Happy Monday, South-by-South-Westerners!
As the rest of the world gets back to work, South-by attendees will continue paneling, activating, schmoozing, and scootering through the week. We’re in for another cool, cloudy day in Austin, with a chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. Make sure you aren’t caught outdoors without an umbrella. The Austin weather Gods are fickle—a storm can strike at any moment. Let’s hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Rain or shine, SXSW is off to a busy start to the week with another day full of talks from tech titans and Hollywood royalty, and even more late-night festivities.
What to watch for today
Born to be Wilde. Olivia Wilde has been to SXSW as an actress many times, but this is her first time as a director. Her filmmaking debut, Booksmart, premiered at the Paramount last night (it’s screening again today in the Austin Convention Center). She’s giving a keynote about her experience in the director’s chair and is expected to impart some wisdom to aspiring filmmakers—especially young women.
All well and goop. Actress and Goop CEO Gwyneth Paltrow is bringing her wellness brand to town for a conversation with CNN’s Poppy Harlow. Wellness products have been all over the city this week (more on that below), and Paltrow is not missing an opportunity to shop her jade vaginal eggs to a curious SXSW audience. Goop, which is getting into bitcoin too, will soon have its own Netflix series “examining issues related to physical and spiritual wellness.” Goop can do it all.
It’s all for the ‘gram. Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger suddenly departed their photo-sharing app—and its parent company Facebook—in late 2018. This afternoon, the Instagram visionaries are making their first major appearance since leaving the company in a talk with TechCrunch’s Josh Constine. They’ll discuss how Instagram got where it is today, the need for safe spaces on social media, and what’s next for the founders.
Take a Shrill pill. Actress and Shrill producer Elizabeth Banks is set to appear in a conversation with the star of her show, Saturday Night Live player Aidy Bryant. The two performers will talk about agency and autonomy, both on camera and behind it. Shrill, based on the book by Lindy West about “a fat young woman who wants to change her life—but not her body,” will screen tonight at the Stateside Theatre, followed by a Q&A with the cast.
Mobbin’. The music portion of SXSW isn’t officially underway until tomorrow, but rapper A$AP Rocky is appearing on a panel this afternoon about collaborative creativity and fandoms. The artist was brought up in the Harlem-based hip-hop scene known as the A$AP Mob, a collective of rappers, producers, designers, and other artists.
Party planner: Late-night festivities are winding down with the work week underway. The main event we’re monitoring tonight is Universal’s afterparty for the screening of Good Boys at the Snap House on Rainey Street (11pm).
Screening of the day
Good Boys. SXSW seems like the perfect place to premiere the directorial debut by the duo who wrote Superbad and produced Sausage Party. A raunchy comedy about 12-year-old boys getting into all heaps of trouble, Good Boys stars real-life tweenthrob Jacob Tremblay, the breakout star of Room—and maybe the most lovable man in Hollywood. Seth Rogen, who’s also at the festival this year promoting the film Long Shot, co-produced Good Boys, along with his childhood friend and frequent collaborator, Evan Goldberg.
What everyone is talking about
Teddy Roosevelt. Maybe it’s just the politicians looking to name-check a bipartisan icon, but the trust-busting, national-park founding former US president captures the mood here: Schemes to battle climate change go hand-in-hand with break-up-the-big-tech-platforms manifestos. It’s the perfect acid counterpoint for the Gilded Age vibes at the big brand activations.
Beauty and wellness. SXSW introduced a wellness section last year, and downtown Austin has played host beauty, fitness, meditation apps, and other wellness brands like Goop, Lululemon, Calm, and Lush over the past two days. Festival sessions have focused on fitness, self-care, modern beauty, and how technology fits into wellness. A company called RealSelf, a sort of Yelp for cosmetic treatments, doled out chemical peels, injectables, and breast-augmentation consultations at a house on Rainey Street, while other brands gave away sunglasses and tote bags.
Unlikely romance. Audiences who caught Saturday night’s premiere of Long Shot, a romantic comedy starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, were raving about how they couldn’t stop laughing during the film. Nineties R&B band Boyz II Men, who appear in the movie, also performed at the screening. It could be a breakout hit of the festival.
