Jane Fonda, Demi Moore, Serena Williams, Andy Cohen Set SXSW Keynote Conversations
SXSW has enlisted boldface names, including Jane Fonda, Demi Moore, Serena Williams, Keke Palmer and Andy Cohen, to deliver keynote addresses at the annual Austin-set festival.
This year’s edition will be held from March 12-18. Among the films slated to premiere are horror comedy “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” Boots Riley’s comedic look at professional shoplifters “I Love Boosters” and John Carney’s “Power Ballad” with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas as a past-his-prime wedding singer and a young rockstar. On the TV side, there’s David E. Kelley‘s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” an adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s bestselling novel led by Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman and Nicole Kidman, as well as the long-awaited Season 3 premiere of “The Comeback” from Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow.
“SXSW has always been the ultimate convergence of culture and innovation, but this announcement takes it to a new level,” said Greg Rosenbaum, senior VP of programming at SXSW. “Between the business moguls, the political giants, and the entertainment legends our team has assembled, the collective star power coming to SXSW might actually be visible from space.”
See below for SXSW’s description of the newly added keynotes and featured sessions:
Say It Louder: Artists, Activism & the First Amendment—In this Keynote, Committee for the First Amendment founder Jane Fonda, comedian W. Kamau Bell and the ACLU’s Jessica Weitz discuss the vital link between culture and action, sharing how the First Amendment empowers artists to challenge power and how every individual can take concrete action to protect free speech when democracy is at stake.
A Talk About Life, Sibling Rivalry and The Lonely Island—Do you like discussions about art, comedy and music? So do we! Join Jorma Taccone and Asa Taccone, two Emmy Award winning brothers (for Dick In A Box, don’t get too excited), as they discuss their work together with The Lonely Island, Electric Guest and a gang of other topics, probably. Be there or be square, nerd!
Baby, This is Keke Palmer Live—Join Keke Palmer and the cast of I Love Boosters, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Eiza González, Poppy Liu and Demi Moore, for a live podcast recording of her hit podcast, Baby, this is Keke Palmer.
Bob Odenkirk: Entering His Action Hero Phase and the State of Action Films with the Team Behind NORMAL—Collider’s Perri Nemiroff joins Bob Odenkirk, director Ben Wheatley, writer Derek Kolstad and producer Marc Provissiero to discuss their kinetic neo-Western action film, exploring the future of the genre and Odenkirk’s evolution into an undeniable action lead.
Breaking Barriers, Building Solutions: Meet the Changemakers Transforming Health Innovation—Presented by Serena Williams and Reckitt Catalyst, this conversation spotlights underrepresented founders reshaping health through community-driven innovation and scalable change: Catherine Casey Nanda, Kwamane Liddell, Mika Eddy and Ryan Dullea.
Chaos, Craft, and Chris Fleming—Fresh off his HBO special, Chris Fleming brings his fearless, absurdly precise comedy universe to SXSW for a celebratory deep dive into the creative process and wild physicality behind his singular storytelling.
Clips & Conversation with Riz Ahmed on BAIT—Join Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed for a preview and live conversation around his upcoming Prime Video comedy series, BAIT, about a struggling actor who auditions for the role of a lifetime, only to see his life spiral out of control over four frenetic days.
Founder-Led Growth: Turning Audience Signal into AI-Powered Commerce—Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, cofounders of shopping agent Phia, share their experience building an AI-native commerce app while prioritizing meaningful community engagement to inform product roadmap.
Matt Strauss & Andy Cohen: Community, Culture & the Future of Entertainment—Matt Strauss and Andy Cohen, in conversation with S.E. Cupp, will explore the evolution of entertainment beyond platforms, exploring how immersive experiences and fandom-building transform shows into expansive worlds and viewers into active participants.
Networth and Chill with guest Governor Gavin Newsom—Join Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu for a live-taping of her podcast, Networth & Chill, where she gets up close and personal about the good, bad, and ugly of how money impacts our lives. In this special episode on the SXSW Keynote stage, Vivian will interview Governor Gavin Newsom about why politics matters for our pocketbooks.
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes: Out of the Kitchen, Into the Comic—Following the success of Feeding Dangerously, a graphic novel about his humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, José Andrés will sit down with writer Steve Orlando and Marvel Comics editor Nick Lowe to discuss the universal appeal of food and comics.
Play It Live: How Livestreaming is Rewriting the Rules of Music—Twitch’s Head of Community Mary Kish sits down with Tierra Whack and DJ Dave to explore how artists are bypassing algorithms to redefine the music industry, utilizing live streaming as a real-time studio, stage, and fan hub that prioritizes authentic, collaborative creation.
