Jon Favreau’s "Chef" to open South by Southwest Film Fest

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jon Favreau's Chef will open the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival on March 7, the festival announced today. Favreau -- who directed and wrote the film -- stars as a Los Angeles chef who quits his job after a conflict with a restaurant owner played by Dustin Hoffman and moves to Miami to launch a food truck, which he takes on the road. Sofia Vergera, John Leguizamo and Emjay Anthony also star in the movie, produced by Favreau and Sergei Bespalov, which Open Road Films will release in May, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The SXSW festival also will include the world premiere of Rob Thomas' Veronica Mars movie; COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey, Fox's relaunch of the 1980 miniseries from Carl Sagan, which will include a Q&A with the series' new host Neil deGrasse Tyson; Christian Larson's Leave the World Behind, a documentary on the electronic dance music trio Swedish House Mafia; Creep, a thriller starring Mark Duplass directed by Patrick Brice; first-time feature director Jay Karas' Break Point, a comedy set in the world of competitive tennis, which will screen as part of the new SXsports sidebar; and Doc of the Dead, a look at zombie culture, directed by Alexandre O. Philippe.

"Jon Favreau's wonderfully entertaining return to independent filmmaking works beautifully as our 2014 opening-night film, with his sharp and funny take on the world of food, artistry and family in the age of social media," Janet Pierson, who heads SXSW Film, said.

The festival also has scheduled "A Conversation with Alejandro Jodorowsky," director of such films as El Topo and Santa Sangre, which will be held March 10.

Jeffrey Tambor will return to SXSW for Jeffrey Tambor's Acting Workshop, part one-man show, part seminar, and part Q&A.

The complete film lineup for the festival, which runs from March 7-15 in Austin, Texas, will be announced Jan. 30. The final conference lineup will be released Wednesday, Feb. 12.