Meetings and Gatherings

On Saturday, Jenn Brown and I headed out to the wilds of Round Rock -- or at least the former wilds -- to see local author Alison Macor discuss her new book, Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids. I noted on the drive out there that the La Frontera strip mall, where the Barnes and Noble was located, had been little more than woods back in the 1970s and is allegedly where part of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was shot. So if you think about it, it was an ideal location for the event.

Author and freelance film writer Joe O'Connell led a discussion with Macor about a wide range of local film-related topics. Appropriately, they started with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, then worked their way over to Slacker, The Whole Shootin' Match, the numerous interviews Macor held as part of her extensive research for the book, the publishing process with UT Press, and Austin movie theaters through the ages. Some of the other audience members have been living in Austin all their lives and had some great stories about downtown theaters, including one that was so old and unstable its ceiling collapsed during a film one day.

Like most people, I've been vaguely familiar with the national non-profit organization United Way all my life. Several years ago I was fortunate to meet and get to know Mando Rayo (in the center of the above photo), Director of United Way Capital Area volunteer match program Hands On Central Texas. In response to a Facebook message from Mando, I volunteered for the 2-1-1 Texas phone bank during Hurricane Ike -- one of the most humbling and memorable experiences in my life. That's just one of the many innovative ways that the United Way Capital Area is using social media and other forums to bring folks together to address critical social issues in our community.

This spring, United Way Capital Area will introduce their Live United film series in Austin. This series, co-hosted by Austin PBS affiliate KLRU-TV, provides Central Texans an opportunity to explore critical community issues such as education and financial stability through film and dialogue. Each film will include a panel discussion with community leaders and issue experts in the field. In addition to enjoying film and meaningful conversation, audience members will receive a list of resources and opportunities about the issues being addressed and ways to promote change in our community.

It's Monday morning, so let's see what's been in the news recently for Austin filmmaking and movie events.

• Austin filmmaker Kat Candler's short Love Bug just won the audience award at the Little Ripper Film Festival for short films, in Melbourne, Australia. The film has played a number of Texas film fests this fall, including Austin Film Festival, where it won the Narrative Short Audience Award.
• Save the date: Looks like Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek will be holding an Evil Dead trilogy movie marathon on March 26, 2010. Groovy. We'll post more info as it's available.
• Texas Archive of the Moving Image is holding an open house on Wednesday, December 9, at 501 Studios from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. I don't know much of anything about this organization so I'm hoping to stop by and find out more. They promise refreshments and some screenings of films from their collection.

Updated 10/28: This event has been postponed until December, and will be merged with the TXMPA holiday party. We'll update you with more info as we receive it.

The Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA) has just announced the details of its second annual Spaghetti Western fundraiser, on Sunday, November 1 at Star Hill Ranch in Bee Cave.

This year's event will feature live performances by The Tiny Tin Hearts and Erik Larson & Peacekeeper. Food will be provided by Ciao Chow, and there will be a Tito’s Vodka/Sweet Leaf Tea Saloon, as well as Amy’s Ice Cream. A silent auction will be held, and special guests are expected.

Tickers are on sale at the TXMPA website, at $60 for the general public and $50 for TXMPA members. Last year's Spaghetti Western sold out with over 700 guests, including film, television, commercial and videogame makers, and others who support these creative efforts.

Founded in 2006, TXMPA is the all-volunteer, not-for-profit [501(c)(6)] statewide industry advocacy organization for film, television, commercial and videogame makers. Earlier this year, the group led the charge for new and improved Texas production incentives legislation (HB 873), which was successfully passed and funded, putting Texas back on a more level playing field with other states for jobs in the creative industries. 

See, sometimes I go to events that aren't in movie theaters, or where movies aren't shown. Last Wednesday, stuntman/actor/filmmaker and now author Gary Kent had a book signing at BookPeople, where he read from his book Shadows & Light: Journeys with Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood.

Kent, who now lives in Austin, has appeared at Alamo Drafthouse events for films in which he's worked on -- The Girls from Thunder Strip and recently Psych-Out. Besides Psych-Out, he's done stunts for other Richard Rush films such as Hell's Angels on Wheels, The Savage Seven, and Freebie and the Bean. You may remember Anne Heller's 2007 article for Slackerwood about The Pyramid, which Kent wrote and directed. More recently, he was stunt coordinator for Bubba Ho-Tep.

On Saturday, many Texas Motion Picture Association (TXMPA) members braved the heat to network and do some committee brainstorming after local caucuses voted for new local representatives earlier this month. The Central Region, which includes Austin, voted for Paul Alvarado-Dykstra as the regional board representative and Shelley Schriber as the alternate. Alvarado-Dykstra is a film producer, vice-president of Villa Muse, and a co-founder of Fantastic Fest.

TXMPA initiated an online election system for last week to allow all members in good standing to vote for At-Large board members, regardless of whether they would attend the meeting in San Marcos on Saturday. In previous years, members had to be present at the annual meeting to vote, which took up most of the general member meeting time.

For all of you horror fans who just can't get enough during Fantastic Fest:

The World Horror Society has named Austin, Texas as the location for the 2011 World Horror Convention (WHC). The international gathering of horror's brightest talents and their fans will take place from April 28 through May 1, 2011. Does it help that Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world?

"Texas has a long history of strange fiction, serving as home to such luminaries as Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, and Joe R. Lansdale," says Convention Co-Chair Nate Southard in a press release posted to his website. "Bringing the World Horror Convention to Austin is a natural. It's a vibrant city with a taste for the eccentric and a love of the arts. Further, its central, southern location makes it convenient for travelers throughout the US, and visitors from abroad will have no trouble reaching us either."

WHC 2011 has confirmed author Sarah Langan as its first guest of honor. Ms. Langan's latest novel Audrey's Door will be released in late 2009 and has already been optioned by The Weinstein Company for film.

Two other guests of honor have been announced this week: authors Brian Keene and Joe R. Lansdale (pictured at right). You might recall that Bubba Ho-tep, filmed in Texas, was based on one of Lansdale's short stories.

With the recent funding of film incentives in Texas, and the re-opening of Austin Studios after much-needed infrastructure upgrades in January, a lot of attention has focused on bringing new film business to Austin.

Right now there is brewing concern within the local film community over a potential five-year sub-lease to Soundcheck Nashville, a music recording/rehearsal studio and equipment/instrument renter. That's not a film-specific organization, which has lead to fears that progress that's been made will be eroded by this five-year commitment that will take up 28,000 square feet of Austin Studios stage space.

After hearing feedback about the potential lease, Austin Studios/AFS had scheduled a community forum for this Thursday. The forum has been pushed back a week to Thursday, June 25, to avoid a time conflict with a City Council meeting that will include a vote on Austin Studios' own lease renewal. Austin Studios is run by Austin Film Society, but it is also a city project. The city lease vote is not related to the potential sub-lease, which will also have to be approved by the city.

TXMPA's Central Region Caucus is happening at Mother Egan's Patio starting at 6:30 pm tonight (June 8). Members will be electing a new central region representative and alternate for the Board of Directors prior to the annual meeting in San Marcos later this month.

If you work in the moving-image industries, or simply support them, you can join TXMPA. Membership information is available on the TXMPA website.