Matthew Lillard's 'Fat Kid Rules the World' Wins at SXSW

March, 17, 2012 10:33 am | Comments On #Brooklyn Castle, Chasing Ice, Citadel, fat kid rules the world, film festivals, Her Master's Voice, Jacob Wysocki, joe berlinger, Low & Clear, Matthew Lillard, Movies, Paul Simon, South by Southwest, SXSW, Under African Skies

Matthew Lillard's "Fat Kid Rules the World" and Joe Berlinger's Paul Simon documentary "Under African Skies" are among the additional audience award winners at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, which announced the top films in seven categories on Saturday.

Jacob Wysocki in Fat Kid Rules the World"Fat Kid Rules the World," the directorial debut from actor Lillard ("The Descendants"), was voted best in the Narrative Spotlight section. Based on the young adult novel by K.L. Going, it concerns an overweight teen (Jacob Wysocki, left) drawn into the world of punk rock.

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'Gimme the Loot,' 'Mr. Baker' Win Top Prizes at Horror-Heavy SXSW

March, 14, 2012 9:05 am | Comments On #21 Jump Street, Beware of Mr. Baker, film festivals, Gimme the Loot, Movies, South by Southwest, SXSW, The Cabin in the Woods

The Bronx-set drama "Gimme the Loot" and the rock documentary "Beware of Mr. Baker" have won the top jury awards at the 2012 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival.

The first five days of the Austin festival also saw the premiere of Sony's "21 Jump Street," an array of raucously-received horror and genre films, appearances by Willem Dafoe, Minnie Driver, Matthew McConaughey, Joss Whedon and many others, and even a controversial use of homeless people as wifi hotspots.

Gimme the LootSXSW's film festival, which runs as part of a 10-day block that also includes an interactive festival and a music festival, announced  its awards on Tuesday, near the midpoint...

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'Attack the Block' Among New SXSW Audience Winners

March, 19, 2011 10:50 am | Comments On #Attack the Block, Building Hope, film festivals, Joe Cornish, Love Shines, Movies, Ron Sexsmith, South by Southwest, SXSW

The alien-attack movie "Attack the Block" and the documentaries "Building Hope" and "Love Shines" won the final three audience awards at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, SXSW announced on Saturday.

Winning films in four other sections were named on Tuesday at the festival's awards ceremony, but awards for the Lone Star States, 24 Beats Per Second and Midnight Feature sections were held until the final day of SXSW.

Attack the BlockThe Midnight Feature award, which is open to films in both the Midnighters and SFantastic sections, went to director Joe Cornish's "Attack the Block" (left), a London-set action-adventure in which a gang of...

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Good Morning Austin, March 18: SXSW Film Winds Down

March, 18, 2011 7:24 am | Comments On #Amy Ryan, Dragonslayer, Greta Gerwig, Movies, Paul Giamatti, South by Southwest, Steve James, SXSW, The Dish and the Spoon, The Interrupters, Tom McCarthy, Tristan Patterson, Win Win

Yes, most of the news from SXSW these days is coming from the likes of Jack White and Liam Finn and Ellie Goulding and a thousand indie bands. But back on the film front …

The Dish and the SpoonRead it before the paywall drops: the New York Times goes to Austin and talks to actress Greta Gerwig about her sixth trip to SXSW in as many years, this time for "The Dish and the Spoon" (left). "I'm going to be the Orson Welles of micro-budget cinema," Gerwig tells Mekado Murphy of her early-career SXSW omnipresence. "I've already had my peak and now I'm just gonna get fat."...

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Sundance Selects Acquires SXSW Entry 'Weekend'

March, 17, 2011 3:09 pm | Comments On #Andrew Haigh, Movies, South by Southwest, Sundance Selects, SXSW, weekend

Andrew Haigh's "Weekend" has become the latest film to sell at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, with Sundance Selects picking up North American rights to the gay romance, which won the SXSW Emerging Visions Audience Award.

Weekend"Weekend," which stars Tom Cullen and Chris New, is the second feature for Haigh, a former editor whose films in that capacity include Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Down." It details a short affair between two young men, one hesitant about coming out and the other freer and more liberal.

“'Weekend' depicts a fleeting...

