Craig's Premiere at SXSW

Before I get into all the food I ate in Austin, I just have to share with you how exhilarating it was to be at the premiere of Craig's movie, True Adolescents, at SXSW. Having been there at the very beginning of the project--remember when we scouted locations on The Olympic Peninsula?--it was amazing to sit in a darkened movie theater, every seat full (they turned almost 50 people away at both screenings) and to see the words "written & directed by Craig Johnson" projected on the giant screen. It was even better to feel the audience reaction afterwards.

That's Craig surrounded by his adoring fans and family. And this is the line around the block for his movie:

And here's Craig with his actors (and someone in the middle who isn't in the movie):

By all accounts, the movie was a big hit at the festival. Here are some articles about it, in case you're curious:

- Spoutblog writes: "it’s faced-paced and fun, and it’ll definitely play to the Alamo Drafthouse’s queso and beer crowd — and, if marketed right, to the wider world."

- Indiewire: "Craig Johnson’s Seattle-based coming-of-age dramedy is smart and fun, with a killer performance by Mark Duplass."

- We Are Movie Geeks writes: "Emotional as it is funny, the film provides a nice stage of a coming of age story for its superb actors to show their stuff."

- Finally, the movie got a mention on David Carr's New York Times ArtsBeat Blog, which describes the scene at a party: "There was also plenty of talent in the concrete entryway of the place. Joe Swanberg, the director of 'Alexander the Last,' was chatting with Craig Johnson, who directed 'True Adolescents,' a comedy starring Mark Duplass that played very well here."

I'll definitely keep you posted as things develop and, if you just can't just get enough, I can exhaust you with updates on Twitter.