Yesterday’s highlights
Henry Winkler, acting guru. The Fonz’s acting workshop was the best thing Adam attended at the festival so far. Several attendees—all aspiring actors—prepared monologues and scenes for Winkler to critique. The veteran actor and director’s advice was as insightful as it was hilarious. The man knows how to own a room, no matter how big.
Almost everything Winkler said made Ballroom 18 erupt in laughter on an otherwise dreary Austin day. If there was one throughline to his critiques, it was to “let go,” and allow yourself to feel your feelings, good or bad. His subtle adjustments made each volunteer’s performance so much more honest.
Senate arcana takes the stage. SXSW is for the dorks, and the political side is no exception. Washington Governor Jay Inslee challenged the rotating cast of Democratic presidential candidates to reject the filibuster, a senate tradition often invoked to block big-ticket legislation. With Inslee’s long-shot campaign based on doing everything possible to fight climate change, he’s put his rivals—many of them senators themselves—on the defensive.
Scary software. Bruce Sterling, the science-fiction author and futurist who regularly delivers raucous closing remarks at SXSW, said he’s never seen more military and intelligence types at the conference. The approach of AI and the centrality of cyber security to, well, everything, has the spooks and security folks eager to forge better links with the US tech sector. One problem Quartz heard from DoD employees and civilian AI watch-dogs alike: How do we keep the other guys from instilling their terrible values in our software?
Seen and heard
No scooter for you. A street near the convention center forced festival-goers to disembark from their scooters.
Pika Pika? Ads for Detective Pikachu are all over town this week. Attendees are hoping that might mean a secret screening of the film. That might throw the film festival’s nerdy clientele into a frenzy.
Fonzisms. Some hilarious semi-out-of-context lines from Henry Winkler during his acting workshop:
- “Since that day, not one person has ever said the word ‘hypotenuse’ to me.” (On being a dyslexic student struggling with geometry in high school.)
- “He spoke 11 languages; I had trouble with English.” (On the difference between him and his father.)
- “I think about what I need from CVS.” (On how he fills long silences in scenes.)
Annals of Absolution. Activists set up a sidewalk confessional in Austin, complete with a fake priest calling on any guilty parties employed by tech giants to confess their sins—venal, mortal or privacy-violating. Our correspondent did not see anyone take them up on the opportunity.
News from around the world
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crashed. The flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed on Sunday minutes after take off, killing all 157 on board. Ethiopian Airlines grounded its fleet of 737 Max-8s after the incident, with China following suit. The US planemaker is facing scrutiny after the second fatal 737 Max-8 crash in five months.
Venezuela restored some electricity. Authorities have restored spotty access since a massive power outage hit the country last week. President Nicolás Maduro said on Saturday 70% of electricity services had been resumed, until another cyberattack hit the country. Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó held dueling rallies in Caracas on Saturday.
India set its election dates. Polls for the lower house of parliament will be held on seven days in April and May, with results declared on May 23. Whichever party, or coalition of parties, wins a majority of 272 seats will elect the prime minister (paywall).
Matters of debate
The US should stay on daylight saving time permanently. It would lower crime, save energy, and encourage more outdoor recreation.
The “self-made billionaire” is a lie. A raft of research debunks the enduring myth.
The anxiety business is making us more anxious. Squishy toys and fidget spinners worth billions are commodifying our anxiety, not easing it.
Surprising discoveries
K-pop stars aren’t just from South Korea anymore. Labels are making the genre more global by featuring artists from other countries.
Medieval diseases are infecting California’s homeless. Illnesses like typhus and tuberculosis have flared up in recent years, turning a homelessness crisis into a public-health crisis.
A nine-year-old girl helped design Stephen Curry’s new sneaker. Riley Morrison’s work appears in the sock liner and includes phrases like “Girls Hoop Too.”
Our best wishes for an inspiring day in Austin. Please send any news, tips, and tech-worker confessions to Adam, Ashley, and Tim. The best way to keep up with news while you’re on the go is with the Quartz app.