Jette Kernion's blog

Photo Essay: 'Spy Kids' at the Long Center

Spy Kids 4 at OSS Spy Headquarters

The Long Center was transformed into a carnival setting and red carpet on Saturday, August 13, for the gala premiere of the Austin-shot movie Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D. Austin Film Society hosted this benefit screening for the Dell Children's Medical Center and the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund.

The attendees for the event included not only a lot of very happy kids but also filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, producer Elizabeth Avellan, new Spy Kids Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook, and the original Spy Kids, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara, who are also in this fourth installment in the series. I was out of town and missed the whole thing, sadly, but fortunately AFS has published a lot of great photos from the event, some of which I'm happy to share here.

Why the Long Center? I found out when I saw Spy Kids 4 this weekend (my review). In the movie, the exterior of the secret spy headquarters is in fact the Long Center. My guess is that it was very convincing for people who don't live in Austin; I thought it was amusing myself.

Check out the whole AFS photo set from the premiere on Flickr. For another viewpoint on the day, you might enjoy reading AFS intern Lauren Hill's behind-the-scenes account.

Review: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D

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Spy Kids 4

I remember the delighted surprise of seeing the original Spy Kids with a friend one Sunday afternoon ten years ago. I didn't know who Robert Rodriguez was, didn't know much about the Austin film scene at all, but we'd heard the movie was fun even for grownups and gave it a try. It was a little silly with a few eye-rollingly juvenile jokes but much better than we'd expected. And the problem I've had subsequent Spy Kids movies has been that they simply don't measure up to the experience of the first.

Possibly if I were nine years old and hadn't watched any of the previous movies in the series, I might enjoy watching Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D. Not being in those circumstances, I can't be sure. But I think even my childhood self would get impatient and annoyed by the last 30 minutes of the film. On the other hand, my grownup self quite liked the first 20 minutes or so and is sorry the movie couldn't sustain that tone.

Also, I was disappointed by a shocking lack of Danny Trejo, who is billed high on IMDb for this movie but appears in a single blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.

Movies This Week: One Barbarian Spy Night

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One Day

As the summer movie season draws to a close and schools start up again, we still have some very good new movies opening in Austin this week, both indies and Hollywood films.

In addition, Texas Filmmakers Production Fund panelists are in Austin this weekend and Austin Film Society is hosting screenings of their films. On Sunday night, you can see a selection of short films from Barry Jenkins, followed by Ian Olds' documentary Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi. AFS is also bringing Josh and Ben Safdie to town to screen Daddy Longlegs on Monday night and short films on Wednesday. If you want some classic comedies, the Long Center has a Cult Classics series that features movies such as Animal House and The Princess Bride. But my favorite cult movie of the week is at Alamo's Music Monday: Repo Man. Afterward, go get some sushi and not pay.

Movies We've Seen:

  • Conan the Barbarian -- "Stargate Atlantis and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa lives, loves and slays at the box office this weekend in the gorgeous nonstop action reboot of Conan the Barbarian." Or so Mike tells me. Look for his review this weekend.  (wide)
  • Fright Night -- Mike says in his review that although this is a remake of the 1985 film, it's "original, smart, exciting and funny" and one of the most entertaining movies of the summer. It's showing in 3D and 2D -- I've heard the images are a little dark for the 3D to be effective. I've also heard David Tennant is marvelous, but you knew that. (wide)
  • The Guard -- Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson star in this Irish buddy-cop comedy, and Don says their chemistry and dialogue are the best parts of this slow-paced but rewarding movie. Read his review for more details. (Arbor, Violet Crown)
  • The Whistleblower -- Rod came out of this screening pissed off ... not at the movie itself but at the inhumanity so realistically portrayed in it. To find out more, check out his review. (Arbor)

Slacker 2011: Mike Dolan Captures It in One Shot

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Slacker 2011

In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (TFPF). As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the filmmakers participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project -- check out our interviews so far.

Today's interview is with Mike Dolan. Dolan is from Oklahoma and started his film career as an actor, appearing in movies such as Biloxi Blues, Courage Under Fire and Lolita. He also had a role in Geoff Marslett's locally shot film Mars. Mars premiered at SXSW 2010 along with Dolan's feature directorial debut, Dance with the One (Debbie's review), shot in Austin with a primarily local cast and crew (and soundtrack).

