News

According to Variety, filmmakers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy—a.k.a. the Malloys—are making a documentary about Biggie Smalls. Tentatively titled Notorious B.I.G.: One More Chance, the film is being made in collaboration with Biggie’s estate and his mother, Voletta Wallace, and it will reportedly “feature Biggie’s music and focus on the impact [of] his work around the world.”

The Malloys are primarily music video directors, but they’ve occasionally branched out into music-themed documentaries like A Brokedown Melody, Under Great White Northern Lights, and Big Easy Express. This Biggie Smalls documentary is being produced by Submarine Entertainment, which was also behind Searching For Sugarman and 20 Feet From Stardom.

After successfully collaborating on various projects over the past two years, Richard Abramowitz, founder of Abramorama, has announced that Karol Martesko-Fenster and Evan Saxon have formalized their roles on the executive team with Abramorama.

Martesko-Fenster has been brought on board as Evp & COO, while Saxon will now serve as West Coast Head of Acquisitions & Business Development.

Martesko-Fenster will be working out of Abramorama’s Pleasantville, NY offices with Saxon based in Los Angeles, providing an ongoing west coast presence for Abramorama and the content owners, filmmakers, agents and record labels the company works with. Martesko-Fenster will be primarily responsible for corporate organization and management and global strategic partnerships, and will participate in all acquisition and distribution activities. Saxon’s focus will be on music content, event cinema, distribution and business development.

Read More: Abramorama Partners With Digital Distribution Company Distribber.com

The pair will both be involved in all aspects of the creation,...

Short Term 12 and Big Easy Express took home top prizes at the 4th American Film Festival in Wroclaw.

The American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland has awarded the audience award for Best Narrative Feature ($10,000) to Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12.

The audience award for the Best Documentary Feature ($5,000) went to Emmett Malloy for Big Easy Express.

The festival, focused entirely on independent American cinema, closed with the Polish premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra on Oct 27.

A total of 80 films were screened at the Nowe Horyzonty cinema in Wrocław, of which 52 films received their Polish premiere such as Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, As I Lay Dying by James Franco and Don Jon by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. There were three European premieres and one world premiere, Blue Highway by Kyle Smith.

The number of admissions exceeded 17,000 for the second consecutive year.

The Aff also featured a retrospective of Shirley Clarke, a mini-retrospective...

Doc winner is Big Easy Express.

Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12 won the audience award for best narrative feature at the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. The award comes with a $10,000 prize.

The best documentary award (with $5,000) went to Emmett Malloy for Big Easy Express.

The festival closed with the Polish premiere of Behind The Candelabra.

Producer Christine Vachon (pictured) received the Indie Star Award.

Screen previously reported on the winners of Us In Progress Wroclaw here.

Opening with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive the latest edition of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland (22-27 October 2013) has screened some of the most important American independent films of the year. Being the only festival of its class in Eastern and Central Europe the festival has become the most important venue to connect American filmmakers with European buyers and audiences through programs like U.S. in Progress Wrocław (23-25 October 2013).

This year's program taking place at the New Horizons cinema presented 80 movies out of which 42 are Polish premieres, 3 are European premieres and 1 is a World Premiere. Among them 10 documentaries and 17 feature films competed for cash prizes in the audience-vote competitions.

The first competitive section - Spectrum ($10,000 audience award for the Best Narrative Feature) included films that have been well-received here in the U.S such as A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, and Bluebird by Lance Edmands. The second competition - American Docs ($5,000 audience award for Best Documentary Feature) had a selection of films depicting varied current issues in American society including Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, Our Nixon by Penny Lane, Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha and Before You Know It by Pj Raval.

The American Film Festival also ran a retrospective of Shirley Clarke and presented Polish premieres of high-profile films such as As I Lay Dying by James Franco, Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein’s Lovelace, Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon, Touchy Feely by Lynn Shelton, At Any Price by Ramin Bahrani, and Maladies by Carter. The festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sundance hit Don Jon along several U.S. in Progress participants and festival hits like I Used to be Darker by Matt Porterfier and Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone. Lastly, a special section titled 'Masterpieces of American Cinema 90 Years of Warner Bros." showed 14 digitally-remastered productions by the studio from The Jazz Singer by Alan Crosland (1927) through A Clockwork Orange ,The Exorcist and Christopher Nolan’s Inception

The festival will close on October 27th with Steven Soderbergh's Emmy Award-winning film Behind the Candelabra.

