You are viewing the archive: besedka johnson
Festival Coverage || ||

On SXSW Surprise Starlet, Its Racy Hardcore Scenes, and Newcomer Dree Hemingway

Dree Hemingway (Getty Images)

SXSW 2012 marked the starring screen debut of model-turned-actress Dree Hemingway – daughter of Mariel, great-granddaughter of Ernest, and at 24, a veteran of the fashion world -- as an airy Los Angeleno named Jane who befriends a cranky senior citizen (85-year-old newcomer Besedka Johnson) in Sean Baker’s Starlet, a surprisingly sweet tale comprised of a series of moving, naturalistic episodes … and one infamous hardcore sex scene. But as much as Starlet is a fantastically observed introduction to Hemingway, who possesses Evan Rachel Wood’s preternatural poise and Daryl Hannah’s leggy looks, sitting down with her in Austin – and indulging in a post-interview round of karaoke together -- offered greater insights into one of the more talked-about but hard-to-talk-about films of the fest.
more »

Festival Coverage || ||

Graffiti Drama Gimme the Loot, Rock Doc Beware of Mr. Baker Take Top SXSW Honors

Gimme the Loot

Tuesday night the 2012 SXSW Film Festival jury awards went to Adam Leon's NYC-set drama Gimme the Loot and the rock doc-biopic Beware of Mr. Baker, about Cream/Blind Faith drummer Ginger Baker. Meanwhile, Audience Awards honored Megan Griffiths' Eden, whose star Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) earned a Special Jury Award for her central performance as a human trafficking victim, and to documentary Bay of All Saints, about three single mothers living in an impoverished Brazilian bayside town. Full list of winners after the jump.
more »