Interview:
Janet Pierson,
Head of SXSW Film
The SXSW Film Festival opens March 7 with actor/director Jon Favreau’s comedy Chef, which shot scenes in Austin last year. The film festival continues through March 15 at various Austin venues. FIlms with Austin ties includes Above all Else, Arlo & Julie, Boyhood, Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linkletter, Hellion, Joe, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, No No: A Dockumenrary, Open Windows, Ping Pong Summer, Road to Austin, Thank You a Lot, Two Step, Veronica Mars, andYakona. Other special events with Austin ties include the world premiere of director Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn: Series Pilot for Rodriguez’s El Rey Network; the world premiere of Silicon Valley, the new HBO show from Mike Judge; the 40th anniversary screening of director Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; and a screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel with director and University of Texas alumni Wes Anderson in attendance for an extended Q&A. Other notable films in this year’s SXSW Film Festival include Cesar Chavez, Frank, The Guest, Neighbors, Predestination,and The Raid 2: Berandal. Girls’ Lena Dunham, Insidious producer Jason Blum, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Marc Webb and Internet content provider Casey Neistat serve as keynote speakers. In addition, there will be conversations with Jason Bateman (Bad Words), Robert Duvall (A Night in Old Mexico), Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Dance of Reality), Mike Myers (Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon), Ralph Steadman (For No Good Reason), and Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive). Monsters director Gareth Edwards returns to SXSW to present a screening of the 1954 Godzilla in advance of the May 16 release of his Godzilla remake. New this year to the SXSW Film Festival: the Episodic screening section and the SXsports convergence track.
Aired: Feb. 20, 2014 Web site: http://sxsw.com/film/ |