Multihyphenate Georgia native Danny McBride is set for a hero’s welcome when he attends the state’s Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) in November.
The festival, based in Floyd County’s biggest city, will present The Righteous Gemstones writer and actor with its 2026 Flannery O’Connor Award during the festival’s 23rd edition running from November 5 to 8.
Created in memory of late Savannah-born writer Flannery O’Connor, the award recognizes artists whose work embodies “the bold, distinctive and enduring spirit” of Southern storytelling.
McBride was nominated by filmmaker and 2025 Flannery O’Connor Award recipient Jerusha Hess, with support from RIFF leadership, including Executive Creative Director Seth Ingram. He is the sixth recipient of the honor and the first Georgia-born filmmaker to receive the award after Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Tim Blake Nelson and 2025 recipient Jerusha Hess.
Working under the banner of Rough House Pictures, McBride has built a body of work that blends sharp comedy, social commentary and characters while reaching audiences around the world. A native of Statesboro, Georgia, he has consistently drawn upon the culture, contradictions and eccentricities of the American South in creating stories that are both deeply regional and universally resonant
Best known as the co-creator, writer, executive producer and star of HBO’s Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones, with film credits including Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Up in the Air, Alien: Covenant, and This Is the End, McBride is on a roll right now.
Aside from the success of his newly released book, Thrilling Tales of Modern Men, which debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list in its first week of publication, McBride has a recently been tapped to write the next G.I. Joe movie at Paramount.
During his time at RIFF, McBride will participate in a career retrospective and live In Conversation masterclass, offering audiences a behind-the-scenes look at his creative process, career trajectory and approach to storytelling.
“Few contemporary storytellers have shaped the cultural conversation around the South as powerfully and fearlessly as Danny McBride,” said Ingram.
“His work is hilarious, provocative and deeply human. Like Flannery O’Connor, Danny understands that the South is a place filled with contradictions, larger-than-life personalities, humor, heartbreak and unexpected grace. Both artists challenge audiences to look beyond stereotypes and confront deeper truths about family, faith, ambition and identity.”
O’Connor, whose life was explored in Ethan Hawke’s 2023 film Wildcat, is best known for her collections of short stories such as A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories, and novels including Wise Blood, which was adapted to the big screen by John Huston, and The Violent Bear It Away.
“Growing up in the South shaped my perspective as a storyteller in ways I’m still discovering,” McBride said. “Flannery O’Connor’s voice is one of the most important and distinctive in Southern literature, so being connected to her legacy through this award is incredibly meaningful.”
The Flannery O’Connor Award name is used with permission from the Mary Flannery O’Connor Charitable Trust.
English (US) ·