SXSW Lineup Announced
Earlier today, South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced its full 109-feature lineup. This year’s festival, which will takes place March 8-16, includes 69 World Premieres as well as a host of festival circuit favorites like New Directors/New Films selection Upstream Color from Primer director Shane Carruth, NYFF50 favorite First Cousin Once Removed by Alan Berliner, and Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.
The big names don’t stop there, as the festival’s Headliners and Narrative Spotlight section include The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini, Jim Carrey), When Angels Sing (Harry Connick Jr., Connie Britton, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristoffersen), Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers (James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson), Fede Alvarez’s remake of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, Joe Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies (Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick), John Sayles’s Go For Sisters (Edward James Olmos), I Give It a Year (Rose Byrne, Anna Faris, Minnie Driver), Some Girls (Adam Brody, Kristen Bell, Zoe Kazan) and Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Of course, SXSW’s real discoveries will likely come from the less familiar names in the festival’s Narrative and Documentary Feature Competition sections. Make sure to subscribe to Film Society’s Daily Buzz podcast on iTunes, where Eugene Hernandez will chat with many of these rising talents daily throughout the festival. For the full lineup of features, head to the SXSW website.
Barbra Streisand to Perform at Oscars
Less than two months before she will come to Film Society of Lincoln Center to be honored at the 40th Annual Chaplin Award Gala, film legend Barbra Streisand will be performing at the 85th Academy Awards for the first time in 36 years.
Streisand sang the Oscar-winning “Evergreen” from A Star is Born at the 49th Academy Awards in 1977. In 1969, she won Best Actress at the awards for her first silver screen appearance in William Wyler’s Funny Girl, a reprisal of her highly successful Broadway role. She has been nominated for Oscars three other times.
Argo Picks Up Steam
With major wins at last weekend’s PGA (Best Picture) and SAG Awards (Best Performance By a Cast), Ben Affeck’s Argo is gaining momentum as we head towards the 85th Academy Awards. Add those to its wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards a few weeks back and it’s no wonder pundits have anointed it the film to beat for the Best Picture Oscar. Head to Movieline and Indiewire to dive into the lively debate.
The Controversy Over Paul Schrader’s The Canyons
Paul Schrader responded to the rumors and snark surrounding his new film The Canyons, which stars Lindsay Lohan and adult film star James Deen, in an interview with Film Society’s Eugene Hernandez: “We set out to make a kind of provocation… Bret’s a provocateur. I am. James [Deen] by the nature of his profession, Lindsay by the nature of her public persona. If four provocateurs can’t provoke somebody, we’re not doing our job.”
Kent Jones, the new Director of Programming for the New York Film Festival, also weighed in and praised Lohan’s performance: “It’s a reminder of what a great actress she is. She’s fantastic.” Head to Indiewire for the full piece.
