Connect with us

Entertainment

Seth Rogen, Nicole Kidman, Ben Affleck and Jenna Ortega to debut projects at SXSW

Published

on

Seth Rogen, Nicole Kidman, Ben Affleck and Jenna Ortega to debut projects at SXSW

The South by Southwest Film and TV Festival released the program for this year’s event, which will run March 7–14. The opening night’s TV selection will be the world premiere of “The Studio,” the anticipated new series from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who served as showrunners, directors and screenwriters.

Starring Rogen as the newly appointed head of a Hollywood studio, the show also features Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders and Kathryn Hahn. The series begins streaming on Apple TV+ on March 26.

The festival’s opening night film selection will be announced separately.

Rogen and Goldberg have become reliable forces at SXSW, having previously brought projects such as “Long Shot,” “Good Boys,” “Sausage Party” and numerous others to the festival.

“We are thrilled to welcome Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg back to SXSW,” said Claudette Godfrey, the festival’s VP, Film & TV, in a statement. “This brilliantly conceived series is exquisitely cast and written, capturing the fanatical love, dedication, pressure and, yes, the hubris that defines our industry. It’s hilariously spot-on, bringing to life the stories we’ve all heard or witnessed firsthand. We can’t wait to experience the joy and energy radiating from the Paramount when we share this gem with the world.”

Advertisement

“The Accountant 2,” starring Jon Bernthal, left, and Ben Affleck, will be unveiled in South by Southwest’s high-profile headliner section.

(Amazon MGM Studios)

Films included in the festival’s high-profile headliner section will be the world premieres of Gavin O’Connor’s action thriller “The Accountant 2,” starring Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal; Flying Lotus’ sci-fi horror “Ash,” starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul; Alex Scharfman’s horror-comedy “The Death of a Unicorn,” starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega; Christopher Landon’s suspenseful “Drop,” starring Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar; and Mimi Cave’s thriller “Holland,” starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Macfadyen.

The narrative feature competition will include the world premieres of Ben Jacobson’s “Bunny,” Matthew Shear’s “Fantasy Life,” Annapurna Sriram’s “F—toys,” Alexander Ullom’s “It Ends,” Brwa Vahabpour’s “My Uncle Jens,” Elena Oxman’s “Outerlands,” Yana Alliata’s “Reeling” and Amy Wang’s “Slanted.”

Advertisement

The documentary feature competition will include the world premieres of Elaine Epstein’s “Arrest the Midwife,” Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symons’ “Assembly,” Jessica Earnshaw’s “Baby Doe,” Xander Robin’s “The Python Hunt,” Paige Bethmann’s “Remaining Native,” Grace Hughes-Hallett’s “The Secret of Me,” Benjamin Flaherty’s “Shuffle” and Jamie Coughlin Silverman and Gabriel Silverman’s “The Spies Among Us.”

In the narrative spotlight section will be films including Uta Briesewitz’s “American Sweatshop,” starring Lili Reinhardt; Jess Varley’s “The Astronaut,” starring Kate Mara; Jay Duplass’ “The Baltimorons” starring Michael Strassner; J Pinder’s “Cotton Candy Bubble Gum,” starring Nick Darnell; Andre Gaines’ “The Dutchman,” starring André Holland; Amy Landecker’s “For Worse,” starring Landecker and Bradley Whitford; Jing Ai Ng’s “Forge,” starring Kelly Marie Tran; Geremy Jasper’s “O’Dessa,” starring Sadie Sink; Siobhan McCarthy’s “She’s the He”; Chad Hartigan’s “The Threesome,” starring Zoey Deutch; and Zak Hilditch’s “We Bury the Dead,” starring Daisy Ridley.

Titles in the documentary spotlight section include Steven Feinartz’s “Are We Good?” on comedian Marc Maron, Adam Bhala Lough’s “Deepfaking Sam Altman,” examining AI, Kate Blackmore’s “Make It Look Real” on intimacy coordinators, Linus O’Brien’s “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror” about the classic 1975 midnight movie and Anayansi Prado’s “Uvalde Mom” on the aftermath of a school shooting in Texas.

