Slackery News Tidbits: June 17, 2013

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Here's the latest Austin and Texas film news.

  • Texas is set to offer $95 million in incentives to bring film productions to the state over the next two fiscal years, Austin Business Journal reports. The money's in the state budget that's yet to be signed by Gov. Rick Perry. 
  • An attic in Pflugerville caught fire last week during filming of the as-yet-untitled fourth Transformers movie, according to Austin Movie Blog. The minor blaze was ruled as an accident by the Pflugerville Fire Department Lieutenant Tim Wallace. It started while the crew was filming a scene outside and caused significant damage to the attic, which is now back in the hands of the owners.
  • The latest Transformers flick also transformed small town Taylor, Texas. KXAN reported that parts of the city's West Second Street were shutdown for production. Mark Wahlberg and a silver Dodge Challenger spottings ensued.
  • Only God Forgives, the latest movie to receive the "Drafthouse Recommends" title by the Alamo Drafthouse, will have a pair of advance screenings on June 19 at Alamo Slaughter with director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) and composer Cliff Martinez in attendance. Ryan Gosling fronts this film about a drug smuggler in Bangkok whose life is further complicated when his mother asks him to kill the person responsible for his brother's recent death. Only God Forgives opens in theaters July 19.
  • In more Drafthouse news, a sold-out advance screening of Drafthouse Films' latest acquisition A Band Called Death will take place on June 24 at Alamo Ritz. The evening also includes a Q&A with band members and a concert at The Parish featuring the documentary's subjects. A second screening has been added on Wednesday, June 26 at Alamo Slaughter, which will also feature a Q&A. The SXSW 2013 Audience Award-winning film tells the story of three African-American musicians from Detroit who formed the punk band Death in the 1970s (Debbie's preview) and will open in limited release on June 28.
  • KLRU-TV will air Central Texas documentary Tomlinson Hill on Wednesday night at 9 pm and again next Monday night, June 24, at 10 pm. Directed by former Austinite Lisa Kaselak, Tomlinson Hill explores the legacy of slavery from the perspective of one black and one white descendant of a Texas slave plantation. The film won the Silver Heart Award at this year's Dallas International Film Festival.