SXSW Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

In only its second year, Made in Her Image — a nonprofit, incubator-based workshop that teaches short filmmaking, start to finish, to girls of color ages 8 to 18 — has given more than 200 prospective filmmakers the chance to see themselves in a profession historically reserved for white males. 

After the World Health Organization officially classified the coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, dozens of major film festivals, movie premieres, sports events and productions have been canceled or postponed in an unprecedented turn of events.

Filmmaker Adam Barton’s “The Boy Who Saved The World” documentary was set to premiere this Sunday at SXSW.

"We had to find a way to make sure the show would go on in order to support the emerging artist community"

Filmmakers Jason Sussberg and David Alvarado were holed up in a studio Friday at Skywalker Ranch, putting the finishing touches on the sound mix for their film “We Are As Gods,” a documentary about the environmentalist Stewart Brand. The two men were scrambling to get everything ready for the film’s March 15 premiere at South by Southwest when they saw the news.

The cancellation of SXSW last week matters for many reasons. It matters because the City of Austin depends on the money the conference brings with it — over $350 million by 2019’s count. It matters because SXSW is a vital part of our music culture — whether the general music-consuming public realizes it or not.

Without losing perspective, the city in the U.S. that may have been hit hardest thus far by the spread of the coronavirus may be one that has not yet seen a single case of the illness: Austin, Texas, where the annual South by Southwest conference, which brings dozens of thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars to the city every year, was cancelled on Friday.

Organisers are looking into rescheduling the event later this year

Without losing perspective, the city in the U.S. that may have been hit hardest thus far by the spread of the coronavirus may be one that has not yet seen a single case of the illness: Austin, Texas, where the annual South by Southwest conference, which brings dozens of thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars to the city every year, was cancelled on Friday.

The event was cancelled last Friday

South by Southwest laid off at least 50 employees, or a third of its year-round staff, Monday as the festival faces losses in the tens of millions after the cancellation of this year’s festival.

Multiple sources tell Variety that both weekends of the Coachella Festival as well as the Stagecoach Music Festival that follows have been postponed due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. Goldenvoice is informing agents currently and deducing who is available on consecutive weekends in October — starting with Oct. 9.

South by Southwest laid off at least 50 employees, or a third of its year-round staff, Monday as the festival faces losses in the tens of millions after the cancellation of this year’s festival.

Multiple sources tell Variety that both weekends of the Coachella Festival as well as the Stagecoach Music Festival that follows have been postponed due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. Goldenvoice is informing agents currently and deducing who is available on consecutive weekends in October — starting with Oct. 9.

FILM FESTIVALS

After a long talk with no one but myself, I’ve decided to go to SXSW.

Disease outbreak was not covered by the event's various insurance policies

Friday, March 6, was a surreal day. We were putting the finishing touches on the sound mix for our film “We Are As Gods,” a feature documentary about counterculture icon and environmentalist Stewart Brand that was set to premiere at SXSW.

After South by Southwest was cancelled on Friday over concerns about the coronavirus, two of its founders told the Austin Chronicle that the film festival doesn’t have insurance to cover the cancellation.

The event in Austin was cancelled at the last minute as the coronavirus crisis escalates

Over the past several days, multiple companies and artists have pulled out of participating in SXSW 2020 due to concerns surrounding coronavirus. Now, SXSW 2020 has been canceled, Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced.

The annual Austin festival has officially been cancelled by the local government

Goodbye, South by Southwest.

South By Southwest's 2020 conference has been cancelled due to concerns over CO-VID19. The cancellation was announced in a press conference held at Austin City Hall on Friday afternoon. "This is not a panic-based decision, it is a decision based on medical expert opnion," said Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt during the press conference.

SXSW has officially been canceled, amid growing fears over the spread of coronavirus. As of Friday afternoon, there have been 17 confirmed cases in Texas, where the annual entertainment, music and technology festival takes place.

The rock star recently pulled out of SXSW and his North American tour.

Starz is the latest entertainment company to pull out of the annual SXSW festival over coronavirus concerns, a source tells Variety, canceling its screening and activation for Cape Cod crime drama series “Hightown” and its featured session for “Power.”

Universal Music Group has advised its employees not to attend the upcoming South By Southwest music festival and conference in Austin, Texas, due to the growing concern over the caronavirus, a source close to the situation confirms to Variety.

Was the official cancellation of the Ultra Music Festival in Miami Thursday a one-off, for now, for a music industry that’s weighing its options on a case-by-case basis… or an inevitable bellwether for the fate of other upcoming festivals like South by Southwest and Coachella? And if it’s the latter, why wouldn’t SXSW, which begins in a mere week, pull the plug sooner rather than on the eve of thousands of badgeholders getting on a flight?

On her last day of filming “The Way Back,” Janina Gavankar says Ben Affleck had a funny, if awkward, question for her.