SXSW routinely boasts the most varied and neverending film line-up of the year, and the just-announced 2012 behemoth of a roster is no exception. So let’s make it a wee bit easier to take in, shall we? After the jump find the buzzworthiest titles among the 100+ features and documentaries debuting this March in Austin, from major upcoming studio peeks (21 Jump Street) to docs (a new Jessica Yu!) and much smaller (but potentially completely awesome) fare.
21 Jump Street
Last year’s big mainstream discovery at SXSW was Bridesmaids; this year it’s Sony taking the gamble with a headlining sneak peek at their cop reboot, which stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as undercover officers.
The Cabin in the Woods
The Joss Whedon-produced, Drew Goddard-directed horror pic has been delayed for so long, and yet earned such praise out of Butt-Numb-A-Thon. The biggest curiosity of the fest, perhaps, if only to finally learn what the deal is with this thing.
The Hunter
Willem Dafoe as a mercenary + Julia Leigh novel + brooding character pic + strong reviews out of Toronto = a must see.
frankie go boom
Jordan Roberts’ entry, which stars Charlie Hunnam, Chris O’Dowd, Lizzy Caplan, Ron Perlman, and Chris Noth, had me at its synopsis: “a flick by bruce about his little brother frank who’s a crybaby fuck who shouldn’t do lame-ass embarrassing shit if he dozn’t want people 2 see it.”
Small Apartments
The latest from Jonas Akerlund — music video veteran, director of Spun, and the dude who made that Lady Gaga/Beyonce “Telephone” opus — gets its world premiere at SXSW.
Sun Don’t Shine
Indie darling Amy Seimetz makes her feature directorial debut in this tale of a Florida couple on the road doing “very…
When marriage stops being a given, realistic romantic comedies are born. In Save the Date, sisters Beth (Alison Brie) and Sarah (Lizzy Caplan) are on different relationship paths – one toward marriage, another away from it. Michael Mohan’s film reflects the attitudes of a generation who suffered through their parents’ divorces. Playing Andrew, Beth’s fiance, Martin Starr can identify all too well with that premise by looking at his circle of friends: He’s hit that time in life when everyone’s hearing or tuning out wedding bells.
Don’t mistake his movie for a wedding farce, though. It’s more about twentysomethings figuring out what love actually is. If that’s not relatable enough, the film stars a winning combo of quirky comedy favorites: Starr, unforgettable as Bill Haverchuck on Freaks and Geeks, and Caplan struck comedy gold together in Party Down, and Brie has earned a following via Community and Mad Men. Mark Webber and Geoffrey Arend round out the cast. Save the Date premieres this week in competition at Sundance, and it’s in good company with an embarrassment of (non-dark) comedy riches at this year’s festival including Safety Not Guaranteed (with Aubrey Plaza and Jake Johnson), Smashed (with Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman), and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.
Movieline spoke with Starr about the complexities of putting romantic feelings down on paper, the reverberations of Freaks creator Paul Feig’s own hit wedding comedy Bridesmaids, and Party Down’s rumored journey to the big screen.
In Save the Date, you play one half of a couple headed for marriage, in contrast to your future sister-in-law, who’s not into settling down, right?
Yeah, it’s very indicative of that age, I guess. I’m witnessing it now. I have a lot of friends that are getting married and a…
Another round of Sundance 2012 selections tumbled down the hill from Park City this afternoon, with such luminaries as Spike Lee, Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julie Delpy, Chris Rock, and a bounty of others making the cut for next month’s festival. Read on for the complete list of selections in the Premieres and Documentaries sections, and have a guess at what you’ll be talking about for the rest of 2012.
PREMIERES
2 Days in New York, France (Director: Julie Delpy, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Alexia Landeau)
Marion has broken up with Jack and now lives in New York with their child. A visit from her family, the different cultural background of her new boyfriend, her sister’s ex-boyfriend, and her upcoming photo exhibition make for an explosive mix. Cast: Julie Delpy, Chris Rock, Albert Delpy, Alexia Landeau, Alex Nahon.
Arbitrage, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nicholas Jarecki)
A hedge-fund magnate is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire before the depths of his fraud are revealed. An unexpected, bloody error forces him to turn to the most unlikely corner for help. Cast: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Laetitia Casta.
Bachelorette, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Leslye Headland)
Unresolved issues between four high school friends come roaring back to life when the least popular of them gets engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors in New York City and asks the others to be bridesmaids in her wedding. Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, James Marsden, Adam Scott, Kyle Bornheimer.
California Solo, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marshall Lewy)
A former Britpop rocker has long settled for an unfettered life working on a farm outside of L.A. When…
It’s nearly December which means that it is time for the Sundance Film Festival to announce their competitive programming selections. This year, the slates are varied containing two (2!) Mark Webber features, one Jonathan Kasdan teen rom-com, another Lena Dunham-penned dysfunctional NYC family drama and a number of titles that span genres and the globe.
