LIKE this movie. It was excruciating to watch and part of me wanted to walk out on it, but I really admire it and I'm glad it won a special jury award. It's about a man who has the wires between his brain and his mouth crossed. Everything he says is a stuttering soup of bits and pieces of real thoughts. The movie pulls you into his world and it's miserable in there.
Knocked Up: This was my second time seeing Judd Apatow's latest film and it was even more enjoyable the second time around. There was about twenty minutes cut out and it really focused the film (though I pray the deleted scenes are included on the DVD) and made it more solidly hilarious. It's much better than 40 Year Old Virgin and I think it's really going to catch on and hopefully make Seth Rogan a bigger star.
Smiley Face: I was assigned to tape the intro and Q&A for Greg Araki's newest film about a stoner who gets into some kind of goofy trouble. They told me when they were assigning me to it that the easiest thing would be for me to set my camera up, shoot the intro, pack up my camera, watch the movie, then set back up for the Q&A... I didn't make it past 20 minutes into this pile of garbage. The jokes were all the most stereotypical and predictable stoner jokes and the acting was as if no one involved in the film had ever even been around a stoned person. The worst thing about it though was that the audience was eating it up... they were bursting with laughter... there's nothing that irritates me more than people laughing at the utterly unfunny. It burns a hole in my stomach.
So I left... I went to a party (which I was supposed to get some footage of anyway) then came back in time for the Q&A.
Tuesday:The Devil Came on Horseback: This is a very disturbing a pretty powerful documentary on the genocide in Darfur. An ex-soldier was assigned to "monitor the ceasefire" in that area and when he started seeing burned bodies of children tied together, he began taking pictures and was surprised to find how little was done once these pictures surfaced.
I made the mistake of ordering food during this... I didn't finish the pizza.
The Signal: This is a horror movie divided into three parts, each directed by a different director about a television signal that causes people to turn into crazy zombies. Not unlike Stephen King's Cell. The first part was okay, the second was really good, and the third was pretty awful. I hadn't realized while I was watching it that each part was a different director and found myself wondering why it got so crappy so quickly. I got my answer during the credits.
Wednesday:Big Rig: This was a fun documentary about Truckers that I'm torn about my disappointment in. The director set out to kind of explore the "Convoy" side of truckers... CB lingo, hookers, drugs, etc..., but of course, he found a more human side, but part of me really wanted to see the more superficial, stereotypical side of it. The movie opens with really fun country music played over truckers speaking over the CB... that's what I got sucked into and I had to kind of adjust once the pace slowed to examine the lives of the truckers, who for the most part were really interesting and real people who are having to deal with a gas price crisis (getting paid $800 for a job, but it costs $300 to fill their tank).
Overall, it was a good movie, I was just surprised that I found myself wanting something more shallow.
Silver Jew: This was a very short documentary about the Silver Jews and thier first live tour ever, which included going to Israel and rediscovering religion. It was definitely worth watching and had some pretty decent music (silver jews, of course).
Thursday:Kurt Cobain: About a Son: When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with Nirvana and the day it came out, I went and bought Michael Azerrad's book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. This shaped my teenage life. I, like thousands of other teenagers at that time felt so close to Kurt Cobain. A year after that book came out, Cobain committed suicide and that became the single thing almost anyone ever associated Nirvana with from that point forward.
My life has obviously changed a lot since and I rarely listen to Nirvana anymore, but seeing this film reminded me why I did. This wasn't because of the nostalgia of hearing Nirvana again because this film doesn't feature one Nirvana song... another thing it doesn't feature is a single on-camera interview nor any voice other than Kurt Cobain's. What this film does (it's not a documentary really) is play the interview tapes Azerrad recorded with Cobain a year before his death over some great footage that matches the mood or subject that's being discussed by Cobain.
After the film, I was able to talk to Azerrad and tell him how much his book shaped my life as a teenager and he was extremely nice despite the fact that he probably hears that sort of thing all the time.
