The News: All-Positive Friday!

They are Wizards: The Harry Potter fan doc We Are Wizards, premiering this year at SXSW (Photo: MAL Productions)

By S.T. VanAirsdale

As per tradition, some of today's more upbeat movie news of note from around New York:

--With the exception of maybe two friends previously committed in NYC, I might the only person I know who is not headed to Austin this weekend for South by Southwest. So for all the New Yorkers in Texas (and for the rest of us looking ahead to titles for the '08 festival season), Rooftop Films co-founder Dan Nuxoll has a two-part rundown of some of his favorite films screening this year at SXSW. Among them are world premieres (We Are Wizards), New York films (Frontrunners), fest-circuit faves (Heavy Metal in Baghdad) and lots more; look for at least a few of them in the Rooftop '08 program to be announced this spring.

--Hats off to Reeler contributor Vadim Rizov, now reviewing films for The Village Voice. His first: Girls Rock!, which actually is a negative review, but we can't have everything. Stay mobile!

--Ace MTV reporter Josh Horowitz is getting awfully chummy with Jack Nicholson these days, first interviewing him in a wide-ranging chat last November before picking up this week on topics from Hillary Clinton to Heath Ledger -- also in two parts! Office procrastination has never been easier, at least for the next 20 minutes.

--Speaking of great interviews: Bilge Ebiri cornered Snow Angels director David Gordon Green this week on Vulture. Come for the adaptation chatter, stay for the casting anecdotes.

Posted at March 7, 2008 8:15 AM