A few months ago, in their year-end lists, indieWIRE asked us to offer five picks for best films of the year still without distribution. My picks were: Apart From That, Eve and the Fire Horse, Gretchen, Jam, and The Last Romantic. Fast forward to this weekend, and I've received separate email blasts from the makers of SXSW world-premieres Apart From That and Last Romantic that they (as well as Eve and the Fire Horse) have been chosen to participate in the annual "indieWIRE: Undiscovered Gems" screening series co-presented by Emerging Pictures and The New York Times. Three out of five ain't bad!

The "Undiscovered Gems" series is an annual showcase for a different "undiscovered" film each month (Eve has May, Romantic has June, and Apart has July). Click here for a full list of the 2007 selections. And, by the way, the Last Romantic blurb on the site is my program-catalog synopsis cut and pasted...hmmm. Anyway, the series means the films will play in 15 theaters across the country and audiences will get a chance to vote for their favorites. The winner of the audience award receives an official theatrical run in 2008, including both New York and L.A. The winner also gets $50,000 for P&A, and a $50,000 licensing fee for broadcast on the Sundance Channel. The 2006 winner was SXSW favorite, Four Eyed Monsters. I'm incredibly happy for all the filmmakers chosen, but especially jazzed for our SXSW 2006 alumni. When both The Last Romantic and Apart From That made their world premieres at SXSW 2006, audiences and critics fell in love... but distributors didn't quite know how to turn that into a full-fledged release. Hopefully more audiences will get a chance to boost their support during the summer. Congrats to Julia, Aaron, Adam, Randy, and Jenny!

The weekend is here, and with it, comes a cool new song from underrated U.K. band The Clientele. Their first two (rather good) albums were the kind of discs you popped in when you needed a sleep aid (and I mean that as a compliment). It sounds like, for their upcoming May album God Save The Clientele, they've pepped things up a bit. As you slide from weekday to weekend, check out "Bookshop Casanova," courtesy of Pitchfork.

Over at The Guardian, Jake Horsley gives us a sneak peek at the new mobile-phone "feature" film entitled When Evil Calls. While its 40-minute running time may seem rather short, the film is divided into 20 different, two-minute segments. It is coming soon in the UK, via Orange and T-Mobile. Reportedly, it will soon makes it way to stateside via Amp'd Mobile. It is described by Horsely as, "a brazenly schlocky teen update of the familiar 'monkey's paw' theme, updated so a satanic clown grants wishes via a cell phone, with gruesome results." Could it catch on? More from the article:

As yet there are no censorship laws relating to mobile phone media, but to minimise resistance to such unashamedly exploitative material, both a "hard" and "soft" version of the series are on offer, for daytime downloading and late-night access, respectively. Producer Ben Grass makes no bones about the marketability of gross-out imagery. "The audience on mobile phones is predominantly young men, so you've got to think about genres that work for them. Horror is nice and threatening in short bursts; we played to the interests of that demographic."

Over at "Docs That Inspire," Joel Heller has posted a podcast interview he did with the team from The Prisoner, or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair, when they attended SXSW 2007. The film opens this weekend in Austin, Chicago, San Francisco, and Cambridge. It opens in L.A. on April 6. Check out the podcast.

Blogger/filmmaker Aaron Hillis puts it all in graphic form with this family tree explaining the much-hyped "mumblecore" movement breaking through at SXSW.

The weekend of March 30 is seeing a few SXSW 2006 and 2007 selections arriving in theaters or expanding on recent openings. So, for your edificaton, here's a look at which SXSW films might be coming your way, as well as trailer links to help get you ready:

- SXSW 2007 Opening Night Film, The Lookout, opens on about 1,000 screens across the country courtesy of Miramax.

- SXSW 2007 selection, The Prisoner, or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair, expands in several markets this weekend courtesy of Red Envelope and Truly Indie.

- SXSW 2007 selection, After the Wedding, opens in NY/LA and select cities courtesy of IFC Films.

- SXSW 2006 jury award-winner, Live Free or Die, opens in select cities on the East Coast courtesy of THINKFilm.

- SXSW 2006 audience award-winner, Air Guitar Nation, opens in Los Angeles after a successful New York bow, courtesy of Docurama and Shadow Distribution.

On April 10, I'm moderating this panel, featuring Aaron Hillis, Joel Heller, Jette Kernion, and Mike Curtis. Open and free to AFS Filmmaker Members. Should be fun!

