Austin360 blogs > Austin Movie Blog > Archives > 2007 > March
March 2007
Check this, movie bloggers
Check out Matthew Odam’s latest entry in his blog “The M.O.” headlined “Moviemaker Dialogues: Film Bloggers Are Your Friends.” Good stuff right here.
Austin Film Festival news
The new parody of World War II training films “Military Intelligence and You!” screens at 7:30 p.m. April 5 at the Alamo Lake Creek as part of the Austin Film Festival screening series.
The film “cleverly combines new and vintage scenes to dramatize the important of intelligence, ‘for it is intelligence that distinguishes dangerous enemies,from merely annoying foreigners,’ ” says the description.
Free admission for AFF members; $4 for non-members.
The Austin Film Festival is also taking submissions for its Film, Screenplay and Teleplay Competitions, which have fast approaching deadlines.
Details at www.austinfilmfestival.com.
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Alamo Lake Creek blues
If you seek the singular Alamo Drafthouse Cinema experience, including top-notch projection and sound, you might pause before going way north to the Alamo Lake Creek on Research Blvd.
The picture is wan and dim. The sound has a tendency to konk out on one side of the theater during the movie, and if you alert an employee about it, nothing will be done to correct the very big problem.
Adding insult: The sole men’s bathroom at the venue is under renovation, so male patrons must exit the building and actually use Porta-Potties lined up on the sidewalk. Almost no explanation can make this scenario better or acceptable.
Plus, a male worker there last night, when asked directly where the manager was, nodded vaguely “over there” and called this patron “bro,” a grave sin, my brother.
For now, a big loud boo to Alamo Lake Creek.
Jack Valenti suffers stroke
CNN reports that Jack Valenti, the native Texan and former Lyndon Johnson aide who acted as president of the Motion Picture Association of America for almost four decades, succumbed to a stroke and was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Houston-born Valenti, 85, was educated at the University of Houston and Harvard Business School. In 1952, he launched the ad agency Weekley & Valenti, which handled the press during JFK’s assassination in Dallas in 1963. On the spot, LBJ hired Valenti as special assistant to the president.
Three years later, Valenti left to head the MPAA, helping to devise the much-criticized MPAA rating system — eventually G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17 — to rate films by age group.
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Wilson brothers’ movie to hit theaters — finally
I ran into Luke Wilson and his older brother (and “Bottle Rocket” co-star) Andrew Wilson at Guero’s last night, and Andrew told me that “The Wendell Baker Story,” the comedy he and Luke directed and Luke wrote, will finally get U.S. distribution in May.
It’s been two years since the film, starring Luke, Owen Wilson, Eva Mendes, Kris Kristofferson, Seymour Cassel and Harry Dean Stanton, had its world premiere at the Paramount Theatre during SXSW. Andrew seemed excited that their movie, at last, would be seen more widely. It will play in Austin, he added.
See the IMDB entry on “The Wendell Baker Story” here.
Luke and Andrew on the “Wendell Baker” set
SXSW doc ‘Fish Kill Flea’ will be back
“Fish Kill Flea,” a little dream of a documentary that we fell in lasting love with during SXSW, is playing the Austin Film Society’s Documentary Tour on April 11.
The doc follows the vendors and customers of a flea market that’s taken up residence at an abandoned mall in Fishkill, N.Y. It’s funny, strange and mesmerizing, and (this is key) it contains the image of dogs riding a horse. Just try getting that from your basic summer blockbuster.
Filmmakers Brian Cassidy, Aaron Hillis and Jennifer Loeber will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Downtown. Tickets are $4 for AFS members and students, $6 for everyone else. They’re available at the AFS Web site.
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Cine Las Americas is almost here
Passes are on sale for the 10th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, which unfurls with scores of movies April 19 — 26.
Francisco Vargas Quevedo’s multi-award-winning Mexican drama “El Violin” kicks things off April 19 at the Paramount.
Filled with special programs, guest appearances, talks and Q and As, Cine Las Americas boasts new films from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Spain, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the United States with a strong representation of Ibero-American, Afro-Latino and indigenous cultures.
Get passes, locations and the full lineup at Cine Las Americas.
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Join the ‘Pack
Indie moviemakers can submit their work to the Austin-based Wolfpack, which will be holding screenings at Nuno’s and The Oaks six days a week, beginning Wednesday. For details, go here.
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Students hit the celluloid highway
Heads up, young auteurs: Student Films Across America, calling itself the first-ever traveling student-run film festival, is coming to the Dobie on July 15. The nomadic show screens the best high school and college student films in 50 college towns across the States and Canada.
The tour’s film competition is open and submissions are welcome. Go to SFAA for the skinny.
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Austinite’s war doc up for big honors
Austinite Don Craven Jr.’s documentary “World War IV” has been nominated for the Chicago International Documentary Film Festival’s Grand Prix Award. The film about the Iraq war is one of 13 films out of more than 150 nominated for the award. The two-week fest runs through April 12 in Chicago.
Craven tells us he’s a former member of Governor George W. Bush’s Governor’s Circle. He says the film is a right-of-center debate on the Iraq War and the “War on Terror” featuring interviews with prominent military, religious, intelligence, and political leaders.
Congrats, and best of luck, Don.
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Roky rocks movie theaters
Austin rock legend Roky Erickson will get the big screen treatment when last year’s hailed doc about his, er, rocky life, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” enjoys a national release.
