The Iris’ Larry Heath caught up with Will Ferrell, star of the new film Get Hard, at the film’s premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas. It was the actor’s first time at SXSW, “it’s wild to see it unfold,” he said. He spoke about the film, whether he’d be ready for jail after being a part…
The day after the premiere screening of the Silk Road documentary Deep Web, director Alex Winter, Lyn Ulbricht, consulting producer Andy Greenberg and producer Marc Schiller answered questions about the trial of Ross Ulbricht, the longtime legal implications of the ruling, and the notions of online anonymity. Below are five key points that were discussed….
SXSW Film has kicked off with a bang with the “Witches Playground” event, celebrating the upcoming release of the second season of WGN America’s flagship show Salem. The party, held in the notoriously haunted Speakeasy on the Avenue venue in Austin on Friday the 13th, served as the opening event for the festival. The 1,300…
Underneath what we see in our daily browsing – our emails, Facebook, people’s banal commentary on Twitter – is something called the dark web. It’s like looking under the hood of a car – a mind bogglingly immense and completely unseen part of the Internet that is mostly made up of lines of HTML code….
The Iris’ Larry Heath recently had the chance to chat with actor Iain De Caestecker on the Red Carpet at the North American premiere of his new film Lost River, directed by Ryan Gosling. De Caestecker shares his thoughts on the SXSW Festival experience as a whole, before discussing some of the intricacies that went…
When the Nine Network and Fairfax Media announced they were developing online streaming service Stan, it seemed like only a matter of time before they started producing original Australian content. Unsurprisingly, this announcement has been made sooner rather than later, though their first project may come as something of a surprise itself. Yes, Wolf Creek…
The Iris’ Larry Heath caught up with Irish actress Saoirse Ronan on the SXSW Red Carpet at the North American premiere of her new film Lost River, directed by Ryan Gosling. Saoirse discusses how she became involved with the film, as well as the unique filming experience that Gosling created on the set, and what…
Not even sporadic torrents of rain on Friday night could deter the most eager food enthusiasts flocking to the heart of picturesque Centennial Parklands for a chance to dine, shop and learn from a selection of Sydney’s finest culinary innovators, as part of the annual Taste of Sydney premium food and drink festival. A comfortably spaced array of restaurant…
In the 30th instalment of ‘Stumbled Upon’, we meet Melbourne’s In Capital, and get an exclusive preview of their second single Fighting for the Light. Band Name: In Capital Website / Social Media: Facebook / Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Twitter Genre: Electronic, EDM Members & their roles: Nick Jenkin – Engineer, Producer, Guitar, Bass, Synth,…
Country rock superstars Lady A took Sydney’s Qantas Credit Union Arena and dominated the stage on the weekend. Gwendolyn Lee was on hand and brings you this gallery.

In celebration of the new season and a new menu designed to showcase the best of autumn produce, Q Station’s Boilerhouse Harbourside Restaurant has announced dates and details for their inaugural Autumn Harvest Dinner.
The annual celebration that is Spotify House returned to SXSW today, for the start of no less SIX days of live music, free food, free drinks and something called “SoulCycle”, which seems to include live music and a bunch of exercise bikes… you may have to head along to find out for yourself, should you…
This morning at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, a packed out Paramount Theatre enjoyed the World Premiere of the new music documentary Mavis!, telling the story of the legendary Mavis Staples. Making her feature length documentary debut with the film was Director Jessica Edwards, who joined Mavis and other members of the crew…
For those who’ve never made the trip to Austin for SXSW, our best advice is to go with the flow. Follow the crowds, take chances, give yourselves the ability to stumble across bands you’ve never heard of, in locations you don’t expect. It’s the best way to discover something new. But it doesn’t hurt to…
For those who’ve never made the trip to Austin for SXSW, our best advice is to go with the flow; follow the crowds, take chances, give yourselves the ability to stumble across bands you’ve never heard of, in locations you don’t expect. It’s the best way to discover something new. But it doesn’t hurt to…
Andrew Droz Palermo is no stranger to Austin, bringing and being a part of films premiering at the SXSW Film Festival in the past. This year however, he makes his narrative feature directorial debut with One & Two, a film revolving around a family unit isolated and mysterious, and the children of which who demonstrate special gifts….
