10 Hotly Anticipated SXSW Movies You Need To See In 2014

By G.Y. Haney /

3. Chef

Already deemed "Avengers in a kitchen", Chef sees writer/director Jon Favreau returning to his indie roots... only this time he's brought along his super-friends. Filmed in Miami, New Orleans, and Austin, Chef tells the story of Carl Casper, who, upon failing to launch a successful restaurant in the L.A. scene, returns to his hometown of Miami to fix up a food truck and drive it back to Cali to try and regain glory. The film co-stars Avenger-alums Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, as well as Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, and Sofia Vergara. Favreau, who made a splash as an actor in the 1996 indie classic Swingers, made the transition to director in 2001 with the appropriately titled Made and has since gone on to helm successful blockbusters such as Elf, Iron Man, and Cowboys And Aliens. It will be interesting to see him tackle something small scale again, and so far the buzz around the flick has been overall positive, with one reviewer calling it "probably the best 'foodie' since Ratatouille".