Slackerwood: Which scene from the film did you reshoot?

Mike Dolan: We shot the scene (#15 -- but who knows that) where the Old Anarchist arrives home with his daughter Delia to find a Burglar in the house. Apparently the Burglar was on a hunt for TVs, but instead gets caught up reading the books he discovers, and then the Anarchist is totally cool with him, in fact invites him to take whatever he wants, and insists he won't call the cops. They have a nice chat about an Anarchist assassin, then go for a walk, and later the Anarchist invites the Burglar to stay for dinner. Basically a typical afternoon in Austin.

Slacker 2011: PJ Raval Does It Guerilla Style

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Slacker 2011

In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (TFPF). As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the filmmakers participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project -- check out our interviews so far.

Today's interview is with Austin cinematographer and filmmaker PJ Raval. He's directed several short films as well as the feature documentary Trinidad, about the "sex-change capital of the world." His cinematography credits include local movies such as Room and Gretchen, as well as the Academy-Award nominated documentary Trouble the Water and Kyle Henry's Fourplay shorts.

Slackerwood: Which scene from the film did you re-shoot?

PJ Raval: The scene I directed is lovingly referred to as "Rantings" or Scene 22, which originally featured a young woman doing a walk of shame who passes a senior man on the street who is recording thoughts about getting older into a tape recorder. He then gets interrupted by a man driving past in a car w/ loudspeakers attached to the roof broadcasting a rant about a "free weapons giveaway program." Needless to say that was the original and I interpreted and updated into the Austin I see today.

Slackery News Tidbits, August 16

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Here's the latest Austin film news.

  • The SXSW Panel Picker is now open for voting. You can give a thumbs-up on any panel suggestions you'd like to see at the SXSW Film Festival next March. A number of the 177 SXSW Film proposals are from Austin folks or feature Austinites in the panel. Of course I'll naturally suggest you take a look at Jenn Brown's panel proposal: "Removing Barriers Between Press, PR and Producers" (and vote for it!). If you'd like to promote a panel, feel free to do so in the comments.
  • In case you hadn't noticed, aGLIFF has been slowly releasing their 2011 film festival lineup, with lots of posters and previews available through their Facebook page. We'll have more details on the lineup soon, but in the meantime check out their full schedule. The fest takes place from Sept. 6-11 this year at three venues: Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar, Violet Crown Cinema and the Paramount. Not to mention the party venues, and you know aGLIFF has some of the best fest parties in Austin.
  • Speaking of local film festivals, Fantastic Fest is gearing up and their notorious annual bumper contest is now underway. You have until September 5 to submit a very short film with the theme "Altered States" that ends with the fest's traditional "That's fantastic!" phrase. These bumpers always make me wish I had any filmmaking talent (and more time) to try one myself.
  • Another filmmaking opportunity: Drafthouse Films is seeking a 26th short film for their The ABC's of Death anthology. They're accepting submissions for the "T is for ..." slot through October 1. You can see and vote on the current submissions. Let's get some Austin filmmakers in there, please ... better yet, some female Austin filmmakers. You know who you are. Go for it!

Slacker 2011: Geoff Marslett Shoots 20-Plus Shorts in One

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Geoff Marslett

In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (TFPF). As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the filmmakers participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project -- check out our interviews so far.

Today's interview is with local filmmaker and instructor Geoff Marslett. Marslett's feature Mars premiered at SXSW 2010 (Jenn Brown's review). Mars is an animated movie based on a live-action green-screen shoot that took two years of hard work to animate. Marslett is currently working on a new feature ... well, I'll let him tell you about it in the following discussion.

Slackerwood: Which scene from the film did you reshoot?

Geoff Marslett: I was responsible for scene 16. This was basically the robber's getaway after he steals a book from the anarchist, all the way through the video backpacker-surreal TV watching sequence. To make my job a little tougher, and because I really enjoyed working on the project, I worked on a short little bit of transition before and after my part of the remake.

Slacker 2011: Stuck On On Puts It All Together

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Slacker 2011In celebration of Slacker's 20th anniversary, local filmmakers are re-creating scenes from the Richard Linklater movie for Slacker 2011, a fundraising project benefitting the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund (TFPF). As we await the August 31 premiere, we're chatting with some of the filmmakers participating in one or more of the short films that will comprise the project -- check out our interviews so far.

