19 hours Ago By Variety
Swarming bees, a story of sweet retribution, and a joyful, mandolin-playing Matthew McConaughey led “The Rivals of Amziah King” to a roaring standing ovation after its late night premiere at the SXSW Film & TV Festival on March 10. McConaughey introduced the film at the Paramount Theater by referencing Variety ’s recent interview that noted the Oscar-winning actor had not appeared in a film since 2019. More from Variety “I did not know — someone told me it’s been six years since I’d done a film or been on screen,” he said.
“Seemed like it’d been quicker than that. I was writing a book and stuff; I thought I was busy!” McConaughey said he was drawn to the idiosyncratic characters who populate the script by writer-director Andrew Patterson, which centers on the powerful bond between McConaughey’s titular Oklahoma beekeeper and his former foster child, Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass, in a striking debut), but also includes a sprawling ensemble of working class misfits. “It’s also kind of a musical!” McConaughey added.
“I didn’t know it was going to be such a musical until I saw it.” He wasn’t kidding: The film opens with a rousing folk music performance led by McConaughey outside of a local drive-in restaurant, the first of six live numbers that include much of the film’s cast performing their own instruments. “We would walk around just playing,” said Rob Morgan in the Q&A following the film.
“We made it our lifestyle on the set.” Those songs, matched with McConaughey’s effervescent performance, help to create an exuberant tone that lifts the film through its many unexpected plot turns, which make describing the overall story an exercise in futility. But Patterson and McConaughey both singled out an early scene — when Amziah brings Kateri back home and then cajoles her into singing along in a spontaneous jam session with several of his neighbors, which they performed live in the film — as emblematic of the movie’s overall vibe.
“There so much love, life and spirit in that scene,” McConaughey said. Added Patterson, “We’d practiced it, but it was that night where it took off, and Matthew started playing drums again on the table.” Asked about his favorite experience on the film, however, McConaughey singled out acting opposite LookingGlass.
“Angelina could do no wrong,” he said. “She just listened and responded honestly.” Morgan said getting to star in the movie at all was “a full circle dream come true,” because his very first movie, as a background extra, was in the 1997 sci-fi drama “Contact,” starring McConaughey opposite Jodie Foster.
“When I saw that on screen, it just really gave me the ambition to pursue this craft as a career,” he said. Morgan told McConaughey about their connection during a break in filming on “Amziah King.” “And he said, ‘Yeah man, for 30 years, I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing to be here acting with you ,'” Morgan said.
“That’s why I will always remember this movie.” Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
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