Rumors and Hearsay

Site News: Slackerwood Prepares to Wrap Up

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Pennybacker Bridge

I've been writing for and editing Slackerwood now for about nine years -- a long time, especially on the internet. And while it's been a wonderful experience, I feel like it's time for me to move on.

May 27, 2015 will be the last day we'll publish content to Slackerwood. The site will still remain online and searchable but it'll be an archive, essentially. Over the next month, we'll be winding down with a few final editions of regular columns and other coverage.

Why close the site? Because Slackerwood doesn't deserve an even slightly restless editor, to paraphrase Jon Stewart. Editing and publishing Slackerwood, while often delightful and rewarding, is a time-consuming job. After nine years, I'd like to spend that time doing other things, like more writing.

Breaking News: 'She's Out of My League' Stars in Austin Tomorrow

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Tomorrow at Birds Barbershop, two of the stars of the new film She's Out of My League are expected to make an appearance. So guys, if you need a haircut, you might want to head down there around lunchtime.

Alice Eve (Crossing Over) and Krysten Ritter (Confessions of a Shopaholic) will provide male grooming tips to four lucky Austin gentlemen on Thursday from 1-2 pm at the Birds Barbershop on 1902 South Congress to promote the romantic comedy, which also stars ubergeek Jay Baruchel.  It's only an hour, guys, so I recommend getting there early. And perfect timing if you need to de-scruff before SXSW.

The plot centers around Baruchel as Kirk, stuck in a dead-end security job when the gorgeous Molly (Alice Eve, pictured above) falls for him, stunning Kirk and everyone he knows.

She’s Out of My League opens in Austin on March 12.

Big Beef at Fantastic Fest 2010

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It's barely February, and Fantastic Fest 2010 already has news!  A few days ago, John Bullington let the cat out of the bag about a feast event -- or should I say the cow -- when he mentioned on Facebook he is going to be cooking a local, grass-fed, 600-pound cow for Fantastic Fest in September. 

Bullington, the executive chef at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, has been enticing palates at the Alamo for years, with movie feasts that sell out in hours. He also flexes his culinary skills a bit with special events at Fantastic Fest, particularly the annual filmmakers luncheon and dinner events like the Truffe truffle feast in 2009. A lot of planning goes into these events, and now he's got less than eight months to plan a carnivore's delight of a feast. 

In the picture on the left, Bullington, along with Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League, may very well be discussing another crazy plan for the festival. Be assured that when these two pair up and mix film and food, no holds are barred. 

Chef Bullington's plan for the 2010 fest is not just a roast beef. He intends to roast the cow whole, which will take 17 hours over a huge firepit, "Argentinian style." The cow has already been picked out, and when I spoke with John on Friday, he joked about getting pictures of the cow and putting it on t-shirts. 

Based on the already overwhelming response, pigs and lamb will probably added to the menu to make sure there will be plenty of meat to go around.If you remember the feast at the premiere of Seventh Moon at Fantastic Fest 2008, despite having two whole roasted pigs, that ran out quickly, so Fantastic Festers are definitely carnivorous. 

Slackery News Tidbits, December 16, 2009

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It's been over a week since the last edition of Slackery News Tidbits, so it's time to play catch up. 

  • Fantastic Fest favorite Stingray Sam will return to Austin on January 3, 2010. Folks enjoyed this quirky film from Cory McAbee so much that many festival go-ers saw it twice. Check Alamo Drafthouse for screenings.
  • Austinite Kayla Kromer, known for her creative custom beds, like the Hamburger Bed, has gained the attention of Star Wars fans worldwide with her Millenium Falcon bed.  Kayla and her latest bed have now appeared on the official Star Wars Blog.

  • Team Alamo has launched the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) to preserve 35mm prints of exploitation and horror films. This non-profit is so new, the site is only a placeholder, but it does include a paypal link to make tax deductible donations.  Earlier this year, the Alamo Drafthouse helped save nearly 200 Shaw Brothers films that would have been destroyed. 