When I first moved to Austin in 1997, one of the initial events I attended was the second annual QT Fest, a weeklong orgy of classic and forgotten B-movies hosted by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Since then, I've attended every edition including last year's, which was QT Fest number seven. We didn't know it at the time, but each one was a warm-up to what the world is about the witness: the release of Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's new double-feature film Grindhouse. Last night, at the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Austin, the Austin Film Society hosted the local premiere of this willdly anticipated new film in grand style. The theater was overflowing with attendees, many of the stars made an appearance, and we all sat down for three hours of insane genre film homage. It's fitting, given that almost all of the film was shot and is set, within the wonderful atmosphere of Austin.

Split between Rodriguez's sci-fi zombie gorefest Planet Terror and Tarantino's stuntdriver revenge flick Death Proof, the entire experience is an assault on the senses. Planet Terror is straight-up John Carpenter, with a premise involving a government plot (led by an uncredited Bruce Willis) to turn people into flesh-eating undead. Leading a band of survivors is Freddy Rodriguez as a mysterious gunman and Rose McGowan as a resourceful go-go dancer. The blood and guts are heavy and hardcore in Planet Terror, with multiple sequences that will not soon be forgotten. Tarantino's cameo as an evil soldier will be remembered for an Ava Gardner reference and a melting penis. You were warned. Planet Terror is pretty much what you'd expect from Rodriguez, loads of bullets and stylized deaths, with little room for dialogue but all the better to unload the real essence of "grindhouse cinema."

Tarantino's Death Proof is a talky and smart film about a menacing ex-stuntman (Kurt Russell) who seduces women with his hot-rod that has been "death proofed" for himself but not other passengers. Some in the audience were put off by Tarantino's typically dialogue-heavy first half, but I liked it a lot. As it settles in my brain, I keep thinking Death Proof may have some of the best writing so far this year. The exchanges between the film's primarily female cast (including Rosario Dawson, Jordan Ladd, and more) are textured nicely and add nuances that segue effortlessly into the eventual action sequences. The climatic car chase between Russell and a band of stuntwomen, is nothing short of iconic, and the sold-out crowd ate it up last night. It's intense and extremely entertaining.

The faux trailers produced in-between the films? Brilliant. Rodriguez's Machete is a pitch-perfect portrayal of Danny Trejo as a day laborer with a score to settle. Edgar Wright's Don't trailer is a funny and knowing nod to the Hammer films from his native U.K. Meanwhile, Eli Roth's Thanksgiving trailer will change your life, for better or worse. The only trailer that comes up short is Rob Zombie's Werewolf Women of the SS, which is a better idea than execution. Despite the brilliant casting of Udo Kier and Nicolas Cage, the trailer looks too polished and the notes aren't exactly right for the "grindhouse" sensibility. But that's okay, because by the time Eli Roth's Thanksgiving comes and goes, your brain has been properly washed all the same. I sent Eli an email from my seat at the Paramount, letting him know what a sick bastard he is. All in all, a fun screening followed by a fun after-party at The Belmont. Here are some pics I snapped from the night:

(Outside the Paramount on Wednesday evening as onlookers look on, to the red carpet arrivals.)

('Death Proof' star Kurt Russell, left, and 'Grindhouse' co-director Robert Rodriguez, greet folks at local bar The Belmont during the after-party.)

('Grindhouse' co-director Quentin Tarantino, left, and Austin Film Society executive director Rebecca Campbell embrace at the party.)

(Jarren and I, at the 'Grindhouse' party on Wednesday night. Photo by Janet Pierson.)

(Also at the after-party are, left to right: SXSW co-founder Louis Black, filmmaker and AFS founder Richard Linklater, and filmmaker Tim McCanlies.)

(Ain't It Cool News chief Harry Knowles catches a pose with 'Death Proof' co-star Zoe Bell. Bell, a real-life stuntwoman who was Uma Thurman's double for 'Kill Bill' practically steals her half of 'Grindhouse' with an amazing car chase. Bell, from New Zealand, was in Austin a few years ago when we played the documentary about her, 'Double Dare,' at SXSW.)

I have a fondness for The Goonies just like everyone else around my age, but the thought of a Broadway musical adaptation kinda gives me the creeps. From EW.com:

The film's director, Richard Donner (16 Blocks), says there is an active attempt to mount a musical adaptation of the original, which was written by Chris Columbus from Steven Spielberg's story. ''Steven and I have discussed it, and it's something that I'm fairly passionate about right now,'' Donner tells us.

A second movie seems unlikely, however. ''We never had a script,'' Donner explains. ''We tried a couple of times and every time we did, we realized, 'What are we doing?'''

And you may have thought you were having a bad week.

Indie-rock success story Modest Mouse has done the (somewhat) unexpected by debuting on the Billboard album charts at the number one spot. Doing this, after The Shins debuted very high with their latest album earlier this year, could either mean the beginning of a sea change in pop music, or the Wal-Martization of indie-rock.

