Magic Gathering at SXSW Film

Steve Buscemi (left) as Anton and Steve Carell as Burt in New Line Cinema’s comedy 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release (photo by John P. Johnson)

Siegfried and Roy, meet Steve and Steve – Carell and Buscemi, that is. They’ll be starring as two Vegas strip illusionists in spring comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, just announced as the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival’s Opening Night Film. The festival runs March 8-13.

Written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein and directed by TV vet Don Scardino (30 Rock), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone pairs Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi as a longtime act threatened by the arrival of an upstart magician played by Jim Carrey. Alan Arkin and Olivia Wilde costar, and David Copperfield served as both technical adviser and, reportedly, the engineer of an elaborate, climactic, no-camera-trickery-involved magic stunt.

Also announced today was a mix of programming that hits a lot of SXSW’s sweet spots. Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez’s new remake of Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic, will premiere in a town known for rollicking genre enthusiasm – and, forewarning, righteous bite-back when disappointed (meaning: don’t eff this up, guys). Fest favorite Joe Swanberg returns with Drinking Buddies – and his biggest name cast to date (Anna Kendrick, Jake Johnson, Ron Livingston, and Olivia Wilde again). Indie film provocateur Harmony Korine will unspool Spring Breakers, aka the movie that put James Franco in cornrows and Disney Channel alum Vanessa Hudgens in a very un-Disneylike three-way. British indie Everyone’s Going to Die will cross the pond for its premiere, while Music badgeholders will want to queue up for Downloaded, Alex Winter’s documentary look at Napster, and Good Ol’ Freda, Ryan White’s documentary about the Beatles’ secretary Freda Kelly.

The complete festival lineup will be announced Jan. 31, excluding the Midnighter features and Shorts lineup, which drops Feb. 6. For more badge info, SXSW Film Conference teasers (including a Conversation with Matthew McConaughey, and more, see sxsw.com/film.