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Thoughts from the world premiere of ‘Slacker 2011’ (a week late, in true Slacker form)
In addition to the 24 teams of filmmakers responsible for the remake of the Richard Linklater classic, it seemed almost everyone from the Austin film world was in attendance at the screening, lending the evening a complete party vibe. Some people even got dressed up for the event. Kudos to filmmaker Bob Ray and producer Daniel Metz for rocking black tuxedos. True to his “Slacker” roots, Linklater kept it casual with cargo shorts and a t-shirt. The godfather of Austin indie film briefly took the stage to humbly kick off the screening that must have been a trip for him.
Ray had the duty of tackling the first sequence and added a nice touch with his modern update: gone was Roy’s Taxi, replaced by a pedicab and a cast of active characters in the background that represented Austin’s increased vitality over the past 20 years.
Spencer Parsons’ scene was one of the remake’s highlights. The former Austinite now teaching in Chicago remade the hit-and-run scene and replaced the original 20-something character with a kid, who runs over his father (with a Prius) and then calmly shows his friends the accident on his iPhone.
Acting standouts included Chris Doubek, who mesmerized in his meandering walking-and-talking scene, as well as John Wesley Coleman’s wild-eyed take on the Madonna pap smear scene, directed by Karen Skloss. The Zellner brothers deserve hardy credit for their stunt casting of Austin favs Peelander-Z in the jilted boyfriend scene. It was a head-scratching and hilarious move, and the New York-based Japanese punk band seemed to relish their time in front of the camera.
Kudos go to local production company Stuck On On for editing the work of the 24 filmmaking teams. With so many different aesthetics and tones, the completed film could have looked like a messy patchwork, but “Slacker 2011” came off as a beautiful work of jazz, with each segment representing an instrumental solo. At times dark and tempestuous (Mingus-Parsons) and at others lyrically rhythmic, playful and exaggerated (Monk-Doubek) or rapid bursts of color (Parker-Coleman) the film showcased individual voices while still holding its center as a single work of art.
For those interested in checking out the Sunday night screenings this month at the Alamo South and Alamo Village, I would suggest re-watching the original “Slacker” first. While “Slacker 2011” paints a good portrait of Austin today, the movie works best as a companion piece to the original.
But last Wednesday at the Paramount Theatre was about more than just this fun and inventive remake. It was about celebrating independent film in Austin and the spirit of camaraderie fostered in the city’s film community. It was the kind of night where you see two guys passing each other in the bathroom and one says, “Hey, man, I can’t wait to see your film.” And the other responds, “I can’t wait to see yours, either.” And they both mean it.
I tracked down “Slacker 2011” co-producer Daniel Metz the day after the premiere to get his thoughts on the big night. His comments follow:
What’d I think about the screening? At first, when we were setting up the red carpet, it was an amazing experience. Lines forming around the block. And even more so, seeing all of the cast from the movie that I’ve been falling in love with for the past few months. I know maybe half of the actors from the remake, so most of the faces I know only from my endless watching of the rough cuts. The characters in the movie are like my friends now, and seeing them come to life - some very much resembling their characters, some totally different - was so damned exciting to me. I was giddy, pointing to the various minor characters from the movie. That was, of course, just a distraction to keep me away from my crushing anxiety. But when Bryan and I got on stage I experienced the fullest applause I ever received, and it was clear from the beginning that it was a supportive crowd that really GOT what we were doing. And the audience stayed with the movie, laughing knowingly at all of the right points, so that I felt that they sincerely felt the passion and the love that created this movie. Whatever happens to this movie from here, we can know that it played in Austin to the crowd it was made for, and I think it played well.Being with so many of the original slackers last night, I felt a generational camaraderie and I knew we were all in it together. It was a beautiful, complicated, and heavy moment, and one which I will both never forget and never fully understand.
Tickets for “Slacker 2011”: Alamo Village, 9/11 @ 7 p.m.. Tickets for 9/18 at Alamo South and 9/25 at Alamo Village are not yet on sale.
Photos: Scenes from the “Slacker 2011” world premiere at the Paramount Theatre on August 29.
Related: For more on “Slacker 2011,” check out my preview piece that ran in print on August 26.
Related: “Parks and Recreation” star Nick Offerman shares his love of ‘Slacker’ and Texas
Note: This post was originally meant to go up last week, but technical failures and user error prevented it. My apologies.
Photo: Chris Doubek, Berndt Mader, Ben Steinbauer and Daniel Metz, left to right, during the red carpet arrivals for the screening of ‘Slacker 2011’ held at The Paramount in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. (Rodolfo Gonzalez AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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