deadCENTER at SXSW: Wow.
It’s 1:14am and Cacky and I are enjoying the ‘Baby Jesus’ scene from the Ricky Bobby film – AKA Talladega Nights – on TBS.
Yes. We’re whooped. We’ve been up since 5am – met with filmmakers, seen half of one film, all of another, denied a third, and hobnobbed at the Opening Night Party for a good three hours. If that doesn’t earn us a Will Ferrell vanity project, I don’t know what does.
To Sum Up:
Rejoice and Shout is a delight. Toes were tapped, hands were raised, fists were pumped. This outing from Magnolia Films connects the dots between Gospel and Pop music for me in ways that aren’t even expressed in the film.
This film expertly chronicles the history of gospel music from cotton pickers to modern day family bands. But the presence of The Staple Singers (yes, ‘I’ll Take You There’ rates highly in my iPod) and other crossover artists like Tommy Dorsey helped me see how easily Ray Charles, James Brown, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, et al. turned their weekly church-going ritual to placate a caretaker into multi-million dollar careers.
While watching the last 25% of the film, Cacky ducked out to see if she could score some seats to Leaves of Grass. Written and directed by OK Native Tim Blake Nelson, set in Tulsa, though shot in Louisiana – this narrative had only one screening during the festival.
And … even with our fancy passes and knowing people in the film (HEY! Chris! You’re awesome!) we couldn’t get in. Oh well. We watched the end of the Rejoice film – which was amazing – and headed out to the party.
The party. Whoa. That’s a whole other post. I’ll tell you about it in the morning. After Cacky gets me some poached eggs and coffee. Help Me Tom Cruise.
Good Night!
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