Category: Pop Culture Page 1 of 81

Any trends or popular fads may be described, whether it would be something like the hula hoop or the pet rock or simply new slang.

“Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” Screens at SXSW 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 24, 2026

In Interviews, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

“Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” won the SXSW Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW 2026. Directed by Ayden Mayeri, it’s the story of a quartet of childhood friends who made a record when they were junior high school age (11 to 13) and it surfaced as a hit on the website Rate Your Music 24 years later. Said Director Mayeri, “This album being discovered is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.

The X-Cetra Story (Photo by Dessie Jackson).

”WRITER/DIRECTOR

Director Ayden Mayeri, who has 58 IMDB credits, has appeared in such films as Paul Feig’s “Jackpot!”, “Mr.Throwback,” “Cora Bora Comedy,” “Spin Me Around,” and is the Writer/Director of this award-winning documentary. After the unexpected fame of their album Et-Cetra, (made in 2000), Mayeri decided to try to get the foursome together again, twenty-four years later. Ayden admitted “I really missed hanging out with them and being carefree. She likened their reunion in Santa Rosa as “Our version of Backstreet’s Back.”

Ayden Mayeri

Ayden admitted that she wanted to recapture the unself-conscious feeling of her pre-teen years. It is captured via extensive videotaping by one of the girl’s mothers from back when the girls were 11 to 13, in 2000. Kudos to Editor Phil Rosanova and Audrey Leach, who drew the task of blending copious amounts of film and to cinematographer Barry Rothbart. The musician mother Robin O’Brien who had ties to the German music provider Akim and produced the girls’ maiden vocal efforts deserves much credit for the album existing at all, also.

Now 36, Mayeri described the era to The Daily Texan as “a journey of me trying to fit in.” She said, “It’s just me and my friends, living our childhood dream, putting our vision out in the world… It was crazy because we made this album in the year 2000 when we were 10 to 12 years old … we were immediately very embarrassed about it. We were like, “Let’s never talk about that again. We’re in junior high. Everything’s embarrassing. (We) don’t want anyone to know we did that.”

CAST

X-Cetra cast

Following “Rolling Stone’s” writing an article on their X-Cetra album of the early 2000s, the quartet of old friends gather in Santa Rosa and even write some new music. The film became a thumbnail character sketch of each of the four girls: Jessica Hall, Janet Kariuki, Mary Washburn and Ayden herself. The intervening years for each girl are related in a way that makes us care about them, especially since we’ve seen them when they were adolescents perched on the verge of high school.

EDGE OF INNOCENCE

The universal truth for all girls that comes throughis that dating and boys and being “cool” will change the relationships between these girls that formed earlier. The self-consciousness of youth will sometimes inhibit even those who are obviously talented at a young age. One of the reasons Ayden gave for making the documentary was this: “I think my greatest dream is that people feel free to be creative for no reason and to really go back and tell their younger selves that they’re great … I really wanted to show what girlhood feels like, and that’s why I’m reading from my diaries, and we’re talking about some kind of messed up stuff, because that’s girlhood”

X-Cetra cast

It was clear early on that Ayden was innately talented. But, as a lyric sung in the documentary asks, “Did I make you feel embarrassed when I’m something to be cherished?” This film allowed the four fast friends of 2000 to revisit and recapture the exuberance of their youth, via X-Cetra.

Jessica, for instance, shares that boys of their class harassed her with the nickname “titless” for a long time, while Mary—the youngest at eleven—was excluded from the group as high school approached because the other three were two years older. Brushes with parental divorce, drugs, relationships gone wrong—all are included and fill in the picture of who these four girls are and who they were in 2000 before life intervened.

DOCUMENTARY RESONATES

X-Cetra cast

The documentary struck a chord with the audience, which voted it the winner of the Audience Award at SXSW 2026. It resonated with me, as I taught junior high school students for eighteen years. I remember my own daughter’s early friendships and creativity when exactly the same age as these girls in 2000. The line, “Are you gonna’ live in that moment for the rest of your life?” was a good one, highlighting that the lives of the foursome have moved in separate directions.

Thanks to the parents who both filmed and recorded the girls at a young age, we can see the arc of their lives from 2000 to 2026. I’m sure their reunion to celebrate the unexpected success of X-Cetra the album was a great one.

This SXSW documentary was a joy for the original members of X-Cetra and it is a joy for the audience.

Ryan Gosling is Ryland Grace in “Project Hail Mary”

By Connie Wilson

On March 22, 2026

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews, Science and Medicine

Ryan Gosling has not had a release recently—not since “Barbie” in 2023, for which he was paid $12 and ½ million dollars (compared to the $29 million he earned for 2016’s “La La Land.”)to play Ken. “Project Hail Mary” was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are best known for “The Lego Movie,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” and the animated film “Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he discovers he is on a mission to stop a mysterious substance (an astrophage) that is killing the sun. It’s a desperate Hail Mary ploy to save Earth. An unexpected friendship with an alien dubbed Rocky ends up being crucial.

Those who read the book were among the most supportive, but also the most critical of the Drew Goddard adaptation of the Andy Weir (“The Martian”) book. I have not read the book, so I’m out of that debate.

Andy Weird book “Project Hail Mary” is the basis for the film.

THE GOOD NEWS

Anthony Whyte of “The Movie Blog” was correct in saying, “Project Hail Mary” is about learning how to understand someone completely different from you. He describes it as “a warm, funny, and genuinely heartfelt sci-fi film that reminds you why these stories work in the first place.”

If it works, that is. For me, it did not, but “Project Hail Mary” opened at $33 million domestically on Friday at 4,007 locations. If it reaches $77 million by Sunday it will be the best opening for Amazon MGM ever, eclipsing 2023’s “Creed III,” which garnered $58 million. This means that, just like my opinion of “Plantman & Blondie” at SXSW as weak, I am the one out of step with the mainstream. So be it.

TONE

Given the previous films from this directing team the humor was a given. That part works. However, for me the movie at times couldn’t seem to make up its mind if it’s a comedy or a save-the-world serious epic. With Gosling, who was so good at light humor in 2016’s “The Nice Guys” (as well as during his guest stints on “Saturday Night Live”),I went into the film fully expecting lightweight banter and wry humor. I was looking forward to that. Did the humor mix expertly with the seriousness of the save-the-world mission? That’s the question.

Films like “Crazy, Stupid Love” (2011) and “Barbie” fed into this expectation of a humorous good time. There is humor in “Project Hail Mary”—perhaps too much of it, since the entire film, like “Independence Day” or any previous Save the World movie—is all about sending a team into space to certain death, a suicide mission— to save the planet and preserve the universe. A team of three people will be launched into space to find out why astrophages are draining stars in the solar system.

What is an astrophage and why should we care?

