From Bruno to badass bands, Austin’s infamous music festival at its best …
Who: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Adriana Barraza
Category: Work-in-Progress Special Screening Premiere/Narrative Feature
What to Expect: A heart-pounding thriller about a young woman’s desperate mission to break an evil curse thrust upon her. The tale centers on an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a cool professor-boyfriend, who messes with the wrong loan applicant … and pays for it in hellacious ways.
What Caught Our Eye: Being a 100% biased ‘Sam-fan’, anything from (campy) the suspense master director, Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Army of Darkness), is worth taking a look at — especially getting a sneak of his work-in-progress.
KEEP READING: Observe and Report
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“Observe and Report: A Case Study – A Man and His Gun”
Who: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Pena, Jody Hill (director); and Elvis Mitchell (film critic)
Category: Talks/Panel (*following the film’s premiere)
What to Expect: The witty, filmmaking ensemble investigates comedy, from the inside, talking about the art of great timing and sparkling exchange.
What Caught Our Eye: Yes, do tell. Why are they so freakin’ funny? With these comically-gifted actors, a panel spotlighting Rogen, Faris and co. — about their film following a mall security guard who’s thrown out of whack by a flasher — will certainly help us get to the bottom of things!
KEEP READING: Margaret Cho Live
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Live Stand-up Comedy
Who: Margaret Cho
Category: Music Festival Showcase
What to Expect: Another sharp-as-nails, potty-mouth-driven monologue by the one-n’-only M-Cho … According to her official website, “Margaret is working on an album of comedy songs, for release in 2010, and is writing with many of her fave musicians, including Amanda Palmer, Tegan & Sara, Patty Griffin, Jon Brion & Grant Lee Phillips. She’ll be debuting some of her new songs … plus hosting a few parties around town.”
What Caught Our Eye: Besides tell-it-like-it-is Janeane Garofalo taking to the stage at this year’s SXSW, droll comedy madame, Ms. Cho, will be serving-up her own brand of bawdy, frank comedy, with tats on board.
KEEP READING: Bruno Sneak Peek
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Bruno Footage Sneak Peek
Who: Sacha Baron Cohen
Category: Sneak Peek Screening
What to Expect: He’s the ambushing, Austrian, over-the-TOP, queer, fashion reporter, with a tongue sharper than a pair of Project Runway scissors. He’s Brüno. He’s Sacha Baron Cohen‘s alter-ego. And he has his own movie coming out.
What Caught Our Eye: Okaaaaay! Let’s be real, who can resist Cohen‘s next flame-throwing installment?! What began on HBO will blossomed into box-office bang. Thank gawd, SXSW shared a peak, as the Bruno buzz is taking the internet by storm.
KEEP READING: True Adolescents
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Who: Mark Duplass, Melissa Leo, Brett Loehr, Carr Thompson
Category: World Premiere/Narrative Feature
What to Expect: An aging Seattle rocker with no job, no record deal, and no place to stay finally finds a spot to rest his weary soul — a room at his aunt’s house in the ‘burbs. This slacker is also the last guy anyone would choose to take two teens on a camping trip for some “quality dude time.”
What Caught Our Eye: Yup, wry actor Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Hannah Takes the Stairs), fresh from all his Sundance “bro-mantic” buzz for Humpday — but rooted in his drifter, ‘mumblecore’ world of chatty/digital/no-budget/youth flicks — IS on the verge … and you should be aware of that, if you know anything about indiewood.
KEEP READING: Billy Bob Thorton & The Boxmasters
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Musicians-on-the-Scene: FAMILIAR FACES
Who: The Boxmasters: Billy Bob Thornton, J D Andrew, Mike Butler
Category: Music Festival/Shows
What to Expect: The slick, ironic, story-tellin’ country gentlemen play a few soulful cuts from their soon-to-be-released album, Modbilly.
What Caught Our Eye: Whether you know them from their years spent in music and/or film, these musicians with “familiar faces” — who are programmed amidst thousands of their talented SXSW peers — definitely have a special celeb-sparked draw. Besides, who could resist hangin’ with the wily Billy Bob — not even Angie.
*What Else: On-the-scene, you’ll also spot: Juliet (Lewis) & The New Romantiques, Echo and The Bunnymen, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Oakridge Boys, and more…
KEEP READING: Alexander the Last
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Who: Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, Barlow Jacobs, Amy Seimetz, Josh Hamilton, Jane Adams
Category: World Premiere/Narrative Feature
Simultaneous broadcast screenings available through IFC Festival Direct On-Demand platform — a nationwide first!
What to Expect: Love means risk in this sexy ensemble drama, focusing on the challenges of young marriage which centers on a married actress, her sister, and their entangled connections to sexual and creative temptations.
What Caught Our Eye: Rule-breaker, buzz-maker, SXSW-ordained director Joe Swanberg (Nights and Weekends, Hannah Takes the Stairs) premieres his fourth feature there, throwing us three tempting reasons to catch it: 1) Jess Weixler (Teeth); 2) Justin Rice of the band Bishop Allen; and 3) You can grab your remote n’ watch it, on-demand, on your own flat screen, through IFC Festival Direct. Who can afford a plane ticket these days anyway?
What Else: Also unspooling at SXSW, you’ll spot these on-demand IFC Direct films: Zift, Three Blind Mice, Medicine for Melancholy, Paper Covers Rock
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Who: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes
Category: Spotlight Premiere/Narrative Feature
What to Expect: An elite Army bomb squad unit — pushed into playing a perilous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos that is Iraq — must reassemble itself in a city where everyone is a potential enemy, and every object … a deadly bomb.