SXSW 2006 audience award-winner, Air Guitar Nation, is a terrific and entertaining documentary by Alexandra Lipsitz. And, currently, the film has begun an assault on cinema screens across North America thanks to Docurama and Shadow Distribution. It has just opened in New York and will follow that with a Los Angeles opening on March 30. Check out the film's official Web site, for information on when Air Guitar Nation will make its way to your neck of the woods. While you're on the site, also check out the official blog and the brand-new trailer. "To err is human. To air guitar, divine."

I heart Kent Osborne. Have since before I had the pleasure of saying I know him personally. A talented writer/actor/filmmaker, Kent is no stranger to SXSW and I was thrilled beyond thrilled when I saw his emotional and amazing performance in Hannah Takes the Stairs. Kent has compiled some video and photos for his latest collage, entitled "kent osborne's south by southwest experience 2007." Check it out:

The folks at Rolling Stone aren't too impressed with the first annual winners of YouTube's new awards for user-generated video. Putting it mildly, for starters:

We’re worried about YouTube. According to viewers who voted in the Web site's first annual video awards, OK Go produced the most creative video on the site this year. While we admit their clip for "Here It Goes Again" — with it’s innovative use of home fitness equipment — is super-cool, we find it difficult to believe it is the single most creative piece of user-generated footage put up on YouTube this year. And even if it is, that still doesn’t explain the top picks in these other categories...

Wow, that was fast! SXSW 2007 world premiere documentary, Fish Kill Flea, is coming back to Austin as part of the Austin Film Society's Texas Doc Tour. The film will screen at the Alamo Downtown on April 11, 7 p.m. Directors Aaron Hillis, Brian Cassidy, and Jennifer Loeber are scheduled to attend. Be there!

Straight today from IFP in New York, announcing applications for their "emerging narrative program":

Emerging Narrative Program Alumni:
Recent Emerging Narrative filmmakers include: Rodney Evans (dir, Brother to Brother), Nicole Kassell (dir, The Woodsman), Seith Mann (dir, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Wire”), Alice Wu (dir, Saving Face).

Criteria & Selection Process
U.S. projects only. 40 screenplays accepted. Priority given to projects where the writer is also the director or there is a director attached. Projects will be selected on artistic merit and the potential of the project to benefit from the Emerging Narrative program.

Cash Award Eligibility
A juried cash grant of $5,000 will be presented to a project in the Emerging Narrative section at the annual awards luncheon. Award solely based on artistic merit and originality of voice.

What to Expect Before the Emerging Narrative Program at IFP Market
- In-person or phone consultation over the summer with script consultant ensures the possibility of completing any revisions prior to IFP Market.
- As most agencies and production companies don’t accept unsolicited material, inclusion in the Emerging Narrative Script Dossier ensures that information about you and your project goes directly into the right hands. IFP targets approximately 250 such companies – irrespective of their attendance at the IFP Market.

What to Expect During the Emerging Narrative Program at IFP Market
- Pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings with producers provide filmmakers the opportunity to present their scripts at an early stage of development. All meetings scheduled at producer’s request based on information provided in the Emerging Narrative Script Dossier. (new)
- Roundtable discussions with festival programmers, agents and development executives expose filmmakers to marketplace trends and expand business relationships. (new)
- Acceptance includes full registration to the five-day Filmmaker Conference, which runs concurrent with the IFP Market.

About the IFP Market
The IFP Market is a national program connecting projects with financiers, producers & programmers before they’re completed & on the festival circuit. More than 1,000 industry professionals attend the IFP Market for pitch & speed dating meetings, screenings, and social events. 200 projects are invited to participate (50% docs; 50% narrative screenplays) and take one-on-one pitch meetings with potential financing partners or co-producers. In 2006, more than 1,800 pitch meetings were arranged with buyers.

For more information and applications to the Emerging Narrative program and IFP Market, log on here.

Sad news today. Word came in that Lily Wheelwright, one of the two leads in Ry Russo-Young's new film Orphans (currently making festival rounds), died at the age of 24.

As long-promised, we bring you the online debut of this year's SXSW Film Festival trailers. Created by the gang from Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs, the trailers feature castmembers Kent Osborne, Greta Gurwig, Andrew Bujalski, Mark Duplass, Ry Russo-Young, Todd Rohal, and star Kevin Bewersdorf. While they were made on the set of Hannah Takes the Stairs, these short clips (which ran in front of every screening at this year's SXSW) take place during the making of a fictional, indie film called Summer's Winter. And, these trailers are the production diaries, where things constantly seem to go wrong.

