SXSW2024: ‘Magic City: An American Fantasy’ Red Carpet Slideshow

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Killer Mike and ‘Magic City’ creator Cole Brown (right).

AUSTIN, TX – The Red Carpet traditions at SXSW take on a different intensity, and the cast and production crew of “Magic City: An American Fantasy” walked the walk on March 12th, 2024. The documentary series is about a famous strip club in Atlanta that became a hangout for celebrities. One of the narrators in the doc is Atlanta’s own Killer Mike, and he was there.

In 1985, phone salesman Michael Barney — friends call him Mr. Magic — puts his slick-talking gift to work, opening a small strip club in Atlanta. He plays DJ, bartender, and bouncer while his only dancer separates men from their money. But soon, the celebrities arrive. Athletes from Michael Jordan to Shaquille O’Neal clamber to the club, DC The Brain Supreme mints an iconic hit record from the DJ booth, and Outkast tests songs by watching the girls dance. Within a few years, Magic City would become the most famous strip club in Atlanta, and soon, the world. But when Mr. Magic gets sent away to federal prison, the empire he’s built may crumble.

Atlanta and the legacy of Magic City was represented on the carpet with Killer Mike, a rapper and social activist from ATL … having a huge year so far. DC the Brain Supreme AKA Cecil Glenn is part of the hip-hop duo Tag Team, who wrote and performed the legendary song ‘Whoomp (There it Is).’ Jami Gertz, besides being a fabulous acting icon from the 1980s and beyond, is married to the owner of the Atlanta Hawks. Also representing on the carpet was entrepreneur Matt James of ‘The Bachelor’ and his old buddy (from college) Tyler Cameron. Cameron’s appearance on “The Bachelorette” led to James’ being designated as the first African American “Bachelor’ in the show’s history.

Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual celebrity photo with the captioned links below. All photos © Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

1. 1SXSW2024: Killer Mike and ‘Magic City’ creator Cole Brown (right).
2. 2SXSW2024: ‘Magic City’ Executive Producer Jami Gertz.
3. 3SXSW2024: ‘Magic City’ Director Charles Todd and Legendary DC The Brain Supreme.
4. 4SXSW2024: Entrepreneur Matt James of ‘The Bachelor.’
5. 5SXSW2024: Friends Matt James and Tyler Cameron (‘The Bachelorette’).

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Critic/Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com