Friday:Zoo: This is what I've been referring to as "the horse fucker movie". The film is about Mr. Hands, the gentleman who became an internet hot-topic after his zoophilia related death. The great thing about this movie is that as shocking as the subject matter is, the film is very slow paced and tastefully handled. The true shock that drives the film lies in how much you feel for the people involved... people who literally love animals, both emotionally and sexually.
There is only one scene that really dives into the bizarre and frightful nature of this man's death and it really is quite jarring, but outside of that one scene, the film is almost dream-like in it's pace, tone, and cinematography.
My only real complaint about this film was that it was almost TOO much like an Erol Morris documentary. Narration and haunting music played over reenactments of an event.
Well, I only got to see 16 movies during this festival, but that's because I got to see a SHIT load of comedy, which made me pretty happy.
The comics I got to see included: Aziz Anzari, Todd Barry, Jon Benjamin, Jonathan Glaser, David Cross, Zach Galifinakis, Leo Allen, Eugen Mirman, Tim and Eric, Human Giant, Brian Posehn, and Hard n Phirm.
I also got to see some music including Andrew Bird, Okkervil River, Les Savy Fav, The Good the Bad and the Queen (booooooring), RJD2, and Apples in Stereo.
Quote from: pete on February 07, 2007, 11:05:03 AM
go see exiled. go go go.
I really wanted to, just couldn't make it.
So sad I didn't make it this year :(
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 27, 2007, 05:57:14 PM
The Devil Came on Horseback: This is a very disturbing a pretty powerful documentary on the genocide in Darfur. An ex-soldier was assigned to "monitor the ceasefire" in that area and when he started seeing burned bodies of children tied together, he began taking pictures and was surprised to find how little was done once these pictures surfaced.
This sounds awesome. My wife-to-be is the statewide coordinator of Amnesty International and I think we're going to try to schedule a screening of this on campus here.
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 27, 2007, 05:57:14 PM
Silver Jew: This was a very short documentary about the Silver Jews and thier first live tour ever, which included going to Israel and rediscovering religion. It was definitely worth watching and had some pretty decent music (silver jews, of course).
This was directed by a guy named Mike Tully. Last year we ran into him a lot and hung out a few times. He was promoting his first director's credit and one of my favorites from last year Cocaine Angel, which is making its way on dvd soon.
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 27, 2007, 05:57:14 PM
Well, I only got to see 16 movies during this festival, but that's because I got to see a SHIT load of comedy, which made me pretty happy.
The comics I got to see included: Aziz Anzari, Todd Barry, Jon Benjamin, Jonathan Glaser, David Cross, Zach Galifinakis, Leo Allen, Eugen Mirman, Tim and Eric, Human Giant, Brian Posehn, and Hard n Phirm.
No Patton this year?
Quote from: squints on March 28, 2007, 11:39:33 AM
No Patton this year?
Patton had to cancel this year unfortunately.
I really enjoyed reading that RK. And thanks for introducing me to Joe Swanberg. Seems like a guy to keep an eye on.
Guess who got into the SXSW Film Fesitval bitches...
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftiff08.ca%2Fimages%2Ffilms%2Fparanoids.jpg&hash=7c57c46c97c4ef09a096c12dec65cb0051657374)
Guess who else got into the SXSW film festival...
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.road-dog-productions.com%2Fweblog%2Fmissingposter1.jpg&hash=65bfbc3392b50f0552b05474e432a1761ca677d8)
how can someone be missing... IN THE FUTURE?!
congrats to both of you.
That posters really great, Ghostboy. Very creative.
Quote from: Stefen on January 29, 2009, 01:56:17 PM
That posters really great, Ghostboy. Very creative.
Agreed. Quite intriguing.
i love you both.
congratulations!
i wish i could attend.
i wish i had dough.
i wish mugging old ladies had no legal or moral consequences. i'm dead serious.