Why Summer's Winter as a title? We spent a few days thinking it over and decided that we needed to try our best not to link the trailers with Hannah Takes the Stairs, even though they were made on that shoot. Since the idea was to poke fun at high-art indie cinema, we decided to try to think of the most pretentious (unused) American art film name we could muster.

A few strong candidates surfaced, and I think at one point I even voted for The Art of Crying, with total disregard that it's the real title of a film currently making the festival rounds. Finally, Autumn's Winter came up, and it was soon changed to Summer's Winter for greater effect. Hopefully, you get the pretentious double-meaning.

We're truly happy to add Joe's trailers into the nifty pantheon of SXSW previews, where it joins work by Ron Mann, Bob Odenkirk, Lee Daniel, among others. It only makes things harder for us next year, when time comes to develop yet another new idea for these things. But, in the meantime, I'd like to give a big shout-out to Dan Brown and Kevin Bewersdorf for overseeing the post-production on the trailers. And to Bewersdorf, personally, for composing that catchy jingle on each one. Jarod got these online quick, so click here and check 'em out!

Maybe it's from growing up in Texas, but one of the things that appealed to me instantly about The Lookout was its small-town setting for a film noir tale. Noir films are (almost by definition) set in urban cityscapes, so it was something of a revelation when the Coen brothers broke through big time with their classic 1984 Texas crime saga, Blood Simple. It was not the first small-town noir thriller, nor would it be the last. IFC News' Matt Singer and Alison Wilmore take a cue from the March 30 release of SXSW opener The Lookout, to run down a list of classic small-town noir films. Many of them take the typical noirish skyscrapers, and replace them with falling snow. This list is just some of the good ones, because Lord knows there have been bad ones (the 1994 crime comedy Trapped in Paradise), questionably campy ones (John McNaughton's Wild Things), and still-unreleased ones (David Schwimmer and Simon Pegg's Big Nothing).

And, one thing Singer and Wilmore do not mention is the hard and fast influence of Truman Capote's book In Cold Blood, as well as its film adaptation and subsequent behind-the-scenes adaptations Capote and Infamous. For my money, Capote's book has had more of an influence on small-town noir than just about anything else. Here's where Singer and Wilmore begin with their list:

Kansas City might not be an obvious place to set a heist film, but Scott Frank's "The Lookout" makes atmospheric use of the wide spaces at its outskirts and surrounding farms to tell a compellingly neo-noir tale of an unusual recruit in a bank robbery. Film noir may have been born in an urban world (Los Angeles, perhaps, with a few childhood visits to San Francisco and New York) and defined by the look of a labyrinth of seedy bars, dark alleys, mansions in the hills, crowded lunch counters and broad sidewalks, but modern noir is just as likely to be found in Midwestern suburbs as in your pick of America's big, bad cities. There may in fact be more punch in seeing the less expected suspects of a small town get pulled in to dark intrigues. In "Out of the Past," Robert Mitchum's Jeff fled to far away Bridgeport, CA to escape his misdeeds and lead a quiet life, only to have the city find him. These days, small town life is no more benign than downtown New York — here's a look at films noir both old and new that venture further along down the highway.

There's a nice tradition that's been building over the last few years, where some of our SXSW filmmakers screen in Austin and then follow it up really quick with a screening in New York for the Film Society of Lincoln Center's New Directors/New Films festival.

Since New Directors/New Films takes place a mere four days after SXSW concludes, the two events have (unofficially) seemed like companion pieces. Films in the last couple of years that have played at both events, include: Our Brand is Crisis, My Country, My Country, Things that Hang from Trees, Old Joy, and more.

Before this year's ND/NF festival comes to a close, I wanted to highlight two films/filmmakers worth keeping an eye on. They are Craig Zobel and Michael Jacobs (pictured here in an indieWIRE pic by Brian Brooks from the ND/NF opening night), and their new films are The Great World of Sound and Audience of One, respectively. Great World is a funny and disturbing satire of the music business but also a wonderful comment on the world of salesmen as a whole. Audience is a funny and disturbing documentary look at the making (and unmaking) of a sci-fi movie production by a church in San Francisco. For some cool looks at the SXSW journey of these two films, check out these two dispatches from the Austin Chronicle's SXSW Blog, which highlighted both Great World and Audience of One (check out what happened at both wonderfully revelatory Q&As during SXSW).