THE SCIENCE

Ryan Gosling plays a middle school teacher with a doctorate in molecular biology who is drafted to save the world in “Project Hail Mary.”

The science is explained well as mentioned in Anthony Whyte’s The Movie Blog review. It’s easy enough to understand to the extent that we need to remember any of these sci-fi explanations. As someone who dropped out of chemistry after one day (and physics in two), it was plenty detailed enough for me. Judging from math and science scores on tests nationwide, it will be adequate for the average audience member.

As Anthony noted in his TMB review: “Visually, the film is strong across the board. The use of color and lighting stands out immediately. This isn’t the cold, sterile version of space we’re used to. There’s warmth here. There’s texture. It feels lived in. The camera work and transitions are consistently engaging, with some shots that genuinely feel like they were pulled straight out of a comic book panel.The cinematography and sound design are the real stars of the show.” Agreed. Cinematographer was Aussie Greig Fraser who is known for Dune: Part One (2021), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty

SOUND

Co-star Sandra Huller as Eva Stratt has a fairly big part early on and sings “Just stop cryin’, have the time of your life. We can meet again some day, Somewhere far away from here.” The music, in general, is very good. The sound adds immeasurably in ratcheting up tension. Composer was Daniel Pemberton, who also did the music for “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse.”

THE CAST

Basically, it’s a one-man play, as Ryan Gosling’s character is the only one of the three astronauts who survives the blast-off into space. The two supporting NASA astronauts don’t survive the trip out and we learn very little about them.

And here’s where I have to get off the fan bus.

RYAN GOSLING FILMS

Ryan Gosling.

I’ve been a fan of Gosling’s since his performance in 2001’s Sundance film “The Believer,” which won the Grand Jury award at Sundance over 25 years ago. There is not a red-blooded heterosexual woman alive who hasn’t seen “The Notebook” (2004) and loved the romance with Kate Beckinsdale. Gosling’s star continued to rise with “Half Nelson” (2006), for which he was Oscar-nominated as Best Actor in a Leading Role, followed by “Blue Valentine” (2010). “Crazy, Stupid Love” (2011) saw Gosling lifting Emma Stone in the fashion of Patrick Swayze in “Dirty Dancing” and teaching Steve Carell how to be cool.

Then came “Drive” in 2011, “The Ides of March” (2011), “The Place Beyond the Pines” (2012), “The Nice Guys” (2016) and “La La Land” in 2016, (which we all thought had won Movie of the Year for a few minutes on Oscar night, thanks to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.) “ Blade Runner 2049”—often mentioned as Gosling’s finest film—came out in 2017 and 2023’s “Barbie” cemented Ryan Gosling’s status as a hunk whom heterosexual women want to see romancing an equally attractive female lead.

ROMANTIC LEAD?

Project Hail Mary

So, who’s the female romantic lead in this one? Answer: nobody. “Gravity” (2013) at least had Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in space together, without pursuing their romance. So, could we have that version of things in this sci-fi space movie, please? Ryan doesn’t have to get the girl, but could there BE a girl for him to potentially court? (Do people still use the term “court” in 2026? No? Okay. Their loss.)

That lack of a romantic sub-plot explains why there IS no girl, no romance, and way more emphasis on getting along with intelligent alien life forms in the universe—a trendy topic in today’s news. Give me back a leading lady that our 45-year-old hero can at least flirt with, please. And aim for “Gravity’s” length (91 minutes).

It didn’t work for me (and neither did “Plantman & Blondie” at SXSW) but different strokes for different folks.

FATAL FLAW

Ryan Gosling in “Project Hail Mary.”

THE MOVIE IS TOO LONG. WAAAY TOO LONG. This is an interstellar sci fi comedy drama based on a book by Andy Weir (“The Martian”) that is meant to be light-heartedly amusing while taking us on a space adventure. It’s not “Oppenheimer.” Much of the film involves talk of space and one highlight is Gosling’s dramatic walk in space to secure a predator that will neutralize the star-eating effect of astrophages.

But the film ran over 2 and ½ hours. While I enjoyed the friendship between James Ortiz’s alien Rocky, I would have liked the movie much more if it had a backstory involving Ryland’s love life—or lack of one. Not true to the novel? A valid defense, but I haven’t read the novel, and I wish I hadn’t spent 3 hours seeing the movie, despite my admiration for Ryan Gosling’s body of work.

Steve Carell Is “Rooster” for HBO Max: SXSW 2026 Panel

By Connie Wilson

On March 19, 2026

In Interviews, Pop Culture, Television, Texas

Steve Carell and the cast of “Rooster,” as well a producers Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, spoke at SXSW in Austin on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 at the J.W. Mariott in downtown Austin. With the producers and their star were castmates Danielle Deadwyler and Charly Clive, who play Dylan Shepherd and Katie, respectively.

The series revolves around Carell’s character of author Greg Russo, who has been summoned to his daughter’s college to help solve a crisis in her life, when her philandering husband, a University professor at the fictional Ludlow College (actually the University of the Pacific in exterior shots) creates a scandal by impregnating a student. That doesn’t do much for his marriage to Carell’s daughter Katie and soon Dad is summoned to help pour oil on troubled waters.

GREG RUSSO

Steve Carell onstage at SXSW on March 17, 2026.

Carell’s character Greg Russo is a successful genre author. Think of someone like Lee Child, the pen name for former television writer Jim Grant who wrote the Jack Reacher series alone until 2020 when he began writing them with his brother Andrew Child. In this fictionalized version of things, the character in the books is Rooster and Steve Carell’s arrival on his daughter Katie’s campus begins to cause some confusion, as his fans among the faculty and students begin to ascribe characteristics of the author’s main character to the author himself, Carell’s character is going to be pressed into service as a university lecturer and other adventures will occur. Written as ten 30-minute episodes, the series had the strongest opening for a comedy series n ten years for HBO and with the recent announcement of $21 million in tax credits for the series and its warm audience reception, chances are very good that it will make the cut and go beyond one season.

CHARLY CLIVE

Steve Carell with daughter Katie (Charly Clive) in “Rooster” on HBO Max.

British actress Charly Clive plays Katie, Carell’s daughter, and her British accent was a bit of a shock to those of us who have seen the first episodes, which she plays with an American accent. Charly starred in a British television series called “Pure” and is a 2014 graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York City. This is her first big American role.

MOTIVATION

When asked about why he took the role, Carell joked, “It was mostly money, really.” He then went on to say, “It felt true. I have been experiencing a lot of these life moments with my own daughter. I like parts representative of all parts of life, just experiencing life as it comes.”

APPROACH TO THE CHARACTER

Danielle Deadwyler of “Rooster” cast onstage on March 17, 2026 at SXSW.

