XL Cover Story

SXSW Film: Picks and panels

By Chris Garcia
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, March 09, 2006

TWELVE MUST-SEE FEATURES

(SXSW film schedule at www.austin360.com/sxsw)

1. 'A Prairie Home Companion' (9:15 p.m. Friday and 4:30 p.m. March 18, Paramount): A fictional backstage peek at Garrison Keillor's fantastically popular radio show, featuring an all-star cast — Keillor, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams — and directed by the king of the ensemble film, Robert Altman.

2. 'Thank You For Smoking' (7 p.m. Friday, Alamo Downtown): Aaron Eckhart, Katie Holmes and William H. Macy star in a lacerating satire of bullying anti-smoking crusaders. Director Jason Reitman adapted Christopher Buckley's best-selling comic novel.

3. Kris Kristofferson Retrospective. A tribute to the Texas troubadour-actor, with special screenings of 'Lone Star' (4 p.m. Saturday, Alamo Downtown), 'The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico' (9:30 p.m. Monday, Arbor), 'Songwriter' (11:15 a.m. March 16, Alamo Downtown) and 'Cisco Pike' (2 p.m. March 16, Alamo Downtown).

4. 'Friends with Money' (4:30 p.m. Sunday, Arbor): Writer-director Nicole Holofcener ('Lovely & Amazing') leads another great female ensemble through the rigors of relationships, social politics and plain life. Observantly performed by Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack and Frances McDormand.

5. 'This Film is Not Yet Rated' (11:59 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Alamo Downtown): Noted doc-maker Kirby Dick ('Sick,' 'Twist of Faith') scrutinizes the secretive MPAA rating system, exploring how and why some films get smacked with an NC-17 while others skate by with an R or less.

6. 'The Whole Shootin' Match' (6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Alamo Downtown): The restored version of Texas indie pioneer Eagle Pennell's 1978 cult classic, a lo-fi, black-and-white ode to the American dream, starring Lou Perryman and Sonny Carl Davis. This gritty, legendary sliver of Texicana is said to have inspired Robert Redford to create indie-movie incubator the Sundance Institute.

7. 'Don't Come Knocking' (6:15 p.m. Saturday, Alamo South): Sam Shepard wrote and stars in this twangy, bittersweet portrait of a man who decides to grow up too late. He tosses an unhappy present to rummage through a messy past to bank on an uncertain, but hope-tinged, future.

8. 'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' (5:15 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. March 17, Alamo South): A superlative and definitive plunge into the subculture of heavy metal, with an erudite metal fan as your guide. Musicians, fans and intellectuals track metal's noisy history — from Cream to Cannibal Corpse — and its sociology, sounds, makeup and mayhem.

9. 'Awesome: I (Expletive) Shot That!' (6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Paramount): The Beastie Boys handed out an army of digital video cameras to audiences members at one of its concerts. This is the footage.

10. 'American Dreamz' (7:15 p.m. March 18, Paramount): Writer-director Paul Weitz ('About a Boy') takes satirical swipes at our 'American Idol'-ized culture, positing the singing-contest TV show 'American Dreamz.' The entire zeitgeist is a target, including a couple of fellows named Bush and Cheney. With Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Marcia Gay Harden and Mandy Moore.

11. 'Fired!' (4:30 p.m. Sunday and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Austin Convention Center; 9 p.m. March 18, Alamo Downtown): Annabelle Gurwitch co-starred in SXSW hit 'Melvin Goes to Dinner,' but she was fired from a Woody Allen play and crushed. In this world premiere doc, the actress talks to showbiz pals such as Tim Allen, David Cross and Jeff Garlin, gathering sob stories of getting canned. Then she turns the material into literary events and finds that it's richer than she thought. (See story page 20)

12. 'Danny Roane: First Time Director' (9:30 p.m. Saturday and 4:30 p.m. March 16, Austin Convention Center): Andy Dick's half-autobiographical mockumentary follows the stumbling, lurching steps of the title character (Dick), an actor who's been blacklisted for his public alcohol troubles. Now this human trainwreck wants to make a movie. Good luck. With Ben Stiller, Bob Odenkirk, Jack Black and more.

THE SXSW FILM CONFERENCE

The South by Southwest Film Conference runs Saturday through Tuesday at the Austin Convention Center (500 E. Cesar Chavez St.). Badges for the conference are $300 and provide entry to all films, panels and the Interactive/Film Trade Show and Exhibition. Complete details at www.sxsw.com. Out of roughly 50 panels, here are some highlights:

SATURDAY

• 'Conversation with Peter Bart' (11 a.m., Room 19A): The industry veteran and outspoken editor of Variety magazine talks about his days at Paramount Pictures, when the studio produced films such as 'The Godfather' and 'Rosemary's Baby,' and the state of moviemaking. Bart is also the co-host of movie talk show 'Sunday Morning Shootout.'

• 'DVDs vs. Theaters' (1 p.m., Room 12AB): Digital is the rage, and theaters aren't smiling. Players in both industries debate the issues surrounding the surging — and to some, scary — new technology.

• ' 'Lone Star': Ten Years Later' (1 p.m., Room 19A): Some regard John Sayles' tough Texas drama as a masterpiece. The writer-director joins some of his collaborators to discuss why. The 1996 drama about a family's haunted past and border politics stars Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey, but don't expect them to show.

• 'Behind the Social Scenes' (3 p.m., Room 12AB): Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick and Illeana Douglas join movers and shakers to discuss the proper way to move and shake through the glitzy events (like SXSW parties) Hollywood loves to throw. Get the do's and don'ts of networking and the fine points of the fake compliment.

SUNDAY

• 'Conversation with Henry Rollins' (1 p.m., Room 12AB): The punk icon still hasn't learned how to smile — his head is a cinder block of unbudging rage — but he'll ungrit his teeth long enough to chat with the Austin Chronicle's Andy Langer about pop culture, the media, music, politics, education and the muscle-revealing virtues of tight black T-shirts.

MONDAY

• 'Case Study: 'The Cassidy Kids' ' (11 a.m., Room 19A): The writer, director and actors behind the University of Texas Film Institute and Burnt Orange Productions' latest feature vet the creative process and how their bold indie movie is testament to a new way of film production.

• 'From Script to Screen' (11 a.m., Room 12AB): Learn about the arduous ritual of a homely screenplay butterflying into a magnificent creation fluttering across the screen. Industry figures and filmmakers explain how it happens.

TUESDAY

• 'Ten Years of 'Ain't it Cool' ' (11 a.m., Room 12AB): Time flies when you're not proofreading your effusive, exclamation-pointed copy. Yup, it's been 10 years. From his Austin bedroom to Hollywood boardrooms, Harry Knowles has become a self-made industry player thanks to his strangely all-powerful movie site aint-it-cool-news.com. An unlikely true story dimpled with wisdom from Knowles and his staff, including, we hope, how to get guys like Mel Gibson and Ron Howard to fawn over you while madly resenting you.

• 'Latin Filmmaking's Emerging Talent' (11 a.m., Room 19A): The National Association of Latino Independent Producers assembles producers and filmmakers from the world of Latin American film to trace the state of its film output.

• 'The Documentary Beat' (4 p.m., Room 12AB): Few subgenres are as hot as the music doc. Find out why with Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron (producer of 'East of Havana'), Zach Niles and Banker White (directors of 'The Refugee All Stars') and Austin's Margaret Brown (director of 'Be Here to Love Me: A Movie About Townes Van Zandt').