Prairie Home Companion will open SxSW film fest

[PDittie]

"A Prairie Home Companion," director Robert Altman's screen adaptation of the longtime Garrison Keillor radio program, will open this year's South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas.

The movie, featuring Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan and Keillor himself, will make its North American premiere on March 10, festival organizers said Monday. The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters in June.

"I can't think of a more perfect opening night film than 'A Prairie Home Companion,'" said festival producer Matt Dentler. "Not only do you have great masters like Robert Altman and Garrison Keillor involved, but it's also a celebration of entertainment and the creative spirit."

The South by Southwest film festival, scheduled to run through March 18, also will feature the United States premiere of "The Notorious Bettie Page," starring Gretchen Mol as the famed pin-up girl; "loudQUIETloud: A Film About Pixies," a documentary about the rock band the Pixies' reunion tour; and "The King," starring William Hurt and Gael Garcia Bernal in a family drama set in small-town Texas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060102/ap_en_mo/film_south_by_southwest