Among the actors featured in the line-up: Joel Edgerton, Michael Cera, Amanda Seyfried, Danny Glover, John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, John Hawkes, William H. Macy and Helen Hunt. Look through the full press release below to predict who might be this year’s Elizabeth Olsen and what might be this year’s Take Shelter.
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Park City, UT — Sundance Institute announced today the films selected for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Film Festival will take place January 19 through 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.sundance.org/festival.
Robert Redford, Founder and President of Sundance Institute remarked, “We are, and always have been, a festival about the filmmakers. So what are they doing? What are they saying? They are making statements about the changing world we are living in. Some are straight-forward, some novel and some offbeat but always interesting. One can never predict. We know only at the end, and I love that.”
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “In these challenging economic times, filmmakers have had to be more resourceful and truly independent in their approaches to filmmaking. Looking at this year’s submissions, the result is more fully realized visions and stronger stories; we are proud to see the Festival emerging as…
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· There was that brief moment in the late ’90s when Natasha Lyonne could do no wrong: Everyone Says I Love You, The Slums of Beverly Hills, American Pie. She was the gruff-talking nerd girl of your dreams! At least until Lizzy Caplan came along. Then, well… this happened. But! It appears Lyonne is poised for some sort of mainstream comeback. Access Hollywood reports she’s agreed to return to American Reunion. Great news! Click through to see what she looks like now, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
This photo (via Getty Images) was snapped back in May.
[via Access Hollywood]
· Here are your favorite Harry Potter cast members Photoshopped into famous album covers. [NextMovie]
· It looks like B.J. Novak is making an appearance in The Dictator opposite Sacha Baron Cohen. [Collider]
· Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford has joined the cast of What To Expect When You’re Expecting. He’ll play a rival food truck owner looking to rekindle an old flame with Anna Kendrick. [Variety]
· If you want to watch some taped-off-the-TV-screen footage of the teaser Entertainment Tonight ran for Contagion, here you go. [Slashfilm]
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Fantasia (27)
Allegra Versace (25)
Michael Phelps (26)
Cheryl Cole (28)
Patrick Wolf (28)
Lizzy Caplan (29)
Monica Potter (40)
Mike Tyson (45)
Vincent D’Onofrio (52)
David Alan Grier (56)
David Garrison (59)
Nancy Dussault (75)
It has been a complete year since Starz pulled the plug on Party Down, and creator Rob Thomas refuses to give up hope on reuniting Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan and Martin Starr for a big screen adaptation. “People are talking to us about doing a Party Down movie,” he said. “We are pretty far down the deal-making process with that, so we’re hopeful that there will be a Party Down movie. Ideally, if it works out we could be shooting in television hiatus time next spring.” Are we having fun yet? [SlashFilm]
Jesus, this ensemble is growing faster than The Hunger Games: In the second Save the Date casting update in as many hours, Mark Webber is now slated to join Alison Brie, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr and Geoffrey Arend for the indie romcom.
Producer Jordan Horowitz reached out to Movieline with the news via Twitter, where Webber — who was last seen in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World — soon made the same announcement (above). As previously noted here, Save the Date stars Brie and Caplan as sisters coming to terms with their differing concepts of love and commitment; Webber will join the ensemble one of the men competing for Caplan’s heart. More to come, no doubt, presumably at Sundance 2012 — this cast and crew has Park City written all over it.
[via @jehorowitz and @likemark]
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In casting news that feels more like fan fiction than anything else, Community star Alison Brie and former Party Down star Lizzy Caplan will play sisters with differing views of love and commitment in Save the Date. The indie comedy also co-stars Martin Starr, meaning it’s yet another Caplan-led Party Down reunion. Mr. Christina Hendricks, Geoffrey Arend, will also appear. [Variety]
In the latest development for Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim (i.e. The One That’s Not At the Mountains of Madness), Sons of Anarchy actor Charlie Hunnam is in negotiations to fight alien invaders in the futuristic tent pole. The legacy of Judd Apatow’s Undeclared continues!
Hunnam, 31, is already known for having taken on distinct roles in his career: As Lloyd on the aforementioned short-lived series Undeclared, as the titular Dickensian hero in 2002’s Golden Globe-nominated Nicholas Nickleby, and most of all, for his excellent work as tormented bad boy Jax on Sons of Anarchy. Pacific Rim will mark Hunnam’s biggest film role to date and his first major mainstream project since Sons of Anarchy boosted his profile on the small screen.
Indie drama The Ledge, indie comedy Frankie Goes Boom (about “a guy whose life has been ruined by a YouTube video that has gone viral,” Lizzy Caplan revealed to The Playlist), and the crime thriller Blackbird may debut before Pacific Rim, the plot of which Deadline describes thusly: “[Pacific Rim] is set in a future where giant malevolent creatures threaten to destroy the earth, city by city. To combat its annihilation, the planet must band together and use highly advanced weapons technology to eradicate the growing threat.”
In any case, Charlie Hunnam as action hero? I’m in.
⢠‘Sons Of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam To Star in Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim’ [Deadline]
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