The Dallas International Film Festival is but weeks away, and till this morning all we had were the titles of 10 offerings -- with The Blues Brothers among them, tied to a John Landis tribute/Q&A I'll be hosting because I still have questions, many questions, about that mall chase. But here, finally, is your complete rundown, which features an appearance by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who made two of 2014's best films (The Lego Movie, 22 Jump Street) and are partially responsible for 2015's best network television comedy (The Last Man on Earth).
"Those guys were hard to get," says Dallas Film Society artistic director James Faust. "We're lucky to get the 29 hours we're getting with these guys, because they are busy. And I can't wait to give them an award," unlike, say, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
On the to-see list: Love & Mercy, the Brian Wilson biopic starring Paul Dano and John Cusack; Manglehorn, the much-raved-about latest from locally raised filmmaker David Gordon Green in which Al Pacino plays a man "who shuffles around a small Texas town as a lonely locksmith with greasy hair and little interest in humans"; I'll See You in My Dreams, a Sundance favorite starring Blythe Danner, recipient of this year's Dallas Star Award; and Andrew Bujalski's Results, which has been making the fest-circuit rounds.
"I'm really excited about Blythe Danner, one of the classiest actors I've ever had the pleasure of meeting," says Faust of the Opening Night guest. "She's just good to be around, just that energy. I said to her, 'You're good and nice?' Unheard of."
I could tick off the titles ... or just embed the list below, which includes mention of a L.M. Kit Carson tribute, which is only appropriate given the late Dallas-born filmmaker's ties to the fest and its founder Michael Cain. But Faust wants to point out a few things before you jump to the file. As in: David Gordon Green will also attend the fest -- which, by my count, is his third appearance during the nine-year history of the fest that bowed in 2007 as the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. And: There are 32 countries represented this year. Which means ...
"We've really hit our stride as an international film festival this year," says Faust. "Only took nine years."
And: "There are more world premieres than I am used to," says Faust. "Kind of surprised we were given the opportunity to show some films that chose to premiere here, like Echoes of War. They had a lot of opportunities to go elsewhere, and they stuck with us."
Tickets for DFS members go on sale today here; everyone else has to wait till Thursday.
