I simply can’t believe it: Mel Gibson’s next film to debut at Texas festival

Organizers of the Austin, Texas, multimedia entertainment festival announced Thursday that “The Beaver” will be one of five films that will have their international premieres at the event, commonly known as SXSW. Jodie Foster directed and co-stars in “The Beaver,” which features Gibson as a troubled family man trying to cope with help from an unusual friend – a beaver puppet he wears on his hand. SXSW producer Janet Pierson says: “Each of these films really showcases an artist stretching his or her wings in some way, whether it be a late-night talk show host taking his act on the road, an actress-filmmaker carefully and beautifully tackling a heartbreaking subject in her finest work yet, or a successful photographer trying out a new medium in a new landscape.” It hits theaters everywhere else April 8th. The movies include big names such as Conan O’Brien , Jason Bateman , Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen , but the name that is likely to attract the most attention is Mel Gibson . We’ll be VERY curious to see how it’s received at the festival! The doc follows Conan around on the 32-city tour he used to keep himself busy while his contractual obligations to NBC wouldnt allow him to be on television. SXSW film spokeswoman Rebecca Feferman said Foster will attend the premiere when it is shown in the festival’s “centerpiece” slot. Gibson’s publicist, Alan Nierob, said in an e-mail that he did not yet know whether the 55-year-old Academy-Award winner would make an appearance.