The SXSW Film Festival is right around the corner (3/12 — 3/20) and last minute announcements are popping up.
Two announcements have been made today. The first one getting all the buzz and ink so far is a sneak preview look at the Robert Rodriguez-produced, Nimród Antal-directed “Predators” (and btw, it’s a sequel, the script has references to what happened in the film with Schwarzenegger, and no he doesn’t have a cameo). Antal directed the very fine Hungarian fantasy subway thriller “Kontroll” (2005) and our sources tell us that recent rumors that Sam Raimi (who produced Antal’s “Armored”) wanted the filmmaker to take over the “Spider-Man” series were indeed true, but obviously that’s moot now that Marc Webber has the job. But it does bode well and provides excitement for Antal’s eagerly anticipated version of the “Predators” continuing story.
Anywho, the special presentation of “Predators” will take place at the Alamo Ritz Theater in downtown Austin, at 10:15pm on Monday March 12. The film stars Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Mahershalalhazbaz Ali, UFC Fighter Oleg Taktarov and in a small role, Laurence Fishburne. The synopsis is this:
The film stars Adrien Brody as Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they’ve been brought together on an alien planet… as prey. With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers – mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members – human “predators” that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predators.
How much of the film are they going to show? Producers take note, let’s hope people don’t line-up for hours for 2 minutes of footage like during the recent “Tron” event that geeks are still justifiably still fuming about.
Also appearing at the festival and in full is the world premiere of “13,” a remake of the 2005 French film “13 Tzameti,” also directed by Géla Babluani (talk about retracing your footsteps).
That film stars Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Ben Gazzara, Alexander Skarsgard, Natasha Lyonne, Ray Winstone, Emmanuelle Chriqui, 50 Cent and in the picture above you can see a small glimpse of Michael Shannon. The thriller follows the story of Vince, who unwittingly becomes involved in a degenerate, clandestine world of mental chaos behind closed doors where Russian roulette is played for sport.
OK, this is great, but what about the indie “Blue Valentine” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams which we didn’t see at Sundance because we weren’t there? Is someone going to announce that picture? It feels like a no-brainer fit for SXSW.
BTW, The Playlist will be in the house for the first few days of SXSW. Be sure to holler, say hi, and follow our reports while we’re there. We’ll also have an Austin-ite on the ground the entire time to catch whatever we miss and file reports.