Quote from: Hedwig on January 29, 2009, 02:52:45 PM
i wish mugging old ladies had no legal or moral consequences. i'm dead serious.
The trick is to get yourself a Sugar Mamma and do it gradually over time.
holy shit, you just gave me a great idea. thanks.
my mother is a fitness instructor and much of her clientele consists of women in their late 50s. a couple of them have (semi-)jokingly expressed their desire to date me, then adding "if only he were about 10 years older!"
SXSW, here i come!
Are there websites for these films?
GB, I may only be getting a pass this year (I'm doing a lot of performing this time and won't have time to make a badge worth it), but I'll be trying my damnedest to get in... that's great news!
GB love the poster and awesome that you'll be there as well.
bigideas, the web address for my film is www.losparanoicos.com and GB's is listed on the poster.
hey my band will be playing there! but isn't everybody's band playing there? I'll make a point to see both your guys' movies.
Not to distract from the Glory of y'alls films gittin' gandered upon, but my new xixax title is 'film editor'. Which is fine and all, but about an hour ago it was 'fluffer', which according to wiki means I "arouse male porn actors". Is that really a step up?
Quote from: private witt on January 30, 2009, 05:45:35 AM
Not to distract from the Glory of y'alls films gittin' gandered upon, but my new xixax title is 'film editor'. Which is fine and all, but about an hour ago it was 'fluffer', which according to wiki means I "arouse male porn actors". Is that really a step up?
No, as you post more and more here it gets worse. That's why MacGuffin is Michael Bay's personal fluffer by now.
Quote from: Hedwig on January 29, 2009, 03:05:52 PM
my mother is a fitness instructor and much of her clientele consists of women in their late 50s. a couple of them have (semi-)jokingly expressed their desire to date me, then adding "if only he were about 10 years older!"
you want to be the zohan!
congrats GB and kal.
Quote from: kal on January 29, 2009, 04:51:13 PM
GB love the poster and awesome that you'll be there as well.
bigideas, the web address for my film is www.losparanoicos.com and GB's is listed on the poster.
thanks.
me no habla espanol.
am i out of the loop or does everyone else know what both of you did in these films?
Quote from: bigideas on January 30, 2009, 11:25:30 AM
Quote from: kal on January 29, 2009, 04:51:13 PM
GB love the poster and awesome that you'll be there as well.
bigideas, the web address for my film is www.losparanoicos.com and GB's is listed on the poster.
thanks.
me no habla espanol.
am i out of the loop or does everyone else know what both of you did in these films?
the site is in english as well. i think the trailer on that site is not with subtitles for some reason, but the one on the following site does have the subtitles: http://beta.canalinternet.com/ver_8a345332c751b2f2e476.html
i was a bit annoying posting about the film here, so if you look for the thread "the paranoids" in the grapevine you'll find more information if you're interested :)
Quote from: kal on January 30, 2009, 09:23:01 AM
That's why MacGuffin is Michael Bay's personal fluffer by now.
I just threw up into the back of my mouth a little.
Complete list of films announced
http://sxsw.com/film/screenings/films/ (http://sxsw.com/film/screenings/films/)
Here's my trailer: http://vimeo.com/3049498 (http://vimeo.com/3049498)....
Hope to see you there RK!
Nice. :bravo: What camera(s) and lens(es) did you guys shoot with?
Quote from: Ghostboy on February 04, 2009, 01:39:04 AM
Here's my trailer: http://vimeo.com/3049498 (http://vimeo.com/3049498)....
Hope to see you there RK!
looks cool.
St. Nick, movie of the year. that trailer was amazing. Undertowish? brilliant font!
Quote from: Pozer on February 04, 2009, 12:05:01 PM
Undertowish?
I was going to ask if it was George Washington-esque.