There are three features recently arriving in arthouses that share two things in common: 1. they have been sitting on the shelf for many months, and 2. they use an international setting to make parallels with American culture. And, they also may be some of the better films you'll find in a theater this month. While much has been written or said about two of these films, Mira Nair's The Namesake and Joon-ho Bong's The Host, I wanted to take a moment and make a recommendation for the third: Ken Loach's The Wind that Shakes the Barley. A uniquely quiet and dense war film, it may be the bloodiest cinematic study in atmosphere, since Letters From Iwo Jima.

When I caught the film, on the early side of last year's Cannes Film Festival, I instantly thought it was the most accessible Ken Loach film I'd seen... maybe ever. But, an "accessible Ken Loach film" doesn't guarantee sell-out audiences or the same kind of critical campaign that would welcome films like Namesake or Host. Barley stars Cillian Murphy as one of two brothers trying to battle British rule in 1920s Ireland. Like most of Loach's work, it's a film that doesn't pull any punches either politically or physically. And, as I wrote when I saw the film at Cannes, there are certain timely associations created between the action of Barley and the U.S. and British occupation of Iraq.

Hopefully, this small but fierce war film will find its own devoted following, within March's landscape of studio releases like 300 and Shooter. For more on Ken Loach's unusual and solid film, check out recent online musings by Ron Wilkinson and Mark Rabinowitz.

What indieWIRE editor Eugene Hernandez has compiled here, is a splendidly short and well-edited look at his experiences during this year's SXSW Music Festival:

In Sunday's New York Times, Franz Lidz profiles acclaimed actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the eve of the national release of his new film, The Lookout (which opened SXSW 2007 two weeks ago). I'm a fan of just about every member of The Lookout team, and there is something really refreshing and startling about Gordon-Levitt's career path. He's an actor who went from NBC's sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun to smallish roles in teen pics like 10 Things I Hate About You to suddenly takig huge risks in pitch-black fare like Brick and Mysterious Skin. And there's no stopping him now, with upcoming roles in Kimberly Peirce's Stop Loss and John Madden's Killshot. As a result, he's quickly emerged as an actor to watch. From Lidz's article:

Mr. Gordon-Levitt escaped during “3rd Rock’s” final season. He asked out of his contract, he said, and the show’s producers obliged. “Acting was still fun, but a spark was missing,” he said. “I wanted a new challenge.” He found it at Columbia, the only place he applied to. “I realized it doesn’t matter what classes you’re taking. It only matters who the teachers are.”

Those who mattered most to him taught French poetry, French history and French literature. “They made me see I wasn’t just alive to have fun,” he said. “I started to care about the world, and I wanted to somehow connect with it.”

His French connection stems not from chewing over snails but drooling at the New Wave film actresses of the late ’50s and early ’60s: Anna Karina in “A Woman Is a Woman,” Brigitte Bardot in “And God Created Woman” and Corinne Marchand in “Cleo From 5 to 7.” “For me,” Mr. Gordon-Levitt said, “few things are more erotic than a woman speaking in a French accent.”

On Friday night, Jarren and I headed to the Peacock for some drinks (after dinner at Lambert's, the new downtown comfort-food spot). Up at the cozy Peacocktail bar, we ran into Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Tim League who was in attendance with his wife (Alamo co-founder Karrie) and some friends. Tim was just back in town after a quick jaunt in the Southeast, and we had to corner him with questions about the recently announced closing of the original Alamo location on 4th and Colorado.

In our brief chat, Tim clarified more about the plans for the new downtown Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz (taking over the old rock club), including:

- The Ritz location will indeed feature two theaters, one programmed with first-run features (making it the only downtown Austin screen of its kind) and the other programmed with the famous vintage/genre/event selections that currently fill up the original Alamo.

- The last night of the original downtown Alamo (late June) will be an emotional and debaucherous affair. Based on some of what Tim predicts, I can say that everyone should try to be there. Plus, it will also be the 10th anniversary celebration of the theater that started it all.

- The curbside pizza vendor ("Heavy Metal Pizza") that is attached to the Ritz, will remain, and be operated by the fine folks of the Alamo.

- Tim has no idea (and if you ask me, why would he care?) what will become of the 4th and Colorado location after the Alamo leaves.

- Ritz operator Bob Woody is not scheduled to be involved with the new Alamo location.

So, with all of that and more details to come, anyone who has never been to the original downtown Alamo Drafthouse, better get themselves over there soon! We're talking about a piece of Austin's recent movie history.

