The Lone Star Film Festival Announces Its Lineup and It’s Big

Let’s get right down to business: The Lone Star Film Festival announced its 2015 lineup, and it’s big. Lsat year they screened It Follows, The Babadook, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Great Invisible, The Imitation Game, Mr. Turner, Wild, Winter Sleep and The Tribe. Some of these films were nominated for an Academy Award, but all were among the most talked about films of last year and made it to critics' top 10 lists. They are universally loved, and fans are still jawing It Follows and The Babadook today. William Friedkin even championed The Babadook on Twitter, saying: “I’ve never seen a more terrifying film than THE BABADOOK. It will scare the hell out of you as it did me.” I sure hope writer/director Jennifer Kent has this etched on her gravestone. Hell, I may put it on mine just so people know that this woman’s first feature frightened the man who made The Exorcist, a movie that still haunts and terrorizes 42 years after it was made.

This year’s lineup looks to be as successful as last year's. Of the 37 films announced, here are some highlights: Krisha (also playing at VideoFest); Carol (based on the novel The Price of Salt by Fort Worth native Patricia Highsmith, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, and directed by Maestro Todd Haynes); The Adderall Diaries with James Franco and Amber Heard; Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa, which just won over pretty much everyone at Telluride, TIFF and Fantastic Fest; Back in Time, a documentary on the impact of the beloved Back to the Future; Reed Morano’s directorial debut Meadowland (which is currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes) with Olivia Wilde, Juno Temple, and an actress we need way more of, Elisabeth Moss; Mojave with Mark Wahlberg; Night Owls, which made a splash at SXSW and is quite good; the rom-com Tumbledown with Joe Manganiello, Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis and Blythe Danner (who may soon be nominated for an Oscar for her terrific performance in I'll See You in My Dreams); When I Live My Life Over Again with Christopher motherfucking Walken and Amber Heard; and Cash Only, which will put you on the edge of your seat, so hang on tight.

Did your head explode? I hope not ... death by festival announcement would be a weird way to go. On the other hand, you’d be the only person on earth to die that way, so you’d be remembered forever. (At least until the next iPhone release.)

The ninth annual Lone Star Film Festival runs November 5-8. Grab an all-access badge before the price goes up. For the full lineup, head here.