Slackerwood Podcasts
Slackerwood's biweekly podcasts are about all aspects of the Austin movie scene. If you have a suggestion for something you'd like us to cover, contact us.
Interview: Beth Grant, 'Herpes Boy'
Submitted by Debbie Cerda on February 22, 2010 - 11:20pm
Character actor Beth Grant, who has appeared in everything from Rain Man to Crazy Heart, was in Austin last fall for the world premiere at Austin Film Festival of Herpes Boy, a film she both co-produced and starred in. Herpes Boy returns to town as an AFF special screening this week at Alamo Lake Creek. You can read our Herpes Boy review -- better yet, listen to this interview for Grant's perspective of this quirky comedy. She also discusses what it was like to work with Mike Judge in Extract and with "Sandy" (Bullock), Donnie Darko and the role of myths in film, and offers advice to women who want to get into filmmaking.
Listen to Slackerwood's interview with Beth Grant now.
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-interview-bgrant.mp3 | 9.55 MB |
Interview: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, 'Daybreakers'
Submitted by Jenn Brown on January 7, 2010 - 1:00pm
Last fall, I had the opportunity to interview the writer-director team of Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig for their Fantastic Fest premiere of the vampire film Daybreakers. We talked about casting, creature effects and the cost of contact lenses.
You can listen to the interview here, but be warned, a few plot points are touched on, so there may be spoilers.
For brevity, I had to cut out part of the conversation, including a Emily Hagins love fest. Apparently the Spierig brothers are well aware of Austin's youngest auteur, and they did spend some time talking with her at the Fantastic Fest closing-night party.
Daybreakers opens in Austin theaters on Friday, January 8. Keep an eye out for Debbie's review later today.
| Attachment | Size |
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| 100109-Daybreakers_Speirigs-11MIN.mp3 | 9.82 MB |
Podcast #15: AFF 2009 Preview with Kelly Williams
Submitted by Jette Kernion on October 20, 2009 - 9:00am
In podcast #15, Jette giggles helplessly from the sidelines while Chris Holland -- in his triumphant return to Slackerwood podcasts -- and AFF Film Program Director Kelly Williams go crazy discussing/debating their picks for can't-miss movies and events during Austin Film Festival 2009. There may also be some heckling. I do manage to sneak a couple of questions in there.
Kelly gives us the inside scoop on big-name stars at marquee screenings, as well as interesting details about some lesser-known films playing AFF. He also shares a few tips for anyone who just wants to buy tickets to a movie or two during AFF.
If you're planning to attend Austin Film Festival this year, if you're on the fence about buying a film pass, or if you just need a good laugh, you won't want to miss this podcast. Disclaimer: Despite what we may have said in the podcast, Oprah Winfrey is not scheduled to attend the AFF screening of Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire. However, those double-features at Alamo Lake Creek really are on the schedule.
Oh, yeah, and I suppose you'll find out quickly that we're back to using the seven words you can't say on television.
[Photo credit: "AFF Tote Bags" by Chris Holland]
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-15.mp3 | 19.62 MB |
Podcast #14.2: 'Inside' Director Tracie Laymon
Submitted by Jette Kernion on October 14, 2009 - 12:30pm
We met so many great filmmakers at Fantastic Fest and had so many fun interviews that we're publishing some bonus mini-podcasts apart from our regularly scheduled Slackerwood podcast. In podcast #14.2, Debbie Cerda interviews writer/director Tracie Laymon, whose short Inside was a suspenseful part of the fest's Short Fuse lineup. Tracie talks about how she started her filmmaking career here in Austin in the late 1990s, and shares her hope of returning to shoot a feature here soon.
[Photo credit: "Tracie Laymon Interview at Progress Coffee" by Debbie Cerda.]
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-14-2.mp3 | 5.97 MB |
Podcast #14.1: 'The Revenant' Writer/Director Kerry Prior
Submitted by Jette Kernion on October 8, 2009 - 10:00am
In podcast #14.1, Debbie Cerda interviews writer/director Kerry Prior, whose film The Revenant played Fantastic Fest this year -- Prior won the Best Horror Director award at the fest. They talk about Kerry's Fantastic Fest experience (surprise: he liked it), challenges that he thinks The Revenant may face with distributors, deleted scenes, and some inspirations for the story. And yes, he's looking forward to the Twilight sequel, New Moon, as shown in the photo above.
[Photo credit: "Kerry Prior" by Debbie Cerda]
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-14-1.mp3 | 9.02 MB |
Podcast #14: Fantastic Fest and 'Zombieland'
Submitted by Jette Kernion on October 5, 2009 - 12:30pm
In podcast #14, Jenn, Jette and Debbie discuss the most memorable parts of Fantastic Fest. Jenn may have caught the Fantastic Flu, but that doesn't stop us from talking about our favorite movies, the fest's gala screenings and red-carpet events, and other fun moments at the festival.