All competitions titles:

Spectrum

American Milkshake by David Andalman, Mariko Munro, USA 2012, 82'

Blue Highway by Kyle Smith, USA 2013, 70'

Coldwater by Vincent Grashaw, USA 2013, 104'

The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, USA 2013, 95'

Drinking Buddies by Joe Swanberg, USA 2013, 90'

Lily by Matt Creed, USA 2013, 85'

A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, USA 2013, 75'

Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, USA 2013, 93'

Pearblossom Hwy by Mike Ott, USA 2012, 78'

Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, USA 2013, 105'

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sam Fleischner, USA 2013, 102'

Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, USA 2013, 96'

The Cold Lands by Tom Gilroy, USA 2013, 100'

In a World... by Lake Bell, USA 2013, 93'

A Song Still Inside by Gregory Collins, USA 2013, 82'

Bluebird by Lance Edmands, USA 2013, 90'

American Docs

Big Easy Express by Emmett Malloy, USA 2012

Off Label by Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, USA 2012

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, USA, Italy 2013

Fall and Winter by Matt Anderson, USA 2013

The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, USA 2013

Lenny Cooke by Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie, USA 2012

Our Nixon by Penny Lane, USA 2013

Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, USA 2013

Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, USA 2013

Before You Know It by Pj Raval, USA 2012

U.S. Progress Projects

This year 6 projects in the final production stages were chosen to take part in the two-day workshop knows as U.S. in Progress Wroclaw (23-25 October, 2013). The event presents the American independent projects to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of these films in Europe.

Selected from over 40 submission the chosen projects are the dramas Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari), Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell ) and Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware), crime story Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh), frontier black comedy Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum (producers: Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd) and Summer of Blood – a New York vampire comedy by director-producer Onur Tukel.

The prizes are awarded by a jury of professionals and include post-production services from European partner companies worth almost $60.000 and promotional services from other partners. Us in Progress’ partners are: Platige Image (Warsaw), Di Factory (Warsaw), Alvernia Studios (Krakow), composer Maciej Zielinski of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw), Soundplace (Warsaw), DCinex (Belgium), Vsi (Paris), Europa Distribution, Cicae and Cannes Marche du Film’s Producers Network.

U.S. in Progress Wrocław (formerly Gotham in Progress) was started in 2011 by the New Horizons Association and Black Rabbit Film. Previous films presented at the event included, among others: I Used To Be Darker by Matt Porterfield, American Milkshake by David Andalman (both shown at Sundance Ff in 2013), Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Carbone (Berlinale Generation, Tribeca), Bluebird by Lance Edmands (Tribeca, Karlovy Vary), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi (Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Gotham Awards nominee), Amy Seimetz’s Sun Don’t Shine (SXSW, Edinburgh Iff, Gotham Awards nominee) and Devyn Waitt’s Not Waving But Drowning (Sarasota Ff).

U.S. in Progress Wrocław is supported by the City of Wrocław, American Embassy in Warsaw and Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

For more information on the American Film Festival and the U.S. in Progress projects visit Here...

American Film Festival in Wroclaw to close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra; competition and programme highlights announced.Scroll down for competition titles

The fourth American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland is to feature 80 films comprising 42 Polish premieres; three European premieres and one world premiere.

The event, which is focused on independent Us cinema, will run from Oct 22-27.

It will open with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive and close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra, both of which played in competition at Cannes.

Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra recently picked up 11 Emmy awards, including best television movie, best leading actor for Michael Douglas and best director.

Dutch experimental lutenist Jozef van Wissem will conduct a live performance of the soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive, which won the Cannes Soundtrack Award, on Oct 23 - the day after its opening night screening.

Competitions

A total of 10 documentaries and 16 narrative feature films will compete...

Nashville, Tenn. — The new self-titled album from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros is late. Way late. More than a year overdue.

Frontman and producer Alex Ebert wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm just glad we didn't put it out all the way back then because so much developed since then," Ebert said. "Not just the difference a year makes but the difference even an hour makes. We were in the studio while taking a break from mixing when I came up with this song `Life Is Hard.' Songs developed at sort of the last minute."

Some of the 12 songs on the band's third album, released Tuesday, were recorded more than 18 months ago with the music that would eventually appear on the California-based folk-rock band's 2012 release, "Here."

