The President and his motorcade, Lil Wayne showing off new waterproof technology, “Mr. Robot” and “Broad City” mashups, and cold beer in Austin top the opening weekend of the SXSW social scene.
Melanie Lynskey, Linas Phillips and Tim Sharp chat about their film ‘Rainbow Time’ at TheWrap interview studio
Jake Gyllenhaal arrives at the screening of “Demolition,” which opened the Toronto Film Festival last September.
When President Obama addressed SXSW on Friday challenging the industry to innovate to solve big problems, I’m pretty sure he meant champagne-proofing your cell phone. Lil Wayne reenacted his new commercial for the newly released Samung Galaxy S7 before performing with 2 Chainz on Saturady night.
President Obama at his Friday keynote. The other guy on stage is Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith.
What’s in the Cupmander-In-Chief? Probably not the same thing as what’s rumored to be in Lil Wayne’s white cups.
Pedicabs and horse patrols are common sights at SXSW. The presidential motorcade is not.
Super producer Jason Blum and Ethan Hawke headlined the “In a Valley of Violence” party in the choice real estate of the Summit deck, home of the Arts & Cinema Centre events. Maestro Dobel Tequila kept the party going.
“Mr. Robroad City”: Rami Malek, Abbi Jacobson, Christian Slater, and Ilana Glazer joined forces at an Entertainment Weekly dinner on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Samsung continued to jumpstart the music portion of the festival with the Samsung Galaxy Life Fest series of concerts. Flavor Flav played bass on “Welcome to the Terrordome” with Public Enemy partner Chuck D on Saturday night.
“Chi town Brings The Noise .. Right?,” Chuck D tweeted, referencing Friday night’s Trump rally and their own classic anthem. “I’m so proud of my CHIfolk shuttin the bulsht (sic) down. #CommonSenseMatters”
This is what Grumpy Cat looks like just sitting there, without even having to do any interviews on the carpet.
Kate Bosworth puckers up at a Refinery 29 party.
TMZ meshes with Johnny Manziel’s former agent on a panel that exemplifies the passionate niches of SXSW: “Do Great Athletes Have to Be Good People?” At center, TMZ Sports EP Evan Rosenbaum (son of TV Academy CEO Bruce Robsenblum) and at right, the agent who fired Manziel as a client recently, Erik Burkhardt.
Meanwhile, Chris Hardwick brought a live version of “@Midnight” to Austin.
Ellen Page is two-for-two on big festivals, rocking Sundance in January and now SXSW (with Keegan-Michel Key) this weekend. The two connected at a party hosted by Marie Claire’s Anne Fulenwider.
Matt Besser and Matt Walsh embrace SXSW style: coozies, brew, and outdoor seating.
Awkward Award: Dan Harmon’s “HarmonQuest” with ex-wife Erin McGathy (left) was reportedly the first time the two had seen each other since their split, which became a running topic during the live performance on Saturday. “HarmonQuest” is a spinoff of the “Community” creator’s ravenously consumed “Harmontown” live podcasts.
On a more triumphant note, NBC Sports’ Olympics podium provided a popular photo prop.
Gold medalist Tara Lipinski, Golf Channel analyst David Feherty, NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell, NBC Olympics CMO John Miller, and NBC Sports’ Rob Simmelkjaer hyped up this summer’s Rio games at an NBC panel on the networks lush branded lawn at the Four Seasons on Friday.
An auspicious sign for NBC’s summer Olympics telecast: a rainbow.
Mark Cuban by day: keynoting. “(Startups) think getting funding is an accomplishment,” he said, according to tech entrepreneur Dan Kaufman. “That’s not an end point, it’s a starting point.”
Mark Cuban by night: Sharing the stage with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz.
A case study of the celebrity/brand/digital/buzzword orgy: Low-pro-Jo-Bro Kevin Jonas, the Head of Digital Marketing Strategy for Johnson & Johnson (Amy Pascal — no not the former Sony Pictures boss), festival enthusiast/documentarian Adrian Grenier, YouTuber Monica Church, and Snapchat star Shonduras running a panel on “Brand Innovators” on Friday.
Mark Zuckerberg did not roam amongst the headset wearing crowd at this Samsung Gear VR event. Last month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as attendees zoned out in VR land, the Facebook founder passed through the room undetected.
Dominic Monaghan and Ksenia Solo get a batch of fresh tech.
The Strokes and a Black Keys side project led off three nights of concerts at the Samsung space on Friday.
Can I see your ID? “Broad City” stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer need only to show their personal dolls.
Spin to Win: Buzzfeed and CW Seed’s prize wheel touted Rokus and Chromecasts. Wowza recipes seen on the sub-site Buzzfeed Tasty – like pizza cones and cinnamon roll french toast bites – were available for everyone at Bar 96.
“Demolition” director Jean-Marc Vallee accepts the finger-spotlight from Jake Gyllenhaal. Fox Searchlight releases the film on April 8.
The king of Austin cinema opened the festival with Richard Linklater‘s ’80s comedy “Everybody Wants Some.”
“Everybody Wants Some” cast Glen Powell, Juston Street, Austin Amelio, and Wyatt Russell celebrate the film on Friday. Russell’s dad, Kurt Russell (bottom right), also made the scene.