Following its midnight screening at the Stateside Theatre, the AU sat down with actor and producer Jeremy Sisto to talk about Hangman, Sisto’s new film that sees him working as both lead actor and producer. Directed by Adam Mason, the horror flick sees a normal family return from vacation to find their house has been broken into….
John Hughes’ iconic coming-of-age film The Breakfast Club celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and to celebrate the release of a completely restored version of the movie, Universal and SXSW Film hosted the World Premiere and a special Q&A session with two of the movie’s stars, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy. The Paramount Theatre was crammed early with fans of the…
Boxeadora, a short 16-minute documentary by American filmmaker Meg Smaker, starts with a brief foreword, “Since Castro’s revolution, Cuba has won more Olympic Gold Medals in boxing than any other country in the world”. Pretty mean feat for a small country, considering most of their opponents would be from nations with a lot more financial backing in sports….
“I’m the luckiest human being in the world,” says Eugene ‘Gene’ Cernan. In December 1972, he was the commander of the Apollo 17 mission, the final moon landing. Leaving behind his footprints and his daughter’s initials in the dust, Cernan returned to Earth. From this simple and yet extraordinary premise, director Mark Craig weaves together Cernan’s story, from his…
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Bob and Linda have a life, one that doesn’t always revolve around their kids or the burger shop. Like all busy parents they need some ‘us time’ and “Adventures in Chinchilla-sitting” explores their kooky, cute relationship whilst setting the stage for the kind of shenanigans that children get to…
Earlier tonight, the upcoming Action-Comedy Spy, reuniting Melissa McCarthy and Australia’s Rose Byrne with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, premiered at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. We were lucky enough to be on the red carpet at the screening, and briefly caught up with star Melissa McCarthy to talk about being an action star in…
The Iris’ Larry Heath briefly caught up with Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn while on the Red Carpet at the North American premiere of his new film Lost River, directed by Ryan Gosling. Ben talks about getting to know Ryan on The Place Beyond The Pines, leading to him being a part of this project, the experiences of…
Well that was..intense. After a few relatively calm episodes of slow bubbling tension and co-existence it’s beginning to look like Rick’s group and those inept, naive fools of Alexandria are speeding towards a collision, fueled by shockingly horrific deaths on both sides and a really frustrating betrayal from cowardly Father Gabriel. As I wrote in…
Ahead of its US release on June 5th, the new action-comedy Spy had a special unofficial world premiere at SXSW tonight, with actors Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale joining writer/director Paul Feig to show off the film to the Austin, Texas crowd. The room was filled with laughter from start to…
The Iris’ Larry Heath caught up with Ryan Gosling on the red carpet at the North American Premiere of his Directorial Debut Lost River last night. We asked Ryan about assembling a team of familiar faces for the project; people he’s worked with before – from Australia’s own Ben Mendelsohn to composer Johnny Jewel –…
This morning at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, a packed out Paramount Theatre enjoyed the World Premiere of the new music documentary Mavis!, telling the story of the legendary Mavis Staples. Making her feature length documentary debut with the film was Director Jessica Edwards, who joined Mavis and other members of the crew…
The two main characters in The Foxy Merkins are not foxy ladies in the Jimi Hendrix sense. Smart? Yes. Sassy? Sure. But smouldering, not so much. The film is in fact, a fictional comedy based on the misadventures of two homeless, lesbian hookers. The film was directed by Madeleine Olnek who doubles as a writer…
They say the eyes are like a window to the soul. And the story of Big Eyes and specifically artist, Margaret Keane would show one sad and sinister tale. The latest film by director, Tim Burton (a Keane fan) throws his familiar clutch and styles away to instead present a biopic that is rich, honest…
Created by Defiant Development, an indie studio in my home town of Brisbane, Hand of Fate strives to be different. It combines elements of a deck-building CCG, a roguelike dungeon crawler and action RPG’s to come up with something entirely new and, while it doesn’t always completely succeed, there’s still a lot to like here.