The podcast also includes Zombieland red-carpet interview clips: Woody Harrelson talks about how he managed eating Hostess products while on a raw-food diet, Emma Stone reveals the truth about the heavy-duty machine guns she wielded in the film, director Ruben Fleischer talks about visual effects ... and Jesse Eisenberg loves the name "Slackerwood," earning a special place in our hearts. Hope to see you on Twitter and Facebook soon, Jesse.
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-14.mp3 | 20 MB |
Podcast #13: Fantastic Fest Preview -- Zack is Back
Submitted by Jette Kernion on September 21, 2009 - 7:58am
Even if you aren't a podcast kind of person, even if you aren't going to Fantastic Fest, you want to listen to Slackerwood Podcast #13. It's our funniest, most entertaining podcast to date, thanks to Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson. Zack -- pictured above before being shot with a gore cannon at Fantastic Fest 2007 -- sits down with Jette, Jenn and Debbie to discuss festival events, the "giant man-Smurf" in Avatar, why he Twitters about Hitler, and other completely random and hilarious stuff.
Helpful hint: When the end-credit music starts, don't leave the theater -- I mean, don't leave the podcast. You'll miss Samuel L. Jackson -- okay, not him, but something very amusing, thanks to our audio engineer Chip Rosenthal. Let me just say I had no idea that would be in there until I heard the finished podcast myself.
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-13.mp3 | 20.68 MB |
Podcast #12: Austin's Fall Film-Fest Season is Underway
Submitted by Contributors on September 11, 2009 - 7:39am
That's right, let the festivals begin! Jenn Brown, Debbie Cerda and Jette Kernion can't wait to spend long hours in theaters watching lots of as-yet-unreleased films ... not to mention the fun of creating schedules and picking movies and spotting filmmakers at screenings or in the crowds.
In podcast #12, we discuss Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (aGLIFF) films that look interesting to us, discuss the best ways to organize your film festival schedules, and wonder how we're going to get through aGLIFF, Fantastic Fest, Austin Film Festival and possibly even the Seguin Film Festival all in the next couple of months. In addition, Jenn Brown interviews aGLIFF Programs Director Jake Gonzales and Executive Director David Sweeney about this year's fest and some plans for year-round programming.
[Photo credit: "fantastic fest-6062" on Alamo Drafthouse Flickr page. No photographer credited -- I'm guessing it was taken by Mary Sledd. Used under standing agreement with Alamo.]
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-12.mp3 | 24.3 MB |
Podcast #11: Reliving Red Carpets
Submitted by Jette Kernion on August 24, 2009 - 8:17am 
Slackerwood goes glitzy in podcast #11 ... well, as glitzy as we ever get around here. Jette Kernion, Jenn Brown and Debbie Cerda discuss recent special events, red carpets and premieres in Austin, with some speculation about what we might see next. Jenn shares some excerpts from her interview with Mike Judge about his latest film, Extract. Debbie also has some clips from her Extract red-carpet interviews with Houston actress Lidia Porto and local filmmaker Richard Linklater.
Special thanks this week goes to our audio engineer, Chip Rosenthal. He not only integrated our interview clips smoothly, but managed to deal beautifully with a problem we had with our equipment that cut the original podcast recording into a bunch of pieces. The finished podcast shows no signs of the problem, thanks to him. And yes, that's Chip doing the intro and wrap-up this time. He's our Don Pardo (or these days, is it Carl Kasell?).
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-11.mp3 | 25.66 MB |
Slackerwood Podcast #10: 'Bandslam' and Sounds Under Radio
Submitted by Contributors on August 10, 2009 - 7:00am
Welcome to podcast #10, in which Jette Kernion and Debbie Cerda focus on music and movies -- local music in Hollywood films, Austin composers and musical moments we like in movies. (Jette's favorite = the entire score of The Bad News Bears, but that's a story for another day.)
Debbie interviews Lang Freeman (shown at right) from the local band Sounds Under Radio, which had a song featured in the movie Spider-Man 3. She also tells us a little about last week's red carpet for Bandslam, which was filmed in Austin and features two local bands: The Daze and Joker. Check Slackerwood soon for a full account.
Jette reminds everyone that a lot of well-known actors and actresses are in town to shoot Robert Rodriguez's feature film Machete, based on his "fake trailer" in Grindhouse. Jenn has already spotted Danny Trejo (more on that later this week), but keep an eye out for other familiar faces.
The podcast also includes info on the Julie & Julia feasts at Alamo South Lamar this week -- in a few days, Debbie will post some photos of the dishes being prepped for the feast -- and a reminder about the upcoming local premieres of Shorts and Extract (you can still get tickets through the Paramount website).
[Photo credit: "Lang Freeman of Sounds Under Radio" by Debbie Cerda]
| Attachment | Size |
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| slackerwood-podcast-10.mp3 | 26.08 MB |