comment #1

fishhead says ...

you need an assistant Jeff?

comment #2

The Hoyk says ...

If I had the money to go, which I don't, on that lineup alone, I'd go for it.

comment #3

Dance Commander says ...

That's about $100 a movie Jeff. And the primary reason for going is to grind the Lucas axe? You can do that right here for free my friend. We all can and have. In these economically distressed times, I'd say that's pretty irresponsible.

comment #4

moviesquad says ...

SXSW is a lot of fun, and it's even better if you can stick around for the music fest.

comment #5

Gordon27 says ...

I can definitely hear Jeff going "I'm semi-serious here!!" during that phone call.

But, before you go on the basis of that "documentary", have you seen the actual trailer? Are you really going to watch a movie comprised largely of fat guys complaining about 'Star Wars'?

comment #6

Noiresque says ...

Considering the impetus behind the film is the pain of some geek crying on the inside because "Jar Jar raped my childhood", or whatever that meme of 10 years ago once, I really doubt that film would be worth it. Schadenfreude is bad for the soul, Jeff, and at $1500+, in this economy, bad for the pocketbook.

I vote Don't Go.

comment #7

Tancred says ...

Jeff, I'm actually somewhat disappointed you didn't employ your Stalinist purges motif here.

comment #8

wurvous says ...

if you've never been to SXSW, you really owe it to yourself to make the trek.

comment #9

lazarus says ...

I've said it once and I'll say it again: If all Lucas wanted to do was make money and sell action figures, he could have made many more Star Wars films, and not waited over 15 years between trilogies. Hate the story, hate the characters, but it's disingenuous to question the motive.

The problem are the yes men who are afraid to give him advice, as more reasonable voices could have turned his very interesting ideas into something a bit more focused.

comment #10

The Winchester says ...

Is the Soderbergh movie the one he shot off the cuff while directing theater in Australia?

For that (and the Gondry movie) I would go to the festival.

comment #11

Gordon27 says ...

Apparently, "And Everything Is Going Fine" is his long-in-post Spalding Gray movie!

comment #12

Markj74 says ...

Well said Lazarus. The yes men surrounding Lucas are the true evil. Lucas clearly filmed his first draft. He offered it to Lawrence Kasdan to rewrite but Kasdan thought Lucas should do his own thing.

Why Larry? Why?!!

comment #13

longrunner says ...

Yes, Soderbergh's Gray profile just played at Slamdance. Looking forward to seeing that one.

Personally, I wouldn't go to SXSW for the film fest and then skip the music fest. That just seems daft.

comment #14

bildeaux says ...

If you make it down Jeff, let's grab a beer somewhere.

comment #15

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

I'd go for the Gondry, Soderbergh, and all the other lovely surprises you get at these kind of fests. Longrunner gives good advice, too; makes good sense to hit the music portion if you actually end up going (even if you're not into the modern rock scene) -- it's a pretty big 'un.

The Lucas hating actually been played out for years. You're way out of touch if you think you're the first person (or even among the first million) to imply he's the devil, Jeff. That was a pretty huge topic of debate in the 80s and 90s, pre-Internet, post-Jedi in geek circles (which you obviously don't frequent). It mostly centered around the drop in quality from the "classic mythology" of SW/Empire to the portions of Jedi that are overly kid-centric and/or involving Ewoks.

I agree with Noiresque, skip that docu -- there's almost guaranteed to be no new insights to be had there. I bet the film on Bill Hicks is a lot more better simply due to the subject matter being a lot less tired. Not to mention the fact that he was certainly a fascinating, polarizing figure in his own right.

comment #16

Moises Chiullan says ...

I've been going for 6 years. Worth it 100%. You should have been here last year for Hurt Locker's US premiere. It blew the roof off the place.

comment #17

kamichojin says ...

"a lot more better"? that was an intentional joke, right?

comment #18

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

From what I can gather from past year's dispatches, Jeff rarely reports on any films at the SB Film Fest. It's all about the award presentations and round table discussions.

So, in comparison, it would seem that D.Z.'s Godfather has already decided which Festival of questionable importance to attend. After Sundance and Toronto, SXSW seems to have carved out a niche as THE place to find emerging American filmmakers and actors. Considering how much Jeff loved HUMP DAY and that entire group of mumblecore folks are closely identified with SXSW this would seem to be a no brainer.

comment #19

BurmaShave says ...

Nothing pleases me more than the Xavier-Magneto relationship between Poland and Wells.

comment #20

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Sorry about that, kamichojin.

I write in an unusual fashion. I plow through what I want to say, then I'll go back and start substituting words and phrases that I think sound clearer or better in the context of what I've already written.

It generally works for me, but one of the downsides is that this technique can really make some of my musings look dyslexic -- if not downright illiterate. I did not type "a lot more better" as one continuous string of words if it makes you feel any better, lol.

It's been noted before, but even an elementary editing feature would really help me (and others, I presume) on this site.

comment #21

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Burman - guess we all know who wears the emotionally vivid red helmet, huh?

comment #22

efbrackett says ...

I'd say go and stay for the music portion. This will be my fifth year attending the music fest. It's a great time.

comment #23

yoink32 says ...

drop the 1500 clams and go to SXSW, Jeff! since he majority of us can't see these flicks, we count on you to see them for us. we all live vicariously through you. that's why we visit your website.

comment #24

moviesquad says ...

SXSW is mumblecore nirvana.

comment #25

raygo says ...

Didn't Jeff go last year and have an unbelievably horrible time of things with bad internet access and also a minor ruckus with a festival organizer?

comment #26

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Raygo, you're probably describing a good 60% of any festival Jeff's ever attended.

comment #27

Terry McCarty says ...

Noiresque wrote:
Considering the impetus behind the film is the pain of some geek crying on the inside because "Jar Jar raped my childhood", or whatever that meme of 10 years ago once, I really doubt that film would be worth it.

Whatever one thinks of George Lucas from 1983 onwards, I hope there's near-unanimous agreement on his body of work from THX-1138 to EMPIRE. And, in retrospect, MORE AMERICAN GRAFITTI is an interesting misfire--one wishes that Lucas would sign off on a recut, segments-no-longer-scrambled DVD versiion.

comment #28

kamichojin says ...

No worries, Citizen K. Just busting a bit. "More better" is one of those grammatical tics that bugs me. Almost as much as "your/you're" & "should of". Yeah, an edit option would be a godsend on here.

comment #29

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Spike Lee presents Mo' Better Blues 2: A Lot Mo' Better Blues.

comment #30

belgian malinois says ...

I had state visit in addition to keep for any songs piece. This will likely end up being my 5th 12 months going to that songs fest. It really is an enjoyable experience. Shih Tzu