Today's interview is with Allison Turrell of Stuck On On. Stuck On On is an Austin company that specializes in post-production/finishing work for films, such as color correction, music composition, voiceovers, sound design, and digital mixing. Stuck On On worked with Austin Film Society and Alamo Drafthouse to help make a finished feature out of the Slacker 2011 segments from individual filmmakers. They've also worked on local movies such as Winnebago Man, Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission, blacktino and DMT: The Spirit Molecule.

Slackerwood: What got Stuck On On interested in this project?

Allison Turrell: We got involved because we loved the original Slacker and we love and support the Austin Film Society and the Austin filmmaking community. We’ve worked with several of these directors, producers, DPs and editors before and this was an opportunity to work with some new faces as well. We've also worked on previous films that received TFPF funds including The Happy Poet, Where Soldiers Come From, The Eyes of Me and The American Widow Project. We wanted to give back to the community.

What kind of work did Stuck On On do for Slacker 2011?

We assembled the 24 vignettes. We also conformed all 24 projects because everyone shot with a wide variety of cameras. We are dialogue editing, re-record mixing, sound designing, color correcting and making the final Blu-ray that will screen at the Paramount. All of these services vary depending on the scene. Some folks had their scene mixed and/or color corrected.

Watch 'Winnebago Man' Here, Now, Free

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Winnebago Man

In the days before YouTube or viral Internet videos, people were passing around third-rate copies on videotape of the outtakes of a Winnebago commercial featuring one Jack Rebney, whose gift for colorful profanity under pressure was immense. Hearing his outbursts can be oddly uplifting if you're having a bad day yourself. Local filmmaker Ben Steinbauer, intrigued by the lasting popularity of the "Winnebago Man" video, set out to find Rebney and get the whole story behind the videotape in the documentary Winnebago Man.

Winnebago Man premiered at SXSW in 2009 and has enjoyed a fair amount of popularity since then. Don Clinchy calls it "funny and sometimes poignant" in his review. The movie won several prizes on the film-fest circuit, as well as the Austin Film Critics Association award for Best Austin Film in 2010. One of Rebney's catch phrases from the video, "Will you do me a kindness?" turns up frequently in the oddest places ... apparently one of the characters in the recently released movie Crazy. Stupid. Love says it.

If you haven't yet seen Winnebago Man, now's your chance. SnagFilms is making the documentary available to watch online for free for the next two weeks -- until August 19 -- as part of their SummerFest lineup. You can watch the film from the SnagFilms website, on Hulu, on the SnagFilms iPad app ... and I've embedded it below so you don't even have to leave this page. I especially recommend this movie after a difficult day at the office, where you can hear Rebney say all the things you wish you could, and better.

Movies This Week: Help The Devil's Final Future

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The Future

Let's see. We've got one movie about young men preparing for a post-apocalyptic future, one about a couple's last hurrah before they adopt a new family member, one about a man forced to pose as a body double, one about a man forced to rob a bank, one about Mississippi women in the 1960s, and one about the benefits of Auto-Tune.

We've also got lots of special screenings in Austin. Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar will show Fantastic Fest 2010 selection Cold Fish late-night Monday through Thursday. Kyle Newman will be in town for a screening of his film Fanboys, written by Austinite Ernie Cline, on Thursday night at Blue Starlite Drive-In. And Weird Wednesday at Alamo Ritz has an especially good selection this week: The Outfit, an excellent film from 1973, adapted from a Donald Westlake novel and starring Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker. (I'm already going to be down there to see Slacker ... I should just stick around, now that Weird Wednesday has moved to 10 pm.)

Movies We've Seen:

  • Bellflower --Don calls this SXSW 2011 selection "flawed but intriguing" in his review. He also refers to Evan Glodell's movie as "a cross between Max Max and a typical dating-is-hell indie film" -- like me, he favors the visuals and the cars but not the characterizations and acting. Even though I was divided on this movie, it's a great weekend choice. (Alamo South Lamar)
  • The Devil's Double -- Dominic Cooper "gives the performance of a lifetime," Mike says in his review, with a dual role as Uday Hussein and his stand-in Latif. (Arbor)
  • The Help -- Despite the 2.5-hour running time, Elizabeth says in her review that this movie about Mississippi women and race relations in the 1960s is one of the best she's seen all year. By all accounts I've read, it's worth seeing for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer alone. (wide)
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