Carell said, “I didn’t want Greg to be a Walter Mitty type. He isn’t completely comfortable in that role. Greg didn’t strive to be famous. He just wanted to be a writer.. I think he is shy, but not an introvert. He is married to an impressive woman…I read the pilot and thought it was terrific. A lot of times, you don’t know if something feels authentic until you’re in the moment, but this was an instant feeling of ensemble.: He went on to say “It was very reminiscent of my experience on the office (for 7 years). That’s the sense I get with this.”

DANIELLE DEADWYLER

Steve Carell as Greg Russo and Danielle Deadwyler as Dylan Shepherd in HBO’s “Rooster.”

Danielle Deadwyler, who plays Dylan Shepherd in the piece said of her comic chops, “I don’t have a comedy background. I’m winging it, Baby.” While acknowledging that Carell and Deadwyler come from very different places, Carell added, “The fun is finding the common ground. We had the freedom to start looking for it. There’s so many different directions you cam tale thiss.” Credit for the expert casting was given to Allison Jones, (“Scrubs”) who selected the cast members.

BILL LAWRENCE

Steve Carell onstage at SXSW with the cast of HBO’s “Rooster.”

Producer Bill Lawrence, who has an impressive list of hit shows including “Ted Lasso,” “Scrubs,” “Bad Monkey” and “Shrinking,” referenced some advice he was given by Michael J. Fox on “Spin City,” having to do with timing. The anecdote had to do with NOT changing a scripted “People who need people” line, but milking it with expert comic timing. He and Carell described “Rooster” as “a little push of kindness is needed right now.”

EPISODES

The team replicated a New England college in Los Angeles and Production designer Cabot McMullen, who has worked with Lawrence and Tarses for 30 years, was given credit for the authenticity of the college setting. The students, largely recruited from Stockton, California, were also credited with bringing energy to the piece. (“All the students brought a fantastic energy,” said Deadwyler.)

CONCLUSION

Those who watched the first episode will remember that old pro John McGinley as College Employee Walter Manes is often shirtless and Carell said that, in episode six, “I do some nudity.”

Scott MacArthur from “Breaking Bad,” playing a hockey coach with substance abuse issues opening a beer bottle on part of a helmet worn by one of his players was singled out for his creativity. “If you can create that kind of work environment, it shows up onscreen.”

Steven Spielberg Panel Remarks of March 13, 2026, at SXSW

By Connie Wilson

On March 19, 2026

In Interviews, Movies, Pop Culture, Texas

Director Steven Spielberg in 2023.

Steven Spielberg was interviewed onstage at SXSW on Friday the 13^th, 2026, in the sixth floor ballroom of the Hilton in Austin. His appearance was the first at SXSW since 2018, when he appeared at the Paramount in support of “Ready, Player, One.” This time, we can assume that his appearance was meant to coincide with the release of “Disclosure Day” in theaters on June 12^th.

ORIGIN OF CREATIVITY

Spielberg remembered being taken to Disney films by his parents as a child. They thought taking young Steven to see “Fantasia” as a seven-year-old would be safe. He disagrees. “The least safe thing they could have done was to take me to see Fantasia when I was only about 7 years old. I had this kind of over-dose or over-abundance of imagination, so whenever I saw something I would extrapolate from that. There was this sequence called The Night on Fall Mountain and it just destroyed me. What I wanted to do with my impulse was— when something scares me— I want to create some sort of talisman to protect myself…That’s kind of how the whole thing started with me wanting to find some way to put it up somewhat to take it out of me and put it on something else.”

Since launching his career with 1975’s “Jaws” Spielberg has had 223 wins of various sorts out of 358 nominations and is synonymous with modern American cinema, whether as writer, director or producer. He and Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas are the subjects of the recent best-seller “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” which I am currently reading. In his sixty minutes onstage, Spielberg, 79, reflected on his remarkable career and on some of the films that instantly summon the American cinema experience.

“E.T.”

Spielberg defined “E.T.” as a demarcation point in his career, making him want to have kids. He said, “I didn’t have much of a home life,” which later was explained more fully in his autobiographical film “The Fabelmans” (which Spielberg described as $40 billion of therapy that Apple and Dreamworks paid for”).

Of making “E.T.” Spielberg explained , “I loved those kids. I didn’t want them to go home.” He even acknowledged that Drew Barrymore never really went home, in the metaphorical sense, after starring in the film about an alien visitor.

He explained that, although it cost $10 million to shoot the film in chronological continuity, that was done so that the young actors and actresses would be saying goodbye to “E.T.,” the alien, in the final scene of the film, rather than the normal way of shooting pieces of the film out of context. He pointed out that this compounded the sadness of separation that all of the cast were feeling as the making of the movie came to a conclusion.

ALIEN MOVIES

With his disclosure that “E.T. made me want to have kids, Spielberg gave credit to wife Kate Capshaw and their 7 children and 6 grandchildren. Of his children, he said, “They keep me relevant and current.” He also absolutely crowed about the recent Obama comment about potential intelligent life beyond human life in the universe, saying, “This is so great for ‘Disclosure Day!’. That film comes out in June. Spielberg admitted that the recent New York Times series of articles on UFOs (now known as UAPs) “rekindled my interest in this subject matter.”

HISTORY

Spielberg onstage at SXSW on March 13, 2026.

Spielberg said that, “I’m drawn like a magnet to history. I just found so much richness in stories about the past.” He praised this year’s “Train Dreams” for covering an entire life over 75 years, since, “films move so fast.” He mentioned influences such as TikTok, and Instagram, while saying he is not on Instagram because of the “missing time dilemma.”

Question: “How do you do what you do?”

Spielberg’s answer was that he storyboards if there are a lot of special effects, but also noted that there were none on “Saving Private Ryan” or “Schindler’s List”. “I know the page count I need to cover. If you cast your film right, you get a person with a deep understanding of how film works.” He shared that he and Tom Cruise were both early arrivals on the set of “Minority Report” and said, “Your instincts and intuition are your best friends. I just need the cast to trust me” and advised would-be filmmakers to “learn from your heroes from before.”

SPIELBERG’S NIGHTMARES

A poster for the 1975 American film ‘Jaws’, directed by Steven Spielberg for Universal Studios. (Photo by Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images)

Spielberg said, “Even the happy ones (movies) come from my nightmares.” He said the audience is the most important barometer for a film and admitted that the “Jaws” team “didn’t know what we had until the ‘Jaws’ premiere at the Medallion Theater in Dallas,” adding, “I have previewed all my films in Texas.”

His story of an audience member leaving the theater during “Jaws” to vomit, but then returning was a great, if amusing, tribute to his storytelling ability.

HUMILITY

Saying that his worst nightmare would be “not to get to do what I do” Spielberg expressed great admiration for David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia.” He and Martin Scorsese worked together to restore parts of the film that had been removed by studio heads saying, “You will never be as good as David Lean. It keeps me humble.” He described watching the film so many times that a silver object in the sand caught his attention and is still a mystery.