Judd Apatow's upcoming summer comedy, Knocked Up, was easily one of the big narrative hits at SXSW 2007. Audiences (including some critics) totally loved it, and the screening went over bigger and rowdier than many comedies that have played the Paramount Theater... ever! But, will all this goodwill and love for the film work against it? Certainly not. Everyone who sees the film, agrees it's bound to be a comedy classic. But that hasn't stopped Apatow from an amusing entry in his MTV.com column, where he ruminates on his history with criticism, both positive and negative. Here's an excerpt from his writing:

This has been an odd week because "Knocked Up" premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, and has been getting fantastic reviews. Reviews that make me think that a painful backlash is inevitable. I feel like starting the backlash, just to get it over with. It makes me want to examine my entire relationship with criticism.

Throughout my career I've gotten good reviews and bad reviews. I have gotten reviews that are so bad a weaker man would never get up off the canvas after reading them. I recently saw Maya Angelou on the TV show "Iconoclast" on the Sundance Channel telling Dave Chappelle that when it comes to what people in the press say, her theory is "don't pick it up, don't put it down." I think her point is that you shouldn't believe them when they're good and you shouldn't believe them when they're bad.

I have a different theory: I like to pick it up and never put it down. I like to put my name in the Google news and blog alerts and receive every single thing written about me and my work on the Internet. Then I can go home and stew on all of it, feeling both good and ashamed in quick succession.

1. Everything's Gone Green soundtrack
(Primarily Canadian indie-rock suitably sets the tone for this entertaining Canadian indie film, which had its U.S. Premiere at SXSW 2007. Regardless, tracks from Jason Collett, Sloan, Caribou and more, create a moody and trippy soundscape that will be hard to take out of rotation.)

2. Rich Boy, Rich Boy
(Dirty South hip-hop, with a splash of East Coast ruff 'n' tumble on this dynamic and better-than-expected debut LP from a talented young MC.)

3. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver
(James Murphy tops his last outing with this dangerous sonic assault of homegrown dancebeats, lush pop arrangements, and the occasional party anthem.)

4. Menomena, Friend and Foe
(Jangly, disjointed indie pop from a bunch of Portland hipster kids. Surprisingly, it's a rather textured and mature set of epic songs. Comparisons to Spoon and Mercury Rev are aptly right-on and a far-off.)

5. K-Os, Atlantis: Hymns for Disco
(Canadian hip-hop heavyweight continues to relish the expansive sound of folk and soul for his latest. He's either the Wyclef Jean of the Great White North, or the Sly Stone of the college-radio set.)

NEW SONGS TO DOWNLOAD NOW:
- "Survivalism" by Nine Inch Nails
(Just when you kinda thought Trent Reznor was running out of new melodies, he delivers this catchy new single, the first from his upcoming new album.)

- "Pressure Suit" by Aqualung
(His live show may be Coldplay on Xanax, but Matt Haley's new single is a burning, yearning, and strong Brit-rock confection.)

- "Flathead" by The Fratellis
(Maybe it's just the latest iTunes-endorsed slice of guitar-rock cacophony? No matter, this single from the Scottish buzz band is hard to deny.)

The team from Austin's new film/TV magazine, Caught in the Act, have just launched a new blog dedicated to the social scene and nightlife of Austin's entertainment community. Finally. Check it out here.

Recent news items, from the 2007 SXSW Film Festival, currently making the rounds:

- Ella Taylor, from LA Weekly, offers her views and reviews from this year's festival.

- Check out the complete Cinematical coverage of SXSW 2007, on this easy-to-use link.

- indieWIRE has got tons of pictures on the scene, at this year's event.

- AICN has piled on the reviews, including this wrap-up with over a dozen blurbs from "Psychedelic."

- The Austin Chronicle catches up with SXSW reviews, pictures, and more in their latest recap.

- Film Threat's Mark Bell looks back on this year's event.

- Peter Howell checks in for The Toronto Star on many things SXSW 2007.

- Gerald Peary reports for The Boston Phoenix on several films including Run Granny Run and Manufacturing Dissent.

- Producer and Filmmaker magazine editor Scott Macaulay gives some insight in the narrative jury's picks as well as a longer look at Ronald Bronstein's SXSW premiere Frownland.

- Tamara Krinsky wraps up some iKlipz video coverage chatting with Smiley Face director Gregg Araki.

- GreenCine Daily's master blogger David Hudson gets in the game with this dispatch from the festival, including a focus on our "Conversation with Richard Linklater."

- Karina Longworth has her SXSW CliffsNotes to share.

- Bloody Disgusting breaks down what went down on a horror fans' first trek to the fest.

- The Austin American-Statesman takes a close-up look at what happened during SXSW.

