MOVIES

Film production in Central Texas heats up

By Chris Garcia
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILM WRITER
Thursday, April 24, 2008

As Matt Dentler, or any trend-spotter, could tell you, the local film industry isn't what it used to be. 2007 saw a modest 15 television and film projects shot here, compared with 27 the year before and 33 in 2004. But the city still has muscle and proves consistently attractive to filmmakers inside and outside Texas.

Here's a rundown of recently wrapped, currently shooting and upcoming feature film productions in the area (expect 2009 release dates for all of them):

'Will' — Gaelan Connell, Vanessa Hudgens (of 'High School Musical'), Scott Porter ('Friday Night Lights,' 'Speed Racer'), Alyson Michalka, Lisa Kudrow and David Bowie star in this teen musical melodrama, which filmed from Feb. 4 to April 2 across town. A nerd named Will (Connell) rises to hip heights using his musical prowess.

'Me and Orson Welles' — Austin's Richard Linklater and crew wrapped this theater drama April 12 in London, not Austin, but some post-production will probably happen here. Adapted from Robert Kaplow's novel by Austin couple Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo, it stars Ben Chaplin, Zac Efron ('High School Musical'), Claire Danes and Christian McKay as Orson Welles. Set in 1937, it's a coming-of-age tale about a teenager (Efron) who's been cast in Welles' Mercury Theatre production of 'Julius Caesar.' It was shot in London, Isle of Man and New York.

'Shorts' — Robert Rodriguez returns to family-friendly fun with this fantasy feature, which the filmmaker has kept 'super, super, super quiet,' says Bob Hudgins, director of the Texas Film Commission. Structured in short episodes, hence the title, the movie started production this week. 'A group of young outcasts are swept into an unexpected adventure when they find a mysterious box in their neighborhood' is the plot summary flittering about online. LatinoReview.com got its hands on the script and describes it as 'an acid trip for kids,' loaded with childish gross-out gags. 'There are spaceships, dung beetles, toaster people, crocodiles and much more,' the site reports. Elizabeth Avellan produces at the team's Troublemaker Studios.

'Tree of Life' — Storied Austin auteur Terrence Malick is keeping a characteristically tight shroud on the production of his original, 1950s period piece, which continues its long shoot through June in Smithville and occasionally Austin. Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, a dog, a baby and a tall tree star in what IMDB.com describes as an action/adventure/drama/fantasy/sci-fi epic, and offers this plot outline: 'In a mystical world of folklore, several individuals embrace in a race to find the Tree of Life, said to give immortality, fertility and other supernatural powers.' An Austinite who worked on the film said that when Malick saw a butterfly land on an actor's head, the director chased the insect around with the camera for a half hour. That's signature Malick, who's working again with illustrious cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki ('The New World,' 'Sleepy Hollow'). Read more local reports about the film at the Austin Movie Blog.

'Friday the 13th' — Filming began Monday all across the Austin area for this slasher rehasher, based on the 1980 original. Kids at a camp. A masked killer. Screams, blood, audience cheers. Michael Bay, in a producer's hat, and director Marcus Nispel re-team following their 2003 Austin-shot 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' remake. It stars Amanda Righetti, Jared Padalecki and a creepy-looking Derek Mears as the sanguinary Jason Voorhees. It's set for a Feb. 13, 2009, release.

'The Two Bobs' — Also Monday, a five-week shoot began for this ultra-low-budget comedy written and directed by Austin-based Tim McCanlies ('Secondhand Lions,' 'Smallville'). It's a gaming spoof, produced by Anne Walker-McBay and Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, who are not talking about the project. The comedy stars Cody Kasch, Devin Ratray and Tyler Francavilla. McCanlies provides his own plot summary at IMDB.com: 'Just as they finish their ground-breaking violent video-game masterpiece, the two gaming legends known as The Two Bobs discover that their precious game software has been stolen — and with it, their livelihoods, genius reputations, everything they own. To get back their game — and their lives —The Two Bobs and their fellow-geek employees Munch, Doofus and The Dark Prince are forced to 'turn detective' and plunge into the strange world of Christian Venture Capitalists, aged Dixie Mafia hoodlums and bizarre Internet Spammers that inhabit Austin.'

'The Sno Cone Stand Inc.' — Three 20-something stockbrokers want to bust out of the corporate rut and make a buck, so, of course, they open the confectionery kiosk of the title. The low-budget Austin comedy by first-time feature filmmaker Travis Knapp stars Morgan Fairchild and Tony Sirico of 'The Sopranos,' with cameos by local luminaries Michael and Susan Dell, Ruthie Foster and street-corner spectacle Leslie Cochran. No release date on the movie, which was made last year in town. www.thesnoconestand.com.

'Whip It!' — Austin native Shauna Cross joined a roller-derby team when she moved to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Texas. She funneled her experiences into the young-adult novel 'Derby Girl,' which is the basis for her script, an Austin-set roller-derby dramedy. Drew Barrymore directs, and 'Juno's' Ellen Page stars. Shooting is rumored to start this summer in Austin, but no solid deals have been inked yet, Hudgins says.

'Kick the Can' — A drama directed by Sol Tryon, whose comedy 'The Living Wake' made a small splash at last year's Austin Film Festival. Jesse Eisenberg, star of 'Living Wake,' and Mark Webber, who starred in the Ethan Hawke-directed films 'The Hottest State' and 'Chelsea Walls,' lead the cast. After opening an office in Austin and scouting for locations, the production is now in hiatus, says Hudgins, who adds, 'We hope they're able to come back.'

Untitled Alejandro Escovedo documentary — Director Jonathan Demme ('Stop Making Sense,' 'Silence of the Lambs') should be in town soon to film Escovedo in concert at Las Manitas Avenue Cafe for a documentary about the Austin musical wonder, according to several sources.

'The Goree Girls' — A big maybe. DreamWorks is producing an adaptation of Skip Hollandsworth's Texas Monthly article about a falsely convicted woman who forms an all-female band in a Texas prison. Jennifer Aniston could star, and Texas writer-director John Lee Hancock ('The Alamo') is rewriting Margaret Nagle's script. 'We sure hope it happens,' Hudgins says.