Blogs
A lesson on "gestures" for non-Texans
I was reading an AP wire story about Richard Linklater at the premiere of his film A Scanner Darkly at Cannes, and was a little surprised by the accompanying photo. Go have a look.
The photo caption begins: "American director Richard Linklater gestures as he attends a press conference ..."
Pop quiz: What exactly is that gesture? And how difficult would it be for the photographer or writer to figure it out? Couldn't they have asked Linklater?
If you're not a University of Texas sports fan, you might not know that the gesture is in fact the "Hook 'em Horns" sign made by loyal Longhorns everywhere. But I can't imagine that the Longhorn sign is unknown outside the state of Texas. You'd think after the U.S. President flashed the "Hook 'em" sign last year and was misinterpreted, that reporters would have learned about it by now.
I would love to know exactly why Linklater was making the sign during a Cannes press conference. Was it a little secret cheer that he figured only the Austinites would understand? Or was there some other context involved?
Obviously the point of this story is that someone needs to send me to Cannes the next time Linklater, or any other Austin filmmaker, happens to be there.
Jumping Off Bridges in San Marcos
Kat Candler's film Jumping Off Bridges, which premiered at SXSW this year, will screen at Texas State University in San Marcos this Friday, April 21. The university's newspaper, The University Star, includes a good profile of Candler.
The screening is part of the new Chatauqua Film Festival, which I didn't know about until I read the above-mentioned profile. The two-day festival starts today (Thursday) and includes panels and short films as well as Jumping off Bridges, Rescue Me, and Alas! Poor Yorick. Refer to the University Star article for specific times and locations.
Decisions, decisions: Tuesday, April 18
I'm hoping that "Decisions, decisions" will become a regular feature about days when Austin filmgoers have an unusually large number of special screenings from which to choose. One thing about starting a site is that you never know which feature ideas will carry and which will die a slow, unnoticed death.
I'm still deciding which movie I'll see on Tuesday, April 18. Here are the choices so far:
- Pavement Butterfly at Alamo Downtown (7 pm)—This 1929 film, which stars Anna May Wong, is part of the Austin Film Society series "Three Actresses Abroad." Since I'm an AFS member, admission is free. This may be the only opportunity to see this movie anytime soon, since it's not on DVD.
- Nobelity at The Paramount (8 pm)—I missed Turk Pipkin's documentary about Nobel Prize winners when it premiered at SXSW last month. Fortunately, here's another chance to catch the film.

