Coming soon to SXSW: Kicking and grinding

OK, I have to admit: There are some movies I'm looking forward to more than others at this year's SXSW Film Festival in Austin (which, by the way, kicks off with Kick-Ass next Friday). Naturally, I'm eager to see The People vs. George Lucas, because one of the "experts" interviewed in the documentary is... well, me. And, of course, since I'm a New Orleans native, I can't help being intrigued by any movie titled The Canal Street Madam. (Who knows? If they display pages from her address book, I may see the names of old friends.) But American Grindhouse appears to be the SXSW offering most likely to redefine the term "guilty pleasure." Indeed, it may wind up being a great companion piece for another guilty pleasure from an earlier SXSW Fest: The Independent.

I ought to be in pictures

It's official: The People vs. George Lucas, a much-buzzed-about documentary about the creator of Star Wars, will have its world premiere next month in Austin at South By Southwest, one of the five or six best film festivals in the whole wide world. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to review this one, because... because... well, as I noted last year, I actually was interviewed for the film. And I have it on good authority that I made it into the final cut. It'll be my first appearance in a documentary since 1998's Junket Whore. No, really.