SXSW 2024 Exclusive: A Preview Of This Year's Festival
Action, Comedies, Action-Comedies, Unspeakable Horrors and A Country at War. The 2024 Lineup promises the typically atypical Variety that SXSW is loved for.
In 2023 festival attendees were promised Dragons, Deadites, and Tetris… oddly enough… and was surprised by the fourth entry in the gun-katat action epic and the epic tale of the most famous brand of footwear in history. Although 2023 didn’t have the Academy buzzing like 2022, last year was a rife with underrated gems. Progressive and impressive comedies like Joy Ride, Problemista and Bottoms brought more laughs than most major studio offerings. The Biopic quartet of Tetris, Flaymin’ Hot, Blackberry, and Air were all gripping and entertaining looks at the creation of some of the most successful and beloved products ever created. While John Wick: Chapter 4, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Evil Dead: Rise were fun filled and crowd pleasing rides that begged for multiple viewings and a souvenir popcorn bucket. Now, a year later, we are promised Stunt-tastic voyages, a horrifying homefront, and the un-reality of the turn of the millenium to satiate the needs of festival attendees of SXSW 2024.
ROADHOUSE
This year’s festival opener returns us to the Double Deuce. Roadhouse is the reimagining of the beloved Patrick Swayze vehicle of the same name. This time around Jake Gyllenhaal fills the shoes of Dalton, a former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys and finds the fight he left behind him in the cage. Directed by Doug Liman of Swingers, Edge of Tomorrow and Mr. & Mrs. Smith and co-starring Daniela Melchior, Post Malone, and former UFC Champion Conor McGregor, the film aims to capture the ass-kicking badass-ery of the original.
BABES
Babes is a comedy co-written and starring Ilana Glazer that is sure to have her particular peculiar brand of humor. The film follows Edna who, after she becomes from pregnant from a one-nightstand, seeks the advice from her best friend and married mother of two Dawn played by Michelle Buteau. This is the Directorial debut of Pamela Adlon and also stars Oliver Platt and Sandra Bernhard.
THE FALL GUY
From the Co-Director of John Wick comes a story of love and stunts, The Fall Guy. Directed by David Leitch and starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and SXSW darling Stephanie Hsu, the film is about stuntman extraordinaire Colt Seavers who is tasked with figuratively and literally saving the movie directed by his ex, Jody Moreno. The film is the follow up for Gosling coming off the worldwide phenomenon Barbie and for Leitch following his sleeper hit Bullet Train so be expecting something in between: an action packed freight train of love powered by pure kinetic Kenergy.
THE IDEA OF YOU
Starring the incredible Anne Hathaway, The Idea of You is a love story based on the acclaimed book of the same name by author Robinne Lee. 40 year-old single mother Solène who finds herself romantically linked to the lead singer of the hottest boy-band on the planet, Hayes Campbell. The adaptation is directed by the comedy chameleon Michael Showalter and co-stars Nicholas Galitzine.
IMMACULATE
Following the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, Sydney Sweeney stars in the religious horror film Immaculate. Sweeney plays an American nun who joins an Italian convent that is as beautiful as it is mysterious. She stumbles onto a sinister secret that not only conjures nightmares but brings unspeakable horrors. Directed by Michael Mohan, the horror film continues the long lasting tradition of horror at SXSW and also stars Álvaro Morte, Dora Romano, Benedetta Porcaroli, and Giorgio Colangeli.
MONKEY MAN
Direct by, produced by and starring Dev Patel and co-produced by Jordan Peele comes Monkey Man. In his Directorial debut, Patel stars as a mysterious man who is on a bloody and violent quest for vengeance against the men responsible for his mom’s murder as well as the systematic oppression of the poor and weak. This Action-Thriller also stars Sharlto Copley, and Pitobash and brutalize it’s way alongside the likes of John Wick and The Raid: Redemption.
Y2K
In the year 1999, the public was terrified that the turn of the millenium would bring with it mass hysteria and mayhem the likes of the world had never seen before. It didn’t, but Y2K asks the question: what if it did? The Directorial Debut of SNL alum Kyle Mooney follows two high-school juniors as there New Years Eve party turns to a fight for their lives. The disaster comedy stars Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, and Julian Dennison.
CIVIL WAR
From the brilliant mind of Alex Garland known for Annihilation and Ex Machina comes Civil War. A thrilling look at an all too possible future of a fractured America in the on the verge of total self destruction. This look at a country balanced on a razor's edge pushes the boundaries of what is possible, plausible and inevitable. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno and Nick Offerman, the film promises to hit a little too close to the homeland.