Slackery News Tidbits, June 7
By Jette Kernion on June 7, 2010 - 9:00am
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Let's see what's afoot in the Austin-related film news this week.
- Local filmmaker Bob Byington's film RSO [Registered Sex Offender] is now available online as a "pay what you like" movie. You watch the first "chapter" of the comedy for free, then get access to the rest after you donate some amount of money through PayPal. You also can buy the DVD for $10 (including shipping) at that link. The cast includes Kevin Corrigan (whom I just saw in Please Give), local filmmakers Andrew Bujalski and Richard Linklater, and musician Bob Schneider, who also appeared in Byington's film Harmony and Me.
- Well, we were slacking a bit (thus the name) and missed the first screening in the new Austin Film Society Essential Cinema series: "A Summer of Restoration: Selections from Milestone Films." However, the series runs through August 7, so there are still plenty of movies to enjoy. The movies are screening on Saturdays at noon at Alamo Ritz. Check out the Austin Chronicle article about Milestone Films and the movies they restore and/or pick for distribution. I'm looking forward to seeing Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep on a big screen, myself.
- Actor Jeff Fahey, who has a role in Robert Rodriguez's upcoming film Machete (and was also in Planet Terror), is back in the Austin area for a role in an indie film called Dadgum, Texas, about a small-town young woman whose wedding plans are interrupted by a series of hilarious events. The cast also includes Dana Wheeler-Nicholson from the TV show Friday Night Lights. The press release does not reveal which "small town outside Austin" is the location for this production ... anyone?
- More news on Frederick Wiseman's documentary Boxing Gym, which focuses on Richard Lord's Boxing Gym here in Austin. The film will have theatrical distribution through Wiseman's own distribution company, Zipporah Films, in partnership with mTuckman Media -- the same combination used for Wiseman's previous film, La Danse, which had a run at the Arbor. Boxing Gym is slated to open in NYC on October 22, followed by a national release -- and hopefully Austin will get to see it earlier rather than later. (Boy, this would be a great film for Austin Film Festival to show, hint hint.)