The acclaimed director also remarked, “I was riding high in 1978. My next movie ‘1941’ came out and I was humbled.” He also said, “Every film is different. Every film is a birth, a life, and a death. I don’t judge my accomplishments based on one film. I always fear that if I looked back too much I’d not move forward.”

FAVORITE PERFORMERS’ SCENES IN HIS FILMS

Spielberg mentioned scenes from “Amistad and Tom Hanks crying in the crater and Daniel Day Lewis as Abrahan Lincoln. Two shots. Four minutes. One cut to David Straithorn. The scene had to do with the need to pass the 13^th amendment, which made slavery illegal. “I was in the other room crying. Daniel Day Lewis asked, ‘Where’s the skipper?’ Then he came back, put his arms around me and hugged me.”

UNDER-APPRECIATED SPIELBERG FILMS

One humorous anecdote that came from the question about his under-appreciated films was the story that, when he was single, he had a criteria for a second date. “I used to show girlfriends “A Guy Named Joe” (Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne) or “Always”—Audrey Hepburn’s last film, Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter. “It was the film I used to show girlfriends. Them and ‘Two for the Road.’ If they didn’t cray at the end, I wouldn’t go out with them again.’

MOVIES AS COMMUNITY

When asked about the community and communication that happen in a theater (“The real experience comes from gathering audiences tougher at movies or concerts.”) Spielberg remarked that “Theaters like IMAX have committed to you.” He was asked what he can do to preserve the movie-making experience as it has existed for decades, given streaming and the tremendous convenience of portable communication devices like the IPhone. His response was, “All I can do with Ambling Entertainment and my parent company is make movies that people want to see.”

He admitted that he remains current, saying, “I see it all because it’s kind of a rush to see them all. I see everything I possibly could see.” With A.I. turning 25 this year he remarked that he is still very integrated with the writing process and said “I haven’t used A.I. in any of my films. I am not for A.I. if it replaces a creative individual,” which brought a round of applause.

When asked what film of his he would suggest if aliens wanted to see a film that was about human history, Spielberg suggested “E.T.” rather than “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He also expressed great admiration for Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life,” calling it “the kindest film I’ve ever seen” and vowed that his next film will be a Western that will “kick ass.”

“Phoenix Jones: The Rise & Fall of a Real-Life Superhero at SXSW 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 18, 2026

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

“Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” at SXSW.

Director Bayan Joonam appeared with the documentary “Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” at SXSW and shared the six-year project with an audience that, for the most part, has grown up on/with social media. Bayan is best known for partnering with actor Rainn Wilson to translate SoulPancake’s mission into digital video on sites such as YouTube.

As Head of Production for SoulPancake between 2012 – 2018, Bayan led the development and creation of award-winning original programming such as SoulPancake on OWN, Kid President, and My Last Days, which led to nearly a billion views, multi-season television franchises, and acquisition by Participant Media in 2016.

SYNOPSIS

With “Phoenix Jones,” Joonam tells us the story of Ben Fodor, born 5/25/1988, who, according to Director Joonam, as Superheroes go, “Phoenix Jones, to me, is the most legit of them all.””In 2010, reports began surfacing of a masked vigilante in a black-and-gold Superhero costume stopping crime on the streets of Seattle. His name was Phoenix Jones. Armed with pepper spray, a taser, and a team of costumed crime fighters, Phoenix Jones quickly became an international media sensation. But when his true identity was exposed by the Seattle Police Department, the heroic image began to unravel and his team abandoned him.

During the Q&A following the film, Joonam acknowledged that he learned about Ben Fodor’s Phoenix Jones persona through Rainn Wilson, who starred in the 2010 superhero movie “Super.”Rainn portrayed a self-anointed vigilante known as the Crimson Bolt in the film. (“Super” did not do well financially, grossing only $593,933 against a budget of $2.5 million but it has since become a cult classic, particularly among fans who appreciate its subversive and unconventional approach to the superhero genre.) Rainn Wilson makes a brief appearance in the documentary to state, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to put on a costume and jump into a dangerous situation.”

STORY ORIGIN

Bayan Joonam, Director of “Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” at SXSW.

It is clear that Joonam, who learned of Phoenix Jones when working for Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) has given a lot of thought to creating this in-depth portrait of a troubled young man, whose biological parents gave him up for adoption. How much of his “abandoned at birth” story is real and how much is manufactured for effect is up for discussion.

What struck me was the charisma that Ben Fodor exudes could have taken him to the top of so many endeavors. He was adopted soon after birth by two loving Moms, Margaret and Susan, who adopted other troubled youths. Ben created an alternate version of his early life in which he spent 11 years in an orphanage. Director Joonam has also worked for Jay Z. It is not beyond the realm of the possible to think of a young man like Ben Fodor with such charisma utilizing it in a similar fashion as Jay-Z and becoming a shooting, rather than a falling, star,

His older (adopted) brother Caros Fodor quickly shot down Ben’s untruth about spending 11 years in an orphanage, and also physically fought him (and beat him) in an MMA cage match for money. Ben Fodor in costume is an imposing presence, but this documentary makes it clear that he is a very troubled one, despite his charm and charisma.

FREEDOM FODOR

Perhaps the most sane and well-adjusted person to appear onscreen is Ben’s young son Freedom, whom Ben obviously loves very much. Freedom says, of his father, “My dad is a person who really cares and is really damaged, and I saw that. Ben Fodor has extreme trauma.”

Son Freedom traced some of his father’s more recent trauma to the death of a young woman from a drive-by shooting that Phoenix Jones and his rag-tag band of vigilantes were attempting to police. They had gathered to fight crime in the streets of Seattle, headed to 5^th and Spring, the old federal courthouse, to “confront what was going on,,” when Nicole was shot. Phoenix said, “We just stood there and watched her die.”

The cinematographer documenting the superheroes fighting against crime, Ryan McNamell, filmed the exploits of Phoenix and his band of crime-fighters from 2011 to 2012 and called the death of the young woman “fucking terrifying.” (The film is dedicated to Ryan, who recently died.)

SUPERHEROES

The list of people—-“dorks all” according to one of them who called himself “crime interventionist, Midnight Jack” (“I’m one step away from homeless”)—who have donned costumes and turned out to fight crime is lengthy: The Watchman, Mr. Sticky, Knights of the Night (“The Office’s” Dwayne Schroot’s name for one), El Caballero, Purple Reign (who was married to Phoenix at one point) and L.A.’s Rock Hard. The list of superheroes—or poseurs pretending to be superheroes—would fill a novel; their stories are complicated and suggestive of severe, persistent mental illness.

Phoenix says, “I was fine before I did this. I’m not fine now.” He also admits “I think my life is just sort of out-of control.”

