SXSW Announces James Franco's 'The Disaster Artist,' Midnight Movies and More

Last week SXSW announced the bulk of their 2017 programming slate. And had that been it, we’d have been perfectly happy. The roster was already an impressive mixture of big studio movies (most notably Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver), intriguing indies and documentaries. But that’s not all the Austin, TX film festival had in store.

Today SXSW announced another round of movies, including the surprise appearance of The Disaster Artist, James Franco’s movie about the making of the so-terrible-it’s-loved cult classic The Room. That one has a ridiculous cast that includes both Franco brothers, Seth Rogen, Sharon Stone, Zac Efron, Bryan Cranston, Alison Brie and a whole lot more. It’s going to be something special, we’re sure.

The Disaster Artist probably won’t be nearly as violent and gore-filled as the midnight selections, though. Those include a tenth anniversary screening of the still underseen Behind the Mask, as well as another slasher savvy horror movie called Tragedy Girls (pictured above), a new dark comedy from the writer of Cheap Thrills and more. Check it out.

MIDNIGHTERS

68 Kill
Director: Trent Haaga, Screenwriters: Trent Haaga based on the novel by Bryan Smith
Chip’s problem is that he can’t say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000. Cast: Matthew Gray Gubler, Annalynne McCord, Alisha Boe, Sheila Vand, Sam Eidson, Lucy Faust, Eric Podner, Peter James, Hallie Grace Bradley, James Moses Black (World Premiere)

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon: 10th Anniversary Screening
Director: Scott Glosserman, Screenwriters: David Stieve, Scott Glosserman
At SXSW in 2006 AICN’s Quint wrote: “…it just had its world premiere at the Alamo a few hours ago. I hope to see this one get picked up, but I guarantee this one will make it.” 10 years after its 2007 theatrical, the 35mm print returns to the fest! Cast: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Robert Englund, Scott Wilson, Zelda Rubinstein, Kate Lang Johnson, Britain Spellings, Bridgett Newton, Ben Pace

Game of Death (Canada, France)
Directors: Laurence “Baz” Morais, Sebastien Landry, Screenwriters: Laurence “Baz” Morais, Sebastien Landry, Edouard Bond and adapted by Philip Kalin-Hajdu
In the middle of small-town nowhere, seven friends are forced to kill or be killed when they play the Game of Death. When faced with their own mortality, will they turn on each other to survive? Cast: Sam Earle, Victoria Diamond, Emelia Hellman, Catherine Saindon, Nick Serino, Erniel Baez D., Thomas Vallieres, Jane Hackett (World Premiere)

The Honor Farm
Director/Screenwriter: Karen Skloss
After prom night falls apart, Lucy finds herself at very different kind of party… On a psychedelic trip that could be a dangerous trap. Cast: Olivia Applegate, Louis Hunter, Dora Madison, Liam Aiken, Katie Folger, Michael Eric Reid, Mackenzie Astin, Michelle Forbes, Josephine McAdam, Christina Parrish (World Premiere)

Lake Bodom (UK)
Director: Taneli Mustonen, Screenwriters: Taneli Mustonen, Aleksi Hyvärinen
Reconstructing a legendary campsite murder turns fatal when the girls decide to rewrite history. As night falls, turns out not all of them are there to play. It is a stylish twist on the survival horror concept. Cast: Nelly Hirst-Gee, Mimosa William, Mikael Gabriel, Santeri Mäntylä

Mayhem
Director: Joe Lynch, Screenwriter: Matias Caruso
After being framed for corporate espionage on the same day that a mysterious virus is unleashed on his company, attorney Derek Cho is forced to savagely fight tooth and nail for not only his job but his life. Cast: Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Dallas Mark Roberts, Caroline Chikezie, Mark Stewart Frost, Kerry Fox, Lucy Chappell, Steven Brand (World Premiere)

Meatball Machine Kodoku (Japan)
Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura, Screenwriters: Yoshihiro Nishimura, Sakichi Sato
A long-awaited sequel to the internationally acclaimed full-throttle splatter sci-fi action horror Meatball Machine directed by Yoshihiko Nishimura, an acclaimed makeup artist and special effects designer (“Godzilla Resurgence”). Cast: Yoji Tanaka, Yurisa, Takumi Saito (World Premiere)

PIG: The Final Screenings
Director: Adam Mason
A savage satire of gender politics in America, Adam Mason is guaranteed to shock and offend with Pig. Created with actor and long time collaborator Andrew Howard, Pig is a virtuoso piece of pure cinema. Cast: Andrew Howard, Guy Burnet, Lorry Stone, Juliet Quintin-Archard, Molly Black (World Premiere)

