Just announced, Lionsgate’s The Cabin in the Woods will open as the 2012 Opening Night Film at SXSW in March. In addition to premiering the film, Whedon will participate in a key Conversation panel at the SXSW Film Conference on Saturday, March 10, 2012. Produced and co-written by iconic genre storyteller Joss Whedon, The Cabin in the Woods marks Emmy-nominated writer Drew Goddard’s (Cloverfield, Lost, Alias) first foray into directing. This mind-blowing horror film starts typically enough, as we join five young adults embarking on a weekend of debauchery at an abandoned cabin in the woods. But as layer after layer of the film’s truly kaleidoscopic world is revealed, everything we know about horror is deconstructed, and everything we love is reconstructed before our eyes. The film stars Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford, and will be in theaters everywhere on April 13, 2012. For more information about the film please visit: .
SXSW also revealed a handful of exciting titles that will premiere at the 2012 event, comprised of diverse perspectives that exemplify the unique range of the SXSW program. This includes Lena Dunham’s return to SXSW with her HBO series GIRLS, which will premiere the initial three episodes publicly for the first time. Dunham, Executive Producer Judd Apatow and other key members of the GIRLS production team will also appear at the SXSW Film Conference to discuss GIRLS before it kicks off its ten-episode season in April, exclusively on HBO. Moderated by actor Alex Karpovsky (Tiny Furniture), the panel will take place on Tuesday, March 13.
Additional films announced include Academy Award-winner Kevin Macdonald’s Bob Marley documentary, MARLEY, Small Apartments, a black comedy from acclaimed music video director Jonas Åkerlund, Neil Berkeley’s doc Beauty is Embarrassing about multi-faceted artist Wayne White, special event The Oyster Princess (1919) with original live score by Bee vs. Moth and CITADEL, the psychological horror debut from writer/director Ciarán Foy. The complete festival lineup will be announced in early February 2012. The 19th annual South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival runs March 9 – 17, 2012 in Austin, Texas.
The 2012 SXSW Film Festival will also feature:
- Beauty is Embarrassing (World Premiere) – Director: Neil Berkeley: A funny, irreverent and insightful look into the life and times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White.
- The Cabin in the Woods (World Premiere) – Director: Drew Goddard, Writers: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard: Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes The Cabin in the Woods, a mind-blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out. Cast: Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford
- CITADEL (World Premiere) – Director & Writer: Ciarán Foy: An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children. Cast: Anuerin Barnard, James Cosmo, and Wumni Mosaku, Jake Wilson, Amy Shiels
- GIRLS (World Premiere): Director & Writer: Lena Dunham – Created by and starring Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), the HBO show is a comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20s. Cast: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver
- MARLEY (North American Premiere) – Director: Kevin Macdonald: The definitive documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.
- The Oyster Princess (1919) with original live score by Bee vs. Moth (World Premiere): Director: Ernst Lubitsch, Writers: Hanns Kraly & Ernst Lubitsch – A tart 1919 silent comedy that parodies the rich and the spoiled. Austin jazz/rock band Bee vs. Moth performs their original score live with the film for the first time.
- Small Apartments (World Premiere) – Director: Jonas Åkerlund, Writer: Chris Millis: When Franklin Franklin accidentally kills his landlord, he must hide the body; but, the wisdom of his beloved brother and the quirks of his neighbors, force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him. Cast: Matt Lucas, Billy Crystal, James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Juno Temple, James Marsden, Dolph Lundgren, Saffron Burrows, Rosie Perez, DJ Qualls
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