DENOUEMENT

Ben Fodor became the subject of an undercover police drug investigation on November 5, 2019, which led to his arrest for selling Molly and cocaine (2 lbs.) to an undercover agent at the Silver Cloud Hotel.

Phoenix’s supporters from “the old days” of 2010-2013 are struck by the ultimate hypocrisy of his arrest, since Phoenix Jones frequently railed against drug dealers and drug dealing. On January 29, 2020, Fodor pleaded guilty in a Seattle court and was fined $500 and time served. He retired from crime-fighting and announced that he was going to go to college to study criminal justice and business and then run for Mayor of Seattle. He did ask his attorney about the consequences if he didn’t pay the $500 fine.

His progress towards those lofty goals may be hindered by the fact that there are currently two warrants out for his arrest, for driving without a license and not paying the $500 fine handed down during the (furtively filmed) drug sentencing.

Director Bayan Joonam at midnight during the Q&A following the showing of “Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” at SXSW on March 17, 2026.

This was a very thorough and thought-provoking film that made me aware, once again that some people are much better liars than others. (See “Chili Finger” review.) I couldn’t help but think of the wasted potential of a personality as magnetic as Ben Fodor’s. How much of his crime-fighting was about sincere love for his community and how much was just someone desperately the limelight? Was it all just a focus on self-mythologizing and enjoying the spotlight that social media provides?

At this point, as reporter Jason Rentz said of Phoenix Jones, “People clearly do not trust you,” so there goes the political career—or does it? There are some personalities who lie repeatedly and their actions clearly contradict their words, yet devoted fans sycophantically continue to sing their praises in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. You won’t have to think very long or very hard to come up with a list that goes all the way to the top.

CONCLUSION

A thoroughly enjoyable 105-minute look at modern social media’s effects and the messed-up folks who live and die by it, as well as a thoughtful look at vigilante justice and the societal problems it presents.

“Birth Is for P*ussies” Screens at SXSW 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 17, 2026

In Pop Culture, Reviews, Science and Medicine, Television

“Birth Is for Pussies” is TV pilot at SXSW 2026.

Hannah Healy—actress, filmmaker, and doula—brought a TV pilot “Birth Is For P*ssies” to SXSW. The series focuses on giving birth and is based on Hannah’s ten years of experience as a doula in New York City. Hannah is an actor, writer and director based in NYC and London. As an actor she most recently appeared as Charlotte Astor in season 3 of HBO’s “The Gilded Age”.

Producing the TV pilot with Hannah is Celine Sutter, a writer, director, and producer born and raised in New York City. Celine recently earned her MFA in Writing/Directing from Columbia University. The original score was provided by King Princess.

PLOT SYNOPSIS

The synopsis of the first episode shows a rookie doula (Hannah Shealy) thrust into her first birth with a mother she’s never met. After a rocky start, she quickly learns that supporting women through labor is messier, funnier, and more profound than any doula training could have prepared her for.

I found Hannah Shealy very sympathetic in the role. I also loved the Tribeca penthouse where Hannah visits a pregnant couple (Danny Defararri and Madeline Wise), an apartment which had a jaw-dropping view. I’m not a New Yorker, but I was in town when JFK, Jr., tragically died on July 16, 1999. Residents of New York City were leaving flowers in front of his Tribeca building. I wondered if this location might have been near where young John F. Kennedy, Jr. lived. The view and decor were opulent.

CONfLICT

For me, Madeline Wise had already distinguished herself in the SXSW film “Chili Finger.” She was equally good in this as the pregnant wife who doesn’t want her spouse to know about her herpes diagnosis. That might set up some conflict to come (during delivery) but conflict has to be there. If I learned anything at all from the University of Iowa’s Writing program it is that. Conflict is not as prevalent as I think it needs to be in a series about giving birth.

While Hannah was lovely and the mother-to-be in a less-ritzy part of NYC was as stressed as you would expect anyone would be if they were in labor, the conflict quotient for the brief episode I saw was slim. I’m no expert on giving birth ( as the line goes, “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ no babies”) but this series needs a serious elevation in the conflict levels or I fear it will be DOA.

TREND

Hannah Shealy.

On the plus side, I do think that Hannah and her producing partner Celine Sutter are on to something in the zeitgeist. For decades the United States was one of the civilized nations whose birth rate was holding relatively steady. Then Donald J. Trump began his anti-immigrant ICE raids. His daily quotas of picking up citizens and non-citizens on the streets of cities nationwide and ejecting them from the country has certainly contributed to statistics that show the nation’s birthrate — that is, the number of live births per 1,000 people in a given year — is down by more than 25 percent since 2007, when the decline began.

“We spent decades shaming women for having kids under the wrong circumstances, for not having their ducks in a row,” said one expert. “Now they are holding up their end of the bargain.” Almost half of the country’s 30-year-old women are childless.

“SIXTY MINUTES” DID A PROGRAM ON THE IDEA OF WAITING TO GIVE BIRTH

Putting off having children in order to finish school or establish one’s self or simply to live life a little before “settling down” has become the norm. As one expert said, “It used to be that the only people who put off having kids were college girls from more privileged backgrounds. But now it’s everybody, with teenagers and less educated women leading the charge. “

Women in their early 30s now have the highest birthrate of any group. A woman in her early 40s is more likely to give birth than a teenager. It’s too early to say whether those pregnancies will be enough to help the U.S. reverse the ill effects of a falling birthrate. The number of children born to women by the time they turn 44 hasn’t dropped at all.

BIO

Celine Sutter

In my own case, my mother gave birth to me at 38, which was considered quite old for the times. Mom was a working woman who supported herself until she married at age 30 in 1937. Given the fact she was born in 1907, that means she was way ahead of the working woman trend. Also ahead of “have children later in life” current trend.

We can assume that the birth control gains of the sixties and seventies (now being reversed by the GOP) which gave women control over their own bodies has contributed to women deciding not to give birth as soon. Maybe they were too young. Maybe they were unemployed or alone. Maybe their own mothers were struggling to give their daughters the future they never got to have, because they got pregnant in their teens. “Biology was destiny” for years—until the 1960s and the advent of the birth control pill.

CONCLUSION

I gave birth to two children, a son and a daughter born 19 years apart. I was pregnant at 22 and 42. My youngest, a daughter in her thirties, is now hoping to give birth in the immediate future. She and her partner actually lost a baby to a rare anomaly very recently. The odds of a re-occurrence of that are astronomically high.

She has had the opportunity I did not have to travel the world, find herself, and figure out what she wants from life, thanks to the birth control pill and the hard-fought Roe v. Wade right to a legal abortion, (which I fought for in the seventies.) Now legal abortion is state by state. The blue states are often being selected by the more educated citizenry (doctors, lawyers and other professionals) since those individuals want, for their wives and daughters, the rights that women enjoyed for fifty years, until the conservative stacking of the Supreme Court.