Ebert had so much music, he considered making "Here" a double album. Then he thought he'd release the material a few months later as a second album.

Mumford & Sons had a big night at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. The band, made up of Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane, ended the night with two awards.

Mumford & Sons were up for six awards at the 2013 Grammys: Album of the Year and Best Americana Album for "Babel," Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "I Will Wait," Best Song Written for Visual Media for "Learn Me Right" from "Brave," and Best Long Form Music Video for "Big Easy Express" with Edward Sharpe, Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show.

The band took home Album of the Year and Best Long Form Music Video.

Mumford is tied for the most nominations this year with Kanye West, fun., The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Jay-z, and Frank Ocean. The band also performed "I Will Wait" at the awards show, after an introduction from Johnny Depp.

"Babel...

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert stopped to chat with us on the red carpet at this evening's Grammy Awards in La. The band won a Grammy this evening for Best Long Form Music Video for Big Easy Express, a documentary about the band's tour with Mumford & Sons. As for how Alex feels about all the madness? He joked that it's all "stupid."...

With the bulk of the Grammy Awards actually given out before the big show, some of the night's biggest contenders are out for an early lead as we head into the night's hotly contested categories: The Black Keys, Gotye, and the pairing of Jay-z and Kanye West can now call themselves double winners for the 2013 shinding, while promising nominees Frank Ocean and fun.--both highly favored to have big nights--are so far winless. Keep in mind, however, that none of Ocean's solo cateogries have been decided yet, so R&B's glory boy still has the opportunity for a clean sweep.

But on the flipside, Gotye has ruined fun.'s fun with a steal in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance ("Somebody That I Used To Know") as well as a win for Best Alternative Music Album. Elsewhere, Skrillex has taken double dance awards (Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronica...

Los Angeles (AP) -- Everybody's thinkin' about Frank Ocean - but his main competition Kanye West and Jay-z took home two early Grammy Awards.

They won best rap song and best rap performance in the pre-telecast awards Sunday for the song "N----s in Paris" from their "Watch the Throne" collaboration, joining Skrillex, Esperanza Spalding, Chick Corea and Matt Redman atop the pre-telecast awards show toteboard.

(Scroll Down For Updates)

Other early winners included Rihanna, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Mumford & Sons.

Ocean is a cause celebre and the man with the momentum as Sunday's Grammy Awards. One of six top nominees with six nominations apiece, Ocean - the 25-year-old R&B singer turned cultural talking point - will have the music world's attention.

It remains to be seen if it will be the "Thinkin Bout You" singer's night, but there's no question he's dominated the discussion so far. Already a budding...

The 55th Grammy Awards have arrived, and music's biggest night promises a ton of trophies, and hopefully some great live performances by today's hottest acts. Who has the best record of 2012? How about the year's best new artist? Stick with Zap2it throughout the night, as we continue updating the list of this year's winners!

All of the award categories are below, with the winners in bold.

Record of the Year"Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson"We Are Young" by Fun., featuring Janelle Monáe"Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye, featuring Kimbra"Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift

Album of the Year"El Camino" by The Black Keys"Some Nights" by Fun."Babel" by Mumford & Sons"Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean"Blunderbuss" by Jack White

Song of the Year...

Los Angeles --  In the first two awards issued today for the 55th annual Grammy Awards, two of the biggest nominees from the night already run away with wins. The clip for Rihanna's "We Found Love" featuring Calvin Harris won Best Short Form Music Video, while "Big Easy Express" -- featuring Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show -- earned Best Long Form Music Video. The former was directed by Melina Matsoukas with Juliette Larth & Ben Sullivan as its producers. Rihanna, however, wasn't on hand to accept the award, which made its bow first...

Showtime has acquired two new music documentaries to air in February, both featuring concert footage and interviews with bands like Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros and more. "Mumford & Sons: The Road to Red Rocks," set to make its world television premiere on Friday, February 1 at 8pm, documents the English folk rock band as they perform in two sold-out concerts in Colorado's Red Rocks amphitheater. The film, which is directed by duo Fred & Nick, includes interviews with the band and a look at life on the road. Set to premiere on Friday, February 8 at 8pm, "Big Easy Express" is part concert doc and part road movie, following Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Tennessee's Old Crow Medicine Show and Mumford & Sons as they travel from California to New Orleans via a vintage train. The film was directed by Emmett Malloy ("The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights") and has been.

