Focus Features has debuted a first clip from Jason Bateman’s feature directorial debut, Bad Words, which is now targeted to premiere at Austin’s SXSW on Friday, March 7th. Watch it in the player below and check out our newly-updated stills gallery in the viewer at the bottom of this page.
Bateman stars as Guy Trilby, a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee and decides to cause trouble by hijacking the competition. Contest officials, outraged parents, and overly ambitious 8th graders are no match for Guy, as he ruthlessly crushes their dreams of victory and fame. As a reporter (Kathryn Hahn) attempts to discover his true motivation, Guy finds himself forging an unlikely alliance with a competitor: awkward 10-year-old Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), who is completely unfazed by Guys take-no-prisoners approach to life.
Bad Words hits theaters in a limited release March 21 before expanding wide on March 28.
