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Multihyphenate Georgia autochthonal Danny McBride is group for a hero’s invited erstwhile he attends nan state’s Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) successful November.
The festival, based successful Floyd County’s biggest city, will coming The Righteous Gemstones writer and character pinch its 2026 Flannery O’Connor Award during nan festival’s 23rd version moving from November 5 to 8.
Created successful representation of precocious Savannah-born writer Flannery O’Connor, nan grant recognizes artists whose activity embodies “the bold, unique and enduring spirit” of Southern storytelling.
McBride was nominated by filmmaker and 2025 Flannery O’Connor Award recipient Jerusha Hess, pinch support from RIFF leadership, including Executive Creative Director Seth Ingram. He is nan sixth recipient of nan grant and nan first Georgia-born filmmaker to person nan grant aft Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Tim Blake Nelson and 2025 recipient Jerusha Hess.
Working nether nan banner of Rough House Pictures, McBride has built a assemblage of activity that blends crisp comedy, societal commentary and characters while reaching audiences astir nan world. A autochthonal of Statesboro, Georgia, he has consistently drawn upon nan culture, contradictions and eccentricities of nan American South successful creating stories that are some profoundly location and universally resonant
Best known arsenic nan co-creator, writer, executive shaper and prima of HBO’s Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, pinch movie credits including Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Up successful nan Air, Alien: Covenant, and This Is nan End, McBride is connected a rotation correct now.
Aside from nan occurrence of his recently released book, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men, which debuted connected The New York Times Best Seller database in its first week of publication, McBride has a precocious been tapped to constitute nan next G.I. Joe movie astatine Paramount.
During his clip astatine RIFF, McBride will participate successful a profession retrospective and unrecorded In Conversation masterclass, offering audiences a behind-the-scenes look astatine his imaginative process, profession trajectory and attack to storytelling.
“Few modern storytellers person shaped nan taste speech astir nan South arsenic powerfully and fearlessly arsenic Danny McBride,” said Ingram.
“His activity is hilarious, provocative and profoundly human. Like Flannery O’Connor, Danny understands that nan South is simply a spot filled pinch contradictions, larger-than-life personalities, humor, heartbreak and unexpected grace. Both artists situation audiences to look beyond stereotypes and face deeper truths astir family, faith, ambition and identity.”
O’Connor, whose life was explored successful Ethan Hawke’s 2023 movie Wildcat, is champion known for her collections of short stories specified arsenic A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories, and novels including Wise Blood, which was adapted to nan large surface by John Huston, and The Violent Bear It Away.
“Growing up successful nan South shaped my position arsenic a storyteller successful ways I’m still discovering,” McBride said. “Flannery O’Connor’s sound is 1 of nan astir important and unique successful Southern literature, truthful being connected to her bequest done this grant is incredibly meaningful.”
The Flannery O’Connor Award sanction is utilized pinch support from nan Mary Flannery O’Connor Charitable Trust.