MOTHERHOOD ON FILM

I’ve noticed that recent films and TV shows—like “Night Bitch” or the upcoming “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” on television—are depicting a more realistic side of motherhood—one might say “warts and all.” There was also the Charlize Theron 2018 film “Tully.” “Birth Is for P*ussies” might fit right into that trend.

I’m all for informing women about the process of giving birth in a way that is more realistic than the one depicted in films like 2007’s “Knocked Up.” Perhaps “Birth Is For P*ussies” will educate us all. I’m all for informing women about all aspects of their sexuality.

“Perfect” Screens in Visions Section at SXSW Film Festival, 2026.

By Connie Wilson

On March 15, 2026

In Movies, News, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

“Perfect” is a 94-minute film directed by British director Millicent Hailes which had its World Premiere on March 14th in the Visions section of the SXSW film festival. “Perfect” attempts to break new cinematic ground by using sound in a most unconventional way, Someone decided that repetitive dialogue—super-imposing the same line over the dialogue being spoken at that moment in a sort of echo chamber effect— was a good idea.

It was not.

It came across as auditory assault. The dialogue (scripted by Kendra Miller and Hailes), when finally deciphered, was banal. “You’re going to be all right” was the oft repeated sentiment. That line, based on the plot events, seems inaccurate.

By film’s end the lead character (Ashley Moore as Kai) is far from “okay.”

She has lost at love more than once and is burning her car—the car in which she had been living. Her romance with a mysterious pregnant woman ( Julia Fox of“Uncut Gems” who also executive produced) has crashed and burned. Kai is stranded in the middle of nowhere

SYNOPSIS

Julie Fox as Mallory in “Perfect” at SXSW film festival Visions section on March 14, 2026.

The plot: “In a world devastated by a contaminated water supply, Kai, a lost soul, finds herself living out of her car after a bad breakup. Each day is a struggle until fate leads her to a hidden utopian lake where the water is pure and life flourishes.” A ragtag group of outsiders — Sonny (Lio Mehiel), Pinksy (Ryder McLaughlin), Nik (Micaela Wittman), Cal (Creed Bratton), and Emil (Sergio Lane) — have carved out a fragile community there. At the lake, Kai meets Mallory, a wealthy and mysterious pregnant woman running from her past. They fall into a passionate romance, but as Kai becomes more attached, she begins to see the cracks in Mallory’s story.

THE GOOD

Director Millicent Hailes of “Perfect” at SXSW Visions screening on March 14, 2026.

Moore and Fox are striking onscreen, and their fragmented love scenes are filmed with an eye for beauty. Director of Photography Ksusha Genenfeld makes the most of their chemistry — there’s plenty of skin, and film editor Amber Bansak has composed a romantic pastiche of sensual erotic images. Viewers here for the sex scenes will be pleased. Beyond that, the plot doesn’t offer much. It’s surprising to hear lines like “fucking faggot” and “Is this giving gay?” used casually, tossed off nonchalantly by a queer director who founded a magazine (yves 2c) for under-represented genders.

BACKGROUND

Director Hailes studied fashion in London and has a degree in photography. The film has been picked up by Visit. Hailes said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Visit Films… we’re honored to join their slate and look forward to bringing the film to audiences worldwide.” Visit’s president, Ryan Kampe, added: “Perfect is the perfect film for our times… a smart and provocative film that weaves together a potential apocalyptic future with the needs and desires of the human body.”

THE “MORAL”

Ashley Moore as Kai in “Perfect” at SXSW on March 14, 2026.

If there’s a message, it’s obscured beneath the sound effects — including, near the end, a sped‑up voice that sounds like a cartoon character. The score by Wynne Bennett, however, is genuinely good and elevates the romantic scenes with lyrics like, “I was on the edge of something greater than before.”

CONCLUSION

Sexy, stylish, but saddled with an almost unlistenable sound design, the apocalyptic water‑crisis backdrop is oddly minimized, and the protagonist’s journey rarely makes much sense. Viewers who want more than the beautifully photographed sex scenes, including coherent storytelling or a satisfying ending, will need to look elsewhere.

Vince Gilligan & Crew Interviewed at SXSW on March 14th, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 15, 2026

In Interviews, Pop Culture, Television, Texas

Vince Gilligan and crew at SXSW panel onAlbuquerque Aftermath: From Breaking Bad to Pluribus with Rhea Seehorn, Vince Gilligan, and Key Creatives.(Photo by Paul Thanasack).

Gilligan, creator of “Breaking Bad,””Better Call Saul” and, now, “Pluribus” came to SXSW on Saturday, March 14^th,with Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus’ Carol and Better Call Saul’s Kim) as well as composer Dave Porter, costume designer Jennifer Bryan, and producer Trina Siopy. The conversation explored the collaborative process, Albequerque’s role as the anchor city, and the close creative partnerships nurtured over more than a decade.

MEANING OF PLURIBUS

A lot of the questions seemed to revolve around, “What is Pluribus about?” It seems to be about an alien virus that threatens to take over the world as we knew it. Everyone is happy, but the inhabitants seem to almost have become as alike as drones in a bee hive…worker bees all. Happy little fellows. Everything is wonderful. Or is it? Carol seems to want to “save” the human race with all of its imperfections. Gilligan mentioned he had helped write that story when he writing for “The X-Files” (“The second best jjob I ever had.”)

GILLIGAN’S EXPLANATION of “PLURIBUS”

Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn at SXSW 2026.

Or is Pluribus about something else? One questioner threw out the idea that the entire series is a metaphor for grief and depression. The answer we got on Saturday, March 14^thfrom Gilligan, himself, referenced a conversation he had many years prior with Director Michael Mann.

Michael Mann asked Gilligan (who was then writing for “The X-Files”): ‘What are we really trying to say here? What’s the message? What’s the theme? What’s the this? What’s that? And he looked at me and I will never forget, he said, ‘We have to tell that story. We have to tell a story about characters and the things they do. They face interesting obstacles, unique obstacles, and the way they surmount them or don’t. That’s what we’re doing here. There’s nothing much more to it than that…It is for other people to tell us sometimes what our shows and movies are about.’”

RHEA’S RESPONSE

The Question: “How long did it take for you to understand what Pluribus was all about, Rhea?” brought this answer, “I’m still trying to figure it out. Here’s the thing. It’s really wonderful that I’m playing a character that doesn’t understand what’s going on. Therefore, I don’t have to. I don’t know.” Seehorn went on to say, “It’s about human nature, but it’s also about what it means to be human and redefining what the pursuit of happiness is. That’s the end-all and be-all. How do you define success and how do you define love and relationships?” After some praise of co-star Carolina Weaver’s acting as character (Zosia) Rhea added, “I don’t know. The answer is, I don’t know. I don’t know what the show is about, and I love it.”

