SXSW Preview: Returning to Austin for Richard Linklater, Jake Gyllenhaal, Seth Rogen, Kerry Washington

For the second consecutive year, TheCelebrityCafe.com will be covering South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. It’s a crazy event, in which people from around the world come to the capital of the Lone Star State and test the limits of human endurance by running from one corner of downtown Austin to the other to make it to events on time.

This year, SXSW starts on March 11 and runs through March 20. We will be live on the scene, focusing on film, through the end of the Film Conference on March 15. Yes, that means we will miss the screening of Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday, which makes me sad. But it does mean that there’s a better chance of me arriving home without being deathly ill.

So what are some of the events we will (hopefully) get into? Let’s take a look:

Everybody Wants Some

Whenever Richard Linklater has a new film, the native Texan must have it screened at SXSW. Everybody Wants Some is no different. The film has been billed as a “spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused” and follows a college baseball team in the 1980s. It hits theaters on April 1.

Vice Principals

This new HBO comedy, which stars Danny McBride and Walton Goggins, will have its premiere at SXSW. The festival has hosted TV shows in the past - just last year, Angie Tribeca and Mr. Robot were both screened.

Conversations with Jake Gyllenhaal and Kerry Washington

Some of the conversations are tough to get into, but they are worth waiting for. Jake Gyllenhaal, whose Demolition is screening at the festival, will have his talk on March 12. Scandal’s Kerry Washington is speaking on March 13 about her image on social media as an A-lister.

My Blind Brother

True, seeing this movie will keep me from checking out Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special early, but My Blind Brother is exactly the kind of film people should check out at SXSW. It’s an indie comedy with some great talent - Jenny Slate, Adam Scott, Nick Kroll and Zoe Kazan - and it likely won’t get a wide theatrical release, unlike Midnight Special.

War On Everyone

In War on Everyone, Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Pena are corrupt cops who blackmail criminals. That sounds fun. It was directed by Calvary’s John Michael McDonagh. (The following clip includes some NSFW language.)

Don’t Think Twice

This film is having its world premiere at SXSW and centers on an improv group in New York. It was directed by Mike Birbiglia (Trainwreck), who also stars. The cast includes Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs and Kate Micucci.

In A Valley Of Violence

Starring Ethan Hawke, this is a Western that centers on revenge and involves a mysterious stranger, a group of fools and random violence. This one was produced by Blumhouse and directed by The House of the Devil’s Ti West.

Seth Rogen projects

Sausage Party
Sausage Party; Credit: Columbia Pictures/Sony

March 14 will practically be Seth Rogen day. In the afternoon, the AMC series Preacher, loosely based on a Vertigo comic, will have its premiere. Then at night, the R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party will have a work-in-progress screening. Both projects include Rogen as a producer. Sausage Party doesn’t come out until August, so it will be interesting to see how far along the film is.

Obviously, there’s a lot more on the schedule. I’ll end up seeing movies that I haven’t even thought about yet and hopefully there will be some documentaries I’ll be interested in seeing. Check back here later this week for more from Texas and SXSW!

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