A man in a suit smiles in front of palm trees.

David Oyelowo in the forthcoming series “Government Cheese.”

(Apple TV+)

Advertisement

Other premieres include Matt Johnson’s “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” an adaptation of the Canadian television series; Babak Anvari’s “Hallow Road,” starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys; Tom J. Stern’s documentary “Butthole Surfers: the Hole Truth and Nothing Butt” about the notorious Texas psychedelic band; and H.E.R.’s documentary “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield,” on the legendary R&B musician.

On the TV side, other premieres include “#1 Happy Family USA” from showrunners Ramy Youssef and Pam Brady, starring Youssef and Mandy Moore; “Government Cheese,” from showrunners/screenwriters Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr, starring David Oyelowo and Simone Missick; “Happy Face” from showrunner/screenwriter Jennifer Cacicio and director Michael Showalter, starring Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid; and “Spy High” from director Jody McVeigh-Schultz, produced by Mark Wahlberg.

“This lineup celebrates the fearless storytellers who make SXSW so unique,” said Godfrey in a statement. “We love to discover and elevate filmmakers who make bold statements, push boundaries, spark important conversations and challenge our perspectives in ways we never expected. When our incredible SXSW community gathers in March to experience these stories, the energy and inspiration is going to be absolutely transformative.”

Advertisement

Movie Reviews

‘Madhuvidhu’ movie review: A light-hearted film that squanders a promising conflict

Published

on

‘Madhuvidhu’ movie review: A light-hearted film that squanders a promising conflict

At the centre of Madhuvidhu directed by Vishnu Aravind is a house where only men reside, three generations of them living in harmony. Unlike the Anjooran household in Godfather, this is not a house where entry is banned to women, but just that women don’t choose to come here. For Amrithraj alias Ammu (Sharafudheen), the protagonist, 28 marriage proposals have already fallen through although he was not lacking in interest.

When a not-so-cordial first meeting with Sneha (Kalyani Panicker) inevitably turns into mutual attraction, things appear about to change. But some unexpected hiccups are waiting for them, their different religions being one of them. Writers Jai Vishnu and Bipin Mohan do not seem to have any major ambitions with Madhuvidhu, but they seem rather content to aim for the middle space of a feel-good entertainer. Only that they end up hitting further lower.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Dataland, the world’s first museum of AI arts, sets opening date and first exhibition

Published

on

Dataland, the world’s first museum of AI arts, sets opening date and first exhibition

After more than two and a half years of research, planning and construction, Dataland, the world’s first museum of AI arts, will open June 20.

Co-founded by new media artists Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, the museum anchors the $1-billion Frank Gehry-designed Grand LA complex across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Its first exhibition, “Machine Dreams: Rainforest,” created by Refik Anadol Studio, was inspired by a trip to the Amazon and uses vast data sets to immerse visitors in a machine-generated sensory experience of the natural world.

The architecture of the space, which Anadol calls “a living museum,” is used to reflect distant rainforest ecosystems, including changing temperature, light, smell and visuals. Anadol refers to these large-scale, shimmering tableaus as “digital sculptures.”

“This is such an important technology, and represents such an important transformation of humanity,” Anadol said in an interview. “And we found it so meaningful and purposeful to be sure that there is a place to talk about it, to create with it.”

The 35,000-square-foot privately funded museum devotes 25,000 square feet to public space, with the remaining 10,000 square feet holding the in-house technology that makes the space run. Dataland contains five immersive galleries and a 30-foot ceiling. An escalator by the entrance will transport guests to the experiences below. The museum declined to say how much Dataland, designed by architecture firm Gensler, cost to build.

Advertisement

An isometric architectural rendering of Dataland. The 25,000-square-foot AI arts museum also contains an additional 10,000 square feet of non-public space that holds its operational technology.

(Refik Anadol Studio for Dataland)

Dataland will collect and preserve artificial intelligence art and is powered by an open-access AI model created by Anadol’s studio called the Large Nature Model. The model, which does not source without permission, culls mountains of data about the natural world from partners including the Smithsonian, London’s Natural History Museum and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This data, including up to half a billion images of nature, will form the basis for the creation of a variety of AI artworks, including “Machine Dreams.”

