Slackery News Tidbits, October 8

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Here's the latest in Austin film news.

  • Alamo Drafthouse announced last week that all the chain's Austin theaters will transition to 100 percent reserved seating, starting October 15, without a ticket price increase. Alamo ran a pilot program with all reserved seating at the Village location earlier this year, which they said was a success.
  • An economic impact report released last week announced that SXSW 2012 generated $190.3 million for Austin's economy, Austin Business Journal reports. The number of official registrants increased this year by more than 15 percent to 147,000.
  • In casting news, actors AJ Bowen (A Horrible Way to Die) and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) have signed on for Austin filmmaker Emily Hagins's fourth feature film, Grow Up, Tony Phillips, according to the movie's production company, Austin-based Arcanum Pictures. The actors join Jamie Landau (son of veteran producer Jon Landau) and My Sucky Teen Romance cast members Tony Vespe and Devin Bonnée. Filming for the independently produced comedy about a Halloween-loving teenager who refuses to grow up is scheduled to begin late this year, and will shoot in and around Central Texas. The producers are crowdfunding some of the movie's costs on Kickstarter.
  • Women in Cinema, a student organization at The University of Texas at Austin, is holding its monthly Producing Panel tonight (October 8) at CMA 3.120 at 8 pm on the UT campus. This month's panel features local producer Megan Gilbride (Lovers of Hate), Rakeda L. Ervin (X=A Generation Evolved) and Caroline Connor (LUV, Pictures of Superheroes). Admission is free.
  • Fantastic Fest 2011 favorite Juan of the Dead (Rod's review), about a Cuban slacker who capitalizes on a zombie invasion, will screen in conjunction with a themed pub run on Oct. 29 at the Paramount Theatre and Takoba, according to the theater's website.
  • Austinite Vince Hanneman's 60-ton, 33-foot-tall Cathedral of Junk is the subject of a new short documentary, Curbed reports. Evan Burns' The Junk King chronicles Hanneman's struggle with the City of Austin, who mandated he tear down his "temple" in 2010, until an engineer signed off on plans to rebuild it. Watch it below.