This year’s edition will be held from March 12-18. Among the films slated to premiere are horror comedy “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” Boots Riley’s comedic look at professional shoplifters “I Love Boosters” and John Carney’s “Power Ballad” with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas as a past-his-prime wedding singer and a young rockstar. On the TV side, there’s David E. Kelley‘s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” an adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s bestselling novel led by Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman and Nicole Kidman, as well as the long-awaited Season 3 premiere of “The Comeback” from Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow.
“SXSW has always been the ultimate convergence of culture and innovation, but this announcement takes it to a new level,” said Greg Rosenbaum, senior VP of programming at SXSW. “Between the business moguls, the political giants, and the entertainment legends our team has assembled, the collective star power coming to SXSW might actually be visible from space.”
See below for SXSW’s description of the newly added keynotes and featured sessions:
Say It Louder: Artists, Activism & the First Amendment—In this Keynote, Committee for the First Amendment founder Jane Fonda, comedian W. Kamau Bell and the ACLU’s Jessica Weitz discuss the vital link between culture and action, sharing how the First Amendment empowers artists to challenge power and how every individual can take concrete action to protect free speech when democracy is at stake.
A Talk About Life, Sibling Rivalry and The Lonely Island—Do you like discussions about art, comedy and music? So do we! Join Jorma Taccone and Asa Taccone, two Emmy Award winning brothers (for Dick In A Box, don’t get too excited), as they discuss their work together with The Lonely Island, Electric Guest and a gang of other topics, probably. Be there or be square, nerd!
Baby, This is Keke Palmer Live—Join Keke Palmer and the cast of I Love Boosters, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Eiza González, Poppy Liu and Demi Moore, for a live podcast recording of her hit podcast, Baby, this is Keke Palmer.
Bob Odenkirk: Entering His Action Hero Phase and the State of Action Films with the Team Behind NORMAL—Collider’s Perri Nemiroff joins Bob Odenkirk, director Ben Wheatley, writer Derek Kolstad and producer Marc Provissiero to discuss their kinetic neo-Western action film, exploring the future of the genre and Odenkirk’s evolution into an undeniable action lead.
Breaking Barriers, Building Solutions: Meet the Changemakers Transforming Health Innovation—Presented by Serena Williams and Reckitt Catalyst, this conversation spotlights underrepresented founders reshaping health through community-driven innovation and scalable change: Catherine Casey Nanda, Kwamane Liddell, Mika Eddy and Ryan Dullea.
Chaos, Craft, and Chris Fleming—Fresh off his HBO special, Chris Fleming brings his fearless, absurdly precise comedy universe to SXSW for a celebratory deep dive into the creative process and wild physicality behind his singular storytelling.
Clips & Conversation with Riz Ahmed on BAIT—Join Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed for a preview and live conversation around his upcoming Prime Video comedy series, BAIT, about a struggling actor who auditions for the role of a lifetime, only to see his life spiral out of control over four frenetic days.
Founder-Led Growth: Turning Audience Signal into AI-Powered Commerce—Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, cofounders of shopping agent Phia, share their experience building an AI-native commerce app while prioritizing meaningful community engagement to inform product roadmap.
Matt Strauss & Andy Cohen: Community, Culture & the Future of Entertainment—Matt Strauss and Andy Cohen, in conversation with S.E. Cupp, will explore the evolution of entertainment beyond platforms, exploring how immersive experiences and fandom-building transform shows into expansive worlds and viewers into active participants.
Networth and Chill with guest Governor Gavin Newsom—Join Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu for a live-taping of her podcast, Networth & Chill, where she gets up close and personal about the good, bad, and ugly of how money impacts our lives. In this special episode on the SXSW Keynote stage, Vivian will interview Governor Gavin Newsom about why politics matters for our pocketbooks.
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes: Out of the Kitchen, Into the Comic—Following the success of Feeding Dangerously, a graphic novel about his humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, José Andrés will sit down with writer Steve Orlando and Marvel Comics editor Nick Lowe to discuss the universal appeal of food and comics.
Play It Live: How Livestreaming is Rewriting the Rules of Music—Twitch’s Head of Community Mary Kish sits down with Tierra Whack and DJ Dave to explore how artists are bypassing algorithms to redefine the music industry, utilizing live streaming as a real-time studio, stage, and fan hub that prioritizes authentic, collaborative creation.