When actresses and audiences alike lament the lack of interesting roles for—and movies about—women as central characters, Alex of Venice should be held up as a shining example of what could be. The independent feature, which premiered this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Smashed, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) as the title character, […]
Texas Spitfire Abbie Evans Fights Epidermolysis Bullosa In Cary Bell’s ‘Butterfly Girl’
Butterfly Girl, a documentary that premiered at SXSW 2013, tells the refreshing story of a spunky young Texan with a debilitating disease. Abigail Evans—Abbie— is a spitfire who says what she means, and deals with her health misfortunes the best way a teenager can: with equal parts sarcasm and optimism, and with a constant twinkle in […]
Juliette Lewis and Jonny Weston Get a Little Inappropriate in ‘Kelly & Cal’
It’s hard to remember a time when Juliette Lewis wasn’t making a memorable mark on the big screen — can you believe Cape Fear came out in 1991? But after a few years out of the spotlight, during which she focused on a music career, she’s back on the big screen. In movies like August: Osage County and Hellion, she’s reminding us how […]
Startup Culture Exposed in 3D Printing Doc ‘Print the Legend’
Directors Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel discuss their award-winning documentary Print the Legend, which had its world premiere this month at the 2014 South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival. Premiering last week at South By Southwest, the documentary Print the Legend chronicles the mainstream rise of 3D printing over the past five years, due in large […]
Stars Natalia Dyer and Peter Vack on Complicated Young Love in ‘I Believe in Unicorns’
Young love is typically treated one of two ways in feature films made by adults: either as gauzy, treacly fairy tales of first kisses and two-straw milkshakes or as raunchy comedies where losing one’s virginity is a requirement for high school graduation — and in most cases, the protagonist is male. That’s what makes I […]
Kate Lyn Sheil & John Gallagher Jr., Navigate Tech-Dating & Obsession In ‘The Heart Machine’
Part of the pleasure of attending an established film festival like South By Southwest is the caliber of emerging talent it attracts: when you’re seeing a new director’s feature debut, you can rest (reasonably) assured that the cream of the submissions pile has risen to the top. Such is the case with Zachary Wigon’s first film, The Heart […]
Director Lenny Abrahamson on Michael Fassbender’s Giant Head, Faking SXSW in ‘Frank’ & More
Obscuring the terrifically expressive and sometimes terrifying (12 Years a Slave) face of actor Michael Fassbender may seem like sacrilege, but that’s just what director Lenny Abrahamson (What Richard Did) does in Frank, a film that premiered at Sundance but is—appropriately, for reasons that will be explained—also playing this week at South By Southwest. Screenwriters Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats) […]
Robert Duvall’s Still Got It In ‘A Night In Old Mexico’
It’s no surprise that Robert Duvall is a cantankerous (and charming) old coot in his new film, A Night in Old Mexico, helmed by the Spanish director and composer Emilio Aragón. The 83-year-old is still in fine and feisty form as Red Bovie, an old cowboy forced off his land by developers turning the area into sad excuses […]
Emma Roberts Talks ‘Adult World,’ Working With John Cusack & More
At just 23, Emma Roberts is about the same age her aunt Julia was when she shot to stardom with the iconic hit Pretty Woman. But times have changed, and in Emma’s latest rom-com — Scott Coffey’s Adult World, which premiered last year at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival — she plays not a hooker with a heart of […]
Zoe Kazan Talks Twin Roles Of ‘The Pretty One’ & How ‘In Your Eyes’ Is “Like Joss Whedon Does Nicholas Sparks”
Zoe Kazan is back, this time playing identical twin sisters in The Pretty One. First-time writer/director Jenée LaMarque’s quirky film also stars Jake Johnson and Ron Livingston, but the film centers around Kazan’s layered performance as Laurel and Audrey, sisters whose similarity stops at genetics… Throughout the film, LaMarque explores themes of imitation vs. forgery—Lynch’s character is a painter who […]