Trent Reznor, Janelle Monae, Judd Apatow, Many More Join SXSW Keynote and Speaker Lineup

Jem Aswad
·5 min read

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South by Southwest’s speaker lineup is always an embarrassment of riches and this year is no exception, as the festival’s final round of keynotes and featured speakers includes Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Damon Lindelof, St. Vincent, Carrie Brownstein, Janelle Monáe, Lulu Wang, Soo-Man Lee, and Capitol Music Group’s Michelle Jubelirer. They join Judd Apatow, Noam Chomsky, Jameela Jamil, Rashida Jones, Spike Jonze, Kim Kardashian West, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Julianne Moore and lots more.

The South by Southwest music, film and technology conferences take place March 13-22 in Austin, Texas, as always. Dates and times for all of the Keynote and Featured Sessions have also been added to the online schedule.

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The Keynotes announced today include Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — who also comprise Nine Inch Nails, which will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this Spring — in conversation with writer, producer and showrunner of the HBO series Watchmen Damon Lindelof; Multiple Grammy-Award winning musician, actress, producer, director, and writer St. Vincent a/k/a Annie Clark in conversation with musician, actress, writer, and director Carrie Brownstein; eight-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, activist, star of the second season of Amazon’s critically acclaimed series Homecoming and the upcoming film Antebellum Janelle Monáe; filmmaker, and writer and director of the Golden Globe nominated film The Farewell Lulu Wang; SM Entertainment founder Soo-Man Lee in conversation with Capitol Music Group COO Michelle Jubelirer; Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore has been added to a conversation with founding member and creative force for Pink Floyd, Roger Waters; Executive Director of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation Cat Packer in conversation with Cannabis Doing Good and kindColorado president and founder Kelly Perez.

“Today’s announcement is one of the most significant we’ve made in the 34 year history of SXSW,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “The Keynote and Featured Speakers added to the lineup are can’t-miss luminaries who are headed here to share the theories, strategies, and motivation behind their success. We’re honored to share the whole of this year’s stellar conference schedule with our attendees. There’s definitely something for everyone at the 2020 event.”

Previously-announced Keynote Speakers include Gabo Arora (Convergence), Erin Lee Carr (Film), Diplo (Music), Reggie Fils-Aimé (Convergence), Kim Gordon (Music), Laurene Powell Jobs (Convergence), Roger Waters (Music), and Whitney Wolfe Herd and Jon Korngold with Gayle King (Interactive).

Newly-announced Featured Speakers include:

  • Director and comedian Judd Apatow will interview Emmy and Peabody Award-winning host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, best selling author, producer, and comedian Stephen Colbert (Film & TV Industry)

  • Former Microsoft CEO and founder of the non-partisan and non-profit USAFacts, the most comprehensive online source of American government data Steve Ballmer (Government & Politics)

  • Founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer in conversation with Politico federal cannabis policy reporter Natalie Fertig (Cannabusiness)

  • Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona Noam Chomsky, with senior columnist at The Intercept and host of the Deconstructed podcast, Mehdi Hassan (Government & Politics)

  • Multitalented comedians, authors of the upcoming book God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx, and co-hosts of Showtime’s first late-night talk show Desus and Mero as well as the long-running Bodega Boys podcast Desus Nice and The Kid Mero (Connection & Culture)

  • Multi-platinum rapper, comedian, producer, writer, and star of FXX’s DAVE Dave Burd in conversation with director and Dave co-creator, executive producer and writer Jeff Schaffer (Making Film & Episodics)

  • Venture capitalist and leading spokesperson for Bitcoin, Blockchain, ICOs, and cryptocurrencies, as well as the founder of Draper Associates Tim Draper (Startups)

  • CEO and Founder of Platoon Denzyl Feigelson (Future of Music)

  • Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and creator, writer and director of the upcoming FX on Hulu limited series Devs, Alex Garland (Making Film and Episodics)

  • CEO of Verizon Media Guru Gowrappan (Tech Industry & Enterprise)

  • Since the 80s co-founder and head of marketing, Kei Henderson (Creating & Monetizing Music)

  • Electronic musician and composer Holly Herndon (Future of Music)

  • Award-winning writer and publisher of the Water & Music newsletter Cherie Hu (Future of Music)

  • Academy Award-winning filmmaker and director of Apple’s upcoming documentary feature Beastie Boys Story, Spike Jonze (Making Film & Episodics)

  • CEO and co-founder of 300 Entertainment and author Kevin Liles (Future of Music)

  • One of the world’s most respected film critics and historians, and author of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin with his daughter and co-host of the Maltin on Movies podcast, Jessie Maltin (Film & TV Industry)

  • Grammy Award-winning musician and cultural icon Ozzy Osbourne and television star Jack Osbourne in conversation with comedian, radio personality, author and actor Jim Norton (Connection & Culture)

  • Founder and CEO of DropLabs and former CEO of Beats By Dre Susan Paley (Future of Music)

  • Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chairman and CEO Jon Platt (Future of Music)

  • Acclaimed country singer-songwriter Margo Price (Creating & Monetizing Music)

  • Actor, writer, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author, Jason Segel, the creator and star of the new AMC drama Dispatches from Elsewhere (Making Film & Episodics)

  • Journalist, author, television producer, and creator of the HBO series The Wire and upcoming limited HBO series The Plot Against America, David Simon (Making Film & Episodics)

  • Executive Chairman of S4 Capital Sir Martin Sorrell (Advertising & Brand Experience)

  • Multi-talented comedy writer & performer, creator, star, and executive producer of HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show Robin Thede, in conversation with Fast Company associate editor KC Ifeanyi (Film & TV Industry)

  • Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri (Sports)

  • Acclaimed anime and film director Shinichirō Watanabe, director of Carole and Tuesday, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and most recently Blade Runner Blackout 2022 (Making Film & Episodics)

 

There’s more happening at SXSW than any human could experience — check sxsw.com for details.

 

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