Trashwire’s Wil Chinchilla will cover SXSW 2009
Last year’s SXSW was simply an amazing inspiring pilgrimage to the hippie Mecca on the south side of America. On behalf of Trashwire.com, I am able to go to the 2009 festival, and this time experience helps a lot. Not only was the 2008 festival filled with tons of great films I did not get a chance to see, there were also so many panels, conversations, and many events going on simultaneously.
The SXSW Film Festival will take place during March 13th-21st while the Music portion of the festival is ongoing until March 22. This year the premiere film that will kick off the film festival is the John Hamburg (co-writer of movies like Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, and Along Came Polly) comedy I Love You, Man starring Jason Segal, Paul Rudd, and Rashida Jones. The movie is about Peter Klaven (Rudd) and his girlfriend now fiancé (Jones, who’s father Quincy Jones is also the keynote speaker for SXSW Music,) about to be married even though there is a dilemma. Peter doesn’t have any male friends that could suffice as a best man; and so Peter goes on “man-dates” to find a best man. Peter finds Sydney Fife (Segal) but in finding his best man he is losing touch with his fiancé leaving him to choose which relationship is more meaningful him.
This comedy seeks to address the growing “bromance” trend with laughter, helping everyone realize that even Kevin Arnold and Paul Pfeiffer on The Wonder Years where, in fact, bros-in-mance. Another great addition in the cast is Andy Samberg (of The Lonely Island and SNL fame) who plays Peter’s younger gay brother. In Marshall Heyman’s interview with director John Hamburg for SXSW World Magazine, Heyman asked; “Andy Samberg’s character is not what you’d expect from a gay male, while Paul Rudd’s character is straight but has inclinations toward more female things.” In response Hamburg said, “I thought it would be interesting to create a metrosexual leading character and then have him have a guy younger brother who doesn’t fit any of the stereotypes of being gay and is more of a traditional guy’s guy than his straight older brother. I hadn’t seen that story told a lot.” This tidbit along with the stunning cast should entice everyone enough to go see I Love You, Man, opening SXSW film 2009 on March 13th and everywhere on March 20th. Co-writer director Hamburg as well as the cast will also participate in a Film Panel at SXSW titled: “I Love You, Man: Are you Man Enough to Say It?” on March 14th.
More Saturday Night Live players show up in another film also premiering at SXSW. Adventureland is a comedy set during the summer of 1987 where a recent college graduate cannot find a job anywhere around town so he ultimately gets hired at his local amusement park, aptly titled Adventureland. SNL‘s Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig play the married couple that own Adventureland (This needs an LOL already). This film also stars Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart and new-comer Jesse Eisenberg in his first starring role. This film will be premiere on March 15th and open on March 27th in a wide release.
Another comedy premiering at SXSW Film 2009 is Observe and Report, starring Seth Rogen as Ronny Barnhardt, a mall security officer that patrols his mall strictly. As he finds out that Brandi (Anna Farris), a make-up counter clerk he has a thing for, has just been flashed in the parking lot of the mall he decides that this is his chance to prove that his crime fighting skills are superior to the local police, especially Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta). The question is, can he catch the flasher before the cops can? This movie premieres March 16th at SXSW and opens nation wide on April 10th. SXSW will also feature a panel with the cast and Director Jody Hill titled “Observe and Report: A Case Study-A Man and His Gun” where they will possibly discuss the art of great timing, which will probably highlight Rogen, whose hit movie Knocked Up premiered at SXSW in 2007.
Music is obviously closely related to SXSW and last year’s Film Festival served as proof with the documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston. This year a rock doc titled Iron Maiden: Flight 666 will premiere at SXSW Film. The doc follows the historic “Somewhere Back in Time World Tour” of legendary British band Iron Maiden, who also recently won the Brit Award for Best British Live Act in 2008. Aside from his legendary voice, lead singer Bruce Dickenson is also an Airline Captain and flew to 23 shows as the pilot of Flight 666.
In what feels like something out of a Jules Verne tale, Iron Maiden literally flew around the world in 45 days in a specially fitted Boeing 757 named “Ed Force One,” visiting 13 countries around Asia, Australia, and North, Central, and South America. With each show sold out throughout the tour, everyone onboard is a part of this rock doc. This film answers the question many people have probably always wanted an answer to: what goes on behind the scenes of a rock tour? The filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn work with a team on and off stage, in the cockpit and the press pit, which gives the audience international event coverage unlike anything seen. Iron Maiden: Flight 666 premieres March 18th in North America and in selected digital screens on April 21st
