Slackery News Tidbits, February 26

Here's the latest Austin film news, and a few upcoming events:

• The 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards took place night. Although no new awards for Austin or Texas films were announced, last month, Austin-based documentarian Heather Courtney won the Truer Than Fiction Award for her film Where Soldiers Come From. In addition, Sophia Lin received the Piaget Producers Award for the film Take Shelter, written and directed by Austin-based filmmaker Jeff Nichols.
• The Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards has added one more honoree. Actress Angie Dickinson will accept the Star of Texas Award for the John Wayne film Rio Bravo at this year's ceremonies on March 8 at ACL Live at The Moody Theater.
• El Rey is no longer just the name of Austin-based director Robert Rodriguez's hero in Planet Terror. Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider will distribute networks owned by Rodriguez, among others. Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures executives John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa have joined forces to create El Rey, an English-language general entertainment network aimed at Latino audiences. It is scheduled to launch by January 2014. (via Hollywood Reporter)
• Production company FilmNation announced the logline for Texas filmmaker Terence Malick's new film Lawless. The logline for describes the plot as following "two intersecting love triangles. It is a story of sexual obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, Texas." Pre-production for the Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale and Natalie Portman flick took place during last year's Austin City Limits Music Festival. (via The Playlist)
• Film School Rejects recently interviewed Austin producer Kelly Williams, who discussed his filmmaking career and future projects. Williams produced local writer/director Kat Candler's Sundance 2012 short film premiere, Hellion. He and Candler are developing a full-length feature version of the film, which is tentatively scheduled to begin filming in Spring 2013.
• The first season of the Austin Film Festival produced television series On Story has been picked up by 70 PBS-affiliated stations, including New York City. The 12-episode first season, which gives an inside look into the annual festival's filmmaker panels, aired on Austin's KLRU last year.
• Anyone involved in the Central Texas film industry is invited to attend the Austin Film Meet Industry Mixer from 7-9 pm on March 5 at Stompin' Grounds. An open mic session will give attendees the opportunity to introduce themselves to the group and network. The Austin Film Meet, formerly the Reel Women First Monday Mix, is a support, networking and collaboration group that brings members of all types and skill levels together.
• Austin-based storyteller and author Owen Egerton is holding a screenwriting workshop next Saturday and Sunday at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. Culture Map Austin has a profile about Egerton and what he's been up to lately.
• Finally, the Hollywood Reporter has posted the U.S. trailer for Fantastic Fest 2010 favorite Sound of Noise (Jette's review for Cinematical), which is embedded below. The award-winning Swedish-language film about a group of musicians who hold a city hostage while they perform unconventional music using found objects was picked up by Magnolia Pictures for North American distribution. The movie will be released in Austin on March 23.