It's always really bizarre, coming off of SXSW and the way a calendar stares you down. We spend 11 months intimately knowing March 9-18, we have each day planned out by the minute. Sometimes things stick, sometimes they don't. But no matter what, those 10 days are a cloud over everything we do. And, in a few short weeks, we'll be back at it for SXSW 2008. But before then, there's time to make other plans. Time to look forward for more events on the horizon. More festival dates, some travel, a lease renewal, car payments, a law-school graduation, birthdays, anniversaries. And, it looks like Jarren and I are eyeing October 13 as a day to plan a destination wedding. Now, we just have to figure out which island and which color bathing suit.

We're honored to have hosted the last major film event at the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (though there is a massive Hot Fuzz screening on March 31). And, now, comes the long-rumored news that the original Alamo location (at 4th and Colorado St.) will be shutting its doors... and relocating to the old Ritz venue on 6th Street. Early reports indicate the new location will feature two screens in the fabled old theater-turned-music-club-about-to-be-theater-again. Check out the report courtesy of Harry Knowles.

After months of speculation that we were gonna have an unannounced screening of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Grindhouse during SXSW 2007 (people were even asking me as late as Monday during the festival), here comes the official news that the Austin Film Society will host the local unveiling on Wednesday, March 28. The two directors (plus "special guests") will be in the house (a.k.a. the Paramount) for the screening. Click here for more details.

What, you thought we were all done with SXSW Film Festival awards by Tuesday night? No, no. We just announced the audience award-winners for our "24 Beats Per Second" and "Lone Star States" categories. The winners are: Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher's Dirty Country and Marcy Garriott's Inside the Circle, respectively. Get the full list of SXSW winners here.

SXSW 2007 is a wrap, and we're now moving back into the offices, cleaning up all that has transpired. It was a momumental year in a lot of ways, and I'll be boring you some with those details... More soon. And a big first "thank you" to everyone who came down to Austin to celebrate film/music/interactive with SXSW.

Recent news items, from the 2007 SXSW Film Festival, currently making the rounds:

- indieWIRE captures a bunch at SXSW this year, including photos/profiles/panels and more.

- Premiere.com is kicking into high gear since the print edition announced its demise, with daily reports by Stephen Saito and a look at Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs.

- Salon's Andrew O'Hehir shares some favorites from the fest, including a look at Stephen Kijak's hit Scott Walker: 30 Century Man.

- IFC is checking in with constant reports and video dispatches.

- The Austin Chronicle continues to deliver the goods, with reviews and news.

- Variety LOVED Knocked Up.

- The Hollywood Reporter very much likes Manufacturing Dissent.

- Ain't It Cool News takes a look at the "Grindhouse 101" panel, as well as our "Grindhouse Trailers" contest winner.

- Christy Lemire, from the Associated Press, sits down with Disturbia star Shia LeBeouf.

More to come...

Chris Garcia, from the Austin American-Statesman names his Top 5 film screenings and film panels to check out at SXSW 2007.

The fine folks at the Austin Chronicle have outdone themselves yet again with the massively sprawling preview coverage for the 2007 SXSW Film Festival. It includes: an overview of the Emerging Visions and 24 Beats Per Second sections, an article by Dave Marsh about Crazy Sexy Cancer, and advanced looks at features such as The Unforeseen, Eagle vs. Shark, The Devil Came on Horseback, Bella, Hell on Wheels, The Prisoner, and more. Check it out now!

In Thursday's Hollywood Reporter, Randee Cohen highlights some of what to expect from SXSW 2007. Besides using quotes from myself and Louis Black, she checks in with folks like director Eli Roth, Lionsgate head Tom Ortenberg, Magnolia buyer Tom Quinn, IFC Films buyer Arianna Bocco, and more. Here's an excerpt from the flattering piece:

Writer-director Eli Roth credits SXSW for cluing executives at Lionsgate into the potential of his 2002 low-budget horror film "Cabin Fever," which had a special screening at the festival early on. "It's a marketplace, but more importantly, it's a great place to start buzz for your movie," says Roth, who will preview several minutes of his planned June release "Hostel: Part II," which will be distributed through Lionsgate, at this year's event. "It used to be, if you won Sundance, that's what mattered. Now, there are so many films that if you get into Sundance, people look at your film differently. That's what South by Southwest has become. Before, it was a fun festival in Austin -- but mainly for the music. Now, there's so much competition to get in that it's a big deal for filmmakers."

Okay, so here is the latest we've heard about the Grindhouse trailer competition. The handful of winners will be announced for sure, during Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse 101" panel on Sunday, March 11, at 11:00 a.m. at the ACC Theatre. This panel is only open to SXSW Film, Gold, and Platinum badgeholders. Shortly after this panel, for those not in attendance, we will announce the winners on our official Web site. And, while we are not aware which trailers made the cut, we are under the impression that the winners will be notified before the Sunday panel. But, not by us. SXSW will learn the winners, as the public does. Thanks for your patience, and good luck!

