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SXSW Day Three: 'Paul,' 'Bridesmaids,' 'Kill List' and 'The FP'…Oh My

By: Erik Davis on March 15, 2011 at 10:23AM Comments (2)

Day Three at the SXSW Film Festival found a jam-packed Pee-Wee Herman panel, a double feature of Universal comedies (Paul and Bridesmaids), some distributors interested in the film Kill List and a tiny film called The FP, which completely took me by surprise by delivering the most insane premise on a plate full of awesome.

The FP is a film playing in the Fantastic Fest slate here at SXSW, and it follows a group of gang members who compete in over-the-top, elaborately-staged Dance Dance Revolution games … sometimes to the death. Sound nuts? It is nuts. Think of a film that mixes Mad Max, Rocky 3 and 4, Enter the Dragon, and Escape from NY, and then spoofs that ridiculous concoction – that's The FP. No distribution yet, but we'll keep you updated.
 
One film that is close to distribution is the midnight favorite Kill List, which comes with this description: "Eight months after a disastrous job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, ex-soldier turned contract killer Jay, is pressured by his partner Gal, into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the dark, disturbing world of the contract, Jay begins to unravel once again - his fear and paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness." No distributor yet, but THR says folks are circling.
 
Paul played well in its SXSW premiere with both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in attendance. Reporting from the festival, The Playlist says, "While not an instant hall-of-famer like Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, Paul is a warm, consistently funny, thoroughly enjoyable ride, and easily the best studio picture of the year so far; indeed, with the right push, the film should prove to be a firm crowd-pleaser; reliably entertaining across the board, it's the rare film that you feel could do with an extra ten minutes or so."
 
Paul was followed by the raunchy, female-driven, Judd Apatow-produced Bridesmaids, which doesn't hit theaters until May but is starting to screen early (a working cut screened at SXSW). Response was strong via Twitter, and positive reviews quickly poured in. Slashfilm said, "Confident, a mix of laugh-out-loud funny, smart, raunchy, and heartbreaking. Bridesmaids is a homerun. Hopefully it will become a box office hit and inspire Hollywood to expand their classification of what a "chick flick" can be and strive for something more. We talk a lot about genre and conventions, but none of that really matters when you have a great movie."
 
Paul hits theaters on March 18th, while Bridesmaids arrives on May 13th.

Tags: SXSW, Paul, Bridesmaids

Categories: Independent Film

Comments (2)Leave a Comment

  • Mar 23rd 2011 5:20AM

    gia421  said...

    PAUL IS IT FUNNY DID YOU GO SEE IT YET???? OK LIKE TO KNOW BEFORE I GIVE IT A TRY

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  • Mar 15th 2011 10:40PM

    Cookie-Chan  said...

    On a side note, can't wait for Paul!

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