She reminisced about all the press she did for “Breaking Bad’ and added, laughing, “What if it means, for God’s sake, just be more Sphinx-like and that I have to shut up! There’s a lot of other people figuring out what it means.”

TRUST

Vince Gilligan at SXSW. (Photo by Paul Thanasack.)

Seehorn added, “But there’s this thing that Vince does where he trusts the audience. I have to say, it also involves the key trust of the performers. And it isn’t that I don’t take direction. We try it a million different ways and I very much enjoy that process, but I trust his ideas. And one of the great gifts he’s given me is that he trusts mine. But when we trust the audience, he alleviates or rids me of the onus to make sure the audience knows exactly what I’m thinking. I just have to think the thoughts and make sure that I’m being true to the character. But I don’t have to telegraph these things, and it really frees me up to do a much more complex and nuanced performance, which a performer is not always allowed to do.”

RHEA ON “PLURIBUS’” POPULARITY:

“Of course we were all trying to make the best show we could, and it was a show that I would be a fan of and it was so awesomely weird. I have not been able to guess where I was going to go…It’s like, hopefully, obviously, we find an audience that gets it, but is it this very niche thing? Is this going to be a very unique sort of cultish thing? The broad conversation and broad audience reception blew me away. It isn’t that I didn’t expect this, but I am blown away by it really touching some kind of nerve in people to want to really talk about it… the popularity of it and its critical reception. For critics and fans to like the same show. You don’t always win that lottery and that’s been amazing.”’

ONE WOMAN SHOW?

Interviewer, Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn at SXSW. (Photo by Paul Thanasack.)

Much of the show centers on Seehorn, sometimes solely on her, by herself. Rhea answered, “I only got just one at a time, which is always the way we do it, so it wasn’t like I saw the breadth of the whole thing and understood, ‘Oh, I’ll be doing an episode with almost no dialogue. Oh, I’ll be doing episodes almost by myself.” She added, “I’m not as excited about that, because, for me, it’s the same work as if there was dialogue. I’m still feeling out what is happening in the story. What’s the character thinking?..And there are days where I would read something that’s tomorrow’s and think, ‘Oh, today’s the day they find out that I am not very good or that I was not very good.”

SOUND & MUSIC

(From composer Dave Porter)

“All those years that we’ve been together, this was a mandate to be different and to make this show distinct from the others that we’ve done. So, to break all those rules, to take our creative process and really re-analyze al the lessons we learned, the ways that we use music. Coming out the other side gave us a freedom to do exactly that and to take all of our favorite lessons and really explore new territory…I think the most important role for the score is to be an assistant in storytelling. Whatever I can do, I’ll do, which includes making things more powerful and more emotional, but, at the same time, open to interpretation as much as possible to lead. To open those doors for everyone to have their own viewpoints is a gift that you don’t get to work on for so many shows.”

Dave Porter on the music: “You can feel the human touch. You can feel that. There’s no comparison between something that a computer can do or something sound-wise or performance wise…The orchestra is another thing we had never done before. So it was a learning experience for us to work on that. And part of that is mentioned is that before you go and spend large sums of money on recording, you do demo versions, which is a new experience for Vince…Everybody took a leap of faith with me to know that the power of orchestra, especially on a show like this, is going to be value added many times over and be progress. And for anyone who hasn’t had the experience going to the symphony or standing in front of an orchestra as composer and people playing the music you wrote. It is inspiring and a blessing that we get to do that.”

Downtown Austin during SXSW 2026.

Costume designer Jennifer Bryan went on at great lengths about how she came up with the clothes for the show (brown was the color) and talked at great length about the yellow jacket and ordering the yellow leather pelts from France and having the jacket made. I watch the show. I never noticed the yellow jacket, so make what you will of her remarks. For me, the rather lengthy analysis of “the Albuquerque jacket look” versus whatever look the show currently has was much like a novelist who inserts massive amounts of description when what you really want is dialogue and action. Essentially, the message seemed to be that the clothing is essentially for protection from the elements and the costume designer also had to give some thought to the specific action in a scene, such as when Carol has to lift Helen’s corpse into the car.

WHY ALBUQUERQUE AGAIN?

The answer to this question essentially came down to the clouds, the collaborative crew, and the expense.

CAROL’S LIKABILITY

The question was asked, “What’s the secret to have an audience root for an unlikable character?” Seehorn answered this with a feminist slant: “The term likable I think has gotten misused or overused concerning female characters, because how people have been defining what’s likable in a woman is very, very restrictive. I think it’s more important that a character be accessible in some way, especially if I am the conduit to take the audience’s hand and take them down this rabbit hole. And for me, behaving truthfully and honestly in a moment when people would say, ‘Wow! She’s really not polite when they (the aliens) bring her things.’ They killed my wife. My career is gone. I might die alone watching Golden Girls. I’m sorry I wasn’t chirpy…Also, I’m going to suppress my anger until eczema comes out all over my body? I very much enjoyed exploring that Carol’s anger over her wife was her entire way of even behaving halfway normal out in the world…She’s allowed to display the full spectrum of human behavior and now she’s being asked to suppress that? It was really fun trying to figure out what are her other tools. She’s just grasping at straws. I find her complex and difficult and challenging, but I find her honest and truthful and real..”

CAROL AND GRIEF

Downtown Austin during SXSW 2026.

Seehorn further commented on Carol’s loss of her wife and the grief and depression she felt. “No, I’ve never had an alien virus take over the planet. But as you do, as actors, what is something I can draw from? What kind of tool do you lose in those moments.? And, for any of us and most of us this happens through grief. Terrible grief. Getting up off the floor the next morning is heroic by itself. And so I just felt like, really, all bets are off. She’s allowed to be as upset and angry as anybody would be. I hope that ultimately that makes her accessible and watchable instead of likable….She’s holding nothing back.”

“Drag” Mixes Black Humor with Horror in World Premiere at SXSW, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 14, 2026

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

The cast of “Drag” at its World Premiere on March 13, 2026 at SXSW.

‘Drag,” scripted and directed by Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitz, made its World Premiere as a Midnight entry at SXSW on March 13, 2026, with stars Lizzy Caplan (“Masters of Sex,” 2013-2016), John Stamos and Lucy DeVito onstage after the screening. Lucy DeVito, asked why the film succeeded, correctly analyzed the appeal: “It’s in the writing. It’s on the page.”

Danny DeVito at SXSW on March 13, 2026.

The DeVito family was there in force, with father Danny joining son Jake and daughter Lucy, its co-star, onstage. The plot involves “two sisters with a contentious relationship who decide to rob a rural home in upstate New York. The simple robbery turns into a nightmare when one of them throws out her back and becomes immobilized on the second floor. The night spirals out of control as they embark on a painful journey to make it out before the homeowner returns.”

