James Franco’s movie about the worst movie ever made — which became a beloved cult classic — will join Terrence Malick’s latest and others at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival.
“The Disaster Artist” sees Franco as director and star playing “The Room” filmmaker Tommy Wiseau, who made “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” according to the festival guide.
Franco gathers a cast of family and frequent collaborators in brother Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson and Jacki Weaver. The ensemble will tell the story behind the genesis of “The Room,” about a love triangle set in San Francisco.
“Disaster Artist” joins a headliners section that includes Ansel Elgort’s “Baby Driver,” Brie Larson’s “Free Fire” and Aaron Katz’s “Gemini.”
The festival also announced its anticipated Midnight section of films, slasher-heavy this year with twists on the sex-driven teen horror genre.
Take Taneli Mustonen’s “Lake Bodom,” from the United Kingdom. A group of true crime fans attempt to recreate a legendary campsite killing, but quickly discover it’s not a game for everyone.
Tyler MacIntyre also brings “Tragedy Girls,” packed with millennial Hollywood talent, that follows “two budding teenage sociopaths” who use an online show about true crime to inspire fear in their small town. Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Hutcherson and Craig Robinson star.
There’s also “Black Mirror”-esque “Game of Death” and prom night fiasco “The Honor Farm.”
Read the full Midnight lineup:
“68 Kill”
Director: Trent Haaga Screenwriters: Trent Haaga based on the novel by Bryan Smith
Chip’s problem is that he can’t say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Cast: Matthew Gray Gubler, Annalynne McCord, Alisha Boe, Sheila Vand, Sam Eidson, Lucy Faust, Eric Podner, Peter James, Hallie Grace Bradley, James Moses Black (World Premiere)“Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon: 10th Anniversary Screening”
Director: Scott Glosserman, Screenwriters: David Stieve, Scott Glosserman
At SXSW in 2006 AICN’s Quint wrote: “…it just had its world premiere at the Alamo a few hours ago. I hope to see this one get picked up, but I guarantee this one will make it.” 10 years after its 2007 theatrical, the 35mm print returns to the fest! Cast: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Robert Englund, Scott Wilson, Zelda Rubinstein, Kate Lang Johnson, Britain Spellings, Bridgett Newton, Ben Pace“Game of Death” (Canada, France)
Directors: Laurence “Baz” Morais, Sebastien Landry, Screenwriters: Laurence “Baz” Morais, Sebastien Landry, Edouard Bond and adapted by Philip Kalin-Hajdu
In the middle of small-town nowhere, seven friends are forced to kill or be killed when they play the Game of Death. When faced with their own mortality, will they turn on each other to survive? Cast: Sam Earle, Victoria Diamond, Emelia Hellman, Catherine Saindon, Nick Serino, Erniel Baez D., Thomas Vallieres, Jane Hackett (World Premiere)“The Honor Farm”
Director/Screenwriter: Karen Skloss
After prom night falls apart, Lucy finds herself at very different kind of party… On a psychedelic trip that could be a dangerous trap. Cast: Olivia Applegate, Louis Hunter, Dora Madison, Liam Aiken, Katie Folger, Michael Eric Reid, Mackenzie Astin, Michelle Forbes, Josephine McAdam, Christina Parrish (World Premiere)“Lake Bodom” (UK)
Director: Taneli Mustonen, Screenwriters: Taneli Mustonen, Aleksi Hyvärinen
Reconstructing a legendary campsite murder turns fatal when the girls decide to rewrite history. As night falls, turns out not all of them are there to play. Cast: Nelly Hirst-Gee, Mimosa William, Mikael Gabriel, Santeri Mäntylä“Mayhem”
Director: Joe Lynch, Screenwriter: Matias Caruso
After being framed for corporate espionage on the same day that a mysterious virus is unleashed on his company, attorney Derek Cho is forced to savagely fight tooth and nail for not only his job but his life. Cast: Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Dallas Mark Roberts, Caroline Chikezie, Mark Stewart Frost, Kerry Fox, Lucy Chappell, Steven Brand (World Premiere)“Meatball Machine Kodoku” (Japan)
Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura, Screenwriters: Yoshihiro Nishimura, Sakichi Sato
A long-awaited sequel to the internationally acclaimed full-throttle splatter sci-fi action horror Meatball Machine directed by Yoshihiko Nishimura, an acclaimed makeup artist and special effects designer (“Godzilla Resurgence”). Cast: Yoji Tanaka, Yurisa, Takumi Saito (World Premiere)“PIG: The Final Screenings”
Director: Adam Mason
A savage satire of gender politics in America, Adam Mason is guaranteed to shock and offend with Pig. Created with actor and long time collaborator Andrew Howard, Pig is a virtuoso piece of pure cinema. Cast: Andrew Howard, Guy Burnet, Lorry Stone, Juliet Quintin-Archard, Molly Black (World Premiere)“Tragedy Girls” (Canada, USA)
Director: Tyler MacIntyre, Screenwriters: Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre, based on an original screenplay by Justin Olson
A twist on the slasher genre following two budding teenage sociopaths who use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small midwestern town into a frenzy, cementing their legacy as modern horror legends. Cast: Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Craig Robinson, Josh Hutcherson, Kevin Durand, Jack Quaid, Timothy V. Murphy, Nicky Whelan, Austin Abrams, Kerry Rhodes (World Premiere)