Thanks, folks. In my honest opinion, it's actually decidedly un-Green-ish, but I'll leave it up to the mercy of the crowds to make the final call on that. I'm sure it resembles a great deal of things (a lot of people bring up Spirit Of The Beehive and Ratcatcher, neither of which I've seen yet), but I'm sort of proud of how distinct its tone and feel are, too.
i watched both movies for free on theauteurs.com, but i don't think they're up anymore. they both are really good. can't wait to see st nick, maybe it will play at ifc sometime in 2009?
GB in the news...
http://www.cinematical.com/2009/02/10/sxsw-preview-sorry-thanks-st-nick-breaking-upwards/
oh shit! I wanna see it bad!
Hey kids, so who's going to be around Austin for SXSW?
Anyone that wants to come see The Paranoids I can put you on the guest list. RK? Anyone else? Let me know!!!!
I'm back and fore to Austin all the time right now, As we're trying to move down there ASAP so I'm intending on seeing as many films at the festival as I can.
When is The Paranoids screening?
Kal, I'll be doin' SXSW. I have a film pass, but being on the list would help make sure I get in since I don't have a badge this year.
All that are going though... here's some SXSW-related, but unofficial comedy shows going on:
- March 15th and 16th 8 PM at Spiderhouse Events Center: TJ & Dave - Comedy improv. If you've never seen longform improv, this is a great introduction and if you HAVE seen longform, these guys will probably top what you've seen before. Two of the best out there (yes, TJ is the guy from the Sonic commercials).
- March 15th at Coldtowne Theater (http://coldtownetheater.com/): Whitest Kids you know doing some sketch stuff - at least Sam Brown from WKYK and possibly more along with some standup both local and out-of-town.
- Thursday March 19th at Coldtowne: Marc Maron - see a big comic in a very small venue.
- Friday March 20th at Coldtowne: Tig Notaro - very hilarious lady (from Sarah Silverman Show)
- Saturday March 21st at Coldtowne: Chris Hardwick - One half of Hard n Phirm and regular on Attack of the Show - this show will also feature Nick Flanagan, Matt Ruby, and will be hosted by yours truly.
There's more comedy-related junk happenin' if you're looking for it, lemme know. Looking forward to a very busy, very fun week.
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 09, 2009, 12:56:09 PM
- March 15th and 16th 8 PM at Spiderhouse Events Center: TJ & Dave - Comedy improv. If you've never seen longform improv, this is a great introduction and if you HAVE seen longform, these guys will probably top what you've seen before. Two of the best out there (yes, TJ is the guy from the Sonic commercials).
My friend Alex directed a documentary about these guys that will be playing at the festival as well, called TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP. It's really good. I know they'll be at the second screening, which I believe is on the 16th....
Quote from: Ghostboy on March 09, 2009, 02:44:42 PM
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 09, 2009, 12:56:09 PM
- March 15th and 16th 8 PM at Spiderhouse Events Center: TJ & Dave - Comedy improv. If you've never seen longform improv, this is a great introduction and if you HAVE seen longform, these guys will probably top what you've seen before. Two of the best out there (yes, TJ is the guy from the Sonic commercials).
My friend Alex directed a documentary about these guys that will be playing at the festival as well, called TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP. It's really good. I know they'll be at the second screening, which I believe is on the 16th....
He showed that here last year (unfinished, I believe) for the improv community. I had a shoot that day and couldn't make it, but I heard it was really good from an improv perspective.
One of you go get us an exclusive:
'Bruno' Footage Added to SXSW Lineup
Source: Cinematical
As if we couldn't be any more excited about SXSW than we already are, a special event was added this morning that's gonna blow the hat off any film lover attending the conference. Under the Fantastic Fest at Midnight sidebar, a new section of the conference curated by the team from Austin's premiere genre festival Fantastic Fest, the brainchild of Alamo Drafthouse owner Tim League, SXSW will present a selection of footage (roughly 20 minutes or so) from Universal Pictures' hotly anticipated summer release Brüno, starring Sacha Baron Coen. Coen's follow-up to the hit comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan centers on another of the characters he created for his HBO show, The Ali G Show, an Australian Austrian fashionista out to make it in America. The screening is free to anyone while there's still room, so get there early because I have a hunch there won't be an empty seat once the projector rolls.
For those who'll be in Austin, the screening will be held at 11pm at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar on Sunday, March 15.
BIG NEWS
Oscilloscope Gets "Paranoids"
Oscilloscope Laboratories acquired the North American distribution rights to Gabriel Medina's Argentine debut feature, "The Paranoids" (Los Paranoicos), which is having its U.S. Premiere today at SXSW.
"The Paranoids," an offbeat comedy about Luciano, an aspiring writer in Buenos Aires, screens at 2:30 PM today at the Alamo Ritz 2 in Austin. Oscilloscope will open the film in theaters later this year with a DVD and digital release in early 2010.
"Everyone at the o-scope office unanimously had our proverbial wigs blown back by this Argentinean wu-banger. Gabriel Medina is pinning fools to the mat and letting them know how it's done with 'The Paranoids,' his directorial debut," said Adam Yauch in a statement.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Kampe from Visit Films on behalf of the filmmakers and David Fenkel and Dan Berger for Oscilloscope.
That's awesome news! Congrats Kal!
Kick Ass Kal!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote from: bigideas on March 17, 2009, 08:06:04 AM
Quote from: kal on March 17, 2009, 01:09:26 AM
Adam Yauch
Beastie Boys?
Yup.
Quote from: WikipediaYauch founded Oscilloscope Laboratories, a NYC-based recording studio, film production and distribution company, and post-production facility. Oscilloscope Pictures' recently released Gunnin For That #1 Spot, and their theatrical lineup includes Irena Salina's Flow (September 12, 2008), Caroline Suh's Frontrunners (October 15, 2008), and Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy.
Thanks guys. I'm very excited. It's kinda the perfect company for our film because its small but they are really getting shit done. They released "Wendy and Lucy" which is doing well and they are focusing on very specific and quality films. We'll know the release schedule and cities soon.
Also for the DVD, all their boxes are amazing and they put a lot on effort on the quality and presentation. Plus meeting with Yauch was pretty awesome.
Tarantino, Gondry and Green head to SXSW — panels and shorts announced
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Writer-directors Quentin Tarantino, Michel Gondry and David Gordon Green are all heading to Austin next month to take part in the SXSW Film Conference, which kicks off March 12 in tandem with the annual film festival and runs through March 16.
The SXSW organizers announced the full list of panels — more than 80 in all — and the complete short film program (130 shorts) today. The festival, which includes Gondry's latest, the documentary "The Thorn in the Heart," runs through March 20.
The conference includes a bunch of workshop and mentor sessions, but the panels provide exposure to fascinating filmmakers in town to talk film. Among the panels, are:
A Conversation With Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "The Science of Sleep"). TCM's Elvis Mitchell moderates.
Directing the Dead: Genre Directors Spill Their Guts. Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland"), Matt Reeves ("Let Me In"), Eli Roth ("Hostel"), Tarantino ("Inglourious Basterds") and Ti West ("House of the Devil") talk horror. Scott Weinberg of Cinematical moderates.
Filmmakers in TV: A Case Study. "Eastbound & Down" creators Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill talk about moving from features to TV with their HBO series.
Creating a Graphic Novel Hollywood Will Buy. David Wohl (Radical Publishing), Martin Shapiro (Night Owl Productions), Matt Hawkins (Top Cow) and Ted Adams (IDW Publishing) explain how to create a graphic novel that will attract the attention of movie producers. Moderated by Pomegranate's Ean Mering.
The film conference will also include Jeffery Tambor's Acting Workshop and a "Kick-Ass" panel with director Matthew Vaughn, actors Aaron Johnson, Cholë Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and comic writers Mark Millar and John S. Romita.