Danny DeVito spoke to his desire to support new talent, saying, “We’ve always tried to support new filmmakers with passion. These guys are the best.” His first reaction to reading the script was “Holy shitballs.” He added, “The nail got me.”

GENESIS

Writer/Directors Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitz of “Drag” at SXSW.

The writer/directors, Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitz shared, during the Q&A following the screening that the idea of a would-be robber being immobilized by back pain sprang from their own back ailments. They also admitted that having television pilots that were stalled in development hell gave them time to think about writing, preparing and shooting a low-budget indie film. So, they did. The film succeeded where many others have failed.

LIZZY CAPLAN

Lizzy Caplan was asked about how she prepared to believably portray a woman with severe back pain, who is dragged around inside a serial killer’s mansion for hours. Her answer? “Show up and pretend your back hurts.” She answered the question straightforwardly, but even the answer was funny.

Caplan is a veteran actress (73 roles) with comedic and horror chops. I enjoyed Caplan in “Masters of Sex” for 46 episodes from 2013-2016. She also appeared in 2018’s “Cloverfield.”

“Drag” was shot in Albany in the winter in 21 days but, as co-star Lucy Devito said, “The whole thing should have been a pain in the ass, but every moment was a delight. Playing Lizzie’s sister was the best Everyone believed in the film.”

SOUND

Lucy DeVito, co-star of “Drag.”

The sound design (Patrick Stump) was great at helping build tension. Make-up, special effects and stunts—all story-boarded—worked well. This low budget indie film more than held its own in the laughs department. The acting by Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito was top-notch. Ben Goodman, the Director of Photography, did a creative job. The physical side of staging all the mayhem was choreographed, storyboarded and successful.

“Drag” entertained and amused while also introducing a whole new side of John Stamos to the world, figuratively and literally. He plays a psychotic serial killer who fancies himself a pathological Picasso. I could see him moving in that direction with snake-like smarminess, giving audiences another “American Psycho.”

CONCLUSION

As the only working critic who, somehow, managed to rip her right thumbnail off at the Austin airport while merely getting a luggage cart ( an “avulsion”) and a one-time active voting member of HWA, the movie amused me mightily. I think it will amuse you, as well. Plus, the ending is not predictable, which audiences appreciate.

“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” Opens SXSW 2026 on March 12th, 2026

By Connie Wilson

On March 13, 2026

In Pop Culture, Reviews, Television, Texas

“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” opened the SXSW Film Festival at the Paramount Theater on Thursday, March 12th. We were treated to three episodes of the new series and the remarks of most of the principal cast members after they screened. Showrunner David E. Kelley, husband of Michelle Pfeiffer and originator of so many hit television series, came onstage and insisted that the woman who wrote the book on which the characters were based, Rufi Thorpe, stand up in the audience and take a bow. Writers are often treated as prophets without honor in their own land, so that was refreshing. Of course, Kelley is a writer, so he knows the often seen lack-of-attribution-for-the-creator issue firsthand.

SYNOPSIS

The synopsis for the series, which starts on Apple on April 15^th says: “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” is a bold, heart-warming and comedic family drama following recent college dropout and aspiring writer, Margo (Elle Fanning), the daughter of an ex-Hooter’s waitress Shayanne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and an ex-pro wrestler, Jinx, with drug abuse issues, played by Nick Offerman. Margo is forced to make her way forward with a new baby, a mounting pile of bills, and a dwindling amount of ways to pay them.”

The opening set-up features Margo being groomed by her Literature instructor at Fullerton College. According to Professor Gable, who impregnates the young Margo and then retreats to his wife and two children, Margo is practically the next Shakespeare. That works. Margo is soon with child.

First, Professor Gable seems to suggest that Margo get rid of the child and that she could well be the next Rufi Thorpe (the author who wrote the 2024 best selling novel on which the characters are based.) He mentions Harvard for Margo rather than Fullerton. The young, impressionable Margo falls victim to one of the oldest plays in the book.

PREGNANCY

Showrunner David E. Kelly after the Opening Night showing of “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” at SXSW 2026 on March 12, 2026.

There is no mention of why Margo isn’t on the pill or why condoms don’t enter the picture. That would definitely have stopped this plot at inception. Or conception.

Margo, for reasons that she can’t fully articulate, decides that she wants to keep this child, repeating the pattern of single motherhood that her own mother lived. Mom is not happy about it. At one point, following a neat film segue from Margo screaming in a parking lot (while Mom Michelle Pfeiffer screams inside the car) we move directly to screaming in labor and Bodhi Millet is born. [Cinematographers Carl Herse and Tari Segal get props for the neat juxtaposition.]

As the mother of two, I appreciated the reality of motherhood being depicted with all of the less-than-glamorous spit-up, feces, breast milk and paraphernalia. This version of motherhood reminded me of Marielle Heller’s film “Nightbitch” starring Amy Adams, which also told it like it is—(except for the part about turning into a dog.)

CAST & DIRECTOR

Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer (Margo & Shayanne) after the showing of “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” at SXSW on Opening Night (March 12, 2026.)

Present this night was Director Dearbhla Walsh, who has won an IFTA award for ‘Fargo” and directed episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Kate Herron also directs and was onstage. The writing and directing take an excellent script by Kelley and, from there, the cast is an All Star ensemble, with Elle Fanning (a producer along with her sister Dakota) giving a terrific performance in the first three episodes we were shown. The others in the cast include Greg Kinnear as Kenny, Marcia Gay Harden, Nicole Kidman (who did not appear in episodes one through three) and those already mentioned.

CONCLUSION

This one is going on my ‘must see” list. It appears that Dad (Nick Offerman–who we were told did his own wrestling stunts) is going to stay on as Margo’s roommate. Margo is going to start making some quick money on OnlyFans, since she is unemployed. Mom Shayanne (Michelle Pfeiffer)–who is really not cut out to be the Grandmother who babysits— is engaged to uber Christian Kenny (Greg Kinnear) and the cosplaying roommate has not jumped ship, but is going to continue to be a shoulder for Margo to cry on.

Irish director Dearbhla Walsh addresses the crowd from the stage of the Paramount Theater after the showing of “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” on Opening Night of SXSW 2026 March12, 2026.

I look forward to the mother/daughter dynamic, which promises to be a big part of the story.As Director Dearbhla Walsh (in the brightly colored coat) said in her Irish accent, “If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother.”

The series is billed as being about bravery, courage, optimism, the lengths we will go to for our loved ones and controlling your own destiny in life. As someone with two children (born 19 years apart) who has lived parts of this story, I heartily recommend checking this one out when it premieres April 15th.