SXSW Day 3: Eagle vs. Shark vs. Austin
By Erin Steele
March 12, 2007
The rain poured down in Austin on Sunday, but the unpleasant weather couldn't dampen filmgoers' spirits as they sprinted from theater to theater to see some of the biggest films of the day.
But before they hit the theaters, they hit the panels (specifically, the "Grindhouse" panel -- more on that from Sarah), where Robert Rodriguez and Harry Knowles discussed the collaboration between Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Rodriguez trotted out a clip from his "Grindhouse" segment "Planet Terror" and previewed a fake trailer by director Eli Roth that will screen during the theatrical run of "Grindhouse."
In the afternoon, festival attendees braved the elements to drive to the Alamo South Lamar, where "Diggers" -- a dramedy by "The Ten's" Ken Marino, Paul Rudd and David Wain -- made its regional premiere. The film, a bittersweet look at the lives of Long Island clam diggers and their families, was capped off by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
After "Diggers," the Alamo offered up "Eagle vs. Shark," a New Zealand-made comedy that had garnered its fair share of favorable word-of-mouth. The film didn't disappoint, creating a world in parts reminiscent of "Napoleon Dynamite," "Muriel's Wedding" and "Strictly Ballroom."
But the movies that drew the biggest lines was "What Would Jesus Buy?," a documentary produced by "Super-Size Me" director Morgan Spurlock. A film that documented the holiday shopping season and the Rev. Billy and Stop Shopping Gospel Choir's attempts to stop it, the doc played to a nearly sold-out audience at the Paramount, with the Rev. Billy and his crew of singers in attendance.
But tonight boasts the most-anticipated film of the festival, "Knocked Up," director Judd Apatow's follow-up to the "40-Year-Old Virgin." Look for a review of the film tomorrow on the blog.
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