After becoming the first film to do a worldwide release on iTunes, Emmett Malloy's "Big Easy Express," which won the Headliner Audience Award at this year's SXSW Film Festival, will head to theaters soon, thanks to a deal with theatrical and theatrical on demand distributor Gathr. The film features Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Mumford & Sons, all three of whom just released new albums.  According to the press release accompanying the announcement, Gathr will allow the film to play "wherever there's an audience for it." As of last Friday, on-demand screenings of "Big Easy Express" were able to be proposed. Gathr is working with theaters interested in booking the film for one-off or weeklong engagements (a theater in Nevada City has booked the film for a week) as well as on-demand screenings.  These screenings can be planned by anyone.  Gathr will work with theaters in the.

Nashville, Tenn. — Country legend Willie Nelson is on board for this year's Railroad Revival Tour.

He'll be joined by Jamey Johnson, Band of Horses and actor-musician John Reilly and Friends.

The train tour kicks off Oct. 20 in Duluth, Ga., and runs through Oct. 28 in Oakland, Calif. The artists will ride in vintage, 1940s railcars. They'll perform in open air, pop-up concert venues in parks, fields and lots around the railroad tracks where they stop.

Other stops include Memphis, Tenn.; Oklahoma City, Old Town Spring, Texas; Tempe, Ariz.; and San Pedro, Calif.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 11 a.m. Edt.

A documentary called "Big Easy Express," featuring last year's trip with Mumford & Sons and Old Crow Medicine Show, is out today on iTunes and DVD.

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Online:

. http://www.railroadrevivaltour.com

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Follow for the latest country music news from The Associated Press. http://www.twitter.com/AP_Country...

"Big Easy Express," the music documentary that follows a ten-day road trip with Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show, became available for download in 50 markets on iTunes today. Normally, this wouldn't be news. However, this launch, comes a full month before its other releases. Next month, the film will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD, which will be followed by a fall VOD/theatrical release.  The filmmakers say: "We always wanted to incorporate a global digital platform into our release strategy and to find a novel approach to bringing "Big Easy Express" to both new and traditional film audiences. We are delighted to be working with all of our partners in crafting an innovative distribution model." We'll be sure to let you know whether this running-in-reverse distribution strategy works out for "Big Easy Express." Full press release reprinted below: World...

Exclusive: Director Emmett Malloy’s documentary about a train tour by folk bands Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Britain’.s Mumford & Son has been generating strong buzz on the film festival circuit. But regardless of how it performs, S2BN Films’ Big Easy Express has the distinction today of being the first feature film distributed globally (in 50 countries) for sale and rental on iTunes ahead of any other platform, including theaters. The producers and the bands were able to make the deal with Apple because they own all of the global rights to the film and music. Apple also will be first to offer the soundtrack when that’s released. “We always wanted to incorporate a global digital platform into our release strategy and to find a novel approach to bringing Big Easy Express to both new and traditional film audiences,” Malloy and the film...

Big Easy Express takes audiences on the train that drove the bands Mumford & Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes from Oakland, CA to New Orleans, La on their Railroad Revival Tour. Unlike the usual practice of separating bands into different, cramped tour buses as they travel between shows, the Big Easy Express allows these three bands to travel together and proves that, sometimes, the journey is better than the destination. With room to move around, an open bar, and a bunch of talented musicians, the jam sessions never end and it becomes hard to tell if the bands are more excited to get on stage and perform for their fans at each stop or get back on the train to perform with each other. As the bands leave the stage, instruments in hand, they become a make shift parade as they walk back to the train, still...

In Big Easy Express, director Emmett Malloy documents a tour by three cult-favorite indie-folk bands: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Mumford & Sons. But the free-wheeling travelogue that develops is equal parts itinerant jam, extended family picnic, and traveling carnival, with Malloy and his crew as the cinematic roustabouts getting it all down for posterity. The film follows the three bands from Oakland to New Orleans, giving us a glimpse not only of their concerts but of their camaraderie as they live and travel on a train together, sharing songs, time, and experiences, and ultimately becoming more like a troupe of old-time troubadours than a batch of independent acts.

The main precedent for Big Easy Express is the 2003 documentary Festival Express, about a similar 1970 train tour featuring The Band, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and others. Big Easy Express feels like the 21st century torch-carrier...