Newly Published Film Incentive Rules Marred by Controversy

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Bob Hudgins at Film Incentive Bill Signing

Update Fri. 5/21: Austinist has published an excellent in-depth look at the situation, with details about the script that had not been previously mentioned.

Update: Ealy and Garcia have written a comprehensive article about the issue for the Austin American-Statesman.

Yesterday, the Texas Motion Picture Association proudly announced the latest film incentives rules, while at the same time, a controversy started brewing over the denial of incentive funds to a production for a film about the Waco Siege of 1993.

Austin Movie Blog's Charles Ealy blogged on Sunday about an action movie production called Waco that was denied film incentive funds. Initially, Ealy reported that an unnamed state senator blocked the funding for the Entertainment 7 production.

Chris Garcia followed up on Ealy's story after learning that the decision to deny incentives was made entirely by Texas Film Commission Director Bob Hudgins, pictured above at the recent signing of the newest film-incentives bill into law. Among the details on Austin Movie Blog is a statement from Hudgins that "...there was criteria put in the statute for that money. That criteria states that anything that shows an inaccurate portrayal of actual events (in Texas) and comes down to that narrow definition."

Slackery News Tidbits: DVD Gossip, a New Fest and Shaky Seats

Check out the latest movie news from Austin and Central Texas:

  • Kelly Williams at Austin Film Festival has written a lovely remembrance of Bud Shrake that also contains an exciting piece of news: Before he died, Shrake had recorded a commentary track for an upcoming DVD release of Kid Blue. You know we'll keep you posted when more info becomes available.
  • More on Shrake: the Austin Chronicle has republished Louis Black's excellent interview from 1985 with the Texas author and screenwriter.
  • Galaxy Highland is installing "motion-enhanced seats" -- about 20 in one theater -- in time for Terminator Salvation to open this weekend. Austin Movie Blog tells us that tickets for these seats will cost about $8 more. My first thought was that such seating will make it even harder to get through a long movie without a bathroom break; a colleague of mine noted that vibrating seats might be more appropriate to certain other genres of film.

Want Another World Premiere? How About Wolverine?

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WolverineUnless you're completely disconnected from the Internet, in which case you're not reading this, you're probably aware of the contest to bring the X-Men Origins: Wolverine premiere to your city.

Austin has been doing very well in the votes, and the Twittersphere has exploded with tweets encouraging voting, along with Facebook and blogs. As of last night, Austin was ranked #4, but the top city information seems to have disappeared from the site.

There is a petition drive at The University of Texas today from noon until 5 pm, being run by the Texas Student TV group. They're going to give away screening passes and coupons as well.

And to make things really interesting, there is going to be some sort of "message" from Hugh Jackman delivered today around noon, around downtown. If you're in the area and see it, we'd love to hear from you.

If you're interested in seeing Austin host yet another world premiere, click on the petition link to vote, or the Texas Student TV group link on where to vote in person.

EDIT: Apparently the message was a plane with the banner to go vote at the site. Not all that exciting, and apparently not low enough for some people to make out the message. But the thought counts.

A Birthday Gift from Alamo?

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The latest entry on the Alamo Drafthouse blog tentatively gives an opening date for Alamo at the Ritz: Friday, November 2. (You may remember that Chris got a sneak peek at the new theater a few weeks ago.) This date hasn't yet been officially announced or anything -- an update to the entry notes that Tim League is actually shooting for Nov. 1. But I'm hoping that they go with the second day of the month.

The reason? Nov. 2 is my birthday. Getting to spend it at the brand-new downtown Alamo would be -- well, not the best birthday present ever, since my husband is so good at finding fabulous film-related gifts for me. But it would be a pretty damn fine way to spend my birthday, especially if they have milkshakes at the new Alamo. Yes, this is a hint. I don't even care what's being shown (as long as Chris Columbus wasn't involved), although I'll let you know as soon as details are available. 

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