Photo: Matt Lankes

AUSTIN – Typically at SXSW, the Interactive crowd spends time at panels while the filmgoers congregate in the theaters. On Friday night, the two groups got together for a common interest: The Two Bobs. The film is the latest from Austin director Tim McCanlies and focuses on pair of video game developers who design a killer game, only to have it stolen soon after it’s completed. The bulk of the movie is spent following the title characters as they try to hunt down their game while also learning what life is like outside of the office.

It’s funny in parts and profane throughout – a film about gaming culture that Kevin Smith might have made. Which is interesting, because McCanlies is known primarily for making family fare like Secondhand Lions and Dancer, Texas Pop. 81.

He told the audience after the screening at the Austin Convention Center that even the actors were caught off-guard.

“They kept coming up to my wife saying, ‘Your husband did Secondhand Lions?!?’,” he said. “I guess with all those family films, the language was just pent up.”

The Two Bobs is coming to AFI Dallas and will screen April 1 and 2. If you are one of those gamers who celebrates the nerdier aspects of that culture, be sure to check it out.