Slackery News Tidbits, October 15
By Jordan Gass-Poore' on October 15, 2012 - 9:30am
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Here's the latest Austin film news.
- Austin Film Festival announced director Frank Darabont as this year's Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award recipient. Darabont, a three-time Academy Award nominee for such films as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, will accept the award at the festival's annual award luncheon Oct. 20 at the Austin Club. More recently, Darabont created the television series The Walking Dead. AFF conference-goers are invited to attend a conversation with the director on Oct. 21.
- In addition, AFF has announced its closing-night film: Jayne Mansfield's Car, co-written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton will attend the October 25 screening. Several other additions to the schedule and special guests have also been announced. The festival kicks off this Thursday -- or Wednesday night if you're attending the annual Film and Food Gala.
- Austin Film Society fiscally-sponsored projects Anne Lewis' Anne Braden: Southern Patriot, Karen Kocher's Living Springs and Karen Skloss' The Honor Farm received grants from the City of Austin's Cultural Arts Division, totaling more than $33,000. Texas filmmakers with non-commercial projects (those not carrying or seeking investors) can apply for fiscal sponsorship on a rolling basis and City of Austin grants in the spring through AFS.
- Austinite and former film critic C. Robert Cargill was on the other side of a national press tour for Sinister, the horror movie he co-scripted that opened Friday. IndieWIRE has published his tales from the tour. Sinister, which stars Ethan Hawke, was third in this weekend's box-office results -- Hollywood Reporter notes the film cost $3 million to make and grossed $8.3 million over the weekend. Read J.C.'s review for more details about the movie.
- UT alumnus Berndt Mader's feature 5 Time Champion (Don's review) is now available on VOD and DVD, The Austin Chronicle reports. Mader's feature debut, a coming-of-age story about a sexually confused science prodigy, made its world premiere at SXSW 2011 and later won the Texas Filmmaker Award at the Dallas International Film Festival.
- Drafthouse Films has acquired North American distribution rights to the Korean drama Pieta, about a loan shark whose life changes after meeting a mysterious woman who says she's his mother. A limited theatrical and VOD release is scheduled for 2013.
- Austin-based filmmaker Christian Remde gives viewers an inside look into the kitchens and minds of some of the city's best eateries in his "The Twelve Films Project" short documentary series, according to Austin Culture Map.