“AI art is a part of digital art, meaning a lineage that uses software, data and computers to create a form of art,” Anadol explained. “I know that many artists don’t want to disclose their technologies, but for me, AI means possibilities. And possibilities come with responsibilities. We have to disclose exactly where our data comes from.”

Advertisement

Sustainability is another responsibility that Anadol takes seriously. For more than a decade, Anadol has devoted much thought to the massive carbon footprint associated with AI models. The Large Nature Model is hosted on Google Cloud servers in Oregon that use 87% carbon-free, renewable energy. Anadol says the energy used to support an individual visit to the museum is equivalent to what it takes to charge a single smartphone.

Anadol believes AI can form a powerful bridge to nature — serving as a means to access and preserve it — and that the swiftly evolving technology can be harnessed to illuminate essential truths about humanity’s relationship to an interconnected planet. During a time of great anxiety about the power of AI to disrupt lives and livelihoods, Anadol maintains it can be a revolutionary tool in service of a never-before-seen form of art.

“The works generate an emergent, living reality, a machine’s dream shaped by continuous streams of environmental and biological data. Within this evolving system, moments of recognition and interpretation emerge across different forms of knowledge,” a news release about the museum explains. “At the same time, the exhibition registers loss as part of this expanded field of perception, most notably in the Infinity Room, where visitors encounter the 1987 recording of the last known Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō, a now-extinct bird whose unanswered call becomes part of the work.”

“It’s very exciting to say that AI art is not image only,” Anadol said. “It’s a very multisensory, multimedium experience — meaning sound, image, video, text, smell, taste and touch. They are all together in conversation.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Movie Reviews

Michael Jackson documentary set to release after massive re-write

Published

on

Michael Jackson documentary set to release after massive re-write
  • Fans reignite Drake vs Kendrick feud after album announcement

    03:35

  • Now Playing

    Michael Jackson documentary set to release after massive re-write

    02:57

  • UP NEXT

    Patrick Brammall on How He Got His Role in ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’

    05:43

  • Henry Winkler on ‘Hazardous History’ S2, Zip lining With Grandkids

    07:38

  • Did Harry Styles and Zoë Kravitz Get Engaged?

    04:05

  • Ana Gasteyer on Role in ‘Schmigadoon!’ Musical: ‘I’m Very Mean’

    06:03

  • Laufey Talks Children’s Book ‘Mei Mei the Bunny,’ Coachella, More

    05:15

  • Shania Twain to Host the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards

    00:26

  • Colman Domingo and Nia Long Talk New Michael Jackson Biopic

    04:50

  • Charlize Theron Talks Intense Training for New Thriller, ‘Apex’

    06:30

  • Jimmy Kimmel Shares Photo of His Son to Mark His 9th Birthday

    00:39

  • Could Rocky Score an Oscar for ‘Project Hail Mary’ Movie?

    01:36

  • ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Finale Sees Huge Surge in Streams

    01:23

  • ‘Top Gun’ Movies Are Returning to Theaters for 40th Anniversary

    01:24

  • Chicago collectible store is latest target in Pokemon card crime spree

    01:59

  • Victoria Beckham Shares Hot Takes on Chores, Nicknames, More

    07:34

  • John Legend Talks New Book, ‘The Voice’ Finale, Marriage, More

    06:37

  • Victoria Beckham Talks Family, Marriage, Navigating Tough Times

    07:58

  • Steve Schirripa Joins TODAY With Dog WillieBoy to Talk New Book

    04:32

  • Stars of ‘Running Point’ Discuss What to Expect From Season 2

    06:34

Top Story

‘Michael’ — a new movie about the King of Pop – is drumming up big buzz. The film was produced in-part by the co-executors of the late singer’s estate, and has some critics questioning whether it is too focused on sanitizing the singer’s troubled image.

Hallie Jackson NOW

Stay Tuned NOW

Top Story

Top Story

Nightly News Netcast

Play All

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending