SXSW Film Fest 2008 announces panels and workshops

by John P. Meyer

Austin movie mania event lassos the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Helen Hunt and Dwight Yoakam.

The lineup of films has already been announced for this year's SXSW Film Conference and Festival, and now we're getting a look at the agenda for the panels-and-workshops portion of the Austin-based week-long movie-themed wing-ding.

The conference events will be limited to the four days of March 8 - 11; highlights announced thus far include:

* A conversation with Billy Bob Thornton & Dwight Yoakam (March 11)

* Coming Soon: The Making of a Trailer (March 10)

* An Actor's Workshop with Jeffrey Tambor (March 9)

* Drugs, Politics, and Race: A Harold & Kumar Panel (March 8)

* What the Writer's Strike Taught Us (also on March 8)

* A Conversation with Harlan Ellison (date not specified)

* Stanley Nelson: History in the Making (March 9)

* A Conversation with Helen Hunt (March 9)

The final event in the conference lineup will be a March 11 afternoon "Conversation with Moby," featuring a Doreen Ringer-Ross-helmed interview with that well-known musician and film composer.

For more additional information and updates, visit the SXSW Film Conference web page.