Tragedy Girls (Canada, USA)
Director: Tyler MacIntyre, Screenwriters: Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre, based on an original screenplay by Justin Olson
A twist on the slasher genre following two budding teenage sociopaths who use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small midwestern town into a frenzy, cementing their legacy as modern horror legends. Cast: Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Craig Robinson, Josh Hutcherson, Kevin Durand, Jack Quaid, Timothy V. Murphy, Nicky Whelan, Austin Abrams, Kerry Rhodes (World Premiere)

Two Pigeons (UK)
Director: Dominic Bridges, Screenwriter: Rae Brunton
A wide-boy estate agent unknowingly shares his home with a malicious tenant, one with a totally surprising agenda. Two Pigeons is a dark urban morality tale with an underlying streak of jet black comedy. Cast: Mim Shaikh, Javier Botet, Mandeep Dhillon, Kola Bokinni, Michael McKella (World Premiere)

HEADLINERS

The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on the book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room
This is a true story about the making of The Room – the cult classic described as the “Citizen Kane of bad movies”. Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Josh Hutcherson, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Alison Brie (World Premiere)

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW.

Paris Can Wait
Director/Screenwriter: Eleanor Coppola
A devoted American wife (Diane Lane) with a workaholic inattentive husband (Alec Baldwin), takes an unexpected journey from Cannes to Paris with a charming Frenchman (Arnaud Viard) that reawakens her sense of self and joie de vivre. Cast: Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard, Alec Baldwin (U.S. Premiere)

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT

Mission Control:  The Unsung Heroes of Apollo (UK)
Director: David Fairhead, Screenwriters: David Fairhead, Keith Haviland
At the heart of the Apollo program was the special team in Mission Control who put a man on the moon and helped create the future. (World Premiere)

VISIONS

Porto (Portugal)
Director: Gabe Klinger, Screenwriters: Larry Gross, Gabe Klinger
Jake and Mati are two outsiders in Porto who once experienced a brief connection. A mystery remains about the moments they shared, and in searching through memories, they relive the depths of a night uninhibited by the consequences of time. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Lucie Lucas, Françoise Lebrun, Paulo Calatré (North American Premiere)

24 BEATS PER SECOND
Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.

Song of Granite (Canada, Ireland)
Director: Pat Collins, Screenwriters: Pat Collins, Eoghan McGiolla Bhríde, Sharon Whooley
Acclaimed filmmaker Pat Collins brings the dramatic life story of legendary seannós singer Joe Heaney to the screen in Song of Granite, an audacious exploration of the man and his music. Cast: Macdara Ó Fatharta, Mícheál Ó Chonfhaola, Jaren Cerf, Pól Ó Ceannabháín, Colm Seoighe (North American Premiere)

FESTIVAL FAVORITES

David Lynch – The Art Life
Director: Jon Nguyen
A film that deeply explores the experiences that shaped one of cinema’s most distinctive voices: David Lynch. Presented by FilmStruck.

Person to Person
Director/Screenwriter: Dustin Guy Defa
A record collector hustles for a score while a lovelorn roommate regrets a dire mistake, a teenager bears witness to her friend’s new relationship, and a rookie reporter and her demanding boss chase clues to a homicide involving a jaded watchmaker.
Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Michael Cera, Tavi Gevinson, Philip Baker Hall, Bene Coopersmith, George Sample III, Isiah Whitlock, Ben Rosenfeld, Olivia Luccardi

Trophy (USA, South Africa)
Director: Shaul Schwarz, Screenwriter: Christina Clusiau
Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos, and lions march closer to extinction each year. Trophy investigates the powerhouse businesses of big game hunting, breeding, and wildlife conservation.

Through the Repellent Fence: A Land Art Film
Director: Sam Wainwright Douglas
Some fences don’t divide.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Le Ride
Director: Phil Keoghan, Screenwriters: Phil Keoghan, Louise Keoghan
Television personality Phil Keoghan retraces the 1928 Tour de France riding an original vintage bicycle, with no gears, as he tells the forgotten ‘underdog’ story about the first English speaking team to take on the toughest sporting event on earth.

Doug Benson Master Pancake & Doug Loves Movies Podcast 
Doug Benson returns in the continuing tradition of our annual St. Patrick’s Day screening of the Leprechaun series. On March 17 we present Leprechaun 5: In The Hood, directed by Rob Spera.

Click here for a list of all the short films that’ll be playing.

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