MacGruber Movie Heads to SXSW Amid Legal Fight
MacGruber, a movie based on Saturday Night Live’s long-running skit parodying ’80s TV show MacGyver, is set to premiere at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in March even as the film faces a legal battle.
The movie, which stars SNL regulars Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, is being challenged by Lee Zlotoff, creator of the TV show about a quick-thinking secret agent who uses science and a Swiss Army knife to get out of scrapes. Zlotoff is working on a MacGyver movie based on the 1985-92 series. Though the MacGruber flick is clearly a parody, Zlotoff’s lawyer told The Hollywood Reporter: “We feel [MacGruber producer Relativity Media is] infringing our rights.” MacGruber was directed by Jorma Taccone.
The film fest will also feature the world premiere of Alexandre O. Philippe’s The People vs. George Lucas (trailer above), a crowd-sourced film documenting fan reactions to Star Wars “special edition” movies and other canonical tweaks, and the North American premiere of Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas’ American: The Bill Hicks Story, which tells the true story of the brilliant outlaw comic using “a stunning new animation technique.”
Other features on the 119-film SXSW festival lineup announced Wednesday include:
Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart, Jay & Mark Duplass’ Cyrus, Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice, Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Shane Meadows’ Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine, Mike Woolf’s Man on A Mission, Jacob Hatley’s Ain’t in it for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm, Mark Landsman’s Thunder Soul, Daniel Stamm’s Cotton, Chris D’Arienzo’s Barry Munday, and Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways.
“It was an incredibly competitive year with record submission numbers, and although we had to make really tough decisions, we are extremely excited about this lineup,” said SXSW film fest producer Janet Pierson. “I’m in awe of the talent on display throughout all the sections. We feel we’ve achieved a great balance that continues our tradition of screening films across all budget lines and styles, and we take particular pride in witnessing the evolution of SXSW alumni as well as the vitality of fresh voices.”
The new films join previously announced movies such as SXSW opener Kick-Ass, narrative features Cold Weather and Elektra Luxx, and documentaries Hubble 3D, Lemmy (trailer below), Saturday Night and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights.
The SXSW film fest runs March 12 to 20 in Austin, Texas.
Follow us on Twitter: @lewiswallace and @theunderwire.
See Also:
- Kick-Ass Movie Will Kick Off SXSW Film Fest
- People vs. George Lucas Trailer Arrives in HD
- Proof That George Lucas Is an Evil Genius
View full post on Wired: Underwire
I do, however, like Jorma Taccone, and I sincerely hope he has some supernatural ability to overcome the stultifying gaze of medusa that Lorne Michaels casts on each SNL film to transform it into a granite-like hunk of unbreakable notfunny.
I also hate James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and M. Night Pajamalan.
I hate George Lucas with the white-hot fury of a thousand suns.
.
I saw Star Wars 12 times in the summer of 1977. Since then each film has been a degeneration into mongolism and in-bred catatonia. And yes, fucker, I said “Star Wars,” and not “Star Wars Episode Four: A New Hope.” I’m right, you’re wrong. Go home and fondle your ewok.