Okay, "this is the anthem, get your damn hands up." We've decided that the unofficial anthem of the 2007 SXSW Film Festival will be "No Cars Go," by the Arcade Fire. Trust us, our steering committee went through thousands of songs to find the right anthem, and it's a perfect fit. Click here to listen to the song. Play it often, play it loud, and keep it playing from now until March 17. You can also find a different and bigger version of the song on Arcade Fire's new album, Neon Bible. And, as you listen to it, in whatever part of the globe you're coming from... keep humming the lyrics:

Between the click of the light and the start of the dream
Between the click of the light and the start of the dream

Little babies?
Let's go!

Women and children?
Let's go!

Old folks?
Let's go!

I'll say it forever: one of the best things that can happen at SXSW is when filmmakers band together upon meeting at the fest, and collaborate. And, there's a bunch of that going on every year. Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs is a terrific example. But, filmmaker Bryan Poyser posts on his blog that the star of three PoyBoy projects, Rusty Kelley, has now been cast in Ti West's third feature which also happens to be Cabin Fever 2. What makes this even more kismet, is the fact that Rusty co-stars (with Joe Swanberg, no less) in Bryan's new short film, Grammy's, which screens in front of Trigger Man, Ti's second (newest) feature film. Make sense? This coincidence is kinda nuts, but makes the Grammy's/Trigger Man screening even more meaningful. It gets even weirder: Cabin Fever 2 is produced by Lauren Moews who will be at SXSW with another film, Borderland. And, she'll join original Cabin Fever director Eli Roth on Sunday's horror panel. Okay, I'm outta breath...

"This film kills fascists," is what director Reg Harkema promises with his new feature, Monkey Warfare, via its MySpace page. At its Toronto Film Festival premiere in September, it was hard to avoid the memorable marketing campaign behind this Canadian feature. And, essentially, it can all be summed up with this iconic image that was plastered on T-shirts, stickers, and more:

How can you not be a little curious now to see Monkey Warfare?

Big thanks to Ian Mohr and Peter Debruge from Variety, taking the time out to spotlight a few of the events on tap for SXSW 2007. Both of them wrote wonderfully warm articles for the trade publication, breaking down what SXSW can mean for attendees. Ian's piece, details the overall trends found at this year's festival. While Peter's article, shines a spotlight on some of the SXSW Film, Interactive, and Music crossover and convergence taking place. If you get a chance, check out both of these write-ups. We're thrilled about them.

Time to share some more of the many SXSW 2007 films that have set up MySpace profiles. Add them, browse the goodies like trailers and photos, and then put them in your "Top Friends." Some of the SXSW films on MySpace include:

- Lanre Olabisi's August the First

- Macky Alston's Hard Road Home

- Namoi Greenfield and Sara Taksler's TWISTED: A Balloonamentary

- Michael Jacobs' Audience of One

- Paul Fox's Everything's Gone Green

- Craig Zobel's Great World of Sound

- Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine's Manufacturing Dissent

- Jeremy Saulnier's Muder Party

- AJ Schnack's Kurt Cobain About a Son

- Harris Fishman's Cat Dancers

- Reg Harkema's Monkey Warfare

Enjoy!

A bevy of former SXSW Filmmakers are bringing their latest and greatest work to audiences for the 2007 Festival.

Among the many alumni features are: wunderkind Joe Swanberg's touching and amazing new feature Hannah Takes the Stairs, Ti West's creepy trip to the woods Trigger Man, Marlo Poras' uplifting election doc Run Granny Run (pictured here), Annie Sunberg and Ricki Stern's harrowing The Devil Came on Horseback, Matthew Buzzell's mariachi documentary Companeras, Michele Ohayon's powerful documentary Steal a Pencil for Me, Steven Cantor's musical/political portrait James Blunt: Return to Kosovo, Matthew Bissonette's funny relationship drama Who Loves the Sun, AJ Schnack's atmospheric and artful documentary Kurt Cobain About a Son, Aaron Katz's artful love story Quiet City, Michael Tully's rock doc Silver Jew, and many more.

And that's not all! On the shorts side of things, check out new work by filmmakers Bryan Poyser, Dan Brown, Bradley Beesley, and more. Plus, we happily welcome back to town filmmakers like Eli Roth, Morgan Spurlock, and Scott Glosserman, all sitting on various panels. Reunited! And, it looks so good.

The folks at Global Grassroots will be on the scene at SXSW this year, promoting the documentary The Devil Came on Horseback, as well as its important cause. Check out their site, and check out this terrific new documentary look at what's happening in Darfur.