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Good Morning Austin, March 17: SXSW Leaves It to 'Beaver'

March, 17, 2011 7:24 am | Comments On #Alison Bagnall, Greta Gerwig, Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, Movies, Sophia Takal, South by Southwest, SXSW, The Beaver, The Dish and the Spoon

indieWIRE takes a few looks at Wednesday night's big premiere, "The Beaver." First, Bryce J. Renninger covers the SXSW screening and Q&A, at which director Jodie Foster called Mel Gibson "the most beloved person" she's ever worked with. (Chow Yun-Fat, she said, is the runner-up.) Anne Thompson does the same, throwing in some personal opinion ("a dark, moving family drama"), film clips and backstory on how Summit shelved the film for half a year in an attempt to "ride out Gibson's crazy tabloid circus." Then critic...

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'The Beaver' Debuts at SXSW: Can It Save Mel Gibson's Career?

March, 16, 2011 7:44 pm | Comments On #Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson, Movies, South by Southwest, SXSW, The Beaver

The word out of South By Southwest is that "The Beaver" is good. Very good. So is its star, Mel Gibson.

But will that be enough for moviegoers and the industry to forget about the racist and anti-Semitic rants, and the death threats, and the abusive voicemails?

Could any  movie possibly be good enough to allow fans to welcome back Mel Gibson, movie star?

Jodie Foster and Mel GibsonThose were the questions that hung over Austin's Paramount Theatre on Wednesday night, as the most intriguing film at this year's South by Southwest festival had its world premiere.

Based on initial reactions from those at the packed screening, the answer is yes, "The Beaver" just...

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SXSW Doomsday Thriller 'The Divide' Sells to Anchor Bay

March, 16, 2011 11:02 am | Comments On #Anchor Bay, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia, Movies, Rosanna Arquette, South by Southwest, SXSW, The Divide, Xavier Gens

Days after its world premiere at SXSW drew mixed reviews but an enthusiastic audience reaction, the post-apocalyptic thriller "The Divide" has sold U.S. rights to Anchor Bay in  what is reportedly a low-seven-figure deal.

Michael BiehnThe film was directed by Xavier Gens, the French director whose last theatrical feature was the 2007 20th Century Fox action film "Hitman." "The Divide," which is by all accounts considerably darker, grimmer and less commercial, stars Michael Biehn (left), Milo Ventimiglia, Rosanna Arquette and Lauren German as New Yorkers who take refuge in a basement bunker after bombs destroy most of the city.

The movie's tag line: "To survive the end...

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Good Morning Austin, March 16: SXSW's Big Winner

March, 16, 2011 7:23 am | Comments On #Bridesmaids, film festivals, Movies, Natural Selection, Randall Poster, Robbie Pickering, South by Southwest, SXSW, Wes Anderson

The SXSW film awards have been handed out, and the music people are moving in. But there's still some life in the film festival part of this shindig …

"Natural Selection" was certainly not one of the more buzzed-about SXSW films … at least not until Tuesday night, when the film from first-time feature director Robbie Pickering nearly swept the SXSW film awards. Not only did it take home the Best Narrative Feature prize from both the jury and the audience, but it won five other jury awards to boot. Until then, the film appeared to have been overlooked by most SXSW attendees – reviews are nearly impossible to find, even at sites doing the most exhaustive job of covering the festival, and news stories covering the awards couldn't agree on whether the film is a comedy, a drama or a dramedy. Still, Charles Ealy ran...

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SXSW Chooses 'Natural Selection'

March, 15, 2011 7:47 pm | Comments On #Dragonslayer, Kumare, Matt O'Leary, Movies, Natural Selection, Rachael Harris, Robbie Pickering, South by Southwest, SXSW

"Natural Selection" was named Best Narrative Feature and "Dragonslayer" Best Documentary by special juries at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival, which handed out its annual awards on Tuesday night at the Vimeo Theater in the Austin Convention Center.

In audience awards voted by festival attendees, "Natural Selection" and the documentary "Kumare" were among the top choices.

Natural SelectionOverall, writer/director Robbie Pickering's "Natural Selection" dominated the awards ceremony, picking up six different jury awards and one audience award. Not only was it named Best Narrative Feature by both jurors and audience members, but it was...

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