SXSW 2012 Preview: Headliners, Fest Faves, & Special Events

Editor, Festivals; Los Angeles, California (@RylandAldrich)
SXSW 2012 Preview: Headliners, Fest Faves, & Special Events

We're back with part 2 of our SXSW preview week here at ScreenAnarchy. Yesterday we brought you the Narrative & Docu Competition & Spotlight sections, today we move on to some of the bigger films of the fest with the Headliners, Fest Faves, and Special Events sections.

Headliners



THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's genre-bending opening night-er might just be the most anticipated film of the fest. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, and Richard Jenkins.


21 JUMP STREET
There has been nothing but early praise for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's comedic remake of this 80s classic TV drama. Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, and Ice Cube star.


GIRLS
Is it a TV show or a movie? It's a bit unclear if this is a feature pilot or just the first few episodes of Lena Dunham's Judd Apatow produced show about girls in their 20s. The series will debut on HBO later this year.


THE HUNTER
Willem Dafoe stars alongside Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill in this Tasmanian Tiger hunter drama.


MARLEY
The Last King of Scotland director Kevin Macdonald returns to the field that won him an Oscar (Best Docu for One Day in September) with this first authorized bio-doc of the reggae legend.


KILLER JOE
Billy Friedkin's off beat hitman drama stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon, and Thomas Haden Church.

Fest Faves



THE RAID
We are guessing you've heard a bit about Gareth Evans's Indonesian action soon-to-be blockbuster. Austin auds will finally get to see what all the buzz is about ahead of the film's March 23rd release from Sony Pictures Classics.


THE IMPOSTER
How did a Spanish man get away with pretending to be a kidnapped Texan boy? Find out this and so much more in Bart Layton's stylish reenactment-driven hit Sundance documentary.


COMPLIANCE
Craig Zobel's extremely controversial drama about a fast food prank gone terribly wrong had audiences shouting at the filmmakers at Sundance. Will it create as large a stir in Austin?


SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
Colin Trevorrow's time travel investigatory comedy starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass found plenty of fans (including me) at its recent debut at Sundance.


BEAST
Christopher Boe's Danish thriller tells the story of man (no, not Hank McCoy) undergoing a strange transformation.


GOD BLESS AMERICA
It's murder spree mayhem in Bobcat Goldthwaite's latest black-as-night comedy.


LAST CALL AT THE OASIS
Jessica Yu's (Protagonist, Ping Pong Playa) latest is a docu about our looming water crisis.


KID-THING
Austin based Zellner Bros. follow up Goliath with this odd little movie about a girl who finds a desperate woman trapped in a hole.


WE ARE LEGION: THE STORY OF THE HACKTIVISTS
Brian Knappenberger's Slamdance docu takes us into the bowels of Anonymous and their 4Chan beginnings with this look at the intersection of civil disobedience and hacker culture.

Special Events

BERNIE


Richard Linklater's latest is this semi-docu murder comedy starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey


CASA DE MI PADRE
Yep... Will Ferrell's latest is this Spanish language drug war comedy directed by Matt Piedmont. It gets its debut in front of Austin's friendly (Spanish speaking?) SXSW crowd.

We'll see you tomorrow when we wrap up our program previews by taking a look at the Emerging Visions, 24 Beats Per Second and much anticipated Midnight categories.

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