New: Banjos, Skateboards and Kitchen Shenanigans If you love music but can’t stand the crowds, the heat and the potential sunstroke of summer musical festivals, there are new DVDs in all three categories that can carry a tune. The road-trip concert documentary Big Easy Express (iTunes exclusive starting June 26; DVD/Blu-Ray from S2BN Films July 24) is a soaring delight, even if you don’t think you like roots music. Following Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show on their coast-to-coast train ride, director Emmett Malloy crafts a loving valentine to music that’s both pared-down and richly dense, as well as an ode to the open road and our nation’s vast spaces. It’s a real treat. And you don’t have...

Read More...

While many of us are currently caught up in the excess of the summer blockbuster movie season, several smaller documentaries are quietly making their way to cinemas as well. A few trailers for these films are hitting the web this week for those looking to toss out the stale popcorn entertainment for something a little more nuanced.

For the large section of “Desperate Housewives of (Insert City)” fans out there, perhaps it’s time to take a look at the other side of the coin with “The Queen of Versailles.” Following billionaire timeshare mogul David Siegel and his idealistic housewife Jackie Siegel – who are looking to build a 90,000-square-foot mansion inspired by Versailles – the film chronicles the financial woes of the couple and their large family as America begins to experience its current financial collapse. The tale looks to be oddly compelling in that Jackie is very upfront and proud of her spending ways,...

Before they officially broke up, director Emmett Malloy beautifully captured some of the last few concerts The White Stripes had with the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights. Now he is back and expanding his scope with a cross-country tour of three different bands, Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Taking place on a single train across six different concerts, we’ve got the first trailer for Big Easy Express today and it looks to follow-up the excellent cinematography and intimate behind-the-scenes moments captured in Malloy’s last feature. Although I’m not a fanatic for any of these groups, this could certainly sway me. Check out the poster and trailer below via Apple.

Synopsis:

3 bands, 6 cities, 1 train, and thousands of miles of track… the Big Easy Express documents a cinematic musical journey. Directed by renowned filmmaker Emmett Malloy (Out Cold; The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights...

By Zachary Swickey

Haven’t you always dreamt about vacationing on a train through Canada while fist-pumping to some of your favorite electronic dance music artists, including Skrillex and Diplo? Well, you may now live out that fantasy as the producer/DJ masterminds have joined forces with Edm acts Pretty Lights and Grimes for a good old fashioned railroad tour.

Taking a page from Mumford & Sons’ "Railroad Revival" tour – which found them performing sets on train stops with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show – the “Full Flex Express" tour will make six stops across Canada.

All of the acts will travel on an assumingly rambunctious private passenger train together between each of the stops. Each show will feature multiple stages in a “festival event,” according to a press release of the tour. Koan Sound and Tokimonsta are also included on the bill.

If we’re lucky,...

The 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival will run June 14-24, 2012, and included in the schedule are more than a few movies with ties to Austin or Texas. As Matthew Odam points out in his Tuesday post on Austin Movie Blog, the feature films Saturday Morning Massacre and Magic Mike are both in the lineup. Magic Mike is a Steven Soderbergh film starring Austin actor Matthew McConaughey.

Saturday Morning Massacre was directed by former Austinite Spencer Parsons and was shot locally. Cast members include Jonny Mars and Paul Gordon from The Happy Poet, Heather Kafka and Chris Doubek from Lovers of Hate and veteran character actor Sonny Carl Davis (The Whole Shootin' Match, Bernie). It's a horror movie that references a popular 70s cartoon about crime-fighting teens in a van with a dog.

Here are some more films with Austin/Texas connections scheduled to show during this year's fest:

Big Easy Express,...

Gird your loins, Los Angeles, the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival is coming, and this time, the fest is bringing strippers with them. Lots and lots of (cinematic) strippers. The festival has already announced four titles, which include the North American Premiere of Woody Allen‘s To Rome With Love as the festival’s Opening Night Film, along with Gala screenings for Benh Zeitlin‘s Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lorene Scafaria‘s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, and Ava DuVernay‘s Middle of Nowhere, but it’s high time Laff unveiled their full slate. And what a slate! As announced today, the festival will close with the World Premiere of Steven Soderbergh‘s Magic Mike and will also feature the World Premiere of Alex Kurtzman‘s People Like Us. Other titles announced today of note include Sundance favorites The Queen of Versailles, Teddy Bear, The House I Live In, Celeste...

