SXSW: The Arbalest (above), a darkly satirical movie about a toy inventor's obsession, won the jury award in the narrative-feature competition at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Tower received the documentary feature competition award; it uses archival footage and rotoscopic animation to examine the 1966 mass shooting at the University of Texas in Austin. Directed by Keith Maitland, Tower also won the Louis Black "Lone Star" Award. [SXSW]
Ben-Hur: Jack Huston is featured in the first official photos from Ben-Hur. The new version of Lew Wallace's 1880s historical novel also stars Toby Kebbell, Nazanin Boniadi and Morgan Freeman (below). It's racing into theaters on August 12. [USA Today]
The Cannonball Run: Filmmaker Etan J. Cohen (Get Hard, above) has been hired to write and direct a new version of The Cannonball Run. Inspired by a real-life, illegal cross-country race, the original 1981 movie featured an all-star cast led by Burt Reynolds and inspired two sequels. Cohen's credits as a writer include Tropic Thunder and Men in Black 3. [Deadline]
High-Rise Trailer: Tom Hiddleston stars in High-Rise as a new resident of a very tall residential building with supposedly revolutionary features. A new trailer shows what happens when things start to go wrong. Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller and Luke Evans also star; the movie opens in theaters on May 13. [Movieclips]
