Thompson on Hollywood

SXSW Unveils Panel First Wave

Among the first wave of twenty South by Southwest panels---there will be over 80 panels and workshops–taking place in Austin, Texas between March 11-19, 2011 are:

By Sophia Savage
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October 4, 2010 5:24 AM
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IFC Nabs SXSW Prize-Winner Tiny Furniture

IFC Films has acquired North American and multiple foreign rights to the critical hit of SXSW, writer-director-actress Lena Denham's Tiny Furniture, which marks the emergence of a fresh new voice in American indie film. Dunham not only won the narrative feature jury prize but also took home the festival’s breakout award for emerging narrative woman director. She stars in the semi-autobiographical DIY film, which she shot after graduating from Oberlin College, in familiar Manhattan locations on a miniscule budget.

By Anne Thompson
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April 23, 2010 2:59 AM
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Breaking Upwards: Wein and Lister Jones Give DIY Primer

"Nothing is better than five weeks of word of mouth in a movie theater."

By Anne Thompson
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April 12, 2010 9:15 AM
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#SXSW Wrap, Hits and Misses

Continuing to build its rep as a balmy spring destination for genre fans and cinephiles alike, the 17th South by Southwest Film Festival saw a strong turnout at films and panels appealing to young males and indie filmgoers, from opener Kick-Ass and stoner-comedy Leaves of Grass to the more finely calibrated critics' faves Tiny Furniture (which won the dramatic jury prize) and Cold Weather. Clearly, the fest hasn’t lost its indie cred, although a hardcore midnight screening of A Serbian Film tested the limits of many filmgoers.

By Anne Thompson
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March 23, 2010 2:04 AM
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#SXSW: Kashmere Band Doc Thunder Soul Builds Buzz

Film Festival rule number one: ask people what they like, and when two in a row say the same film, get thee to the next screening.

By Anne Thompson
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March 21, 2010 8:15 AM
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SXSW: Rising Duplasses Help The Freebie, Lovers of Hate, Mars

One of the notable things to come out of SXSW is the so-called mumblecore movement, which like the word "indie," has taken on so many meanings that it doesn't really mean anything. (Check out Paste's long-winded answer to the question: "Is Indie Dead?") The term is mainly used as shorthand for micro-budget talking-head flicks and a generation of moviemakers who work on each other's films.

By Anne Thompson
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March 19, 2010 11:00 AM
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#SXSW: Rodriguez, Brody, Antal Talk Predators, Spy Kids 4

It was a smart move for Fox to hand over the reins to FX whiz Robert Rodriguez on a Predator sequel. He promised to deliver them a $45-million movie--modest, for an action sequel--which he wrote and produced at his Austin Troublemaker Studios (with location shoots in Hawaii) with Nimrod Antal (Kontroll) at the helm. Rodriguez offers studios a one-stop shop on a somewhat smaller scale than Peter Jackson's Weta operation in New Zealand. The deal is, they leave him alone to deliver the goods. "Do your thing and make it cool and make it a Troublemaker Studios movie," Fox told Rodriguez. "We’ll release it, but you don’t have to make it a Fox movie."

By Anne Thompson
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March 17, 2010 7:04 AM
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#SXSW: Matthew Vaughn Holds Off on Kick-Ass Sequel

You couldn't ask for a more obvious set-up for a sequel than the end of Kick-Ass. Yet director Matthew Vaughn--who cannily set out to make a $50-million commercial hit--won't count his chickens until the movie opens on 3000 screens April 16. Lionsgate wants to talk sequel--they have first-look rights. But Vaughn, who has plenty of ideas for how to go about reforming his pint-size killer Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz)--think Terminator 2, with Schwarzenegger's cyborg assassin shooting folks in the knees--isn't ready to sit down and make a deal. (See two-part flip-cam interview below.)

By Anne Thompson
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March 17, 2010 5:22 AM
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#SXSW: True Crime Meets Cold Weather

Well, I checked out writer-director Aaron Katz's third film Cold Weather to see what the fuss was all about.

By Anne Thompson
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March 17, 2010 3:31 AM
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#SXSW: MacGruber Panel, Trailer

MacGruber cost just $10 million, a micro budget for a Universal release starring Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer, Will Forte, Seth Meyers, Powers Boothe and Kristin Wiig. The gang stopped by the IFC House Tuesday for a Matt Singer interview and photo shoot.