The SXSW Film Festival officially kicks off on March 13 in Austin, Texas, and Fandango will be there to bring you all the coolest happenings from one of the country's most exciting festivals.
This year promises a first look at some big movies hitting theaters over the next few months, as well as a new crop of indie movies that we can't wait to get into our eyeballs.
Here's a taste of what we're anticipating the most.
5 Big Movies Everyone Will Be Talking About
Get Hard (in theaters March 27)
Starring: Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart.
The Scoop: After he’s convicted of fraud and handed a prison sentence, swanky millionaire James King (Ferrell) turns to Darnell Lewis (Hart) for help transforming the puny rich guy into a hardened prison-ready tough guy.
Extras: The film marks writer Etan Cohen’s feature directorial debut. Previously, he helped script such hits like Tropic Thunder and Men in Black 3. His next film (that he wrote), Daddy’s Home, also stars Will Ferrell and hits theaters later this year.
Sneak Preview: Check out the latest Get Hard trailer below.
Trainwreck (in theaters July 17)
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, LeBron James, Marisa Tomei, Ezra Miller and Brie Larson.
The Scoop: Directed by Judd Apatow, Trainwreck tracks the hilariously raunchy exploits of a hard-partying, monogamy-hatin’ career gal whose chaotic life comes to a halt after she meets a genuinely nice guy. It's the first movie Apatow has directed that he hasn't also written.
Extras: The festival is screening a work-in-progress version of the movie, with the finished cut due in theaters this July.
Sneak Preview: Watch the film’s debut trailer below.
Spy (in theaters June 5)
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, and Jude Law.
The Scoop: A CIA analyst (McCarthy) with a boring desk job volunteers to go undercover and bust a dangerous arms dealer with plans to unleash a global disaster.
Extras: This is the third time director Paul Feig has teamed up with Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat), and the duo will reunite for a fourth time for next year’s Ghostbusters reboot.
Sneak Preview: Watch the latest Spy trailer below.
Unfriended (in theaters April 17)
Starring: Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead and Will Peltz.
The Scoop: A group of friends hanging out in a video chat room find themselves haunted by a freaky supernatural force using the same account as their dead friend.
Extras: Not to scare you away from that next Skype session or anything, but Unfriended is reportedly “based on real events.”
Sneak Preview: Watch the latest trailer for Unfriended below.
Ex Machina (in theaters April 10)
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander.
The Scoop: What happens when artificial intelligence becomes a little too human? One programmer is about to find out when they’re selected to study the evolving human qualities of a particular female A.I.
Extras: Alex Garland makes his directorial debut with this heady sci-fi film, following several years writing some of your favorite genre movies, like 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Dredd.
Sneak Preview: Watch the latest trailer for Ex Machina below.
4 Smaller Indies You Want to Put on Your Radar
Wild Horses
Starring: Robert Duvall, James Franco, Josh Hartnett and Luciana Duvall.
The Scoop: Life for a Texas ranch family begins to unravel when Texas Rangers decide to reopen a 15 year-old missing person case.
Extras: Robert Duvall both stars and directs this film, which also features his wife, Luciana, among the cast.
The Boy
Starring: David Morse, Rainn Wilson, Jared Breeze, Bill Sage, and Mike Vogel.
The Scoop: It’s a creepy little tale about a 9-year-old’s growing obsession with death.
Extras: The Boy is based on director Craig Macneill’s freakishly captivating short film, Henley, which won a bunch of awards when it made the film festival rounds in 2011.
Sneak Peek: Here’s a clip from Henley, which gives us a taste of what to potentially expect from The Boy.
Hello, My Name is Doris
Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Stephen Root, and Elizabeth Reaser.
The Scoop: A 60-year-old woman romantically chases a younger coworker after finding inspiration at a self-help seminar.
Extras: This is Michael Showalter’s first time directing since The Baxter, a 2005 comedy that does a fun job deconstructing classic rom-com clichés. Previously, he's written the excellent Wet Hot American Summer and the criminally underrated They Came Together.
Fresno
Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Judy Greer, Aubrey Plaza, Fred Armisen, Jessica St. Clair, and Molly Shannon.
The Scoop: Two co-dependent sisters (a lesbian and a sex addict) wind up in Fresno together cleaning hotel rooms.
Extras: Both director Jamie Babbit and writer Karey Dornetto have a long history in TV. Babbitt has directed episodes of The United States of Tara, Drop Dead Diva, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, while Dornetto has written episodes for Community, Portlandia and Arrested Development.
3 Movies To Help Get Your Freak On
The Final Girls
Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, and Alexander Ludwig.
The Scoop: When Max and her friends are mysteriously transported to a 1980s horror movie, they team with the film’s star, Max’s mother, to battle the film’s crazed killer and hopefully find a way home.
Extras: The “final girl” in a horror movie is a reference to a reoccurring scenario where a lone female is left at the end to conquer the bad guy (or girl, or monster, or demon, or… you get the idea).
Hangman
Starring: Jeremy Sisto, Kate Ashfield, Ty Simpkins, and Amy Smart.
The Scoop: Follows a family who return home after a vacation only to find their home has been broken into. Unfortunately for them, that's the least of their problems.
Extras: Watch the super creepy trailer below. Warning: It will totally give you the heebie jeebies.
The Invitation
Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Lindsay Burdge
The Scoop: When a man attends a dinner party with his ex-wife and her new husband, he begins to suspect something more sinister is afoot.
Extras: Director Karyn Kusama's last big-screen effort was the 2009 underrated gem, Jennifer's Body. Here's the poster for The Invitation below, created by Justin Erickson of Phantom City Creative.
2 Fascinating Documentaries You Should Get Excited About
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
The Scoop: A deep, intimate look at the legacy of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and how he helped shape our relationships with computers.
Extras: It’s directed by documentary rock star Alex Gibney, who most recently captivated crowds at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival with his eye-opening look at Scientology in the doc, Going Clear.
Raiders!
The Scoop: This one tracks the turbulent story of two 11-year-old boys who, in 1982, set out to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark. They succeeded, except for one scene, which they reunite to film 30 years later.
Sneak Preview: Check out the trailer for Raiders! below.
The Movie Event We’d Totally Skip Breakfast To See
The Breakfast Club
When: Monday, March 16
The Scoop: In honor of its 30th anniversary, SXSW will be screening a newly remastered version of The Breakfast Club at Austin’s iconic Paramount Theatre. All the jocks, geeks, princesses, rebels and loners will be out in full force, along with stars Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, who’ll be sitting in on a special Q&A prior to the screening.
The One Panel All the Cool Kids Will Be At
An Insider’s Guide to SXSW Film
When: Friday, March 13
The Scoop: Fandango Contributing Editor Erik Davis (hey, that’s me!) will be moderating a very cool panel featuring some of the web’s leading movie commentators and reporters (Meredith Borders, Jen Yamato and Grae Drake). Are you a SXSW Film Festival newbie looking for the inside track on the movies, the theaters, the local hot spots and all that fun stuff? Then make sure you hit up this panel for all kinds of useful information from festival veterans.
Extras: Check out more at this link.