HollywoodNews.com: Today the Los Angeles Film Festival, in conjunction with Presenting Media Sponsor the Los Angeles Times and Host Partner L.A. Live, announced the Closing Night film and official Us and international selections for the 2012 Festival. Guest Director, Artists in Residence and Conversations with special guests will be announced later this month. The 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival will screen a diverse slate of nearly 200 feature films, short films, and music videos, representing more than 30 countries, along with signature programs such as the Filmmaker Retreat, Poolside Chats, Coffee Talks, music events and more. As previously announced, Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love will be Opening Night, sponsored by Virgin America, and Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild were selected for the Galas section.

Returning to downtown Los Angeles and headquartered at L.

Director Emmett Malloy has returned with an excellent follow up to 2009’s “Under Great Northern Lights” with another winning concert documentary titled "Big Easy Express." In a tight 60-odd minutes, the film follows three bands, Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Old Crow Medicine Show, as they travel from San Francisco to New Orleans, Louisiana, on a sold-out 6-stop tour, aboard the most beautiful-looking train you've ever seen. From the opening tracking shot that follows 'Magnetic Zeroes' singer Jade Castrinos as she walks through the various rustic train cars, past Mumford and Sons playing in one, 'Old Crow' in another and right down the back to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Malloy's film is not only beautifully soundtracked, courtesy of all three bands, but is also dreamily captured.

Though essentially a live concert film, Malloy manages to chronicle the more intimate and visually arresting jam sessions happening off stage,...

Film captures bands' 2011 Railroad Revival Tour of the Southwest.

By James Montgomery, with reporting by Chris Kim

Marcus Mumford

Photo: Gus Stewart/ Getty Images

Last year, Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show joined forces for the Railroad Revival Tour, a trek that took them through the American Southwest on a journey that was nearly as long as the names of the band names involved.

Director Emmett Malloy rode along with them, capturing each show and every magical moment aboard the rails ... and now, he's brought it all together in a brand-new documentary, "Big Easy Express," which premiered during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. And at the premiere, MTV News caught up with three of the stars — Mumford's Ben Lovett, Edward Sharpe's Alex Ebert and Old Crow's Gill Landry — to talk about making the film, which, from the sound of things,...

While Sundance still gets the headlines, the last few years have seen the film strand of South By Southwest, the Austin, Texas cultural conference, become just as vital to the movie world as Robert Redford's baby. The past few festivals alone witnessed some of the best movies of their respective years debut, from low-budget indies like "The Puffy Chair," "Beeswax," "Tiny Furniture" and "Cold Weather" to more mainstream fare like "I Love You Man," "Adventureland" and "Bridesmaids," to international genre hits like "Kill List," "Attack The Block" and "Monsters."

It's certainly one of the highlights of our cinematic calendar, and there's no reason to think that the 2012 installment, which kicks off on Friday with the world premiere of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's eagerly anticipated horror-comedy "The Cabin In The Woods," will disappoint. From looking through the program, we could be here all day talking about the films that are piquing our interest,...

Sixty-five world premieres, 27 North American premieres and 10 U.S. premieres were selected as part of the 130 feature films for the 2012 South By Southwest (SXSW) film lineup per a release today from the SXSW festival. Sony’s remake of the ‘80s cop series 21 Jump Street; starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as undercover cops posing as high school students; was chosen as the Centerpiece movie by SXSW programmers. Emmett Malloy’s Big Easy Express featuring the musical acts Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes and Old Crow Medicine Show was scheduled as the Closing Night Film. SXSW announced earlier that Drew Goddard’s thriller The Cabin in the Woods would launch the film program March 9.

Sixty-five world premieres, 27 North American premieres and 10 U.S. premieres were selected as part of the 130 feature films for the 2012 South By Southwest (SXSW) film lineup per a release today from the SXSW festival. Sony’s remake of the ‘80s cop series 21 Jump Street; starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as undercover cops posing as high school students; was chosen as the Centerpiece movie by SXSW programmers. Emmett Malloy’s Big Easy Express featuring the musical acts Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes and Old Crow Medicine Show was scheduled as the Closing Night Film. SXSW announced earlier that Drew Goddard’s thriller The Cabin in the Woods would launch the film program March 9.