Slackery News Tidbits, Nov. 19

Here are a few news items related to Austin films and filmmaking from this week. Well, I say "a few," but once I started digging them up, it's actually been a pretty busy week! The news includes updates on local filmmakers' projects, awards, casting news, and other useful info.

• Austin company B-Side Entertainment has just announced that Sundance Film Festival will use the company's scheduling engine for its 2010 online film guide. If you're going to Sundance next year, you'll get to use the very helpful Schedule Genius program to fit all the movies you want to see into the most efficient time possible. B-Side also powers the film guides for local festivals Fantastic Fest, Austin Film Festival, Austin Asian American Film Festival and aGLIFF, and provides an unofficial guide for SXSW.
• Bad news for local filmmaker Richard Linklater (pictured at right): As part of Miramax's big cost-cutting drive this month, they have put his romantic comedy Liars (A to E) on hold. Movieline reports that Linklater doesn't have another project currently in the works yet, although we suspect it won't be long before he's his usual busy self. [via Austin Movie Blog]
• Speaking of Linklater, Austin Film Society would like you to know that tickets are still available to the Austin gala screening of his latest film, Me and Orson Welles, on Monday, November 30 at the Paramount. Linklater will be in attendance along with two of the film's stars, Zac Efron and Christian McKay.
• We've been keeping an eye on the Texas-shot feature St. Nick since its premiere at SXSW 2009, as it makes its way around the film-festival circuit. We even interviewed director David Lowery in March. Last week, the film won Lowery the Emerging Filmmaker Award at the St. Louis Film Festival. If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, check out Lowery's blog or better yet, watch the first 9 minutes of the film.
• If you were sorry to hear that the TXMPA annual Spaghetti Western fundraising event had been postponed, you'll be pleased to learn that it's now been rescheduled for Friday, December 11 as a "Holiday Hoedown." The event will still take place at Star Hill Ranch, and you can buy tickets via the above link.
• The casting director for the Coen brothers' remake of True Grit will be in Austin on Nov. 28 to hold auditions for girls to play Mattie, the teenage co-star of the film. Check out Austin Movie Blog for all the details.
• Ever wonder how film can drive change? Dear Zachary director Kurt Kuenne reports that in Canada, MP Scott Andrews of Newfoundland was so inspired by the documentary that introduced a bill to the House of Commons on October 22. If passed, the Canadian bail code would allow bail denial when a parent suspected of a serious crime is deemed a potential danger to their minor children. Kuenne made Dear Zachary, which played SXSW 2008, after a childhood friend died in 2001. In an message to the film's mailing list, he wrote, "This is a wonderful first step toward the law denying bail to people accused of murder while awaiting trial."
• The Paramount now has its own iPhone app to use for navigating the site, buying tickets, and so forth. Not having an iPhone, I can't say much about the application myself. However, as a Palm Pre user, I'd rather hear that the Paramount made their site viewable on any smart phone or mobile device, not just the trendy iPhone.
• Finally, scroll down to the bottom of this web page to see how Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League is handling feedback from the 2009 festival to use in 2010. Impressive. [via Chris Holland on Twitter]