Dial M For Melissa

Follow me at @DialMforMelissa or search #cinemit on twitter for pictures and other coverage.

Yesterday was a travel day, mostly checking out the Convention Center and walking down 6th Street in Austin. Lots of tents and venues getting set up for the mass number of people to be arriving in the next week. Hopefully it won't rain, but it's still a cool 68 degrees, which is perfectly fine with me considering the craziness in the northeast.

Today I'll be lining up to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (make sure to check out screenings in your area!), Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction, then a midnight screening of Cheap Thrills, of which I'll be interviewing the director, producer and two cast members!

Visit sxsw.com and give your suggestions for what I should see or do. There's so much to do, I don't want to miss anything great!

I will be participating in a panel discussion on Monday, March 11th Film Critics vs the World.

In the media age, the intersection between film critics and the film industry has never been more vocal. Opinions are given, read at a heightened rate and can have a hand in making or breaking the success of a project. Join Criticwire's Matt Singer as he leads an interactive debate about the highs and lows of the working relationship between critics and the film industry. The first hour of the panel will involve a series of questions submitted by Indiewire readers prior to the event for debate by speakers followed by a Q&A session and discussion.

Moderated Matt Singer of Criticwire and Film Critic at ScreenCrush

• Marian Kotali-Levine: PMKBMC, EVP, Film Marketing and Distribution
• Scott Weinberg: Twitch Film - Global Voices
• Simon Barrett: screenwriter - You're Next, V/H/S
• Melissa Hanson: Content Editor, Cinemit

Stay tuned for exclusive news about the event!

SXSW Film Festival is just one week away and I am very excited to be covering it this year! I will be in Austin Thursday March 7th through the 11th seeing films and interviewing filmmakers. Make sure to follow me on Twitter, as I'm going to be tweeting about everything! @DialMForMelissa You can also follow #cinemit to see everything relating to the festival.

The 2013 SXSW Film Festival will host a total of 133 features,consisting of 78 World Premieres, 13 North American Premieres and 9 U.S. Premieres, with 76 first-time directors. 110 shorts will screen as part of 10 overall shorts programs. The nearly 250 films were selected from a record number of overall submissions, over 5,700, comprised of approximately 2,100 features and 3,600 shorts, with an overall increase of 7% over 2012.

Below are a bunch of films that I hope to see; with all the trailers below. I mostly likely won't be able to see them all, but it's a start!

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Superstar magicians Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have ruled the Las Vegas strip for years, raking in millions with illusions as big as Burt’s growing ego. But lately the duo’s greatest deception is their public friendship, while secretly they’ve grown to loathe each other. Facing cutthroat competition from guerilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), whose cult following surges with each outrageous stunt, even their show looks stale. But there’s still a chance Burt and Anton can save the act—both onstage and off—if Burt can get back in touch with what made him love magic in the first place.

Here's some new movies to watch today!

• Anaconda (1997)
  Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, Owen Wilson
  When deranged snake hunter Paul Serone tricks a film crew into taking him on their boat so he can hunt a giant anaconda, the group soon finds itself up the Amazon River without a paddle as they become prey for the fearsome reptile.
• Godzilla (1998)
  Matthew Broderick, Vicki Lewis, Malcolm Danare, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria
  When a freighter is attacked in the Pacific Ocean, a team of experts, including a biologist and two scientists, concludes that an oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the big lizard is loose in Manhattan, destroying everything in sight.

What is the difference between shooting on film versus digitally? If you have any interest at all, check out Side by Side, narrated by Keanu Reeves featuring pretty much EVERY filmmaker you can imagine.

Here's more pass Oscar winners available to watch on Netflix: