Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon SXSW appearances cancelled

March 5, 2020

Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were scheduled to give an SXSW keynote address related to their collaboration on the score of HBO’s Watchmen, but it’s been cancelled. WarnerMedia is one of many high-profile companies to drop out of SXSW 2020 due to concerns over the coronavirus, and with their departure, the panels and events they were involved in are off. “As a precaution, WarnerMedia has decided it best not to move forward with activations at SXSW,” CNN Communications said in a tweet. “We look forward to seeing everyone in Austin next year.”

Trent and Atticus addressed the cancellation in a tweet of their own, writing, “we’re sorry we won’t be giving our Watchmen keynote at SXSW this year (because we had some surprises in store!) However, it was the right decision. We will see you soon – be safe and smart. -T+A.”

Kumail Nanjiani and his “Big Sick” creative partner and wife Emily Gordon were also SXSW-bound (as SXSW just announced on March 3rd), set to participate in a discussion at SXSW about their Apple+ sitcom Little America, and with Apple out of the festival (as of March 4th), their appearance is cancelled too. “Sorry Austin,” Emily tweeted, “SXSW is one of my favorite festivals, but I’m happy that Apple decided to pull out- both selfishly, for my immunodeficient self, and for the public’s sake.”

Replying to his decision to pull out of a separate event — a live read of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in Los Angeles – Kumail tweeted, “I live with an immunocompromised person so I need to be extra careful and avoid crowds right now. I need to do everything I can to protect those I love.”

Despite the mounting number of cancellations, SXSW is still on for this year. That includes keynote addresses from Kim Gordon, Roger Waters and Michael Moore, Janelle Monae, St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein, and Diplo, ~~as well as an appearance from featured speaker Ozzy Osbourne, all of which are set to go ahead as planned~~. UPDATE: Ozzy is out too.

We’re sorry we won’t be giving our Watchmen keynote at SXSW this year (because we had some surprises in store!) However, it was the right decision. We will see you soon – be safe and smart.
-T+Ahttps://t.co/LTCW1GsZzb

— nine inch nails (@nineinchnails) March 5, 2020