What Caught Our Eye: Director Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days, K-19: The Widowmaker) returns to the fold, with an Iraq war thriller. A distinct voice working in the alterna-Hollywood realm, there’s bound to be some sweaty brows, intense action and hard decision-making for the film’s main players..
KEEP READING: Rachel Ray’s Party
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Rose’s Mojito and Rachael Ray’s Feedback
Who: Rachael Ray and Musical Guests — The New York Dolls, Hold Steady, Bob Schneider, The Thermals & John Pringle, Ra Ra Riot, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Cringe, Semi Precious Weapons, and more…
Category: Party!
What to Expect: The handy-in-the-kitchen bubbly TV host Ray teams-up with sponsor Rose’s Mojito to serve up: “A Smorgasbord of Hot Bands and Hot Food!”
What Caught Our Eye, um, Nose: The Feedback ‘guests’ will take care of the entertainment. Ray promises to provide Austin-inspired recipes, like: biscuit-bound burgers with bacon, ancho mac & cheese for the veggie-folk, black-bean chilaquiles, and ancho-chicken pulled soft tacos and more. Yummm.
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Who: Jackson Kuehn, Dan Sumpter, Syna Zhang
Category: World Premiere/Narrative Feature
What to Expect: Got Game? This comedy does that centers on a self-styled, novelty inventor from Texas, on a mission to bring his big, new idea — “a hygiene product” — to the entire world. Soon, he heads to the colorful Mecca of the novelty world, China — full of possibility. Yet, hitting ‘big time’ takes more than a great idea.
What Caught Our Eye: Toys! More toys! And checking-out the games people play … on an international tip. We’re so there.
KEEP READING: Quincy Jones’ Keynote
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Music Keynote Speaker
Who: Quincy Jones
Category: Talks/Panels
What to Expect: According to SXSW’s staff, iconic music producer Quincy Jones is expected to discuss the “power of music to influence and create positive change in the world.” As well, he plans to “touch upon the responsibility of the artist to use their craft to bring people together for the betterment of mankind.”
What Caught Our Eye: The super-suave, 27-time Grammy Award winner Quincy reigns as one of the most powerful producers/execs in the film, TV and music industries — from working with Spielberg to the gloved Jacko. Besides which, his genes clearly have stay power, as his dazzling emerging-actress daughter, Rashida Jones (pictured above), also graced a SXSW panel (“I Love You, Man: Are You Man Enough to Say It?”), following her film’s premiere. Line-up, listen-up … bring a notepad.
KEEP READING: The Neil Young Trunk Show
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Who: Neil Young
Category: World Premiere/Documentary Feature
What to Expect: An onstage/backstage showcase of Neil Young‘s musical and spiritual soul, both alone and amidst his much-beloved fellow musicians including: Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Ralph Molina, Anthony Crawford and wife, Pegi Young.
What Caught Our Eye: Director Jonathan Demme never disappoints on the documentary front; besides, catch a glimpse of that electric, crazy Young-ian hairdo — it’s just a tiny hint of how ‘out there’ the iconic musician can get with a guitar in-hand.
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Who: Wiley Wiggins, Kenya Miles, Andrew Bujalski, Ia Hernandez
Category: World Premiere/Narrative Feature
What to Expect: Clearly a disaster is on its way when freshly heart-broken Kira sleeps with the disheveled Max, who already has a girlfriend. Max, in turn, decides to dabble in two new pursuits: an obsessive interest in Kira, and investigating whether he, himself, may in fact be an a$$.
What Caught Our Eye: The anticipated return of one of Richard Linklater‘s “muses” Wiley Wiggins (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life) in the feature debut of much-touted producer of the SXSW filmmaking circle, Dia Sokol (Nights and Weekend and Beeswax). Of course it made the cut.
KEEP READING: We Were Promised Jetpacks
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Musicians-on-the-Scene: NEW(-ish) FACES
Who: We Were Promised Jetpacks: Adam Thompson, Michael Palmer, Sean Smith, Darren Lackie
Category: Music Festival/Shows
What to Expect: With strong, clean guitar and plosive phrasing, this energetic band gives a brash, yet melodic feeling of serious play, and are sure to inspire the venue where they’ll perform with the birth of more new fans.
What Caught Our Eye: These high school buds from Edinburgh, with an album coming out this May, already have enough buzz and signature sound to add a real jolt to the Lone Star state.
*What Else: On-the-scene, you’ll also catch on-the-rise “new faces”: Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, Jess Frye, Cut Off Your Hands, Astrograss, Binary Audio Misfits, Los Fancy Free, and hundreds more…
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Who: Thomas Middleditch, Rachael Taylor, Christopher McDonald, Lea Thompson, Frankie Faison
Category: World Premiere/Narrative Feature
What to Expect: A comedy about a complacent, lawn-mowing dude, who gets jolted when a traveling carnival lands in his small town, and falls for a sexy con artist; she soon wakes him up from his bland life haze.
What Caught Our Eye: The writer/director, Brant Sersen, won a SXSW Audience Award (Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story), a few years back. Between that and checking out a nomadic carnie, sounds like we should keep an eye out for Brant’s scruffy-faced gardener.
*Additional Reporting by Brigid Brown
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CLICK ON: Movie Stills of More On-Demand IFC Festival Direct Films at SXSW’09!