Says The Hollywood Reporter: “Palm Pictures has bought North American rights to the documentary … which chronicles the drug addiction and schizophrenia of (the) ’60s psychedelic rock pioneer. … Palm plans to release Keven McAlester’s feature debut in theaters this summer, and a retail home video release shortly thereafter.”
Austin bound? Surely.
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Austin-bound ‘Host” winds Asian film awards
Friday, the South Korean horror movie, “The Host,” opens in Austin. Just in time, too, because it scored four prizes, including best picture, at the first-ever Asian film awards. At the Hong Kong ceremony, the movie, which depicts a squid-ish monster, snagged best picture, best actor, best cinematographer and best visual effects.
There’s a political angle, too, as Reuters news service reports:
“(The film is) not only about anti-Americanism but about problems in Korea, for example asking for help from the police who don’t return any help,” said executive producer Choi Yong-bae, who received the white marble and twisted metal statuette for best film.
New twists for ‘Austin Movie Show’
We’re running late on this hot item, thanks to a little thing called South by South-something (not to mention a bout with the flu bug), so we’re printing the item canned, as it came, none of that editing stuff (ok, maybe a little):
“The Austin Movie Show,” Austin’s popular cable show that reviews both national films and local indie films, has taken a serious turn with a new half-hour format and fresh talent.
The previous one-hour format, with co-hosts Jegar Erickson and Leila Hernandez, gathered momentum throughout last year, culminating with syndication to other markets like the CW in the El Paso/New Mexico market, as well as a very strong, growing web presence.
Erickson, the original host and founder of the show, will remain. Co-host Hernandez’s seat at the couch has now been taken by Christina Fernandez. … In addition, a correspondent-style reporter has been added in the form of Alia Al-Yafi, who is from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Alia will be conducting interviews and reporting movie news for the Austin Movie Show that will have a more serious edge.
The Austin Movie Show airs locally on Channel 16.
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The ‘Grind’ is in the house
Tickets go on sale Tuesday for the inevitable if still exciting regional premiere of “Grindhouse,” which happens at 7 p.m. March 28 at the Paramount Theatre.
Directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, plus special guests, will present the movie — a whiplash pastiche of ’70s exploitation cinema, from guns and girls, to fast cars and fireballs — which was made in Austin last year.
Tickets for Austin Film Society members go on sale Tuesday, and tickets for the general public go on sale Thursday at the Paramount box office.
$100 VIP tickets go on sale at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Call 322-0145. All proceeds benefit the Austin Film Society.
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AFS celebrates Michael Haneke’s dark work
The twisted psycho-thrillers of Austria’s Michael Haneke will get the Austin Film Society treatment when AFS presents the eight-film series Spaces Between Realities: The Films of Michael Haneke, April 3 through May 22 at the Alamo Downtown.
Films include “Benny’s Video,” “Funny Games” and “The Piano Teacher.” Haneke’s dark works are chilling, smart commentaries on the contemporary bourgeoisie that unfailingly disturb.
See the full list and details as they come in at www.austinfilm.org.
Haneke
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Artifacts to behold, and buy
Cool movie stuff to look at:
“Robert De Niro in Costume: Selections From the Archive,” featuring 13 iconic costumes from the Ransom Center’s new De Niro collection, will be on display daily, March 19 — April 1, inside the first floor main entrance of The University Co-op. The exhibit is free.
Cool movie stuff to buy:
Movie palace theatre seats, film reels, Magnatech analog studio mixing equipment, gear from Nagra, Steenbeck and Moviola are some of the items up for grabs at the Film Equipment and Movie Memorabilia Auction at noon March 31 at 2831 Manchaca in S. Austin.
Bid items were used on “Dazed and Confused,” “Blood Simple,” “Waiting For Guffman” and other flicks. Item previews start at 11 am. Proceeds benefit local filmmakers.
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Peak movies
People who like rigorous climbs and pooling sweat can grab their gear for the Banff Mountain Film Festival, a nine-title celebration of mountain movies, 6 p.m. March 25 at the Paramount Theatre.
Films include: “First Ascent: Thailand,” “Beyond Iraq,” “Best of Jo,” “Asiemut,” “Tyrol-Land in the Mountains,” “Roam,” “The Simplicity Factor,” “Mission Epicocity” and “Ride of the Mergansers.”
Tickets are $18.50 at www.gettix.net. Proceeds benefit the Environmental Corps of American Youthworks.
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Learn filmmaking this summer
Kat Candler, just named Breakout Austin Filmmaker in our Austin Movie Awards, will be teaching a couple of classes co-sponsored by the Austin School of Film.
The 12-week Script to Screen Filmmaking Workshop starts May 1 and will meet 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
The six-week Teen Filmmaking Workshop is for ages 12-19. It starts May 30 and will meet 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
The final screenings for both classes will be July 21.
Here are course descriptions from Candler:
These hands-on courses will take you through the process of making a short film from script to screen. Learn everything you need to know from screenwriting, shooting, scheduling, marketing, sound, directing, festivals … Each class will be broken into small filmmaking teams. Each team will produce a short film using digital video technology.
The course will feature guest speakers from the Austin film community on cameras, sound and other elements of filmmaking.
Students need to have access to a digital video camera. You will need to provide your own tape and cover any expenses incurred by the short film.
Each course costs $550.
For more information, contact Candler at kat@storieproductions.com or 771-5863.
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